opener

On the opening night of Mission League basketball action Wednesday, there was a huge upset, one close call and two easy victories.

Loyola, down 16 points going into the fourth quarter, started making threes and stunned Sherman Oaks Notre Dame on the road 72-68. Deuce Newt scored 23 points for the Cubs (10-9). First-year coach Cam Joyce saw his team take a leap in ability when Newt became eligible on Dec. 26 after transferring from Campbell Hall. Randall Sanders added 15 points.

No. 1-ranked Sierra Canyon (14-1) held on for a 50-47 win over St. Francis. The Golden Knights gave the Trailblazers a real scare with a chance to tie at the end of regulation. Maxi Adams made two clutch free throws in the final seconds for Sierra Canyon. Brandon McCoy had 19 points and 12 rebounds. Cherif Millogo scored 14 points for the Golden Knights.

Harvard-Westlake improved to 18-2 with an 84-51 win over Chaminade (18-2). Amir Jones made six threes and had 26 points. Joe Sterling added 22 points and Dominique Bentho had 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Crespi (14-6) defeated Bishop Alemany 87-59. Jasiah Williams and Christian Tshina-Nzambi each scored 20 points.

On Friday night, it will be Notre Dame at Sierra Canyon, Harvard-Westlake at Crespi and Chaminade at Loyola.

Arcadia 87, Burroughs 51: Owen Eteuati Edwards scored 23 points and had eight rebounds for Arcadia.

Fairfax 77, Carson 40: Dominick Bowie had 14 points for the Lions.

San Pedro 67, Hamilton 37: Chris Morgan had 14 points and eight rebounds for the Pirates (13-4).

California 105, Saddleback 77: Jair Linares had 26 points for 11-7 California.

Tesoro 78, Capistrano Valley 39: Dean Mika finished with 23 points for 18-3 Tesoro.

St. Monica 67, St. Bernard 58: St. Monica won in overtime. Jordan Ballard scored 20 points for St. Bernard.

Los Alamitos 57, Huntington Beach 47: Sophomore Isaiah Williamson contributed 11 points and 12 rebounds in the Sunset League win.

To win a championship in soccer a reliable goalkeeper is a must, and Palos Verdes has one of the Southland’s best in Greyson Porth.

The 6-foot-1 junior is one of many reasons the Sea Kings began the week ranked No. 1 in California and No. 14 in the country, and his skill was on display Tuesday night in the Sea Kings’ tense Bay League opener at Mira Costa — a match that featured Tucker Malinofsky’s equalizing goal in stoppage time before fellow co-captain LT Armijo netted the winner in double overtime.

“He’s very strong and when the ball’s in the air he calls for it and gets there first,” Armijo said of Porth. “We trust him.”

Porth has nine shutouts with 73 saves in 15 starts this winter and did not allow a goal for 340 minutes of action — a scoreless streak lasting four and a half games — before Noah Szeder snapped it on a rebound off a corner kick in the 70th minute Tuesday to give Mira Costa a short-lived 1-0 lead Tuesday. It was only the seventh shot to get behind Porth all season.

“It’s a great feeling because they’re our rivals and I hadn’t beaten them before — none of us had,” Porth said while savoring the Sea Kings’ first win at Mira Costa since 2017. “Shutouts are up there but as long as we win, I’m happy. Our defense is awesome — LT, Nathan Dorfman, Aiden Cruz and Dayton Chontos — our whole back line.”

Porth went nearly five full games without being scored on during the South Tournament, finally giving up a goal in the second half of the championship match versus another league rival Redondo Union. Palos Verdes prevailed 2-1 in overtime.

One save that comes to mind for head coach Derek Larkins was on a penalty kick with 15 minutes left in a nonleague contest Dec. 30 at Sultana that kept it scoreless. The Sea Kings scored shortly thereafter to avenge a 3-0 defeat in the Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinals last year.

