© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-30-07) -- Every San Marcos High player and coach knew exactly which Granite Hills players to defend with the championship on the line in Saturday's (Dec. 29) Granite Hills Holiday Tournament finale.

Tied at 61-all and both teams strategizing during a late timeout, the Knights came on the court and all pointed at Granite Hills stalwarts DEAN MILLER and WAYNE MARTIN -- they definitely knew where the potent Eagles duo were on the court.

"We knew they'd be looking for Dean and Wayne," pointed out guard KYLE SNYDER, one of the three other Eagles on the court. "We knew whoever had the ball, the San Marcos defense would collapse on them."

So Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON scripted a play just for the scenario -- and it worked to perfection.

With three Knights looking to sandwich Miller as he started to drive down the lane, the Eagles seniors had two wide-open options to kick the ball out to. Miller, being right-handed, took the easier route and whipped the ball to Snyder in the left corner of the court.

For Snyder, just call it the first in his TOM BRADY-like list of accomplishments, draining a deep 3-pointer with 6.0 seconds to play, lifting Granite Hills to the tournament title in a dramatic 64-61 triumph. The decision avenges a 75-65 loss to San Marcos on Dec. 3.

"I made a buzzer-beater to end the third quarter earlier in the week," admitted Snyder, a sophomore who averages just under 3 points per game -- usually on treys. "But this is my first game-winning basket."

Snyder may not look like a shooter with his flat-top hair and goggles across his eyes. However, he looked great while accepting the championship trophy to hold high for the postgame team picture.

"They dominated us the first time we played," noted Snyder. "But the reason we won this time was because we finally kept them from getting a ton of offensive rebounds. Along with Dean and Wayne 's scoring, it was IAN BIRMINGHAM, AARON HARRIS and LANDON TURLEY grabbing a bunch of rebounds for us."

"I only made one shot."

Miller's pass to the corner hit Snyder's hands perfectly in front of his chest. The sophomore, completely in rhythm, squared up and calmly sank his high-arching shot, allowing the Eagles to rally from a 9-point deficit.

"We practice that every day in practice," Snyder added. "All I had to do was hit a wide-open shot."

San Marcos guard Ryan Dipinto led all scorers with 27 points, including five treys. However, his final attempt at the buzzer to force overtime landed short off the front of the rim.

Interestingly, Granite Hills limited its shooting from the beyond the arc in the fourth period to grab the lead, while San Marcos was shooting blanks (0-for-7 on treys in the final quarter).

Included was a layin by Birmingham for a 59-57 lead with 1:48 to play, then after the Knights re-tied it, Martin connected on a baseline jumper with 1:10 left.

Zach Ramirez, who beat the Eagles in the teams' first meeting with his foul shooting, answered with a short-range jumper with 38 seconds left to setup Snyder's heroics.

Miller paced the Eagles with 23 points and 9 rebounds, while Martin finished with 20 points and 4 assists. Harris kept Granite Hills close early with 9 of his 12 rebounds in the first half.

For San Marcos, French exchange student Adrien Briens recorded 16 points and a game-best 14 boards. Included were 9 points in the first period for a 22-16 lead, then Dipinto tallied 14 points of his team's 17 points in the second quarter for a 39-37 halftime advantage.

Both teams own 10-4 records.

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 23 (9 reb.), Wayne Martin 20, Kyle San Nicolas 6, Vicente Stafford 5, Aaron Harris 4 (12 reb.), Kyle Snyder 3, Clint Davis 3.

GROSSMONT 59, HELIX 44 – This inter-school rivalry is the longest on the East County books. Through the years some of the pump and circumstance has waned. What is left in the flickering rivalry centers mostly around football and alumni from both schools.

Nonetheless, Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO, a starting point guard for the Foothillers in the late 1960s, takes a touch more satisfaction when his team knocks off Helix, coached by Highlanders alum and former basketball player JOHN SINGER.

"Anytime you beat Helix it’s special,” said Foggiano, whose Foothillers claimed a 19-2 first quarter lead in Saturday’s (Dec. 29) third place game in the Spartan Classic at Chula Vista High. “Being a graduate of Grossmont makes it a bigger deal. My kids know a win like this is important to me. I’m sure Singer feels the same way.”

