Boys’ basketball: Etiwanda shows off smothering defense

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There’s a reason Etiwanda is 5-0 and ranked No. 5 by The Times: A smothering man-to-man defense. On Tuesday night in the Ocean View tournament, Etiwanda held Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (4-1) to 16 points through three quarters en route to a 68-27 victory.

Willie Mebane scored 11 points and Jordan Finn, Christian Katuala and Perris Blackwell each had 10 points. Etiwanda will meet Pasadena Wednesday at 5 p.m. in a second-round game.

Yes, Mater Dei is everyone’s pick to win a Southern Section and state Division I title, but don’t count out the Eagles. Their man-to-man defense is the real deal, and they’ll get to face Dominguez, Taft and perhaps Westchester this season as tests before possibly playing Mater Dei.

Long Beach Poly, using three sophomores in its lineup, pulled out a 63-61 overtime victory over Peninsula at Ocean View. Sophomore Alex Carmon scored 16 points. Sophomore Reese Morgan led Peninsula with 25 points.

Clovis West defeated Birmingham, 64-42. Leuzinger (4-1), which lost a close game to Westchester in the championship game of the Westchester tournament, routed St. Mary’s of Arizona, 83-61. Jerry Evans, a 6-7 senior, scored 20 points, as did teammate William Overton.

-- Eric Sondheimer