Top-ranked St. Joseph is smallish, fast and likes to press on defense.

Seventh-ranked St. Bernard of Playa Del Rey is smallish, fast and likes to press on defense.

Four guys average in double figures for St. Joseph. Two guys average in double figures for St. Bernard.

That kind of Knights scoring balance advantage figures to be difficult to overcome for the Vikings. The teams tangle this evening at 8:30 p.m. at Loyola Marymount/s Gersten Pavilion for the CIF Division IVAA boys basketball championship.

St. Joseph is 26-3. St. Bernard is 20-10. The Knights rolled to the Los Padres League championship. The Vikings finished second in the Del Rey League. St. Joseph received a bye in the first round.

Both teams are guaranteed spots in the state playoffs which start next week. "If we win, I think we/ll get a No. 1 or No. 2 seed," for the Southern California Regional, St. Joseph coach Ed Torres said.

The Knights would also get a first-round home game, which would tip off at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

For now, the Knights have their collective attention on tonight.

His team is a confident group, Torres said.

"We/re not cocky, but we/re confident. We/re playing at a very solid level right now.

"Hitting the open man, playing good team defense, getting points off turnovers 7 we/re doing all those things you need to do in the playoffs."

The Knights have done them well enough that their closest playoff game was an 86-70 victory over Crossroads of Santa Monica in the second round.

"If we play like we/ve been playing, play ball, we/re going to win," said junior St. Joseph point guard Ryan Adlesh.

Los Padres League MVP Stewart Kussler leads the Knights at 18.2 points a game. His season high was 34 points against Santa Ynez. The 6-4 senior also averages 7.6 rebounds a game.

Joe Tilley averages 16 points a game for St. Joseph. Adlesh averages 14 and Andrew Schmalbach averages 13.

"That/s been the biggest thing for us," said Adlesh. "The defense can/t focus on one guy."

Two guys have been doing most of the scoring for the Vikings. Nolso Nibu leads St. Bernard at 19 points a game. Windsor Williams averages 16.7.

They led the Vikings past second-seeded Brentwood of Los Angeles 70-67 in the semifinals.

"We know they/re a good team," said Schmalbach. "Otherwise they wouldn/t be (in the championship game)."

Like St. Joseph, St. Bernard/s tallest player is 6-4.

The Knights/ playoff victims have had one thing in common 7 they haven/t been able to keep up. Oaks Christian, a good fast-breaking team itself, had that problem in the semifinals.

The Lions fouled a lot early trying to keep up with the Knights. St. Joseph led the entire way and outplayed Oaks Christian for 26 minutes of the 32-minute game. The Knights won going away, 84-62.

St. Joseph/s football heroes showed their stuff in that one. Brandon Merlo, one of the Knights/ starters, had another good defensive game. Reserve Ryan San Juan made a big basket to break up an Oaks Christian run in the second quarter and Kevin Buchanan had another good game off the bench.

Merlo was part of the St. Joseph 2003 football squad that narrowly lost to Morningside of Inglewood in the CIF Division X semifinals.

"It/s been a good run," said Merlo. "I/m looking forward to the chance to play for the championship."

Sports writer Kenny Cress can be reached at 739-2237 or by e-mail at kcress@pulitzer.net

March 04, 2004