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On this play, Centaurs’ Armani Nicolis (4) fouled out driving for the basket. Photos, George Laase.
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Chris Edwards lifts and scores against West Torrance.
Culver City High School’s boys basketball team roared into the finals of the venerable 62nd Pacific Shores Tournament over the weekend, and held close until the final seconds before losing to Mira Costa in overtime, 59-58.
The Centaurs, tournament champions three years ago, are 3-1.Mira Costa is 4-0, following the four-game introduction to their season.
In heroic fashion, Chris Edwards, an all-tournament player, sank a three-point basket with 31 seconds left in regulation to force the extra period.
The momentum was with them, but not long enough.
Culver City commanded a five-point lead with 1:25 remaining in overtime, but they missed the glue-making leadership of senior Armani Nicolis. He had fouled out in the middle of the extra period, but he played so effectively during the week that he, too, was named to the all-tournament team.
“Although we left the final game with a tough, disappointing feeling,” said second-year coach Adam Eskridge, “we had a very productive week.
“We came out of the gate well in the first three games, and we found ways to make the stops we needed. “
Culver City played its South Bay rival closely most of the way. Tied at the first quarter, the Centaurs led 20-18 at halftime and trailed by a point after three.
Taking a wider view of the entire tournament, Coach Eskridge found plenty of encouraging play.
“We won some tough games against scrappy teams,” he said, noting that his team consistently strong down the stretch of each game. “We had a good week on defense, but there is more work to do on offense.”
Scoring a modest eight points in the first quarter and 20 by the half, said Coach Eskridge, could be traced to two factors, nerves and “guys trying to do it themselves. But we have to give credit to Mira Costa. They are a big, and they challenged us on defense all night.”
In addition to Nicolis, Wesley Dixon also fouled out late, which made matching up with Justin Strings, Mira Costa’s No. 1 player, “too tough to overcome.”
Edwards scored 18 points, Nicolis scored 14 along with 14 rebounds, and Isaac Girley made 13 points.
Edwards averaged 16.3 points a game, and he had 12 rebounds, nine assists and nine steals during the week-long, four-game tournament.
Nicolis averaged 15.8 points a game. He pulled down 23 rebounds and had eight steals in the tournament. Girley put in 37 points overall. Senior Wesley Dixon chipped in 10 points and had 14 rebounds and Aaron Edison added 15 points and 15 rebounds coming off the bench.
Coach Eskridge said three players were strong surprises, Girlley “who played some fantastic defense,” David Handler as the backup center to Dixon, and sophomore Jailon Bates.
Nicolis, Dixon and Edwards “clearly are our team leaders,” the coach said. “We go as they go.”
Mr. Laase may be contacted at GMLaase@aol.com
