BELLARMINE-JEFFERSON -

After a nerve-racking week of waiting, Camacho was relieved to learn he wouldn’t have to pack the uniforms away until next season.

Despite its 61-57 loss Feb. 27 to Windward in the Southern Section Div. IV-A semifinals, Bell-Jeff (24-6) received a berth into the Southern California regionals in the Div. IV state playoffs and will play at 7 p.m. today at Central Section Div. IV champion Corcoran (24-5).

“Usually when you make the finals, they let you know whether you’re going to make it or not, but since we were nowhere near there, it was nervous time until it came out (Sunday),” Camacho said. “Everybody was anxious, so it’s just a relief that we have an opportunity to be included with so many great teams.”

Bell-Jeff, last year’s Div. V state champion, had its 11-game postseason winning streak snapped against Windward. The Guards’ 10-day layoff from competition will be their longest this season.

But Bell-Jeff won’t have any trouble finding motivation against the Panthers after squandering a 13-point, first-quarter lead against Windward, denying the Guards a chance at reaching their third consecutive division final.

“Against Windward, we got humbled. It was a tough lesson to learn, so right now we’re just living in the moment and taking it one step at a time,” Camacho said. “All our focus and energy is on Corcoran.”

Should the Guards win, a third showdown this season with top-seed Harvard-Westlake (30-1) awaits Bell-Jeff in Thursday’s regional semifinals.

The Wolverines, who won the Southern Section Div. IV-AA title Saturday, have a first-round bye. Harvard-Westlake defeated the Guards twice — 69-47 on Dec. 21 at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix, then 66-62 Jan. 5 at Bell-Jeff.

Camacho has game film of Harvard-Westlake ready, but isn’t worrying about the Wolverines just yet.

“We would definitely be grateful for that opportunity,” Camacho said.”But we can’t overlook anybody. All we’re worried about right now is Corcoran.”

Erik Boal

BURBANK:

“I think we played nearly 30 games, and we played in a wood bat league,” Perez said. “That has really done a lot to get the guys ready for the season and we are playing very well as a team.”

One of the key returners is senior pitcher Patrick Haney, a first-team all-leaguer who led the team with a .458 average (33 for 72) and had 30 RBI and 19 runs scored last season.

He will split time on the mound with seniors Tory Tunzi and Mike DiMaggio.

Sophomore Matt Landini will pitch and play second base, all-league junior Phillip Diaz (.591 batting average, 40 and 39 hits) will be at shortstop and sophomore Mike Martinez and junior Anthony Aiello will be at first.

At third base will be sophomore Martin Pinedo, freshman Mitch Kellog will do the catching and the outfielders will be Tunzi, junior Henry Terrones and freshman Johnny Karalis. Players who could also see time are sophomore Sam Kachikian and freshmen Ryan Okshi and Aldolpho Bermeo.

In league, Perez said he expects St. Anthony and Salesian to be tough.

Jeff Tully

The Guards, who captured California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section and state championships in 2009, fell short of accomplishing those feats this season, losing in the Division IV semifinals of the playoffs.

The team was beaten by Windward, 61-57.

However, the Bell-Jeff players and coaches should be proud of their playoff accomplishment. It was the third consecutive season the Guards have advanced to the semifinals.

In addition to its fine postseason run, Bell-Jeff also captured a third straight Santa Cruz League title.

The Lady Guards take their first step towards another State championship on Tuesday night @ 7pm  when they go on the road to face the Corcoran Panthers.

Bell-Jeff wasn’t the only area team that enjoyed success during the fall season.

Despite being seeded 11th in the Division IIAA playoffs, the Burbank High boys’ basketball team played its way to the semifinals for only the second time in school history.

Burbank made the semifinal appearance for the first time in 43 years.

Both teams should be saluted for their fine seasons.

Burbank Leader

PROVIDENCE HIGH —

With the reputation as one of the top programs in the state, and coming off CIF Southern Section and state titles last season, many believed the Guards had the talent to repeat.

But reputation alone doesn’t win games.

