© East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (12-31-06) -- Two of the San Diego CIF giants collided in Saturday's (Dec. 30) championship game of the Spartan Classic at Chula Vista High.

Perennial power Helix proved to upstart Crawford that the Highlanders are still kings of the hill. On this night, for sure the Scotties were the Top Dawgs.

Leading by as many as 22 points in the second half, Helix (11-1) tamed the Colts 77-64.

It was the first time in the lengthy career of coach JOHN SINGER that his Highlanders have won three straight tournament championships. Prior to collecting the Spartan Classic gold, Singer's crew picked up the hardware for first-place finishes in the Hilltop Invitational and the Red Bluff Christmas Tournament.

"I really never thought about that," said Singer, who always focuses on the immediate rather than the past. "I guess it's a pretty big deal. It's nice for these kids -- they're the ones doing it."

Although Singer would not come out and say it, he believes the Highlanders' performance against Crawford to be the best of the year.

"I was impressed by our team defense and how we weathered their (the Colts') storm. They're gonna have their scoring runs, but you just have to fight through the waves," said Singer.

LAWRENCE HURDLE scored a career-high 34 points, hitting 14 of 23 shots from the field and all three of his free throw attempts. Nine of his points came from 3-point distance.

"They had no answer for Hurdle," Singer said. "They couldn't keep him from going to the basket."

Senior DAVID JEFFERSON, Helix's most physical player at 6-5, 215 pounds, clicked on 8 of 11 shots from the field and 3 of 4 free throws for 19 points.

Equally as impressive were Jefferson's game-high 14 rebounds and 6 assists.

Another key to the Highlanders' conquest of Crawford (9-3) was limiting national scoring leader Tyrone Shelley below his season averages of 38.4 ppg and 10 rpg. It's not like Helix shut out the 6-7, 225 Shelley, as he finished with 32 points and 10 rebounds. But Singer was satisfied that his club did contain the Crawford scoring machine.

"We put BRANDON FOUNTAIN, who's about a foot shorter (actually he's 6 feet tall) on Shelley, and he did a great job," Singer said. "It's not like Fountain did it alone because every time Shelley got the ball, he would get good help."

"We played a back-up, man-to-man and didn't go out and get them," added Singer, whose teams are known for their aggressive defensive style.

"He got a little frustrated I think," Singer said of Shelley. "He's a great player, a tremendous offensive force, but I think what we have at Helix is a team and that makes the difference."

Shelley connected on 11 of 23 shots from the field, including three 3-pointers.

Hurdle was named the tournament's most valuable player. Jefferson was also named to the all-tournament team, as was Shelley.

Helix scoring: Lawrence Hurdle 34, David Jefferson 19, Jordan Payton 6, Brandon Fountain 5, Donnie McGowan 5, Kareem Abukar 4, Dorian Staton 4.

MOUNT MIGUEL 65, EL CENTRO-CENTRAL 52 -- You've got to give Mount Miguel's TRAVON CAPLES credit for knowing how to follow instructions.

"We don't have any set plays for him," said Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT. "He just gets it off the glass and puts it in."

Caples was at his best in Saturday's (Dec. 30) final round of the Granite Hills Holiday Classic at Granite Hills, with a hefty double-double of 26 points and 26 rebounds.

"Caples had a great game, he was heating up the glass today," said Rowlett. "He doesn't shoot any jumpers. I told him not to -- he's a putback man. He's like our Ben Wallace, just goes in and gets it off the glass."

The 6-foot-2 Caples also drew his share of fouls and converted 12 of 15 free throws.

COURTNEY WRATHER added 14 points and 4 assists for the Matadors, while DEVYN MOORE had 3 steals.

With 4 minutes left Mount Miguel (9-5) was up by 18 points. Central Union (4-9) cut it to 10 with 2 minutes remaining. The outcome was never in doubt, however.

"We'd get a lead and they'd crawl back into it," Rowlett said.

Mount Miguel scoring: Travon Caples 26, Courtney Wrather 14, OC Basey 9, A.J. Stanford 7, Laron Rush 4, Ahmaad Nunley 4, Matt Miles 2, Devyn Moore 1.

MONTE VISTA 52, EL MODENA 44 -- Playing their 13th straight road game in Saturday's (Dec. 30) final round of the Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic, the Monarchs showed the Vanguards of Orange County's El Modena that they know a little something about defense.

"The overall team perspective is this was our best defensive performance. We held them to 14 points in the first half," said Monte Vista coach KEVIN MAHADY.

That computed to a 13-point lead for Monte Vista at the break. A 3-pointer by MIKE WATKINS with 1 second left in the half emphasized that the Monarchs were in control.

Although ROSHUN WYNNE scored only 4 points, Mahady was pleased with the other aspects of the senior point guard's game. The fact that Wynne turned the ball over only once was at the top of the list.

"Wynne normally scores more but he had 8 rebounds and 8 assists and only one turnover," Mahady remarked. "We challenged him before the game and he did a great job of getting the ball to people."

One of those people was JAMAR RANSOME, who converted 8 of 14 shots from the field and 3 of 5 free throws for 19 points. Ransome also pounded the boards for 10 rebounds -- 6 coming at the offensive end.

The WATKINS brothers -- MIKE and TRENT -- also benefited from Wynne's courtsmanship, combining to hit 8 of 14 shots from the field.

Monte Vista will play their first home game of the season on Wednesday (Jan. 3) against West Hills at 6 p.m.

Monte Vista scoring: Jamar Ransome 19, Mike Watkins 14, Brandon Williams 9, Roshun Wynne 4, Trent Watkins 4, Ryan Houser 2.

STEELE CANYON 59, CHULA VISTA 57 -- With their two tallest players away on vacation, the mighty mites Cougars of Steele Canyon managed to knock off host Chula Vista in Saturday's (Dec. 30) 3rd Place game of the Spartan Classic.

Five-foot-9 junior guard ELIGE CARTER paved the way for the Cougars with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

"Carter had a great floor game, probably his best in terms of the whole package," said Cougars coach BERNIE BALIKIAN.

JEBARI ROBINSON, a 5-9 sophomore guard, chipped in 12 points and 6 rebounds, while 6-0 junior RILEY BALIKIAN contributed 12 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.

Carter, Robinson and Balikian each hit a trio of 3-pointers as Steele Canyon shot 35 percent from above the arc.

Balikian was named to the all-tournament team.

JOSIAH SMITH, a 6-3 sophomore, played the post with authority against Chula Vista . He scored 9 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.

"That was his best game of the year," coach Balikian said.

JAKE RANSOM provided the Cougars with their winning margin, as he drove baseline for a layup with 1:02 left to play.

It was the fourth win in the last five games for Steele Canyon (4-8).

Steele Canyon scoring: Elige Carter 13, Jebari Robinson 12, Riley Balikian 12, Josiah Smith 9, Jake Ransom 7, Nick Stathas 4, Arlin Taylor 2.

GROSSMONT 55, BONITA VISTA 46 -- The Grossmont Foothillers continue to prove that they are not a one-man band during Saturday's (Dec. 30) final round of the Spartan Classic at Chula Vista .

Four Foothillers reached double figures, led by the 15 points and 10 rebounds of 6-foot-6 junior forward IAN COCHRAN.

Five-foot-6 junior guard KHALID WATERS added 13 points, 5 steals, 2 assists and 2 rebounds for the Foothillers.

Junior MICHAEL GRAHAM, a 5-foot-7 guard, chipped in 11 points, 6 steals, 3 assists and 2 rebounds.

"We were pretty balanced today. (Bonita Vista) concentrated on Cochran in the second half and Waters and Graham scored 20 of our 34 points on them. Our pressure hurt them."

JUSTIN RUTHERFORD, a 6-foot-7 senior forward, canned 10 points and collected 5 rebounds for the Foothillers, who outscored the Barons 34-23 in the second half.

Grossmont scoring: Ian Cochran 15, Khalid Waters 13, Michael Graham 11, Justin Rutherford 10, Richard Ogunsalu 6.

GRANITE HILLS 79, ARCHBISHOP (Canada) 34 -- Granite Hills wrapped up its own Holiday Classic in runaway style, taking leads of 22-5, 42-16 and 66-27 over the Canadian team from Edmonton, Alberta.

BRIAN HUMPHRIES poured in 24 points -- half of them coming on baskets from above the 3-point line -- to lead the Eagles (10-3). The junior standout also had 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals.

Sophomore DEAN MILLER enjoyed another big scoring night with 21 points, giving him 56 in his last two starts.

"We played pretty well as a team. At this time of year it was important to get all of our players as much playing time as possible," said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON.

WAYNE MARTIN hit a trio of 3s on his way to an 11-point outing, while DERICK EDWARDS grabbed a team-best of 10 rebounds and 5 assists.

"I'm pleased with the way we played during this tournament," Anderson added. "I thought we put together several solid performances."

Granite Hills scoring: Brian Humphries 24, Dean Miller 21, Wayne Martin 11, Andrew Joslyn 6, Ian Birmingham 4, Casey Beatty 4, Derick Edwards 3, Nico Sanchez 2, John Montes 2, Kyle San Nicolas 2.

DOVER BAY (B.C., Canada) 69, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 41 -- As emotionally high as Foothills Christian was following Friday's victory over El Paso Parkland, the Knights were at low ebb following Saturday's (Dec. 30) championship game of the Granite Hills Holiday Classic.

It was close for a quarter, as the Knight's (9-4) trailed only 21-19 after eight minutes.

Dover Bay of Vancouver, British Columbia, took charge in the second quarter to lead 36-23 by intermission.

"We were flat," Foothills coach BRAD LEAF said. "It was such an emotional game for our young kids the night before that we just didn't have much left. And besides that, Dover Bay was a better team than us."

Foothills, which starts three freshmen, came in averaging better than 74 points per game.

The Knights shot less than 24 percent (12 of 51) from the field and lost on the boards 40--16.

"Dover has a strong inside game and we didn't get many second chances," observed Foothills assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. "We only turned the ball over six times, so we were getting shots. But we only had four offensive rebounds."

In addition to its strong inside game, Dover Bay also hit three 3-pointers.

Freshman TROY LEAF led Foothills with 23 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. He was only 7 of 22 from the field but made 7 of 10 free throws.

"They were a very strong, more experienced team," added coach Leaf. "But hey, there's no shame in finishing second."

The four teams Foothills Christian faced in the Granite Hills event finished the tournament with a combined 13-3 record.

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 23, Zach Kaul 8 (2 ast., 2 reb.), Kalob Hatcher 6 (5 ast., 3 reb., 3 stl.), Aaron Hale 3 (2 ast., 2 reb., 2 blk.), David Carter 1.

SAN PASQUAL 84, EL CAPITAN 41 -- Just when it appeared El Capitan was fortifying its offense, No. 2 scorer JERAMIE CARR re-injured his shoulder early in Saturday's (Dec. 30) Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic action at Mt. Carmel .

Carr's injury occurred before he could score a point. The 5-foot-10 senior guard is out indefinitely.

Meanwhile, reliable BARRETT BRAUN continued his torrid scoring pace with 29 points. Braun's totals included 6 for 6 shooting from the free throw line. The 6-foot-3 junior, who is averaging 24.2 points per game also had 14 rebounds.

MICHAEL OVERSON added 7 points and 2 assists for the Vaqueros (1-12).

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 29, Michael Overson 7, Brian Deuel 2, Brooks Noble 2, Armon Worrell 1.

VALHALLA 51, EL CAJON VALLEY 37 -- TRAVIS FOELSCH turned in a solid double-double of 16 points and 17 rebounds to carry the Norsemen past El Cajon Valley in Saturday's (Dec. 30) consolation game of the Granite Hills Holiday Classic.

MIKE ESPINOZA pitched in a dozen points for the Norsemen (8-7), who jumped out to a 19-5 lead and never looked back

MICHAEL HOLDER scored 16 points -- including three 3s -- for the Braves (4-10).

Valhalla scoring: Travis Foelsch 16, Daniel Butcher 6, Mike Espinoza 12, Rod Fakhoury 6, Aahron Mims 4, Jorge Serna 4, Ruffy Bacong 3.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Michael Holder 16, Shivan Sulyman 6, A.J. Ussery 4, Ford 3, Dejon Joy 3, Dewayne Alexander 2, Andrew Johnson 2, Ian Woody 1.

© East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (12-30-06) -- An interesting showdown is on tap in the South Bay Saturday night (Dec. 30) where Helix (10-1) takes on Crawford (9-2) for the championship of the Spartan Classic at Chula Vista High. Tipoff is set for 8 o'clock.

This should be a match of contrasting styles -- defensive-minded Helix and the free-wheeling Colts led by 6-foot-7 Tyrone Shelley, the national scoring leader with a 38.4 average. Shelley also averages 12.9 rebounds per game.

No question Shelley will be tested by Helix. But he did a number on a strong Eastlake team in Friday's (Dec. 29) semifinals, scoring 31 points in a 75-63 Crawford victory.

In another championship encounter involving an East County team, Foothills Christian (9-3) takes on Dover Bay of Vancouver, British Columbia in Saturday's finals of the Granite Hills Holiday Classic. That one begins at 7 inside the Granite Hills High gym.

