After the puck was cleared off the goal line behind goalie Vitek Vanecek, the Ducks’ Beckett Sennecke ended up with it on the left side and slipped a pass to Killorn for a shot before Vanecek was set. Killorn also had two assists.
Ryan Poehling, Cutter Gauthier and Mikael Granlund also scored to help the Ducks — playing without suspended defenseman Radko Gudas — rebound from a 3-2 overtime loss to Philadelphia on Wednesday night at home. They moved three points ahead of Edmonton in the division.
Gudas served the fourth game of a five-game suspension for kneeing Auston Matthews in a loss at Toronto on March 12. Matthews tore the medial collateral ligament in his left knee and will miss the rest of the season.
Poehling tied it with 6:23 left in the first, beating Vanecek with a nifty move on a shorthanded break. Poehling took a pass from Killorn, sped down the left side, cut right and shot against the grain to the left.
The Ducks (38-27-4) put it away with two empty-net goals, with Gauthier scoring his 36th goal on the first.
Dylan Guenther scored his 34th goal of the season for Utah — at 1:48 of the first of the Mammoth’s second shot on goal.
Utah remained six points ahead of the Kings for the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
The Mammoth (36-28-6) opened a four-game homestand. They had won two straight on the road, beating Dallas 6-3 on Monday night to snap a four-game losing streak and topping Vegas 4-0 Thursday night.
Up next for the Ducks: vs. Buffalo at Honda Center on Sunday.
SACRAMENTO — With more than 100 fans supporting from the bleachers, Garfield High’s boys’ soccer put on a strong performance at the inaugural CIF state Division V championship game Saturday morning before losing to Ross Branson 2-0 at Natomas High.
Two communication errors on defense proved costly for the Bulldogs, who took a bus from East Los Angeles on Friday, stayed overnight and were set to return after the match.
Coach Pablo Serrano praised his team. “I felt we played outstanding,” he said.
Goalkeeper Javier Zarate turned in another impressive performance. “He can only do so much,” Serrano said.
Zarate, without prodding, went up to CIF executive director Ron Nocetti and thanked him for what will become an annual state soccer championship event.
On Friday, Irvine University won the Division IV boys’ title with a 3-2 win over Del Mar.
Cole Barkett, Jake Raboid and Brendan Leung scored goals.
That’s the only way to describe what San Juan Hills players, coaches and fans were feeling on Saturday at Golden 1 Center when Alex Osterloh made two of three free throws with 0.3 seconds left to give Atherton Sacred Heart Prep a 47-45 victory in the Division IV state boys’ basketball championship game.
Osterloh was fouled at the top of the key by Kellen Owens with the scored tied.
“I’m pretty sure I was fouled,” Osterloh said.
San Juan Hills had earlier lost the ball on a turnover, its 19th of the game, surrendering its chance to take the lead.
“It was a tough ending,” San Juan Hills coach Jason Efstathiou said. “We turned over the ball too much. Nineteen is insane. Ultimately we didn’t do a good enough job handling pressure.”
San Juan Hills (22-14) came back from a 12-point deficit in the second quarter to take a four-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Garrett Brehmer finished with 17 points while Rocco Jensen had 10 points and eight rebounds for San Juan Hills. Osterloh scored 15 points and Pat Bala had 13.
“There’s a little distaste,” Efstathiou said, “but at the same time we got to be here.”
SACRAMENTO — If anyone knows how to help shooters feel comfortable when things aren’t going well, it’s Damien coach Mike LeDuc, who produced two of the Southern Section’s best scorers in Tracy Murray and Casey Jacobsen during his Glendora days.
So when Zaire Rasshan was only two of nine from three-point range at halftime on Friday night in the state Division I championship game, the message and mentality was keep shooting.
“I told him to start making them,” LeDuc said.
“I knew they were going to fall,” Rasshan.
He made a three to start the third quarter, launching a 10-0 surge that Folsom never recovered from. Damien came away with a 58-55 victory at Golden 1 Center, becoming the fifth straight team from the Southern Section Open Division to drop down to Division I and come away as state champion.
Rasshan finished with 18 points, including five threes. His three with 1:05 left moved Damien to an eight-point lead. Elijah Smith had 18 points and four assists. Eli Garner scored 15 points and had 13 rebounds. The only other player to score for Damien was Cameron Murray with seven points. He’s the nephew of Tracy Murray.
Throughout the fourth quarter, the Spartans (32-7) kept finding open players with near-perfect execution on offense.
“Their level of execution was on another level from anyone we’ve played,” Folsom coach Mike Wall said.
