Boys’ basketball: ECR, Taft advance to semifinals of Beverly Hills tournament

Two rival teams from the West Valley League, El Camino Real and Taft, have advanced to the semifinals of the Beverly Hills tournament and will face off on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Brandon Russell scored 33 points on Wednesday night to lift El Camino Real (4-2) past Windward, 53-52. Jules Bernard scored 27 points for Windward.

Down by 12 points at halftime, Taft (5-1) rallied for a 48-39 win over Beverly Hills. Kihei Clark scored 14 points.

“We dont really care who we play right now,” Taft Coach Derrick Taylor said. “I dont think it’s the best scenario. It’s a scheduled game, so we’ll play it.”

The two schools are scheduled to play league games on Jan. 15 at El Camino Real and Feb. 3 at Taft. The other semifinal at 8 p.m. will match Orange Lutheran (7-0) against Washington. Orange Lutheran defeated St. Bernard, 67-62. KaVaughn Scott had 16 points. Washington defeated Loyola, 57-49.

Jacob Davison scored 36 points in Cantwell-Sacred Heart’s 73-56 consolation win over Gardena Serra.

In the University tournament, Bernstein advanced to Friday’s championship game after a 65-54 win over Los Angeles. Bernstein is 3-0 in the tournament. University defeated Marshall, 60-39. Jude Agbasi had 17 points and Adam Chaarawi added 16. St. Monica defeated View Park, 52-43.

Jonah Mathews had 24 points in Santa Monica’s 59-36 win over Palos Verdes. Chaminade defeated Santa Clara, 60-30. Freshman Makur Maker had 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Chad Holloway had 28 points in Grant’s 60-50 win over Reseda.

Freshman Jarod Lucas had 28 points in Los Altos’ 83-45 win over St. Paul.

Lincoln improved to 5-0 with a 47-37 win over Van Nuys. Fernando Venegas had 19 points.

Damien stayed unbeaten with a 70-30 win over Citrus Valley. Bryce Peters had 23 points.

Harvard-Westlake defeated Pacific Hills, 79-30. Cassius Stanley contributed 17 points.

In the Ventura tournament, Moorpark defeated Ventura, 54-47. David Rowlands had 15 points. Viewpoint defeated Royal, 65-43. Michael Okparaocha finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Both advance to the semifinals on Friday at Royal. Thousand Oaks defeated Camarillo, 61-59.

In the Sierra Canyon tournament, Sierra Canyon defeated Valencia, 77-21. Terrance McBride and Remy Martin each scored 14 points. La Canada defeated Granada Hills, 49-37. Calabasas defeated St. Genevieve, 67-59. Ryan Murphy had 21 points. Shacquille Dawkins scored 21 points in Alemany’s 56-38 win over Chatsworth. Brandon Davis added 18 points.

Rancho Mirage is 5-0 after a 75-16 win over Calexico.

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