Gardena High’s boys’ basketball team started the Marine League in good fashion with a key 60-45 victory over host San Pedro last Friday. The Panthers wasted little time on the Pirates in taking leads of 16-7 after the first quarter and 29- 17 by halftime. Gardena continued to lead by 12 points (40-28) after three periods and led by as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter before coasting to their seventh overall win against three losses. “It’s good to get number one,” Gardena head coach Ernie Carr said in the team’s first league win. “We can go bogus. We held San Pedro to just 28 points through three quarters.” The Panthers were led by returning junior starting guard Chase Williams with a game-high 19 points. Jarren Ponds added 12 points and Wilke Denham chipped in 10, including three three-point baskets, two of those in the fourth period which helped Gardena pull away. The Pirates were led by guard Anthony Hrboka with 14 points, including four three pointers. Three of those three’s came in the fourth quarter. The Panthers resume league action at Banning High in Wilmington Friday at 4 p.m. before playing in tournaments at Monrovia and Granada Hills High Schools during the Winter Break. The Monrovia Classic will be from Dec. 27-30 and the San Fernando Valley Classic from Jan. 3-8. Serra had a good tune-up for its own Dwan Hurt Tournament which it hosts from Saturday through next Thursday with a third place finish at St. John Bosco last week in Bellflower. The Cavaliers placed third with a forfeit win over Fairmont Prep from Anaheim since it failed to show up on Saturday. It was probably a good relief for Serra whose players were able to see the Cavaliers’ football team win the California State Division IA championship with a 21-16 win over Bakersfield Liberty at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo. A day earlier, Serra lost to the host Braves 67-54. The Cavaliers stayed close to St. John Bosco but the Braves had a little too much depth and pulled away. Serra was led by fourth-year starting senior guard Jeremy Dent-Smith with 19 points. Tomi Adesgi contributed 12 points and La Quan Cole finished with 11. Serra won its first two games over Hacienda Heights Los Altos 54-51 on Dec. 6 and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 79-70 on Dec. 7. Against Los Altos, the Cavaliers trailed 31-27 at halftime and 41-40 after three periods before outscoring Los Altos 14-10 for the three-point win. Serra opens the Dwan Hurt Classic against Long Beach Jordan Saturday at 7:30 p.m. North Torrance split its two non-league games on the road last week. At Banning on Dec. 8, the Saxons downed the Pilots 53-38. At Pacifica Christian High in Santa Monica last Saturday, North lost 38-31. The Saxons will play in the Dorsey Tournament where they open against Rancho Dominguez Prep from Long Beach next Monday at 7:30 p.m. North will face Carson next Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. and the host Dons next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The finals are on Dec. 24th Christmas eve.
Gardena High’s Jarren Ponds goes up for a basket in last Friday’s Marine
League boys’ basketball game against San Pedro. The Panthers defeated
the Pirates 60-45.
