Helix tops Granite at line; Norsemen, Sultans win on road
- Updated: December 14, 2016
Helix's Jaylen Arnold (35) guards Granite Hills' Ryan Kelly Tuesday night in El Cajon.
2016-17 EAST COUNTY PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-14-16) — The Helix Highlanders outscored the Granite Hills Eagles 35-26 from the free throw stripe, and that was the difference as the Highlanders sprinted by the Eagles 79-56 in Tuesday’s (Dec. 13) non-league action.
DYLAN LEE led the sharp-shooting patrol by hitting 7-of-8 at the stripe and finished with 17 points.
JAYLEN ARNOLD was 4-for-4 from the free throw line with 20 points scored to lead the Highlanders.
Helix (4-2) ran the table on Granite Hills (4-2), outscoring them in all four quarters.
Arnold drilled in his 20 points for the third straight game.
JAYLEN HINSON chipped in with 13 points, and MAURICE HOLMES knocked down 11.
This game was supposed to be a big showdown between arguably the top two teams in their respective leagues in the Grossmont Conference, but didn’t quite live up to its billing as a close contest.
The Eagles had their three-game winning streak snapped.
Helix: Jaylen Arnold 20, Dylan Lee 17, Jaylen Hinson 13, Maurice Holmes 10, Carson Baker 9, Jumar Wynn 8, Javon Davis 2.
Granite Hills: Jordan Rogers 18 (1 stl), Ryan Kelly 15 (10 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk), Moses Smith 11 (2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Darien Cossion 4 (3 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Cameron Spitzer 4 (4 reb, 2 ast).
VALHALLA 63, ESCONDIDO 48 – Valhalla traveled to Escondido (2-3) on Tuesday (Dec. 13) and clipped the Cougars in a non-league game, avenging an earlier loss to them.
Valhalla led through good defense and rebounding by MALIQUE SHAW, who punched in 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, made 4 blocks and had a steal.
KAI KOMAKI paced the Norsemen with 15 points, and TY SCHIMKE scored 13.
RAMZI SULTAN tossed in 12 points and snagged 11 rebounds as the Norsemen had balanced scoring with four of their five starters in double digits. Their fifth guy, JONAH HOWARD, pushed in 9.
Shaw got in foul trouble in the third quarter but Sultan picked him up on rebounding and MICAH CAMPOS and EVAN O’NEAL filled in for him while he was on the bench.
Komaki’s composure set the tone for the team. Any time Escondido cut into the Norsemen’s lead, he would hit a 3. He finished with 4 treys.
Valhalla: Kai Komaki 15 (4 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Malique Shaw 13 (10 reb, 4 blk, 1 stl), Ty Schimke 13 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Ramzi Sultan 12 (11 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Jonah Howard 9 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Evan O’Neal 2 (2 reb), Austin Pola (2 reb, 1 stl), Micah Campos (2 reb).
SANTANA 45, CRAWFORD 43 – JOHN BOBOF paced the Sultans with 13 points in Tuesday’s (Dec. 13) non-league game at Crawford.
NICK BERHALTER poured in 12 points to give Santana the lead, and BRANDON SIMMONS scored 9 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in the middle of the fray.
Santana: John Bobof 13 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Nick Berhalter 12 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Brandon Simmons 9 (6 reb), Andrew Hitchcock 5 (1 reb), TC Simmons 3 (1 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, Simone Maritano 2 (2 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl),), Zach Leggitt 1 (1 ast), Cole Kincaid (1 ast).
OLYMPIAN 71, MONTE VISTA 63 – When it comes to Monte Vista basketball, the focus is on slamming the brakes on DEONDRE McHAYLE. There’s no question that he’s going to get his share, but the rest of the team is going to have to scramble to get their share.
McHayle finished with 21 points and 8 rebounds, and DAVID GARCIA drilled in 14 points and captured 9 rebounds in Tuesday’s (Dec. 13) Eagle Invitational at Olympian.
DERRICK WILEY hit a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.
“Olympian is really fast, they sped the game up, and we had too many turnovers (20 in the first half),” said Monte Vista coach MIKE TULLY. “This is why we lost.”
“We played really hard and have gotten better,” Tully said of the Monarchs. “It’s going to be tough this year, but we’re competing. Because we have a lack of experience, we’ve struggled.”
Monte Vista: Deondre McHayle 21 (8 reb), David Garcia 14 (9 reb), Derrick Wiley 13 (10 reb), Fernando Guerrero 8 (2 reb), Conley 5 (2 reb), Andrew Canty 3 (5 reb).
