PREPS / CAP CAREY : Bishop Montgomery, South Torrance Boys on Collision Course

The South Torrance and Bishop Montgomery boys’ basketball teams have put together impressive seasons and their efforts have gone somewhat unnoticed in the Southern Section rankings.

Now they get a chance to see who’s better.

South (25-2) will play Bishop Montgomery (22-2) in a Division III-AA semifinal playoff game Tuesday night. South won a coin flip Saturday to earn the home game at an alternate site, and Spartan Coach LaMont Henry indicated he would like to play at North Torrance.

Third-seeded South earned its first-ever appearance in a semifinal with a 78-71 overtime victory over Pomona on Friday night at North. Second-seeded Bishop Montgomery defeated Paso Robles, 78-61, at Redondo.

“We are very familiar with Bishop,� Henry said. “We scrimmage them every year, so they know us and we know them. It will be a big battle. I do have concerns because they are real strong at the guard spots.

“I think we are pretty balanced in the front court, but they have a lot of quickness and good shooters.�

Another reason for Henry’s familiarity with the Bishop Montgomery program is that he used to work as an assistant with Knight Coach Doug Mitchell. In 1989, Henry and Mitchell applied for the Bishop Montgomery job. When Mitchell was hired, he made Henry the sophomore coach.

“The thing I like about Doug is that he is a very intense coach,� Henry said. “He works hard to make his players solid. We had a lot of things in common. It wasn’t hard for me to hop into his program and do what I had to do to help his program. It went well together.�

Since taking the South job, Henry has built a strong reputation. He was named The Times’ South Bay Coach of the year last season, and this season he has guided the Spartans to their best season ever and a school-record, 13-game winning streak.

South has been led by point guard Jimmy Williamson, the area leader in assists with a 10.7 average, and center Kyle McIntosh, second among South Bay rebounders with a 14.1 average. But it was sophomore Derek Brown who earned Henry’s praise after the Pomona game.

The 6-foot guard finished with 12 points, including two three-point shots, and four rebounds. He made four of seven shots in the second half.

“We’ve been saying to (Brown) and (guard Todd Miller) all year long, ‘You’ve got to start hitting for us,’ � Henry said. “Derek Brown came out and hit some clutch three-pointers for us. He really kept us in there. Derek Brown was the key to our getting the intensity back into the game.�

Early in the game, South failed to defend Pomona guard Joe Phears on the perimeter, and he took advantage by making four three-point shots in the first five minutes as the Red Devils took a 19-11 lead. Phears set a state record earlier this season by making 14 three-point baskets in a game against Bassett of La Puente.

“We had a tape on Pomona, and we didn’t let the kids look at it,� Henry said. “But we did let them know they were beatable. I think we were a little overconfident because we just came out really flat.�

Brown gave South its first lead of the game, 56-55, on a three-point shot at the start of the fourth quarter.

South’s defense limited the Red Devils to 11-of-38 shooting in the second half and overtime.

McIntosh scored 28 points, one less than his season high, and grabbed 16 rebounds. Williamson had 21 points, six assists and six rebounds.

Before the season, Serra basketball Coach Dwan Hurt said, “I’ve been head coach at Serra for five years and this is the season I’ve been waiting for.�

But after playing a demanding nonleague schedule--which included two losses to defending State Division III champion Morningside, one to State Division II champion Artesia and one to two-time City Section 4-A Division champion Westchester--the Cavaliers were 8-7.

Hurt said people started asking him if he had second thoughts about his preseason remark.

“I told them not at all,� Hurt said. “We knew we had played the best teams in all of Southern California.�

Since opening Camino Real League play, Serra (20-7) has been a force, winning 12 consecutive games and outscoring its opponents by an average of 42.9 points a game. The Cavaliers’ closest game in 1993 has been a 77-52 victory over Cantwell on Jan. 29.

Serra has continued its dominant play in the Southern Section Division IV-A playoffs. The Cavaliers, who defeated Maranatha by 50 points in the first round, rolled to a 74-40 victory over Carpinteria in the quarterfinals Friday night at Santa Barbara High. Second-seeded Serra will face Santa Clara of Oxnard (20-5) Tuesday night in the semifinals at Ventura College.

