Redondo earns hard-fought win to advance in Division 1
The blood began flowing immediately from Redondo freshman Joey Albala's temple at the start of the third quarter after a drive to the basket.
No foul was called.
At that point, the Redondo basketball team knew it had to ascend to a different level if it was going to advance to its first CIF Southern Section semifinal since 2014.
Redondo dug deep and muscled its way to a 65-58 victory over Etiwanda in a physical Division 1 quarterfinal Tuesday night, setting up a semifinal showdown at Notre Dame Sherman Oaks on Friday.
“There was a lot of contact on both sides,” Redondo's Devin Ringer said. “I think in the fourth quarter, we were not even looking for fouls anymore. We had to play through it. We could not stop and ask the refs for calls.
“We fought hard, we pushed through and that gave us the `Dub.”
Etiwanda, which has described itself as “Clamp City,” challenged Redondo with its physicality.
There were no easy baskets. Every shot was contested. Every drive was challenged.
Finally in the fourth quarter, Redondo's toughness started to show in spades.
Trailing 52-50 with 4:13 left, Ringer drained 3-pointers on backto-back possessions and SJ Madison scored on a pair of putbacks amid a lot of contact to give Redondo (24-4) some separation.
“Getting to the basket, it was definitely difficult to finish tonight,” Redondo's Hudson Mayes said. “We did a good job of pushing through, especially in the fourth quarter. We were getting those offensive rebounds and we were playing through contact.”
Madison called it the most physical game of the season.
“Our confidence is boosted after this game,” Madison said. “It showed we can beat anyone in this division.”
Redondo's strength came in numbers.
Madison scored 19 points to lead the charge, including eight in the fourth quarter. Ringer scored all 16 of his points in the second half, including three 3-pointers. Mayes scored 14 points and Chris Sanders finished with 11 points.
Ringer said Redondo's team-oriented approach was evident in the fourth quarter.
“Different people were telling me that `we need you,' and I knew I had to come through for them,” Ringer said. “It wasn't about doing it for myself. It was for the team.”
Amare Campbell led Baseline League runner-up Etiwanda with 20 points.
Christian Harris, who hit the game-winning 3-pointer in the second round against Rancho Verde, added 14 points. He hit a pair of long-range 3-pointers in the third quarter.
Redondo seemed to gain confidence after Madison drew a foul on a 3-point attempt with 1.3 seconds left in the third quarter. He sank all three free throws for a 44-43 lead.
“Once we got back to even there, I knew we were going to fight,” Redondo coach Reggie Morris Jr. said.
Morris said he was pleased with how his team responded in the fourth quarter.
“It was not pretty, but we fought and we grinded and this was a team victory,” Morris said. “The refs let us play, and our guys stepped up. When it goes down to the wire like this, you have to figure out ways to win, and our guys did that tonight.
“I'm proud of the way we competed.”
In other playoff games:
ROLLING HILLS PREP 74, CULVER CITY 62 » Nick Welch Jr. scored 20 points to lead the Huskies to the Division 2AA quarterfinal win.
Kawika Suter had 18 points and 12 rebounds. Casey Palmer (15), Terell Hopkins (11) and Mateo Trujillo (10) also scored in double digits.
RHP will visit Thousand Oaks in Friday's semifinals.
EL SEGUNDO 66, TRINITY CLASSICAL ACADEMY 52 » Eli Coles had 19 points and 15 rebounds, and Shane Biscaya and Darreson Naruse scored 17 points apiece in the Division 5AA quarterfinal win.
The Eagles will host Buckley Friday.