NOTEBOOK / SEAN WATERS : Corsairs Take Aim at a Title

The Santa Monica College men’s basketball team is three games away from winning its first state title under Coach John McMullen.

Santa Monica (26-7) will be making its fourth appearance in the final eight when it plays Kings River (27-6) at 2 p.m. today at the University of San Francisco.

The Corsairs won the 1972 state championship under Coach Bobby Dye.

The tournament matches the top four qualifiers from the South and North regions. The semifinals will be Friday and the championship will be Saturday.

Ventura (35-1), which lost to Santa Monica, is the top-seeded team from the South region. Columbia (29-2) is the top-seeded team from the North.

Corsair forward Mike Demers, guard Craig Martin and guard James Gray were selected to the Western State Conference first team. Demers was the WSC most valuable player.

The Corsairs qualified for state by beating Pasadena City College, 69-63, Saturday at Santa Monica College. Gray made five of six three-point shots and scored 22 points.

“Our strength has been our fast break, but I have a feeling that at this level, teams will know how to counter against our speed,” McMullen said. “We need to be smart. Work for good shots and make good shots.”

Baseball: Beverly Hills High had a triple play in winning its first two games last week in the Westside tournament.

Junior catcher Jeremy Booth went four for four with six runs batted in as the Normans beat Palisades, 12-0, Friday at La Cienega Park. Mike Newmark gave up two hits and struck out 10 to earn the victory.

In the fourth inning with Palisades runners on first and second, second baseman Clark Parker fielded a ground ball and flipped to shortstop Brandon Hearn at second for a force out. Hearn threw to Kevin Moore at first for the second out, and Moore threw to Booth, who tagged out a runner trying to score from second for a triple play.

On Saturday, the Normans scored seven runs in the second inning to beat Rio Mesa, 14-8. Booth went four for five with six RBIs. He had a three-run double in the second and a three-run home run in the fifth.

“(He had) 12 RBIs in two days, that’s pretty impressive,” Coach Bill Erickson said. “Not too many kids anywhere can do that. That’s a career for some guys.”

Boys’ basketball: Coach John Bobich knew it would only be a matter of time before Behzad Souferian developed into the point guard Bel-Air Prep was looking for.

“At the beginning of the season, we weren’t comfortable with him at that position,” Bobich said. “By the time league started, he developed into the player we needed.”

With Souferian leading the way, Bel-Air Prep returned to the Southern Section Division V-A title game and beat Ambassador Christian, 52-48, on Friday. Although Westley Allen led the Bruins in scoring with 16 points, it was Souferian who got the most credit for the win.

“As a senior captain, he took control of the team,” Bobich said. “We were able to rely on him to handle the press. He kept the team from losing its composure when it came to crunch time.”

Bel-Air Prep qualified for the state playoffs and lost to Calipatria, 65-61, in a Division V game Tuesday at Imperial Valley College.

Girls’ basketball: Kelly Shimabukuro, a 5-4 senior guard for St. Bernard, has been overshadowed by teammates Joi Turner and Olympic Scott.

But in Saturday’s Southern Section Division IV-AA championship game, Shimabukuro made six of seven three-point shots as the Vikings defeated Santa Ynez, 75-50.

The guard made two three-point shots to help St. Bernard outscore Santa Ynez, 24-8, in a the third quarter. She has made 64 three-point shots this season.

“She had the best game of her career on the right day,” Coach Lori Pawinski said. “I think she’s been overlooked because we have Joi (Turner), but Kelly is one of the best point guards in the Westside area.”

St. Bernard beat Lincoln Prep, 90-46, Tuesday in a Division IV game. The Vikings boys played San Diego Lincoln and lost, 91-76.