Angelus League : Servite Leads Early, but St. Paul Rolls to 74-62 Victory

Servite High School boys’ basketball Coach Larry Walker found some consolation in St. Paul’s 74-62 Angelus League victory Wednesday at Servite.

“At least they didn’t score 100 points against us,” Walker said.

Instead, the team known for its high-scoring, fast-paced offense started slowly, falling behind in the first half before running over the Friars with a potent fast break in the second half.

“We made some mental mistakes,” Walker said. “When you’re playing against a team with better talent than you like St. Paul, those mistakes will hurt you.”

Servite held a 23-19 lead midway through the second quarter. But the Swordsmen, after two steals and three driving layups, scored the next 10 points and never looked back.

The loss leaves Servite (12-8 overall, 3-3 in league play) needing one victory in its last two games to finish third in the Angelus League. St. Paul (17-6, 4-1) remained in second place, one game behind Mater Dei.

St. Paul, coming off a 103-101 victory over St. Bernard on Monday, finished 12 points below its season average.

After St. Paul scored the first 6 points of the game, Servite slowed down the game and took a 15-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Servite maintained that lead until St. Paul took over with 2 minutes left in the half and never relinquished it, leading by as much as 18 in the third quarter.

“Servite took control of the game early. The game was played at their tempo,” St. Paul Coach Mike Dinneen said. “But we took took control of the game after that and it was just a matter of hanging on.

“They took us a little by surprise early in the game with a box-and-one around (Jason) Hart. It was just a matter of moving some guys around so we could run our fast break.”

John Overbeck, a 6-foot 7-inch forward, led all scorers with 20 points before fouling out with 4 minutes left in the game. Greg Willig also had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Swordsmen. Rob Jones led Servite with 12 points.

Mater Dei 73, Bishop Montgomery 49--At Torrance, guard Dylan Rigdon scored 20 points and teammate David Boyle added 16 points as Mater Dei (22-2, 6-0) won its eighth consecutive game.