Singer, who no doubt clearly owns the upper hand in his battles with Grossmont over the past three decades, was hardly distraught by the latest outcome.

“They are a better team than us right now,” Singer said. “Give them credit, they dominated the game.”

All-tourney pick IAN COCHRAN paced Grossmont (7-6) with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Banged up RICHARD OGUNSALU, who was nursing a sore ankle, garnered 14 points and 10 boards. Guards KHALID WATERS and MICHAEL GRAHAM combined for 20 points, 9 steals, 6 assists and 6 rebounds.

“The high point for us is Richard and Khalid played hard even though they were hurting,” said Foggiano, noting that Waters has a deep thigh bruise.

Equally as impressive was senior guard MICHAEL GRAHAM, who contributed 11 points and 5 steals.

“Graham caused havoc out there,” Foggiano said. “He got some key steals shooting the passing lane, generally disrupted Helix’s offense.” Graham also landed a pair of 3-pointers.

ANDRAY JACKSON led Helix (6-6) with 12 points. Over his last two appearances, Jackson has connected on 10 of 11 shots from the floor. Outside of his 6-for-7 marksmanship against Grossmont, the Highlanders netted just 9 of 38 chances (.237 percent).

Grossmont hosts Helix in a rematch on Wednesday, Jan. 9. Action tips off on the Foothillers’ floor at 6 p.m.

Grossmont scoring: Ian Cochran 22, Richard Ogunsalu 14, Michael Graham 11 (3 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl), Khalid Waters 9 (3 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Alex Leon 2 (6 reb), Drew Forehand 1.

Helix scoring: Andray Jackson 12, Dimitar Topalov 10, Donald McGowan 4, Levine Toilolo 4 (7 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Joubert Ballard 3, Derrall Chandler 3, Red Narcisse 3 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Patrick Winston 2, Terrance Cole 2, Anthony Diaz 1.

CHRISTIAN 60, SANTA FE CHRISTIAN 53 – Christian High coach KELVIN STARR and SFC’s coach CHAD BICKLEY were basketball teammates at Christian Heritage College a few years back.

That provided a little extra spice when Starr’s Patriots and Bickley’s Eagles (8-4) tangled in Saturday’s (Dec. 29) third place game of the Tri-City Christian Holiday Tournament.

“Chad was a great (3-point) shooter and I’m not surprised that he is also a very fine coach,” Starr said. “He devised a great game plan against us.”

Santa Fe Christian surrounded Christian’s 6-foot-8 all-tourney pick VANDER JOAQUIM with triple coverage, and ran a Box-and one against Patriots senior guard DANIEL HAZLETT.

Joaquim, who clicked on 47 of 68 shots from the field in four tournament games, was limited to 14 shots by SFC. The native of Angola still managed to produce 22 points, corral 19 rebounds and block 7 shots.

Hazlett was only 5-for-12 from the floor, but three of his bull’s-eyes were 3-pointers and part of a 16-point night. He also put through 3 of 4 free throws and handed out three assists.

The swing vote in the game was supplied by Christian sophomore MANNY WALKER, who tallied 12 points and made a pair of key steals.

“Manny came up big for us,” Starr said.

Clinging to a one-point lead in the final minute, the Patriots got a steal by Walker that led the underclassman to the free throw line where he converted two free throws. Walker made a second theft and passed to Joaquim, who drew a foul and made the first of two charity shots. Walker rebounded that miss and tacked on a free throw to close out the victory.

Christian scoring: Vander Joaquim 22, Daniel Hazlett 16, Manny Walker 12, Taylor Eichhorst 6, Andrew Sexton 2, Brad Johnston 2.

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 83, VILLAGE CHRISTIAN 64 – Sophomore guard TROY LEAF – an All-Tournament pick – was at the top of his game, hitting 14 of 19 shots from the field and 3 free throws for a game-high 34 points as the Knights nailed the Village people in Saturday’s (Dec. 29) final round of the Above the Rim Tournament at Cathedral Catholic.

