Oscar Lopez’s first official game with his new Bishop Montgomery teammates was a big one.
Lopez, a transfer from Lynwood, had to watch from the sidelines until the transfer sit-out period ended on Jan. 1.
The first game came against Sierra Canyon, last Saturday in the Take Flight Challenge. It also came with star players David Singleton, Gianni Hunt and Will Crawford all sidelined with injuries.
“It felt great to be back on the court after sitting,” Lopez said moments after the Knights’ rallied for a 65-62 victory. “For my first game to play Sierra Canyon is big time.”
Lynwood went 7-18 last year. Bishop Montgomery enters this week 14-0 with Del Rey League play on tap.
Lopez scored 11 points and was all in on both sides of the floor, fitting right in with the Bishop Montgomery way of life.
“I wanted to come out and provide for my teammates, keep talking on defense and making plays for my team,” Lopez said. “In the fourth quarter, we knew that if we kept pushing and pushing, we knew they would fall off and we came back with big plays on the defensive end.
“With Coach (Doug) Mitchell, that’s all we do at practice is defense, defense, defense and that’s what we do in the game. Playing defense with another school is way more different than here. It is more things you have to do and you have more responsibilities.”
In his second game, a 56-42 win over Oak Park, Lopez scored 11 points with eight rebounds and three assists.
“We’re not the most physical group in the world,” Mitchell said. “(Lopez) was pretty upset that he didn’t he played well (Friday). … I’m happy to hear that. It was a tough situation to throw a kid in his first game of the year, first game at the school, into a big time game. I thought he got a little fatigued, but he sure kept us in it in the first half, I thought.”
Open Division watch list
Bishop Montgomery and St. Bernard were the only two South Bay schools on the CIF-SS Open Division watch list that was released Monday.
At the end of the season, eight teams will be chosen for the Open Division.
The teams will meet Friday in a Del Rey League game at St. Bernard. Bishop Montgomery opens league Wednesday at Serra.
“It is going to be a dog fight every night,” St. Bernard coach Mitch Runco said of the Del Rey League. “We all know each other well and there is so much talent across the board. Ultimately this league will prepare you for the playoffs.”
Bishop Montgomery is the top-ranked team in this week’s Division 1 poll and St. Bernard is No. 3 in 2A.
Mary Star and Rolling Hills Prep are No. 1 and 2, respectively, in Division 4A and Executive Prep is sixth.
West Torrance and Leuzinger are No. 5 and 9, respectively in Division 3AA.
In 5A, Da Vinci and Ambassador are ranked No. 2 and No. 7, respectively.
Games of the week
Wednesday – Bishop Montgomery at Serra (5 p.m.), Narbonne at Gardena (5:30 p.m.);
Friday – Bishop Montgomery at St. Bernard, Redondo at Inglewood (7:30 p.m.) and Fairfax at Westchester (6:30 p.m.).
