Khela Scores 25 For St. Monica:

The St. Monica boys basketball team improved its record to 6-6 by defeating Malibu, 85-59, and Pilibos 57-51 in their last two games. Previously there was a 66-47 loss to Savannah of Anaheim and a 75-66 loss to Belmont at the Salesian Tournament and wins over Temple City (70-58) and Whitney (51-35) in the Valley Christian Tournament. In the game against Savannah, John Khela scored 25 and Zack Laguardia had nine.        Khela is a 6-foot-3 senior who is averaging 20.4 ppg. Laguardia is a 6-foot-2 senior who averages 12.2. The Mariners’ leading rebounder is Andrew Francis with 5.9 per game. Crossroads continued to struggle, – with a 1-8 record going into a holiday tournament in Las Vegas following losses to Garfield (67-56), Culver City (66-49) Venice (77-48) and Serra (86-28). Santa Monica High defeated Peninsula, 78-61, improving its record to 6-3. Malibu lost three straight games, leaving the Sharks with a 3-6 record. Besides the loss to St. Monica, there was a 78-55 loss to Carpinteria. New Roads has a 6-3 record, including a 64-54 win over University and a 68-54 loss to Oak Park at the Beverly Hills Tournament. Venice, which lost its first two games of the season, won the next four. Its latest victories were over Crossroads and then San Fernando (79-56). Led by Guard Noah Gottlieb, the team’s top scorer at 16.4, the Gondoliers will play in a tournament in Santa Barbara. In girls’ play, Santa Monica High defeated Beverly Hills, 50-36 in the Marlborough Tournament as Beverly Hills scored just four points in the fourth quarter. Santa Monica then defeated Peninsula, 51-31, led by Daisy Feder with 10 points and Monica Zell’s 14 rebounds. The St. Monica girls lost to West Torrance, 67-38 despite 10 points by junior Melissa Palmieri and eight by junior guard Alexandria Pegnato. The Malibu girls were defeated by Rolling Hills Prep, 57-44.            The Venice girls improved their record to 5-2 with a 62-47 win over Aliseo Niguel in the South Torrance Tournament, led by junior guard Shannon Nakamine with 20 points. Senior Ivory Blockman had 12 points and 11 rebounds. The Palisades girls have a 3-4 record following a 66-30 loss to Taft. With 5-foot-7 senior Desiree Davis averaging 14.7 points per game, New Roads has a 4-4 record. The team’s leading rebounder is Cicely Preer, also a 5-7 senior, with 8.8 per game.New Roads lost to Malibu, 47-45 and Brentwood, 51-29 before defeating Fairfax, 54-47.