Costa, Redondo feel second round woes on the court

The four basketball teams from Mira Costa and Redondo hit a road block in the second round of the playoffs last weekend as they saw their seasons come to and end – but not with a fight.

The road block Redondo’s boys came up against was more like a brick wall. Mission Viejo capitalized on 6-foot-10 center Isaac Nelson’s 17 points, 22 rebounds and 12 blocked shots to eliminate Redondo 53-45 in the CIF Southern Section/Ford Division 1AA Championships.

Despite shooting only 28.8% from the floor (19-of-66), the scrappy Sea Hawks gave the second-seeded Diablos all they could handle, mounting a fourth-quarter rally where Coach Tom Maier’s eleventh-seeded squad scored 20 of its 45 points.

Down 33-23 after three periods, Redondo scored the first eight points in the final frame to remain in contention and Brian Frew’s tip in with 18.8 seconds left in regulation sent the game into overtime. The Sea Hawks could not carry the momentum into the extra period, however, with their only score coming on a Martyre Demarco layup with 33.5 seconds left.

Demarco led Redondo with 15 points, Brandon Boyd recorded 10 points, three steals and two blocks and Jacquise Bates added eight points for the Sea Hawks who finished with a 21-9 record.

Redondo traveled to face No. 16 Katella in the first round of the Division 2AA playoffs where the Sea Hawk’s balanced attack provided the team with a 59-52 win. Demarco scored a team-high 15 points, Mwelu Mataya recorded 13 points and 15 rebounds, Boyd added 11 points and seven rebounds and Frew contributed 10 points and six rebounds.

Mission Viejo (29-1) defeated No. 10 Colony 71-54 before eliminating No. 6 Summit 73-68 in overtime in the semifinals Friday, advancing to face top-seeded Ventura (28-2) in the championship game.

A tipped pass prevented Mira Costa (9-17) from extending its season after a 3-point basket with 19 seconds left gave Royal (19-10) a 55-54 lead in the second round of the Division 2A playoffs. Royal’s presumption that Mira Costa would try to get the ball to its shooting star Elliott Ozer paid off. The Highlander’s deflection of Tom Farrell’s inbound pass to Ozer prevented the Mustangs from getting a shot off before time ran out on the game, Mira Costa’s season and possibly Henry Myar’s position as head coach.

Myar agreed to coach throughout the remainder of the season after sitting out Mira Costa’s Bay League home opener against Redondo because of “lack of communication.” Myar said no date has been set but expects to meet with school officials to discuss the future of the boys basketball program.

Ozer scored a team-high 16 points, Thomas Johnson turned in a solid performance with 15 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks before fouling out with 3:10 left and Cole Feaster added 14 points for the Mustangs.

“I am very proud of the boys,” Myar said. “I guess they saved their best for last.”

Mira Costa had earned an at-large berth and pulled off a 62-54 upset over No. 6 San Bernardino in the opening round behind Ozer’s 25 points and five rebounds.

Feaster added 12 points, Johnson recorded 11 points and four rebounds and Karl Acres had 10 points and eight rebounds for the Mustangs.

Bay League champion Peninsula (27-1), the top seed in Division 2A, extended its winning streak to 26 games with a 60-47 win at No. 9 Segerstrom Tuesday. The Panthers defeated No. 16 Rowland 59-49 last Friday after trouncing Troy 62-28 in the opening round.

Peninsula advanced to face fifth-seeded Mayfair in the semifinals Friday but saw its season come to an end with a 61-59 road loss.

Palos Verdes (3-7, 17-12) beat Estancia 52-42 in its opening-round game but fell to No. 6 Bishop Amat 71-59 on Friday.

Leuzinger dropped a 71-62 game at No. 13 Chino Hills in the first round of the Division 1AA playoffs and West (4-6, 12-15) traveled to face La Canada (24-3) in the first round of Division 3AA action but lost to the third-seed 55-47.