Facing No. 4 Windward on Saturday in a Division IVA semifinal game, Bell-Jeff had trouble with the Wildcats’ height, wasn’t as affective with its signature pressure defense and suffered through some ball-handling woes. As a result, the Guards fell behind and couldn’t fight their way back in a 61-57 loss at Providence High.

Saturday’s loss doesn’t necessarily end the season for the Guards (24-6). There is still a chance the team could be invited to take part in the state tournament. State tourney brackets are set to be released Sunday.

Last season, Bell-Jeff became the only team in city history — in any sport — to capture a state championship.

The Guards — who won their third straight Santa Cruz League championship this season — definitely had their problems with Windward (18-9), which won an Olympic League title. They had the most trouble trying to contain 6-foot-6 sophomore Imani Stafford. Stafford was able to dominate inside the paint, scoring 21 points and hauling in 25 rebounds.

“You have to definitely give credit to Windward,” Camacho said. “They came in confident and they played a very good game. They were able to handle our defensive pressure, and that paid off.

“But we didn’t take care of the ball like we should have. Also, we had a chance to take it back at the end, but we just fell short.”

Trying to overcome a 13-point deficit in the early moments of the fourth quarter, Bell-Jeff made its comeback surge. It whittled down the lead to one, 57-56, with 2:33 remaining when Guards’ senior Julia Tani sank two free throws.

After a Wildcat basket, a Bell-Jeff free throw and a Windward free throw, the Guards had a chance to tie the game with 17 seconds left, trailing, 60-57. But the shot missed its mark. Stafford was able to convert a free throw with 1.7 left to ice the win.

“What really hurt us was that Windward was able to get their offensive rebounds,” Camacho said. “They got a lot of put-backs under the basket.”

What also hurt Bell-Jeff was its ability to take care of the ball, as the team committed 18 turnovers in the contest.

The Guards began the game with an offensive push. Spearheaded by 10 first-quarter points from Tani, Bell-Jeff took a 22-13 lead after one quarter.

But the Wildcats roared back in the second quarter, outscoring the Guards, 22-11, to take a 35-32 lead into halftime.

The teams traded lead changes early in the third quarter, until Windward made a run late to take an 11-point lead into the final quarter. The Guards, who were outscored, 18-9, in the third, committed seven turnovers in the stanza.

The Wildcats went ahead, 41-40, in the third quarter and never trailed after that point.

Tani paced the Guards with 15 points. Sophomore Jasmine Smith had 12 rebounds.

By Jeff Tully

The Guards had the top seed in the tournament, they were defending champions, and they had won eight consecutive times (by 28 points or more each time). And two minutes into the game, the Guards had a 13-point lead.

But there was one thing the Guards didn’t have: height. And in the end Saturday, a third straight section championship game appearance was kept just out of their reach. Behind a dominant performance from sophomore center Imani Stafford, Windward Prep upset Bell-Jeff, 61-57.

“Right now, I’m ecstatic,” said Stafford, who finished with 21 points and a boatload of rebounds. “Last year we lost in the semifinals, when I was a freshman. I said, `I’m not going to cry tonight.’ I was crying so hard last year; now I can’t stop smiling.”

It was the Bell-Jeff players who were left disconsolate on Saturday. The Guards (24-6) bolted out to the early lead, with four early 3-pointers (two by freshman Leslie Lopez-Wood, one by Rishonda Napier and one by Julia Tani) and two lay-ups by Jasmine Smith (off of flashy assists by Margeaux Gupilan).

But Windward freshman Courtney Jaco hit a 3-pointer to end the Guards’ early run, and once the Wildcats broke the Bell-Jeff press once, they found they were able to break it repeatedly.

“The key against Bell-Jeff is not to turn the ball over,” Windward head coach Steve Smith said. “We had the second-or-third toughest schedule in our division, so we had been in that situation before.”

Bell-Jeff played a difficult schedule as well, with four of their previous five losses having come against teams ranked top ten in the state by Cal-HiSports. Saturday proved to be another close loss against a quality team.

