The Loyola Cubs overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to defeat the Taft Toreadors 76-68 in front of a raucous home crowd to advance in the 2013 CIF Open Division 1 Championships.

It was a tale of two halves as Taft came out of the gate strong and built an early double digit advantage. The Toreadors were led by the stellar play of seniors Kris Yanku and Usama Zaid. Yanku drilled a buzzer beater to end the first quarter and give Taft a 19-13 lead.

Loyola relied heavily on big man Thomas Welsh. The 7-foot junior had 14 points in the first half to lead the Cubs.

The Etiwanda Eagles staved off a furious rally from the Mater Dei Monarchs to capture the CIFSS 1AA Championship in a thrilling 54-51 classic.

Etiwanda jumped out to an early lead with lights out shooting from behind the arc. Standout junior Jordan McLaughlin, senior Darryl Adigwu and sophomore Delewis Johnson knocked down two three-pointers apiece.

The long range barrage helped the Eagles build a 29-13 advantage late in the second quarter.

Etiwanda Wins 54-51: Game Highlights

The Long Beach Poly Jackrabbits defeated the Loyola Cubs 75-69 in front of a sold-out raucous crowd at Loyola High School Friday night to advance to the CIFSS 1AA semifinals.

Led by PAC-12 bound stars Jordan Bell and Roschon Prince, the Jackrabbits got out to a strong start and built an early lead. Hot shooting from the perimeter and some easy slam dunks on the interior gave Poly a 26-11 advantage after a quarter.

The Loyola Cubs defeated the Pasadena Bulldogs 80-56 to advance in the CIFSS 1AA playoffs. The Cubs blew open a tight game in the fourth quarter. CLA contributor C-Dawg was in the house and on the call for this intense matchup.

C-Dawg Postgame Analysis:

The undefeated Bishop Montgomery Knights defeated the La Salle Lancers 84-55 Friday night in Pasadena.

The Knights balanced attack featuring Lamond Murray Jr., Ognjen Miljkovic, Justin Bibbins, Larry Taylor III and Stephen Thompson Jr. came out strong and built an early lead.

La Salle freshman Vance Jackson drilled two early three-pointers for the Lancers while sophomore point guard Milan Acquuah shined with 16 first half points.

Bishop Montgomery led 24-15 after the first quarter.

Game 7 at the MLK Day Showdown featured the Gardena Serra Cavaliers against the Alemany Warriors.

Alemany enters the contest with a 13-6 record while Serra comes in 16-4. Both teams came out fast and on fire from long range. For Serra, guard Ajon Efferson knocked down a couple jumpers but Alemany responded with jumpers from sophomore Bennie Boatwright and freshman Shacquille Dawkins.

After the first quarter, Alemany led 24-19.

Boatwright hit four three-pointers in the first half to spark the Warriors.

In the primetime matchup of the Pioneer Hoops Showdown, the host Providence Pioneers and star sophomore sensation Marcus LoVett Jr. put on quite a show for those in attendance. Providence defeated the Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) Knights 69-61 behind an impressive 48 point performance from LoVett.

The super sophomore scored in a variety of ways, slashing to the hoop, knocking down step back jumpers and making a living at the foul line. Coming off a 47 point outing against Campbell Hall, LoVett was in a good rhythm from the outset and continues to put up ridiculous numbers.

The third game in the Pioneer Hoops Showdown features a quality matchup between the Etiwanda Eagles and the Beverly Hills Normans.

Etiwanda entered the contest with an 11-2 record while Beverly Hills comes in with an 8-7 mark.

The Eagles jumped out to an early thanks to lights out jump shooting from junior Jordan McLaughlin, who knocked down three bombs from downtown.

Senior big man Tim Myles threw down a nice slam dunk to keep Etiwanda in the lead.