Redondo Lost It Early in the Game

The end came quickly and painfully for Redondo Union.

“We lost the game in the first four minutes,” Redondo coach Tom Maier said after the team’s 74-56 defeat to Peninsula Tuesday night. “You can’t win playing like that.”

Peninsula junior guard Sam Borst-Smith torched the Sea Hawks for 35 points in the Bay League opener for both, helping host Peninsula extend its winning streak to 14.

The Panthers (16-1, 1-0) blitzed Redondo (7-8, 0-1) in the first half and the Sea Hawks never recovered. They jumped out to a 20-4 lead after one quarter and led by more than 30 points before the half ended.

Peninsula overwhelmed Redondo despite Reese Morgan, the team’s leading scorer, going scoreless in the first half. The Sea Hawks frequently sent two defenders to harass Morgan, but Borst-Smith burned them in a big way, scoring 19 of his points in the first half as Peninsula rolled to a 37-9 halftime lead.

“We saw something tonight we hadn’t seen,” said Peninsula coach Jim Quick. “They ran two guys at Reese, but we handled it well. They left Sam open, and you can’t leave Sam open.”

Borst-Smith came out blazing, scoring his team’s initial eight points as it jumped to an 8-2 lead. After Redondo’s Martyre Demarco scored with 3:50 left in the first quarter to cut the lead to 8-4, the Sea Hawks gave up 23 consecutive points, putting them in a 31-4 hole with about three minutes remaining in the half.

Demarco, who finished with 11 points, ended Redondo’s drought by scoring on a drive with 1:54 left in the second quarter, but the deficit was too much to overcome.

Morgan, who finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, didn’t score until the opening two minutes of the third quarter. He said Borst-Smith’s play was huge.

“Sam had a great game,” Morgan said. “This is a great win for us.”

“Lately, I’ve been struggling, but I came through tonight,” Borst-Smith said. “It’s so beneficial playing with Reese. He’s the best player in the Bay League, so you know he’s going to get doubled and sometimes triple-teamed. They left me open, so I just wanted to hit my shots.”

Peninsula, which hasn’t lost since falling to Westchester in early December, also got a strong performance from point guard Andrew Menard, who finished with 12 points and seven assists.

Despite their poor showing in the first half, the Sea Hawks put up a fight in the second half, outscoring the Panthers 47-37. They pulled to within 51-37 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter after Jacquise Bates, who led Redondo with 20 points, hit a pair of free throws.

But the Sea Hawks never managed to get any closer than 13 the rest of the way.

“We lost our focus in the second half,” Quick said. “We didn’t execute and we got away from our game plan.”

Still, the Panthers, a favorite to capture the league title, are off to a good start. Redondo will try to snap its two-game losing streak at Mira Costa on Friday. They host West Torrance on Jan. 18. Both games start at 7:30 p.m.