Watch: Dominant defensive effort gives Venice boys basketball win over El Camino Real, regional semifinal berth
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- From the opening tip, Venice played suffocating defense .
On the first play of Thursday night's CIF State Division 3 regional quarterfinal game against No. 13 El Camino Real, Gondoliers sophomore Aidan Donald snatched a steal and went coast to coast for a layup to give No. 5 Venice a 2-0 lead.
The play served as a preview for what was to come as Venice used a dominant defensive effort to win 54-34.
"We did a great job in the half court set," Venice head coach David Galley said. "We rotated pretty well and we rebounded alright too."
The Gondoliers led 30-15 at halftime and 41-28 after three quarters. Sophomore guard Tyler Hunt led Venice with 15 points in the win. Noah Ta, another sophomore guard (pictured below), added 14 points for the Gondoliers, which included four 3's.
"Noah can shoot," Galley said. "You give him a little bit of space and he's going to knock those down."
ECR senior guard Cody Dukhovny scored 12 points for the Royals in defeat.
Venice advanced to the Division 3 regional semifinals with the win. The Gondoliers will play top seeded Rancho Verde on the road on Saturday.