“It goes back to the kids,� Hurt said. “We always tell our second unit that they are as strong as any team we will play. The kids have just come to play every game.�

Leading the way for Serra has been its impressive front court. Center Akeli Jackson, a Cal State Long Beach recruit, averages 24.5 points and 14.2 rebounds, best in the area. Forward Michael Boyd averages 23 points and 10 rebounds, and the other forward, Arthur Tate, averages 16.6 points and 11.9 rebounds.

If that wasn’t enough, the Cavaliers added point guard Alex Davis midway through league play when he transferred from St. Monica. Davis, an All-Southern Section selection last season, played his best game on Friday, according to Hurt, with 17 points and six steals.

Tuesday, Serra will go against a legendary coach in Santa Clara’s Lou Cvijanovich, who has 701 career victories since starting at the school in 1959. He is the third-winningest coach in state history and has a record 13 section titles.

“I’ve known (Cvijanovich) for a long time and the thing I’m going to try to black out is me going against him,� Hurt said. “It’s the kids going against the kids. They are not as good as they have been in the past, but they are a well-coached team and they run a very disciplined game.�

After struggling because of injuries and illness early in the season, the St. Bernard basketball team has rebounded from a 6-12 start to reach a Southern Section championship game for the first time since 1982.

The Vikings (14-15) defeated Palo Verde of Blythe, 67-51, Friday to advance to the Division IV-AA final against Corona Del Mar (16-12). The finalists were at-large entries in the playoffs, meaning they finished lower than third place in their respective leagues.

Corona Del Mar won a coin flip to earn the home game at a yet-to-be-determined neutral site Friday night.

“We were sweating it out whether we’d even make the playoffs,� St. Bernard Coach Jim McClune said. “We’ve had 18 different lineups this year because of injuries and sicknesses.�

Inglewood (20-9) defeated Cajon, 71-62, to advance to the Division II-AA semifinals. The Sentinels will play top-seeded John W. North of Riverside (28-0) Tuesday night at Perris High.

Defending state champion Morningside (24-5) defeated Estancia, 80-50, in a rematch of last year’s Division III-AA championship game to advance to the semifinals. The Monarchs will face Santa Margarita (23-4) Tuesday. Santa Margarita will be designated the home team for the game at a site to be determined.

Top-seeded Chadwick (20-7) defeated Holy Martyrs, 77-59, to advance to the Division V-AA semifinals. The Dolphins will play host to Faith Baptist (16-11) Tuesday at a site to be determined.

In the City Section, Westchester (22-6) defeated Locke, 74-70, in overtime Friday to advance to the 4-A Division semifinals, where it will play Fremont (19-7) on Wednesday.

In the 3-A Division, Banning (15-12) defeated Lincoln, 47-44, to reach the semifinals for the first time since 1983. The Pilots will play Franklin (17-8) on Wednesday.

Teams have been selected for the third annual South Bay All-Star Basketball Classic, featuring the area’s top senior boys. The game will be played March 12 at South Torrance.

Doug Mitchell of Bishop Montgomery and Rick Sabosky of El Segundo will coach the Red team, and LaMont Henry of South and Jim Nielsen of Redondo will coach the Blue all-stars.

The rosters:

Red team--Josh Branca (Mira Costa), Donminic Ellison (Morningside), Michael Boyd (Serra), Raymond Tutt (San Pedro), Darren Mitchell (St. Bernard), Tryvon Cockrell (Leuzinger), Frank Ramirez (North Torrance), Dylan Brown (Chadwick), Dan Hyde (Redondo), Chris White (Inglewood), Kyle McIntosh (South), Corey Saffold (Morningside), Andre English (Bishop Montgomery), Bryan Hill (Banning).

Blue team--Jimmy Williamson (South), Jimmy Miller (North), Chris Ramsey (Carson), Michael Dean (Torrance), Jason Jones (Bishop Montgomery), Jason Sanders (Westchester), Jeremy Prieto (Mary Star), Stais Boseman (Morningside), Aaron Willette (El Segundo), Frank Zeno (Mira Costa), Matt Acres (Peninsula), Givon Hester (Inglewood), Dwight Curry (Morningside), Akeli Jackson (Serra), Bryan Kelly (Redondo).