By Robbie Loeb
A combined 54 points against Dominguez yesterday from lengthy
forwards Josh Hearlihy ’12 and Derick Newton ’14 sparked the boys’
basketball team into a winning groove for its second straight victory,
following its two-game skid to start the season.
The Wolverines defeated Dominguez, 84-83, in their fourth and
final game of the Pacific Shores Tournament, without the help of starting center Zena Edosomwan ’12,
who has received offers from over 30 colleges.
Edosomwan missed the Saturday
morning game in Redondo Beach, as he was taking the SAT. Edosomwan’s
backup at center, David Winfield ’13, was also taking the test.
The team did not miss a beat, however, despite the absence of its two tallest players.
Newton put up 30 points en route to a one-point
triumph over Dominguez. The 6-foot-7 power forward also scored a team-high 17
points in Thursday’s 28-point blowout victory against Hawthorne.
Newton, who missed his entire freshman season with a
shoulder injury, has made an impact early in this season, willing
the team to its second consecutive victory.
“He stepped it up big time in the absence of Winfield
and [Edosomwan], and filled a big role by getting rebounds and guarding
their big men,” shooting guard Francis Hyde ’13 said.
Hearlihy added 24 points in the back-and-forth win over Dominguez yesterday morning.
The Wolverines stumbled out of the gate, and found
themselves down 9-0 early on. The team rallied in the second quarter, as
strong play by the sophomore tandem Newton and second-year starting
point guard Michael Sheng ’14 carried the team
to a 14-point halftime lead. The Wolverines let their double-digit lead
slip away in the third quarter, and the game was knotted up entering
the fourth and final period. Dominguez took advantage of the blown lead
and went ahead by seven in the fourth, before
a resilient Wolverine squad took back control of the game. Jay
Kleinbart ’12 scored 10 points off the bench, including late free throws
and a clutch 3-pointer to seal the victory with half a minute to go in
the tightly contested game.
Three of the team’s first four games have been decided
by one basket. The Wolverines lost in their season opener to Santa Monica on
Monday, 60-57, and the following day once again found themselves on the
wrong side of a close game with a 56-54 loss
to Pacific Hills.
Next up for the 2-2 Wolverines comes Mira Costa in the Palos Verdes Tournament on Tuesday.
