Valhalla wins; Helix, Christian fall
- Updated: January 13, 2019
2019 EAST COUNTY PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON – The Valhalla Norsemen picked up the pieces after Friday night’s upset loss at Granite Hills by throttling the visiting Lancers, 73-49.
The Norsemen got off to a sluggish start, trailing 6-3 early when senior EVAN O’NEILL canned a three-pointer.
A couple of minutes later, senior JORDAN GAINES got out on the break for a hoop to give Valhalla a 10-9 lead.
With under three minutes to go in the first, sophomore VENCEL YOUSIF knocked down a three-pointer and suddenly Valhalla’s lead was 20-11.
With a little more than a minute-and-a-half to go before halftime, O’Neill fired a pass ahead to Gaines for a fastbreak to make it 34-25 Norsemen.
In the second half, Valhalla pulled away with a 14-0 run.
Sophomore JOE AVALOS knocked down a three-ball to make it 45-33, then O’Nelll buried a triple for a 15-point lead with 3:18 left in the third quarter.
Senior DOMANIC , who scored 21 points and had 10 assists, added to the run with a three-pointer, followed by a scooping layup off the glass for a 20-point cushion.
O’Neill finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Freshman MARCEL KALASHO added seven points.
Avalos and Yousif both chipped in with six points.
Valhalla has a big Grossmont Valley League game on tap when it El Capitan on Tuesday at 6.
SERRA 55, HELIX 52 (OT) – The Highlanders outscored the Conquistadors 13-5 in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 45-all and force overtime.
Serra got off to a fast start, outscoring Helix 21-16 in the opening quarter. The Scotties trailed by four at halftime.
HOLMES had 20 points, 14 of which came in the first half.
Scottie junior TRICE added 15 points, including a pair of three-pointers in the third quarter.
Sophomore KAI JESSIE had a trio of three-pointers to finish with nine points for the Highlanders.
Helix (11-8) is at Steele Canyon on Tuesday at 6.
ST. FRANCIS 72, CHRISTIAN 56 – The Patriots dropped a decision at the L.A. Court Report Shootout to the 60th-ranked team in the state.
Christian High made things difficult for itself with a series of missed layups in the opening quarter, in which it was outscored 23-17.
The Golden Knights led 31-22 with 2:30 to go before halftime, as the Patriots added a three-pointer for the only score for the remainder of the quarter to trailed by just six at intermission.
However, St. Francis, out of La Canada, put up a 22-13 edge in the third quarter.
The Patriots (9-10) will host the Mission Bay Bucs (9-8) and Duke-bound senior Boogie Ellis on Tuesday at 5:15 in a Western League tilt.
