Emilio Gonzalez scored 26 points and pulled down 12 boards
Beverly Hills’ Siavash Yektafar led the Normans with 29 points
Beverly Hills defeated Santa Barbara High 62-48 in Wednesday’s CIF Division 3AAA first-round game.
The Channel League champion Dons led 44-41 with four minutes remaining but the Normans stormed back with a 15-0 run that swung the playoff game in their favor. Siavash Yektafar was unstoppable in the final period, scoring 17 of his game-high 29 points in the last four minutes of the game.
“We said ‘just keep pushing’,” Yektafar said. “This wasn’t our last game. We knew it wasn’t going to be our last game. And now we’re going to the next round.”
Yektafar’s four-quarter shooting changed the game.
Santa Barbara led 44-41 as the clock passed the four-minute mark. Yektafar scored his first points of the quarter on a three-pointer right then. A steal and another three-pointer 20 seconds later jettisoned the Normans into the lead.
“(Yektafar) hit that three and I think it rattled us for the first time this year,” said Dons head coach David Bregante. “After that we kind of just fell apart.”
The junior guard went on to score 11 straight by himself -including another 3-pointer and a finger roll – on his way to 17 total in the quarter.
“Siavash is a tough little player man. He’s our smallest guy in stature but probably has our biggest heart,” said Beverly Hills head coach Jarvis Turner.
“Today he stepped up big. He showed some cohones in the second half. Kind of put us on his back. We had a great defensive effort in the second half as well but offensively he carried us.”
The Normans had to overcome a standout game from Emilio Gonzalez, who totaled 26 points and 12 rebounds in his final game with the Dons.
The senior forward did a little of everything in the third quarter, including completing a 4-point play.
In the end, the Normans hung around until Yektafar caught fire.
“We’ve had a pretty tough year this year,” Turner said. “We’ve been battled tested so I think we were up to the challenge.”
Beverly Hills advances to Friday’s second round and a matchup with Compton, who won 74-52 over La Mirada. [Division 3AAA CIF BRACKET]
Santa Barbara finishes its season with a record of 20-5.
BOX SCORE
BH – Dayan 6, ?Yektafar 29, Cohen 10, Massana 8, Bergher 2, Sands 5, Downey 2. Total FG 21, FT 14-17.
SB – Baker 6, Burke 2, Gonzalez 26, Paschke 8, Fay 6. Total FG 16, FT 9-11.
Beverly Hills 10 15 14 23 – 62
Santa Barbara 11 13 16 8 – 483-Pointers – BH 5 (Yektafar 5) SB 5 (Gonzalez 3, Fay 2). Total Fouls – BH 12, SB 14.
