Gardena High’s boys’ basketball team had a strong showing in last week’s Bellflower Tournament by placing second after falling in the championship finals to Manhattan Beach Mira Costa 44-37 last Saturday.
In a defensive battle, the Panthers trailed most of the contest but stayed close to the Mustangs, who routed their first three opponents in their first three games, including 77-43 over defending Moore League champion Long Beach Jordan in the semifinals a day earlier.
“It was a tough game,” Gardena head coach Ernie Carr said. “We played good defense against a very good team. It was close all the way.”
Dawayne Boston led the Panthers, who are 6-3 overall, with 10 points. Promise Madubugwu added nine points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. Derrell Franklin chipped in eight points.
Mira Costa was last year’s Bay League champion which advanced to the CIF-Southern Section Division I semifinals and Southern California Regional Division I quarterfinals before losing to eventual regional and CIF-State Division I champion Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. The mostly young but very talented Mustangs (8-2) are expected to battle rival Redondo (6-1), Palos Verdes (8-2) and Santa Monica in a very evenly matched league this year.
A day earlier, Gardena advanced to the finals with a 52-41 win over Dominguez High from Compton. Madubugwu sparked the Panthers with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Cornelius Rollison finished with 11 points, followed by Willie Denham with nine.
In the semifinal, Gardena started fast in taking a 24-5 lead early in the second quarter but the Dons got as close as four points late in the third quarter. Behind a key three-point basket by Rollison, along with baskets from Madubugwu and Denham, the Panthers put the game away by outscoring Dominguez 11-9 in the final period.
Ernie Bell led the Dons with 10 points.
In the quarterfinals on Dec. 6, Gardena slipped past Lake Forest El Toro 47-43.
Franklin led the Panthers with 12 points while Ponds put in 10.
On Dec. 5, Gardena began the tournament with a 56-46 victory over South Torrance. Jarren Ponds led the Panthers with 16 points while Franklin and Madubugwu each chipped in 13.
Ponds and Madubugwu were both named to the all-tournament team.
Gardena, which won its Marine League opener at Carson 74-59 on Nov. 29, resumes league at home against Long Beach Rancho Dominguez Prep Friday at 4:30 p.m.
The Panthers are currently ranked second, behind Granada Hills, in the CIF-Los Angeles City Section, according to MaxPreps.
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North tops Westchester in non-league basketball
By Joe Snyder
North Torrance High’s boys’ basketball team is off to an 8-1 start after defeating host Westchester High 47-41 last Saturday.
In a see-saw game, the Saxons, last season’s Pioneer League champion, CIF-Southern Section Division VAA semifinalist and Southern California Regional Division V quarterfinalists, took an early five-point lead taking advantage of foul trouble by the one-time CIF-Los Angeles City Section and California state powers. North converted on seven of nine free throw attempts. The Saxons made 18 of 26 shots from the charity line for the game.
Westchester came back to grab a 25-21 halftime lead, behind Jayden Franks but North came back for a seven-point (39-32) fourth quarter lead on Jayden Lightfoot’s put-back basket.
Tanaka Lee made a three-point basket to seal the game for the Saxons with 1:16 left in the game.
Returning all-CIF-Southern Section Division VAA player Kai Bradley led North with 13 points. This year, the Saxons are the top ranked team in the Southern Section Division IIIA. North is looking to win its first ever CIF-Southern Section, Southern California Regional and CIF-State championships. The Saxons reached the Southern Section Class 4A finals in 1965 where they fell to Long Beach Poly, shortly after upsetting favorite Redondo, which came into the game ranked second in the United States, in the semifinals.
This game marked the return of long-time head Comet coach Ed Azzam, who guided Westchester to five CIF-State championships and 15 CIF-L.A. City titles in his 42 seasons there from 1979-2021. Azzam is North’s assistant behind head mentor Wai Sett.
In a Bellflower Showcase Classic on Dec. 4, the Saxons rolled over the host Buccaneers 66-45.
North began the Pioneer League at El Segundo on Wednesday. The Saxons come home to face crosstown rival Torrance Friday at 7 p.m. North hosts another crosstown rival South Torrance next Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Spartans, who are 7-2, are much improved as they are rated No. 2 in the CIF-Southern Section Division IVAA.
