January 5, 2017 Page 5 Cougars Come Close, Lose Again By Adam Serrao If you’ve been following the Hawthorne boys’ basketball team over the past few years, then you know that they’ve had a rough go of things, to say the least. The team has now lost 19 games in a row dating back to last season and with league play on the way next Wednesday, things are looking pretty bleak for the Cougars and head coach Miguel Tejeda. A matchup last Friday afternoon against the Torres Toros gave Hawthorne hope--more hope than the team has had all season, in fact. Unfortunately for the Cougars, the brief glimmer turned into all-familiar despair when the Toros pulled out a close 52-50 victory to send Hawthorne to the team’s 11th consecutive loss of the regular season. Following the Cougars’ loss to Torres, the team took almost a two-week hiatus. With that brief break, Tejeda is hoping that his squad can muster up some strength and that maybe a new year will bring with it new hope. Hawthorne had strength and hope in a matchup with the Toros. The team dominated the first quarter of play, pulling out to a 16-9 lead and taking control of a game for the first time this year. Things were certainly looking up. Unfortunately for the Cougars, that would be the only quarter of the game that the team would win. Despite the looming fate, Hawthorne took a 24-20 lead into the half. The Cougars’ two senior guards led the way on the night as they have done all season. Both Warren Buchanan and Le’Aries White paced the team in scoring with 14 points each. Senior Justice Powers also chipped in with eight of his own. Scoring hasn’t necessarily been the main problem for Hawthorne, though. The team’s defense has been. Despite excellent games from the seniors on the team, the Cougars gave up 13 points to opposing power forward Johnathan Velez, who shot 86 percent from the field. Despite his strong output, it was Luis Olague who led the Toros and the game in scoring with 15. Hawthorne continued to hold a lead into the third quarter of play, but it wasn’t long before things slowly began slipping away. An excellent game through three quarters of play was jeopardized when the Cougars put up 15 points in the fourth quarter. Normally, that would be a pretty decent output for Hawthorne. Torres, however, put up 20. That five-point margin in the most important quarter was enough to give the Toros the lead for the first time and ultimately give them the victory. Hawthorne will continue to look for its first victory of the season and first win in quite some time as it moves on with the season and begins league play starting this Wednesday at Beverly Hills. The Normans are currently tied for second place in the Ocean League standings with the Lawndale Cardinals. Hawthorne (0-11) is currently in last place. Lawndale High After 12 games played this season, the Lawndale Cardinals sit at 6-6 on the season, which by definition is completely average. Fortunately for Lawndale, in a very competitive Ocean League, the team’s record is good enough for a second place standing so far in the very young season. The Cardinals’ last victory was an impressive, yet very close, outing against the Valencia Tigers in this year’s Century Tournament. The Cardinals overcame deficits all afternoon long to eventually take a slim 62-61 win. Valencia began the game hot, putting Lawndale in an early five-point deficit after the first quarter of play. It was a game of runs, however, and the Cardinals were able to respond in the second quarter to outscore the Tigers 20-15 and even things up at 31- 31 entering the halftime break. The two teams stayed on script in the third, and it was Valencia’s turn to outscore its opponent. Lawndale was down by eight entering the final quarter, but fortunately for them the Cardinals got the last laugh. A huge 20-point quarter saw Lawndale outscore Valencia by nine, which this time was good enough for a one-point victory. Lawndale will begin league play this coming Wednesday when it takes on the first place Santa Monica Vikings (9-4). Inglewood High The Inglewood Sentinels are entering their league play season on a high of sorts. The Sentinels currently have a winning record at 8-7 in a traditionally competitive Bay League- -and with an impressive 85-64 victory over Van Nuys, they now have now won two of three games heading into divisional play. After a close first half, the Sentinels came through with an amazing third quarter in which they outscored their opponents by nine points. Inglewood used the momentum to its advantage--and behind the athletic play and scoring ability of senior Miles James, the team pulled out a 21-point victory. Despite its winning record, Inglewood is in last place in the Bay League standings. Though that sounds dismaying, the Sentinels can easily turn things around once league play begins this Saturday. Inglewood will face off against the first place Palos Verdes Sea Kings (11-4) to get things started. • December Not a