________________________
________________________
By Loren Kopff
After finishing in fourth place in the Suburban League with identical 6-6 marks in each of the past two seasons, the Cerritos boys basketball team is moving up. The Dons outscored host Artesia 33-19 in the second and third quarters and went on to defeat the Pioneers 53-39 this past Wednesday.
Cerritos improved to 12-9 overall, 5-2 in league and remained in third place, half a game behind idle La Mirada and two games behind Mayfair. In addition, the Dons swept the season-series from the Pioneers for the first time since 2009 and won on Artesia’s court for the third straight season and sixth out of the last seven.
With the score tied 13-13, the Dons went on a 9-0 run over a three-minute span in the middle of the second quarter and never looked back. Sophomore Evan Leonard led everyone with 21 points and eight rebounds while junior Henry Buycks added 14 points and 10 boards. Cerritos will visit slumping John Glenn tonight before hosting Bellflower on Wednesday.
Artesia (14-7, 3-4) received 11 points off the bench from senior Jon Campbell and nine more from junior Dontae Smith. The Pioneers will host La Mirada tonight before travelling to Bellflower on Monday and Glenn on Wednesday.
In other boys basketball action, Gahr was sporting an overall mark of 10-10 and 2-2 in the San Gabriel Valley League entering its road tilt with Lynwood this past Wednesday. The Gladiators will visit Warren tonight before hosting Paramount on Wednesday.
After winning six games in November and December, Glenn has found life in the Suburban League rough thus far. The Eagles were 7-13 overall and 1-5 in the circuit before this past Wednesday’s meeting with league-leading Mayfair. Glenn will visit Norwalk on Monday and is still hoping to advance to the postseason for the first time since 2000.
Norwalk was also struggling as of late with a 7-14 overall record and 1-5 in the Suburban League before its road game at Bellflower this past Wednesday. The Lancers will visit Mayfair tonight and host La Mirada on Wednesday. Whitney improved to 7-12 overall and 3-4 in the Academy League following a 63-38 road win at Downey Calvary Chapel this past Tuesday. The Wildcats visit Brethren Christian tonight before hosting Sage Hill and Crean Lutheran on Tuesday and Thursday respectively.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Cerritos outscored Artesia 27-3 in the second quarter and proceeded to rout the Pioneers 66-16 this past Wednesday night. Junior Alyssa Movchan led everyone with 18 points, the most she has scored since posting the same total against North Torrance on Jan. 3. She also had seven steals and two assists. Sophomore Tatiana Fominyam added 12 points off the bench with seven points as the Lady Dons improved to 15-4 overall, 6-1 in league and have more wins since going 19-9 in the 2009-2010 season. Artesia, which got a career-high nine points from junior Keina Harris, fell to 3-18 overall, 1-6 in league.
Gahr was 9-11 overall, 1-3 in league entering this week. Glenn remained winless in the Suburban League entering this week and has three wins in 20 games this season. Defending Suburban League champion Norwalk lost to Bellflower 38-31 this past Wednesday to fall to 7-11 overall, 2-5 in the circuit. Whitney continued to steamroll towards its fourth straight Academy League crown after crushing Downey Calvary Chapel 63-21 this past Tuesday night. The Lady Wildcats (18-2, 6-0) will face Sacramento-based Bradshaw Christian tonight in the Play4Kay Cancer Showcase at JSerra High.
BOYS SOCCER
The most improved team in the Suburban League was one minute away from ending its 45-game losing skid in the circuit. But Cerritos allowed Mayfair to score the game-winner late in overtime and the Monsoons rallied for a 5-4 victory this past Tuesday afternoon in a make-up game. Cerritos, which then fell to Artesia 2-0 this past Wednesday, dropped to 3-11-2 overall and 0-7 in league play.
The Dons have not won a league game since Feb. 1, 2010 when they edged John Glenn 2-1. But early on, it looked like they would end that long losing streak against league foes. Goals from junior forwards Paul Chun, in the 17th minute and Jonathan Fuller, in the 37th minute, allowed the Dons to hold a 2-0 halftime lead.
The lead would increase to 4-1 by the 56th minute after sophomore forward Alex Florez and junior midfielder Uly Rosales added tallies within a six-minute span. But Mayfair scored three goals in the final 21 minutes of regulation, including the tying goal in the 76th minute.
Cerritos, which has won more overall games for the first time since the 2007-2008 season, had previously taken Artesia and Norwalk to overtime and has been in virtually every league game until the final 10 minutes. Cerritos will host Glenn today and visit Bellflower on Wednesday.
In other boys soccer action, Glenn (6-9-1, 2-5) snapped a four-game losing skid with a 3-2 overtime win against Mayfair this past Wednesday. Norwalk (7-6-2, 3-2-2) blanked Bellflower this past Wednesday and Whitney improved to 8-5-1 overall, 5-2 in the Academy League with a 4-0 win at Downey Calvary Chapel this past Tuesday.
GIRLS SOCCER
Artesia (11-6-2, 3-4) got two goals from senior midfielder Stephanie Flores as part of a 4-1 win over Cerritos this past Wednesday. Junior forward Erika Lizarraga scored the lone goal for the Lady Dons (3-12-1, 1-6). Gahr (2-4-3, 1-3) dropped a 2-1 decision to Lynwood this past Tuesday as sophomore midfielder Erika Garcia scored on a free kick in the 76th minute.
