PREP WRAPUP / GREG GONZALEZ : Palos Verdes Boys’ 40-Game Soccer Win Streak Snapped by San Marcos

After Thursday’s 1-0 soccer loss to San Marcos High that ended Palos Verdes’ CIF Southern Section-record 40-game winning streak, Coach Alan King put the whole matter into perspective as his stunned players unlaced their cleats and prepared to leave the South Torrance field.

“Combined with wins in the summer and club wins, the streak was really about 70,” King said. “Some of our seniors, like (tri-captain) Peter Malishska, have never lost before at Palos Verdes. That’s pretty good if you can say you’ve only lost one game in your high school career.”

Another senior who had never lost was goalie Mark Antrobius, who also plays football for the Sea Kings. “It’s kind of shocking,” Antrobius said of the semifinal loss in the 22nd South Holiday Tournament. “We have been in situations like that before, but we have always come back.”

The 40 consecutive victories was the eighth-longest winning streak in U.S. boys soccer, according to the National Federation of State High School Assns.

“It’s OK. We can start another streak tomorrow,” King said of Friday’s third-place game with San Pedro. Antrobius was just as determined: “We’re gonna kick some butt.”

On Friday, the Sea Kings were as good as their word, defeating San Pedro, 4-1, to take third place in the tournament. Sophomore Brian Durbin scored two goals to lead Palos Verdes, now 8-1 for the year.

Palos Verdes’ Doug Kay and Brandon DeMott were named to the all-tournament team. San Marcos went on to beat Loyola and win the tournament.

The semifinals were characterized by rough play. The San Pedro-Loyola game was stopped when a Loyola player fouled a San Pedro player and a fight resulted. In the San Marcos-Palos Verdes game, players from both teams were issued yellow cards for blatant fouls.

“You hate to see that in any game,” San Pedro Coach Hank Ozaki said. “But sometimes players get caught up in the emotion and lose composure.”

The South Torrance girls advanced to the final Friday but lost to undefeated Upland, 3-0.

Carson High’s basketball team, beaten early in the season by Fremont, almost upset the Pathfinders in the final of the L.A. Invitational at Long Beach City College. The Colts took last year’s L.A. City Section 3-A champions into overtime before losing, 70-65. They allowed Fremont (10-1) to score only 28 second-half points.

Carson guard Michael Ross scored 27 points to lead the Colts, now 7-4. Ross, who is Carson’s all-time leading receiver in football, seems already in mid-season basketball form despite finishing football season only a week ago.

During the fall, Ross practiced basketball before football practice, according to Carson football Coach Gene Vollnogle. “They (Ross and linebacker Nkosi Littleton) would work out with the basketball team while we were stretching and warming up, and then put on their uniforms and come out to practice. Some people can’t believe I let them, but I feel if they can play two sports, they should play two sports. That’s what high school is for.”

Ross and Littleton were playing in basketball games before football season ended, unlike quarterback Armin Youngblood, who waited for football to end before joining the basketball team.

Morningside has dominated girls basketball recently, winning the Southern Section 5-AA championship and the Division I state championship last year, but the Lady Monarchs haven’t finished a season undefeated--and they won’t this year.

Morningside lost to Brea-Olinda, 59-48, on Thursday night in the semifinals of the Tournament of Champions in Santa Barbara.

Morningside center Lisa Leslie scored 24 points against Brea-Olinda but was in foul trouble for much of the game.

Brea-Olinda showed that it is capable of beating anybody. Last year the Wildcats were 31-2 and won the state Division III title, led by that division’s Player of the Year, Aimee McDaniel. McDaniel, back with three other starters, scored 22 points against Morningside on Thursday.

Brea-Olinda Coach Mark Trakh has a 10-year record of 224-34.

Morningside (8-1) came back to beat Oregon High of Oregon City, 67-53, in the third-place game. Leslie scored 31 points and pulled down 20 rebounds on her way to winning the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award.

Mira Costa flew to Hawaii to play in the Roosevelt Holiday Basketball Classic in Honolulu and came back with more than a suntan. On Wednesday, the Mustangs beat David Douglas High of Portland, Ore., 58-57, to win the tournament championship.

The West Torrance girls basketball team beat Bishop Montgomery on Wednesday, 52-48, to win the Warren Tournament in La Habra. Senior guard Rosa Olloque scored 21 points in the championship game. She averaged 23 points and nine rebounds a ame in the tournament to earn Most Valuable Player honors.

It’s raining high school basketball next week in the South Bay, and it’s coming down hardest in Torrance. Seven area teams will compete in the Torrance Holiday Classic. Each Torrance high school will host an opening-round game Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Narbonne will play at South Torrance, Bishop Montgomery at Torrance, Leuzinger at West Torrance and Pater Noster at North Torrance.

Payers to watch include forward Rick Robison of Torrance and guard Darrell Daniel of Bishop Montgomery. Daniel was named Most valuable Player of the El Segundo Tournament.

Semifinal games will be played at North Torrance on Thursday at 6 and 7:30 p.m., and the championship game at North on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

While local teams beat up on each other in the Torrance Tournament, some South Bay teams are traveling 275 miles to play in the 14-team Viking Christmas Tournament at Valley High in Las Vegas.

The tournament starts Thursday. Hawthorne plays Bishop O’Dowd of Oakland, Carson plays Royal of Simi Valley and Morningside plays Claremont. St. Bernard plays Camino League rival Verbum Dei at 4:15 p.m. The semifinals will be Friday and the final Saturday.