Redondo routs Inglewood in boys basketball contest
The Inglewood at Redondo boys basketball game Tuesday night was supposed to be a clash of the Bay League titans.
Redondo’s Kyle Carter scored nine points and chipped in with a stellar defensive game. Photo
Instead, it turned into a one-sided rout that left Inglewood Head Coach William Alexander shaking his head at how badly his team played while being destroyed by a not-as-close-as-it sounds 77-58 final score.
“The first half especially was the worst we’ve played all year,” Alexander said moments after his Sentinel squad trudged off the floor, heads down and shoulders slumping. “It was just a rough night for us all the way around.”
Indeed, his frustration level grew so high that near the end of the third quarter Alexander was hit with a technical foul when he continued to scream at the refs, even after being warned to stop. And since the crowd had already emotionally checked out of the game – it seemed like more people were watching their phones than the action on the floor – his loud voice dominated the half-full gym to the point where the refs had to call a tech just to preserve their dignity.
And Alexander knew he had stepped over a line.
“I deserved it,” he said. “I was belligerent towards that one ref. We were getting hit and he wasn’t making any calls at all.”
But he was quick to add: “That wasn’t why we lost the game. We lost the game because we didn’t execute our game plan, because we didn’t box out on the boards, and because Redondo played better.”
Even Redondo Head Coach Ali Parvaz admitted he expected a much tougher fight from a team the Hawks had beaten by only eight points earlier in the season.
“I was surprised,” Parvaz said. “I thought it would be more of a battle tonight.”
The rout left Redondo with a 7-0 league record while Inglewood fell to 5-2. If the Hawks sweep their final three leagues games they will grab their sixth straight Bay League title. Of those three games, Peninsula figures to be the hardest to win. Redondo beat them by only one point two weeks ago.
“Peninsula will be looking for revenge,” Parvaz said. “And this time it’s at their place.”
The Inglewood game started the way so many games have started this year: with a loooong three-pointer from Sea Hawk star Zekiah LoVett, followed by a power drive from their other star, 6-foot-8 center Quinn Collins, for a quick 5-0 lead.
LoVett grabbed a loose ball and sprinted coast-to-coast for the first of two flying dunks, and by the end of the first quarter the lead had grown to 26-10.
LoVett finished with 15 points, while Collins led the Hawks with 21 points and Carter chipped in with nine points and some hard-nosed defense that set the tone for the night.
“When we’re locked in on defense and making the extra pass to get good shots we can be a pretty good team,” Parvaz said.
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