PREPS / MITCH POLIN : Serra Becomes a Force in Playoffs

The Serra High boys’ basketball team is not going to impress a lot of opponents with its record.

At 13-15, the Cavaliers are the only remaining playoff team in any Southern Section division that does not have a winning record.

Serra is also one of only three South Bay teams remaining in the Southern Section playoffs after its 86-71 victory over La Salle on Friday night in a IV-A Division quarterfinal game at St. Monica High.

Coach Dwan Hurt says it is hardly a fluke that the Cavaliers are still alive.

“(Our record) may have thrown the first couple of teams off a little,” he said. “But I think by now we’ve shown we’re for real. It’s no mistake.”

Hurt said there is a reason that the Cavaliers struggled early in the season.

“At the beginning of the season, we had to play without some of our best players,” he said. “We beat (Division II power) Artesia when we didn’t even have our top post men. But all along, we knew we had the talent.

“We went through a lot of adversity this season. Our big kid (center Akeli Jackson) was on academic probation earlier this year. But we got through it and we’re peaking at the right time.”

Jackson, a 6-foot-7 junior, became eligible Jan. 31. In addition, 6-6 junior forward Arthur Tate missed more than half of his team’s games because of a hairline fracture in his ankle.

Since the start of the playoffs, Hurt said, Jackson has become a force inside. He scored 26 points against La Salle.

“To take something from (TV commentator) Dick Vitale, that guy’s what we call our PTP,” Hurt said. “He’s our Prime Time Player. He’s our go-to guy. He’s been through a lot and he’s stuck through it.”

Although senior guard Dan Carpenter, who leads the team in scoring, is the Cavaliers’ best outside shooter, Hurt says the development of sophomore forward Reggie McFerrin, another excellent shooter, has also been a key. Carpenter scored 17 and McFerrin 13 against La Salle.

“That gives us another shooter that (opponents) have to worry about,” Hurt said.

The Cavaliers play L.A. Baptist at The Master’s College in Newhall in a semifinal game at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. L.A. Baptist upset top-seeded Verbum Dei, 50-49, on Friday to advance.

Hurt was anticipating a rematch against Camino Real League rival Verbum Dei, which defeated Serra twice. But advancing to the semifinals was more important.

“This is something we can build on,” Hurt said. “This is great for our team and our community at Serra.”

Carson boys’ basketball Coach Richard Masson acknowledged that he is still upset with the way City Section officials seeded teams for the playoffs.

But a 75-67 victory over second-seeded Washington Friday night in a 4-A quarterfinal game at Carson improved his spirits.

“Everybody’s really excited and particularly because we’ve had to go probably the hardest path to get there,” Masson said. “It’s still a travesty that two first-place teams had to meet in the second round. But it was about as good of a high school game as you’ll have a chance to see.”

Masson was most impressed with the Colts’ level of play the Generals.

“It was a very good victory for us,” he said. “Technically speaking, it was the best game we’ve played all year. We’ve been up and down this season and I was waiting a long time to see us play a complete game like that and we did it against a good Washington team.”

The Colts were able to slow guard Brandon Martin, who is regarded as one of City Section’s best offensive players. Martin was held to eight points in Washington’s 57-50 victory over Carson on Jan. 31 and scored 21 on Friday.

“They’re just an outstanding team and I think Brandon Martin is the best player in Southern California,” Masson said. “We threw everything we had at him and he still scored 21 points. But at least we held him scoreless in the fourth quarter when it counted.”

Masson said the difference may have been that the Colts committed only nine turnovers.

“We played under a lot of control,” he said. “If we can do that again next time, we’ll be in good shape.”

The Colts (19-7) will play perennial power Crenshaw (18-4) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at an undetermined site. Carson defeated Crenshaw, 76-67, on Dec. 11.

Masson said that game should help Crenshaw more than Carson.

“It’ll help our confidence but a team always learns more when they lose to a team than when they win,” he said. “It was just like when we lost to Washington the last time. I think we learned a lot about ourselves from that game.”

Masson said Carson showed its potential on Friday.

“I think we’re starting to open up some eyes,” he said. “I think we’re capable of beating anybody if we play like we did against Washington.”

But Masson said he has plenty of respect for Crenshaw.

“They’re a good team, they’ve got great athletes and they’re going to be tough to beat,” he said.

The Banning girls’ basketball team will be making its first appearance in the City 4-A semifinals since 1988 when it plays Crenshaw on Tuesday at an undetermined site.

But Coach David DeLaby, who has guided the Pilots to a 17-5 record, is not surprised.

“I thought we were going to make it last year but we had a bad game in the quarterfinals (against North Hollywood),” he said.

Ever since then, DeLaby said, he has had a good feeling about this season.

“We were a young team last year,” he said. “We started two 10th graders, two juniors and only one senior. This team has a lot more experience.”

Banning’s experience was evident in a 45-29 victory over El Camino Real in a quarterfinal game on Friday. DeLaby has been especially pleased with the Pilots’ defense in recent games.

“We’ve been playing real well defensively down the stretch,” he said. “The last two teams we played didn’t get to 30 and the three teams before that didn’t get to 40. So we’re holding teams down a lot.”

He is also happy with Banning’s balance on offense. The leaders have been center Michelle Campbell and guard Rayjanette Lampkin.

“Basically we have four people who can score,” DeLaby said. “So if one isn’t doing as well, the others can pick up for them.”

Crenshaw (20-4) defeated Banning, 48-38, on Jan. 24.

“We’re familiar with them and they’re familiar with us,” DeLaby said. “It probably gives us a little advantage just because we beat them before so we know we can do it again. We also had two of our best players (Lampkin and forward Lameshia Pittman) in foul trouble in that game, so we were a little short-handed.”

In addition to Carson and Serra, three other South Bay boys’ teams have advanced to the divisional semifinals.

In the Southern Section, top-seeded Morningside (20-7) will meet unseeded Servite (16-11) in a III-AA game at Cypress College and fourth-seeded St. Bernard (19-10) will play top-seeded La Canada (24-2) in a III-A semifinal at Blair High. Both games are at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Defending City champion Westchester (25-2) will play Western League rival Manual Arts (19-6) in a 4-A semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at an undetermined site.

The Monarchs advanced with a 62-33 victory over Lompoc on Friday. Servite beat South Torrance, 66-45, to set up a rematch of last season’s III-A final. Servite won that game, 49-46.

St. Bernard advanced to the III-A semifinals with a 56-47 victory over Covina. St. Bernard will play La Canada, which is led by one of Southern Section’s best centers, 6-11 junior Richard Mandeville.

Westchester will also have a rematch when it play Manual Arts in a 4-A semifinal game. The Comets, who advanced with a 76-62 victory over Taft, have defeated Manual Arts twice this season.

It was business as usual for the Torrance High girls’ soccer team in the Southern Section 3-A quarterfinals on Friday.

The Tartars improved to 29-0 with a 6-0 victory over Santa Barbara.

Torrance also extended the Southern Section record for consecutive shutouts with its 17th. It was also the 28th shutout this season for goalkeeper Jennifer Halladay.

The Tartars, who will meet La Canada in the semifinals at 3 p.m. Tuesday at an undetermined site, have outscored their first three playoff opponents by 15-0.

La Canada advanced with a 1-0 win over Canyon of Anaheim on Friday.