Boys’ basketball: Granada Hills overcomes slow start to reach Division I final
Highlanders defeated Poly, 66-60
Granada Hills is known for its slow starts, but this one wasn’t being taken too kindly. It was the City Section Division I semifinal on Friday night against Sun Valley Poly at Roybal, and the Highlanders were down, 27-10, early in the second quarter.
Coach Donald Loperena’s patience was being tested, but his team responded with a 66-60 victory.
“When they were up so much in the first half, that was our wakeup call,” sophomore Michael Mensah said.
Mensah contributed 15 points during the Highlanders’ comeback. Jason Horosny had 18 points and Adam Banihamad added 12 points. Granada Hills didn’t take its first lead of the game until 6:29 left.
Granada Hills improved to 20-12 and will face Sylmar, a 72-69 winner over Washington, in next Saturday’s 3 p.m. final at Cal State Dominguez Hills.
Poly (16-13) received 20 points from Cesar Reyes and 19 from Jose Esqueda.
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