With heads bowed, Redondo walked to the visiting locker room at Chino Hills. They waited outside with hands on hips in stunned silence
One game away from a potential rematch with Mater Dei, the Sea Hawks let it slip away and lost 70-61 to Chino Hills in the CIF Southern Section Open Division semifinals. A 13-0 run by the Huskies, including the first 12 points of the fourth quarter, proved to be the difference.
Both Leland Green and Terrell Carter struggled with foul trouble in the seond half, but Redondo coach Reggie Morris Jr. chose to focus on how Chino Hills outrebounded and outplayed his team.
“They killed us on the glass in the second half. We just were not the more aggressive team and Chino Hills played very well,” Morris said.
The Sea Hawks also had 24 turnovers, including 15 in the first half that gave Chino Hills scoring opportunities to offset how well Redondo moved the ball around the Huskies’ zone to find easy baskets.
‘We just did not do a good job of controlling the ball,” said Cameron Williams, who scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half.
Redondo led 34-33 at halftime after two free throws by Ian Fox. After layups by Terrell Carter and Jeremiah Headley gave Redondo a five-point lead, things began to unravel.
Carter picked up his third foul with 5:49 left and Leland Green picked up his fourth only seconds later. Both sat out the final 5:35 of the quarter, and with Redondo struggling on offense, Chino Hills began chipping away.
Two free throws by Lonzo Ball gave the Huskies a 39-38 lead. Both teams traded baskets until a 3-pointer by LiAngelo Ball made it 45-42 and the Huskies never looked back.
Carter returned at the start of the fourth quarter but picked up his fourth foul 12 seconds later.
“I got some dumb fouls out there,” Carter said. “It was hard to watch because I knew I could have helped my team (in the third quarter).”
Chino Hills led 51-44 before back-to-back 3-pointers by Ball and KC Cyprian made it a 13-point lead. With their length, they were able to secure offensive rebounds and scored on second-chance opportunities.
As Redondo had trouble holding on the ball due to Chino Hills’s aggressiveness, the Huskies scored in transition and made it pay from deep with nine 3-pointers. KC Cyprian had seven of them and finished with 25 points.
Lonzo Ball, who has verbally committed to UCLA, had 18 points and made several dazzling assists, including a full-court one-handed pass to brother LiAngelo.
Redondo started with crispness in the first half, getting assists on nearly every field goal. But as the fouls and turnovers mounted, that efficiency faded in a blur of Chino Hills fastbreaks.
“They scored off all our turnovers and outrebounded us by a lot. Every time they missed a shot, we just did not box out. We did not play our game” said Ian Fox.
Fox led Redondo with 20 points and five assists and gamely tried to will his team in the second half. Carter finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Now comes the waiting game to see which division the Sea Hawks will play in the state regional. Either they’ll remain in the Open Division or be dropped back to Division II, where they won last year.
“We just want another chance to play,” Morris said, “Beggars can’t be choosers, so either way, we have to go back in there and compete.”
