Boys’ Basketball: Tritons fall at home
Unlike most high school boys’ basketball teams, Pacifica Christian at times starts its games earlier than 7 p.m. on a weeknight. As for the reason for tipping off a half an hour early on Friday, Coach Jeff Berokoff said, “You get done quicker.”
The Tritons’ evening ended earlier than usual, and that was because of their opponent, Gardena Executive Prep Academy of Finance.
Executive Prep put away host Pacifica Christian in the first half, going ahead by 26 points, before cruising to a 60-44 win.
The Bulls (12-11) handed the Tritons their first setback at home, and their third overall. While the Tritons (15-3) are in their first season playing varsity, they went into Friday ranked No. 2 in the CIF Southern Section Division 6 poll.
They also have one of the top freshmen around in point guard Dominick Harris, who was averaging 26.2 points, nine rebounds, 5.4 assists and 3.7 steals per game. But facing a program in Division 3A, Berokoff knew his Tritons were in for a tough one, even with the 6-foot-2 Harris.
Every time Harris got the ball, Executive Prep double-teamed him. The strategy worked. Harris did finish with a game-high 25 points and five three-point plays, four from behind the arc, but most of his production came with the game out of reach.
“We’ve been seeing that all year,” Berokoff said of teams sending multiple defenders at Harris. “They ran a 2-3 zone, so they had two guys up top. But it’s just matter of getting shots, and making sure our shots are good, and they just weren’t dropping tonight.
“This game will [be] good for us. I tell the guys all time that it’s about failing forward. As freshmen, it’s good to get these guys through some adversity and make sure they learn from all these types of games.”
The Tritons fell behind 26 seconds into the game, as Antonio Knox went in for a layup. The contest remained a two-point game 2½ minutes in, until Executive Prep closed out the opening quarter by scoring 12 straight points to take a 20-6 lead.
Knox continued to hurt Pacific Christian, and he led Executive Prep with 17 points and 10 rebounds. He was one of three players on his team finishing in double figures. Trevon Kiner had 15 points and Bilal Mike added 13.
“We did a good job moving the ball around,” said Knox, who made eight of 12 shots. “We just kept playing the game at our pace.”
The tempo was too fast for the Tritons. Executive Prep pushed the ball up the court and scored on a lot of layups.
Not helping Pacifica Christian’s cause was it hitting only two of 28 shots in the first half. The Tritons trailed, 40-14, at the break.
Harris recorded 10 of his team’s 14 first-half points. He was also the only Pacific Christian player to make a field goal in the first 16 minutes, going two of 10 from the field.
“We missed a ton of shots,” Berokoff said. “It’s awfully tough to beat anybody shooting those numbers. I’m just glad that at least the guys played hard for the last couple of quarters. That game could have turned out pretty bad. Our kids hung tough. It’s still a great learning time for these freshmen. Most of my guys are freshmen, and for every kid on our team, it’s their first year playing varsity.”
Only one junior — Josh Griffith — plays for Pacifica Christian, and six players are freshmen and three are sophomores.
Josh Sims, a freshman, had 13 points for the Tritons.
“I thought they had a lot of talent. I like their point guard,” Executive Prep Coach Rossi Valentine said. “They just got to be a little bit more aggressive and probably play a little harder schedule.”
Nonleague
Executive Prep Academy of Finance 60, Pacifica Christian 44
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Executive Prep 20 – 20 – 10 – 10 — 60
Pacifica Christian 6 – 8 – 10 – 20 — 44
EP – Knox 17, Kiner 15, Mike 13, Southall 4, Fields 4, Bickham 3, Mahoi 2, Paysinger 2.
3-pt. goals – Kiner 3, Mike 1, Bickham 1.
Fouled out – Mike.
Technicals – None.
PC – Harris 25, Sims 13, Whitney 5, Seward 1.
3-pt. goals – Harris 4, Sims 1, Whitney 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
