L.A. GAMES : No. 1 Long Beach Poly Subdues Venice, 64-52

The field of high school basketball teams narrowed considerably in the third round of the 23rd L.A. Games Sunday at El Camino College.

In pairings that resemble an NCAA tournament, the competition began Saturday with 128 boys’ teams and 64 girls’ teams, making this the largest event of its kind in the nation.

By Sunday’s end there were only 16 boys’ teams and eight girls’ teams to advance to the fourth round next Saturday.

Long Beach Poly, the No. 1-seeded team in the tournament and this year’s Southern Section 5-AA champion, held on to beat Venice, 64-52. In the first half, Poly dominated the court with its fast-break play and rebounding ability.

At one point, Venice made a 12-3 run on Poly in the second half. That brought the Gondoliers to within eight points, but it was as close as they would get.

Poly’s starters returned with two minutes to play, putting an end to the Venice offensive.

“I thought they’d be better, that it would be a harder game for us,” senior Yakim Craddock said.

The 6-3 guard scored 29 points. Tyus Edney added 22 points and 10 assists.

Craddock will be leading the team next season as some of Poly’s best players have graduated, including Willie McGinest, who accepted a scholarship to play football at USC.

“If I had the (ball) handling down, I think (recruiters) would be starting to look at me a little more,” Craddock said.

Said Coach Ron Palmer: “(Craddock) dominated the game for us.

“Most of the bench will be freshman and sophomores,” the coach added. “I have 17 kids out here and some of them will play junior varsity, but I want to give them as much playing experience as I can.”

Palmer coached his team to victory in the 1979 games.

“I always come into these games with a little bit of guarded optimism because the city teams play in a (20-game) spring league, giving them an advantage.”

Meanwhile, eighth-seeded Reseda Cleveland advanced to the fourth round by routing Hamilton, 62-40.

Cleveland’s participation in the games came as a surprise after the resignation of coach Marc Paez in early June.

Varsity assistant Bart Ostoco took over as interim coach for the games. Because he has been the school’s junior varsity coach, he knows the kids moving up to the varsity level.

“Our strongest points are our intensity and concentration,” Ostoco said.

Brandon Martin, a 6-3 1/2 shooting guard, scored 16 points, and 6-5 forward Kayed Murray added 10 while playing an excellent defensive game.

“The inexperienced guys came in when the seniors weren’t playing well and did their job,” Ostoco said.

Cleveland has been a city playoff contender in recent years, but will have only four returning starters.

La Canada has been the surprise thus far in the tournament, upsetting seventh-seeded Dorsey in the first round. The Spartans went on to defeat Bell Gardens and Taft to advance into a match against 10th-seeded Morningside in the fourth round.

In the girls’ division, Washington edged Torrance, 24-22. Charisse Sampson had 16 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and four blocked shots for Washington.

Powerful Lynwood has outscored opponents by 70 points in breezing to three victories.