Harvard-Westlake overpowers Los Angeles Loyola in 77-63 win

To say that 6-foot-5 Erik Swoope of North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake is the strongest player on the basketball court is an understatement. He looked like Hercules on Friday night, scoring 37 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and sending home seven dunks in the Wolverines’ 77-63 Mission League victory over Los Angeles Loyola before more than 1,200 in Loyola’s packed gym.

“He’s just an amazingly strong young man, and it’s going to take more than one man to stop him, and we got the ball to him,� Coach Greg Hilliard said.

Harvard-Westlake (17-4, 10-0), ranked No. 10 by The Times, won its 15th consecutive game and took a two-game lead over the No. 6 Cubs (19-2, 8-2).

Harvard-Westlake led by as many as 18 points in the second quarter. Loyola closed to within eight, 39-31, at halftime and was down 49-46 after three quarters. The Cubs got as close as 53-52 with 5:53 left but could never overtake the Wolverines, who soon went on an 11-0 run. Loyola never led in the game.

“When it came time to seize the moment, it seemed like they ran out of gas,� Swoope said.

Trying to stop Swoope and the 6-7 Damiene Cain was difficult. They pounded the boards and kept getting open inside. Cain had 16 points and eight rebounds. Adding to that, the Wolverines got outside help from guard Austin Kelly, who had 16 points.

For Loyola, Miles Cartwright had 25 points, but the Cubs struggled at the free-throw line and didn’t sustain much defense except for times in the second half when they went to a zone and were able to deny the ball to Swoope.

Both of Loyola’s losses this season have come against Harvard-Westlake. Loyola is ranked No. 1 in Southern Section Division 1A, but Harvard-Westlake has the tougher division, ranked No. 3 in 3A behind Gardena Serra and Compton Centennial.

Both of those schools are going to have to deal with Swoope in the playoffs. He said he had to get strong and tough after getting pushed around by an older brother growing up.

“Strength is always my advantage,� he said.

Swoope, who tied his career high in points, has committed to Miami and intends to play multiple positions in college even though he has become an inside force in high school.

As far as almost blowing an 18-point lead on the road, Hilliard said, “We pride ourselves on our conditioning, but there were times we were executing with fear in our hearts. But we got another burst of energy.�

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