The thud of despair felt by the Centaurs in their fourth-place finish last week in the Beverly Hills Tournament after winning its first six games does not dampen Culver City High School's recent title run in the annual long-running Pac Shores Tournament, according to Centaur coaches, thrilled to see the players gut it out before the holiday break.
Culver City is playing in the Westminster Tournament, which started Monday and will run through Saturday.
In preparation for the 59th annual Pac Shores Tournament, Culver City combined a 19-10 first quarter with an11-3 third quarter to secure a 49-37 victory over Rialto and overwhelmed Monrovia, 52-20.
Squad leaders in hustle points (rebounds, assists and steals) against Rialto were Rufus Humphrey with 22, Denzel Jackson, 21, Keilan Horton, 18, and Aamahd Walker and Kekoa Mathews each had 17. Humphrey and Mathews were point leaders in the Monrovia contest.
The Centaurs also edged Leuzinger at Lawndale, 44-43, and topped Price, 82-64, in games before the Pac Shores event.
Horton put in a tip-in basket with 10 seconds remaining for the one-point win over Leuzinger, which sprinted to a 9-0 lead. Culver City countered with a 21- 9 run to take a three-point lead at the end of the first quarter.
Aamahd Walker earned 17 hustle points and Gabe Baettig had 10.
Baettig dominated the once-powerful Price with 48 hustle points, Walker had 30 and Jaylen Carpenter and Julius Wilson tallied 21 in the easy Centaur win.
The Culver City high school boys basketball team took its fans on a roller coaster ride at the Pacific Shores tournament at Mira Costa High school before edging Narbonne in the championship game in overtime, 62-61.
In the first game, Torrance combined quick passes and a high-energy defense to upset Culver City,
60-56.
"We could have won but Torrance played good team ball on offense and played harder than
us on defense," said assistant coach David Gordon.
Aamahd Walker had 47 hustle points to lead the Centaurs over the Torrance Tartars.
The Centaurs played their best game of the tournament in the second game, an 82-62 win against home team Mira Costa in a mild upset.
Unselfish teamwork resulted in open shots and numerous Centaur free throws. Culver took advantage of foul trouble by Mira Costa as the Centaurs converted 29 of 33 free throws.
The Centaurs made 15 of 17 in their 34-point fourth period. They broke the game open by outscoring the Mustangs, 34-21, in the final quarter.
Four Culver City players scored in double figures, led by Walker with 25 points. Carpenter contributed 15 points, Darren Johnson had 12 and Horton tallied 10.
Walker and Baettig each scored more than 30 hustle points.
Culver City won its pool by a point spread after tying for first with the Tartars and Mustangs.
"We mismanaged a few things," Culver City head coach Jonathan Chapman said. "The players gutted it out."
Centaurs stumbled with 23 turnovers to a 49-31 win over Banning due to Culver City's defensive intensity and a poor shooting game for Banning. Culver City surged to a 20-7 first quarter lead but managed only 29 additional points in the final three periods. The Centaurs, though, played a stingy defense, holding the Pilots to just 18 points through the first three quarters.
Leading the Centaurs was Humphrey, with a game-high 15 points and 10 rebounds. Walker chipped in 11 points, four assists and 62 hustle points.
Horton intercepted a Narbonne pass with two seconds to go in overtime and Culver City held on to win the 59th annual Pacific Shores Tournament.
After a 57-57 tie at regulation, the Centaurs outscored the Gauchos, 5-4, in the overtime period that was highlighted by a three-point basket from Keilan Horton that gave Culver City a 60-59 lead. Horton and Darren Johnson each added one free throw in the extra four-minute period as the Centaurs held off Narbonne.
The Centaurs started quickly with a 17-8 first quarter lead but Narbonne closed the first half with a 22-5 run to grab a 30-22 halftime lead.
The second half saw Culver City close the gap before they finally streaked to a 57-55 lead as Horton, after missing a three-point basket, picked up a loose ball and went in for a lay up with nine seconds left in regulation.
Narbonne, also 3-1 after going 3-0 with wins over Palos Verdes, Brentwood and Lawndale, tied the game with two-tenths of a second left and sent it into overtime after a lay up from Troy Williams on an assist from Shailo Leafa.
In overtime, Culver led 62-61, but Narbonne had the ball with eight seconds to go before Horton picked off a pass to secure the title.
The Centaurs had three players score in double figures, led by Walker with a game-high 22 points. Darren Johnson and Horton added 13 and 12 points, respectively.
"Our players all played with some character," Chapman said. "They proved they had something left in their tank."
Walker was selected as the tournament’s most valuable player.
