PREPS / CAP CAREY : Business As Usual for the Knights

Shaking off a sluggish start, the Bishop Montgomery High boys’ basketball team used a strong second half to notch its 19th double-digit victory of the season Friday night over visiting Newport Harbor, 69-49, in the first round of the Southern Section Division III-AA playoffs.

The second-seeded Knights (21-2) will play Paso Robles in the quarterfinals Friday night at Bishop Montgomery.

Excluding Division V-A teams, South Bay teams were 12-1 in first-round games, the best playoff start by area schools in recent years.

The starting time of the Bishop Montgomery-Newport Harbor game was moved up a half-hour to 7 p.m. to enable the visitors to attend a school dance late Friday. In the first half, Newport Harbor controlled the tempo, which resembled a waltz, and built a 23-18 lead with 3:20 left to play in the second quarter.

Newport Harbor outrebounded the Knights, 15-8, in the first half and held Bishop Montgomery to 45% shooting. Junior guard Eric Vallely, son of former UCLA basketball player John Vallely, hit three three-point shots in the first half and was four-for-seven overall.

“I don’t know what the problem was (in the first half),” Knight Coach Doug Mitchell said. “I don’t think we were flat. Maybe it was just nerves, we were standing around and watching them set the tempo.”

Bishop Montgomery returned to form in the second half, outscoring Newport Harbor, 42-20, and limiting the Sailors to 31% shooting. The Knights shot 61.5% and outrebounded Newport Harbor, 19-10, in the second half.

The Knights gained control with a 35-15 run that began with 3:20 remaining in the first half and lasted until 6:06 left in the fourth quarter.

Forward Andre English, who made only one of four shots in the first half, keyed Bishop Montgomery’s run by scoring 10 points and grabbing four rebounds. Gab Ramirez and Jayson Sanders each scored six points during the span, and point guard Kareem Mutrie added five points and three rebounds.

“We put more effort into our defense,” Mitchell said. “We had to pick up the tempo and put on the pressure a little bit. (Mutrie) played well in the second half.”

Bishop Montgomery wound up winning by almost the exact average score of all its games this season, 69-50.

The Knights, winners of 10 consecutive games, are ranked third in Division III and have won 78% of their games by double-figure margins, including 43% by 20 points or more.

Despite those numbers, the Mission League champions have not received as much attention as other teams with similar records.

“Maybe it will help us sneak up on some people,” Mitchell said. “We are in a good, quality league. Our fifth-place team, St. Bernard, is in the semifinals (of Division IV-AA).”

Torrance guard Michael Dean, the state scoring leader with a 32.9 average, had his fourth triple-double of the season to lead the Tartars to an 83-70 victory over Burroughs in the Division II-AA playoffs at Burbank.

Dean had 47 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists and six steals. He outscored 29 teams that played postseason games Friday night. The Tartars (13-13) advance to the second round of the playoffs Tuesday night against Dominguez of Compton at Torrance.

Burroughs’ leading scorer, Gabe Colon, was a roommate of Dean’s last summer at the Superstars camp in Santa Barbara. Before Friday’s game, Dean said he noticed a sign on the gym wall that read: “Mike Dean and Gabe Colon--One on One.”

“They were checking off our points whenever we scored, and by halftime they stopped marking my points,” Dean said, laughing.

Colon shot only four of 12 from the field and finished with nine points.

Torrance led by only 40-37 at the half, but Dean scored 18 points in the third quarter as the Tartars outscored Burroughs, 25-13, to make it 65-50.

Torrance Coach George Tachibana said many of Dean’s third-quarter points came off of steals that he converted into layups.

“In the first half, I kept saying that I didn’t want to gamble too much,” Dean said. “But (in the second half), I started seeing more of their tendencies, and then I made my move.”

Torrance defeated Morningside and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame earlier this season, victories that Tachibana hopes will give the Tartars confidence to play with second-seeded Dominguez.

“They are a very talented team, a very deep team,” Tachibana said. “Because we beat Notre Dame and Morningside and played some other good teams really tough, we have a certain confidence that makes us believe in ourselves and not be overwhelmed.”

Dean definitely does not lack confidence.

“Anybody can fall, it’s playoff time,” Dean said. “We have nothing to lose. (Dominguez has) everything to lose, We are big-time underdogs.”

Peninsula extended the coaching career of John Mihaljevich at least another week by defeating Long Beach Poly, 51-47, in a second-round game of the Division I-AA playoffs at Poly.

Mihaljevich, in his 26th season as a head coach, announced his resignation last week, effective at the end of the season. The Panthers (20-7) travel to Simi Valley for a quarterfinal-round game Friday night.

In Division II-A, North Torrance defeated Bishop Amat, 79-53, and won a coin flip to gain the home court in the second round Tuesday night against top-seeded Artesia, the defending State Division II champion. Point guard Jimmy Miller scored 37 points for the Saxons (15-10).

Mira Costa (19-7) defeated Valencia, 60-48, and will play host to Ventura on Tuesday night.

In Division II-AA, Bay League champion Inglewood (17-9) defeated Compton, 59-55, and will travel to Tustin on Tuesday for a second-round game.

In Division III-AA, top-seeded Morningside (23-5) defeated Servite, 75-52, Friday and will play Estancia of Costa Mesa in the quarterfinals Friday at Inglewood High. Third-seeded South Torrance (24-2) defeated Western of Anaheim, 51-37, and will play host to Pomona on Friday.

Second-seeded Serra (19-7) opened the Division IV-A playoffs with a 103-53 victory over Marantha. The Cavaliers will travel to Carpinteria for a quarterfinal game Friday.

St. Bernard defeated Laguna Beach, 54-53, on two free throws by Terrell Hickmon with nine seconds remaining. The Vikings (12-14) will play host to Palo Verde of Blythe in a Division IV-AA semifinal game Friday.

In Division V-AA, top-seeded Chadwick (19-8) scored 100 points for the first time in 10 years in a 110-54 victory over Grace Brethren. Chadwick travels to Cate of Carpinteria for a second-round game Tuesday. Mary Star (15-7) defeated Boron, 90-65, and will play Tuesday at second-seeded Cypress Brethren Christian.

Several South Bay boys’ and girls’ soccer teams are still involved in the Southern Section playoffs. In boys’ Division I, Hawthorne will travel to Ocean View of Huntington Beach for a quarterfinal game Thursday. Morningside travels to Royal of Simi Valley on Monday for an opening-round game.

In boys’ Division II, West Torrance travels to Santa Ana Valley on Tuesday for a second-round game and South Torrance travels to Long Beach Millikan. In Division V, Chadwick travels to Orange Lutheran on Tuesday for a second-round game.

In girls’ Division I, top-seeded Torrance will travel to Claremont for a quarterfinal game Thursday. South Torrance will play the winner of a game between Ocean View and El Toro in the quarterfinals.

In girls’ Division II, Redondo plays host to Estancia on Tuesday in a second-round game. Bishop Montgomery will play host to Santa Barbara and Mira Costa travels to Los Alamitos in other second-round games Tuesday.