Both East Los Angeles coach Jorge Calienes and Riverside coach Bob Russo talked about the importance of playing as a team.

East Los Angeles (7-4) played well as a team, shooting 61 percent in the second half and taking an 89-83 semifinal victory in the 31st annual RCC Holiday Basketball Tournament. The Huskies will face Los Angeles City College in today's 7 p.m. championship game at Wheelock Gym.

"We played well and executed as a team," said Calienes, who had six players score in double figures. The Huskies constantly were able to get inside baskets, primarily from Danny Rosales, who had 15 points. "Danny went from a nobody one year ago to a Division I prospect today."

Calienes wanted his team to pressure RCC and force them to dribble, saying that would counter RCC's height advantage. East LA was able to find players open under the basket on the weak side, and the Tigers didn't react quickly enough.

"We work in practice on weakside help," said RCC coach Bob Russo. "There was just a breakdown of chemistry and too many players acting as individuals rather than a team."

Jorge Sotomayor paced the Huskies with 17 points, scoring nine points in the final 1:20. His three-pointer gave East LA an 81-77 advantage, and he made all six of his free throw attempts in the final minute.

East LA's free throw shooting was an important factor in their victory. The Huskies made 19 of 22 free throws, including 12 of 14 in the second half. RCC missed eight of its 19 foul shots, and had only seven free throws in the second half.

Dennis Coutee led Riverside (12-3) with 27 points and 10 rebounds. The Tigers will play Mt. San Jacinto at 5 p.m. today in the third-place game.

GEORGE ALFANO

EAST LOS ANGELES (89) -- Rodriguez 5, Morales 11, Vasquez 10, Lopez 10, Rosales 15, Armstrong 14, Sotomayor 17, Hallimore 2, Garcia 5.

RCC (83) -- Coutee 27, Roundtree 18, Thompson 7, Weaver 7, Ayala 5, Lesane 10, Russo 6, Speaks 3.

FG pct. -- East LA 30-52, .577; RCC 31-65, .477. FT pct. -- East LA 19-22, .864; RCC 11-19, .579. Three-point pct. -- East LA 10-21, .476; RCC 10-24, .417. Rebounds -- East LA 30 (Rosales 8); RCC 32 (Coutee 10).

Halftime score -- East LA 44-40. Three-point goals -- Coutee 5-8, Armstrong 3-6, Russo 2-2, Vasquez 2-2, Sotomayor 2-6, Rodriguez 1-3, Ayala 1-3, Weaver 1-6, Lopez 1-2, Moreles 1-1, Speaks 1-1, Roundtree 0-2, Garcia 0-1, . Total fouls -- East LA 20; RCC 16. Fouled out -- Rodriguez. Technical fouls -- None.

Pasadena 55, SB Valley 50 -- Despite 16 points from Blake Walker, the Wolverines lost in the consolation semifinals of the RCC Holiday Classic. The Indians fell behind early but pulled within three with under two minutes remaining before several Pasadena free-throws put the game away.

SAN BERNARDINO VALLEY (50) -- Peters 2, George 2, White 6, Miller 1, Holmes 9, Walker 16, Ware 6, Groomes 4, Logan 4.

PASADENA (55) -- Thomas 6, Duncan 1, Wormley 23, Smyth 5, Sikes 3, Jones 12, Johnson 5.

FG pct. -- San Bernardino Valley 36.0; Pasadena 16-44, 36.4. FT pct. -- San Bernardino Valley 11-16, 68.8; Pasadena 17-29, 58.6. Three-point pct. -- San Bernardino Valley 3-15, 20.0; Pasadena 6-15, 40.0;. Rebounds -- San Bernardino Valley 29 (Holmes 5), Pasadena 39 (Jones 11).

Halftime score -- Pasadena 25-22. Three-point goals -- Wormley 5-8, Holmes 2-4, Walker 1-4, Smyth 1-5, Ward 0-1, Ware 0-1, Sikes 0-2, White 0-5. Total fouls -- San Bernardino Valley 24, Pasadena 18. Fouled out -- None. Technical fouls -- None.

LA City 78, MSJC 67 -- LA City, unbeaten and top-ranked in Southern California, pulled out a close game with a 16-6 run over the final seven minutes at Wheelock Gym. Mt. San Jacinto kept pace with LA City and led 55-53 on Clyde Brown's driving layup with 7:13 left. The Eagles scored just two field goals the rest of the game, and the Cubs maintained control with their size advantage.

LOS ANGELES CITY (78) -- Breland 14, Riley 18, Graham 3, Blassingame 9, Williams 9, Gantt 21, Key 4.

MT. SAN JACINTO (67) -- Sconiers 4, Crawford 13, Reed 10, Melaney 4, Reveis 5, Griffin 2, Buckingham 12, Brown 15, Kunkel 2.

FG pct. -- LA City 29-58, 49.2; MSJC 19-59, 32.2. FT pct. -- LA City 14-23, 60.9; MSJC 24-30, 80.0. Three-point pct. -- LA City 6-17, 35.3; MSJC 5-19, 26.3. Rebounds -- LA City 45 (Gantt 15); MSJC 34 (Brown 8).

Halftime score -- LA City 31-27. Three-point goals -- Buckingham 2-5, Crawford 2-5, Breland 2-7, Riely 1-1, Graham 1-5, Blassingame 1-2, Williams 1-1, Reed 1-5, Wright 0-1, Sconiers 0-1, Brown 0-1. Total fouls -- LA City 21; MSJC 19. Fouled out -- Blassingame, Key. Technical fouls -- None.