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So Cal Surf 62-32 (2-6)

Fresno Stars 82-6 (6-2)

Game 1 – So Cal blinked and in less than 3 minutes, they were on the short end of a 15-6 scoreboard. John Stockton then fired up his team and they scored 8 straight points in 65 seconds and hung around the two-time defending champion Fresno Stars, trailing 27-25 with 5:25 to go in the first. The home team owned the rest of the period, making it a 49-31 tally at the end of one. Magic Johnson had 14 and Patrick Ewing 12 for FRS. Chris Mullin had the baker’s dozen for SCS. The Surf didn’t fare much better in the 2nd and went into the lockers trailing 92-64. Ewing had 24 and Magic 23 at halftime. Fresno smelled blood and built a 43-point lead early in the 3rd and coasted to the 143-99 rout. Magic was named MVP with 27 points, 14 assists and 7 rebounds. Ewing finished with 26. LaSalle Thompson scored 23 points and had a game-high 11 rebounds. Mullin had 24 for So Cal; Stockton contributed 19 points and 11 dimes.

Game 2 – After 5-1/2 minutes of play, the home town Fresno Stars clung to a 21-17 with Patrick Ewing responsible for 10 points already. John Stockton and Chris Mullin went to work for the Surf, finishing the period with 12 points each and a 44-34 So Cal advantage. The two teams traded runs throughout the 2nd frame with the Stars taking the quarter to trail only 68-66 at halftime. Ewing and Mullin both had 20 points for their respective squads. Stockton hit a pair of freebies with 4:17 left in the third for his 26th and 27th points and an 89-86 SCS lead. Fresno went “showtime” and closed out the third on a 20-8 run. So Cal would tie the game at 109 with 8:25 to go, but FRS responded by scoring 10 unanswered points. The Surf would close the gap to 4 on a couple of occasions down the stretch, but Fresno held on to go up 2-0 in the series with the 147-140 final. Ewing was named MVP with 45 points and 12 rebounds. Magic just missed the triple-double with 25 points, 23 assists and 9 boards. Jerome Kersey added 26 to Fresno’s cause. Mullin topped the Surf with 44 points. Stockton finished with 35 points and 15 dimes.

Game 3 – The first quarter was a high-scoring affair, with SoCal coming out on top 41 – 36. Scott Skiles was a spark off the bench for SoCal with 12 points, going a perfect 5-5 from the field and 2-2 from the line. In the early stages of the second quarter, Patrick Ewing, who had been leading Fresno with 13 points, went to the bench with his third foul. Later, LaSalle Thompson and Jerome Kersey joined Ewing there. SoCal took advantage, extending its lead to 72-64 at the half. SoCal shot 55% from the field and held Fresno to 40% shooting. Fresno tried to get something going to start the third quarter, but with 9:01 to play, Ewing and Moses Malone got tangled up, leading to double fouls being called, sending Ewing back to the bench. Then, at the 8:31 mark, LaSalle Thompson pushed Malone to the floor, picking up his fourth foul to send him back to the bench. Malone was doing a great job drawing Fresno fouls. This time, however, SoCal could not take advantage of Fresno’s foul trouble. Instead, the Stars actually took the lead, and ended the quarter with a 99-95 lead. Fresno started the fourth quarter on a roll, going on a 14-1 run, extending their lead to 17 points with 8:03 to play. SoCal chipped away at the lead, getting it down to 12 points with 2:43 to play, but the Surf didn’t score from that point until the end of the game, and Fresno got the win. The keys to the game seemed to be that Fresno forced 39 SoCal turnovers and that, despite its foul trouble, Fresno got more opportunities and points from the foul line, going 30-34 from the line vs. SoCal going 15-18.

Game 4 – Fresno started with an 8-0 run, so things were looking good for the Stars.  But then, at the 10:00 minute mark, Patrick Ewing picked up his second foul and headed to the bench.  So Cal came back to tie the game at 10, but Fresno made 8 steals and caused 11 So Cal turnovers to finish the quarter with a 37-28 lead.  John Williams led Fresno with 12, and Chris Mullin countered with 11 for So Cal.  The second quarter saw both teams’ offenses pick up, with Fresno winning the quarter 42-36 to take a 79-64 lead into halftime.  Danny Manning led So Cal with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Magic Johnson led Fresno with 14 points and 13 assists.  To start the third quarter, both teams traded baskets until the 9:28 mark, where John Stockton headed to the bench with his fourth foul.  Fresno took advantage, stretching its lead to 122-96 heading into the fourth.  In the fourth, the Stars took control, taking the quarter 33-16 to win the game and the series.  Like game 3, the key to the game seemed to be Fresno’s getting steals and generating 31 So Cal turnovers.  Magic led Fresno with 29 points and 17 assists.  So Cal was led by Chris Mullin scoring 22 points.  Although Fresno was able to sweep the Surf, the future looks very bright for So Cal.

Series MVP – Magic Johnson
26.0 pts, 17.3 asts, 7.5 reb, 2.8 stls