Taft attempting to prove its mettle in Florida

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While most Southern California basketball teams were either relaxing at home this afternoon or beginning to prepare for games later in the evening, Taft took its show on the road Wednesday and was out on the court early, handling business, three time zones away, no less.

Justin Hawkins scored 20 points and Larry Drew finished with 12 points for the Toreadors, who defeated Charlotte from Florida, 77-40, in a first-round game of one of the most prestigious tournaments in the nation, the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla. So much for jet lag.

‘If you’re somebody, you go out and play in events like this,’’ Taft Coach Derrick Taylor said via cell phone from the locker room after the game. ‘We want to see what type of team we are and one way of finding out is experiencing things like this, on the other side of the country. This is big time.’’

The Toreadors, No.3 in The Times’ preseason rankings, advance to Thursday’s quarterfinals against Holy Cross (NY.). The winner moves on to the semifinals Friday. Beyond that, a possible berth in the championship game Saturday at 5:45 p.m. PST looms. Apparently, there’sno rest for the weary, road weary, that is.

-- Sean Ceglinsky