PHOTOS: Marina falls to Francis Parker 63-55 in opening round of regionals

Antoine Robinson goes up for a shot for Marina during Tuesday’s game. (Photos courtesy Mark Bausman, For OC Sports Zone)

No. 3 seeded Marina High boys basketball season came to an end Tuesday night as the Vikings dropped a 63-55 decision to No. 6 seeded San Diego Francis Parker in an opening round game of the CIF SoCal Division 3A basketball championship tournament at Marina High. 

The Vikings finish the season with a 15-9 record. The Lancers (11-8) advance to the second round and will play their rival Bonita Vista Wednesday night in San Diego.

Camden McCormick scored 19 points and Daryl Sledge Jr. added 17 points to lead Francis Parker. Antoine Robinson led Marina with 17 points and Bradley Fronck scored 12 points. Marina never led in the game.

To see the slide show, please click on the first photo

Trailing 32-25 at the break, both teams traded baskets for most of the third quarter. Robinson’s basket cut the lead to 48-44 with 1:55 left in the quarter but the Lancers quickly countered with a 7-0 run to end the period and build a 55-44 after three quarters. Both teams struggled in the fourth quarter and Francis Parker was never really challenged down the stretch.

“Early in the game it was like we were exhausted,” said Robinson. “It was one of the worst games individually and as a team we played all season. Collectively, we didn’t play well. They play fast and we like to play fast but our shots weren’t falling. We had a really good season, we just don’t like how it ended. We didn’t sprint to the finish line, we jogged across the line. I am excited about next season, we have a young team and we have all but one starter coming back. We’ll be grinding it out all summer.”

The Lancers displayed aggressive defense and limited Marina to one shot on the offensive end most of the game. The Vikings started slow and fell behind 10-3 in the opening quarter. Fronck and Kylie Matthew Magdangal added late buckets to tie the game at 15-15 with 37 seconds left in the quarter, but Martin Rudolph’s basket in the final seconds gave the Lancers a 17-15 edge after eight minutes of play.

Midway through the second quarter Francis Parker mounted a 9-0 run and took a 32-20 lead with 2:52 left in the half, following a basket by Sledge Jr. Marina added a 3-point play and a basket by Robert Acquire and Fronck to cut the lead to seven at intermission. 

“We didn’t have good match ups with them,” said Fronck. “They were 3-pointer shooters and when we went out to guard them, they blew by us for way too many easy layups and that is inexcusable. I’m proud of what we accomplished this year and I’m excited to see how this team is going to do next season but we didn’t want to see this season end this way.”

“We just didn’t play well,” said sophomore guard Bohdi Armstrong. “But there are no breaks for us. We’ll be in the gym tomorrow working on getting better for next season.”

Vikings coach Nick Racklin was impressed with Francis Parker but he said his team had its opportunities but couldn’t get over the hump.

“They’re good, they’re a lot better than they look,” said Racklin. “We were right there with them, but then we would blink and they would go up by 11. I told these guys after the game we have to work harder over the summer. We can’t just show up next November and expect to be better. If we want to win a CIF championship or a state championship, we have to work at it.”

Magdangal and Acquire scored nine points apiece and Eric Hodgkins added eight points for the Vikings. 

The regional tournament includes teams from Central, Los Angeles County, San Diego and the Southern Section competing in 12, eight team divisions.

The Vikings were the Division 3A CIF-SS runner-up last week, losing to Glendora in the title game 53-50.

—Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone