It’s still too early in the season to call the game on Friday, a must win game for the Culver City High School boys basketball team but it is still an important game for both teams. Culver City is currently 16-2 and 2-0 in the Ocean League and Inglewood is 16-6 and 3-0 in the Ocean League. Tip off is set for 7:30 p.m. right after the Lady Centaurs play Inglewood at 6 p.m. Both games will be played at Inglewood High School.
Inglewood is ranked No. 39 in California and Culver City is ranked No. 46. It’s a match that a lot of local high school basketball fans have been waiting to see. The main difference between these two well coached teams is height. Inglewood has seven players that are 6’4 and taller and Culver City has two players that are 6’4 and taller. Inglewood also has one of the best players in the state in junior, Jason Crowe Jr. The 6’4 player averages 35 points per game. They also have a 6’10 center that is one of the best big men in Southern California.
“It’s going to be a good matchup for us to see where we stand,” said second year Culver City High School boys’ basketball head basketball coach Ray Singleton after practice this week. “I believe this will be the most talented team that we have played so far this season. They have a lot of outstanding players and a strong supporting cast of players that could be stars on a lot of high school teams.”
The Centaurs pride themselves on playing an up tempo, fast-paced brand of basketball and so does Inglewood according to Singleton. Culver City has a lot of combo sports stars that play football and basketball at a high level. “It’s going to be a good challenge to see where we are athletically and mentally,’ said Singleton. “We just hope our players meet the challenge. You have to remember that Inglewood is a basketball community that is deep in basketball tradition.”
The Centaurs are led by their starting lineup of Miles Singleton, Braylon Singleton, Jordan Njoku, Cole Zeno and Mark Fourte. Other key players right now for Culver City are Jaxon McBride, Willaim Fourte and Emman Gillam.
“Those guys have been the secret sauce for us this year but the other players on the team really challenge the starters every day in practice.Our bench players are the glue to our success. They help to hold this team together. They compete and sometimes they outplay the starters in practice. We have a well-balanced team, and our coaching staff trusts all of our players.”
