By Joe Snyder
After head coach Bernard McCrumby stepped down as Serra High’s boys’ basketball coach last spring, the Cavaliers found themselves in a coaching turmoil, along with losing three key starters who transferred to other schools.
In June, Serra hired a successful head mentor in Derrick Taylor but, shortly, he decided not to take the job and it was DeJohn Frazier that finally replaced him.
The Cavaliers finished preseason play at 8-4 after downing Compton 88-73 last Thursday at Serra but, on Friday, Serra began the always rigorous Del Rey League at home against Santa Monica St. Monica and found the Mariners too much in a 68-29 blowout loss.
Serra began the game promising and led 19-18 with about three minutes left before halftime but, from there, the Cavaliers went cold while a more physical St. Monica squad got hot in reeling off 20 unanswered points and by the end of the third quarter, the Mariners outscored Serra 35-2 in the run for a 53-21 lead. By the end of the game, St. Monica ended the contest on a 50-10 run to win by 39 points. In the stretch, the Mariners used an effective full-court press and half-court trap that overwhelmed the Cavaliers.
Serra, which is now 8-6 overall and 0-1 in league, had no players score in double figures as Jerren Graham led the Cavaliers with eight points. Nathan Altenberg added six points, all on two three-point baskets, and Raheen Campbell chipped in five. Serra’s leading scorer, Chinemeren Ayikua, was held to just four points. He scored 25 in the Cavaliers’ win over Compton a day earlier.
Micah Williams led St. Monica with 18 points.
A day later in the Inglewood Real Run Showcase at Inglewood High, Serra lost to Verbum Dei-Jesuit from southeast Los Angeles 55-37.
After hosting Bernstein High from Hollywood in a non-league game on Tuesday, the Cavaliers resumed league at home against St. Paul from Santa Fe Springs on Wednesday before visiting St. Anthony in Long Beach Friday at 7 p.m. Serra is at home against rival Playa del Rey St. Bernard, coached by McCrumby, on Monday before visiting Bishop Montgomery in Torrance next Wednesday. Both Del Rey games start at 7 p.m.
In the championship final of the South Pasadena Tournament on Dec. 30, the Cavaliers lost to John Muir High from Pasadena 54-44.
North Torrance finished third in the South Pasadena Tournament by routing South L.A. Manual Arts 68-42 on Dec. 30.
The Saxons, who are 10-8 overall, won a showcase game over eventual champion Muir before rolling over one-time CIF-L.A. City Section power Crenshaw 67-38 on Dec. 27. The Cougars, under successful long-time head coach Willie West, were one of the top boys’ basketball powers in the United States during the 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s but, since then, fell into lean times and, recently, the school enrollment declined as many students are opting for private and charter schools. A day later, the Saxons fell short of Glendale 56-53.
In a Jesse Parker Showcase non-league game last Thursday at Eastside High in Lancaster, North defeated Palmdale Highland 54-37. Against Highland, point guard Kole Tanaka dished out 16 assists to go with his seven points. Tanaka is averaging more than seven assists per game, according to North head coach Wia Sett. Giovanni Gapia, who became eligible after Christmas in the South Pasadena Tournament, is averaging 12 points per game. Gapia transferred to North from Clovis North High.
The Saxons began the Pioneer League at home against cross town rival South Torrance last Tuesday and host West Torrance on Friday. North visits El Segundo next Tuesday. All league games start at 7 p.m.
Gardena finished the San Fernando Classic at 2-2 at Kennedy High in Granada Hills. On Dec. 30, the Panthers lost to Venice 52-43. Last Thursday, Gardena bounced back with a 49-29 win over West L.A. University before losing to Arleta 69-47 on Friday. The Panthers closed out the tournament by routing Sepulveda Monroe 67-36.
The Panthers began the Marine League at Carson, last season’s CIF-L.A. City Section Division III champion, on Wednesday. Gardena will host Narbonne Friday at 6 p.m., then, visit San Pedro next Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. Last season, the Pirates were CIF-L.A. City Section Division I runner-up to Washington.
According to head coach Ernie Carr, only two of the six league teams are above .500 in Carson and San Pedro, so he hopes the Panthers can contend for another Marine title. Gardena is currently 7-10.
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GHS girl hoopsters second in Bernstein Classic
After a poor start, Gardena High’s girls’ basketball team is showing signs of improvement with a second-place finish in the Bernstein Classic last week in Hollywood.
Last Thursday, the Lady Panthers outlasted Marymount High from Bel Air 38-35 before an impressive 32-29 win over defending two-time Marine League champion San Pedro on Friday. In the championship game on Saturday, Gardena fell to Santa Cruz High from Northern California 49-26.
