Prep basketball roundup: Phoenix Smith, called up from JV team, lifts Crespi to win
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When sophomore guard Phoenix Smith came off the bench on Monday night in Crespi’s season opener against Cleveland, two things were clear: His big hair and his 5-foot-7 frame, the smallest on the court.
He played junior varsity last season, and let’s just say Celts coach Derek Fisher is going to have fun working with him. Smith was three for three on three-pointers and finished with 16 points in Crespi’s 81-44 win over Cleveland.
He put together a nine-point surge between the end of the first quarter and the start of the second quarter. Leaving him open this season will not be a good strategy. Another JV player from last season, Cayman Martin, led Crespi in scoring with 17 points. Carter Barnes had 14 points and Isaiah Barnes 13 points.
The Southern Section Division 1 high school football playoffs are on the verge of making history as far as the champion is concerned.
Crespi has a big game coming up Saturday at Pauley Pavilion against Mater Dei.
St. Bernard 81, Claremont 56: Brandon Granger led St. Bernard with a 30-point performance.
South Pasadena 77, Franklin 43: Nick Rios scored 22 points and Rob Khollesi added 21 points for South Pasadena.
Carson 59, South East 37: The Colts are 2-0 under new coach Corey Kitani. Blake McCall had 16 points and nine rebounds.
Mira Costa 85, Torrance 70: Logan Dugdale finished with 18 points and Paxx Bell had 17 points and 12 rebounds in a first-round game at the Ocean View tournament.
Wiseburn Da Vinci 73, Oak Park 56: Aidan Ebrahimi had 15 points for Wiseburn Da Vinci.
Santa Margarita 89, Temecula Valley 38: Drew Anderson had 30 points and 11 rebounds and Kaiden Bailey added 26 points for the Eagles.
Canyon Country Canyon 65, Antelope Valley 28: Alex Lazo made nine threes and finished with 27 points for the Cowboys.
Servite 100, United Christian Academy 18: Tariq Johnson had 22 points for the Friars.
JSerra 75, Troy 42: Sophomore Ryan Doane had 17 points for the Lions.
West Torrance 64, Venice 55: Ben Heinemann finished with 15 points for West Torrance.
Valencia 47, Heritage Christian 44: Ali Eldein led Valencia with 18 points.
Damien 89, Sunny Hills 42: Eli Garner scored 25 points and Zaire Rasshan had 24 points in the Sunny Hills tournament.
La Habra 81, Whittier 36: Acen Jimenez finished with 21 points.
Cathedral 59, Lancaster 44: The Phantoms unveiled two promising freshmen, Michael Taylor Jr. and Osirus Miranda in victory. Each scored 16 points.
Crenshaw 56, Edgewood 32: The Cougars won their opener.
Crossroads 72, Culver City 43: Van Moczydlowsky finished with 19 points and Lucas Magnus had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Inglewood 125, Lynwood 37: Jason Crowe Jr. set the all-time Southern Section scoring record with 43 points.
Village Christian 82, El Camino Real 34: Freshman Will Conroy had 21 points for Village Christian.