HELIX 63, CHULA VISTA 44 -- Sending the Highlanders to the free throw line was not a good idea as the host Chula Vista Spartans found out in Friday's (Dec. 29) semifinals of the Spartan Classic.

Helix, which led 46-25 after three quarters, nailed 18 of 21 free throws. DAVID JEFFERSON was 7-for-7 and LAWRENCE HURDLE hit 6 of 8 from the charity stripe. DONNIE McGOWAN was 3-for-3.

"I thought our free throw shooting was big," said Helix coach JOHN SINGER.

The Highlanders hit 42 percent of their 50 shots from the field.

Jefferson, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound senior, will no doubt get up close and personal with Crawford's Shelley. Despite being dogged with three early fouls, Jefferson put together a pretty good tune-up, finishing with 21 points and 12 rebounds. He also handed out 4 assists and 4 steals.

Hurdle added 19 points and 7 assists to the Helix bounty.

"There was a lot on Hurdle tonight because Jefferson had three fouls," Singer said. "I thought Hurdle played pretty well, did a good job running the show. At the time there were three non-starters with him and he had to take charge more."

Helix scoring: David Jefferson 21, Lawrence Hurdle 19, Donnie McGowan 10 (5 rebs), Dorian Staton 5, Brandon Fountain 4 (9 rebs), Alex Aguirre 4.

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 70, EL PASO-PARKLAND 68 -- It was clearly the biggest victory in Foothills Christian's brief varsity existence.

A 3-point play by freshman TROY LEAF with 19 seconds remaining proved to be the difference, lifting the Knights to the semifinal victory over the Matadors on Friday (Dec. 29) in the Granite Hills Holiday Classic at Granite Hills.

"This was the most exciting game I have ever been a part of," exclaimed Foothills Christian assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. "I sent a text message to about 115 people today to let them know about the game and quite a few of them showed up. It was incredible, the crowd was great and the team fed off of that."

It appeared a 22-11 third quarter surge would be enough to give Parkland the win as the Texans led 52-42.

However, sophomore ZACH KAUL connected on 3 of his 7 treys of the night to inspire a fourth-quarter comeback by Foothills Christian.

The Knights outscored the Matadors 28-16 in the fourth period.

"The place was so loud when Kaul tied it with a three with about 38 seconds, I wasn't sure this was our humble little school playing anymore," said McHugh.

Parkland came down and converted a three-point play to regain the lead.

"At that point the whole bench got quiet and we thought ‘dang,'" said senior DAVID CARTER. "But (Foothills Christian) coach (BRAD) LEAF didn't worry at all. He was already setting up the next play. And our crowd never let us down, they just kept cheering us on."

Even after Troy Leaf gave the Knights their game-winning margin, Parkland got three shots in an attempt to tie the game in the final seconds before Troy Leaf grabbed the rebound and passed it to KALOB HATCHER, who was fouled with 1.7 seconds to play.

However, the freshman guard was unable to convert either of his free throws and Parkland got the rebound. But the Matadors' desperation shot at the buzzer hit the top of the backboard, allowing Foothills to advance to the championship game.

Troy Leaf scored a game-high 29 points, which included 10-of-12 free throw shooting, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

Kaul totaled 21 points and 5 rebounds, while junior AARON HALE made his season debut with 7 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals. Hatcher finished with 9 points, 10 assists and 4 steals.

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 29, Zach Kaul 21, Kalob Hatcher 9, Aaron Hale 7, Brandon Hale 4.

STEELE CANYON 49, GROSSMONT 43 -- Despite turning the ball over 20 times, the Cougars won for the third time in four decisions as they knocked off Grossmont Conference rival Grossmont in Friday's (Dec. 29) Spartan Classic action at Chula Vista High.

The key statistic was Grossmont turnovers. The Foothillers (6-6) gave the ball up 31 times without taking a shot.

"It was a fierce fought game," said Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN. "It was every bit a conference-type game. Our teams know each other so there are no secrets between the two teams."

JEBARI ROBINSON was the ringleader of Steele Canyon's latest conquest, totaling 15 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 4 steals.

None the less, the Foothillers took command early with an 18-7 edge after one quarter. Steele Canyon (3-8) kept pecking away over the final three quarters to pick up the victory.

"We started out slow but our guys hung in there," Balikian said. "I was pleased with the raise in our energy level over the last three quarters."

Grossmont's IAN COCHRAN registered game highs of 21 points and 8 rebounds. KHALID WATERS added 10 points and JUSTIN RUTHERFORD chipped in 8 points and 6 boards.

Steele Canyon scoring: Jebari Robinson 15, Andrew Timm 7, Zane Keith 7, Jake Ransom 6, Riley Balikian 5 (5 rebs, 6 stls, 3 asts), Elige Carter 5, Arlin Taylor 2, Josiah Smith 2.

Grossmont scoring: Ian Cochran 21, Khalid Waters 10 (2 rebs, 2 stls), Justin Rutherford 8, Michael Graham 2, Alex Chiappone 2 (4 rebs).

MOUNT MIGUEL 57, VALHALLA 48 -- In a shootout between Grossmont South League rivals, the Matadors broke a 42-42 deadlock with a 15-6 scoring run over the final three minutes to win Friday's (Dec. 29) Granite Hills Holiday Classic game.

It was a game of scoring runs and Mount Miguel (8-5) got the bigger share in that department. The game was knotted 10-10 early in the second quarter and Mount Miguel went on a 9-2 scoring spree to help secure a 21-14 halftime lead.

Both coaches noted a sluggish start to the proceedings.

"It was a rough start," Valhalla's KEITH JACKSON said. "We missed some easy buckets early and then we settled down.

Said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT, "We had a slow start, got into foul trouble but overcame it."

Mount Miguel's COURTNEY WRATHER nailed a trio of 3-pointers on his way to a game-best 20 points. TRAVON CAPLES chimed in with 11 points and 8 rebounds, while LARON RUSH punched in 10 points and captured 6 boards. AHMAAD NUNLEY dished a game-high 10 assists.

Despite all those noteworthy numbers, Rowlett said: "I liked our defense tonight."

AAHRON MIMS broke out of a recent scoring slump to tally 17 points and grab 11 rebounds, while TRAVIS FOELSCH tacked on 13 points and snared 7 boards.

Mount Miguel scoring: Courtney Wrather 20, Travon Caples 11, Laron Rush 10, Ahmaad Nunley 8, OC Basey 4, Devyn Moore 4 (4 steals).

Valhalla scoring: Aahron Mims 17, Travis Foelsch 13, Daniel Butcher 4, Mike Espinoza 4, Ruffy Bacong 4, David Fakhoury 4 (3 asts), Garret Giles 2.

MONTE VISTA 81, SAN PASQUAL 66 -- All Monte Vista coach KEVIN MAHADY asked of his players in Friday's (Dec. 29) Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic action at Mt. Carmel was to be more aggressive.

It was a succinct and effective game plan. Monte Vista (5-7) scored 45 points in the second half to break open a six-point game.

Senior forward JAMAR RANSOME was fierce inside the paint, finishing with 30 points and 12 rebounds. He connected on 12 of 17 free throws and 9 of 19 floor shots.

"I told my kids that aggressive teams get to the free throw line," Mahady said of the Monarchs, who converted 25 of 41 charity shots. "Drawing fouls puts pressure on the defensive team. We were able to do that in this game."

BRANDON WILLIAMS hit 3 of 4 free throws on his way to a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds.

ROSHUN WYNNE pitched in 17 points, 9 steals, 6 assists and 6 rebounds as well as hitting 2 of 3 treys and 5 of 7 free throws.

Mahady had special praise for junior guard MIKE WATKINS, who contributed 12 points and 4 steals.

"He doesn't get enough credit for what he does for the team," said Mahady. "He dives for loose balls and hits the 3, and always plays great defense."

Jamar Ransome 30, Roshun Wynne 17, Brandon Williams 13, Mike Watkins 12, Anthony Bell 4, Ryan Houser 2, Eric Griffin 2, Brian Williams 1.

GRANITE HILLS 76, CENTRAL UNION 52 -- A few positive words from Granite Hills assistant coach DAN DUFFY seemed to light a fire under sophomore DEAN MILLER in Friday's (Dec. 29) Granite Hills Holiday Classic game.

Miller, a 6-foot-2 guard hit 12 of 22 shots from the field -- including 4 three-pointers -- and 7 of 8 free throws on his way to a career-high 35 points, as the Eagles smeared the Spartans of Central Union.

As if his offensive output wasn't enough, Miller completed his "career night" with 11 rebounds, 7 steals and 5 assists.

"I was really happy with Miller's play," said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. "He played aggressive tonight. I want to give credit to my assistant coach Dan Duffy, who took Dean aside yesterday and stressed the need for him to become more aggressive offensively, and Dean did. And the rest of his teammates really got him the ball."

Granite Hills (9-3) jumped on top 21-4 after the first quarter and never looked back.

BRIAN HUMPHRIES added 15 points, most of it coming on a trio of 3-point bullseyes, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks and 4 steals.

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 35, Brian Humphries 15, Andrew Joslyn 8, Wayne Martin 8, Nico Sanchez 5, Derick Edwards 3, Casey Beatty 1, John Montes 1.

HILLTOP 56, WEST HILLS 41 -- After battling to a 22-22 halftime draw, the Wolf Pack faded in the final two quarters of Friday's (Dec. 29) third place game of the Montgomery Tournament.

The taller Lancers dominated inside in the second half to pull out the victory over the Wolf Pack (6-6). West Hills 13 of its 16 turnovers after intermission.

"(Hilltop's Gabriel) Alcala, 6-7, hurt us," West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG said. "We had a hard time defending him. He got a lot of putbacks. And they have his brother (Mike, 6-5) as well. We fouled them a lot. And too, we didn't shoot the ball as well as we have the last couple of nights."

Even in defeat Armstrong, as always, found something positive to say.

"TIM NOWLIN had a couple of key offensive rebounds that came at the end of the first half to tie the game," the coach said of the 6-foot-5 junior, who totaled 6 points and 6 boards. "Tim is starting to get his game, we got some good minutes out of him."

"Blaine Hoffard played very well tonight, took care of the ball and had only one turnover," Armstrong added.

West Hills scoring: Peter Gilson 10 (7 rebs), Blaine Hoffard 9 (4 rebs), Chris Lifgren 7 (4 rebs, 2 asts), Tim Nowlin 6, Taylor Robbins 4, Lucas Armstrong 3, Tony Lynn 2.

EL MODENA 77, EL CAPITAN 49 -- It's become obvious that the Vaqueros need to include more actors in their game script.

One again, BARRETT BRAUN enjoyed a big scoring night with 30 points, which included 9-for-10 accuracy from the free throw line 3-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc in Friday's (Dec. 29) Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic at Mt. Carmel High.

JERAMIE CARR was El Capitan's co-star with 11 points. Both Carr and Braun landed 9 rebounds.

The Vanguards decided the issue in the first quarter, taking a 24-4 lead and breezing to the finish line.

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 30, Jeramie Carr 11, Michael Overson 5, Brooks Noble 2, Michael Landis 1.

EL CAJON VALLEY def. CALEXICO -- Granite Hills Holiday Classic at Granite Hills; No game report was supplied.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-29-06) -- The Foothills Christian Knights continue to turn heads following a second consecutive victory over a SDCIF Division II school. This time, the Knights raced to a surprisingly easy Granite Hills Holiday Classic win over the Mount Miguel 65-41 on Thursday (Dec. 28) after mounting a 23-4 lead through the opening quarter.

"We beat them in every aspect of the ballgame tonight," said Knights coach BRAD LEAF. "This was a huge win for us and says to the San Diego CIF (that) we want the No. 1 seed in the (Division V) playoffs."

KALOB HATCHER converted a triple-double in the best outing of his career to spark the Knights (8-3). The freshman guard collected game-highs of 23 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, continually punching holes in the Matadors defense.

Foothills gained the early lead when Mount Miguel standout LARON RUSH sat out the opening 8 minutes for undisclosed reasons.

"Sure they didn't play Rush in the first quarter, but that was really a non-factor because we hit five shots from outside the arc and he plays down low," noted Foothills assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. "Even though we had as many turnovers as Mount Miguel, we hit the shots they didn't, and we neutralized the offense they wanted to run."

Sophomore guard ZACH KAUL registered 19 points and matched Hatcher with 10 boards, while freshman swingman TROY LEAF scored 12 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and collected 9 assists.

Foothills (8-3) next meets another team with a Matadors mascot in El Paso-Parkland at 8:40 p.m. on Friday (Dec. 29). Parkland is the alma mater of McHugh's father, Mike (Class of 1970).

Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT was obviously unhappy with his team's performance -- even BEFORE the lopsided loss.

"One of our starters was late and another one forgot his shoes,"Rowlett explained. "Everybody had a bad day at the same time. Not to take anything away from Foothills, they just beat the (heck) out of us. I had to discipline some people and we don't have enough players to do that and win a game that way."

