Serra Gears Up for Another Run at IV-A Title

Serra High boys’ basketball Coach Dwan Hurt has been waiting five years for a team like this. The way Hurt sees it, the Cavaliers’ blend of experience, size and speed makes them the favorite to return to the Southern Section Division IV-A championship game.

Last season, after struggling through the regular season with an 11-15 record, Serra peaked during the playoffs, winning four games before losing in the Division IV-A final to Crossroads of Santa Monica, 74-67.

The development of this year’s team has been slowed because of injuries. In addition, Serra played a demanding early season schedule and finished nonleague play with an 8-7 record. Among the Cavaliers’ losses are two to defending State Division III champion Morningside, one to State Division II champion Artesia and one to two-time City Section 4-A Division champion Westchester.

“We’ve started off against some tough teams,” Hurt said. “But playing those kind of teams early on lets you know what type of team you have. I think what has been one of our problems is we seem to go into a key game with an injury. But there is no doubt that we like to play the best teams in Southern California. It’s good for the kids and it’s good for me as a coach.”

Since Camino Real League play began last week, the Cavaliers have been healthy and playing well. Serra defeated host St. Monica, 89-54, Friday night to improve to 11-7 and 3-0 in league play.

Serra has won its three league games by an average score of 84-41.

Serra’s front line of 6-foot-8 senior center Akeli Jackson, and 6-5 forwards Michael Boyd and Arthur Tate led the Cavaliers to an early 28-6 lead against St. Monica.

Jackson paced Serra during the run with nine points, two blocked shots, three rebounds and a steal. Tate had eight points and three rebounds and Boyd had five points and two rebounds.

Serra attempted 21 shots during their opening run, while limiting St. Monica to three-for-10 shooting. The Cavaliers also had 10 rebounds before St. Monica got its first rebound at the beginning of the second quarter.

St. Monica was without point guard Alex Davis, who was kicked off the team for disciplinary reasons by Coach Leo Klemm. The loss of Davis was a surprise to Hurt, who expected a closer game.

“At first I was surprised because of the rivalry we’ve had in the past with these guys,” Hurt said. “But Alex Davis wasn’t playing, and when you don’t have the best point guard in the league playing, it hurts.”

Four of Serra’s starters scored in double figures, led by Jackson with 24 points, 12 rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals.

Boyd had 20 points and seven rebounds, Tate 19 points and seven rebounds, and guard Roderick Swift 14 points, three steals and two rebounds.

Boyd, who is averaging 24.4 points a game, missed several early games after suffering a sprained ankle in the opener against Carson.

“That hurt us a lot,” Hurt said. “There is no doubt that (Boyd) has not been getting the credit he deserves. He is the most talented player that I have ever coached.”

The future looks bright for the Cavaliers. Hurt is eagerly awaiting next season when 5-10 point guard Regis Saffold, the younger brother of Morningside center Corey Saffold, becomes eligible for varsity play. The younger Saffold transferred from Morningside prior to the start of the school year.

“He is going to make a definite impact,” Hurt said. “One of the things we need is a point guard.”

North Torrance boys’ Coach Bill Atkinson, a 1975 graduate of the school, might have his former coach, Russ Bierley, break out the old game films to help build a winning attitude in the Saxon program.

After going 8-15 and 2-6 in the Pioneer League last year, North is beginning to show signs of improvement in Atkinson’s second season as coach.

North (7-9) won its league opener Wednesday night over Torrance, 74-72. The Saxons lost, 52-49, at South on Friday night, leaving their league record at 1-1.

“(Beating Torrance) was a big help,” Atkinson said. “We didn’t win our first game in league (play) last year until the second half (of the season). I can’t measure how that helped the kids’ confidence.”

Atkinson feels the lack of a winning attitude may have hurt North in the past. He said he might show his players North game films from the 1970s, when the Saxons challenged for Southern Section titles, so they can get a feel for the school’s rich tradition in basketball.

Redondo Coach Jim Nielsen was coach at North when Atkinson started as an assistant there in the late 1980s.

“(Atkinson’s) turning the program around,” said Nielsen, a former North standout who played at Washington State. “If he gets support from the administration and some on-campus assistants I think he’ll do well.”

North started off slowly this season, going 1-3 in the Pacific Shores tournament. But that was before Saxons added four players from the football team. Because the football players were behind in their basketball skills, Atkinson said he coached during games like he might during a practice.

A big boost for North came during Christmas vacation when guard Frank Ramirez was cleared to play. Ramirez, North’s All-Southern Section quarterback, suffered a broken collarbone in a football playoff game in November.

In Ramirez’s first game against Narbonne on Dec. 22, he made five three-point shots in the first half.

“I looked at him and said, ‘Thank God you’re back,’ ” Atkinson said.

North has gone 5-2 since Ramirez joined the team.

Despite sitting out for the first quarter because of disciplinary reasons, Inglewood’s Givon Hester still managed to score a game-high 20 points to lead the Sentinels to a 76-56 Bay League victory at Leuzinger Friday.

Hester, a 6-3 senior forward, scored 16 of his points against Leuzinger in the second half and added 12 rebounds as Inglewood improved to 10-8 and 2-0 in Bay League play.