After a Late Start, San Pedro Wins, 80-74

Devon Hamilton made a layup and two free throws in the final 40 seconds to lead San Pedro to an 80-74 victory over Granada Hills in a City 4-A Division first-round playoff game Friday night at Narbonne High in Harbor City.

In a game that was delayed 45 minutes due to a late arriving Granada Hills’ bus, San Pedro held off a furious fourth quarter rally by the Highlanders.

San Pedro (21-5), which led by as many as 15 points in the first half, needed Hamilton’s accuracy after the Highlanders’ Jerry Allen sparked a 10-4 fourth quarter run.

Allen, who finished with 28 points, 19 rebounds, three blocks and three steals, almost won the game by himself in the fourth quarter with several key baskets. However, San Pedro’s depth was too much for the Highlanders to overcome.

“They wore us down because we were so thin,” Allen said of the Highlanders, who had several players academically ineligible for the game including starting point guard Jevon Lee.

The big man for the Pirates in the first half was Andre Smith, who finished with 24 points and nine rebounds. Smith, a 6-foot-3 center, had 18 first half points and dominated Granada Hills inside.

However, in the second half, San Pedro’s guards Gary Herrera, Jerry Wells and Hamilton took over, as they combined for 24 points.

“I had to go with our starters longer than usual, but we really had to play well to beat a very good team,” San Pedro Coach Jack Kordich said. “This was a real tough first round game. Normally, you don’t have two teams who have both only lost five game meet like this.”

For San Pedro, which defeated Washington, the City’s fourth ranked team, earlier in the week, Manual Arts will be a tougher test in the second round. while Granada Hills finishes the season with an 18-6 record.