TRAVON CAPLES grabbed 8 rebounds to lead the Matadors, while COURTNEY WRATHER had 9 points, 3 assists and 3 steals.

Foothills Christian scoring: Kalob Hatcher 23, Zach Kaul 19, Troy Leaf 10, Ronnie Richards 6, Brandon Hale 5, Andrew Atia 2.

Mount Miguel scoring: Courtney Wrather 9, Laron Rush 8, A.J. Stanford 7, Matt Miles 6, Travon Caples 6, Ahmaad Nunley 3, OC Basey 2.

HELIX 62, BONITA VISTA 40 -- Senior guard LAWRENCE HURDLE busted out of a mild slump with 23 points, 4 assists and 3 steals to hoist the Highlanders past Bonita Vista in Thursday's (Dec. 28) Spartan Classic at Chula Vista.

Hurdle, who had scored only 6 points the night before, hit 8 of 16 shots from the field and 6 of 9 free throws.

The Highlanders (9-1) used a 24-10 third quarter scoring spree to turn the game in their favor.

"We didn't play very well in the first half, but we outscored Bonita Vista 40-17 in the second half,"said Helix coach JOHN SINGER.

BRANDON FOUNTAIN hit 6 of 12 shots from the field for 12 points, while DAVID JEFFERSON contributed 8 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds for the Highlanders.

All statistics aside, Singer was most pleased by Fountains' defense.

"Fountain did a great job on Mark Kiefer, their leading scorer who shoots pretty much whenever he wants to. Brandon held him to 8 points,"Singer said.

Jefferson's totals were a little below his norm as he was saddled with three early fouls that bought him a seat on the bench.

"Jefferson sat out the last quarter and a half,"Singer noted. "The other group was working well together so I left them in. It's good for our team when some of our better guys sit and the others come in and do well."

One of those guys was DEMOND "Red"NARCISSE. The junior guard contributed 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. DONALD McGOWAN chipped in 8 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and a block, while TYONTE HOSLEY garnered 2 points and 3 rebounds in addition to playing solid defense in the final quarter.

"Red Narcisse did a very good job off the bench,"Singer said. "And McGowan had a good second half, made all 8 of his points in that half. Hosley played the entire fourth quarter."

Helix scoring: Lawrence Hurdle 23, Brandon Fountain 12, Demond Narcisse 9, David Jefferson 8, Donnie McGowan 8, Tyonte Hosley 2.

WEST HILLS 57, MONTGOMERY 45 -- The visiting Wolf Pack shot a season-best 63 percent (22 of 35) to upend the tournament host in Thursday's (Dec. 28)

Aztec Holiday Invitational.

"It was one of our better shooting games this year,"said West Hills JEFF ARMSTRONG said.

Senior PETER GILSON hit 9 of 11 shots from the field and one free throw for 19 points.

CHRIS LIFGREN was 6 for 8 from the field -- including one 3 -- and 6 of 7 from the charity stripe for 19 points.

TAYLOR ROBBINS tossed in 10 points, grabbed a team-high 7 rebounds, handed out 5 scoring passes and made one steal for West Hills (7-5).

"Lifgren played an outstanding game tonight, and this was Robbins' best all-around game,"said Armstrong. "He doesn't realize how much he is helping us.

Gilson shot the ball very well. He's had five or six games that he has played well. We're getting some great mileage out of Peter."

Floor generals BLAINE HOFFARD and TONY LYNN were superb in setting up their teammates with scoring opportunities.

"Blaine and Tony take care of the ball very well,"said Armstrong. "Their contributions don't always get noticed in box scores, but they are our two floor leaders and provide us with the energy for our fast break. They do a solid job defensively."

West Hills scoring: Peter Gilson 19 (4 reb., 2 ast.), Chris Lifgren 19 (3 reb., 4 ast, 2 stl), Taylor Robbins 10, Tim Nowlin 4 (2 reb., 2 blk.), Tony Lynn 3 (5 ast.), Blaine Hoffard 2 (3 reb., 2 ast., 3 stl.).

EASTLAKE 66, GROSSMONT 55 -- The Foothillers kept the pressure on South Bay power Eastlake (8-1) most of the night, but scoring only two points in the second quarter led to their demise in Thursday's (Dec. 28) Spartan Classic at Chula Vista.

Eastlake hit 5 three-pointers in the opening half to take a 30-17 lead by intermission. The key to that stretch was the Titans' 11-2 scoring advantage in the second period.

"We extended our defense farther out and took away their 3-point shot in the second half,"said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. "We played very well in the second half."

Steady IAN COCHRAN reeled off a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Foothillers (6-5).

The surprising hero for Grossmont was 5-foot-7 junior guard MICHAEL GRAHAM, who scored a career-high 18 points. Graham also hustled up 4 steals, grabbed 3 rebounds and dished 2 assists.

"The two guards -- Graham and Waters -- played exceptional basketball for us today,"added Foggiano.

Grossmont scoring: Ian Cochran 20, Michael Graham 18, Justin Rutherford 6 (6 reb.), Khalid Waters 5 (4 ast., 2 reb., 2 stl.), Alex Chiappone 4 (5 reb.), Richard Ogunsalu 2.

CRAWFORD 97, STEELE CANYON 65 -- Despite producing their second highest point total of the season, the Cougars of Steele Canyon were all but out of contention by halftime in Thursday's (Dec. 28) Spartan Classic at Chula Vista.

National scoring leader Tyrone Shelley hit 7 three-pointers on his way to a 48-point scoring burst to pace Crawford (8-2).

"They should be playing better teams,"said Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN. "I felt like if we could keep the game close we could compete with these guys. But if they ever got a big lead, they would play above themselves. And that's what happened. They started raining 3s on us."

Crawford made good on 10 of 20 shots from 3-point range.

Steele Canyon junior guard RILEY BALIKIAN turned in his second straight strong game with 12 points to go along with 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.

Six-foot-6 senior ANDREW TIMM, playing in only his second game of the season, added 12 points and 3 rebounds, while senior guard ARLIN TAYLOR pitched in 9 points and 5 rebounds.

JEBARI ROBINSON contributed 7 points and 7 assists for the Cougars (7-8).

"Crawford only had eight players tonight -- all their good players were there,"added Balikian. "They pressed us the whole game."

Shelley did most of his damage in the second and fourth quarters.

"We kept the turnovers down, for the most part. The first and third quarters were good quarters for us,"said Balikian, who's Cougars were out-pointed only 37-34 in those two periods. "We'll focus on those."

Steele Canyon scoring: Riley Balikian 12, Andrew Timm 12, Arlin Taylor 9, Jebari Robinson 7, Elige Carter 7, Josiah Smith 6, Jake Ransom 4, Zane Keith 2, Cameron Moss 2, Casey Gayton 2, Tim Orange 2.

DOVER BAY (B.C., Canada) 47, GRANITE HILLS 44 -- It's hard to imagine that a team could go scoreless over a full eight minute quarter and still come out a winner. But that's what the Canadians from Vancouver managed to do as they upended the host team in Thursday's (Dec. 28) Granite Hills Holiday Classic.

A strong first quarter in which Dover Bay took a 21-8 lead over the Eagles (8-3) held up for a 7-point halftime lead, as Granite Hills was unable to get its offense started.

"It was a pretty good, physical defensive game,"said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. "We played lousy defense in the first quarter, then made our mind up to play some defense and shut them out in the second quarter.

In spite of their inconsistent play, the Eagles had victory in their talons, leading 44-43 with 40 seconds remaining. But a couple of key missed shots -- and a failure to score a single point from the free throw line in the whole game -- tagged Granite Hills with the loss.

"If we would have made a couple of free throws it would have been a much better situation for us,"Anderson said.

A perennial long-ball shooting team, Granite Hills hit 6 three-pointers, including 4 by WAYNE MARTIN, who topped the Eagles with 20 points.

ANDREW JOSLYN added 8 points and 6 rebounds, while BRIAN HUMPHRIES had 9 points, 4 steals and 3 assists.

NICO SANCHEZ didn't score, but chipped in 3 assists and 3 steals.

"( Dover Bay ) was an all-seniors team. I was pretty happy with our play for three quarters, but we can't dig ourselves in a hole against a good team."

Granite Hills scoring: Wayne Martin 20, Brian Humphries 9, Andrew Joslyn 8, Dean Miller 7.

EL PASO-PARKLAND 50, VALHALLA 29 -- Senior TRAVIS FOELSCH turned in a powerful double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Norsemen, but it was not nearly enough as Parkland of El Paso, Texas, registered an easy Granite Hills Holiday Classic victory on Thursday (Dec. 28).

Perhaps the most glaring stat in the game was turnovers. The Norsemen gave it away 19 times, while Parkland surrendered the ball only 5 times without taking a shot.

Parkland led 28-11 at halftime and then coasted to the victory.

"Defensively we played fairly tough but we gave up a lot of turnovers,"commented Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. "They turned a lot of turnovers into points. We had a tough time shooting in the first quarter. The third quarter was our best quarter (11-10) and then we just kinda ran out of gas. They went on an 11-4 run to end the game."

AAHRON MIMS grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked 2 shots for the Norsemen (7-6) who saw their four game win streak snapped.

"I think my kids are doing a good job but we need to take care of the ball better,"Jackson said. "We didn't have a good shooting night against Parkland's zone.. We had the looks, just didn't hit them."

Valhalla scoring: Travis Foelsch 15, Aahron Mims 4, Garret Giles 3, Jorge Serna 3, Ruffy Bacong 2, Daniel Butcher 2.

VISTA MURRIETA 79, MONTE VISTA 49 -- Poor shooting -- both from the field and the free throw line -- resulted in the Monarchs' most resounding loss of the season in Thursday (Dec. 28) Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic action.

The Monarchs (4-7) hit only 18 of 59 shots from the field (30.5 percent), and just half of their 22 free throws.

"That says everything,"said Monte Vista coach KEVIN MAHADY of the Monarchs' sad sack shooting. "We missed 12 to 15 layups."

ROSHUN WYNNE rolled out 10 points, 6 steals and 4 rebounds for the Monarchs, who have lost three of their last four.

MIKE WATKINS tallied a team-best 12 points, half of which came from above the arc.

JAMAR RANSOME added 11 points and BRANDON WILLIAMS pulled down 7 rebounds.

Monte Vista scoring: Mike Watkins 12, Jamar Ransome 11, Roshun Wynne 10, Brandon Williams 8, Ryan Houser 2, Fred Webb 2, Brian Williams 2, Eric Griffin 1, Cameron Mason 1.

BURBANK 86, EL CAPITAN 41 -- The one-two scoring punch of BARRETT BRAUN and JERAMIE CARR wasn't enough to hold off the tenacious Burbank Bulldogs who rolled to the lopsided victory in Thursday's (Dec. 28) Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic at Mt. Carmel High.

Braun nailed a pair of 3-pointers and 9 of 13 free throws en route to a game-high 23 points.

Carr chipped in 11 points.

Burbank, which had three players with 17 points or more, led 71-33 after three quarters, which turned on a running clock for the final eight minutes.

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 23, Jeramie Carr 11, Robert Vicaldo 6, Michael Landis 1.

CLAIREMONT def. EL CAJON VALLEY -- Granite Hills Holiday Classic at Granite Hills; No details reported.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-28-06) -- In only its second year of varsity basketball competition, Foothills Christian is already making waves. The Knights scored perhaps their most impressive win to date as they defeated Patrick Henry 83-75 in Wednesday's (Dec. 27) Granite Hills Holiday Classic at Granite Hills High.

Freshman KALOB HATCHER equaled a career-high with 16 assists and scored 19 points, helping the Knights to their seventh win in 10 starts.

The biggest benefactor of Hatcher's passes was freshman TROY LEAF, who poured in 31 points.

Leaf added 5 assists as Foothills totaled 25 scoring passes as a team.

Also reaching double-figures for Foothills were ZACH KAUL with 12 points and BRANDON HALE with 10. All of Kaul's points came from above the arc.

"Our three freshmen had good games again," said Foothills Christian coach BRAD LEAF. "Troy Leaf, Kalob Hatcher and RONNIE RICHARDS all played well. Richards did a really good job defensively, fronting Henry's 6-6 guy."

The Knights opened an early 10-point lead, but Henry (8-5) closed to within 38-36 by the half. Foothills again pushed the advantage to double figures late in the third quarter, before both sides combined for 51 points in a wild scoring spree in the fourth period. However, every Patriots run was countered in the 26-25 quarter.

Following Thursday's (Dec. 28) game against Mount Miguel, the Knights will welcome back 6-foot-4 junior AARON HALE, one of their top scorers and rebounders of a year ago.

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 31, Kalob Hatcher 19, Zach Kaul 12, Brandon Hale 10, Ronnie Richards 7, David Carter 2, Ryan Smith 2.

STEELE CANYON 61, MAR VISTA 54 -- Don't look now, but the Steele Canyon Cougars are on a winning streak.

After dropping 7 straight to some of the top teams in the San Diego CIF, the Cougars have come on to post back-to-back wins, including Wednesday's (Dec. 27) Spartan Classic opener at Chula Vista.

