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Boys’ basketball: Artesia rallies past Bellflower

Los Angeles Times staff writer Ben Bolch
By Ben Bolch
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After a sloppy opening 10 minutes in which it fell behind by 14 points, host Artesia ratcheted up the defensive pressure and pulled away for a 69-37 Suburban League victory over Bellflower on Wednesday night.

The Pioneers used a 20-0 run starting late in the third quarter to transform a tenuous four-point lead into a runaway triumph. Senior guard Devin Tanter scored 15 points and senior guard Anthony Owens had 12 for Artesia, which improved to 10-10 overall and 4-3 in league play.

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Junior forward Jorge Espinola led Bellflower (6-15, 1-6) with 10 points.

Two years removed from a state title, Artesia still has some work to do to assure itself of a playoff berth. The Pioneers have a key sequence of games starting Monday against La Mirada and continuing Feb. 4 against Cerritos and Feb. 6 against Mayfair.

--Ben Bolch

Varsity Times Insider
Ben Bolch

Ben Bolch has been a Los Angeles Times staff writer since 1999. He is serving his second stint as the UCLA beat writer, which seems fitting since he has covered almost every sports beat except hockey and horse racing. Bolch is also the author of the recently released book “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.” He previously covered UCLA basketball from 2010-11 before going on to cover the NBA and the Clippers for five years. He happily traded in gobs of hotel points and airline miles to return to cover UCLA basketball and football in the summer of 2016. Bolch was once selected by NBA TV’s “The Starters” as the “Worst of the Week” after questioning their celebrity journalism-style questions at an NBA All-Star game and considers it one of his finer moments.

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