Lancers refuse to go down without a fight
TOHS boys' basketball team concludes championship season
By Stephen Dorman sdorman@theacorn.com

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers POPPEN OFF- Lancer senior forward Jake Poppen, left, fends off Compton Dominguez's Quentin Watkins last Friday night at TOHS in the CIF-SS Division IAA quarterfinals. TOHS lost 68-60.

Ironically, the play that may have best depicted the toughnatured, never-say-die attitude of the 2006-07 Thousand Oaks High boys' basketball team was also the play that led to the squad's ultimate demise in the CIF-Southern Section Division IAA postseason.

Last Friday night, in front of a raucous home crowd, the Lancers trailed third-seeded Compton Dominguez 5450 with 5:22 remaining in the game.

Bobby Macias, Thousand Oaks' do-everything senior point guard, stole the ball near the Dominguez bench and took it coast-to-coast for a layup and foul that brought the Lancers to within two points of tying the game.

As the crowd went wild and momentum appeared to finally swing in the Lancers' favor, TOHS freshman forward Alex Tiffin was laid out on the opposite end of the court, his nose pouring blood after taking a vicious elbow from a Dominguez defender.

No foul was called, and the game was stopped for several minutes while Tiffin was helped off the floor. The fans, elated just moments before, quickly turned hostile toward the referee who missed the call.

"It may have taken some of our momentum away, but there was blood on the floor and they had to stop it," TOHS head coach Richard Endres said. "It was a rough play and we got a bloody nose out of it. It was just one of those things. It's part of basketball."

Macias missed the ensuing freethrow attempt, and the Lancers didn't score again until 2:50 remained on the clock. TOHS was never able to close the scoring gap, and Dominguez converted its free throws down the stretch for a 68-60 victory.

The frustrating part of the evening for Macias, who finished with a team-high 23 points, was how effective Dominguez was at halting any Lancer scoring runs.

"That's just the type of team they are," Macias said. "They never let you go on runs to get back in the game."

Thousand Oaks faced an uphill battle for much of the fourth quarter when senior forward Jake Poppen fouled out a minute and a half in. Poppen finished with 11 points. He said the team could've won if they would have rebounded better.

"They probably scored 20 points off secondchance baskets," Poppen said. "Our defense wasn't bad; it was our rebounding that wasn't good."

Senior Alex Kane added seven points for TOHS. Junior Josh Morris and sophomore Michael Taxter each had six points.

Thousand Oaks finished the season with a 25-4 overall record. The Lancers, who will graduate six seniors, won the Marmonte League championship outright after splitting the title with Calabasas a season ago.

Endres said it was another highly successful year for the program.

"They were the best team in Ventura County, as far as I'm concerned," Endres said. "Playing Compton Dominguez down to the wire like this, they proved themselves. I think they're worthy of being the best team in the Conejo Valley."