BAY LEAGUE : Hawthorne’s Defense Stifles Palos Verdes, 67-38, in Bay Opener

Hawthorne High used a stifling defense to race away from Palos Verdes and beat the Sea Kings in the Bay League opener for both teams, 67-38, at Palos Verdes Wednesday night.

Hawthorne improved to 8-5, Palos Verdes fell to 6-6.

Hawthorne led 29-16 at halftime and then limited the Sea Kings to nine points in the third quarter while scoring 17, making the score 46-25.

Palos Verdes scored only nine points in the first quarter.

“Their quickness overwhelmed us,” Palos Verdes Coach John Mihaljevich said. “Their quickness and their team speed took us out of our game.”

Hawthorne’s game was to pressure Palos Verdes every time it touched the ball. The Cougars opened the game in a man-to-man defense but then switched to a 2-1-2 zone with Anthony King and Reggie Bell denying the Palos Verdes players the inside of the key.

The easy win was easy to explain for Hawthorne Coach Richard Wells. “We just played hard defense,” he said.

The only Palos Verdes player who had any success was sophomore center Art Shell, who scored 15 points in limited playing time because of the flu.

Hawthorne guard Wayman Powell also scored 15 points.

Powell also played on top of Hawthorne’s zone defense, which forced Palos Verdes into multiple missed shots, most of which were rebounded by Hawthorne forward Reggie Bell, who led all players with 10. Bell also stirred the Palos Verdes gym with a slam dunk, making the score 35-16 with 5:01 left in the third quarter, effectively putting the game out of reach of the Sea Kings.

The Palos Verdes offense did not have much more success in the fourth quarter when Hawthorne had mostly substitutes in the game, scoring only 13 points.

Substitute forward Jabar Moulton scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Cougar reserves, all of whom played.

“The win gives us confidence going into league play,” said Wells, who has predicted a high finish for his team. “Our bench should help us along the way.”

Dwayne Gauthiers scored 10 points for Hawthorne. Andy Jacobson had 10 for Palos Verdes.

Beverly Hills 95, Rolling Hills 89--The Normans, who lost to Rolling Hills in the final of the Beverly Hills Tournament last month, avenged the defeat in a Bay League opener at Beverly Hills. Center Peter Micelli led the Normans (9-3 overall) with a game-high 33 points before fouling out early in the fourth quarter.

Rolling Hills (8-5) had three players score 25 points or more, but never got closer than six in the fourth quarter. Center Roger Hendrix led the Titans with 30, followed by guards Steve Clover with 26 and Chad Heitzler with 25.

“With three players over 25 points, you figure we might win the game,” Coach Cliff Warren said. “But we didn’t have defensive intensity or the defensive will to win. I’ve never had a team give up more points.”

Leuzinger 72, Inglewood 67--Junior center Frank Willis, who was criticized Friday by Coach Phil Sherman after Leuzinger’s 73-47 loss to Narbonne, responded with 22 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Olympians in a Bay League opener at Leuzinger.

The 6-8 Willis scored only five points Friday and had been playing poorly in recent games, but his inside play proved the difference against Inglewood. Guard Robert Northern had nine assists for Leuzinger (7-2 overall).

Inglewood (3-8) rallied from nine points down to pull within 68-67 in the fourth quarter, but Leuzinger hit four free throws down the stretch. Forward Steve King led Inglewood with a game-high 26 points.

Santa Monica 89, Torrance 83--The Tartars built an 18-point lead early in the second quarter, but couldn’t hold it as Santa Monica rallied for a Bay League win at Torrance.

Torrance (5-5 overall) led, 34-16, when Santa Monica (8-3) roared back to take a 42-41 halftime lead. “We went mentally flat for awhile and never got back into it,” Tartar Coach Bob Little said. “(Santa Monica) rose to the occasion.”

Torrance guard Rick Robison led all scorers with 35 points, including six three-point shots, and junior center Joe Zaletel added 25. Santa Monica was led by 6-5 forward Devon London with 24 points and 6-7 center Jacoby Day with 16, all in the second half.