A year after the passing of Serra boys basketball coach Dwan Hurt, the school hosted the 1st Annual Dwan Hurt Holiday Classic on December 20-23rd. High schools throughout Southern California participated in the tournament, including Carson, View Park, Banning, Dorsey and Washington Prep.
“One of my goals is that as long as I’m coaching at Serra High School, my teams don’t forget who he was,” said Serra varsity boys basketball head coach Bernard McCrumby. “These are things he’s always wanted to do and [I] just want to be able to have the opportunity to implement them.”
The Serra Cavaliers were one of the 16 teams that competed in the tournament. They ascended to the Championship game, defeating Inglewood 67-57 to win the inaugural title. Serra junior point guard and team co-captain Doctor Bradley won tournament MVP. Bradley scored 15 points and 10 rebounds to help Serra defeat Washington Prep 76-54 in the semifinals.
The Inglewood Sentinels had a strong run, holding Venice to 52 points in the first round and defeating View Park in the second round.
“Coach Hurt is just a staple in the community and what he’s done here at Serra with all the accomplishments and success that he’s had,” said Inglewood boys basketball head coach William Alexander. “It was a no-brainer when they said they were having [a tournament] in honor of him; we were going to be over here to play.”
Venice high stormed through the consolation bracket, after falling to Inglewood. They were matched with Bernstein in the consolation championship and won 71-60.
After falling to Serra, the Washington Prep Generals defeated the Carson Colts 85-83 in overtime to earn third place. View Park battled and defeated Peninsula High School 46-31 and came in fifth place.
Dorsey lost to Serra in the second round, putting them in contention to finish in seventh place. They would earn it after beating Palos Verdes 58-51.
An alumnus of Serra, Hurt coached the varsity boys basketball team for 27 years. He led the team to two state championships. Hurt won his 500th win as a coach in 2014 and won the 2016 Southern Section Championship.
“Dwan Hurt has contributed a lot to South Bay basketball,” said Carson boys basketball coach Kevin Shaw. “When coach McCrumby mentioned that they’re having a tournament in his honor, I told him don’t hesitate to contact us to play or any other support that we can provide.”
