BOYS BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Garfield Bulldogs Use Press to Unleash Late Attack Against Wilson

Waiting until the fourth quarter to pick up the pace, the Garfield Bulldogs used a full-court press to ignite a 63-55 victory Wednesday over the Wilson Mules in the fifth-place championship game of the 22nd annual Morey Elmore Memorial Classic at Eagle Rock High School.

Wilson guard Ernie Oliva hit a three-point shot at the end of the third quarter to give Wilson a three-point lead, 44-41. But Garfield’s fourth-quarter press caused six turnovers and the Bulldogs took a 52-46 lead midway in the fourth quarter and never looked back.

Center Alex Gomez had a game-high 33 points, but it was the play of point guard Julio Serrano that rallied the Bulldogs down the stretch. Serrano, who finished with nine points, had three steals and three assists in the fourth quarter.

GARFIELD--Gomez 33, F. Aguilar 11, Serrano 9, Valencia 4, Gonzales 4, O. Aguilar 2.

WILSON--Brito 19, Hunt 14, Diaz 9, Ramirez 5, Esquibel 4, Oliva 3, Bautista 1.

Records: Garfield 10-6; Wilson 7-7

WEDNESDAY

Belmont 73, Sylmar 50-- The Sentinels used a diamond-and-one defense to neutralize Michael Farmer and outscored Sylmar in the second quarter, 18-8, en route to an easy win in the consolation game of the Eagle Rock tournament.

BELMONT--J. Castro 17, Amos 17, Collado 15, Liwag 11, Hong 7, A. Castro 3, Kwon 2, Lucero 1.

SYLMAR--Price 19, Jones 19, Farmer 6, Hooks 6, Cabrera 0.

Records: Belmont 5-6; Sylmar 2-8.

TUESDAY

Palisades 59, Locke 52--Senior Kameron Mik-Akhtar hit all four of his three-point attempts en route to a game-high 22 points to help the Palisades Dolphins outlast the Locke Saints 59-52 in a championship semifinal game of the Eagle Rock tournament.

Senior Glen Lyles led the Saints with 13 points and forward Carl Conston had 12 points. Senior David Henry scored 14 points for the Dolphins.

WILSON--Mik-Akhtar 22, Henry 14, Morgan 7, Turner 7, Thomas 3, Mitchell 2, Segel 2, Wilson 2.

LOCKE--Lyles 13, Conston 12, Neetles 12, Harper 7, Higgins 4, Jones 2, Roberts 2.

Records: Palisades 7-2; Locke 9-5.

Garfield 80, Jefferson 64--Garfield senior Frank Aguilar scored a game-high 22 points to pace the Bulldogs to an easy 80-64 victory over the Jefferson Democrats in a fifth-place semifinal game of the Eagle Rock tournament.

GARFIELD--F. Aguilar 22, Serrano 21, Gomez 17, Gonzalez 12, O. Aguilar 8.

JEFFERSON--Martin 19, Hopson 18, Weaver 11, Johnson 9, Morse 7.

Records: Garfield 9-6; Jefferson 10-3.

Wilson 69, Roosevelt 41--Octavio Brito, a 6-foot-3 forward, powered his way to 20 points in helping Wilson to coast to a 69-41 win against outmanned Roosevelt in a fifth-place semifinal game at the Eagle Rock tournament.

ROOSEVELT--Escobar 11, Munoz 10, Burgueno 6, Herrera 6, Prado 4, Garcia 2, Rodriguez 2.

WILSON--Brito 20, Hunt 19, Esquibel 9, Godina 5, Vasquez 4, Bautista 4, Castro 2, Diaz 2, Lomelli 2, Ramirez 2.

Records: Wilson 7-6; Roosevelt 2-9.

Belmont 76, Huntington Park 67--Oliver Collado had 27 points and 11 rebounds to lead Belmont to the consolation semifinals at the Eagle Rock tournament.

BELMONT--Collado 27, Liwag 13, J. Castro 11, Amos 10, Hong 8, Surratt 7.

HUNTINGTON PARK--Covarubias 23, Cruz 11, Figueroa 9, Correa 8, Mireles 6, Placensia 6, Garcia 4.

Record: Belmont 4-6.

MONDAY

Belmont 65, Downtown Business 62--Soon Hong made two key layups and two free throws in the fourth quarter to preserve Belmont’s consolation victory at the Eagle Rock tournament.

Jason Liwag scored 16 points, including seven out of eight free throw attempts in the fourth quarter. Oliver Collado scored 21 points to lead the Sentinels.

DOWNTOWN BUSINESS--Gabriel 28, Borduiant 14, Harris 10, Breaux 4, Montez 4, Griggs 2.

BELMONT--Collado 21, Liwag 16, Hong 10, Amos 10, Qwon 2, J. Castro 2, Lucero 4.

Records: Belmont 3-6.