Serra was welcomed by Narbonne transfer Maximo Adams who led the Cavaliers with 25 points in its 101-63 rout of host Crenshaw on Dec. 7.
The Cavaliers, then, improved to 5-3 with an easy 77-48 win Providence High from Burbank in a non-league contest at Serra.
Serra will host its Dwan Hurt Memorial Classic against Franklin High from L.A.-Highland Park next Wednesday at 6 p.m. The Cavaliers, then, take on Overland High from Colorado in the second game of the tournament next Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The classic lasts through Dec. 23.
In girls’ basketball action, Serra won its first Camino Real League game at home against Mary Star of the Sea High from San Pedro 70-35.
The Lady Cavaliers are currently 2-5 overall and 1-2 in league. On Nov. 30 at Cantwell-Sacred Heart in Montebello, Serra fell on the short end of a 74-64 score. The Cavaliers lost their second CRL game to host St. Monica 58-48 on Dec. 5 in Santa Monica.
Gardena, which struggled the past few seasons, is off to a 3-1 start after upsetting Carson 38-35 in their Marine League opener last Friday at Gardena. Two days earlier, the Panthers were routed by host Washington 49-24. The Generals were the team to eliminate the Lady Panthers 50-32 in the CIF-L.A. City Section Division III quarterfinals in the 2022-23 season.
On Wednesday, Gardena resumed Marine action at Rancho Dominguez Prep in Long Beach. Gardena visits Lawndale in non-league play today at 4:30 p.m. Next week, the Panthers play in the Legacy Tournament where they open against Bernstein High from Hollywood next Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. in South Gate. Gardena also has tournament games against South Gate on Thursday at 4 p.m. and San Juan Capistrano Junipero Serra on Dec. 22 at 7 p.m.
Last week, Pioneer League power North Torrance played in the Pleasant Valley Tournament that included a championship 57-41 over Pleasant Grove last Saturday. On Thursday, the Lady Saxons topped host Pleasant Valley 56-48, before downing Moreno Valley Vista del Lago 56-41 on Friday.
North began Pioneer League play at El Segundo on Wednesday and will host Torrance Friday at 5:30 p.m. The Saxons host South Torrance next Tuesday at the same time.
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Serra High’s Fields, Williams play in All-American football all-star games
By Joe Snyder
Virtually every season, Serra High’s football teams have been represented in various all-star high school football games throughout the United States and this season is no exception.
Senior defensive end Dakoda Fields and wide receiver Zacharyus Williams were both selected to all-American classics.
Fields, who is bound for University of Oregon joining ex-Serra standout wide receiver-defensive back Roderick Pleasant, will play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas on Jan. 6. Oregon, along with University of Southern California, UCLA, and Washington, moves from the PAC 12 to the prestigious Big 10 next season. Last season, Pleasant played in the Under Armour All-American Classic in Orlando, Fla.
Williams will play in the Polynesian Bowl on Jan. 19 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Williams committed to University of Utah, which will leave the PAC 12 for the Big 12 Conference.
Williams was originally to play in the Under Armour All-American Bowl. but he suffered a shoulder injury in Serra’s CIF-Southern Section Division II quarterfinals against Los Alamitos on Nov. 11 at Serra. The Cavaliers won that game 38-28. He did not play in the semifinals at home against Anaheim Servite.
Both helped the Cavaliers finish second, behind Chatsworth Sierra Canyon, in the Mission League and the semifinals of the Southern Section Division II playoffs where the short-handed team, that also played without star running back Cincere Rhaney, fell to Servite 28-20. The Friars lost in the finals to eventual CIF-State Division IAA champion Mission Viejo 34-14 on Nov. 25 at Mission Viejo. The Diablos defeated Northern California power Concord De La Salle 31-21 for the championship last Friday at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo.
Also at Saddleback College on Saturday, the Trinity League continued to prove to be the supremacy of state prep football as Santa Ana Mater Dei shut out San Mateo Serra 35-0 for the CIF-State Open Division crown. Sources are that the Monarchs are seeking a challenge exhibition game against the nation’s top ranked team, Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop O’ Gorman, on Friday or Saturday but it remains to see if that can happen.
Wilmington Banning, meanwhile, lost in the finals of the California State Division VA championship to undefeated Woodlands Christian 23-13 last Saturday at El Camino College.
