Harbor Coach Not Smiling but Team Tops West L. A.

It is difficult to tell what makes Ken Curry happy.

Wednesday at Veterans Auditorium in Culver City, the Harbor College co-coach watched Harbor labor to its 11th victory in 11 tries. The Seahawks played their opponent’s half-court game and still toppled West L. A., 67-52, pushing Harbor into a showdown for first place in the Southern California Athletic Conference with Mt. San Jacinto next Wednesday at Harbor.

After the victory, Curry wished he wasn’t so analytical.

“We’re winning but we’re not playing well,” Curry said. “I know that. I’m not that big a fool. . . . 11 in a row starts making you believe, but I keep stressing that we’re not doing things right.”

West L. A. didn’t do much right Wednesday. The Oilers shot 43% from the field and were out-rebounded by Harbor, 33-22. Still, they pulled within five points at 57-52 with 2:24 left in the game before Harbor ran off 11 straight.

The margin of victory did not bother Curry. The Seahawks’ execution did.

“We’re just not getting things done the way we should be other than the fact that we’re winning games,” Curry said. “Down the road that could come back to haunt us because winning can be a false reading.”

West L. A.’s Darius Farrelly read Harbor’s defense for 22 points, mostly on acrobatic penetrations. Farrelly also demoralized Harbor point guard Mike Thompson when he swished a second-half three-pointer immediately after Curry told Thompson to collapse toward the basket so Farrelly would not penetrate.

“Farrelly is very quick,” said Thompson. “He’s quicker than I thought.”

The Oilers narrowed a 10-point deficit to seven on Farrelly’s three-pointer and Harbor’s lead was six one minute later when Farrelly nailed a 15-foot jumper.

Soon after, Harbor’s 11-point spurt burned the Oilers.

Sophomore Mark Hill from Locke High led the Seahawks with 17 points. Sophomore guard Bruce Turner, another Locke product, and freshman forward Jerome Hendrix each had 12. Turner dished off nine assists and grabbed eight rebounds. Freshman Ronald Lewis added nine points for Harbor.

West L. A.’s Andre Harrell and Bill Cole combined for 19 points.

Harbor, ranked eighth in the state, upped its record to 4-0 in conference and 13-8 overall. West L. A., the only conference team to beat Harbor last season, dropped to 1-2 and 7-12.