“It’s one of the hardest places for a visiting team to win but Greyson came up huge that day,” said Larkins, who is trying to lead PV to its first CIF title since back-to-back crowns in 2006 (Division 4) and 2007 (Division 2). “We haven’t forgotten that loss because it ended our season and he helped us exorcise that demon.”

Porth was the backup last season to then senior Ben Forte, whom he called a “good mentor.”

“I didn’t get to play much last year, maybe five or six games, but I learned a lot from Ben,” said Porth, who started his soccer career in fourth grade as a midfielder but switched to goalie when he was 11. “I sort of got forced into the position because I was the tallest player on my AYSO Extra team so they needed me there. It’s nerve-racking at times but I take pride in knowing that I’m the last line of defense. So I can make or break the game.”

Larkins attributes the 17-year-old’s growth to hard work in the offseason and credits goalie coach Matthew McNab with helping Porth reach his potential.

“He’s receptive to learning and he’s taken responsibility for his game and the way he practices,” said McNab, a 2009 PV soccer alum who went on to play at Westmont College. “He’s taken up the leadership role. Being a goalkeeper requires a great deal of mental toughness but he’s taken to that, too.”

The two have formed a tight bond.

“Matt listens to me,” said Porth, who even made a slide tackle from midfield to thwart a potential breakaway earlier this season. “I tell him what I need to work on and he drills me. I’ve improved everything from last year…. angles, positioning, my shot blocking and my kicking. I can be aggressive or rely on my reflexes. I use my instincts to know what to do in certain situations.”

Mira Costa has won five consecutive league championships and is trying to equal PV’s string of six in a row from 2011-16. The teams square off again January 23.

“Something we emphasized heading into the season is how are we going to defend the box and set pieces,” Larkins said. “We gave up five goals off of throw-ins and two on free kicks in our three losses to them last year. We’ve stressed the importance of that.”

Larkins, who is also an English teacher, believes sports is a metaphor for life and likes quoting athletes, philosophers and musicians to motivate his players. This season’s mantra is “be yourself, be legendary” — a lyric from the hip-hop group Coast Contra’s “Breathe and Stop Freestyle.”

“This is the best team we’ve had since 2014,” said Larkins, who is in his 15th season. “We have seven guys who are three-year varsity players. A lot of them went to middle school together so it’s an older, more experienced team. We’ve got a lot of grit, we can play different styles depending on the opponent and we have the talent.”

Palos Verdes (14-2) has won 10 straight since back-to-back one-goal road losses to Santa Monica and Servite. Senior co-captain Willie Knotek has a team-best eight goals, forward Ian Alonzo has a team-high 20 points (six goals, eight assists and Malinofsky has six goals and five assists.

Lyle Foster’s match-winning 79th-minute strike allowed South Africa to win first opening match at AFCON since 2004.

Lyle Foster scored a superb winner from outside the box as South Africa defeated Angola 2-1 in Africa Cup of Nations Group B in Marrakesh on Monday, the first time they have won their opening match ⁠at the continental finals in 21 years.

South Africa also had a goal disallowed and struck the crossbar, ​just about deserving the nervy victory. Angola also had chances and will ‍be disappointed not to have gotten something from the game.

South Africa took the lead on 21 minutes when Oswin Appollis showed neat footwork in the box to work a shooting chance and put the ball in the bottom ‍corner. But Angola ⁠equalised before the break as Show got a touch to Fredy’s free kick to steer the ball into the net.

The winning moment came after 79 minutes, when Foster was teed up 20 yards out and curled his shot into the top corner to give the bronze medallists from two years ago a positive start to their campaign.

It was a workmanlike performance from South Africa, who do not have the plethora of players in top ​European leagues that their tournament rivals enjoy, with Foster their only one ‌at Premier League Burnley.

But they are a well-oiled machine under Belgian coach Hugo Broos and did enough for a victory that set them well on course for the knockout rounds. Egypt and Zimbabwe will meet later on Monday in ‌the same pool.

