SGV/Whittier Prep Sports Zone: BASKETBALL Roundup: Friday, Feb. 2nd, 2024
La Serna boys and California girls earned Del Rio League championships.
Here are the links to the brackets for Water Polo and Soccer for the CIF-SS Playoffs.
BOYS BASKETBALL
DEL RIO LEAGUE
La Serna 64, Cal 52:
La Serna’s Adrian Castro. (Escarcega)
WHITTIER – In the biggest game of the year, La Serna got a huge effort from someone who knows a thing or two about winning big games.
Adrian Castro, who played an important part in leading La Serna to a state championship in football and was named a first-team all-state player, scored 21 points and grabbed 13 points off the bench to help lead the Lancers to a double-digit win over the Condors.
With the win, the Lancers clinched the outright Del Rio League title.
After trailing 10-0 to start the game, the Lancers (17-11, 8-0) scored their next 22 consecutive points that proved the difference in the game. As if that was not enough, the Lancers also put together a 10-2 run in the second quarter. La Serna also got huge performances from Paul DeGuzman, who scored all his 15 points in the fourth quarter, and Gabriel Lewis, who finished with 9 points and 7 rebounds.
California was led by guard Luke Sanchez with 19 points and two big three-point baskets that sparked a late fourth-quarter rally that fell short. Kenny Renfrow came off the bench and scored 12 points.
In another Del Rio League match, Santa Fe defeated El Rancho, 62-49.
MISSION VALLEY LEAGUE
Marshall 76, Mountain View 60: The Eagles earned their sixth win of the season with a season-ending road win over the Vikings. Cedric Hill scored 26 points with Bagdo Yetenekyan adding 21 points, Noah Rios pitching in 12 points and Marshall Becker pumping in 10 points.
MONTVIEW LEAGUE
Nogales 53, Sierra Vista 46: Despite getting a huge effort from Aaron Buna with 20 points, the Dons suffered a loss to the Nobles. Nogales, Workman, and Sierra Vista will finish as co-league champions with Nogales winning the coin flip and receiving the top seed from the league. David Orozco added another 13 points.
NONLEAGUE
South Pasadena 82. Hillcrest Christian 58: Miles Nowe and Jacob Arias each scored a team-high 16 points to lead the Tigers to a nonleague win.
Other Scores
Alemany 58, Azusa 39
Workman 59, Azusa 32
South El Monte 53, El Monte 40
Gabrielino 50, Arroyo 19
Keppel 94, Montebello 52
GIRLS BASKETBALL
DEL RIO LEAGUE
California team photo after defeating La Serna on Friday night to earn a share of the Del Rio League title (Escarcega)
California 55, La Serna 14
WHITTIER – Stunning.
That is the only word that anyone could utter after watching the Condors overwhelm the Lancers to earn a share of the Del Rio League title.
The Condors went on a mind-numbing 26-0 run that La Serna was unable to recover from. After scoring the game's opening points, La Serna did not score again until Danae Covarrubias converted on a layup with 3:10 remaining in the first quarter. The 14 points were the lowest output from the Lancers offense this season.
Natalia Sanchez connected on three 3-point baskets and was the top scorer in the game with 17 points. Cindy Torres Molina added 11 points. Covarrubias scored a team-high 6 points for the Condors.
La Serna finished the season with a 13-14 record while California’s record improved to 17-9.
El Rancho 46, Santa Fe 25: It took the final game for the Dons to earn their first league win as they overwhelmed the host Chiefs. Emery Riker went 10 of 16 from the field and finished with 21 points.
ALMONT LEAGUE
Keppel 77, Montebello 18: The Aztecs won their 14th consecutive Almont League title with a rout of the Oilers.
MISSION VALLEY LEAGUE
Gabrielino 53, Arroyo 17: The Eagles completed a perfect Mission League title with a rout of the Knights. Mia Lim had a huge game for Gabrielino with 23 points.
Marshall 59, Mountain View 25: The Eagles clinched second place in the league standings as they throttled the Vikings with senior Destiny Isiaso scoring 24 points.
MONTVIEW LEAGUE
Sierra Vista team photo after defeating Nogales on Friday night. (Photo: Sierra Vista HS girls basketball)
Sierra Vista 46, Nogales 40: On the strength of huge efforts from Cailei Buna with 17 points and Zaira Eulloque with another 16 points, the Dons (14-10, 7-1) captured the Montview League title with a narrow win over the Nobles (8-13, 5-3). Nogales will go to the playoffs as the Montview League third-place team.
Other Scores
South Pasadena 86, St. Paul 51
Azusa 39, Workman 20
Alhambra 45, San Gabriel 36
Bell Gardens 31, Schurr 28