Basketball Roundup : Strong Finish Gives Kennedy Championship

Forward Randy Brown scored 9 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter to lift Kennedy over University, 51-49, Friday and give the Golden Cougars their second consecutive Hamilton tournament title.

Midway through the fourth quarter, University center Remus Jonson picked up his fourth foul and Brown seized the opportunity to score underneath.

“I said, ‘Get a good shot and if you don’t have it, toss it out and we’ll try again,’ ” Kennedy Coach Yutaka Shimizu said. “The kids did a good job of getting the ball into him. We controlled the tempo.”

Eric Clark led University (7-1) with 18 points. Kennedy is 5-2.

Taft 66, Hamilton 64--The Toreadors survived a fourth-quarter charge to win the third-place game in the Hamilton tournament.

Taft (6-1) led, 62-43, after 3 quarters, but was outscored, 21-4, in the final period.

Taft guard Dedan Thomas had a triple double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 steals. Teammate Gilbert Ruff scored 20 and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Simi Valley 90, Crescenta Valley 77--Mike Wawryk and Jeff Marciano each had 19 points for Simi Valley (3-2) in the nonleague game at Crescenta Valley. Dennis Cook added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Pioneers.

Steve Finch had 22 points for Crescenta Valley (8-2) and John Gilmore added 20.

Casa Grande 76, Camarillo 52--Despite 15 points from David Harbour, the Scorpions suffered their first loss in the second round of the Page, Ariz., tournament.

L.A. Baptist 50, Santa Maria 41--Brett Craig scored 23 points and had 7 assists to lead L. A. Baptist in the semifinal round of the Fillmore tournament. The Knights (7-1) play tonight for the championship against Faith Baptist, which defeated Fillmore, 58-53, in the other semifinal.

Craig made 8 of 11 shots from the field. Teammate J. D. Strong, who was 7 for 9, finished with 14 points and 9 rebounds.

Montclair Prep 69, Cantwell 67--Craig Handschu scored 39 points to lead the Mounties into the championship game of the Bel-Air Prep tournament against Oakwood. Handschu was 11 of 22 from the field and 15 of 19 from the free-throw line. Jason Gerber added 6 points and 10 rebounds for Montclair Prep (6-4).

Oakwood 61, Bel-Air Prep 45--Mitchell Butler scored 38 points, including 10 in the second quarter when the Gorillas had an 18-5 advantage, as Oakwood (6-1) advanced to the final of the Bel-Air tournament. Butler also grabbed 15 rebounds.

Calabasas 63, Village Christian 58--The Coyotes’ starting 5 each scored in double figures in the consolation semifinal of the Bel-Air Prep tournament.

Tom Hoover’s 14 points led Calabasas (2-3). Guy Hamilton (12 points), Jim Friedlander (12), Greg Waugh (12) and Jamie Boyce (11) also contributed to the scoring.

Harvard 80, Brentwood 65--Led by Rick Osterloh’s 20 points, 4 Saracens scored in double figures in the nonleague game at Harvard. Mike Beckwith had 16 points, Matt Clark had 15 and Bryan Domyan added 11 for Harvard (6-2).

GIRLS

L.A. Baptist 45, Quartz Hill 43--Karleen Cox hit a 3-point shot to tie the score with less than a minute to play and guard Jill Shackleford made 2 steals off the press for baskets to spark L. A. Baptist in a consolation semifinal of the Burroughs tournament.

MEN

Salt Lake City 81, Moorpark 67--Moorpark College Coach Al Nordquist brought out his Hickory Husker offense one more time, then rolled the dice.

The dice came up snake eyes.

The Raiders (7-6), overmatched from the opening tip-off, fell in the consolation championship of the Crown City Classic at Pasadena City College.

Like the Huskers from the film “Hoosiers,” Nordquist wanted his team to slow the tempo and pass the ball at least 4 times before taking a shot against the free-wheeling Bruins (10-3).

“We wanted to take 20 seconds off the clock and work for the high-percentage shot,” Nordquist said.

But the Bruins’ pressure defense took the Raiders out of the game early, forcing 20 first-half turnovers and 35 overall. Moorpark, shooting 28% in the first half, trailed, 44-24, at intermission.