Leuzinger Starts Living Up to Expectations in Tourney

After starting the season slowly with a 2-2 record, the Leuzinger High School boy’s basketball team has started to live up to expectations, winning five of its last six games.

On Wednesday, the Olympians led from start to finish as they beat Narbonne, 56-44, in the semifinals of the Sea Hawk Classic.

“We’ve just needed some time to get to know each other,” first-year Coach Eric Wilson said. “We had some football players who came out late, and some other problems that you have with a first-year coach. But now we are coming together.”

Leuzinger (7-3) will play the host team, Redondo, at 7:30 p.m. today in the championship game.

Leuzinger put on a strong defensive performance, holding Narbonne to 4 points in the first quarter.

“It was a real slow-paced game,” Wilson said.

The pace picked up in the second quarter, and Leuzinger held a 21-17 halftime lead.

Wendell Robinson led an Olympians third-quarter charge with 7 points, en route to a team high 16 points. Jemel Floyd also scored 16 points and Deontaye Chisholm added 11 points and nine rebounds for Leuzinger.

The Gauchos (2-6) were led by John Terry’s game-high 18 points.

Redondo 76, San Pedro 57

With the game tied 28 at halftime, Redondo exploded in the third quarter, outscoring San Pedro, 32-13.

The Sea Hawks (11-2) combined a fast-breaking offense with a full-court trap to overmatch San Pedro (4-9), outscoring them 14 to 0 in a three-minute span.

“We really came out smoking,” Redondo Coach Jim Nielsen said. “We started the game as flat as pancakes.”