Credit this win to Cougar guards JEBARI ROBINSON and RILEY BALIKIAN, each of whom scored 15 points. The backcourt tandem was a composite 10 for 20 shooting from the floor.

Balikian hit 3 of 6 from above the arc, and Robinson nailed 2 of 4 from the same space.

"Riley has been playing well," said Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN. "It was nice to seem him break out tonight."

The 5-foot-9 Robinson led the Cougars with 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals.

"Robinson played a good all-around game -- it was his best game of the year," said coach Balikian.

ELIGE CARTER, a 5-foot-9 junior guard, hauled down 7 rebounds to go with 6 points.

Six-foot-6 ANDREW TIMM returned to the floor after suffering a broken foot early in fall workouts. He hit 3 of 4 shots from the floor and made his only free throw.

"When we get all the pieces together we'll be OK for league," said coach Balikian. "I'm not too worried about these early games."

Steele Canyon scoring: Riley Balikian 15, Jebari Robinson 15, Andrew Timm 7, Elige Carter 6, Arlin Taylor 4, Jake Ransom 4, Zane Keith 4, Cameron Moss 4, Josiah Smith 2.

HELIX 70, POINT LOMA 44 -- Despite not playing for 10 days, the Highlanders looked pretty sharp in Wednesday's (Dec. 27) opening round of the Spartan Classic at Chula Vista.

The Highlanders led 22-10 after one quarter, and 40-18 by intermission.

Providing the spark for Helix (8-1) was junior DONNIE McGOWAN with 17 points. A first-year player, McGowan connected on 7 of 10 shots (one 3) and 2 of 3 free throws while securing 4 rebounds.

"McGowan shot very well tonight," said Helix coach JOHN SINGER. "He's a very gifted young man, very gifted offensively. He needs to understand the value of practice and to get his intensity up. He's never played organized basketball before."

DAVID JEFFERSON added 13 points and 4 steals, while BRANDON FOUNTAIN knocked down 12 points and grabbed a team-best 9 rebounds.

All the news was not good for Helix, however, as junior starting guard KAREEM ABUKAR turned an ankle in the first quarter and is likely done for the tournament.

DEMOND "Red" NARCISSE filled in for Abukar and grabbed 8 rebounds.

"Fountain had his typical good game for us, and Narcisse played pretty well. He played a lot after Abukar got hurt and LAWRENCE HURDLE had three fouls," said Singer.

Helix scoring: Donnie McGowan 17, David Jefferson 13, Brandon Fountain 12, Dorian Staton 8, Lawrence Hurdle 6 (5 ast.), Alex Aguirre 4, Andray Jackson 4, Red Narcisse 2, Tyonte Hosley 2, Bryant Johnson 2.

GRANITE HILLS 65, CALEXICO 31 -- Calexico's Bulldogs are probably getting tired of running into the Granite Hills Eagles. These teams have met in three different tournaments, and every time the Eagles have come out on top, including Wednesday's (Dec. 27) opening round of the Granite Hills Holiday Classic.

At the outset of the most recent meeting, the Eagles staggered to a 14-12 first quarter lead.

"We had beaten Calexico before and we came out pretty lackadaisical in the first quarter," said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. "We played with a lot more fire as a team overall after that."

It was a different team in the middle two quarters, as the Eagles claimed a 39-5 scoring advantage.

BRIAN HUMPHRIES scored 15 of his game-high 18 points in the third quarter. He nailed all 3 of his 3-point attempts, and was 6-6 overall on the floor during that eight minute stanza. Humphries also captured 7 rebounds, handed out 4 assists, blocked 2 shots and recorded 2 steals during the game.

WAYNE MARTIN canned 4 three-pointers on his way to a 17 point finish.

KYLE SNYDER chipped in 10 points, and ANDREW JOSLYN had a game-high 9 rebounds. DEAN MILLER dished out 8 scoring passes.

As a team Granite Hills shot 51 percent from the field, including 10 of 21 from above the arc.

Although he didn't rank with the top scorers, senior DERICK EDWARDS led the Eagles with 4 steals and pulled down 4 rebounds.

"Edwards did a good job defensively," Anderson said.

Granite Hills scoring: Brian Humphries 18, Wayne Martin 17, Kyle Snyder 10, Dean Miller 5, Derick Edwards 4, Andrew Joslyn 4, Ian Birmingham 4.

WEST HILLS 50, ORANGE GLEN 34 -- After a less-than-inspiring performance in the opening round of the Aztec Holiday Invitational at Montgomery, West Hills was a different team in Wednesday's (Dec. 27) second round action.

The Wolf Pack (6-5) got a lift from its bench in sophomore guard LUCAS ARMSTRONG and junior forward TIM NOWLIN. Armstrong dished a career-high 7 assists, blocked a shot, grabbed 2 rebounds and hit both of his free throw attempts in a relief role. Nowlin scored 12 points.

"There was no real rhyme or reason to it, but we had a couple of kids -- Lucas Armstrong and Tim Nowlin -- who came off the bench and gave us great minutes, so we left them in the game, said coach Armstrong. "In his first varsity year Lucas had his best game to date. He got a lot of quality minutes tonight, played the entire fourth quarter."

The majority of Armstrong's scoring passes went inside to West Hills leading scorers PETER GILSON and CHRIS LIFGREN.

"It was good to get contributions from the bench," said Armstrong.

Gilson turned in another strong all-around performance of 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Lifgren pitched in 13 points, notched 3 steals, grabbed 3 boards and dished 2 scoring passes.

West Hills scoring: Peter Gilson 16, Chris Lifgren 13, Tim Nowlin 12, Blaine Hoffard 3, Garrett Cabral 2, Lucas Armstrong 2, Troy Nowlin 2.

GROSSMONT 75, CASTLE PARK 43 -- It wasn't a perfect game, but it was one that veteran Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO found much to his satisfaction.

The Foothillers (6-4) stormed to an 18-2 first quarter lead and never looked back as they toppled the Trojans (3-5) in Wednesday's (Dec. 27) first round game of the Spartan Classic at Chula Vista.

Hot-handed IAN COCHRAN set the scoring pace for the Foothillers with 23 points, despite not playing in the final quarter.

RICHARD OGUNSALU chipped in a personal-high 18 points, while JUSTIN RUTHERFORD tacked on another 13.

"We pulled away in the beginning and we were able to maintain our edge throughout the game," said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. "We did a good job defensively in the first quarter, and that set the pace for the game. We had good balance, especially from Cochran, Rutherford and Ogunsalu."

Grossmont scoring: Ian Cochran 23, Richard Ogunsalu 18, Justin Rutherford 13, Khalid Waters 7, Alex Leon 6, Robert Sullivan 5, Michael Graham 2, Colter Rios 1.

VALHALLA 47, KEARNY 44 -- The Norsemen received a powerful inside game from AAHRON MIMS and TRAVIS FOESLCH to knock off Kearny in Wednesday's (Dec. 27) opening round of the Granite Hills Holiday Classic at Granite Hills.

Although Mims scored only 3 points, he grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and blocked 3 shots.

Foelsch had a pair of 10s -- as in points and rebounds -- for the Norsemen, who won their fourth in a row.

Junior RUFFY BACONG scored 7 of his team-best 13 points in the crucial fourth quarter as the Norsemen (7-5) held off the Komets (5-4). More than half of Bacong's points came from above the arc as he hit a trio of 3s.

ROD FAKHOURY pitched in 10 points for Valhalla, including hitting all 3 of his free throws.

"We handled the ball real well and out-rebounded Kearny in the second half," said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. "Mims really controlled the boards. He was a force for us inside defensively."

Valhalla scoring: Ruffy Bacong 13, Rod Fakhoury 10, Travis Foelsch 10, Mike Espinoza 9, Aahron Mims 3, Daniel Butcher 2.

MOUNT MIGUEL 66, MADISON 47 -- AHMAAD NUNLEY hit 7 of his 12 points in the first quarter, and hit two 3s for the game as Mount Miguel mowed down Madison (2-9) in Wednesday's (Dec. 27) opening round of the Granite Hills Holiday Classic at Granite Hills.

The Matadors (7-4) were sitting on a 21-8 advantage after the first period and closed out the contest with a 21-15 scoring spree in the final period.

Steady TRAVON CAPLES turned in a powerful double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds.

COURTNEY WRATHER chipped in 13 points, 3 assists and 2 steals, while OC BASEY popped in 9 points and cleared 8 boards.

LARON RUSH contributed 7 points and 7 rebounds.

Mount Miguel has won 6 of its last 7 games.

"Caples gave us a lot of energy on the boards and defensively," said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT. "Nunley got us off to a strong start and Wrather had a steady game."

Mount Miguel scoring: Travon Caples 16, Courtney Wrather 13, Ahmaad Nunley 12, OC Basey 9, Laron Rush 7, A.J. Stanford 4, Matt Miles 3, Devyn Moore 2.

TRABUCO HILLS 55, MONTE VISTA 41 -- The Monarchs appeared to be suffering from the post-Christmas blues as they gave a sluggish performance in Wednesday's (Dec. 27) first round of the Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic at Mt. Carmel High.

The Mustangs (9-2) out of Mission Viejo kicked up their heels to build a 32-24 halftime lead for Trabuco Hills. A 13-6 scoring run in the final quarter dashed any comeback hopes Monte Vista (4-6) might have entertained.

JAMAR RANSOME was solid in defeat, hitting 8 of 12 shots from the floor and one free throw for 17 points. He also led the Monarchs in rebounding with 9.

ROSHUN WYNNE added 12 points, 4 assists and 3 steals.

Trabuco Hills was 13 for 23 on free throws. Monte Vista was 7 of 18 from the charity stripe, and 16 of 43 (37 percent) from the floor.

"We came out kinda flat today, and they were big and well coached," said Monte Vista coach KEVIN MAHADY. "Our free throw shooting hurt us. We just missed a lot of shots."

Monte Vista scoring: Jamar Ransome 17, Roshun Wynne 12, Brandon Williams 6, Trent Watkins 2, Ryan Houser 2, Mike Watkins 2.

VALLEY CENTER 50, EL CAPITAN 35 -- For one of the few times, El Capitan had a double-barreled offensive attack, as BARRETT BRAUN and JERAMIE CARR scored 15 points apiece against Valley Center in Wednesday's (Dec. 27) Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic at Mt. Carmel High.

It's common for Braun, who averages 23.5 points per game, to be on his own as the Vaqueros high-point man. Braun also had 10 rebounds before fouling out.

For Carr, it was his highest scoring output of the season. Nine of Carr's points came on 3 of 5 three-point shooting. He also had 7 rebounds and 3 steals, one less than freshman BROOKS NOBLE, who had 4 thefts.

The Vaqueros (1-9) trailed only 19-17 at halftime, and 32-26 after three quarters.

The Jaguars (3-9) saw Weston Titus score 7 of his game-high 16 points in Valley Center's 18-9 fourth quarter scoring rush.

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 15, Jeramie Carr 15, Brooks Noble 4, Michael Overson 1.

HUNTINGTON PARK 51, EL CAJON VALLEY 9 -- Granite Hills Holiday Classic at Granite Hills; No details reported.

© East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (12-27-06) -- West Hills High head coach JEFF ARMSTRONG must have wondered whether the majority of his Wolf Pack basketball team was still enjoying the Christmas holidays instead of focusing on Tuesday's (Dec. 26) opening round game of the Aztec Holiday Invitational.

In a rematch of a game the Pack won only three days earlier in the desert, West Hills succumbed to El Centro Southwest 58-52 inside the Montgomery High gym. The Pack sacked the Eagles 50-42 in a Desert Shootout game Dec. 23.

"We didn't play the same game we did the first time we met them," Armstrong said. "We had 17 turnovers, which is about double what we had the first time. And we missed eight chippers (shots inside 2 feet).

"We were lethargic, looked like we just pushed ourselves away from the Christmas dinner table."

Despite the loss, West Hills did receive some notable efforts from PETER GILSON (16 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals) and CHRIS LIFGREN (16 points, 3 steals and 3 assists). Between them, they hit 12 of 26 shots from the field and 4 of 6 free throws.

West Hills (5-5) took a brief lead and then went into catch-up mode. "We cut it down to two points three times, but never caught them," Armstrong said.

West Hills scoring: Chris Lifgren 16, Peter Gilson 16, Lucas Armstrong 6, Tim Nowlin 4, Tony Lynn 3, Blaine Hoffard 3, Taylor Robbins 2, Troy Nowlin 2.

© East County Sports.com
EL CENTRO (12-24-06) -- Fortified by the return of senior Lithuanians ANDRIUS MIKUTIS and VIKTOR ASACIOVAS, the Christian High Patriots reeled off three straight wins to reach the Saturday (Dec. 23) night finals of the Desert Christmas Holiday Shootout at Central Union High.

The Patriots parade hit a brick wall in the championship game against undefeated Francis Parker, as the Lancers clobbered Christian 61-34.

"We were in it early, forcing them to beat us from the outside," Christian assistant coach ADAM COPP said.

