NEWS AND NOTES FROM PRESS ROW: Whitney boys basketball buried early, unable to recuperate in first round setback

February 13, 2025

By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X

The Whitney High boys basketball team picked the worst time to have one of its poorest performances of the season as the Wildcats were blown out by Providence High 64-41 at home in a CIF-Southern Section Division 3A first round playoff game this past Wednesday. The Wildcats, who were held to their seventh lowest point total in the past 14 games, wrap up the 2024-2025 season with a 13-16 record.

Whitney senior Morgan Marks scored the first points of the game a minute into the contest, but after that, it was all Providence as it led 18-8 after the first quarter. The Pioneers kept the pressure on in the second quarter as they controlled the boards on both sides of the ball and didn’t allow much scoring from the rest of the Wildcats. With a halftime score of 29-16, Marks accounted for 10 points while senior Peter Poitras was next with simply a three-pointer.

It deteriorated in the third quarter as Marks scored the team’s lone basket of the stanza as the Wildcats watched Providence increase its advantage to 45-18 entering the final eight minutes. Whitney would go on runs of 8-0 and 6-0 in the final six minutes of the game, but it wasn’t enough.

Marks tallied a team-high 17 points, had three assists, three rebounds, a block and a steal while Poitras added 15 points and two steals. Senior Rafael Mercado led the Wildcats with four rebounds while senior Jeffrey Nishida pitched in with three rebounds. Griffin Berschneider and Elijah Orjuela each had 14 points for the Pioneers while J.P. Birotte and Riley Murphy each added 10 points.

In other boys basketball first round action this past Wednesday, La Mirada High fell to Harvard-Westlake High 73-50 in the Open Division. The Matadores (24-5) will visit Notre Dame High/Sherman Oaks on Friday.

Artesia High (21-7) got past Orange Vista High 39-36 in Division 2A and will host a second round game on Friday.

In Division 3AA, Cerritos High was on the south end of a 66-59 decision to El Toro High, finishing the season at 13-15. Also on the division, Gahr High lost to Ayala High 61-50 also wrapping up the season at 13-15.

In Division 2 boys soccer action, Artesia edged Rialto High 3-2 this past Wednesday evening, improving to 17-2-5 while in Division 4 girls soccer action, Artesia upset top-seeded Marlborough High 1-0 this past Wednesday. The Pioneers (17-2-3) will host Chadwick High on Friday. Also in the division, La Mirada (10-8-3) blanked Mayfield High 2-0 and will travel to South Pasadena High on Friday.

In Division 5 action, Cerritos fell to Ramona High 2-0, ending its season at 9-13-0 while Valley Christian High was edged by Tahquitz High 2-1. The Defenders finish the season at 10-9-2.

Gahr (9-9-2) lost a high-scoring affair to Citrus Hill High 7-6 while in Division 7, Norwalk shutout Big Bear High 1-0. The Lancers improved to 12-8-2 and will travel to Rim of the World High on Friday.