The Lady Panthers began the Marine League at home against Carson on Wednesday before visiting Narbonne for a 4:30 p.m. game Friday. Gardena hosts San Pedro next Wednesday at the same time.
Serra is 6-8 overall and 2-0 in the Camino Real League after losing two of three in the Southern California Invitational last week at Cathedral Catholic High in San Diego.
The Lady Cavaliers began the classic with a 51-40 win over Chapparal High from Temecula on Dec. 26 before losing the next three to Oceanside Rancho Buena Vista 60-36 on Dec. 27 and Heritage 38-35 on Dec. 28.
Serra resumed the Camino Real League at Ramona Convent in Alhambra on Tuesday before coming home to face St. Joseph High from Lakewood next Tuesday at 7 p.m.
North Torrance has not played since defeating cross town rival South Torrance 53-29 on Dec. 21 as it began the tough Bay League at home against probable favorite Mira Costa from Manhattan Beach last Tuesday. The Lady Saxons host rival West Torrance on Friday at 5:30 p.m. before hosting a very good Brentwood team in non-league play Saturday at 4:30 p.m. North will visit another Bay power, Redondo, next Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
Sports Scoop
Dodgers, Galaxy highlight pros; CSUDH hoops still unbeaten
Los Angeles sports fans will have something to be proud of from this past year.
It was certainly a great fall as the Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball team finally broke through with their eighth ever World Series title, including second in the past five seasons, followed, about a month later, by the Los Angeles Galaxy capturing their sixth Major League Soccer crown but the first in 10 years.
For the Dodgers, their World Series crown came against probably their top World Series rival in the New York Yankees. They would win it in five games by rallying from a 5-0 deficit to edge the host Yankees 7-6 on Oct. 30. Freddie Freeman had an amazing playoff run as he hit five home runs including in four straight games starting with the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets and the first three games against the Yankees, including a walk-off grand slam in a thrilling 6-3 first game victory in 10 innings at Dodger Stadium.
The Dodgers also performed the incredible World Series title, due to an all-season rash of injuries that left them with as many as 18 players in the injured list and still had to play the playoffs without nine pitchers, including six starters. That included star pitchers Clayton Kershaw and Tony Gonsolin.
After the World Series, the Dodgers added new players including former San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants star Blake Snell. They have several other new stars as they seek their first back-to-back World Series crown in franchise history. Missed, though, will be the reliable Walker Buehler, who was lost in the free agency to the Boston Red Sox.
The Dodgers began by rallying from a 2-1 games deficit to top their rival San Diego Padres before defeating the Mets in five games.
Then there were the L.A. Galaxy. The Galaxy topped the New York Red Bulls 2-1 for the Major League Soccer crown early last month at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.
Also, the L.A. Clippers National Basketball Association team moved into their new arena, the high-tech Intuit Dome in Inglewood. They are doing well, so far, seeking possibly their first NBA crown.
Former Serra High boys’ basketball standout Jeremy Dent Smith came in and already is enjoying a successful stint with the Cal State Dominguez Hills men’s basketball team. He led them into the NCAA Division II playoffs where the Toros fell to Central Washington 110-90 in the first round on March 15 at Cal State Los Angeles but, so far, this season CSDH is 6-0 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association after topping conference power and host Cal State San Bernardino 65-62 last Saturday.
Dent-Smith led the Toros with 24 points.
Among those wins was already sweeping conference rival and last season’s CCAA Tournament champion Cal State L.A. by scores of 83-70 on Nov. 21 at CSLA and 75-67 on Dec. 21 in Carson.
Cal State Dominguez will visit Cal State San Marcos in North San Diego County today at 7:30 p.m. and Sonoma State Saturday at 3 p.m.
The Toros men’s soccer team advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs before being eliminated in the second round at home by rival Cal State L.A. 4-1.
El Camino College’s cross country and track and field programs saw an end of an era with the retirement of long-time head coach Dean Lofgren. Lofgren guided the Warriors to several South Coast Conference and even a pair of California state titles since taking the reign in the early 1990s.
The Warriors’ football team broke through by winning the National North Conference title, finishing at 6-1. ECC ended its season at 7-4 overall after losing in the Southern California Regional semifinals to host Mt. San Antonio College 48-24 on Nov. 22 in Walnut.
El Camino started well with a 17-7 first quarter lead only to see the more physical Mounties wear its players down.
Among ECC’s key wins were against other top programs, Bakersfield and Ventura.
