Sentinels Topple Spartans

Villa Park High had a good start in its Southern Section Division II-AA quarterfinal Friday night, but Inglewood had an even better finish, scoring 17 of the final 19 points in a 63-46 victory at Inglewood.

“I don’t think we played with a lot of composure the last five minutes,” Villa Park Coach Kevin Reynolds said. “We broke down a couple of times offensively and turned it over. We didn’t execute.”

The Sentinels led, 46-44, when Chris Holloway’s basket with 4 minutes 50 seconds remaining began their decisive run. Ray Reed followed with a three-point basket 30 seconds later, his fourth of the game.

Brice Prather scored what proved to be Villa Park’s final points with 2:46 remaining, cutting the deficit to 51-46. D’Angelo Collins and Holloway ended the Spartans’ hopes of a comeback by combining to score the next 10 points.

“We started off with a pretty rotten start,” Inglewood Coach Pat Roy said. “Our point guard Jason McKinney didn’t really get a good feel of the basketball tonight. He had some key turnovers in the first quarter and he had some key turnovers in the fourth, but he came up with a big defensive stop as well.”

Collins, a 6-foot-10 senior center likely to make himself eligible for the NBA draft, finished with 21 points. Reed added 20, 16 in the second half, and Holloway 15 for the Sentinels (24-5).

The 6-foot-9 Sean Phaler, considered to be one of the nation’s top juniors, had 11 of his 17 points in the first half as Villa Park (26-4) led, 22-21. Prather added 14 and Kyle Hogan 12, 10 in the third quarter.

In the third quarter, Inglewood’s Reed made two three-point baskets and Collins and Ron Ligon one each helping the Sentinels to a 43-40 lead. Reed opened the fourth quarter with another three-point basket.

Inglewood will play Pasadena, a 67-54 winner over Claremont in a semifinal Tuesday.

Steven Herbert

*

Compton Centennial 50, Pasadena Muir 43--Showing why he is one of the top guards in Southern California, Gabriel Pruitt scored 20 points to help the Apaches (28-0) rally from a five-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win a Division III-A semifinal at La Canada High.

The game’s decisive moment came with 6:07 left when Centennial’s Darius Sanders scored and drew the fifth foul on Muir’s leading scorer Ryan Hollins. Hollins then picked up a technical and Pruitt made both free throw giving the Apaches a 36-35 lead.

After Muir tied the score at 38-38 on a three-point shot by Owen Duckworth , Centennial retaliated with consecutive three-point baskets by Sterling Byrd and Jonathan Smith to take a 43-38 lead with 2:11 remaining. Muir (23-6) received a team high 10 points from Jamaal Hall.

Centennial will play second-seeded Torrance Bishop Montgomery, a 79-34 winner over Ridgecrest Burroughs, Saturday at the Pond of Anaheim.

Eric Sondheimer

*

Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley 78, Fontana A.B. Miller 63--Matt Sweany scored a season-high 35 points, Pete DeCasas added 20 and Jake Franzen chipped in with 12 as the three senior starters accounted for all but 11 points for the Cougars (24-6), who advance to a Tuesday Division I-AA semifinal against the Fontana-Long Beach Poly winner.

The trio played an integral part on last season’s team that lost in the CIF finals to Upland. While their regular season performances were impressive, they have stepped up their efforts in the playoffs, according to their coach, Brian Mulligan.

“These three seniors just do not want to lose,” he said. “And that’s what you need this far in the playoffs.”

Capistrano Valley scored the game’s first six points but then fell behind and trailed 17-11 after one quarter. DeCasas scored nine in the second quarter and Sweany had eight to help the Cougars tie the game, 32-32, at intermission.

Sweany, who also had 10 rebounds, scored 16 third quarter points, hitting two three pointers in the first minute during a 9-0 Capistrano Valley run. Two more three pointers in the final two minutes helped the Cougars increase their lead to 56-44.

Third-seeded A.B. Miller (23-7) climbed to within 56-51, but Capistrano Valley reclaimed the momentum with a 14-4 run.

Jeremiah Ward scored a team-high 21 points and Victor Michel added 14. Jacob Ramirez, who this season had a 55-point game and had two games in which he scored more than 40, managed just 13.

Tim Dermody

*

In Division III-AA semifinals:

La Puente Bishop Amat 57, Artesia 54--Paul Porter picked a pass by Artesia and drove for a layup to give Bishop Amat a 53-50 lead with less than a minute to play. From there, Porter hit three free throws to secure the win at Mayfair High. Porter had 15 points in the game to lead Bishop Amat, which will play Palm Desert next Saturday at the Pond of Anaheim the Division III championship. Artesia finishes the season at 20-7.

L.A. Verbum Dei 71, Montclair Prep 53--Tai Turner scored 20 points and Richard Chaney added 14 points, 10 rebounds and seven rebounds for top-seeded Verbum Dei (26-3) in a Division IV-A semifinal. Nick Stigger scored 31 points for fourth-seeded Montclair Prep (16-12).

Gardena Serra 91, Calvary Chapel Downey 68--Eugene Jeter scored 28 points and Chris Hemphill added 26 to lead Serra (26-3) over Calvary Chapel Downey (24-5), setting up a Friday against Verbum Dei at Loyola Marymount.

Tarzana Stoneridge Prep 72, Palm Springs Desert Chapel 57--James Spencer scored 27 points, including 23 in the first half to lead Stoneridge Prep (23-5) over Palm Springs Desert Chapel (20-4), in a Division V-A semifinal.

Glendora 79, Lancaster 75 (OT)--Larry Monroe scored six of his 21 points in overtime to lead Glendora (27-2) to a Division I-A quarterfinal victory over Lancaster (21-8). Mike Webb led Lancaster with 33 points.

Bellflower St. John Bosco 80, Corona Centennial 75--Gio St. Amant had 28 points and 15 rebounds and Robert Reynaga had 21 points, seven assists and four steals for host St. John Bosco (24-6), as they upset fourth-seeded Centennial (24-4) and earned a berth in theDivisoin II-AA semifinals on Tuesday against the Mater Dei/Woodbridge winner. J.R. Reese led all scorers with 36 points for Centennial.