Month to Remember for Lakers By Adam Serrao If there has been anything that the Los Angeles Lakers have wanted for Christmas, one might naturally say that it’s an NBA championship. Since no one is slipping any rings on their fingers this year—or on Jeanie Buss’s, whose engagement with Phil Jackson was just called off--then the next best thing might just be to finish the season with a better record than last year. Heading into the month of December, that goal looked easily attainable. Los Angeles stood at 10- 10 in the standings and only needed seven more wins to achieve a better year than the organization’s worst ever from a season ago. The Lakers then went on to lose 14 of their next 16 games in the last month of 2016, leaving head coach Luke Walton and fans scratching their heads. It’s already clear that the Los Angeles Lakers will finish the 2016-’17 season with a better record than the team posted a season ago, barring an utter catastrophe. Though the Lakers may still not make the playoffs, the black cloud had disappeared from atop the Staples Center and has been replaced by a slight feeling of optimism surrounding the organization. Unfortunately for L.A., those feelings of optimism were quickly fleeting during the month of December. The Lakers were thankful for a new season in the month of November, and showed that by notching an impressive win over the Chicago Bulls in the last game of the month. That’s when the winter chill in the air turned Los Angeles cold. The Lakers proceeded to lose their next eight games and 12 of their next 13. “As a group, as a team, we’ve got to learn about winning and how hard it is,” Walton said about his squad. “It’s frustrating, but it’s where we are at. Like I told our guys, we’re going to find a way out. When that is? Time will tell.” The Lakers have shown signs of rising out of their funk recently, most specifically with victories over their roommates, the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Philadelphia 76ers. With a new month and a new year now upon us, the Lakers can only hope to shake their bad luck away and replace it with more optimism. Walton hasn’t necessarily been complacent during his team’s recent stretch of horrible play. Unlike previous coaches to come through the Laker locker room, Walton expects better from his team, despite the youth and inexperience. As Nick Young and D’Angelo Russell noted, Walton’s not shy about letting his players know that. “He raised his voice. He got his point across today,” Young said of Walton after the team’s 107-97 loss to the Brooklyn Nets earlier in the year. Walton was apparently not shy about telling his team that he thought that they were playing “soft” basketball. “I know I’m not soft,” Young continued. “My teammates aren’t soft, so we got to show him and prove ourselves.” Russell explained how he thought Walton was simply daring his team to be better. “He came in, said what he said, and it was just a challenge,” the second-year guard said. The Lakers beat the 76ers two days later, but then proceeded to lose four more in a row. Where the Lakers lost often last year and lost badly, many of the team’s defeats this year have been close games. Whether it was a three-point loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, a four-point loss to the Phoenix Suns, or two losses to the Utah Jazz by a total of eight points, Los Angeles has certainly had its share of chances to walk away with wins despite an otherwise bleak month of December. Walton described “opportunities that would have given us a chance to win the game,” most specifically in the team’s last game against the Jazz in which it lost by just two points. If the Lakers can figure out how to close out games, their record and overall well-being would be a lot different this season. As a young team, it has become clear that the Lakers are certainly going to go through their share of growing pains. There has been no greater sign of that than the team’s overall record in the month of December. Los Angeles looked like an exciting and competitive team to begin the year, but recently submitted to the youthfulness and inexperience that is obviously evident across the roster. Even still, the basketball season is one that is long and trying. One month doesn’t define an entire year and in lieu of all the losing, the Lakers and Russell must keep that in mind. “[Losing] is not what these fans are used to,” Russell said. “It’s not what Coach is used to. Our main focus is turning around the organization, and there’s losses here and there, but eight and 10 and 12 in a row—that’s not us. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I don’t want guys to speak their minds. I just want to come in and get to work.” The Lakers need to get to work soon and grow up in a hurry before the losing months mount up and people begin talking about the draft lottery once again. • — Asixlion@earthlink.net.
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