Joven Dulay and Parks Weaver each scored 16 points for Folsom, which fell behind 57-47 with 39 seconds left after two Smith free throws. Damien outrebounded Folsom 32-21 and had an 11-2 edge in offensive rebounds and took 30 threes to Folsom’s 18.
Zaire Rasshan is the school record holder for threes in a single season at Damien and he makes his first three at NBA Arena. He can make threes anywhere. pic.twitter.com/0dnVLRpmiF
LeDuc, who has been coaching since 1979-80, said of the Spartans, “I really do believe this team, more than any other team I’ve coached, has been overachieving.”
The Spartans lacked height this season but got all five players on the court to rebound as a group, helping overcome any disadvantages. And Smith, as the point guard, rose up in the postseason.
“This run we’ve had, this guy has been ridiculously incredible,” LeDuc said of Smith.
As for the execution in the fourth quarter, LeDuc said, “We run a lot of plays. Basketball is a real simple game. It’s a game of repetition and if you do it over and over, you expect it to be done perfectly.”
SACRAMENTO — Delaney Shiring, a 5-foot-10 senior at El Dorado High, kept delivering clutch baskets when her team needed them most during a nerve-racking second half that enabled the Golden Hawks to win their first state girls’ basketball championship with a 42-40 win over San José Valley Christian in the Division III final on Friday at Golden 1 Center.
“It’s amazing,” said Shiring, who finished with 15 points and six rebounds. “It’s meant to be. Everything is so historic. We bought into those big moments.”
El Dorado (24-14) appeared to have a comfortable nine-point lead midway through the third quarter when Kenedi Nomura, who scored 18 points, helped ignite a Valley Christian rally. A basket by Shiring near the end of the quarter ended a 5-0 Warriors run.
Shiring’s biggest basket came with 47 seconds left for a 41-38 lead. The lead dropped to 41-40 with 38 seconds left on a basket by Anaya Bannarbie. Then Riley Morikawa made one of two free throws with 13.1 seconds left for a two-point advantage. Valley Christian never got off a potential tying shot.
Kennedy Wood of El Dorado focus on making free throw in Division III state final.
(Greg Stein)
“They had some really good defenders,” Shiring said. “I really focus in big moments when the shot matters.”
El Dorado made the Southern Section playoffs as an at-large team before surging in the postseason under coach Matt Raya, winning a Division 4 section title and Division III regional title.
The Laguna Hills High girls’ basketball fan who was waving the sign, “Hawk Yea!” at the Golden 1 Center on Friday morning didn’t get much of a workout in the first half of the Division V state championship game against Woodland Christian.
The Hawks (21-12) made 15 turnovers and fell behind by 22 points at halftime. They were unable to overcome their slow start in a 63-30 loss. Woodland Christian scored the first 13 points of the second quarter and led at halftime 33-11.
The Sorbello sisters, Siena and Sofia, combined for 17 of the Cardinals’ 33 first-half points. Siena finished with 21 points and Sofia had seven.
Woodland Christian came in with a 32-3 record and was able to get the ball inside. Bailee Broward also made some outside shots, giving the Cardinals unstoppable inside-outside options. She finished with 17 points.
With the CIF state basketball championships set for Friday and Saturday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, how about a look back at some of the greatest individual performances in state history.
There was nothing quite like Tracy Murray scoring 64 points for Glendora in the 1989 Division II final at the Oakland Coliseum. Damien coach Mike LeDuc was then Glendora’s coach. Glendora lost to Menlo 89-83. Here’s a look back.
Last season, Brayden Burries scored 44 points to deliver an Open Division championship to Eastvale Roosevelt at Golden 1 Center. Here’s the report.
In 2008, Klay Thompson of Santa Margarita scored 37 points and made a record seven three-pointers at the notoriously tough Arco Arena in Sacramento to help the Eagles win the Division III title over Sacramento 72-55. Here’s the report.
Let’s not forget Josh Shipp delivering five threes to help Fairfax win the Division I title in 2004 over De La Salle 51-35, again at the tough-to-shoot Arco Arena. Here’s the report.
And how about the 2006 final when Palo Alto stunned Mater Dei 51-47 in Division II in which Jeremy Lin made a 25-foot bank shot from the top of the key. Here’s the report.
For girls, Cheryl Miller still holds the most points scored at 41 when Riverside Poly won Division I in 1982 at the Oakland Coliseum over Los Gatos 77-44. Both teams entered 33-0.
Lisa Leslie of Morningside scored 35 points in the 1990 Division 1 final in a 67-56 win over Berkeley at the Oakland Coliseum. Here’s the report.
