HS HOOPS: Crespi looks to keep it going in state tourney

Now that the state basketball playoffs have arrived, Crespi High of Encino is hoping to parlay the momentum from an exciting section championship victory Friday over league rival Alemany of Mission Hills before a raucous crowd of about 4,000 at Mater Dei High.

"It was fun. A game like that gives off a different kind of energy," Crespi's Ben Loth said.

The campus is buzzing with excitement, as the third-seeded Celts play host to El Segundo in a Div. IV Southern California Regional tonight.

Crespi comes from a tough Mission League that has placed five teams in the state playoffs, and after taking its lumps against larger programs Harvard-Westlake of Studio and Loyola of L.A. during the regular season, the Celts feel like they're ready for anything.

"Losing to Harvard-Westlake and Loyola has definitely made us a lot better," Loth said. "This is a good opportunity for us."

Added teammate Matt Mounier: "It's pretty exciting that we get to keep playing. I think we have a pretty good shot if we keep playing the way we've been."

FAMILIAR FOES

Kilpatrick of Malibu plays Delphic League rival Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth tonight in a Div. V opener at Pierce College, and Kilpatrick's players were happy the weather had cleared up by Monday because they practice outdoors, as the school gym has been condemned for 16 years since the 1994 earthquake.

"There's another gym we can use next door at Camp Miller, but the roof leaks," Kilpatrick coach Kurt M. Keller said. "That's been the key for us this season - good players and good weather."

Kilpatrick, a locked-down camp for juvenile offenders, plays all of its games on the road. The Mustangs have won seven of their past eight, including a one-point victory over Sierra Canyon on Feb. 2. In January, Sierra Canyon defeated the Mustangs by 11 points.

"It's going to be great - this is the rubber game," Keller said. "Sierra Canyon got one, and we got one, and that win was our signature game of the regular season. We've never won a state-tournament game before and getting here has brought our whole program up. The kids are acting better so they can play, so the whole thing has been a big plus."

NOTRE DAME GETS FAVORABLE DRAW

Notre Dame owes the CIF state seeding committee a solid.

After losing in the section semifinals, Notre Dame coach Bill Bedgood admitted he was not even sure the Knights would qualify for the Southern California Regionals, but Notre Dame not only made the field but is seeded fourth in Div. IV.

"We kind of took a standpoint that until we saw our name up there, that's when we would concern ourselves with the state playoffs," said Bedgood, who gave the team a week off before resuming light workouts on Thursday. "It was a long season. We had to pace ourselves."

Not that Bedgood is complaining

"I think it's good. I like our seeding in the state playoffs a lot more than our CIF seeding," Bedgood said. "We'll get to be at home for a couple of games in state, but in the CIF playoffs we had to play our first two games on the road."

TIME FOR ECR TO SNAP OUT OF IT

After blowing a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter in a loss Saturday to Verdugo Hills in the City Div. III championship, El Camino Real of Woodland Hills needs to snap out of quickly.

The Conquistadores play at powerful Centennial of Compton -- ranked No. 9 in Southern California by Cal-Hi Sports -- and just about everyone is picking third-seeded Centennial.

"It was a bad loss Saturday, and we've got to find a way to overcome it and put it out of our minds," El Camino Real's Tre Holden said. "We only get one day of practice, and we've got to get better. We're a lot hungrier than we were before."

-- Gerry Gittelson