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ST. MONICA TOURNAMENT : Cleveland Cruises to First Victory Under Paez, 72-45

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

As far as excitement goes, this one ranked with being locked in a sweat box with a team of insurance salesmen for 72 hours.

Still, the 72-45 thumping that Cleveland High handed undermanned Sherman Oaks CES on Thursday night in the first round of the St. Monica tournament had significance: It was the first win in the post-Bob Braswell era.

This came after losses to Westchester and Muir last week under first-year Coach Mark Paez. Cleveland lost three games all of last season, Braswell’s last at the school. Granted, Sherman Oaks CES (2-3) is not a powerhouse, but try telling that to a relieved Paez.

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“Oh-and-two teams can’t take anything for granted,” he said.

As a result, Cleveland did not. The quick Cavaliers came out of the gates and pressed and pressed and pressed. And when they weren’t pressing, well, they pressured. Turnover after turnover was handed out by a flustered and outmatched Sherman Oaks CES team, which was able to get off just three field-goal attempts in the first five minutes.

There was no mistaking which was the better team. The Cavaliers seemed bent on getting that first win in style.

Cleveland led, 18-5, at the end of the first quarter. From there, it was just a matter of finishing the game.

The Cavaliers got eight first-quarter points from center Trenton Cornelius and six more from sophomore Brandon Martin, who wound up with a team-high 15.

It was more of the same in the next three quarters, even after Paez had lifted starters such as Cornelius (10 points), Bobby McRae (10 points) and Eddie Hill (10 points). The Cavaliers used the full-court press, and, if that failed, relied on fast hands to pick the pockets of Sherman Oaks CES as it tried to set up.

The score was 41-18 at halftime and 60-30 as the fourth quarter began. Cleveland reserve Kaheed Murray seemed to enjoy the non-stop scoring, too, as he contributed 11 points.

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Cleve McWright led Sherman Oaks CES with 14.

Next on the agenda for Cleveland is a bigger test--perennial power Fairfax, an 83-43 winner over Cathedral in another first-round game. The Cavaliers will play the Lions tonight at 6:30.

“I saw the end of their game and they looked awful solid,” Paez said. “We’ll be happy to be on the court with them.”

Happier, of course, with a win under their belt.

In another tournament game:

Palisades 66, Westlake 57--Westlake outscored Palisades, 23-13, in the final quarter but could not overcome a 19-point deficit at the end of the third quarter.

Westlake center B. J. Sena scored a game-high 24 points and John Van Spyk added nine. David Monheim had five steals.

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