Prep Basketball Playoff Roundup : Loyola Rolls to 5-AA Win Over Palmdale

Loyola, the No. 3-seeded team in the Southern Section basketball 5-AA division, defeated Palmdale, 96-76, Wednesday night in a first-round playoff game at Loyola High.

With five players scoring in double figures, Loyola (21-2) slowly pulled away from Palmdale, after Palmdale had taken a 31-30 lead midway second quarter.

Eric Jones and Jamal Adams each had 17 points for the Loyola, and Joe Burghardt and reserve Bob Bennett had 16 each.

Palmdale was led by senior Shannon Culver with 23 points and junior John Johnson who had 14 points.

In other Southern Section first-round playoff games:

Crespi 51, Warren 48--Warren’s Tony Rodriguez made a short bank shot with 7 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score, 42-42, and then teammate Stacy Lawrence banked in an eight-foot shot at the buzzer to tie the score, 48-48, to send the 4-AA division game into a second overtime at Crespi High.

Crespi then got the tip and ran the clock down to about 1:30 before Chris MeGee was fouled and made two free throws. Crespi’s Matt Luderer added another free throw to make it 51-48. Warren’s Ray Winnick took a three-point shot with time running out but missed. Crespi (11-11) was led by Ken Lynch, who had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Warren (13-12) was led by Winnick and Rodriguez, each with 16 points.

Torrance 59, Servite 52--Trailing 42-38, Torrance (15-10) went on a 10-0 run to take the lead for good, 48-42, in a 4-AA Division game at Torrance High. It the first playoff victory in four years for Torrance. The Tarters won the game at the free throw line where they mad 20 of 30. Servite (12-11) made six of 18. Torrance was led by junior guard Rick Robison who had 26 points.

Cajon 52, Kennedy 50--Eric Culberson made a 17-foot jumper with 2 seconds left to win the 4-AA Division game at Kennedy High. Culberson’s shot was set up when point guard Amar Washington took an inbounds pass with 7 seconds remaining, drove to the basket and passed the ball to Culberson. The playoff victory was the first in Cajon’s 19-year history and spoiled a 10-point comeback by Kennedy (18-8) in the fourth quarter. Jim Barker’s three-point shot with 49 seconds left cut Cajon’s lead to 50-48. Tom Deep then tied the score with 41 seconds left, was fouled on the play but missed the free throw. Cajon is 16-9.

La Canada 64, St. Francis 63--Chris Jones had 27 points and 20 rebounds to lead the Spartans to the 3-A Division victory at La Canada. St. Francis (13-9) built an 11-point lead midway through the second quarter before second-seeded La Canada (25-2) went on a 10-2 run to tie the score at halftime, 33-33.

Corona del Mar 61, El Dorado 43--Corona del Mar (16-9), which finished third in the Sea View League, defeated Empire League champion El Dorado (20-4), in the 3-A Division game at Placentia. Corona del Mar shut down El Dorado’s fast break offense and turned the contest into a half-court game in which El Dorado made only 16 of 58 shots. Brian Spratt of Corona del Mar was the game’s leading scorer with 23 points.

Cathedral 64, St. Genevieve 60--Using balanced scoring and a strong press, Cathedral overcame an eight-point deficit with 1:30 remaining to win the 2-AA Division game against visiting St. Genevieve (13-10).