In spite of all the maladies that have stalked the Knights (10-4) of late, this game was vintage Foothills Christian basketball. The Knights hit 33 of 58 shots from the floor (57 percent), including 9 of 19 attempts from beyond the arc.

As perfect as the results may sound, Village Christian (4-10) grabbed an early 14-5 lead. That seemed to raise the Knights’ ire. ZACH KAUL was the driving force behind the Foothills Christian rally. He nailed a 3-ball and then made 2 steals and accompanying assists that setup KALOB HATCHER and Leaf for 3-pointers.

Suddenly, Foothills Christian was on top 18-14 and in total control.

“We had 8 steals in the 1st quarter, including 4 by Hatcher and 3 by Kaul,” Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGH said.

Foothills finished with 17 steals in the game, with Hatcher’s 7 thefts leading the way.

The Knights led 48-27 by intermission and 70-30 after three quarters.

“Our press caused many turnovers in the middle quarters and that was basically the end of this game,” said McHugh.

BRANDON HALE'S 9 points against Village Christian gave him 805 for his career, which is 2nd only to Leaf’s 1,152 points in Foothills Christian’s brief school history.

“We finished our tournaments 10-3 this year, which is pretty impressive knocking off 2 Division I schools (Otay Ranch and Mission Hills), one Division II school (West Hills), Division III St. Augustine twice, Division IV (Christian and Army-Navy) and whatever Burroughs and Village Christian happen to be,” McHugh said.

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 34 (5 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Aaron Hale 14 (5 reb, 5 blk, 3 stl, 2 ast), Brandon Hale 9 (4 reb), Zach Kaul 9 (4 stl, 5 ast), Andrew Atia 2 (2 reb), Kalob Hatcher 14 (11 ast, 7 ast, 3 reb), Travis George 1.

PACIFIC HILLS 64, MONTE VISTA 63 – A long day for the Monarchs began with an unusual opening quarter in Saturday’s (Dec. 29) first game of a double-header in the

Torrey Pines Classic, Governor’s Cup division at Rancho Bernardo.

During the first 8 minutes the Bruins of Pacific Hills pulled out to a 31-28 advantage. That scoring fest computes to one point scored every 8.14 seconds.

Things calmed down after the rapid-fire 1st period.

The Monarchs were on the verge of earning a victory but missed a chance to clinch the win as they misfired on two free throw attempts with 7 seconds remaining.

That left the door open for Pacific Hills (6-7), which gobbled up the rebound and raced downcourt to nail an 18-footer from the right corner at the buzzer and win the game.

Geoff Hartman put together another solid game for the Monarchs, converting 10 of 17 shots from the field on his way to a 26-point outing. Hartman also hogged 9 rebounds, blocked 3 shots and dished 3 assists.

Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 26 (9 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk), Mike Watkins 8 (2 stl), Trent Watkins 7 (5 reb), Kris Galloway 7 (4 reb, 2 stl), Ryan Houser 6 (6 reb), Chris Jones 3 (2 ast), Alex Robinson 2, Anthony Bell 2 (4 reb), Tony Jackson 2 (4 reb).

PONDEROSA 56, MONTE VISTA 28 – With only 15 minutes allotted between games, the Monarchs could hardly catch their breath before the tip-off of the second game Saturday (Dec. 29) at Rancho Bernardo

This is not baseball, my friends. This is end to end physical exertion. While Ponderosa of Shingle Springs was going through routine pregame warm-ups, the Monarchs were switching uniforms.

It didn’t take long to see that Monte Vista (5-8) was out of gas and were no match for the Bruins (11-2). Ponderosa outscored the Monarchs in all four quarters. No one on the Monte Vista squad scored in double digits, although GEOFF HARTMAN managed to net half of his 8 field goal attempts for a team-best 8 points.

ANTHONY BELL hit 3 of 5 from the floor for 7 points.

“We started the same group as the first game,” said Monarchs coach JAMES CARROLL. “I was going to rest some of our players during the game and give everybody a lot of playing time. This was a back-to-back game experiment that just didn’t work.”

