When sophomore guard Phoenix Smith came off the bench on Monday night in Crespi’s season opener against Cleveland, two things were clear: His big hair and his 5-foot-7 frame, the smallest on the court.
He played junior varsity last season, and let’s just say Celts coach Derek Fisher is going to have fun working with him. Smith was three for three on three-pointers and finished with 16 points in Crespi’s 81-44 win over Cleveland.
He put together a nine-point surge between the end of the first quarter and the start of the second quarter. Leaving him open this season will not be a good strategy. Another JV player from last season, Cayman Martin, led Crespi in scoring with 17 points. Carter Barnes had 14 points and Isaiah Barnes 13 points.
Crespi has a big game coming up Saturday at Pauley Pavilion against Mater Dei.
St. Bernard 81, Claremont 56: Brandon Granger led St. Bernard with a 30-point performance.
South Pasadena 77, Franklin 43: Nick Rios scored 22 points and Rob Khollesi added 21 points for South Pasadena.
Carson 59, South East 37: The Colts are 2-0 under new coach Corey Kitani. Blake McCall had 16 points and nine rebounds.
Mira Costa 85, Torrance 70: Logan Dugdale finished with 18 points and Paxx Bell had 17 points and 12 rebounds in a first-round game at the Ocean View tournament.
Wiseburn Da Vinci 73, Oak Park 56: Aidan Ebrahimi had 15 points for Wiseburn Da Vinci.
Santa Margarita 89, Temecula Valley 38: Drew Anderson had 30 points and 11 rebounds and Kaiden Bailey added 26 points for the Eagles.
Canyon Country Canyon 65, Antelope Valley 28: Alex Lazo made nine threes and finished with 27 points for the Cowboys.
Servite 100, United Christian Academy 18: Tariq Johnson had 22 points for the Friars.
West Torrance 64, Venice 55: Ben Heinemann finished with 15 points for West Torrance.
Valencia 47, Heritage Christian 44: Ali Eldein led Valencia with 18 points.