 In Division 3AA, Del Rey champion Bishop Montgomery (20-7) earned a sixth seed and defeated Tustin 64-34 before beating Culver City 67-41 last Friday. The Knights saw their season come to an end Tuesday, falling at third-seeded La Canada 72-69 in double overtime.

Pioneer champion North Torrance (19-8) was seeded eighth and ran over visiting La Mirada 85-51 Wednesday. The Saxons then lost to ninth-seeded La Habra 63-57 in the second round.

In Division 3A, Ocean League champion Inglewood (23-5) is seeded third and has defeated Lawndale (10-17) 65-36, San Juan Hill 56-43, Pacifica 71-44 and second-seeded Crespi 42-40.  The Sentinels will face top-seeded Harvard-Westlake (26-4) for the championship title.

South Torrance (12-15) fell to No. 9 Cerritos 78-59 and Torrance (11-17) lost at No. 10 Rio Mesa 64-57 in their opening round games.

Pioneer runner-up El Segundo (20-11) earned the seventh seed in Division 4AA and defeated Lompoc 88-53 and No. 9 Servite 74-56. The Eagles had their post-season run end with an 86-54 loss at second-seeded Windward (21-7) in the quarterfinals Tuesday.

With a third-place finish in the Prep League, Chadwick (13-10) qualified for the post season and knocked off No. 14 Bellarmine-Jefferson 58-56. The Dolphins lost heartbreaker to third-seeded Montclair Prep 58-56 in the second round. 

Girls Basketball

Eleventh-seeded Redondo (10-0, 21-9) saw its 12-game winning streak come to an end with a 45-42 loss to sixth-seeded Etiwanda in the second round of the Division 1AA playoffs.

After an undefeated Bay League season, the Sea Hawks downed Millikan 56-44 in the opening round and their defense kept them in the game against Etiwanda, holding the Eagles to their second lowest point total this season.

Etiwanda is averaging 67.4 points per game and its four 3-pointers proved the difference in the win.

Michelle Lowery recorded 14 points and nine rebounds, Ashiana Antar had 11 points, seven rebounds and three steals, Shayna Stuart scored six points, Riki Murakami added five points and Rachel Scarlett had four points and five rebounds for Redondo.

In the opening round, Redondo christened its new gym with the Sea Hawk’s first playoff win in three years, using the strength of the team – its defense – to force 26 turnovers.

With its balanced offense, Redondo overcame a 10-point first-quarter deficit. Annie Park scored a team-high 15 points, Murakami added 10 and Antar, Lowery and Stuart each tallied eight points. Lowery also grabbed six rebounds and had four steals.

Bay League runner-up Mira Costa (8-2, 19-10) had the dubious task of hosting Brea Olinda, the top-seeded team in Division 1AA and the No. 1 team in the nation in the maxpreps.com rankings.

Coach Craig Takahashi’s Mustangs gave Brea Olinda (27-0) a fight to the finish, earning the respect from the powerhouse team. With a 9-2 run, Mira Costa closed the gap to a two-possession game with 6:23 left cutting the lead to 49-44. But Brea Olinda scored seven unanswered points to pull away and left Fisher Gym with a 76-53 victory, advancing to host No. 9 Santiago/Corona (27-2) in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Kylie Nakamine scored a team-high 19 points, Joelle Herron recorded 14 points and seven rebounds, Ashley Reese and Jenna Stephanoff each scored six points and Shaylyn Austin added five points for Mira Costa who hit four 3-pointers in the contest.

Takahashi praised his team after completing his first year as head coach of the Mustangs.

“I’m very proud of this team because from the start of the season no one thought we would be any good,” Takahashi said. “People were saying we would go 5-5 in league and that we would have a very tough year. The girls bonded well together and they all believed in each other. That was the key to our success. We played some very tough teams this season including Troy, Bishop Montgomery, Agoura, St. Bernard, and Redondo. But, by far, Brea is in a class itself. They have a legendary coach (Jeff Sink) that is the guru of girls basketball and has a very gifted team. It’s really hard to prepare for them because they have no weakness.”  

