The La Cañada High School overcame a slow start and downed visiting Los Angeles Marshall, 63-38, in the first round of games of the LCHS Holiday Classic on Tuesday.
The Spartans (4-2 overall record) struggled from the field and scored only 13 points in the first quarter, but the home squad bounced back in the second to extend their lead.
“I thought we did a good job,” said LCHS head coach Tom Hofman. “Patric had a good hand and we had to get him the ball. Defensively, there was a little bit of improvement, but we still have a long way to go.”
Patric Panoosi led the team with 22 points, and Ryan Graves returned from injury and chipped in 11 points.
“We haven’t had a full team yet,” said Hofman, whose players have been plagued with injuries early in the season. “We lost Brendan [Co], and Jivan [Shirvanian] is out too. That’s a big one. We got Graves back, which is huge, and he had a nice game tonight.
“[Graves’] done really well and is shooting the ball well,” Hofman added. “I’d give him more shots. He’s a really good rebounder and very solid.”
Kristan Cotangco and Zach Feehan each contributed nine points to help La Cañada score a lopsided victory.
La Cañada will continue pool play and face La Verne Bonita today at 7:30 p.m. The Spartans’ third game will be against Chatsworth Sierra Canyon, which is ranked No. 3 in CIF Southern Section Division 1, on Friday, Dec. 15, at 7:30 p.m.
Other teams in the tournament include Hollywood, La Verne Damien (ranked No. 4 in CIF-SS Division 1), Sun Valley Village Christian and Renaissance Academy of Altadena.
Hofman invited tougher competition to challenge his young players defensively.
“[The tournament will allow us to] see where we are defensively,” Hofman said. “That’s the biggest thing. We need to work on getting good shots against good defensive teams and challenge our defense.”
Los Angeles Yeshiva 59
Flintridge Prep 51
The Rebels suffered a fifth consecutive loss after falling to host Los Angeles Yeshiva, 63-43, in a nonleague game at the Westside Jewish Community Center last Saturday.
Flintridge Prep led in the first quarter, 17-14, but struggled to contain Yeshiva in the second. The home squad led by four at the half and extended its lead in the third to come away with a win.
Jonathan Le led the Rebels (3-5 overall record) with 10 points and Jack Cartwright added eight points. Majeed Ismail netted seven points, Brandon Gunning and Jonathan Au totaled six points each, Matthew Ho finished with five points and Kevin Ashworth contributed three points.
Head coach Garrett Ohara guided his squad to three consecutive wins in the beginning of the season, but the Rebels have dropped five straight facing talented, tough teams such as Burbank Providence, Los Angeles Pilibos, South Pasadena, Blair of Pasadena and the Jaguars.
Flintridge Prep will look to bounce back against Torrance in the Santa Barabara Tournament on Wednesday, Dec. 27, at 3 p.m.
