Friday semifinals set for Dijon Thompson Pac Shores

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REDONDO BEACH, Ca. – The championship semifinals were set Wednesday night via some highly competitive quarterfinals during the 63^rd Dijon Thompson Pac Shores Tournament at Redondo Union High.

*The host and top-seeded Sea Hawks built a 17-point lead at intermission only to fall behind early in the fourth quarter before pulling away down the stretch to knock off Gardena Serra, 77-69, in Wednesday night’s finale.

*Bellflower St. John Bosco overcame a three-point deficit at halftime and overpowered Compton in the fourth quarter to prevail, 66-55, and earn a slot in a 6:30 Friday semifinal with Redondo.

*Long Beach Poly (the No. 2 seed) jumped out to a healthy early advantage and cruised the rest of the way over Inglewood, 79-57.

*And, in a spectacularly exciting finish, L.A. Westchester – trailing by four points with a little more than a minute to play – turned steals by Ellis Salladhudin and Terrell Waiters into layups and a 45-42 victory against Calabasas. The Comets will face Poly in the other championship semifinal Friday evening at 5 o’clock.

Redondo got big plays down the stretch from sophomore Billy Preston (17 points) and juniors Cameron Williams (22), Leland Green (12) and Elijah Nesbit (10) to overcome the Cavaliers, who got 21 points from junior Ian Carter and 16 apiece from seniors Jason Richardson and Caleb Wilson.

Junior forward Vance Jackson continued his impressive play for St. John Bosco with a team-high 28 points, utilizing his 6-8 size inside and his soft and accurate jump shooting from deep.

Sallahudin led Westchester with 22 points while Conner Longmire had 20 in a losing cause.

Guards K.J. Feagin and Drew Buggs – despite foul issues that limited their time – combined for 30 points for Poly.

The complete Friday schedule: (13^th place semifinals; both auxiliary gym) Noon, Newhall Hart vs. Harbor City Narbonne; 1:30, Lakewood Mayfair vs. Lawndale; (Consolation semifinals) 3:30, (main gym) Santa Monica vs. N. Hollywood Campbell Hall; 5, (auxiliary gym) Palos Verdes Peninsula vs. Woodland Hills Taft; (fifth-place semifinals, both main gym) 12:30, Calabasas vs. Inglewood; 2, Gardena Serra vs. Compton; (championship semifinals, both main gym) 5, Long Beach Poly vs. L.A. Westchester; 6:30, Redondo vs. Bellflower St. John Bosco.