Local Basketball Squads Fare Well

Amir Soofi
Mirror contributing writer

   Santa Monica High School Men’s Basketball has won three in a row. The latest victory came at home against Morningside, 74-37. The Vikings had several runs of ten or more points. Santa Monica’s top scorer, Brett DeAngelis, had 20 points. Earlier in the week, the Vikings sent Peninsula home with a 58-49 loss. Panthers’ Kevin Gardner has 19 points, but DeAngelis had 21, and the fourth quarter proved too much for an exhausted Panthers team. DeAngelis also had 23 points in the Vikings’ 62-54 victory over Leuzinger. DeAngelis has scored 20 or more points for three consecutive games.
   The Bay League standings are Redondo 12-0 in league, 18-5 total; Inglewood 9-3, 19-5; Peninsula 7-5, 16-9; Santa Monica 7-5, 13-11; Mira Costa 7-5, 13-11; North Torrance 4-8, 12-12; Leuzinger 2-10, 7-17; and Morningside 0-12, 3-21.
   With a three-way tie for third place, two weeks left in the regular season, and four teams guaranteed to advance to the postseason, Coach James Hecht and the Viking hoopsters are in the advantageous position of controlling their own destiny.
   St. Monica’s Men’s Basketball team continues to trail Verbum Dei in the Camino Real League, after falling to them 81-51, on Friday. Earlier in the week, St. Monica defeated Cantwell-Sacred Heart, 76-47. Brandon Cruz scored 22 points and Hampton Nunley earned another 17. St. Monica also defeated Bosco Tech, 55-43, with the help of Nunley’s 17 points, as well as Cruz and Kyle Guillary adding another 15. The league standings are Verbum Dei 8-0, 21-3; St. Monica 6-2, 11-12; Bosco Tech 5-3, 14-7; Mary Star of the Sea 4-4, 9-14; Cantwell-Sacred Heart 1-7, 6-16; and St. Anthony 0-8, 3-15.
   The Crossroads Men’s Basketball team has yet to lose a league game. The Roadrunner men seem poised for another league championship. Friday night, Crossroads defeated Montclair Prep in overtime 74-70, after Joe Abrahams and Robert Locke each had 24 points. Abrahams hit two key free throws at the end of overtime to guarantee the victory for the Roadrunners. On Saturday, Crossroads defeated Chadwick, 64-55, in non-league action, despite Matt Fournier’s 26 points for Chadwick. Locke had 21 points for the Roadrunners.
   Brentwood’s Men’s Basketball team can also advance to the CIF tournament if it holds steady at fourth. It fell to Pacific Hills in a close, 61-59 game on Saturday but defeated Whitney, 61-35. The Delphic League standings are Crossroads 8-0, 16-5; Montclair Prep 6-2, 11-11; Brentwood 4-4, 18-6; Campbell Hall 3-5, 10-13; Pacific Hills 3-5, 12-12; and Whitney 0-8, 9-13.
   The Roadrunner’s toughest obstacles will come in the postseason, as the CIF coach’s poll puts them sixth in Division 4-AA. The poll favored El Segundo, followed by Harvard-Westlake, Chaminade, Rosamond, and La Salle. Brentwood came in ninth.
   Santa Monica High School’s Women’s Basketball team’s second-to-last place standing in the league does not accurately reflect how the team has been playing all season. Lacking depth on the bench, head coach David Braff has had to improvise too many times with positioning players. Morningside, which is second in the league, beat Santa Monica, 67-40, on Friday. The Bay League standings are Redondo 9-0, 14-6; Morningside 7-2, 15-6; North Torrance 7-2, 16-5; Peninsula 4-5, 11-11; Leuzinger 4-5, 9-9; Mira Costa 3-6, 7-10; Santa Monica 2-7, 7-12; and Inglewood 0-9, 0-15. The Viking Lady hoopsters will prove worthy opponents in two seasons under Braff.
   While Santa Monica churns to develop its program, across town, two rival private schools are league leaders. Both St. Monica’s and Brentwood’s Women’s Basketball are leading their respective leagues.
   St. Monica clinched the Camino Real League title after beating St. Anthony, 41-32, on Saturday, with Kalia Williams’ 14 points and six rebounds. On Thursday, St. Monica defeated Serra, 40-37, as Jehanne Low racked up 16 boards. Low also had nine points. Taylor Hunt had an impressive six steals in the victory against Mary Star, 53-50. This has been an incredible season for the Mariners.
   The Camino Real League standings are St. Monica 7-0, 13-7; Bellarmine-Jefferson 5-3, 16-4; Cantwell-Sacred Heart 5-3, 14-5; Serra 4-4, 9-13; St. Anthony 2-5, 6-16; St. Matthias 2-6, 8-14; and Mary Star of the Sea 2-6, 10-10.
   Brentwood demolished Pacific Hills, 60-30, on Saturday, with 20 points by Noel Heard. This was following a 76-38 stomp over Whitney, with Tanya Tsikanovsky’s 18 points.
   The Delphic League standings are Brentwood 7-0, 20-1; Montclair Prep 3-2, 11-5; Pacific Hills 3-3, 13-7; Whitney 3-4, 10-9; Crossroads 3-4, 10-10; and Campbell Hall 0-6, 5-12. Crossroad’s Women’s Basketball team is not out of the picture however, since only one game separates second from second-to-last in the Delphic League.

   Correction
   Our apologies to Eshaya Murphy, who is not on the Roadrunner men’s squad but is a very talented 5’11” female junior forward at Van Nuys Montclair Prep, who recently had 45 points and 32 rebounds against the Crossroads’ women.