On Saturday, the LACES boys basketball (19-12) lost to King/Drew Golden Eagles (20-11) 51-45 in the 2024 CIF LA City Section Open Division Final. The Unicorns looked to add to their 5 lower-division section championships since 2009.
This was the first time LACES has been in the Open Division Final, and first time two magnet schools played in the championship game. LACES led in the second quarter, but fell behind by three at the half. Senior point guard Donovan Cornelius was held to 12 points and senior center Ryan Conner, who came up big with a game-winning three-pointer in the semi-final against Chatsworth, was held to six points by a tough King/Drew defense.
LACES looked to close the nine-point deficit with less than six minutes left in the 4th quarter, but two missed open threes by Ian Hunter and Yasin Sharif halted the comeback, and several made free throws by King/Drew sealed the victory for the Golden Eagles.
The Unicorns moved on to the CIF Division II State Playoffs as the #16 seed. They played the #1 seed Heritage Chrisitian on Tuesday and lost 72-41, ending their 2023-2024 season.
