A recap of Friday’s action in the CIF Southern Section boys basketball playoffs, including the scores from the second-round games.
DIVISION 1
Damien 62, Colony 49 >> Spartans sophomore Nate Garcia scored a game-high 29 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in the victory. Damien (26-4) advances to the quarterfinals and will be on the road Tuesday against Mira Costa.
After leading by five points at halftime, the Spartans ran nearly everything through Garcia in the second half. The 6-foot-11 center scored the first 11 points of the third quarter and scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter.
He made every field goal for the Spartans in the final period. Garcia scored 22 of his 29 in the second half.
“I know they can’t stop me and our offense runs through me,” Garcia said. “We had to run something, so we got the ball to me and we won.”
Garcia didn’t play much as a freshman, but he has evolved over the season and the Spartans have come to rely on him.
“He works so hard and improved so much,” Damien coach Mike LeDuc said. “It’s kind of what we have come to expect from him and he knows it. He’s a strong young man and he’s able to handle it.”
Damien’s Xavier Clinton nailed four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points.
– Fred Robledo
DIVISION 3AA
La Serna 60, Corona del Mar 48 >> For the second time in four years, La Serna is headed to the quarterfinals.
Strong defense led to many turnovers by the Sea Kings (17-12), as the Lancers took advantage and went on multiple small scoring runs.
The third-seeded Lancers (25-5) will travel to Hillcrest of Riverside for the quarterfinals Tuesday.
Lancers junior guard Gabriel Lewis had a game-high 18 points.
“We feel like we can do anything, honestly,” Lewis said. “We believe we can make it. With a team full of seniors, I’m trying to find my role and all of those turnovers helped us in the end.”
Senior guards Xavier Ortiz (13 points) and Daniel Angulo (11 points) also scored in double figures.
– John Sherrard
DIVISION 4AA
Flintridge Prep 72, Wilson 44 >> The Wolves advanced to Tuesday’s quarterfinals, where they will be home against St. Bonaventure.
“I think we’ve done a really good job of coming out with urgency in the second half,” Flintridge Prep coach Robert Cartwright said. “We’ve done a good job early in the second, especially when the games are close. That goes to how well they understand the importance of the first four minutes of the second half.”
Flintridge Prep took a seven-point halftime lead and turned it into a 17-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Forwards Geoffrey Stetson and Andrew Jordan were the main catalysts in the Wolves’ pivotal third quarter. They finished with nine and 16 points, respectively.
Flintridge Prep led 51-34 heading into the final quarter.
Center Henry Morrison added 11 points and Theo Kuo scored 10 points off the bench.
“Our length is an advantage,” Cartwright said. “When we play smaller teams, we have to continue to pound inside and thankfully we did that tonight.”
– Jorge Ramos
Esperanza 59, Keppel 52 >> A big scoring surge in the second quarter followed by clutch 3-point shooting in the fourth quarter pushed Esperanza past Keppel in the second round of the Division 4AA playoffs.
Esperanza held Keppel to only three points in the second period and that came via a Kyle Tam 3-pointer with just 58 seconds remaining before halftime to cut the Esperanza lead to nine.
“Esperanza is solid,” said Keppel coach Hung Duong. “We saw them on film and knew we had our work cut out for ourselves. They run their stuff really well. They’re strong and really well-conditioned. I think today, conditioning-wise, we just didn’t have enough.”
– Donald Morrison
FRIDAY’S SCORES
Second round
DIVISION 1
St. Paul 70, Los Alamitos 65
Damien 62, Colony 49
DIVISION 2A
AGBU/CP 51, Diamond Bar 40
Walnut 61, Palos Verdes 54
Sonora 74, Agoura 59
DIVISION 3AA
Maranatha 59, Palm Springs 42
La Serna 60, Corona del Mar 48
DIVISION 3A
San Dimas 62, Woodbridge 55
Schurr 47, Inglewood 45
DIVISION 4AA
Gabrielino 62, Santa Barbara 59
Esperanza 59, Keppel 52
Flintridge Prep 72, Wilson 44
DIVISION 4A
Pacifica Christian 77, Sierra Vista 63
DIVISION 5AA
Bosco Tech 85, Temecula Prep 43
DIVISION 5A
Blair 85, Oak Grove 24
TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE
Quarterfinals
DIVISION 1
Etiwanda at St. Paul
Damien at Mira Costa
DIVISION 2A
Walnut vs. La Mirada/Shalhavet winner
Sonora at Pacifica Christian
DIVISION 3AA
Buena at Maranatha
La Serna at Hillcrest
San Dimas vs. Bonita/Paraclete winner
Schurr at Ontario Christian
DIVISION 4A
Valencia at Gabrielino
St. Bonaventure at Flintridge Prep
DIVISION 5AA
Hillcrest Christian at Bosco Tech
DIVISION 5A
Blair at Hesperia Christian
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