Serra High’s boys’ basketball team is 2-0 in the Mission Prep Classic after wins over Bakersfield Centennial and North Hollywood Campbell Hall last week in San Luis Obispo.
Last Friday, the Cavaliers jumped on Centennial early with a 15-8 lead. Centennial got close a few times but Serra was able to keep a safe enough lead for a 68-62 win.
On Saturday, the Cavaliers edged out Campbell Hall 64-62.
Serra continued against J.W. North of Riverside on Monday and finished the classic on Tuesday.
Serra High’s boys’ basketball team is 2-0 in the Mission Prep Classic after wins over Bakersfield Centennial and North Hollywood Campbell Hall last week in San Luis Obispo.
Last Friday, the Cavaliers jumped on Centennial early with a 15-8 lead. Centennial got close a few times but Serra was able to keep a safe enough lead for a 68-62 win.
On Saturday, the Cavaliers edged out Campbell Hall 64-62.
Serra continued against J.W. North of Riverside on Monday and finished the classic on Tuesday.
The Cavaliers open the premiere Maxpreps Holiday Classic in Palm Springs beginning on Friday. It runs through next Tuesday.
Lady Panthers top Washington: Gardena High’s girls’ basketball team began the Marine League on a good note by topping host Washington 67-59.
West advances to semis: West Torrance High’s boys’ soccer team advanced to the South Torrance Christmas Classic championship semifinals after penalty kick wins over Corona and Torrance last Saturday.
The Warriors were tied with the Tartars at 1-1 but won 4-3 in PK’s to advance to last Monday’s semifinal against either Long Beach Millikan or Arroyo Grande.
Goalkeeper Denver Silverlake made a key save that won the match for West, which improved to 7-2.
West also topped Corona 3-0 on penalty kicks after a 2-2 tie.
The championship was on Monday night.
The Warriors began the classic by topping host Redondo 2-1 on Friday.
Torrance began with a 2-2 tie against South Gate South East but won 7-6 on penalty kicks. The Tartars also recorded a 2-1 win over Animo Leadership from Inglewood.
Host South Torrance began with a 1-0 win over Peninsula on Thursday, then lost to Oxnard Channel Islands 3-1 on Friday. The Spartans continued play on Monday.
North Torrance lost both matches to Corona 2-2 (3-1 in PK’s) and Redondo 3-0.
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Gardena High rallies to top Washington
By Joe Snyder
Sports Editor
Gardena High’s boys’ basketball team used a big fourth quarter to top Washington 56-46 in its Marine League opener last Thursday at Gardena.
The Generals were leading the Panthers (6-2 overall and 1-0 in league) by eight points at halftime and five after three periods before Gardena outscored Washington 22-7 in the fourth quarter for a 10-point victory.
“It was a nice comeback,” Gardena head coach Ernie Carr said. “We gave up five three-pointers in the first quarter. In the second half, we adjusted and played a little better.”
Chad Smith led the Panthers with 15 points. Clarence Bookman added 13 points. Christian Carating chipped in 10 points and Michael Thompson contributed nine.
Gardena was originally to open its league at Banning in Wilmington on Dec. 15 but it was postponed until Jan. 20.
The Panthers will play in the San Pedro Christmas Classic against Pacifica High from Garden Grove Friday at 2:30 p.m. The tournament runs from Friday through next Tuesday.
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Sports Scoop
Christmas wishes as 2014 end is just a week away
By Joe Snyder
Sports Editor
Christmas Day is here and it is only a week from 2015.
There have been some unforgettable moments.
In pro sports, the Major League Baseball Los Angeles Dodgers won the National League Western Division but had a disappointing showing in the playoffs losing three games to one to the St. Louis Cardinals.
On top of that, the Dodgers’ hated rival San Francisco Giants defeated the Kansas City Royals in seven games for their third World Series title in the past five seasons.
The National Basketball Association Los Angeles Lakers suffered their worst season in L.A. Laker history and second worst overall at 27-55 for a .329 won-loss percentage, only ahead of .264 at 19-53 set by the Minneapolis Lakers of 1957-58. So far, the Lakers are 8-17 entering last Friday’s home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Los Angeles did not choke all of the way, though. It won two Major pro sports with the National Hockey League Kings and the Major League Soccer Galaxy came out on top.
