Santa Margarita rides Thompson’s career-high 40 points to victory

Considering that his father, Mychal, was the first player taken in the 1978 NBA draft, 6-foot-6 senior guard Klay Thompson of Santa Margarita is used to hearing fans shout almost anything.

On Tuesday night, Santa Margarita students were having lots of fun, yelling, “Klay, you’re a god,” and, “Klay, I want to write your biography.” And he deserved the attention considering the performance he turned in against Los Angeles Loyola in the second round of the Southern Section Division I-AA playoffs.

Thompson scored a career-high 40 points, making five three-point baskets, and had eight assists to help the fifth-seeded Eagles (25-4) defeat 11th-seeded Loyola, 85-66, at Santa Margarita. The Eagles will face Compton in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Thompson, who is head to Washington State, sometimes has been too unselfish in big games this season. But with the Eagles facing the win-or-go-home part of their season, he has started to assert himself offensively.

“If I’m open, I’m going to shoot it, and if my team needs me to be more aggressive at certain times, I’m going to do it,” he said.

The Cubs (20-8) briefly made a run at Santa Margarita. Loyola got a boost at the end of the first quarter when guard Jordan Gathers launched a desperation shot in front of the Loyola bench some 60 feet from the basket. It went in for a three-pointer and started a 12-2 run by the Cubs that pulled them to within 27-26 with 5:45 left in the second quarter.

That’s when Thompson took control, scoring eight points during a 14-0 Santa Margarita run. He drove the length of the court to score. He made a jump shot. He made a bank shot from the top of the key. He had 14 points in the quarter as Santa Margarita led, 45-29, at halftime.

Hollis Thompson, Loyola’s 6-8 Georgetown-bound junior forward, finished with 25 points, but he was ineffective until the fourth quarter.

Loyola started two sophomores and three juniors, making it a team to watch for next season. But Santa Margarita could be ready to make a big run into the playoffs because it has been tested by one of the toughest schedules in Coach Jerry DeBusk’s tenure.

The Eagles’ four losses have come to Santa Ana Mater Dei (twice), North Hollywood Campbell Hall and Compton Dominguez, all top-10 teams in the Southland.

Thompson seems ready to push the Eagles and his teammates.

“It’s our senior year, and I don’t want to lose,” he said.

– Eric Sondheimer

West Valley 55, Corona del Mar 50 – West Valley finally made some baskets from the perimeter, and Stefan Galuz finally cooled off for host Corona del Mar, allowing the fifth-seeded Mustangs to rally for a victory over the fourth-seeded Sea Kings in a Southern Section Division III-A boys’ quarterfinal.

Corona del Mar, which defeated the Mustangs in last season’s semifinals, took a 44-39 lead with five minutes left, but John Balwigaire made West Valley’s first outside shot of the game, a three-pointer no less, and Eric Lawton sank another three-pointer two possessions later, giving the Mustangs a 47-45 lead they would not relinquish. The Mustangs kept the Sea Kings at bay by making 10 of 12 free throws down the stretch.

Galuz, who scored 10 points in the first quarter and had 14 at the half, finished with 23 for the Sea Kings but missed a couple of key shots when the Sea Kings really needed one in the late going.

Joseph Burton, a 6-8, 285-pound forward for West Valley, finished with a team-high 17 points and 19 rebounds.

– Dan Arritt