Perfect Finish for Campbell Hall

North Hollywood Campbell Hall became the first boys’ basketball team in 15 years to make it through the regular season and Southern Section playoffs without a loss when the top-seeded Vikings defeated third-seeded Los Angeles Verbum Dei, 84-61, in the Division IV-AA championship game Thursday night at Loyola Marymount.

Campbell Hall (28-0) became the first team from the section to go unbeaten on the way to a title since Oxnard Santa Clara in 1990. Santa Ana Mater Dei and Glendale also went undefeated in 1985. The Vikings’ run was even more impressive considering they lost three starters to injury during the first weeks of the season and another starter, Jason Heard, was lost for the season last month after suffering abdominal injuries during practice.

“It’s crazy,” said Campbell Hall senior Conor Turley. “We went through a lot of adversity this year, and the way we were able to stay undefeated is amazing. I would have never imagined it for my senior year.”

After a back-and-forth first quarter, Campbell Hall pulled away in the second, outscoring the Eagles, 19-6, to take a 37-20 halftime lead.

Turley, a 6-foot-6 forward, scored nine of his 22 points in the quarter, including a three-point play with 3 minutes 13 seconds left in the half that gave the Vikings a 15-point lead. Joe Ford scored 25 to lead the Vikings, who won Division V-AA titles in 1992 and 1994 and lost to Verbum Dei in the Division IV-A final two years ago.

Gerard Anderson scored 22 points and Vince Fuller had 12 for Verbum Dei, which won the last three Division IV-A titles.

Top-seeded Van Nuys Montclair Prep limited sixth-seeded Ontario Christian to one field goal in 14 attempts during the second quarter, when it had a 15-2 scoring edge, and held off a second-half comeback to win its first section title since winning the Division V-AA crown in 1996 with a 65-47 victory.

Eight players scored for the Mounties (25-7), led by Craig Partovich with 15. Brandon Bergeron scored 14 points to lead the Knights (20-8).

Ryan Haliday, Dallas Rutherford and Drew Rigney accounted for all of Granada Hills Hillcrest Christian’s points in a 62-47 victory over Palos Verdes Estates Rolling Hills Prep in the Division V-AA final.

Haliday scored 16 of his team-high 23 points in the first half as second-seeded Hillcrest Christian (23-6) took a 33-26 lead.

Cameron Edison scored 16 points for fourth-seeded Rolling Hills Prep (17-12), which was trying for its fourth consecutive Division V-AA title.

Top-seeded L.A. Price (25-4) tied a Southern Section record by winning its seventh consecutive title with a 67-37 victory over La Canada Renaissance Academy (23-6) in the Division V-A championship. Price tied Compton Dominguez’s streak of seven consecutive titles from 1995 to 2001.

Dan Arritt

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Baseball

Gabe Cohen, a junior outfielder at North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake who hit .456 last season, has committed to UCLA.