Dolphins Earn the Consolation Prize

With the game in the balance and his team up by two points, Aaron Johnson stepped forward for his team – literally.

Facing a two-on-one fastbreak, the Palisades High senior  stood his ground and took a hard charge with 18 seconds left, then got up wincing and calmly fought off the pain long enough to sink two free throws that clinched  the Dolphins’ 47-43 victory over Lynwood in Monday’s consolation final of the Sea Hawk Classic at Redondo Union High.

Louis Kurihara had 12 points  and was named to the All-Tournament team after hitting 12 three-point baskets in the last three games. Joseph Robinson had 10 points and six steals, Johnson had nine points, Tucker Steil had eight points and eight rebounds and Michael Fry had four blocks for Palisades (6-6).

“I have the green light to shoot when I’m open and I’m just glad we won,” Kurihara said. “Aaron made a great play at the end. I thought their guy carried it but he got knocked down and they called the foul.”

Kurihara made seven three-pointers on his way to 25 points and the Dolphins needed  every one of them to hold off Culver City, 51-50, in Saturday’s consolation semifinal. The Centaurs were trying to avenge their Dec. 7 loss in the Bronze Division final at the Santa Monica Tournament and with his team trailing by three in the final seconds Culver City’s Isaac Girley scored on a driving layup, but the buzzer sounded before Palisades inbounded the ball.

“The strategy there was don’t foul, just let them shoot,” PaliHi Coach Vejas Anaya said. “Whether we’re playing the Miami Heat or a Rec League team it seems we always keep it close. Defensively we’ve been holding teams to single-digit quarters and if we do that we’re going to win games.”

In the opening round last Thursday Palisades fell 54-45 to unbeaten Mercer Island (a school just east of Seattle, Washington) and dropped to the consolation bracket. The Dolphins had  plenty of open looks but couldn’t get enough shots to fall in their first game in 12 days.

Anaya was proud that his  players did well on their finals and said the emphasis in practice was shot selection and defensive intensity.

“Our collective GPA rose at the detriment of our field goal percentage,” he quipped. “We haven’t lost by more than nine points and we could very easily be undefeated. We’re getting the shots we want and if we start making layups we’ll be dangerous.”

Robinson had 15 points and Johnson added 13 but the Dolphins had problems containing University of the Pacific commit Kaleb Warner (14 points). Steil’s three-pointer cut Palisades’ deficit to four with 1:30 left but the Dolphins got no closer.

“I didn’t know much about them because I couldn’t get any film  but I know Palisades plays  in a very strong league,” Mercer Island Coach Gavin Cree said.

Palisades bounced back Friday with a 62-41 win against Sacramento Rio Americano, outscoring the Raiders 24-3 in the third quarter after the game was tied at halftime.

Kurihara hit three long-range shots and finished with 16 points. Robinson also had 16 points and Johnson added eight points and six assists.

“To summarize our tournament season the team’s bought in to what we’ve been telling them,” Anaya said. “I like our unity, cohesiveness and togetherness.”