Windward came back in a hurry, closing to 20-13 toward the end of the first quarter and taking the lead before halftime. The Wildcats’ press break featured two small-and-speedy freshman guards who when troubled lobbed passes to the lanky Stafford. Meanwhile, the 3-pointers stopped falling for Bell-Jeff, and at the start of the fourth quarter, Windward had built a 55-42 lead.

“Show your maturity right now,” Guards’ head coach Bryan Camacho told his team in the huddle. The Guards did that - mounting a comeback that closed the deficit to 57-56 with two minutes remaining. But then the Guards’ shots stopped falling.

“I think we didn’t do our best,” Gupilan said, the senior leader walking off the court. “We beat ourselves. Our time just ran out, and that was it.”

“I don’t like this feeling at all,” added Bell-Jeff freshman Lopez-Wood.

“Being in the final four is a great experience, but to lose, this is like the worst day of my life right now. (It makes it worse that) we were up by a lot.”

Tani led the Guards with 15 points. Napier and Gupilan added nine apiece.

By Mark Dittmer, Special to the Daily News

Jasmine Smith was an important contributor last season on a Bellarmine-Jefferson High girls’ basketball team that captured CIF Southern Section and state championships.

OJAI -

Besant Hill (24-2), the No. 2 seed, scored 28 second-quarter points to take a 38-28 halftime lead. Although the No. 7 Guards (19-6) cut the deficit to two in the third, Ivan Matip (27 points) and Yannick Atanga (16 points) were too much down the stretch.

Kevin Yuenyongsakul led the Guards with 21 points, including five 3-pointers. Aaron Cosme added nine points and Chris Issakhanian contributed eight points for Bell-Jeff.

Daily News

OJAI —

He saw his team buy into his system and he figured it might lead to a lengthy postseason run.

Unfortunately for Bell-Jeff, that run ended against a top-ranked squad.

Seventh-seeded Bell-Jeff saw its season conclude Tuesday night with a 73-56 loss to second-seeded Besant Hill in a CIF Southern Section Division V-A quarterfinal game at Thacher School

“Anytime in your first year, you are going to have some ups and downs,” said Camacho, who took over the team during the summer. “They bought into what we were asking for on a daily basis and that’s playing good defense and playing smart.”

The Guards, who placed second in the Santa Fe League, finished at 19-6. The Coyotes, who will advance to the semifinal round on Friday, went to 24-2.

The Guards stayed with the Coyotes, who won the Condor League crown, nearing the midway point of the fourth quarter. Bell-Jeff cut the lead to 55-51 with 5:12 left, but Besant Hill closed out the contest on a 21-5 run.

Bell-Jeff pulled to within 55-51 on a steal and layup by junior guard Chris Issakhanian. The tired Guards, who had to travel almost 160 miles roundtrip, then saw the Coyotes seize control the rest of the way.

“We kept pushing in trying to come back,” said Bell-Jeff junior guard Kevin Yuenyongsakul, who finished with a team-high 21 points. “We were tired, it was a long trip and we had too many turnovers.”

The Guards had difficulty stopping senior forwards Ivan Matip and Yannick Atanga. Matip finished with a game-high 27 points and Atanga had 16 points and 12 rebounds.

“Those two guys were very strong because they were able to crash the boards,” said Yuenyongsakul, who had five three-pointers.

Matip scored on a finger-roll to give the Coyotes, who won the Division VI-A championships last season, a 59-51 lead with 4:01 left. Atanga extended the lead to 65-54 on a layup with 2:02 remaining.

“That’s a great team that should’ve been ranked higher than seventh,” said Besant Hill Coach Randy Bertin, whose team led, 38-28, at halftime.

Yuenyongsakul made his third three in the first quarter to give the Guards a 14-6 lead with 2:02 left and capping a 9-0 run.

The Guards received nine points from freshman Aaron Cosme and eight points, four assists and four steals from Issakhanian.

By Charles Rich

Birdy, April and Morgan

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They will host the Marymount Sailors who beat Crossroads and Morro Bay to earn their ticket to the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Div IV-A playoffs!

Eric “Rico” Reed