Toasts of The Town: Harvard-Westlake, Valley Torah Keep Winning

Another basketball challenge, another round of success for Harvard-Westlake and Valley Torah.

After winning five Southern Section playoff games to win their respective divisions, both survived the first round of the CIF State playoffs Tuesday, as Harvard-Westlake eliminated Garfield of L.A. 74-58 in a Division III opener, and Valley Torah defeated Calvin Christian 58-50 in a Div. V game.

Both were a bit sloppy and were not satisfied with their performances, even though they won, so the challenge is on to improve Thursday, as Harvard-Westlake (28-4) plays host to Chatsworth (26-9), and Valley Torah (25-4) plays host to View Park (18-16) of L.A. at L.A. Valley College. Both start at 7 p.m.

Harvard-Westlake took longer than expected to shake Garfield, a scrappy City Section opponent with no starter taller than 6-foot-2.

“It wasn’t for lack of trying,” Harvard-Westlake coach Greg Hilliard said. “We’re just a little limited in certain positions, and Garfield had a lot of speed and quickness. It’s not always going to be pretty – we’re pretty much going to have to keep on pounding it out.”

Harvard-Westlake continues to thrive on the strength of its frontline, consisting of 6-8 Zena Edosomwan, 6-7 Josh Hearlihy and 6-7 Damiene Cain. In the win over Garfield, Edosomwan scored 30 points, including five dunks, Cain scored 20 and Hearlihy scored 15.

Because Harvard-Westlake does not shoot a lot of 3-pointers, those three must continue to do well, coach Greg Hilliard said, as the nine-time section champion Wolverines pursue their third state title.

“Against its most teams, it’s a mismatch for them with our big guys, but it’s mismatch for us, too, if the other team shoots seven 3-pointers and we shoot none,” Hilliard said. “That’s 21 points we have to make up for inside, and usually we do.”

Harvard-Westlake barely survived against Inglewood in the section finals Saturday and had difficulty in other playoff games, but a win is a win.

“We’ve struggled, but we’re 28-4, so we’ve won a lot of the battles,” Hilliard said.

The Chatsworth matchup should be intriguing because Garfield gave Harvard-Westlake all it could handle Tuesday, and Chatsworth had defeated Garfield on Saturday in the City Section Division III championship.

Plus, Chatsworth has momentum after making a long trip to Palm Springs on Tuesday and coming home with a 74-66 upset victory. Until this season, the Chancellors had never won a City title and had never made it the state tournament, much less one a game at the state level.

One problem for Harvard-Westlake: As the San Fernando Valley’s most distinguished program, everyone knows about them, and everyone plays against them like there is nothing to lose.

“We’ve got a target on us, and a lot of teams think to beat us would be a ‘program victory,’” Hilliard said. “That’s why teams play us as tough as they do.”

Valley Torah, California’s first orthodox Jewish school to win a basketball title, was not satisfied with its eight-point victory over Calvin Christian, which was leading by one at halftime.

“We were complacent. If that was the first round of the playoffs, we would have beat that team by 40,” Valley Torah’s Aaron Liberman said. “We won that one on pure talent, but we definitely need to step it up. I think maybe after winning the CIF title, we were mentally fatigued or something.”

Liberman, a 6-9 center, scored 15 points with 18 rebounds, and teammate Yosef Grundman continued his excellent postseason play with 19 points.

“Yosef really stepped up and had some nice assists, too,” Liberman said.

Liberman and Grundman are hoping for more success, as every victory is a boon for Jewish schools that have lightly regarded in sports for so many years.

“It’s a good time. We just have to keep playing aggressive and thank god for all our blessings,” Grundman said. “I honestly think we can make it to the state finals if we come out strong and stay strong and have a positive mindset.”