Prep Hoops Roundup: East Valley, Sherman Oaks CES to Face Off Again

Every time East Valley High plays Sherman Oaks CES in basketball, there is more on the line.

When they first met Jan. 19 in a Valley League game, host East Valley won 55-47 – the first league loss in three years for Sherman Oaks CES.

Then they faced off again in the season finale a week ago at Sherman Oaks CES with the league title on the line, and this time the host Knights really handed it to East Valley with an 71-35 win to even things up.

This coming Tuesday, East Valley and Sherman Oaks CES meet again at Sherman Oaks in the City Section Div. III quarterfinals. Tipoff is 7 p.m., and it’s do or die for both.

“We want to see them again in the playoffs,” East Valley senior Eddy Escobar said after the Valley League loss.

Overall, East Valley, coached by Mathew Skeadas, is 15-5, and Sherman Oaks CES is 13-5.

East Valley survived the first round with a 71-38 win over Central City Value, and Sherman Oaks defeated Animo 65-40. East Valley held Central City Value to 29 percent shooting.

North Hollywood Done

In other City Section playoff action Thursday, North Hollywood lost 45-43 to underdog Manual Arts in a Division III game at North Hollywood. It was a tough loss because Manual Arts was 9-18 coming in. The Huskies finished the season 11-17.

Harvard-Westlake Still in Hunt

Top-seeded Harvard-Westlake is still alive in the Southern Section Division III-A tournament. The Wolverines (23-4) defeated visiting Beckman on Wednesday in the first round, as Josh Hearlihy scored 20 points, Damiene Cain added 16 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks, and Zena Edosomwan chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds.

The Wolverines shot 56 percent, as Hearlihy was 9 of 11, and Jordan Butler had six points and 10 assists.

HW plays at Brea Olinda tonight in the second round at 7 p.m.

Disappointing Season For Campbell Hall Comes to an End

For Campbell Hall, it was not a good ending, as the Vikings (17-10) fell in the first round 61-52 to Cypress on Wednesday in a Division III-AA opener.

It was the third consecutive season since winning a state championship in 2008 that Campbell Hall failed to advance past the second round of the playoffs.

Star guard Austin McBroom scored 24 points, the  14th consecutive game the senior has scored 20 or more. He finished with an average of 24.5 points and 4.0 assists while shooting 84 percent from the line.

Valley Torah on a Roll

In Div. VI-AA, top-seeded Valley Torah is on cruise control. The Wolfpack defeated Newbury Park Adventist 67-29 on Wednesday -- their 16th win by 14 points or more. Nathaniel Liberman had 23 points and his brother, Aaron, had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Valley Torah (18-4) plays host to Riverside Christian at 8:15 Saturday night at L.A. Valley College.