Maybe so, but Parker (8-0) hardly stumbled, taking a 30-18 first half lead. The Lancers locked up the victory with an 18-3 scoring spread in the third quarter.

"Some questionable calls against Asaciovas, an off shooting night by DANIEL HAZLETT, and our inability to get Mikutis enough touches let them run away from us in the third quarter," Copp said. "They executed perfectly and were certainly the better team tonight."

Mikutis managed only 12 shots from the field, but clicked on 8 of 9 free throws to lead the Patriots with 19 points. Asaciovas added 12 points.

DANNY MITCHELL, Asaciovas and Mikutis had 7 rebounds apiece to help Christian claim a 39-30 edge on the boards.

Senior standout Tyler Bernardini scored a game-high 24 points for Parker, which also received an additional 20 points from Shawn Lasalita.

The Lancers outscored the Patriots by 26 points from the field. The Patriots also turned the ball over 24 times compared to 6 for Parker. That computes to 18 more scoring chances for Parker.

Christian scoring: Andrius Mikutis 19, Viktor Asaciovas 12, Taylor Eichhorst 3.

WEST HILLS 66, COACHELLA VALLEY 57 -- The Wolf Pack overcame a one point deficit in the final four minutes to deny Coachella Valley an upset victory in Saturday's (Dec. 23) final round of the Desert Christmas Holiday Shootout at Central Union .

PETER GILSON, who was named to the all-tournament team, scored 10 of his game-high 25 points in the waning moments to help the Wolf Pack (6-5) send the Arabs packing.

TONY LYNN hit a key 3 and TROY NOWLIN controlled the inside as the Pack outscored Coachella Valley 20-14 in the final quarter.

Gilson finished the game with 12 rebounds -- 5 on the offensive end -- and blocked 2 shots. The 6-foot-2 senior made 11 of 16 shots from the field.

CHRIS LIFGREN nailed a pair of 3's and finished with 14 points for the Pack, which also got 13 rebounds (8 offensive) and 10 points from Troy Nowlin.

"This was one of Troy's better performances," said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. "He had something to prove."

Gilson scored 76 points in the four games, much of it coming from his 32 for 58 shooting from the field (55.2 percent). He also had 33 rebounds, 15 assists, a handful of steals and a couple of blocks.

"I have to give credit to (West Hills assistant coach) CHRIS GRAZIER for deciding it would be best to move Gilson inside," Armstrong said. "He's a pretty good shooter from the perimeter, but you can see that he prefers playing with his back to the basket. He was a monster down low for us. He's so quick inside."

Lynn finished with 5 points and 5 assists, giving him 27 scoring passes in the four games for West Hill.

TAYLOR ROBBINS added 6 assists and 4 rebounds to go with 4 points.

West Hills scoring: Peter Gilson 25, Chris Lifgren 14, Troy Nowlin 10, Tony Lynn 5, Taylor Robbins 4, Lucas Armstrong 3, Blaine Hoffard 3, Tim Nowlin 2.

WEST HILLS 50, El CENTRO SOUTHWEST 42 -- West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG decided to go with a smaller, quicker lineup against the Eagles of El Centro Southwest in Saturday's (Dec. 23) first game of a double-header in the Desert Christmas Holiday Shootout.

One of the major changes was inserting senior guard TAYLOR ROBBINS into the starting lineup.

"Robbins was a benefit to the up-tempo offense, scoring 7 points, clearing 7 rebounds and recording 4 steals," Armstrong said. "We are really looking for Taylor to be a big part of what we want to do this year."

Steady PETER GILSON hit 7 of 12 shots from the field for a team-best 14 points. He also had 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.

CHRIS LIFGREN was 4 for 4 from the free throw line on his way to a 10 point outing.

TONY LYNN hit a pair of 3-pointers and dished 5 assists for the Pack.

West Hills scoring: Peter Gilson 14, Chris Lifgren 10, Taylor Robbins 7, Blaine Hoffard 6, Tony Lynn 6, Tim Nowlin 4, Garrett Cabral 3.

CHRISTIAN 50, MORSE 42 -- Junior KURT METCALFE scored only 4 points in the Patriots’ semifinal victory over Morse in Saturday's (Dec. 23) Desert Christmas Holiday Shootout at El Centro Southwest.

But Metcalfe's major contribution did not come on offense. The 5-foot-8, 160-pound guard blanketed Morse point guard Remil Landrum. The scorebook will show Landrum with 22 points, but the Tigers hot-shot made only 29 percent of 34 attempts from the field.

"Metcalfe did an outstanding job defensively on Landrum," said Christian assistant coach ADAM COPP. "He forced him into very difficult shots. Kurt was probably the player of the game for us."

The Tigers (6-2), who live on their quickness and ability to connect from the 3-point line, made only 2 of 16 shots from above the arc. Even more stunning, was Morse was a shocking 0-for-1 from the free throw line.

ANDRIUS MIKUTIS paced the Patriots with 17 points and 13 rebounds, while VIKTOR ASACIOVAS added 13 points and 13 boards for Christian.

DANIEL HAZLETT pitched in 11 points, including 4 for 4 shooting from the free throw line.

"Morse was a very difficult team. They were small and quick," said Copp. "We had early success pounding the ball inside but they adjusted. We won the game on the boards and with solid games again from our big three scorers."

Christian claimed a 44-33 edge on the glass.

Christian scoring: Andrius Mikutis 17, Viktor Asaciovas 13, Daniel Hazlett 11, Danny Mitchell 5, Kurt Metcalfe 4.

© East County Sports.com
EL CENTRO (12-23-06) -- What was good news for Christian turned out to be bad news for West Hills in Friday's (Dec. 22) opening game of the Desert Christmas Holiday Shootout at El Centro's Southwest High.

Christian athletic director/basketball coach KEN BAILEY was informed by an email from the San Diego Section administrators on Thursday (Dec. 21) that Lithuanian students ANDRIUS MIKUTIS and VIKTOR ASACIOVAS were cleared to play.

Mikutis was razor-sharp, hitting 12-of-18 shots from the field, including two 3's, and 7-of-8 free throws for a grand total of 33 points to go along with 16 rebounds as the Patriots edged the Wolf Pack 68-57 in overtime.

Asociovas hit 5-of-10 shots from the field and added 7 free throws for 17 points and also gathered 11 rebounds before fouling out.

Steady point guard DANIEL HAZLETT netted 11 of 14 free throws on his way to a 16-point effort.

Despite those explosive offensive numbers, the Patriots were scrambling at the end.

West Hills, in fact, led by one point with 5 seconds to play. Hazlett got the ball and drove hard down court and was fouled with 2 seconds left. The senior sharpshooter missed the first free throw, but made the second, sending the game into overtime.

The four-minute overtime belonged exclusively to Christian. Mikutis accounted for 8 points, and Hazlett added 7 as the Patriots outscored the Pack 17-6 in overtime.

"We were in foul trouble all game long," said Christian assistant coach ADAM COPP. "West Hills did an excellent job of keeping us in the half court game and playing their style of ball. But once we got into overtime Andrius dominated, attacking the rim 1 on 5."

One of the oddities during this game was Christian scored more points in the overtime than it did in any of the regulation quarters.

"In the overtime we went cold and they got hot," West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG said. "We had the lead late in the game and just couldn't hold onto it. We couldn't handle their big kid Mikutis. We just didn't have an answer to him. He's a very good player."

Armstrong was upset that the game ever made it to overtime.

"We were up by one point and BLAINE HOFFARD was called for a very questionable foul," Armstrong said. "Hazlett went to the line and missed the first shot and hit the second to tie it at 51-51. That was not a foul -- we watched it on tape 15 times. If anything, Hazlett pushed off on Hoffard. That won the game for them. It's nice to let the kids decide the game and not the officials."

Another irritant to Armstrong, Christian outscored the Wolf Pack from the free throw line by 15 points.

Lifgren paced the Wolf Pack with 12 points and GARRETT CABRAL added 10.

"Garrett played very well -- this was his best varsity performance to date." Armstrong said.

Christian scoring: Andrius Mikutis 33, Viktor Asaciovas 17, Daniel Hazlett 16, Brad Johnson 2.

West Hills scoring: Chris Lifgren 12, Garrett Cabral 10, Peter Gilson 9, Tony Lynn 8, Troy Nowlin 7, Blaine Hoffard 5, Lucas Armstrong 3, Taylor Robbins 2, Tim Nowlin 1.

CHRISTIAN 60, EC-SOUTHWEST 45 -- ANDRIUS MIKUTIS continued his hot shooting, hitting 12 of 20 shots from the field and 6 of 8 free throws for a 30-point burst, directing Christian to a Desert Christmas Holiday Shootout victory at El Centro-Southwest on Friday (Dec. 22).

The Patriots led only 25-24 after one half before leaving their zone in favor of a man-to-man strategy in the final two quarters. The difference was obvious, as indicated by the final score.

Guard DANIEL HAZLETT added 15 points, while VIKTOR ASACIOVAS pounded in 11 points and collected a game-high 14 rebounds.

The Patriots need a victory over Morse Saturday (Dec. 23) at 11 a.m. to qualify for the championship game Saturday night at 7:30.

Christian scoring: Andrius Mikutis 30, Daniel Hazlett 15, Viktor Asaciovas 11, Danny Mitchell 2, Brad Johnston 2.

MORSE 76, WEST HILLS 69 -- Giving up 31 points in a quarter usually spells doom to the defensive team. That was the case for West Hills in Friday (Dec. 22) night's Desert Christmas Holiday Shootout at El Centro-Southwest.

The Wolf Pack fell behind the Tigers 31-14 after one quarter and then embarked on the comeback trail.

"We went down 20-plus points in the first half," said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG.

Morse's Remil Landrum, 5-9 senior guard, scored 13 of his 34 points in the first quarter. Landrum clearly established himself as a premier scorer, having scored 42 points in a Tigers victory over EC Southwest earlier in the day.

"Morse's Landrum and (backcourt mate) Derek Webb (a 6-0 junior) are very quick," said Armstrong.

PETER GILSON led the West Hills comeback bid with a season-high 28 points. CHRIS LIFGREN hit 8 of 9 shots from the field, including one 3, to add 18 points to the Wolf Pack account.

"Lifgren had a fine game before he fouled out in the fourth quarter," Armstrong said. "That kinda hurt us a little -- took the wind out of our sail."

Although senior guard TONY LYNN did not score for the Wolf Pack, he had a lot to do with West Hills' offensive effort, dealing 11 assists.

"Tony did very well, setting up Gilson and Lifgren with his passing," Armstrong said.

West Hills scoring: Peter Gilson 28, Chris Lifgren 18, Tim Nowlin 8, Blaine Hoffard 6, Troy Nowlin 4, Lucas Armstrong 3, Taylor Robbins 2.

© East County Sports.com
NATIONAL CITY (12-21-06) -- A third-quarter breakdown cost the underdog Mount Miguel Matadors a chance to be champions of the Sweetwater Holiday Prep Classic in Thursday's (Dec. 21) final against North County power Carlsbad (7-2).

Trailing 35-29 at intermission, the Matadors often stalled while the Lancers went on an 18-4 run to take a 17-point advantage with less than a minute left in the third quarter.

"We got in foul trouble in the third quarter and they took advantage," said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT, who saw his team's five game winning streak come to an end.

TRAVON CAPLES had three fouls early in the second quarter and had to sit for awhile, then picked up his fourth foul in the second possession of the third quarter.

"That really hurt us," said Rowlett.

The closest the Matadors got to taking the lead was late in the first half when AHMAAD NUNLEY executed a 3-point play to chop Carlsbad 's advantage to 31-29.

"We never caught 'em, but it was closer than a 20-point game," Rowlett said.

All-tournament pick COURTNEY WRATHER paced the Matadors with 18 points, 3 assists and 3 steals. Despite his abbreviated playing time, Caples rolled a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. LARON RUSH added 11 points and 7 boards.

Despite the lost, Rowlett was not disheartened.

"We are progressing faster than I thought we would," the coach said. "The guys are buying into the team concept. It doesn't matter which player has the most points. It matters whether we win the game."

Mount Miguel scoring: Courtney Wrather 18, Laron Rush 11, Travon Caples 10, Ahmaad Nunley 9, Devyn Moore 2 (4 stl).

VALHALLA 48, GOMPERS 25 -- Injury-riddled Valhalla finally found some firm footing in National City on Thursday (Dec. 21) in the Sweetwater Holiday Prep Classic. The Norsemen began what was to be a doubleheader sweep to extend their modest winning streak to three by defeating Gompers in an early afternoon game.

TRAVIS FOELSCH scored 19 points to lead the Valhalla surge. AAHRON MIMS added 11 points.

This game was over by halftime, as the Norsemen had built 35-13 lead.

"We did a good job of picking up our defensive pressure, and our rebounding was outstanding," said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. "We were up by 30 in the third quarter and it was a good opportunity to give some other players some floor time."

Valhalla scoring: Travis Foelsch 19, Aahron Mims 11, Ruffy Bacong 5, Jorge Serna 4, Mike Espinoza 3, Daniel Butcher 2, Rod Fakhoury 2, Garret Giles 2.

