PREP BASKETBALL / BOYS’ ROUNDUP : Arch Hits From Outside, Crenshaw Defeats Edison

Crenshaw High moved one step closer in its bid to repeat as Division I state champion by routing Huntington Beach Edison, 79-45, in the opening round of the Southern Regional tournament Tuesday night.

At Cal State Dominguez Hills, the second-seeded Cougars (26-2) took an 18-6 first quarter lead and never looked back.

Edison (19-11), coming off a tough loss to Mater Dei on Saturday, had five turnovers in the first three minutes and made only three of 15 shots in the first quarter.

“I think the team was overanxious,” Edison Coach Larry Hirst said. “They had a good showing against Mater Dei, and they thought another good showing and they would be competitive with Crenshaw.”

Micah Kroeger led the Chargers with 13 points.

Ronnie Arch led Crenshaw with 24 points, including six three-pointers. Kristaan Johnson added 21 points. Tremaine Fowlkes, who is averaging 25 points, was held to five.

Santa Ana Mater Dei 85, Crescenta Valley 54--Schea Cotton had 29 points and 16 rebounds to lead Mater Dei (32-0) in a Division I game at UC Irvine.

Cotton, who made 12 of 19 shots, scored nine of the Monarchs’ first 12 points. Clay McKnight added 17.

Inglewood 80, Bakersfield South 67--Paul Pierce, who has been unstoppable in the playoffs, had 23 points and 13 rebounds to lead Inglewood (29-3) in a Division II game at home.

Garden Grove Pacifica 70, Anaheim Servite 55--Chris Vlasic scored 16 of his game-high 22 points in the first half as Pacifica (28-1) rolled to a Division III victory at Long Beach City College.

Jon Surface added 20 points and six rebounds for the Mariners.

Servite (20-10) was led by Mark Seaton’s 16 points and 16 rebounds.

Rancho Santa Margarita 75, San Dimas 73--Jeremy Veal of San Dimas scored a game-high 43 points, but Santa Margarita guard Brian Scoggin made two free throws with 22 seconds to play to clinch a Division III victory for the Eagles (25-6) at Santa Margarita.

Scoggin finished with 23 points, including five three-pointers. Brian and Brad Finneran added 19 and 18 points, respectively, for Santa Margarita.

Verbum Dei 102, Holtville 45--Andre Miller had 25 points, 13 rebounds and six steals to lead Verbum Dei (25-2) in a Division IV game at Compton College.

Jamaal Cobbs added 17 points for the Eagles, who put the game away in the third quarter with a 22-4 run.

Pasadena Poly 58, La Jolla The Bishop’s 50--Cameron Murphy scored 13 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter to lead Pasadena Poly (23-5) in a Division V game at The Bishop’s (20-9).