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Hawks pick off Sentinels
by John Tawa
Playing their best game since early in the season, the Redondo Union Sea Hawks upended Inglewood 73-46 at the Double Pump Challenge Saturday night at Long Beach City College to tie the Sentinels for the Bay League lead.
It wasn't supposed to be that easy. Inglewood, the third-ranked team in Div. II-AA and defending Bay League champion, came into the game with an overall record of 14-3 (5-0 in the Bay League). The Sentinels sported 6-9 transfer DeAngelo Collins, the most acclaimed sophomore on the West Coast, and a host of athletic guards.
But the Sea Hawks (15-2 overall, 5-1 in league) simply were the better team Saturday, outplaying and outhustling their opponents for the entire 32-minute game. Playing like the second-ranked team in Div. II-AA and the state's sixth-ranked team, they dominated the backboards, got in the passing lanes and out on the break and, with 18 assists, shared the ball better than at any time all season. Redondo only committed nine turnovers to boot, a vast improvement for a team averaging close to 20 per game.
The contest was never close. Tied at 5-5, the Hawks went on a 13-2 run to close the quarter behind sweet passes from Walter White, Ryan Mollins and Dijon Thompson, which resulted in lay-ups for Dylan Mathis, Andrew Zahn and White, respectively.
Leading 18-7 after the first quarter, Redondo put the game out of reach in the second quarter with outstanding team defense that yielded one steal after another for easy hoops. White punctuated one sequence with a monster slam after taking a nice feed from Zahn. And Thompson put on a dazzling show late in the half, stealing the ball on three consecutive possessions. Two Mathis lay-ups and a Thompson coast-to-coast run resulted, and the Sea Hawks had an insurmountable 37-13 lead at halftime.
The lead grew further in the third quarter, with Zahn dominating the offensive glass and White rejecting any Inglewood inside thrusts. Mollins, who finished the game with 20 points, scored eight in the quarter to discourage any comeback attempts. Brendan Behan's three-pointer late in the quarter extended the Redondo lead to 59-30.
Using mostly reserves, the advantage grew to 30 points at 64-34 early in the quarter. Sam Chance displayed great quickness with six points, while Andrew Morris demonstrated range with a long three. Paul Meynen had two assists in the quarter and Adam Zahn, who hit a nice baseline jumper, nearly brought the house down with a flying dunk attempt that clanged off the back of the rim.
The final statistics tell the story of a complete game played by the red and white. Mollins finished with 20 points and four rebounds, while Andrew Zahn had 14 points and nine rebounds. Mathis contributed 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists. White had eight points, three rebounds, three assists and three blocks, and Thompson impressed with seven points, four rebounds, five assists and five steals.
Collins led Inglewood with 12 points.
Redondo plays next tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. on the road against a talented Santa Monica team. ER