Pagan Leads Way for Verbum Dei

It was no surprise that Los Angeles Verbum Dei standouts Richard Chaney and Tai Turner turned in big performances Friday during the Eagles’ Southern Section Division IV-A boys’ basketball championship game.

But Michael Pagan? A 5-foot-7 point guard who couldn’t sleep the night before because of derogatory comments about him on the Internet? A little-known sophomore who said he had “dinosaurs” in his stomach because he was nervous?

On his way to scoring a career-high 22 points in top-seeded Verbum Dei’s 84-75 victory over third-seeded Gardena Serra before a near-capacity crowd at Loyola Marymount, Pagan was a Tyrannosaurus Rex. He played with poise and precision against Serra’s Eugene Jeter after reading Internet reports saying he wouldn’t be able to keep up with the heralded guard. Pagan had six rebounds and four assists.

“[He] played one heck of a game,” Serra Coach Dwan Hurt said of Pagan, who hit a three-pointer during a 10-0 run in the third quarter to put Verbum Dei comfortably ahead. “He hit the shots when they needed him to and handled the press.”

Chaney scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Turner added 18 points for Verbum Dei (27-3), which won its first section title since 1999.

“I’ve really been waiting for a day like this,” said Pagan, who transferred to Verbum Dei after spending his freshman season at Long Beach Poly. “I feel great.”

Jeter scored 24 points but made only six of 24 shots for Serra (26-4).

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North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake 80, El Segundo 62--Sophomore forward Bryce Taylor scored 10 of his team-high 29 points during a 19-5 run in the first half of the Division IV-AA final at Loyola, leading the second-seeded Wolverines (26-5) to their first section title since 1997.

Top-seeded El Segundo (27-5), which trailed by 18 points at halftime, cut its deficit to 68-60 on a three-pointer by Jeramie Hopson, who finished with 23 points, midway through the fourth quarter before Harvard-Westlake responded with a 10-0 run to put the game away.

Dashawn Strong had 31 points for the Eagles, who shot 64% from the field in the second half.

Craig Weinstein added 18 points for Harvard-Westlake.

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Palos Verdes Estates Rolling Hills Prep 79, L.A. Ribet Academy 70--Sophomores Curtis Allen, D.J. Wright and Jason Daley combined for 67 points as the top-seeded Huskies (20-6) pulled away from the second-seeded Fighting Frogs (20-9) in the Division V-AA championship game at Loyola for their first section title since 1998.

Allen scored 28 points on 12-of-19 shooting, Wright added 21 points on seven-of-11 shooting and Daley had 18 points on six-of-nine shooting for Rolling Hills Prep, which shot a blistering 78.9% from the field in the second half and 60.4% for the game.

Lionnell Johnson made a steal and converted a three-point play to put Ribet ahead, 50-48, late in the third quarter before Rolling Hills Prep went on an 11-0 run to take control. Wright scored five points during the decisive push.

Ben Bolch

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L.A. Price 84, Tarzana Stoneridge Prep 46--The Knights became the fifth team to win four consecutive Southern Section championships by storming to the Division V-A title at Loyola.

Price (27-6) took a 25-3 lead after the first quarter as Stoneridge Prep missed 16 of 17 shots and committed 11 turnovers. Four players finished in double figures for the top-seeded Knights, led by Derrick Williams with 19.

James Spencer scored 18 points to lead second-seeded Stoneridge Prep (23-6).

Price’s 38-point victory was the third-biggest margin in a final in the section’s 87-year tournament history, equaling the difference in Price’s victory over Antelope Valley Christian last year.

Dan Arritt