for Centaur hoopsters
By Mike Cohen
Versatile Centaur basketball player Robel Samson is playing in the Summer Leagues with the type of intensity seen during the regular season, which begins in early January of next yearHe hustles for everything and is sharp with his passes and dribbling, according to his summer league coaches.
He had nine rebounds, Armani Nicolis had eight, and Aaron Edison dished off five assists in Culver City’s 50-36 win, July 16, over a tall El Segundo team.
The Centaurs used a high energy man press to open up a 19-9 lead after one quarter. Culver led at half time 30-19, and 40-26 after three quarters. Culver dominated the rebounding battle, 36-17.
The win was the Centaurs third in a row after losing their first two games in the summer league.
The Centaurs played at Redondo, July 23, and in the Torrance High School Tournament, July 20-21.
The Culver City High School boys basketball team won its second summer league game in a row, 49-45, over South Torrance, July 9. In a tight game, tied 32-32 after three quarters, the Centaurs pressure defense led by Jordan Williams and Isaac Girley plus nine offensive rebounds in the second half were the difference in the four point win.
Nicolis was chairman of the boards with 11; Chris Edwards had five rebounds. Edison had five assists.
Culver City players, coach
give Westchester title boost
By Scott Zeidman and Mike Cohen
Culver City middle and high school baseball players powered the Westchester Babe Ruth 15-Under and 14-Under teams to State titles, July 21. Both squads advance to the Pacific Southwest Regional Championships in Tucson this weekend.
Westchester’s 15’s jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the finals against Torrance behind the pitching and hitting of Culver City High School’s Jay Sterner. Sterner reached base three times in four plate appearances, scoring two runs. Torrance battled back for two runs off Sterner in the sixth inning and three more in the seventh, 6-5.
With the bases loaded, Westchester reliever Angel de la Torre induced Torrance’s Casey Wissler to ground out to second baseman Christian Amador of Culver High to preserve the win.
Westchester breezed in the playback game against Torrance to win the crown, breaking the game open in the third inning scoring four, two on a home run by Sterner.
Last year, as the 14-Under representative, Westchester advanced to the World Series, finishing third overall. This season’s team has 11 returning players from that World Series team.
The Westchester 15’s face Southern Utah on Saturday, followed by Northern Utah and host Kino-Tucson on Sunday, and Hawaii on Monday to complete pool play in Tucson at the Pacific Southwest Regional Championships.
After losing to Torrance in the District championship, 12-0, Westchester’s 14-Under team charged back beating El Segundo 16-2, and Torrance twice (5-0 and 10-4) en route to winning the District 2 championship.
Second baseman Justin Morris went four for four with three stolen bases, and Culver City’s Nolan Martinez doubled twice to lead Westchester to an easy 8-0 victory against host La Crescenta in the State Championships. Culver City middle school standout Eli Saucedo combined with two other Westchester pitchers for seven shutout innings in the victory.
Westchester struck early with two runs in the first inning of the title game rematch against La Crescenta, as Culver City High School’s Kelvin Murillo and Aaron Greenfield scored following a Saul Martinez single.
Murillo scored again for Westchester in the top of the sixth, extending Westchester’s lead to the final score of 7-3 for the title.
Westchester is managed by Culver City resident Hector Zamora. Zamora, a former All-CIF player at Culver City High School before playing in the Yankee organization, has one Babe Ruth World Series berth under his belt, and has the 14-Under team in position to compete for a second such berth.
The 14-Under team travels this weekend to Surprise, Arizona, where it will play twice on Monday, facing Hawaii and Nevada, followed by single games on Tuesday (Arizona) and Wednesday (Nevada).
STATE CHAMPION—Junior Centaur Jay Sterner pitches for the Westchester Babe Ruth 15’s, which advanced to the Pacific Southwest Regional Championships in Tucson. The Westchester 15’s face Southern Utah, July 27, followed by Northern Utah and host Kino-Tucson, July 28. He pitched and hit well in spring for the Culver City High School baseball team, which lost in the first round of the CIF playoffs.
Photo by George Laase