It was on June 13 that the Kings won the Stanley Cup by topping the New York Rangers in five games. It included three of their four wins in overtime.
The Kings won their second Stanley Cup in the past three seasons.
So far this season, the Kings are playing well at home but have not done well on the road with a 1-11. They are now 16-11 after a rallying from a 3-0 deficit to top the St. Louis Blues 6-4 last Thursday at the Staples Center.
Approximately months later, the L.A. Galaxy gave top player Landon Donavan a nice retirement present by capturing their sixth Major League Soccer title, five with Donavan, with a 2-1 overtime win over the New England Revolution on Dec. 7 at the StubHub Center in Carson.
Shortly after being left out of the United States World Cup team, that he was on in 2002, 2006 and 2010, and the World Cup Soccer, itself, Donovan, at 32 years old, opted to retire after the 2014 season.
Donovan was taken out of after his freshman season at Redlands East Valley High in 1997 and played on the U.S. national junior team for three years, before being drafted by the San Jose Earthquakes in 2000. He led the Earthquakes to two titles and the Galaxy to crowns in 2005, 2011, 2012 and this past season. He holds numerous MLS scoring and assist records, as well with his years on the American squad.
The Galaxy’s next star, Irish sensation Robbie Keane, was already their hero scoring their winning goal in the 111th minute.
In the prep and community college level, Serra had several top athletes sign, including Adoree Jackson who is at University of Southern California on a football and track and field scholarship.
Jackson already scored several touchdowns, including one when the Trojans closed their regular season with a 4 had several top athletes sign, including Adoree Jackson who is at University of Southern California on a football and track and field scholarship.
Jackson already scored several touchdowns, including one when the Trojans closed their regular season with a 49-14 rout of non-conference rival Notre Dame on Nov. 29 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Jackson was one of many of Serra’s top all-around athletes. As a junior in the 2012 football season, he keyed the Cavaliers to the California State Division II championship as they rolled over Oakdale 42-15.
He had United States national bests in the long jump with a best performance of 25 feet, four inches.
In a stunner, though, in May at the CIF-Southern Section Division IV Prelims at Carpinteria High in South Santa Barbara County, Jackson was disqualified due to an illegal viewing of his jumps. He had a meet best of 24-7 but officials declared that he illegally viewed a jump on a video that wiped out his hopes of a California state championship and attempting to break the national record of 26-10.
In basketball, the CIF-Southern Section opted to go along with the California state CIF in playoffs with a prestigious Open Division and Serra, having to play the best overall teams, was unable to achieve any titles.
Being moved down to Division IV, though, the Cavalier girls managed to advance to the Southern California Regional finals, losing to Chatsworth Sierra Canyon. Much of the tribute to the defeat was key players being injured. A year earlier, the Lady Cavaliers were state Division IV champions.
Torrance’s baseball team captured its first CIF-Southern Section crown with an 11-0 Division IV final win over Pioneer League foe and cross town rival South Torrance at UC Riverside.
Carson’s boys’ and girls’ track and field teams swept the CIF-L.A. City championships last spring at Birmingham High in Lake Balboa.
In the recent football season, Narbonne returned to the City Division I title with by defeating rival Carson on Dec. 6 at the Coliesum.
South Torrance High’s girls’ volleyball team won the CIF-Southern Section Division IIAA and Southern California Regional championships with three-game sweeps of Sun Valley Village Christian, but they lost in four games to San Jose Archbishop Mitty in the state championship on Dec. 6 at Santiago Canyon College in Orange.
Gardena struggled in most sports but had a Marine League individual title by junior Cristhian Macias on Nov. 6 at Peck Park. Macias had his fastest time of 16:04 in the three-mile course as he finished third in the CIF-L.A. City Division II finals on Nov. 22 at Pierce College in Woodland Hills. As a team, the Panthers were sixth in Division II and second, behind power San Pedro, in league.
El Camino College’s football team had a home away from home at Redondo High as its Murdock Stadium was demolished in January and the new one is in its early stage of being built. The Warriors ended with a disappointing 3-7 record.
The Warriors were highlighted by their boys’ soccer team winning the South Coast Conference. They were seeded third in the Southern California playoffs but were upset by Chula Vista Southwestern in the first round.
El Camino’s women’s volleyball team also won the conference but fell in the Southern California Regional final to Irvine Valley in four games.