VALHALLA 37, PREUSS 34 -- In their second Sweetwater Holiday Prep Classic game of the day, the Norsemen managed to produce just enough points to escape with a victory over Preuss in a game between two teams that were obviously fatigued.

TRAVIS FOELSCH scored 14 points to again show the Norsemen the way. Valhalla moved above the .500 mark for the second time this season at 6-5. Only two teams in the Grossmont South have more wins than the Norsemen.

"We had a short turnaround time and it was tough to get up for this game," said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. "Our defense and rebounding were outstanding again. We really had a lot of trouble hitting our outside shots."

Valhalla scoring: Travis Foelsch 14, Aahron Mims 7, Mike Espinoza 6, Jorge Serna 6, Rod Fakhoury 4.

MARIAN CATHOLIC 50, EL CAPITAN 36 -- Heading into the final quarter of Thursday's (Dec. 21) Sweetwater Holiday Prep Classic consolation contest at Sweetwater, the victory-hungry Vaqueros (1-8) were trailing Marian Catholic by only six points.

El Capitan was unable to mount any kind of comeback as the Crusaders (4-5) claimed a 19-11 scoring advantage to pick up the win.

BARRETT BRAUN turned in another steady performance of 20 points and 8 rebounds. The 6-foot-3 junior was especially effective at the free throw line where he made 7 of 8.

ROBERT VICALDO grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds and dished 3 assists in addition to scoring 6 points for the Vaqueros.

JERAMIE CARR added 6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists for El Capitan .

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 20, Jeramie Carr 6, Robert Vicaldo 6, Michael Overson 4 (4 reb.).

© East County Sports.com
OTAY MESA (12-21-06) -- Foul problems plagued Granite Hills in Wednesday's (Dec. 20) championship game of the Otay Ranch Holiday Tournament. And Mission Bay was able to capitalize and take a come from behind 54-49 victory.

The Buccaneers (6-2) converted 24 of 37 free throws, while Granite Hills (7-2) was just 4 of 10 from the charity stripe.

"The free throws killed us," said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. "We had 'em and lost at the end."

Mission Bay gained an 18-8 scoring advantage over the final eight minutes to eke out the win.

Three starters -- BRIAN HUMPHRIES, ANDREW JOSLYN, and NICO SANCHEZ -- fouled out.

"Humphries' fifth foul was questionable and hurt us bad," said Anderson .

WAYNE MARTIN sank 5 threes tonight, giving him 15 threes for the three games of the tournament. He was named to the all-tournament team. Martin finished with a team-high 19 points against Mission Bay .

Humphries added 10 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, while DEAN MILLER pitched in 8 points and Joslyn gobbled up 8 rebounds. Sanchez matched Humphries' assist totals.

Mount Miguel guard Devyn Moore scores on this driving layin to help the Matadors paste Castle Park at the Sweetwater Tournament. (Photo by Chris Edwards)

Granite Hills scoring: Wayne Martin 19, Brian Humphries 10, Dean Miller 8, Kyle Snyder 5, Nico Sanchez 4, Derick Edwards 1.

MOUNT MIGUEL 56, CASTLE PARK 36 -- LARON RUSH flexed his physical prowess and took charge of Wednesday's (Dec. 20) semifinal game of the Sweetwater Holiday Prep Classic game in National City .

The 6-foot-4 senior football player rustled up 16 points and 11 rebounds to help the Matadors (6-3) capture their fifth straight victory and a berth in Thursday (Dec. 21) night's tournament championship game against Carlsbad (6-2) at 8:30.

COURTNEY WRATHER added 14 points for Mount Miguel, while TRAVON CAPLES muscled in 8 points and collected 8 rebounds.

Perhaps the key to the Matadors' latest win was the work of junior guard DEVYN MOORE, who pitched in 6 points, 2 assists and 2 steals.

"Our defense was good tonight," said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT. "We are working on being unselfish. Devyn Moore played some great on-ball defense. He's our best defensive player, triggered our defense. He doesn't care about scoring, he does the dirty work for us."

Mount Miguel used a 21-6 third quarter rush to topple the Trojans, who were unable to handle the Matadors' superior speed.

Mount Miguel scoring: Laron Rush 16, Courtney Wrather 14, Travon Caples 8, Devyn Moore 6, A.J. Stanford 6 (3 reb., 3 stl.), OC Basey 4, Ahmaad Nunley 2.

PALMDALE 89, MONTE VISTA 83 (OT) -- Even though the Monarchs came up a little short in Wednesday's (Dec. 20) Grossmont Winter Classic consolation against the Palmdale Falcons, Monte Vista first-year coach KEVIN MAHADY was pleased by his new team's performance.

"It was our best performance of the year, a great game," Mahady said of the Monarchs (4-5). "I'm very proud of our kids."

You couldn't blame Mahady if he had mixed emotion, as he was head coach at Palmdale a year ago.

"It was a little weird coaching against my former team," acknowledged Mahady.

As it was, 6-foot-2 senior JAMAR RANSOME hit 10-of-17 shots from the floor on his way to a 25-point finish. The Monarchs' top inside threat also grabbed 10 rebounds.

"Ransome really played a great game tonight," said Mahady.

Make that two solid games in a row for Ransome, who has compiled 54 and 21 rebounds in back-to-back starts.

MIKE WATKINS isn't doing too bad either for the Monarchs. The 5-9 junior guard scored a career-high 21 points, most of it coming on 5 of 7 free point shooting.

ROSHUN WYNNE added 18 points, 4 assists and 4 steals for the Monarchs, who also received 15 points, 6 assists and 4 steals from BRANDON WILLIAMS.

In a fierce battle from end to end, the Monarchs scored 27 points in the final quarter of regulation to force overtime. But after that, Palmdale (8-2) took the lead in the four minute overtime and never let go.

"We played well enough to win, just didn't pull it off," said Mahady.

Monte Vista scoring: Jamar Ransome 25, Mike Watkins 21, Roshun Wynne 18, Brandon Williams 15, Ryan Houser 4.

VALHALLA 58, WEBBER ACADEMY (Calgary, Alberta) 38 -- The Norsemen snapped a four-game losing streak in an early morning wake-up call against the Webber Academy Wildcats of Calgary, Alberta, in Wednesday's (Dec. 20) consolation action in the Sweetwater Holiday Prep Classic in National City.

TRVIS FOELSCH scored a Valhalla season-high 25 to carry the torch for the Norsemen (4-5). Had Foelsch done a little bit better at the free throw line, where he was 7 of 15, he would have added even more to his personal career best.

AAHRON MIMS, providing a solid supporting cast, tallied 17 points and grabbed 15 rebounds.

Senior MIKE ESPINOZA, who left Tuesday's game with a thumb injury, returned on Wednesday to score 9 points.

"We went inside a lot today, went right at their 6-8 player," said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. "Foelsch and Mims played really big for us today. They helped us control the paint."

Valhalla outscored the Wildcats, 32-14, in the middle quarters to secure the victory.

Valhalla scoring: Travis Foelsch 25, Aahron Mims 17, Mike Espinoza 9, Daniel Butcher 4, Ruffy Bacong 3.

GROSSMONT 47, RAMONA 42 -- A strong fourth quarter rush enabled the host Grossmont Foothillers to knock off the Ramona Bulldogs in Wednesday's (Dec. 20) Grossmont Winter Classic game.

It was the second time the Foothillers (5-4) have beaten the Bulldogs. They opened the season with a 65-51 verdict in Ramona.

IAN COCHRAN stepped into center stage for the Foothillers again, scoring 31 points and hauling in 14 rebounds. The 6-foot-6 junior forward has accounted for 68 points and 29 rebounds in the last two games.

KHALID WATERS added 5 assists and 3 steals for the Foothillers, who also got 9 rebounds from JUSTIN RUTHERFORD.

Grossmont scoring: Ian Cochran 31, Khalid Waters 4, Michael Graham 4, Justin Rutherford 3, Richard Ogunsalu 3, Alex Chiappone 2.

BONITA VISTA 59, CHRISTIAN 48 -- Seems there is no stopping Christian High guard DANIEL HAZLETT these days. In each of his five starts, Hazlett has scored 21 points or more.

Hazlett scored 27 in Wednesday's (Dec. 20) Grossmont Winter Classic against Bonita Vista at Grossmont High, but once again, limited support from his teammates left the Patriots short against a decent Bonita Vista squad.

Included in his totals was 4 for 8 shooting from above the arc and 3 for 3 accuracy from the free throw line. The fact that Hazlett is averaging 26.4 points per game -- and everybody on the other teams are aware of that -- makes his achievements pretty impressive.

Christian continues to play without two of its top returning players, who are held in limbo pending San Diego Section CIF eligibility investigation. Christian is not the only school where the CIF continues to drag its feet to render a decision. It seems funny that the two Christian players were eligible a year ago without a problem.

"We hung around okay today. If we would have been able to rebound, we would have had a shot at this game," said Christian assistant coach ADAM COPP. "Their Stephen Shields just killed us on the glass."

Shields led the Barons with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Christian scoring: Daniel Hazlett 27, Jordan Graves 6, Kurt Metcalfe 4, Taylor Eichhorst 4, Brad Johnston 3, Danny Mitchell 2, Chris Camp 2.

CANYON CREST 71, SANTANA 42 -- Playing their 15th game of the season, almost twice as many as any other East County boys basketball team, the Santana Sultans appeared to be a little bit weary over the final three quarter of Wednesday's (Dec. 20) Grossmont Winter Classic game at Grossmont.

With 2½ minutes left in the first half, Santana was up 30-29, and Canyon Crest went on an 8-0 run.

The Ravens outscored the Sultans 27-11 in the third quarter, gaining two-thirds of those points on 6 three-pointers, and then flew away with their fourth win in nine decisions.

CHRIS SODERGREN delivered a double-double of 14 rebounds and 10 points for Santana (5-10). Freshman guard JESSE VARGAS hit a trio of 3's on his way to an 11-point outing, while TYLER BLACKLEDGE scored 13 points, collected 7 rebounds and dished 3 assists.

Santana scoring: Tyler Blackledge 13, Jesse Vargas 11, Chris Sodergren 10, Kevin Engelke 9, John Vasquez 5, Brett Romero 2, Blake Harper 2.

KEARNY 66, EL CAPITAN 36 -- The BARRETT BRAUN scoring show continued, as the 6-foot-3 junior poured in another 26 points in Wednesday's (Dec. 20) Sweetwater Holiday Prep Classic consolation loss to Kearny (5-3) at Sweetwater.

The Komets controlled a 22-7 first quarter lead and never looked back as they handed the Vaqueros their seventh loss in eight decisions.

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 26, Jeramie Carr 4, Michael Overson 2, Brooks Noble 2, Robert Vicaldo 2.

OTAY RANCH 84, EL CAJON VALLEY 31 -- Otay Ranch Holiday Tournament; No details reported.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Michael Holder 9, Chris Franco 6, Andrew Johnson 6, Lucas Stafford 5, Dejon Joy 5.

© East County Sports.com
NATIONAL CITY (12-20-06) -- El Capitan coach ROSS FURROW has been coaching basketball for more years than he can count. As a rule his teams have always found a way to compete for championships.

This year -- by his own admission -- he's starting from scratch.

"I have three freshmen in my starting lineup," Furrow noted. "This is no knock on the kids we have, but it's kind of like starting over. A lot of the players I thought we might have decided to play other sports."

One player, 6-foot-3 junior BARRETT BRAUN, has devoted his high school career to basketball. Braun was at his best in Tuesday's (Dec. 19) Sweetwater Holiday Classic.

Braun scored a career-high 38 points, hitting 13 of 20 shots from the field and 9 of 10 free throws to carry the Vaqueros to a 51-48 victory over High Tech High.

"He can score from anywhere," Furrow said of Braun. "He's a skillful player who has a nice stroke and can really shoot it. And he's only going to get better."

This is a refreshing change for El Capitan (1-6), which lost its first six games by an average margin of 32 points.

Braun's latest outing included hitting 3 of 5 from 3-point range and collecting a team-high 11 rebounds.

"If Barrett keeps working on his game, he should be a pretty darn good player by the time he's a senior."

The Vaqueros, who have several key players injured, welcomed the return of senior guard JERAMIE CARR, who suffered a separated shoulder a couple weeks back.

"Carr definitely helps us with our ball handling," Furrow said.

Another key player Furrow hopes to add to his lineup soon is 6-foot-3 sophomore JOHN MOLZEN. Molzen is recovering from a football injury.

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 38, Jeramie Carr 6, Brooks Noble 3, Jake Zawlacki 2, Robert Vicaldo 2.

GRANITE HILLS 75, CALEXICO 37 -- The Eagles hit of 10 of 20 three-point shots on their way to smoking Calexico in Tuesday's (Dec. 19) Otay Ranch Holiday Tournament at Otay Ranch High. It was the second time Granite Hills has beaten the Bulldogs, having won earlier this season by a score of 69-33.

The so-called rematch would have been even more lopsided had the fourth quarter not been played with a running clock.