“You could just see the players get tired as the game went on and their legs all just tightened up.

Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 8, Anthony Bell 7, Chris Jones 5, Mike Watkins 2, Trent Watkins 2, Kris Galloway 2, Tony Jackson 2.

WEST HILLS 47, EC SOUTHWEST 38 – Considering the Wolf Pack began the season with five straight losses, veteran coach JEFF ARMSTRONG and his squad have to be pleased to be sitting on a 6-8 mark following the holiday tournaments.

The Wolf Pack won 3 out of 4 and captured the 3rd place trophy at the Aztec Holiday Invitational at Montgomery by knocking off El Centro Southwest in Saturday’s (Dec. 29) final round.

The final game was decided in the 4th quarter as the Wolf Pack dominated the Eagles 18-10. CHASE SENTER scored 8 of his 15 points in the final stanza and sank 2 key treys.

West Hills led 36-31 with a little more than 2 minutes left. As the Pack worked the clock to perfection, Senter hit a 3-pointer at the shot clock buzzer that extended West Hills’ advantage to 8 points.

GARRETT CABRAL took over from there, scoring 7 of the Pack’s last 8 points.

“The key was our defense – the kids were inspired and it’s fun to watch them when they’re focused and communicating, helping each other,” Armstrong said. “We held (the Eagles) to 22 points over the last three quarters.”

“KYLE NAVARRE has been a key thread to our defensive success of late,” Armstrong noted.

West Hills kingpin TIM NOWLIN produced another double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team. He clicked on 6 of 11 shots inside the paint, dished 3 assists and made 2 steals.

West Hills scoring: Chase Senter 15, Tim Nowlin 15, Garrett Cabral 7 (5 stl), Ryan Bozelle 6, Lucas Armstrong 2 (6 ast, 3 reb), Kyle McLaughlin 2 (2 blk), Ashur Gelyana (2 reb.)

EL CENTRO-CENTRAL 66, VALHALLA 65 – The Norsemen are kind of the East County wild card – sort of a mystery team. When the season tipped off, Valhalla was basically a forgotten lot.

While it is true that the Norsemen feature a wide-angle photo of new faces, this is a team that is beginning to mesh and may make waves in the Grossmont South League race.

“We haven’t played our best game yet,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. “We are kinda on the bubble. I think we could have gotten this one today with a couple of defensive rebounds. We made some mental errors.”

With 7 seconds left the Norsemen had the ball with a chance to win Saturday’s (Dec. 29) Granite Hills Holiday Tournament game, but missed a shot at the buzzer.

Despite the disappointing loss there was some sparkle to Valhalla ’s latest outing.

Sophomore KYLE KRIEBEL scored a career-high 20 points and crashed the boards for 16 rebounds for the Norsemen (8-5). Kriebel netted 8 of 13 shots from the field and 4 of 6 free throws.

Junior playmaker AUSTEN SUHAY pitched in 19 points, giving him 80 markers in his last four starts. He also had 4 steals and, at 5-11, blocked 2 shots.

EV ALCANTAR doesn’t take a whole lot of shots, but when he does they’re usually on target. Alcantar has a preference for the long ball and converted a trio of treys against Central Union.

“We made a good run at the start (19-10) then they crept back into it,” said Jackson.

“We came out really good out of the gate – we were hot but didn’t finish our shots. We got into some turnover problems in the 2nd half.”

With the start of Grossmont Conference crossover action only a week ahead, Jackson is confident.

“Where we are right now with a young team we are still in pretty good shape,” he added.

Valhalla scoring: Kyle Kriebel 20, 2 blk, 2 stl), Austen Suhay 19 (2 reb, 4 stl, 2 ast), EV Alcantar 9, Trevor Cahoon 7 (3 reb), Josh Austel 4, Damaine Bradshaw 2 (4 reb, 2 stl, 3 ast), David Zetts 2 (2 reb), Derek White 2, Alex Merutka (2 blk, 3 stl).

