Lee, Hall lead Oak Park into Div. 3A semifinals

You could see it in the eyes and hear it in the voices of Ron Lee and Jackson Hall, just how special the moment was for the Oak Park High players.

The two glanced at each other before speaking to a reporter after the Eagles' surprisingly one-sided 75-46 CIF-Southern Section Division 3A boys basketball quarterfinal thrashing of Atascadero, in a game played in the cozy comfort of Oak Park's Bird Cage.

It was almost as if the pair needed to pinch each other to believe it was true that they were headed to the semifinals against the winner of No. 2 seed St. John Bosco and No. 8 Covina.

"We've been riding this momentum all the way through the playoffs and hopefully we can continue to into the next round," said Hall, who scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half. "(Atascadero) was a solid team, we just played well tonight. That's what we needed. That wasn't a walkthrough for us at all."

Hall wasn't just being diplomatic, but Atascadero (18-10) couldn't keep up with the defensive pressure and rebounding of Oak Park, or the Eagles' 3-point shooting.

Oak Park (23-7) bolted to an 11-1 lead midway through the first quarter and Atascadero really never threatened to make it close thereafter. Standout sophomore guard Robert Berwick, who came in averaging nearly 18 points a game, wasn't a factor until the third quarter.

And by then it was too late.

Lee, a 6-foot-2 junior guard, scored nine points in each of the second and third quarters and led all scorers with 24 points. He hit 11 of 14 free throws as Oak Park built leads of 36-13 at the intermission and 59-27 after three quarters.

"We played together and we played really well," said Lee, who also had six rebounds and five assists. "We got stops (defensively) and we played as well as we could. We know we're going to have to play even tougher next game."

Berwick, who finished with a team-high 16 points for Atascadero, hit a flurry of 3-pointers during the third quarter, but his three treys (and 11 points) in the period were countered by four from Oak Park as Hall and Lee hit one apiece and junior guard Brandon Hill nailed two in a row to end any suspense.

Hill finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while teammate J.D. Slajchert contributed 10 points and a team-high 13 rebounds.

"We really want to focus on our defense and our rebounding," said Oak Park coach Aaron Shaw. "That is what will fuel us. Our offense comes from our defense.

"We've got Ron (Lee), who is able to attack and create, but we've also got shooters all around him."

With the score 26-13 late in the second quarter, Oak Park went on a 10-0 run to finish the half as Hill scored from inside, Jared Kaufman (five points) connected from beyond the arc and Lee hit a 25-foot rainbow and two free throws.

Hall, a senior whose father Rob was the Oak Park coach from 1991 to 2001 but gave up the post to devote more time to Jackson and his three siblings, has grown up around the Eagles' program.

"I could only dream of this when I was little," he said. "It's really special to be here. Going to the CIF semis, it's something that only a handful of Oak Park teams have ever done. So I'm just happy to be a part of it. We've got great coaches and a great group of guys. I really love it."