Defending L.A. City Champion Taft High showed why they are the favorite to take the city title again this year when they handled Loyola 73-57 at Saturday's NIKE Extravaganza.
First year head coach and former NBA guard Jason Hart is leading a team loaded with talent despite rumors that City Section basketball isn't what it used to be. The Toreadors' biggest weapon is 6-foot-8 senior forward Anthony January who is currently ranked No. 27 in the state by Scout.com. He has offers from several schools including Pac-12 members Oregon, Washington, UCLA and USC. Taft's talent runs even deeper with senior 6-foot-7 senior forward Brandon Perry who is already committed to Cal State Northridge.
Taft, who was ranked No. 14 in California coming into this weekend, hasn't lost in 2012 yet and is currently on a 75-game West Valley League win streak.
They faced a talented Loyola team -- who was ranked No. 6 until this weekend -- known just as much for their teamwork as their individual talent. The defending CIF-SS Division IA champions return four starters from their previous 25-6 season. Senior forward Julian Harrell is committed to Pennsylvania. Sophomore Parker Cartwright already has UCLA coach Ben Howland hoping he stays home in two years.
But Loyola looked almost lifeless as they let Taft pull away 34-28 going into the half. They started the third quarter looking just as lackluster.
By the third quarter Taft increased its lead to 52-34.
January's solo dunk with a minute left made it 72-50, but it probably felt more like insult-to-injury for the Cubs. January finished with a game-high 26 points and 14 rebounds.
"He's listening. The good thing about great players is that when they listen and they let you coach them the sky is the limit," said Hart. "That's what he did today."
"It was a team effort," said January. "We all came together to play a good game so I can't just say I took over and played a good game."
Perry logged his own double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Junior guard Kris Yanku was the third Toreador in double figures with 11 points and 3 rebounds.
Still, it was a bit of surprise to see Taft go up by as much as 25 points with a first year head coach in a section that some say is having a down year. At least it is to everyone, but January.
"I'm not going to lie to you. I was [expecting this]," admitted January. "I felt like we were going to come out and have a good game."
Taft hopes to carry this momentum into the last week of the season where they face Birmingham (Lake Balboa, Calif.) and Chatsworth (Chatsworth, Calif.) before heading into the playoffs.