Mira Costa began the playoffs by eliminating Moore League runner-up Long Beach Jordan 56-51. Herron led the way scoring 21 points, Nakamine had 14 points and six assists and Reese added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Mustangs.

Nakamine, the nation’s most accurate free throw shooter at just below 94%, was perfect on all seven of her attempts.

“What can you say about Kylie but ‘Wow,’” Takahashi exclaimed. “She has started every game for Mira Costa from her freshman year to her senior year. Her four year high school career is basically a dream come true. She was on the 2008 team that set a CIF record by playing in five overtime state playoff games, winning the first four before losing in the state final. 

“Her freshman year we tied Redondo for the Bay League championship for our first league championship. Then her sophomore year she won Bay League outright with a 10-0 record and her junior year she won it again going 10-0. She leaves Mira Costa with 91-33 overall record and a 37-3 Bay League record. That’s an impressive record and what a way to cap off a great high school career by shooting 169-181 from the free throw line and leading the nation with a 93.3% average. It was fun to be a part of it. But to top the cake, Kylie shooting 18-18 in a game and tying a CIF record with Candice Wiggins was amazing.”

In other action, West (5-5, 20-11) earned a No. 8 seed in Division 3AA.  The Warriors annihilated Santiago/Garden Grove 76-17 in the opening round but fell to cross-town rival Torrance 69-66 in double overtime.

Torrance (16-10), the co-champion in the Pioneer League, was ranked No. 9 and was no match for top-seeded St. Joseph (26-5), losing to the Knights 75-39 in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

Peninsula (2-8, 13-16) was seeded 14th in the same division and dismantled Mission Valley champion Rosemead 59-18 before losing to fourth-seeded Arroyo Grande 75-58 in the second round.

North Torrance (20-8) had little trouble beating Norwalk 56-12 and but found a tougher test in the second round. The Saxons lost at No. 6 Diamond Ranch (17-10) 55-43 on Saturday.

Serra (26-5) is seeded second in Division 3AA and beat Claremont 76-27, No. 15 Gahr 64-54 and No. 7 Muir to advance to the semifinals where the Cavaliers knocked off sixth-seeded Diamond Ranch 82-70 in overtime on Saturday. Serra plays top-seeded St. Joseph/Santa Maria (27-5) for the division championship

South Torrance (12-16) earned an at-large bid but fell to Camarillo 57-39.

Despite its fourth-place finish in the Bay League, Palos Verdes (15-15) was seeded 7th in Division 3A and defeated Hesperia 53-27 and No. 10 Citrus Hill 54-50. The Sea Kings were beaten by second-seeded Bonita (28-2) in the quarterfinals. Bonita eliminated Bishop Amat, advancing to face Lutheran/Orange (24-6) in the finals.

In Division 4AA, Bishop Montgomery (22-9) earned a second seed and a first round bye. The Knights had little trouble beating La Canada 70-31 in the second round and No. 10 LA Baptist 69-44. Bishop Montgomery took down third-seeded Chaminade 58-56 in the semifinals Saturday and will face top-ranked Windward (24-4) for the title.

Lawndale (9-16) gained an at-large bid from the Pioneer League and upset No. 14 Ocean View 55-54 for its first playoff victory in girls basketball since the reopening of the school. Lawndale proved no match for third-seeded Chaminade, falling to the Eagles 58-20 in the second round.

Despite winning only once in Pioneer League play, El Segundo (11-17) earned an at-large bid in Division 4A but lost at No. 5 Duarte 64-41 in the first round.

In Division 5A, second-seeded Chadwick (21-8)  defeated No. 10 Saddleback Valley Christian 44-20 and third-seeded Bishop Diego 37-26. The Dolphins will face top-seeded Poly/Pasadena (25-2) for the championship. ER