Prep Notebook : St. Bernard Says ‘Who Needs It’ to the Three-Point Shot

While other teams were bombing away, St. Bernard took a more conservative approach to the newly implemented three-point shot last week in the Pacific Shores Basketball Tournament.

The Vikings showed considerable restraint by attempting only one shot from beyond the 19-foot, 9-inch arc in four games. Forward Juno Armstrong made it, giving St. Bernard what was probably the only 100% three-point shooting performance in the tournament.

Coach Jim McClune says he doesn’t forbid his players taking three-pointers. Of course, after St. Bernard went 4-0 to win the Pacific Shores title, he feels his offense can survive without it.

“I wasn’t a fan of the (three-point) rule, but I’m not against taking the shot if a player is open and there’s a good percentage of making it,” he said.

St. Bernard, which shot 57% from the field, got most of its points by working the ball inside for high-percentage shots. The Vikings also created many layups by forcing turnovers off of its full-court press.

They were successful with that style of play, but the three-point shot almost stopped them in the second round of the tournament. West Torrance made seven three-pointers in an 82-80 loss.

“We certainly saw enough of (the three-point shot),” McClune said. “West Torrance probably gained a world of confidence against us.”

Morningside, a team dominated by juniors and sophomores, didn’t let youth stand in the way of winning the St. Monica Basketball Tournament last week. The Monarchs defeated Venice, Fremont and St. Monica.

Senior swing man Marvin Franklin averaged 20 points a game and was named most valuable player. Senior forward Kevin Lilley averaged 23 points and gave the Monarchs an 88-87 win over St. Monica in the finals by hitting a basket and a free throw with 12 seconds left in overtime. He was named all-tournament.

Co-Coach Ron Randle said a key factor in Morningside’s success was the play of sophomore point guard Don Sanders, who averaged seven assists.

“He did a great job as far as floor leading goes,” Randle said. “He’s not a scorer yet, but he handled Fremont’s press. They put extreme pressure on us.”

Morningside plays host to cross-town rival Inglewood on Friday night. The Sentinels, who placed fourth in the Pacific Shores Tournament, are led by senior point guard Bobby Sears and forward Harold Miner, an explosive 6-4 junior. Miner scored 39 points in Inglewood’s 63-62 double-overtime loss to Carson in the third-place game.

“(Miner) could start on anybody’s team,” Randle said.

Banning’s 17-14 loss to Reseda Cleveland last week may have been a surprise to some but not to Carson football Coach Gene Vollnogle.

“It wasn’t news to me,” he said. “I expected it, really. I didn’t think they’d beat Cleveland.”

Carson and Banning had met in the last four L. A. City 4-A championship games. This marks only the second time in 10 years the rivals will not play each other in the playoffs.

“It does seem different,” said Vollnogle, whose team plays San Fernando in the 4-A semifinals at 7:30 Friday night at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach.

Before Friday, Banning had not lost to a San Fernando Valley school since 1978 when John Elway led Granada Hills over the Pilots, 24-14.

James Moses of Serra is averaging 44 points after two games. The 6-6 senior scored 37 in a second-round loss to Warren last week in the Laguna Beach Basketball Tournament and scored 51 on 18-for-30 shooting Saturday in a 92-82 consolation win over Katella.

“James has been working hard on his inside game,” said Serra Coach George McDaniel. “The biggest improvement has been in his attitude and in passing the ball. And his defense has improved.”

Asked how many points Moses will average this season, McDaniel replied: “I believe James will be around 35.”

Moses and the Cavaliers will go against Crenshaw, the No. 1 team in the state, Friday night at Crenshaw before returning home Saturday night against Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks.

David Scudamore and Ashley Black of Palos Verdes placed sixth and eighth, respectively, in their races at the Kinney Western Regionals to earn berths in the Kinney Cross-Country Nationals on Saturday at Balboa Park in San Diego.

Scudamore will be making his second trip to the Kinney Nationals after posting a time of 15 minutes, 17 seconds on the hilly 5,000-meter regional course Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno.

Black, a junior, ran 17:45 at the regionals, bettering her time in the state meet by 21 seconds. Black led the Palos Verdes girls to the state title.

A total of 32 boys and 32 girls will compete in the Kinney Nationals, with eight qualifiers from each of the four regional meets making up the field of finalists. The girls race will begin at 10 a.m., the boys race at 10:45. Both races are 5,000 meters.

PREP NOTES--Three South Bay water polo players have earned All-CIF honors. Miraleste’s Steve Barber was named to the 2-A Division first team while teammate Steve Kan made the third team. John Kim of Mira Costa was named to the 3-A second team. . . . Senior setter Karen Greiner of Mira Costa was selected to the All-CIF 5-A first team in girls volleyball. Kristen Reitz of Chadwick was named to the Small Schools second team. . . . The finals of the El Segundo Kiwanis and Miraleste Hilltop basketball tournaments will be played at 7:30 Friday night. . . . Morningside and Palos Verdes will compete in the ninth annual Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions, considered one of the nation’s top girls basketball tournaments, starting Dec. 19 at Santa Barbara High. The 13-team field includes eight schools ranked in CIF-Southern Section preseason polls, plus three highly regarded out-of-state entries.