Norman Boys Win Last Game, Miss Playoffs

Beverly Hills High boys basketball coach Jarvis Turner had to be pleased with the way his team finished the season Thursday night in Culver City. 

The Normans beat the Centaurs, 59-53, at Goodyear Gym and gave their first-year coach reason to be optimistic about the future, especially with eight players returning next year.

With nothing to play for but pride and an opportunity to knock their rivals out of sole possession of second place in the Ocean League, Beverly Hills looked like a playoff-bound team, avenging a tough at the swim gym. The Normans also made it back to the .500 mark for the season. 

Julian Dakdouk had 17 points for Beverly Hills (13-13 overall, 3-7 in league), which trailed 13-8 after the first quarter but pulled to within one point at halftime. Austin Mills had 16 points, Tal Barnston had nine, Frank Brown had eight and Malik Blades added four for the Normans, who ended a three-game skid and wound up in fifth place in the league, two games behind fourth-place Morningside. 

The loss was costly for Culver City, which will have to share second place with Santa Monica after the Vikings drew even in the standings with a victory over Hawthorne. 

Culver City (19-7, 6-4) led by three points going into the fourth quarter Thursday but was outscored 19-10 during the final eight minutes. Every time the Centaurs made a run, the Normans seemed to have an answer.

Defensively, Beverly Hills did a solid job holding Culver City's top scorer, Aamahd Walker, to 13 points.