Culver City Hoops in Playoff Mode

Needing victories to secure their spots in league and wrap up CIF playoff berths, that's exactly what the Culver City High boys and girls basketball teams got on Wednesday.

The boys won on the road at Hawthorne, 60-51, to stay in second place in the Ocean League, one game ahead of Morningside with one game remaining for both schools.

The Centaurs (19-6, 6-3) were led by Aamahd Walker (18 points), Keilan Horton (17 points) and Darren Johnson (12 points). Culver City raced to a  15-6 first-quarter lead and never looked back against the last-place Cougars (12-14, 1-8).

Culver City hosts fifth-place Beverly Hills (12-14, 2-7) Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Goodyear Gym.

With its win and Beverly Hills' loss on Tuesday, the girls team wrapped up third place in league and ensured itself a spot in the postseason. The Centaurs (14-12, 6-3) outscored host Hawthorne by 11 points in the fourth quarter to win, 49-41, led by Lunden junious (18 points, eight rebounds, three steals) and Kelsey Ueda  (16 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals).

Culver City hosts fourth-place Beverly Hills (13-14, 4-5) at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Boys Soccer

Despite goals by Julien Prestridge and Rayburn Tilman, the Centaurs lost 3-2 at second-pace Hawthorne (11-8-1, 6-3-0) on Tuesday. It was the fourth straight loss for Culver City (6-14-2, 3-6-0), which hosts third-place Beverly Hills (11-10-2, 4-4-1) on Thursday at 6 p.m. 

Girls Soccer

Barring a major upset, Culver City is locked into third place in the Ocean League, however Thursday's game holds major implications for the other two playoff teams. If the Centaurs (18-5-1, 6-2-1) can knock off first-place Beverly Hills (16-5-2, 8-1-0) and second-place Santa Monica (12-7-2, 7-1-1) beats basement-dweller Hawthorne as expected, the Vikings would win the league title for the eighth year in a row.

If Culver City holds Beverly Hills to a draw and Santa Monica wins, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica would be co-champions. If Beverly Hills wins, it will end Santa Monica's reign.

The Centaurs crushed visiting Hawthorne 10-0 on Tuesday as senior forward Jennifer Mair netted four goals and senior midfielder Lili Valverde added three. Mair also had three assists, bringing her season totals to 29 goals and 14 assists.

The Culver City-Beverly Hills game will kick off at 6 p.m. at Beverly Hills High. The Normans won the first league meeting, 2-0, on Jan. 26.