By Keith Lair
The Muir High School boys basketball team figured out how to knock out pesky Bosco Tech, 58-54, in the CIF-Southern Section Division 5AA quarterfinals Tuesday night. All the Mustangs had to do was work the ball inside to Jelani Mitchell. Trailing 52-47 with 4:30 to play, the Mustangs outscored the Tigers 11-2 down the stretch. (To continue click thread)

Muir celebrates narrow win over Bosco Tech.

La Canada survives in double overtime: La Canada High School needed two overtimes to close out visiting Bishop Montgomery, 72-68, in a CIF-Southern Section Division 3AA boys basketball quarterfinal on Tuesday night.

Flint Prep crushes Blair: The top-seeded Flintridge Prep boys basketball team used a dominant second quarter to defeat visiting and ninth- seeded Blair, 79-57, in their CIF-Southern Section Division 5AA quarterfinal Tuesday night in the Crawford Family Gymnasium.

Hoops Roundup: Maranatha, Pasadena Poly and Rio Hondo Prep all advances; La Salle goes down.

Boys Hoops
Tuesday’s quarterfinals
Division 3AA
La Canada 72, Bishop Montgomery 68, 2 OT
Division 4A
Buckley 64, La Salle 57, OT
Maranatha 67, Ontario Christian 49
Division 5AA
Flintridge Prep 79, Blair 57
Muir 58, Bosco Tech 54
Division 5A
Pasadena Poly 55, Renaissance Academy 51
Division 6AA
Rio Hondo Prep 76, AGBU Pasadena 73

Mitchell’s four-footer with 1:45 to play broke a 52-52 tie, and he made two free throws in four attempts, the second with 26 seconds left, to give the Mustangs a 56-54 lead.

“We found Jelani just in the nick of time,” Muir coach Gamal Smalley said. “We said, `Put it in his hands,’ and he performed. We wanted to get it to him earlier. It’s on a blackboard.

“We had Taturs Mayberry in foul trouble, so our inside game got away from us. Fortunately, we found Jelani on isolation on the block.”

Mitchell then made a move that ruined the Tigers’ chances of at least tying the game. He tipped a pass as it reached the hands of Bosco Tech’s Josh Espinoza. Espinoza reached for it, but knocked it out of bounds with 12 seconds to play. The Tigers were forced to foul, and Justin Knowles’ two foul shots put the game out of reach.

“The fourth quarter was really crucial for us,” said Mitchell, who had 16 points. “We had to play tough defense, attack the basket and play real smart. It was important for me to get the ball.”

The Tigers’ outside shooting gave Muir fits. Freshman E.J. Mejia had 16 points, including three 3-pointers. The smallest player on the court, the Tigers’ Matthew Santos, drove the lane and threw in teardrop layups over Mitchell and Mayberry. He had a game-high 17 points.

Bosco Tech led by as many as eight, in the third quarter.