By Putting On Pressure, Taft Pulls Off Upset

Playing 32 minutes of intense, relentless man-to-man defense, unranked Taft High sent a message Thursday night that it intends to take its place among the top boys’ basketball teams in the region.

The Toreadors (10-1) routed second-ranked North Hollywood, 62-41, to win the Eagle Rock tournament.

They trapped, they put hands in the faces of North Hollywood shooters, they rebounded and they gave the Huskies no chance.

“I thought Taft played as good as they could play,” Coach Rob Bloom of North Hollywood said.

Ronald Gray, the tournament most valuable player, scored 11 points and had 12 rebounds. All-tournament selection Gregg Guenther, playing despite a fever, finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

And then there was the play of freshman Steve Smith, another all-tournament pick. He had 17 points, 12 rebounds and delivered the only dunk in 29 games of the tournament, a thunderous blast at the end of the third quarter that completed a 12-0 Taft surge that put the Toreadors on top by 21 points.

“What can you say about him?” Coach Mark Drucker asked of the 6-foot-1 Smith, who flies through the air as if he has wings. “He’s got a winner’s attitude. He doesn’t hang his head. He’s relentless around the basket.”

Taft was supposed to struggle early on because it has several new players, but the Toreadors have won 10 consecutive games since a close opening loss to Pasadena Marshall.

“Nobody in the City or Valley thought we’d be doing as well as we have,” Drucker said. “This team works so hard in practice. The things we’re trying to teach them they’re picking up and it’s carrying over to the games.”

There’s a certain way to play North Hollywood (11-3), which relies on teamwork, patience and ball movement. The Toreadors applied constant defensive pressure. North Hollywood finished with more than 20 turnovers.

“I’ve said all along we needed to get our butts kicked to wake up,” Bloom said. “We have to play our style to win. We can’t go up and down the court.”

The 6-8 Guenther dominated in the second half, using his size and bulk to overpower the Huskies.

Point guard Derrick McCoy kept the Toreadors under control, and Smith wouldn’t let the Huskies rest by leaping repeatedly for rebounds.

“He’s the best jumper I’ve seen in a long time,” Bloom said.

Guenther, a transfer from Crespi, said the Toreadors are just playing well as a team.

“We have good chemistry,” he said. “Everybody knows their role.”

Venice 82, Bell-Jeff 79--In the third place game, Casey Markovic scored 27 points, but the Guards (10-4) were beaten by the Gondoliers.