The Santa Monica High boys and girls basketball teams, both Ocean League champions, won their CIF playoff opening games at home last weekend,
The boys defeated Ramona of Riverside, 62-46 on Friday, February 15 as Ed Willis scored 20 points and Justin Maxwell hit a trio of clutch three-point shots.
The girls defeated Redlands East Valley, 64-40, on Saturday night.
Both teams advanced to second round games. The Samohi boys, who are seeded 11th, will travel to the No. 5 seed, Chino Hills. The girls will play Blair of Pasadena.
Coach James Hecht’s Vikings overcame early foul trouble with a strong second half.
Both Willis and Maxwell had two quick fouls and sat out most of the first half, which ended with Samohi behind, 28-27.
But the Vikings scored 17 points in the third quarter and another 17 in the fourth to record their 20th win of the season against seven losses.
Sophomore James Montgomery was a factor, scoring 10 points and playing solid defense, something he’s done all season.
“Once again we had a large supportive crowd which helped us a lot,” said Hecht. “Several of our former players turned out too.”
Two other Ocean League teams, Inglewood and Hawthorne, lost their first round games.