Granite Hills will face Mission Bay for the tournament championship Wednesday (Dec. 20) night at 7:30 at Otay Ranch.

Granite Hills led 73-33 after three regulation quarters.

Three Eagles reached the 20 point scoring barrier. WAYNE MARTIN tallied 21 points -- all from 3-point range. DEAN MILLER was 8 for 8 from the free throw line on his way to a 21 point night, while BRIAN HUMPHRIES hit a pair of 3's and finished with 20 points.

Granite Hills dominated on the boards, with Miller and Humphries each collecting 12 caroms. As a team the Eagles claimed 22 offensive boards.

"We really crashed the boards hard," said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON. "And I thought we had real good team balance throughout our lineup."

Anderson also praised the work of Miller, who had a team-best 5 assists to go with his double-double.

"It was Dean's best all-around game," said Anderson .

Martin launched the offensive assault by hitting 4 treys in the first quarter as the Eagles assumed a 22-12 lead.

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 21, Wayne Martin 21, Brian Humphries 20, Nico Sanchez 7, Andrew Joslyn 4, Derick Edwards 2.

MONTE VISTA 70, CHRISTIAN 53 -- Jumping out to a rare fast start of 17-2 in the opening quarter, the Monarchs rolled past the short-handed Christian High Patriots in Tuesday's (Dec. 19) Grossmont Winter Classic at Grossmont.

JAMAR RANSOME, who was a pillar of strength for Monte Vista with 29 points and 11 rebounds, tallied 13 markers in the pivotal first quarter.

ROSHUN WYNNE and MIKE WATKINS each hit 3-point shots, helping the Monarchs jump on top 23-11.

"We haven't played well in the first quarter very often this year," said Monte Vista coach KEVIN MAHADY of his 4-4 Monarchs. "This is easily the best start we've had."

Ransome was deadly inside, as he connected on 10 of 14 shots and topped that off by netting 9 of 15 free throws.

"Ransome played big for us, just took over the game," Mahady said. Watkins was right behind with 13 points.

The Monarchs shot 55 percent from the field as a team. Wynne hit 4 of 8 for 9 points in addition to dealing 5 assists and recording 4 steals. BRANDON WILLIAMS missed only one of his 5 shots, for 8 points.

Mahady leads his Monarchs against Palmdale Wednesday (Dec. 20) morning at 10:30 in a consolation game.

"It should be fun," said Mahady, who coached at Palmdale last season.

DANIEL HAZLETT had another big game for Christian (2-3) with a career-high 31 points to lead them. Hazlett has scored 84 points in his last three games. He also had 5 steals and 5 rebounds against the Monarchs.

Monte Vista scoring: Jamar Ransome 29, Mike Watkins 13, Roshun Wynne 9, Brandon Williams 8, Alex Robinson 4, Trent Watkins 3, Eric Griffin 2, Ryan Houser 2.

Christian scoring: Daniel Hazlett 31, Brad Johnston 7, Jordan Graves 6, Danny Mitchell 4, Chris Camp 2, Kurt Metcalfe 2, Taylor Eichhorst 1.

MOUNT MIGUEL 74, OCEANSIDE 68 -- Although Granite Hills coach JAY ROWLETT was not sounding a trumpet, he has to be pleased that his Matadors are riding a four game winning streak into Wednesday (Dec. 20) night's Sweetwater Holiday Classic semifinal game.

COURTNEY WRATHER scored a season-high 25 points, plucked 4 rebounds, dished 3 assists and made 3 steals to lead the Matadors past the Pirates (6-2) in a run-and-gun affair.

"These teams are carbon copies of each other," said Rowlett, noting the up and down, wide-open offensive show. "The main thing for us is we played together.

Junior TRAVON CAPLES and senior LARON RUSH led Mount Miguel's supporting cast with 14 points apiece. Caples copped a team-best 10 rebounds.

Led by DEVYN MOORE's 4 for 4 at the line, Mount Miguel hit 14 of 16 free throws. Moore also chipped in 4 steals and 4 assists.

Wrather scored 17 of his points in the second half to help Mount Miguel gain a 43-35 offensive edge.

"Everybody had a hand in this thing," said Rowlett. "This is the best team we've beaten and the best win we've had so far."

Mount Miguel scoring: Courtney Wrather 25, Travon Caples 14, Laron Rush 14, Ahmaad Nunley 7, A.J. Stanford 6, OC Basey 4, Devyn Moore 4.

EL CAJON VALLEY 57, H-TOWN 40 -- DEJON JOY produced a critical double-double of 20 points, 10 rebounds and 7 steals as El Cajon Valley rallied from an 11-0 first-quarter deficit to hang H-Town in Tuesday's (Dec. 19) Otay Ranch Holiday Tournament at Otay Ranch High.

A major reason for the Braves' slow start was that none of their starters arrived at Otay Ranch prior to the opening tip.

"They said they couldn't find a ride," said a dismayed Braves coach NATE REED, who was forced to begin the game with five reserves.

Once the starters arrived and were filtered into the game, the Braves (3-5) began their comeback. But it took a 27-4 fourth quarter run before the Braves could overtake the T-Wolves.

MICHAEL HOLDER chipped in 12 points, 4 assists and 3 steals for the Braves, who also got 8 points, 10 rebounds and 8 steals from senior ANDREW JOHNSON. LUCAS STAFFORD tossed in 9 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.

"It was a good contribution from everybody tonight," said Reed. "I'm not happy with this game at all, but a win is a win."

El Cajon Valley scoring: Dejon Joy 20, Michael Holder 12, Lucas Stafford 9, Andrew Johnson 8, A.J. Ussery 5, Sivan Sulyman 3.

GROSSMONT 66, CANYON CREST 49 -- Six-foot-six junior IAN COCHRAN tossed in 37 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the host Foothillers past the Ravens (3-5) of Canyon Crest in Tuesday's (Dec. 19) Grossmont Winter Classic.

Included in Cochran's totals were six 3-point buckets and 5 for 5 from the free throw line.

Grossmont decided the issue in the second half by out-scoring the Ravens 38-23.

Connor Wilcox put on an amazing shooting exhibition for Canyon Crest by hitting nine 3-pointers.

Grossmont scoring: Ian Cochran 37, Justin Rutherford 13, Richard Ogunsalu 8, Khalid Waters 4, Alex Leon 2, Alex Chiappone 2.

RAMONA 54, SANTANA 49 -- The Sultans saw a 41-35 lead dissipate in the final quarter of Tuesday's (Dec. 19) Grossmont Winter Classic at Grossmont High as Santana fell to the Bulldogs (5-9).

"The fourth quarter turned the game around," said Santana coach TIM BARRY. "It's the third game we've lead in the fourth quarter and we've lost all three."

Santana lead by 10 points with 6 minutes left to play but couldn't maintain the advantage.

"We just fell apart," Barry said. "This is another sign of a young team. In the end we were trying to not lose instead of trying to win."

Sophomore KEVIN ENGELKE scored 15 points to top the Sultans, while senior JOHN VASQUEZ added a dozen markers. TYLER BLACKLEDGE pitched in 7 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, and freshman point guard JESSE VARGAS added 6 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and made 3 steals.

Santana scoring: Kevin Engelke 15, John Vasquez 12, Tyler Blackledge 7, Jesse Vargas 6, Chris Sodergren 5, Kyle Salzman 4.

UNIVERSITY CITY 56, VALHALLA 20 -- The Norsemen's injury list swelled while its losing streak increased to four during Tuesday's (Dec. 19) Sweetwater Holiday Classic at Sweetwater High.

Already obligated without injured starters KEVIN KRIEBEL and AUSTIN SUHAY due to ankle injuries, coach KEITH JACKSON must have been horrified when he saw RUFFY BACONG go down with an ankle injury and MIKE ESPINOZA hurt his thumb. Bacong and Espinoza are the guys who replaced Kriebel and Suhay in the first place.

To make matters even more aggravating, the Norsemen (3-5) drew the early morning call in Wednesday's (Dec. 20) tournament action against Weber , Alberta , Canada at 8:30 a.m. at Sweetwater.

Jackson is hopeful that both Bacong and Espinoza will play in this game as Valhalla's offense has almost come to a standstill.

The Norsemen were never in the game against University City , trailing 34-6 at halftime.

"We got out-rebounded. We worked for the shots we wanted, we just didn't finish them," said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. "We didn't have a good game today. We had a hard time taking care of the ball."

Brooks Dougherty hit 5 three-pointers on his way to a 23 point finish for U.C.

Valhalla scoring: Mike Espinoza 6, Rod Fakhoury 4, Travis Foelsch 5, Aahron Mims 2, Ruffy Bacong 2, Jorge Serna 1.

© East County Sports.com
OTAY MESA (12-19-06) -- Junior BRIAN HUMPHRIES turned in his finest performance of the season for Granite Hills, leading the Eagles to an impressive 63-49 victory over the host Mustangs on Monday's (Dec. 18) first round of the Otay Ranch Holiday Tournament at Otay Ranch.

The 6-foot-4 Humphries scored 34 points, bagged 10 rebounds, blocked 3 shots and made 3 steals to carry the Eagles to their sixth win in seven starts. Humphries was an offensive model of balance. He scored 9 points in the first quarter, 10 in the second, 7 in the third and 8 in the fourth.

Humphries hit 10 of 13 shots from the field and all 3 attempts from beyond the arc. He capped his big night by making 11 of 14 free throws.

"He was dominating inside and posted up really well against their 6-6 and 6-5 guys," said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON.

Anderson agreed it was Humphries' best all-around game of the season.

"Well, the main thing about Brian is he's been steady every game," Anderson said.

Granite Hills jumped out to an 11-2 lead and was never seriously threatened thereafter.

"We were making a point to run our offense well," Anderson said. "We used every second of the shot clock and then managed to take a good shot."

Granite Hills made 8 of 14 shots from beyond the arc, and made 48 percent of 42 shots overall.

DEAN MILLER added 12 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists for the Eagles, who also got 10 points from WAYNE MARTIN and 7 rebounds from DERICK EDWARDS.

Granite Hills scoring: Brian Humphries 34, Dean Miller 12, Wayne Martin 10, Andrew Joslyn 7.

BURROUGHS (Ridgecrest) 55, MONTE VISTA 48 -- It took the Monarchs until the second half to get their offense in stride against the visiting Burroughs of Ridgecrest in Monday's (Dec. 18) Grossmont Winter Classic at Grossmont High.

Monte Vista (3-4) gained a 31-26 second half scoring advantage, but it was not enough to overcome a 12 points first half deficit.

"We got down early and had to scrap our way back. It's been a problem for us," said Monte Vista coach KEVIN MAHADY. "We got back into it but couldn't get over the hump."

Senior guard ROSHUN WYNNE was a shining light for the Monarchs, with 16 points and a trio of 3's. He also dished 5 assists and made 3 steals.

"Wynne is having a really strong tournament," said Mahady. "He's strong on both ends."

JAMAR RANSOME did not have a stellar shooting night but contributed 12 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 assists for Monte Vista.

Monte Vista's MIKE WATKINS landed a pair of 3-point shots and totaled 12 points for the game.

Monte Vista scoring: Roshun Wynne 16, Mike Watkins 12, Jamar Ransome 12, Brandon Williams 8.

SAN DIEGUITO ACADEMY 69, SANTANA 62 -- In an up-tempo game the Sultans and Mustangs were deadlocked at 32-all after the first quarter of Monday's (Dec. 18) Grossmont Winter Classic at Grossmont.

Scoring was not a problem for the Sultans (5-8), who recorded their second-highest offensive output of the season.

Stopping San Dieguito's Tolan Shaw was another problem, as the Mustangs' high-flying guard tallied 33 points -- 14 in the fourth quarter. What had to burn the Sultans even more was that Shaw scored 6 of his points from the free throw line in the final period.

"I thought we had a good effort in the first half," said Santana coach TIM BARRY. "We played well in the third quarter but we played halfcourt defense in the fourth quarter. We need to get some time in the gym and get some practice in."

Freshman guard JESSE VARGAS was Santana's top gun with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. The majority of Vargas' points came on his trio of 3-pointers. He also converted 6 of 8 free throws.

Sophomore KEVIN ENGELKE also had a 15 point scoring night, while sophomore CHRIS SODERGREN coined a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Not to be overlooked was TYLER BLACKLEDGE, who pitched in 9 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.

Santana scoring: Jesse Vargas 15, Kevin Engelke 15, Chris Sodergren 10, Tyler Blackledge 9, Kyle Salzman 7, Ryan Garlin 2, Blake Harper 2, Anthony DeBarrows 2.

MOUNT MIGUEL 59, PREUSS 33 -- Both teams trudged out of the starting gate in Monday's (Dec. 18) Sweetwater Holiday Classic, with the Matadors gaining a 7-2 lead after the first eight minutes.

Mount Miguel turned up the heat in the second quarter with an 18-9 rush, but was unable to seal the victory before outscoring the Tritons 19-3 in the final period.

"We should get a better test tonight when we play Oceanside ," said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT, whose Matadors face the Pirates Tuesday (Dec. 19) at 8:30 at Sweetwater.

