Prep Wrap-Up : Inglewood Basketball Coach Pleads for Order on the Court

Inglewood basketball Coach Vince Combs isn’t sure the referees are out to get him. But he suspects it.

Combs made his feelings known following the Sentinels’ 64-63 loss to Santa Monica in an important Ocean League game Friday night at Inglewood.

Santa Monica enjoyed a clear advantage at the free-throw line and also benefitted from a controversial call in the waning seconds that prevented Inglewood from tying the game.

Johnny Terrell, a junior guard for the Sentinels, made what Combs thought was a three-point shot. But the referees ruled it a two-pointer, giving Santa Monica the win and sending the league race into a four-way tie for first place between Inglewood, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills and Hawthorne.

“I haven’t seen the video yet, but the kid (Terrell) took the shot right in front of our bench,” Combs said. “Both his feet took off behind the (three-point) line. He was definitely behind when he released the ball.

“Both the referees were out of position to see that it was truly a three-pointer. The kids couldn’t believe it.”

Combs was equally upset with the disparity in free throws. Santa Monica made 18 of 37 foul shots, while Inglewood was 3 of 10. In Wednesday’s 78-70 win over Culver City, Inglewood went to the line 11 times while Culver City shot more than 30 free throws, according to Combs.

“I know that no one is perfect,” he said. “The refs aren’t perfect. But I’m beginning to wonder. Am I being punished for what happened five years ago?”

Combs was suspended from coaching for a year after striking a referee while he was the coach at Centennial in 1983. Combs accused the referee, who was also suspended for a year, of a derogatory racial remark.

Combs said his suspicions are not without substantiation. He said a referee who works at Inglewood as a security officer told him that his name came up during a referees’ meeting. Combs would not reveal the referee’s name.

“He told me there are refs who just can’t wait to get Vince Combs on the court,” Combs said. “Maybe it’s coming true. But damn, let’s just let the kids play. Whatever (the referees) think about me, that was five years ago.”

Inglewood (9-7 overall, 2-1 in league) has three consecutive road games, starting Wednesday at Mira Costa (3-11, 0-3). The Sentinels then play crucial league games at Beverly Hills (16-2, 2-1) on Friday and Hawthorne (8-6, 2-1) on Jan. 29.

Combs hopes the disheartening loss to Santa Monica doesn’t hurt his team, which had a four-game winning streak snapped.

“All we want is a fair shot,” he said. “If this trend continues, I would feel strongly that there is something going on.

“I don’t want to kill myself with the officials, but I’m going to defend my team. I look for anything legally to give my team a chance to win. If I feel an injustice is being done, I’m going to speak out. I’ve thought about this a lot. It’s still on my mind.”

Rolling Hills (13-4, 3-0) moved into sole possession of first place in the Bay League this week with wins over West Torrance, 79-68, and Torrance, 57-55.

As usual, Coach Cliff Warren came out on top in a close game Friday night, as John Hardy’s two free throws with five seconds left lifted the Titans and sent Torrance (5-11, 2-1) to its first league defeat.

Warren owns a 60-14 coaching record in his three seasons at Rolling Hills, with many of those wins falling into the cliffhanger category.

Warren, who once said of himself, “I’ve always been lucky,” continues to prove it. He says it will take some degree of luck to win the Bay League. The Titans lead three teams--Palos Verdes, West and Torrance--by one game.

Who does he consider the main challenger?

“I still think PV is the team to beat,” he said. “I just think they’ve been unlucky in some of their losses. They will start to dominate sooner or later.”

Palos Verdes (11-6, 2-1) plays at West (13-4, 2-1) on Wednesday night in next week’s most attractive Bay match-up.

It was a rough week for the Raveling family.

USC Coach George Raveling watched the Trojans lose to UCLA, 81-65, Thursday night and fall to 3-11 on the season.

Raveling’s son, Mark, a guard for St. Bernard, committed a turnover that led to a last-second basket for Mater Dei in its 46-44 Angelus League win Wednesday night.

Things did get better, however.

St. Bernard (12-5, 1-2), ranked No. 5 in the CIF 5-A Division, won its first league game on Friday night over visiting Servite, 88-63. Center Ed Stokes, a 6-10 junior, led the Vikings with 21 points.

St. Bernard will play host to New Jersey’s Camden High, the No. 24-ranked team in the nation by USA Today, at 5 p.m. Monday.

Bishop Montgomery’s basketball team pulled off an unusual feat Wednesday night. The Knights scored 100 points in a regulation, 32-minute game and still lost.

St. Paul shot the lights out with 14 three-pointers to register a 115-100 Angelus League win at Bishop Montgomery.

“I’ve never seen a shooting display like that in my life,” said Bishop Montgomery Coach Steve Carroll. “We came out on them, but they just kept moving back. They were unconscious.”

Carroll says he’s never been a fan of the three-point shot. He feels that way more than ever now.

Serra basketball star James Moses says UCLA stopped recruiting him when the Bruins became interested in Darrick Martin, St. Anthony’s prolific guard.

With that in mind, Moses’ emotions probably were running high when Serra faced St. Anthony for the first time this season in a Camino Real League game Wednesday night at St. Anthony.

Moses scored a game-high 47 points, but it wasn’t enough as St. Anthony won in overtime, 95-92, behind 40 points from Martin.

Both players will take their acts to major colleges next year. Moses signed early by Iowa, while Martin committed to UCLA.

Serra (7-8, 1-2) avoided its third consecutive league loss Friday night by defeating Murphy, 85-58. Moses led all scorers with 40 points.

Martin, meanwhile, scored 53 points as St. Anthony suffered its first league loss to Pius X, 105-102.