Verbum Dei Beats Murphy : Basketball: After an uninspired first half, the Eagles rule the boards and coast to a 69-52 victory.

For the Verbum Dei boys’ basketball team, the most important period in its game against Murphy was halftime.

During intermission, the topic of discussion in the locker room was the Eagles’ lackluster first-half performance.

Verbum Dei responded by outscoring the visiting Nobles, 40-24, in the second half to cruise to a 69-52 Santa Fe League victory Tuesday at Compton Community College.

“Murphy played much harder than us in the first half,� Verbum Dei Coach Mike Kearney said. “We stood around a lot on offense, too.�

The defense had its first-half problems too. The Eagles’ full-court press was broken by the skillful ball-handling of Murphy guard Robert Carrillo, who had eight assists and 10 points.

Despite their poor play, Verbum Dei led Murphy 29-28 at the half.

In the third quarter, the Eagles took off. Verbum Dei guard Tony Brown (seven points, 10 assists) began penetrating to the basket, drawing Murphy defenders and freeing the Eagle front-line for easy scoring opportunities.

Verbum Dei’s depth also proved to be too much for Murphy in the second half. The bigger, quicker Eagles dominated the boards and caused turnovers with their press.

“The referees let (the teams) play physical, which was to Verbum Dei’s advantage,� Murphy Coach Andrew Hunter said.

The most blatant example of Verbum Dei’s power came in a sequence in which the Eagles gathered six consecutive offensive rebounds before Andre Miller made a lay-in.

Point guard Jamal Cobbs, who led all scorers with 17, and the rest of the starting lineup for Verbum Dei were replaced by reserves with 5:30 left in the fourth quarter.

Murphy made a late fourth-quarter run to cut its deficit to 15 points, but Verbum Dei’s full-court press caused five consecutive turnovers.

Forward Alex Padillo led the Nobles with 13 points.

MURPHY--Padillo 13, Valle 12, Carrillo 10, Lee 7, Harris 4, Williams 4, St. Paul 2.

VERBUM DEI--Cobbs 17, Miller 15, Solomon 12, Burris 10, Brown 7, Stafford 4, Robinson 2, Coleman 2.

Records: Verbum Dei 13-3; Murphy 3-9.