STEELE CANYON 74, MATER DEI 50 – A dozen Cougars scored as Steele Canyon equaled its season-best point production in Saturday’s (Dec. 29) final day of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic.

ELIJAH CARTER, who was chosen to the All-Tournament Team, paced the Cougars with 12 points – half of them coming on 3-point bombs.

JOSIAH SMITH pitched in with 10 points, while JEBARI ROBINSON added 9.

“We told the team to just forget about records and just concentrate on one game at a time,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS.

Steele Canyon (4-9) led 33-16 by the break and then unleashed a 29-point scoring burst in the 3rd period to break the game open.

“We played exceptional defense today, especially in the 1st half,” Stephens said. “We spread the scoring load around to the whole team. Every player contributed to the total team effort.”

Steele Canyon scoring: Elijah Carter 12, Josiah Smith 10, Jebari Robinson 9, Cameron Moss 8, Jake Ransom 8, Stephen Howell 7, Riley Balikian 5, Zane Keith 5, Casey Gayton 4, Jeff Reid 3, Castor 2, Alex Robinson 1.

MOUNT MIGUEL 79, LEDUC (Canada) 44 – Host Mount Miguel blazed out to a 22-4 first quarter lead over the Canadians in Saturday’s (Dec. 29) last round of the Granite Hills Holiday Tournament.

BRAD BARRETT canned 24 points and TRAVON CAPLES coined a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds to spark the Matadors (9-4) to their third straight victory and 4th in five starts.

“Caples was active on the boards,” said Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT. “Barrett was in foul trouble but did well while he was in there. DEVYN MOORE played great defense, as usual.”

“Once again we started off playing defense right away,” Rowlett added. “We played defense very well, especially in the 1st half (when the Matadors built a 39-15 lead.”

Mount Miguel scoring: Brad Barrett 24, Travon Caples 16, Arthur Hobbs 10 (4 ast, 4 stl), Matt Miles 8, AJ Stanford 7, JJ Norton 6, Charles Graves 6 (5 reb), Devyn Moore 2 (4 ast).

EL DORADO 56, EL CAPITAN 35 – The slumping Vaqueros, who have played the last three games without starter JON MOLZEN, suffered their 5th consecutive loss and 7th in eight games in Saturday’s (Dec. 29) final day of the Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic.

Molzen’s status is unknown.

El Dorado ’s Golden Hawks from Placentia bounced out to a 34-18 halftime advantage and were never threatened.

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 18 (3 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Jake Zawlacki 5 (3 blk, 2 reb, 2 stl), Tila Case 4 (7 ast, 2 reb), Michael Landis 4, Armon Worrell 2, Will Radasa 2, Michael Overson (3 reb).

EL CAJON VALLEY 57, NORTHERN (Canada) 56 – The Braves (7-8) closed out the Granite Hills Holiday Tournament Saturday (Dec. 29) with three consecutive victories. No further information was offered.

El Cajon Valley scoring: LaRoy McGee 18, Raylondo Ford 10, Chris Franco 11, Anthony Ussery 9, Kevin Benton 9.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-29-07) — As the second hectic week of holiday basketball tournaments winds down, the Granite Hills Eagles will be the only East County boys basketball team vying for a championship trophy on Saturday (Dec. 29). Coach RANDY ANDERSON’s club will host San Marcos in the finals of the Granite Hills Holiday Tournament at 8:15 p.m.

Meanwhile, three East County teams will meet for third place tournament honors on Saturday. Longtime rivals Grossmont and Helix tangle for third place in the Spartan Classic in Chula Vista at 6:30 p.m.; West Hills faces El Centro Southwest in the Aztec Holiday Invitational at Montgomery High at 5 p.m.; and Christian tackles rival Santa Fe Christian in the Tri-City Christian Holiday Tournament at 11:30 a.m. in Solana Beach.

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 76, ARMY-NAVY 66 – This one was all about pride, revenge and payback.

After suffering a stinging 98-79 loss to the giant Warriors earlier this season, the Knights, who are giving away more than four inches per man, used their speed and guile to topple an Army-Navy squad that has six players taller than any one in the Foothills Christian uniform.