In 2018, Charisma Osborne of Windward made six threes and finished with 26 points to help her team win the Open Division title over Pinewood 58-47. Here’s the report.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
When Birmingham High’s Tekeio Phillips and X’Zavion McKay were asked if they are surprised that the Patriots are playing for a Division III state boys’ basketball championship on Friday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento after losing in the first round of the City Section Open Division playoffs, the answer was unanimous: Yes.
The Patriots (22-7) have won four consecutive state playoff games to earn a spot against Antioch Cornerstone Christian (28-8) in a 4 p.m. final. Fellow City Section member Sylmar (24-12) is playing San Marin (21-13) for the Division V title at noon. On Saturday, Palisades’ girls’ team plays Faith Christian at 10 a.m.
Birmingham lost to Fairfax 66-58 on Feb. 11 in the City playoffs and didn’t play another game until March 3. How do you get your team motivated for state playoffs after three weeks off?
“We didn’t do anything the rest of the week and took the next week off,” Halic said. “We rested our bodies and emotionally refreshed.”
Most importantly, Patriot players decided they wanted to win in the state playoffs.
“It definitely helped us offensively connect better,” Halic said. “We’re playing a better game these last four games. When you lose you’re disappointed and sometimes going into state, people don’t care. It’s such a great opportunity for us.”
Phillips is averaging 22.8 points. McKay is averaging 12.6 points and 10.5 rebounds. Phillips has twice played at Golden 1 Center when he was a member of the Alijah Arenas-led Chatsworth team.
“It’s just a bigger gym,” Phillips said. “I feel comfortable.”
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
If any photo reveals the intensity of two All-Americans, it’s this one from late in the game, where Jerzy Robinson (left) of Sierra Canyon and Kaleena Smith of Ontario Christian battled in the Open Division final.
WASHINGTON — Signs of division emerged in Iran’s leadership Saturday as U.S. and Israeli strikes continued battering targets throughout the country, with Tehran sending mixed signals on whether it would keep attacking Washington’s Arab allies entering the war’s second week.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian began the day offering an apology “on behalf of Iran to the neighboring countries affected,” promising to halt the attacks that have affected nearly every nation in the Middle East. But strikes continued within hours, hitting Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, and Pezeshkian quickly issued a statement walking back his remarks.
President Trump vowed on social media to “hit Iran very hard” on Saturday, shortly before flying to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for the dignified transfer of six service members killed in the war.
Speaking at a summit of Latin American leaders in Miami before his trip to Delaware, the president said the fallen service members were heroes “coming home in a different manner than they thought they’d be coming home.” He said it was “a very sad situation,” and he pledged to keep American war deaths “to a minimum.”
And Israel launched its own wave of fresh attacks against Iran while taking incoming fire from Hezbollah, Iran’s allied force in Lebanon, that set off sirens in Tel Aviv. Reports of a fire at a major oil refinery outside Tehran sparked fears the conflict was only escalating, marking the first attack on Iran’s energy infrastructure, if confirmed.
The burst of activity over the weekend underscored that Trump’s unexpected war with Iran, launched alongside Israel just a week ago, is continuing at full force with no sign of slowing.
Missile and drone strikes by Iran against Arab nations, targeting U.S. military assets in the region as well as civilian targets, including hotels and airports, have been an effort by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to pressure regional governments to in turn press Trump to end the U.S. air campaign. The strikes have jolted markets worldwide and sent the price of oil soaring.
President Trump salutes Saturday as soldiers carry the coffin of Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa. Coady and five others were killed in a drone strike in Kuwait.
(Roberto Schmidt / Getty Images)
While the attacks have decreased substantially over the course of the week, with U.S. Central Command recording a 90% decrease in ballistic missile launches and an 83% drop in drone attacks as of Friday, Iranian strikes are still penetrating regional air defenses. One drone hit the world’s busiest airport, in Dubai, on Saturday, dashing hopes that flights could resume from the regional hub.
Hours after Pezeshkian’s apology, Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement vowing to continue strikes on territories that host U.S. offensive forces. Iran’s Defense Ministry said that its strategic stockpile of munitions was sufficient to sustain a protracted campaign. And a Revolutionary Guard spokesperson issued a statement addressing Trump, calling him “the corrupted island man,” referring to his former friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender who allegedly trafficked girls to his private island.
“The ground and the map of the war is in our hands,” the Revolutionary Guard official said. “This will continue.”
