Boys’ basketball: Gardena Serra holds on for 3A title

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Gardena Serra held off Compton Centennial, 62-58, to win the Southern Section Division 3A title.

Marqise Lee scored on a layup with 27 seconds left to give Serra a 61-58 lead. Then Lee made a free throw with 15 seconds left to ice the victory.

Serra held a 57-50 advantage with 3:15 left, but Centennial rallied behind Kevin Smith and capitalized on missed free throws, with Keith Shamburger twice missing the front end of one-and-ones.

But Serra’s depth and balance proved decisive. Smith led Centennial with 23 points. Lee, a member of Serra’s 15-0 championship football team, had 13 points off the bench. Vaughn Autry led Serra with 14 points and Shamburger had 13. Jordan Mitchell added 10 points.

-- Eric Sondheimer