PREP WRAPUP : Basketball Teams to Watch in the Home Stretch

Some observations heading into the home stretch of the prep basketball season:

If someone had told me before the season that El Segundo would win six consecutive Camino Real League games, including victories over St. Anthony, Serra, Verbum Dei and St. Bernard, I would have scoffed. Now I’m amazed. . . .

El Segundo and Serra should both do well in the CIF Southern Section 2-A playoffs after facing the Camino Real’s tough competition. . . .

As impressively as transfer Tate Seefried has played for El Segundo--he scored 26 points Friday in a 70-68 win over St. Bernard--he’s regarded as a better baseball player. . . .

It is ironic that since Tuesday, when Hawthorne Coach Richard Wells said his team was capable of going undefeated in the Bay League, the Cougars have lost two straight and fallen into second place behind Beverly Hills. . . .

The Bay League title could be decided in Friday’s Hawthorne-Beverly Hills game, unless the Cougars stub their toes Wednesday at Rolling Hills. . . .

Rolling Hills is out of contention for a fourth straight Bay League title, but something tells me the Titans, after close wins this week over Leuzinger and Inglewood, are going to make an impact in the 3-AA playoffs. . . .

Quote of the week: Asked if he thought the Southern Section’s new point system for selecting at-large playoff entries was good, Rolling Hills Coach Cliff Warren replied: “Good? Good? I’ll get down on my hands and knees for the CIF.” . . .

Palos Verdes lost center Art Shell to a knee injury and bounced back with wins over Santa Monica and Torrance this week. Is it any wonder why Coach John Mihaljevich is held in such high esteem? . . .

The lack of competition in the Ocean League can’t be doing Morningside any good as it prepares for the 3-AA playoffs. . . .

Teams that have made the biggest turnarounds this season include Narbonne (13-8; 3-17 last year), Mira Costa (13-5; 10-15 last year), Hawthorne (15-7; 7-16 last year) and Bishop Montgomery (12-5; 9-13 last year). Kudos to coaches Bob Hoppes, Glenn Marx, Wells and Doug Mitchell. . . .

Narbonne is still one of the area’s better teams, but the Gauchos seem to have lost the edge they had in December when they destroyed a good Leuzinger team, 73-47, in the championship of the Torrance Holiday Tournament. . . .

Westchester guard Damian Wilson is obviously a talented player--he scored 23 points Friday in a 60-49 win over Palisades--but the fact he has been suspended from three games this season for less-than-serious offenses makes me question his maturity. . . .

Prediction: Neither the 43-game Bay League winning streak of the Palos Verdes girls nor the 81-game Ocean League winning streak of Morningside will be broken until they meet next season as members of the Ocean League. . . .

Morningside’s girls have moved into second place in the Southern Section record book for most consecutive league games won. The Lady Monarchs trail Riverside Poly, which won 97 straight Citrus Belt League games from 1978 to ’85. . . .

For the record: Rolling Hills guard Chad Heitzler had 21 points and six three-point shots Thursday in the Titans’ 73-72 win over Leuzinger. His totals were incorrect in Friday’s South Bay sports section.