Boys' basketball: Toughness keys another victory for Leuzinger

Few teams in Southern California have played a more difficult schedule than Leuzinger of Lawndale, and that certainly helped the Olympians down the stretch of Saturday's game against Windward at the Pangos Dream Classic in Long Beach.

Leuzinger led by just two points at halftime but gradually pulled away in the final two quarters for a 59-49 win. The Olympians went 16-11 last winter but proved their mettle by starting this season 7-2. They beat defending City Section champion Taft and lost two tournament games by a combined nine points to another City power Westchester, ranked No. 2 by The Times.

"I'm not necessarily surprised that we have the talent to compete, but I didn't know how hard we'd compete," Leuzinger Coach Reggie Morris said. "You can't measure competitive nature until the season starts. You can tell our guys aren't just going to lie down."

Forward Jerry Evans paved the way for the Olympians' victory Saturday, scoring 19 points, and fellow senior Donley Minor added 13. William Overton put the game out of reach with a fast-break dunk to put Leuzinger ahead 50-38 with 3:30 left.

Senior point guard Darius Morris finished with 16 points for Windward, ranked No. 11 by The Times, and UCLA-bound center Anthony Stover added 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Sophomore forward Wesley Saunders, who is getting a lot of attention from Pac-10 scouts, had nine points.

"Wesley will be one of the top 100 players in the nation his senior year, no question about it," Wildcats Coach Miguel Villegas predicted.

-- Steve Galluzzo