For the record, Army-Navy’s players stretch from 6-foot-5 to 6-foot-10 inside the paint.

The HALE brothers, BRANDON and AARON, are Foothills Christian’s big men – asked to hold those giants in check. Obviously the Warriors exploited that mismatch the first time around.

So, what was the difference in Friday’s (Dec. 28) Above the Rim Tournament encounter at Cathedral Catholic?

Knights head coach BRAD LEAF executed a new game plan and challenged his players with specific goals.

“Some of those goals were to run our defense well, keep ourselves to 12 turnovers or less and keep the points allowed to 65 or less,” said Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. “We had 11 turnovers and we gave up 66 points so we were right on.”

The pivotal turnaround was the 3rd quarter when the Knights scorched the Warriors with a 27-10 scoring spree.

At no time this season has Foothills Christian displayed better offensive balance than they did on this night.

KALOB HATCHER set the pace with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 7 steals and 11 assists. Right on his heels was TROY LEAF with 20 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals.

Five other Foothills players reached the scoring column including freshman MIKE WNEK, who hit 5 of 10 shots from the field (3 of them treys) for a career-best 13 points. Wnek had accounted for only 11 points in eight appearances prior to Friday’s banner outing.

Two of Wnek’s 3s came in the crucial 3rd period as the Knights turned a 2-point edge into an 8-point advantage.

“Wnek came through in a huge way tonight playing the biggest role of his young career,” said McHugh. “With Brandon Hale fouled out just 13 minutes into the game, someone had to step up and fill his role.”

Although he is still hobbled by injuries, ZACH KAUL pitched in 11 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals and a pair of assists.

“Troy and Kalob moved the ball around so well tonight we had their defense moving and shifting all night long,” said McHugh. “Nearly every basket the entire game was created by a great pass. We had an assist on nearly every bucket with the exception of a few that Troy and Kalob simply created on their own by getting to the basket.”

Army-Navy closed to within 2 in the 4th before Hatcher delivered another 3 from Leaf and that pretty much sealed it.

“Our defense really came through,” McHugh said. “We tipped pass after pass, we forced bad shots and we played smart.”

Foothills Christian scoring: Kalob Hatcher 21, Troy Leaf 20, Aaron Hale 6, Brandon Hale 3, Zach Kaul 11, Mike Wnek 13, Ryan Smith 2.

VALHALLA 84, L.A.-BANNING 72 (2-OT) – Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON makes no bones about it that junior guard AUSTEN SUHAY is the main cog in the Norsemen’s plans for this year and next.

Suhay, a 5-foot-11 floor monitor, hit 7 of 12 shots from the floor – two of them treys – and 8 of 12 free throws for a career-high 28 points in Friday’s (Dec. 28) Granite Hills Holiday Tournament contest.

“Suhay is our go-to guy,” said Jackson. The last three games are proof of that, as Suhay has scored 61 points.

Jackson was equally as proud of 6-foot-5 sophomore KYLE KRIEBEL, who netted 7 of 13 shots from the floor en route to 18 points and a double-double that included 14 rebounds. Kriebel also blocked 5 Banning shots and recorded a pair of steals.

Sounds like a highlight reel worthy of consideration for the various players of the week awards.

Most impressive about Valhalla ’s latest endeavor was the Norsemen’s ability to erase a 33-22 halftime deficit. The biggest momentum switch came on the shooting end. The Norsemen were a forgettable 7 of 25 in the 1st half, but a sizzling 18 of 27 in the final two periods and overtime.

Valhalla led 69-67 with 11 seconds remaining in regulation. Banning hit an open shot but the shooter’s foot was on the (3-point) line to send it into OT.

Each team scored 9 points in the first overtime, but then the Broncos seemed to run out of steam in the second extra session.

“I think we are just a little more ready for this kind of game,” said Jackson, who’s Norsemen busted the Broncos 16-4 during the final four-minutes. “You’re always looking for the breakout game, and maybe this could have been it.”