Even first half

South Africa took the lead after a period of sustained possession that led to Khuliso Mudau’s cross, which was ‌touched by both Sipho Mbule and Foster before Appollis beat two ⁠defenders and side-footed into the bottom corner of the net.

Angola equalised on 35 minutes when Fredy’s low free kick was touched into the bottom corner by Show, his second goal in his 50th cap for his country, to make it ‌1-1 at the break.

South Africa thought they had retaken the lead when halftime substitute Tshepang Moremi turned his defender and fired low into the bottom corner of the net, but a VAR review showed ‍that Foster was offside in the buildup.

South Africa’s Mbekezeli Mbokazi crashed the ball against the crossbar with a rasping shot from 35 yards, before Foster’s clinical strike secured all three points.

Zambia rally to draw with Mali

In an earlier Group A match on Monday, Zambia’s Patson Daka scored with a spectacular diving header in stoppage time to see his ‍side come from behind ‍and force a 1-1 draw with Mali in Casablanca.

Mali looked in control for most of the encounter, but paid the price for sitting back in the closing stages as Zambia staged a ⁠late recovery, with Daka leaping through the air to force home Mathews Banda’s curling cross two minutes into ​stoppage time at the end of the game.

Lassine Sinayoko had ‌taken advantage of sloppy defending to give ‌Mali a 62nd-minute lead ⁠after his strike partner, El Bilal Toure, had a first-half penalty saved.

Host nation Morocco overcome a spirited challenge by Africa Cup of Nations minnows Comoros to kick off the tournament.

Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) hosts Morocco overcame a nervy start to beat the Comoros 2-0 in the tournament’s opening game on Sunday, after Brahim Diaz and substitute Ayoub El Kaabi scored second-half goals.

It was a far-from-convincing showing from the highly fancied Morocco, who are ⁠97 places above the small Indian Ocean island nation in the world rankings and had to toil hard for the ​points in the rain at Rabat’s Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.

Morocco squandered an early penalty and ‍were goalless at halftime, despite dominating possession, eventually breaking the deadlock in the 55th minute, when Noussair Mazraoui did well to keep the ball from going out of play before passing it square for Diaz to side-foot home.

El Kaabi scored a trademark bicycle kick goal ‍in the 74th ⁠minute, 10 minutes after coming on as a substitute, to ease the tension.

Morocco looked initially to be labouring under a heavy burden of expectation, and tiny Comoros comfortably held them at bay before the superior firepower of the hosts ensured victory.

The hosts could have been ahead as early as the 11th minute after a soft penalty was awarded for a challenge by Iyad Mohamed on Diaz. But Soufiane Rahimi hit the spot kick straight down the middle, striking the knee of goalkeeper Yannick Pandor and watching the ball loop away ​to safety.

But they eventually broke down the resistance, as Diaz got deserved rewards for ‌his continual probing and El Kaabi’s goal ensured a respectable scoreline.

Pandor made several other good stops to keep down the score in the closing stages as his teammates began to tire, although Comoros had a chance for an equaliser four minutes after Diaz’s goal, but Rafiki Said ‌shot straight at Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou in their first chance of the match.

‘Difficult’ opening game

“The opening game is always difficult, but ‌we came good in the second half,” said Morocco coach Walid Regragui. ⁠

Morocco extended their record-breaking run of successive victories by a national team to 19. In October, they went past the previous best of 15, set by Spain from 2008-09.

There will be concern in the home camp, however, after captain Romain Saiss limped off after 18 minutes, with the centre ‌back leaving the field in tears. He spent the first half of the year sidelined by ankle surgery and only last month returned to the national side after a year’s absence.

Mali and Zambia meet on Monday in the next ‍Group A clash in Casablanca on the second day of the monthlong tournament. There are also two Group B matches as Angola meet South Africa in Marrakesh, and Mohamed Salah leads Egypt against Zimbabwe in Agadir.