PREP BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Morningside Holds Off Surprising West, 48-43

When Morningside defeated West Torrance earlier in the season, the Monarchs dictated the tempo and ran a full-cylinder offense with fast breaks and easy baskets.

They wanted to do the same Wednesday night in the West High gym, but the Warriors were not as willing to comply this time. West dictated the style of play, hoping to knock off the Ocean League leaders and revive its fleeting hopes for a spot in postseason play.

It almost worked, but Morningside staved off the upset bid and turned in a 48-43 victory in a game that was short on excitement but rich in subplots:

Morningside starting guard Kenny Jones was under the weather with a touch of flu but failed to report his condition to co-Coach Ron Randle, who worked solo on the bench because Carl Franklin was also ailing. Dan Taylor filled in for Jones and gave the Monarchs a lift offensively in the final minutes of the contest.

West, which according to Coach Dan McGee was humiliated in the previous meeting, planned to take the air out of the ball and work it around for only the most high-percentage shots.

But the plan backfired because the Warriors missed 12 layups, including four in the decisive fourth quarter, and worked themselves out of position by not taking a shot in the first five minutes of the final period.

The Warriors were also called for two technical fouls, one in the first quarter when forward Sean McCray said something to the officials, and one to start the second half because the players were dunking during halftime warm-ups.

On both occasions, Morningside guard Jon Madison hit both free throws and the Monarchs scored on each subsequent possession.

Nevertheless, the Warriors were in the game right up to the fourth quarter and led, 39-38, with 7:27 left. But Morningside went ahead on baskets by Jeff Crowe and Eddie Scott, and West didn’t attempt a field goal until there was less than two minutes remaining.

“We missed a lot of easy shots, especially in the crucial parts of the game,” said McGee, whose team fell to 11-9 and saw its postseason hopes all but dashed when its league record fell to 5-5.

“But you know, there were a couple of times that, if we just got a basket here and there, we could’ve won the game.”

Morningside appeared frustrated by West’s tactics and couldn’t get its offense moving until late in the game. But in the decisive moments, the Monarchs took control, forcing five West turnovers in the fourth quarter and converting four of five free-throw attempts in the final minutes.

The victory gave the Monarchs a 10-0 mark in league play and helped maintain their two-game lead over Redondo with three games to play. Morningside is 16-4 overall.

Madison led all scorers with 16 points and Scott chipped in with 11, including seven in the final period.

St. Bernard 83, Bosco Tech 51--The Vikings, scoreless until midway through the first quarter, rebounded to maintain sole possession of first place in the Camino Real League with a win at home.

St. Bernard (8-1 in the league, 20-4 overall) fell behind 16-13 after the first quarter but roared back to take a 34-24 halftime lead. They gradually pulled away, sending Bosco Tech to its seventh league loss in nine games.

Center Ed Stokes led four St. Bernard players with 18 points, 15 in the first half, and guard Marc Raveling added 16. Point guard Sean Patikas had all 12 of his points in the second half. The 6-11 Stokes also led the Vikings with 12 rebounds.

The game marked the second straight start for forward Juno Armstrong, who had missed a month because of a viral infection. The 6-4 senior scored five points and had four assists.

Mater Dei 73, Bishop Montgomery 49--Senior guard Dylan Rigdon led all scorers with 20 points and helped the Monarchs, ranked No. 2 in the Southern Section 5-AA Division, pull away in the second half for an easy Angelus League victory at Bishop Montgomery.

First-place Mater Dei improved to 6-0 in league play and 22-2 overall, while Bishop Montgomery dropped to 0-6 and 9-11. Darrell Daniels led the Knights with 12 points.