Loyola finishes strong to defeat Etiwanda in regional playoff

With his college career all set for this fall at Pennsylvania, Julian Harrell doesn’t need to impress anyone on the basketball court. It’s all about ending his senior year with a championship, and he took charge for Los Angeles Loyola on Saturday night, lifting the host Cubs to a 48-35 victory over Etiwanda (30-3) in a quarterfinal game of the Division I Southern California Regionals.

In the first half, both teams had trouble making outside shots. Loyola held a 19-18 halftime lead after having leads of 9-0 to start the game and 17-10 in the second quarter. What a difference it was from Wednesday night, when Loyola scored 103 points in an opening win over Crenshaw.

One bad sign for the Cubs was that Harrell, their standout senior forward, was limited to one point. He was the player Etiwanda Coach Dave Kleckner was most concerned about to start the game, and taking Harrell out of Loyola’s offensive scheme made a difference.

Then Harrell rose up in a big way. He had five points in the third quarter when there were six lead changes and the quarter ended in a 29-29 tie. And he went into high gear at the outset of the fourth quarter, leading a 9-0 Loyola surge with a layup and a three-pointer. He finished with 13 points.

Another senior stepping up for Loyola (26-5) was Jacob Hazzard. He was scoreless through three quarters, then contributed nine points in the decisive fourth quarter.

The game featured a matchup of sophomore point guards. At one point in the third quarter, Loyola’s Parker Cartwright and Etiwanda’s Jordan McLaughlin went basket for basket The 5-foot-11 McLaughlin had the most spectacular play of the night, rising for a dunk in traffic. Cartwright finished with 13 points. McLaughlin had 10.

Loyola will play Mater Dei, which defeated Mission Viejo, 78-66, on Tuesday night in the semifinals.

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com