Southern Section 1-A Boys : To Tell These Teams Apart Today, You’ll Need a Program

There are more than a few similarities between Santa Monica Crossroads and Whittier Christian, the high school basketball teams playing for the Southern Section 1-A boys’ championship in the Sports Arena at 10:30 a.m. today.

Consider:

--Both are high-scoring, running teams. Crossroads averages 80.5 points a game and Whittier Christian 76.2.

--They play aggressive defenses.

--They rely extensively on underclassmen. Whittier Christian starts three juniors and a sophomore along with a senior.

--Both have four starters who score in double figures.

Wait, there’s more. Crossroads (20-7) won the Delphic League title for the fifth consecutive time. And Whittier Christian (25-0) claimed its fifth Olympic League championship in six seasons.

“We’re like mirror images of each other,” said Crossroads Coach Elliot Turret. “We have good outside shooters. They have good outside shooters. We have good big people. They have good big people.”

There is one difference, however. Crossroads played a tougher nonleague schedule and had a 5-6 record entering league play.

Among other teams, the Roadrunners played 5-A finalist Gardena Serra and Culver City.

Whittier Christian won the Riverside Notre Dame and Carpinteria tournaments. The Heralds’ only close games were an 87-82 win over league rival Orange Lutheran and a 39-36 squeaker over Los Angeles Baptist.

Crossroads’ leading scorer is guard Keith Davis, a 6-foot-2 senior who averages 16.6 points a game.

Junior guard Mike Goodcase leads Whittier Christian with a 15-point average.