Servite Takes Inside Route to Win

Servite pulled an inside job on South Torrance and its three-guard offense Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Southern Section Division III-AA boys’ basketball playoffs.

Forwards Adam Anderson and Ryan Dodd took turns posting and scoring high-percentage shots and controlled the boards in Servite’s 65-44 romp over South Torrance at Redondo High.

Servite’s victory sets up a rematch of last season’s Division III-A championship with Inglewood Morningside in the semifinals Tuesday at a site to be determined. Morningside, top-seeded in the division, advanced with a 62-33 victory over Lompoc.

Anderson scored 18 points and missed only two shots and Dodd added 15 points and didn’t miss a shot as Servite (16-11) won its eighth game in its last nine outings. South Torrance, which had its best season since 1978, finished 20-7.

“We watched the game film and they had no post defense,” Anderson said. “I could score just about anytime I wanted.”

Dodd and Anderson each had 12 rebounds and were instrumental in Servite’s big third-quarter run that ended South Torrance’s season. Servite outscored South Torrance, 22-9, in the third quarter and then Dodd signaled the end when he drove to the hoop and dunked with one hand with 4:18 remaining to play to push Servite ahead, 55-39.

“I tried to get position in the low post, and when I did, I made the shots,” Dodd said. “There wasn’t much they could do to stop us.”

But South Torrance surprised Servite early, opening a 12-2 lead before the Friars got untracked. Servite point guard Eddie Rubio had his problems and was benched twice in a three-minute period before Servite finally got rolling.

Servite didn’t score its first field goal until 2 minutes 43 seconds remained in the first quarter when Dodd scored on a follow shot, and then moments later, the Friars tied the score, 13-13.

Before Servite was finished, it had outscored South Torrance, 16-1, to gain an 18-13 lead. Afterward, Coach Richard Smith said his team kept its composure despite the early deficit.

“They got a little excited when they got the early lead, but they seem to score in waves,” Smith said. “I thought we rode the waves steady throughout the whole game. Was I concerned? A little, but on film they looked like they struggled defensively.”

Servite stayed close by making all nine of its free-throw attempts in the first quarter and seemed to score at will in the third quarter, making eight of nine field-goal attempts. Of course, Anderson’s three-point shot was the only attempt farther than three feet from the basket.

Servite also enjoyed a big advantage on the boards, outrebounding South Torrance, 32-16. Smith is well aware that his team won’t have an height advantage against Morningside.

“Morningside one more time, huh?” he said. “They’ll be big, quick and physical on the boards. We’re going to have our work cut out for us.”