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 Gardena Serra Cavaliers captured the CIF-SS Western Division Championship with a hard fought 30-28 victory over the Chaminade Eagles at Serra High School Friday night.

The Cavaliers jumped out to an early lead on a long touchdown run by junior Adoree’ Jackson on a fake punt.

Trailing 7-0, Chaminade answered with a touchdown run by standout running back Terrell Newby to tie the game.

Playmaking junior linebacker Dwight Williams gave Serra a 14-7 lead with an impressive interception return for a touchdown.