Turning Up Heat, Cleveland Cools Notre Dame, 68-54

Cleveland High turned up the defensive pressure in the second half of a quarterfinal game of the War on the Floor tournament at Canoga Park High on Thursday and it resulted in a 68-54 victory over Notre Dame.

Cleveland (5-0 in the tournament) defeated Dorsey, 60-51, earlier in the day to advance to the quarterfinals, but the Cavaliers looked sluggish in the first half against Notre Dame, trailing, 44-31, after the first 21-minute period contested with a running clock.

But Cleveland opened the second half with a full-court press and that led to numerous turnovers and a 16-2 run that gave the Cavaliers a 47-46 lead with 16:32 left.

“They had played earlier in the day and they just didn’t have their legs in the first half,” Cleveland Coach Andre Chevalier said. “It took them a half to warm up, but they came out and went after it in the second half.”

Notre Dame (2-2) took leads of 48-47 and 50-49 after baskets by John Murray, but Cleveland went on a 14-2 run to take a 63-52 lead with 6:40 remaining.

Kent Dennis, Brian Smith and Quan Randolph each scored four points during the run.

“We were kind of lackadaisical during the first half,” said Dennis, who had 21 points. “We didn’t come out with any enthusiasm or energy and it showed.”

Smith scored 18 points and Randolph had 11 for the Cavaliers, who will play No. 1-seeded Compton Dominguez in a semifinal today.

Dominguez (4-0), 1997 Southern Section Division II-AA champion, trounced Valencia, 110-45, in its quarterfinal game.

“They’re an excellent team,” Chevalier said. “They go 12 or 14 players deep and all of them can play.”

Dennis, a 6-foot-2 junior-to-be, said Cleveland can be competitive with Dominguez as long as the Cavaliers don’t get intimidated.

“I’m sure everyone is expecting Dominguez to win,” he said. “But I think we can play with them as long as we don’t play scared. As long as we play hard and do what [Chevalier] tells us, we should be there. If we do what he tells us, we’ll be OK because he really knows this game.”

Murray scored 14 points, Joe Donnelly had 13 and Chris Williams added 12 for Notre Dame, which will play Valencia in a consolation game today.

Unfortunately for the Knights, Williams scored all of his points in the first half, when Donnelly scored 11 and Murray had 10.

Notre Dame made only five baskets in the second half and missed all nine of its free throws.

Dominguez 110, Valencia 45--Tayshan Prince scored 21 points and Mike Carlson had 20 for the Dons, who led, 69-19, at halftime.

The Dons made their first seven shots and 18 of 21 on their way to making 29 of 40 in the first half.

Prince had three consecutive dunks in a 30-second stretch to give the Dons a 33-6 lead.

Matt Pawlak scored 14 points for Valencia (2-2).

San Fernando 62, Muir 54--Luis De La Rosa and Devin Montgomery each scored 15 points for the Tigers (4-1), who will face Simi Valley in a semifinal today.

San Fernando defeated Morningside, 55-44, earlier.

Simi Valley 57, Hart 26--Branduinn Fullove and Brett Michel each scored 21 points for the Pioneers (3-1).

Hart beat Sylmar, 58-55, earlier but several Indians missed the Simi Valley game because of commitments with the football team.

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War on the Floor Tournament Results

* Cleveland 68

* Notre Dame 54

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* Dominguez 110

* Valencia 45

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* San Fernando 62

* Muir 54

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* Simi Valley 57

* Hart 26

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Today’s Matchups

Semifinals

* 3:35 p.m.: Dominguez vs. Cleveland

* 4:40 p.m.: San Fernando vs. Simi Valley

Finals

* 9:15 p.m.: Dominguez/Cleveland winner vs. San Fernando/Simi Valley winner