In his videotaped remarks, Pezeshkian also rejected Trump’s call for Tehran’s “unconditional surrender.” Trump later said he would be satisfied reaching a point at which Iran is no longer capable of fighting back.
“The idea of Iran surrendering unconditionally is a dream they will take to their graves,” Pezeshkian said.
A member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts, a council of 88 clerics responsible for naming the country’s supreme leader, was quoted in local state media vowing to select a new ayatollah within the next day, more than a week after U.S. and Israeli forces assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the opening salvo of the war.
Trump has said he expects a say in that decision, preemptively rejecting the late supreme leader’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who is seen as the most likely successor.
Mojtaba Khamenei is seen as even more ideological than his father, with deep ties throughout Iran’s security apparatus — and with a potential vendetta against Trump, on the heels of U.S. forces killing much of his family.
Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council who formerly served as the late Khamenei’s top advisor, said in his first remarks since the ayatollah’s killing that his assassination was unprecedented. “The price for this is not small,” Larijani said.
“They shouldn’t think we’ll let America quickly sweep this under the rug and say, ‘We hit, now let’s move on,’” Larijani continued. “Things will only resolve when they understand they no longer have the right to violate Iran, and when they compensate the Iranian people for their losses.”
More that 1,200 people have been killed in Iran since the war began, according to Iranian officials.
“He killed and martyred our leader,” Larijani added. “We’re not letting it go.”
HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL PLAYOFFS TUESDAY’S FIRST ROUND RESULTS
BOYS DIVISION I #1 Mater Dei 2, #8 Santa Monica 0 #4 El Camino Real 1, #5 Placentia Valencia 0 #3 Del Norte 4, #6 JSerra 1 #2 Orange Lutheran 3, #7 St. Augustine 2
DIVISION II #8 Sultana 3, #1 Torrey Pines 2 #4 San Pascual 4, #5 Anaheim Canyon 0 #3 Fontana 4, #6 Hilltop 1 #2 Mira Monte 0, #7 Birmingham 0 (Mira Monte wins 4-1 in shootout)
DIVISION III #1 Bishop Amat 1, #8 Godinez 0 #4 Palisades 1, #5 Bakersfield Liberty 1 (Palisades wins 3-2 in shootout) #6 Los Alamitos d. #3 Bonita Vista, forfeit #7 Mt. Carmel 2, #2 Newport Harbor 1
DIVISION IV #1 Irvine University 4, #8 Animo Leadership 2 #5 Chatsworth 4, #4 Bakersfield 1 #6 Santa Ana Valley 3, #3 La Jolla 1 #2 Granite Hills 2, #7 Esperanza 0
DIVISION V #1 Ontario Christian 2, #8 LA Roosevelt 0 #5 Kern County Taft 2, #4 North Hollywood 1 #3 Garfield 1, #6 Orange County Pacifica Christian 1 (Garfield wins 5-4 in shootout) #7 San Diego Lincoln 3, #2 Pasadena Poly 1
GIRLS
DIVISION I #1 Santa Margarita 2, #8 Eastvale Roosevelt 2 (SM wins 3-2 in shootout) #4 Cleveland 2, #5 Redondo Union 0 #6 Oaks Christian 1, #3 Mt. Carmel 0 #2 Mater Dei 5, #7 North County San Marcos 0
DIVISION II #8 Westview 1, #1 Newport Harbor 0 #5 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 3, #4 Carlsbad 0 #3 Garces Memorial 1, #6 Granada Hills 0 #2 Westlake 1, #7 La Costa Canyon 0
DIVISION III #1 Del Norte 4, #8 Palisades 3 #4 Quartz Hill 3, #5 El Diamante 0 #3 Ayala 7, #6 Crescenta Valley 2 #2 Millikan 7, #7 Tulare Western 0
DIVISION IV #8 Segerstrom 1, #1 Birmingham 1 (Segerstrom wins 4-2 in shootout) #5 Coachella Valley 3, #4 Ramona 2 #3 San Jacinto 1, #6 Mission Vista 0 #7 Del Sol 0, #2 Immaculate Heart 0 (Del Sol wins 4-3 in shootout)
DIVISION V #8 Coastal Academy 1, #1 Ocean View 0 #5 Bravo 2, #4 Webb 1 #3 Delano Kennedy 2, #6 Marquez 2 (Kennedy wins in shootout) #2 Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 4, #7 Sun Valley Poly 3
Note: Semifinals 1 p.m. or 5 p.m. Thursday at higher seeds; Finals 1 p.m. or 5 p.m. Saturday at host sites; State Championships March 13-14 at Matomas High in Sacramento (times TBA).
