Bishop Montgomery Defends III-AA Title

A strong start Thursday night propelled Torrance Bishop Montgomery to its second consecutive Southern Section Division III-AA boys’ basketball championship.

Behind USC-bound twins Derrick and Errick Craven, the Knights built a 12-point first-quarter lead and defeated Compton Centennial, 80-67, at The Pyramid.

“We didn’t come out ready to play,” Centennial Coach Rod Palmer said. “We dug ourselves too deep a hole.”

Derrick Craven scored four points during a 12-2 first-quarter run that gave Bishop Montgomery a 22-10 lead. The Knights (26-2) led, 44-23, at halftime and 57-42 after three quarters.

Centennial, which finishes 15-15 overall, including 11 forfeit losses for using an ineligible player, cut the deficit to 60-50 with 5:31 to play with an 8-3 run to open the fourth quarter.

The Knights responded with an 8-3 run for a 68-53 lead with 3:55 remaining. They led by at least 12 the rest of the way in defeating the Apaches in the final for the second consecutive season.

Derrick Craven made eight of 10 shots and scored nine of his 21 points in the fourth quarter. Errick Craven had 19 points on seven-of-11 shooting, and Fred Washington made all five shots for 11 points and Leland Dodd five of six shots for 10 points.

Anthony Davis scored 24 to lead Centennial. Roscoe Biggers had 18 and Arron Afflalo finished with 11, all in the fourth quarter.