For the first 10 minutes of Monday’s game against Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies the Palisades High boys basketball team looked sluggish and out of sync.
Ron Artest III changed that with a two-handed slam dunk to bring the home fans to their feet and gave the Dolphins momentum they would never relinquish in a 70-56 victory.
Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer
Joseph Robinson scores 19 points, Shane Williams had 13 points and four steals, Michael Fry had 10 points and five rebounds and Will Johnson added eight points and four steals for Palisades, which improved to 12-8 overall and 3-2 in the Western League heading into key games at Fairfax and Westchester.
“These last two games were important to get our confidence back,” said Robinson, who scored 24 points in last Wednesday’s 65-54 victory at Venice.
Artest III finished with six points, seven rebounds and two blocks and George Brown’s dunk put Palisades ahead 41-28 with 4:21 left in the third quarter. Evan Battey had 19 for the City Section Division IV champion Unicorns, who were outscored 23-10 in the second quarter and trailed 32-21 at halftime.
“We’ve come together as a team the last two games,” Brown said. “We have to continue to play hard from beginning to end. Our guards, our bigs, our bench — if everyone’s into it we should come out with a win.”
On Wednesday the Dolphins got their first crack at Fairfax, which entered the game undefeated and ranked in the top 10 nationally. The Lions dealt Westchester its first league loss 54-49 Monday.
“I like challenges so I look forward to those kinds of games,” Robinson said of playing Fairfax. “We’ve had trouble finishing games off but if we play like we did the first three quarters against Westchester, we can win.”
Palisades travels to Westchester for a 6:30 p.m. tip-off Friday. The Comets beat the Dolphins 58-45 in the first round of league play Jan. 14.
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