Mira Costa and Redondo reached the third-place games in their respective Pacific Shores Tournaments, showing early signs of successful seasons.
In the eight-team Mira Costa Pacific Shores Tournament, the host Mustangs held off Rolling Hills Prep 49-43 to capture third place.
Mira Costa (3-1) suffered its only loss with an 80-62 defeat at the hands of eventual tournament champion Brentwood which beat Lawndale 76-65 in the title game Saturday evening.
Justin Strings led Mira Costa with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Kevin Kim added 13 points in the victory.
Mira Costa has two non-league home games before playing in the El Segundo Tournament Dec. 12-15.
Coach Jeff Amaral’s Mustangs host Cypress Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Torrance Friday with a scheduled tip-off of 7:30 p.m.
In the 12-team Redondo Pacific Shores Tournament, the host Sea Hawks fell to a tough Serra team 62-56 in the third-place game in the Gold Bracket on Saturday.
Redondo (2-2) fought back from an 11-point deficit in the third quarter to go up by five points in the fourth before succumbing to the Cavaliers in the highly-competitive tournament.
For the second straight game, Ian Fox was the leading scorer for the Sea Hawks. The junior point guard scored 19 points against Serra and 12 against nationally-ranked Long Beach Poly in the semifinals on Friday.
Derek Biale added 14 points against Serra and Chris Henderson and Darrien Touchstone each scored eight points.
Redondo defeated Mayfair and Locke in pool play to advance to the Gold Bracket.
Long Beach Poly, which is ranked No. 4 in the MaxPreps Excellent 25 national rankings, defeated Westchester 60-55 to win the Gold Bracket championship.
Redondo hits the road for two non-league contest before competing in the Las Vegas Tarkanian Classic Dec. 21-22.
The Sea Hawks will play at Gardena Friday at 7 p.m. and travel to face Cathedral Thursday, Dec. 17.
Girls basketball
In the Inglewood City of Champions Tournament, Redondo lost a 71-70 heartbreaker to Monroe in double overtime in bracket play of the Elite Division.
After Monroe hit a 3-pointer at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime, Redondo’s Tori Lee answered with the same heroics, nailing a trifecta at the buzzer to send the game into a second overtime.
Taylor Smith led Redondo (2-2) with 13 points; Lee added 11 points and Micaela Enriquez had 10 points for the Sea Hawks.
Mira Costa’s girls fell to Long Beach Wilson 48-32 in a Gold Bracket consolation game. Cameryn Chan led the Mustangs with 14 points.
Redondo is hosting the Battle at the Beach tournament this week. The Sea Hawks (3-3) defeated Santa Monica 64-20 in the first round Monday.
Inara Nyingifa led Redondo with 21 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks, and three steals. Bella Hall added 11 points, Smith scored eight points and Enriquez had seven points five rebounds and three assists.
In the quarterfinals, Redondo fell to a talented Serra team 67-47 despite Nyingifa’s 23-point, nine-rebound performance. Lee scored six points and Enriquez and Kourtney Noa each scored five points for the Sea Hawks.
Mira Costa (2-3) began action in the La Habra Tournament Monday with a 39-31 win over Wilson (Hacienda Heights). Camille Mills returned to the starting lineup from ankle and knee injuries and scored a team-high nine points for the Mustangs. Haley Tojo added seven points and Shannon Savino scored six points in the win.
After a loss to Thousand Oaks Tuesday Mira Costa defeated La Mirada 58-45 to wrap up pool play. Camille Mills scored a team-high 14 points and Keilani Ikehara added 10 points for the Mustangs.
Coach Amanda Biteler’s Mustangs will host South Torrance on Monday at 6 p.m. in a non-league contest.