Sophomore AHMAAD NUNLEY hit a pair of 3-pointers on his way to sharing high-point honors with the Matadors TRAVON CAPLES at 14 apiece.

Mount Miguel scoring: Ahmaad Nunley 14, Travon Caples 14, Laron Rush 10, Courtney Wrather 10, A.J. Stanford 6, Matt Miles 3, J.J. Norton 2.

MOUNT MIGUEL 69, GOMPERS 34 -- Even though the Matadors could use a victory, this was hardly a challenge as Mount Miguel marched to a 35-12 over Gompers in a non-league game at Sweetwater.

On the positive side for the Matadors (4-3) was they achieved balanced scoring, as six players scored 6 points or more.

Freshman A.J. STANFORD set the pace with 14 points, including 4 for 4 shooting from the free throw line.

Mount Miguel scoring: A.J. Stanford 14, Travon Caples 13, Courtney Wrather 12, Laron Rush 8, OC Basey 8, Arthur Hobbs 7, Ahmaad Nunley 4, J.J. Norton 3.

MT. CARMEL 51, VALHALLA 43 -- The short-handed Norsemen (3-4) suffered their third straight loss in Monday's (Dec. 18) Sweetwater Holiday Classic at Sweetwater.

Despite playing without two starters, the Norsemen managed to make a game of it. What they could not do was overcome an 18-10 first quarter deficit. That eight-minute stanza proved to be the difference in the game.

" Mt. Carmel (6-1) was so much bigger than us," Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON said. "They had us down 18-7 in the final seconds of the first quarter until sophomore ROD FAKHOURY hit a halfcourt 3-point shot at the buzzer. After that we played them even."

TRAVIS FOELSCH rolled a double-double for Valhalla of 11 points and 11 rebounds. AAHRON MIMS grabbed a team-leading 12 rebounds.

Senior MIKE ESPINOZA -- filling in for injured starters KEVIN KRIEBEL and AUSTIN SUHAY, both sidelined with ankle sprains -- popped in 11 points, including a pair of threes. Junior RUFFY BACONG, also pressed into starting duty, came up with 9 points and a pair of threes.

"We had match-up problems all night," Jackson said. "But our kids played hard the whole way through."

Valhalla scoring: Travis Foelsch 11, Mike Espinoza 11, Ruffy Bacong 9, Aahron Mims 5, Rod Fakhoury 5, Jorge Serna 2.

CLAIREMONT 51, GROSSMONT 44 -- The Foothillers and visiting Chieftains were knotted at 32-all after three quarters of Monday's (Dec. 18) Grossmont Winter Classic contest.

But it was Clairemont that finished strong at the wire.

"They played better than we did and made their shots down the stretch," said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. "Clairemont made 8 of 10 free throws in the fourth quarter."

IAN COCHRAN paced the Hillers (3-4) with 16 points. JUSTIN RUTHERFORD added 13 points and RICHARD OGUNSALU popped in 10.

"It was a tightly played struggle throughout the first three quarters, then they opened it up in the fourth quarter and we did not respond very well," Foggiano said.

Grossmont scoring: Ian Cochran 16, Justin Rutherford 13, Richard Ogunsalu 10, Khalid Waters 5.

FRANCIS PARKER 74, CHRISTIAN 15 -- A depleted band of Patriots were no match in Monday's (Dec. 18) Grossmont Winter Classic contest against the Lancers at Grossmont High.

With two players held in limbo pending a decision by the San Diego CIF hierarchy, and an in-season injury to long-range shooter DANIEL HAZLETT, the Patriots were left all but defenseless against powerful Parker.

Parker led 40-10 at halftime and it only got worse from there.

DANNY MITCHELL, quarterback of Christian's Division V section champions, paced the Patriots (2-2) with 8 points and 4 rebounds.

Christian scoring: Danny Mitchell 8, Kurt Metcalfe 3, Michael Stowers 2, Taylor Eichhorst 1, Brad Johnston 1.

CASTLE PARK 72, EL CAPITAN 40 -- It was more of the same for the Vaqueros -- BARRETT BRAUN against the world -- in Monday's (Dec. 18) Sweetwater Holiday Classic action at National City's Sweetwater High.

Braun cashed in 11 of 14 free throws on his way to a team-leading 24 points for the Vaqueros (0-6).

The Trojans jumped on the Vaqueros early on to take a 22-9 first-quarter lead. A 24-9 scoring burst in the third quarter put the game on ice for Castle Park .

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 24, Jake Zawlacki 7, Robert Vicaldo 4, Brooks Noble 3, Brian Deuel 2.

MAR VISTA 80, EL CAJON VALLEY 58 -- The Braves slumped to 2-5 as they fell to Mar Vista in Monday’s (Dec. 18) opening round of the Otay Ranch Holiday Tournament in South Bay . No other details were reported.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Dejon Joy 21, Lucas Stafford 9, Michael Holder 6, Shivan Sulyman 6, Chris Chambers 6, Chris Franco 5, A.J. Ussery 5.

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RED BLUFF (12-16-06) -- For eight years the Helix Highlanders have dribbled their way through the Red Bluff Christmas Tournament in this small Northern California mountain community.

This year was a little more special than the previous seven, as the Highlanders (7-1) brought home a championship after executing a three-game sweep that ended with Saturday night's (Dec. 16) double-overtime 66-62 victory over Pleasant Valley.

"We are still trying to put our game together, and to come up here and win this thing against quality competition is a real plus," said Helix assistant coach ANDY MERIDETH.

Claiming the gold did not come easy. The Highlanders trailed by five with 30 seconds left in regulation.

That's where senior guard LAWRENCE HURDLE stepped in. Hurdle hit a three-pointer and nailed a pair of free throws with one second left to send the game into overtime.

Hurdle, who was named to the all-tournament team along with senior center DAVID JEFFERSON, was Mr. Clutch throughout the two four-minute overtime periods as well.

A pair of Hurdle free throws with six seconds left in the first extra stanza left the game tied at 59-all.

Hurdle then scored the final four points of the evening when he broke a 62-62 tie with a free throw with 20 seconds left and then executed a three-point-play with three seconds remaining.

"This was a great bounce back game for Lawrence," Merideth said. "Every time we needed a big play he was there for us."

Hurdle finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.

Jefferson, who was matched up against a 7-footer, scored a team-high 18 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished 2 assists and made 2 steals.

Senior guard BRANDON FOUNTAIN, also worthy of all-tourney recognition, turned in a solid game of 13 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.

Helix was deadly from the free throw line, hitting 21 of 30 attempts, Jefferson connected on 10 of 12 chances and Fountain made 5 of 7. Hurdle was 3 for 4.

Helix scoring: David Jefferson 18, Lawrence Hurdle 17, Brandon Fountain 13, Donnie McGowan 9, Kareem Abukar 8, Tyonte Hosley 1.

CHRISTIAN 46, SANTANA 43 -- One thing about games played at 9 o'clock in the morning. Nobody seems to want to be there. Including the officials.

These two teams were asked to open Saturday's (Dec. 16) Grossmont Winter Classic at 9 a.m. and managed to put on an interesting show.

The two teams combined for 14 three-points and there were only 9 fouls called in the game that wasn't decided until the final seconds.

"We made a nice comeback and held on at the end to win it," said Christian coach KEN BAILEY.

DANIEL HAZLETT led the Patriots (1-2) with 27 points. The Patriots guard -- who has scored 53 points in his last two games -- hit 5 of 7 from above the arc against Santana.

"Hazlett is our go-to guy since the Lithuanian boys aren't yet certified to play, said Bailey. "These other kids are stepping up and doing a good job for us. We are very pleased with DANNY MITCHELL, coming off the success of the football team. He hit the opening 3-pointer of the game, and that's the one that made the difference."

Christian was up 46-41 in the last minute of the game. Santana stole the ball and scored to bring it to 46-43. Santana's defense forced Hazlett to take an off-balance shot that bounced off.

Santana grabbed the rebound and got the ball downcourt to JESSE VARGAS who missed on a 3-point effort. CHRIS SODERGREN got the rebound and passed the ball out to JOHN VASQUEZ whose last second 3 bounced off the rim at the buzzer.

TYLER BLACKLEDGE led Santana with 17 points and 10 rebounds. He hit a pair of threes, as did Vargas. Vasquez led the Sultans with a trio of threes. Sodergren had 8 rebounds for the Sultans.

"It was quite a battle, a very physical game," said Santana coach TIM BARRY. "We came out and traded baskets back and forth. "Christian is a fine team, the game was like an old-fashioned 3-point shoot-out."

Christian scoring: Daniel Hazlett 27, Danny Mitchell 5, Taylor Eichhorst 4, Brad Johnston 4, Gabe Cecena 2, Kurt Metcalfe 2, Jordan Graves 2.

Santana scoring: Tyler Blackledge 17, John Vasquez 9, Jesse Vargas 8, Anthony DeBarrows 5, Brett Romero 2, Kevin Engelke 2.

MONTE VISTA 75, MORSE 67 -- Watch for these Monte Vista Monarchs.

While hardly headline news, Monte Vista has quietly put together three wins in its last four starts, including a free-wheeling scoring fest against Morse Saturday (Dec. 16) in the Grossmont Winter Classic opener at Grossmont High.

It was a come-from-behind effort by the Monarchs (3-3), who trailed 21-10 early in the second quarter.

"It took us a while, but we finally got our transition game going in the second quarter," Monte Vista KEVIN MAHADY said.

Monte Vista's three-prong scoring machine was pumping at full speed after the sluggish start. JAMAR RANSOME showed the way with 25 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists and a pair of steals.

BRANDON WILLIAMS added 20 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals for the Monarchs, who also received 16 points, 8 assists, 6 steals and 6 rebounds from ROSHUN WYNNE.

"When those three guys are clicking we are a pretty good team," Mahady said.

Together that trio shot 50 percent from the field.

Monte Vista scoring: Jamar Ransome 25, Brandon Williams 20, Roshun Wynne 16, Mike Watkins 7, Geoff Hartman 5, Ryan Houser 3.

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 92, LUTHERAN 47 -- Those expecting to stop Foothills Christian freshman TROY LEAF with a specialized defense had better think again.

Lutheran played a box-and-one in an attempt to stop Leaf. They got the job half done as Leaf finished with 19 points, which is below his season average.

Still, the Knights (6-3) erupted for 64 points in the first half and continued to a lopsided win that included a running clock in the fourth quarter of the

Citrus South League opener at Granite Hills.

While Lutheran's focus was on Leaf, BRANDON HALE went wild. The 6-foot-3 sophomore tallied 40 points, which included hitting 8 three-pointers. Hale scored 27 points in the first half onslaught.

"We started incredibly slow, the score was 9-8 and (coach) BRAD (LEAF) called a timeout," said Foothills assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. "He really reamed them, and after that Brandon really got the team going.

" Brandon was open all day. They tried to take away one of our weapons and he wasn't the one who was shooting."

KALOB HATCHER, a freshman point guard, dished out a school-record 16 assists, while recording 7 steals and pitching in 22 points. Leaf added 7 assists, 7 steals and collected 6 rebounds.

Foothills Christian scoring: Brandon Hale 40, Kalob Hatcher 22, Troy Leaf 19, David Carter 6, Ronnie Richards 2, Andrew Atia 2, Nick Duenez 1.

STEELE CANYON 76, BORREGO SPRINGS 41 -- The drought is over for the Steele Canyon Cougars, who finally broke into the win column after seven straight losses in Saturday's (Dec. 16) Kiwanis Tournament at Mission Bay.

Twelve Cougars contributed to scoring in the win, which was decided by halftime as Steele Canyon was cruising 48-23.

Sophomore ZANE KEITH came off the SC bench to bury four 3-pointers to pace the Cougars with 12 points. Senior TONY MINNIFIELD added 11 points and 8 rebounds playing only in the first half.

JEBARI ROBINSON did most of his court time in the first half, totaling 8 points and 6 assists for his trouble. CAMERON MOSS, another sophomore, played most of the second half and powered in 6 points while corralling 8 rebounds.

"This was a much needed win," Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN said. "We picked up our shooting over what we'd done in past games."

The Cougars canned 10 of 26 shots from three-point range.

Steele Canyon scoring: Zane Keith 12, Tony Minnifield 11, Jake Ransom 9, Elige Carter 8, Jebari Robinson 8, Arlin Taylor 6, Riley Balikian 6, Cameron Moss 6, Tim Orange 4, Josiah Smith 3, Casey Gayton 2, Charles Dye 1.

FAIRVIEW (COLO) 53, GROSSMONT 32 -- It was a long night for the Grossmont Foothillers in Saturday's (Dec. 16) opening round of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

Visiting Fairview High of Boulder, Colo., streaked to a 16-7 first-quarter lead and never looked back. The Knights (5-0) led 43-22 after three quarters.

Grossmont scoring: Ian Cochran 11, Richard Ogunsalu 10, Justin Rutherford 8, Michael Graham 3.

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RED BLUFF (12-16-06) -- Helix High senior BRANDON FOUNTAIN is known for his defensive expertise. The 6-foot g