Valhalla scoring: Austen Suhay 28 (3 stl, 2 ast), Kyle Kriebel 18, Trevor Cahoon 9, EV Alcantar 6, Derek White 5 (6 reb), David Zetts 4, Steven Kleist 3 (4 ast), David Fakhoury 3, Josh Austel 3, Alex Merutka 2, Damaine Bradshaw 2 (5 ast, 2 blk), Ruffy Bacong 1 (5 reb, 3 ast).

GRANITE HILLS 61, KEARNY 51 – It was a typical Granite Hills’ performance with the M&M boys – DEAN MILLER and WAYNE MARTIN – generating the bulk of the offense in Friday’s (Dec. 28) Granite Hills Holiday Tournament game.

The 6-foot-3 Miller attacked the basket against the Komets, who repeatedly sent him to the foul line. Miller netted 11 of 16 free throws on his way to a game-high 24 points. Miller’s game didn’t stop on the offensive end as he also claimed 10 rebounds, blocked 4 shots and made 4 steals. He topped off his effort with 6 assists.

Martin, the Eagles’ senior backcourt sharp-shooter, clicked on 4 of 6 shots from beyond the arc and settled for 18 points. Equally as crisp as his shooting was his pinpoint passing of 7 assists.

No question, Granite Hills can rebound with any team in the San Diego CIF. AARON HARRIS, although only 6-feet tall, overcame foul problems to lead the Eagles with 11 rebounds, giving his 32 in his last two off-the-bench performances.

IAN BIRMINGHAM, one of the stealth members of the Eagles’ cast ripped off 9 boards, while football sack leader LANDON TURLEY cleaned the glass for 8 rebounds and still found time to top the team with 5 steals.

“Birmingham had a real good game,” said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON. “He guarded Kearny ’s 6-foot-7 twins and did a good job defensively. Turley had his best game of the year.”

“We rebounded well against a bigger team,” Anderson added. “I was real happy with the way we rebounded against them.”

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 24, Wayne Martin 18, Ian Birmingham 4, Aaron Harris 4, Vicente Stafford 4, Kyle Snyder 3, Landon Turley 2, Kyle San Nicolas 2.

CHRISTIAN 82, SAN PASQUAL ACADEMY 53 – The “real” Christian High Patriots showed up for the evening half of Friday’s (Dec. 28) Tri-City Christian Holiday Tournament double-header.

Once again the focus of the Patriots attack was 6-foot-8 VANDER JOAQUIM, who connected on 14 of 21 shots from the field – one of them a trey – for a team-high 29 points. Clearly becoming more comfortable playing with his back to the basket, Joaquim netted 41 of 54 shots for 76 percent shooting for the three tournament games.

Joaquim’s game is not all about shooting, however. He also has become more aggressive on the boards (51 rebounds) and defensively (7 blocks) during the Tri-City event.

“Our game plan has been pretty simple,” said Christian assistant coach TOBIN WILKINS. “We’re playing four out and one in. When Vander posts up, you can’t stop him. He has incredible touch around the basket.”

Senior guard DANIEL HAZLETT regained the shooting touch that he’d lost in the morning game, hitting 10 of 14 from the floor on his way to a 26-point finish. Most of those points came on 6 three-point buckets.

The Patriots (8-4) pulverized San Pasqual in the opening half for a 42-19 lead. They continued their energy in the second half to finish with their highest scoring total of the season.

ANDREW SEXTON (8 points) and ANDREW WHITTEN (7) led the Patriots’ supporting cast.

Christian scoring: Vander Joaquim 29, Daniel Hazlett 26, Andrew Sexton 8, Andrew Whitten 7, Taylor Eichhorst 6, Brad Johnston 4 (5 ast), Michael Pitts 2.

CANYON CREST 47, CHRISTIAN 46 – Apparently playing morning games doesn’t suit the Christian High Patriots too well, as they proved in Friday’s (Dec. 28) first game of a Tri-City Christian Holiday Tournament double-header.

Talk about flat… by the time the Patriots flipped open their eyelids the Ravens of Canyon Crest were sitting on a 12-0 lead.

“It happened so fast, like, less than 4 minutes into the game,” said Christian assistant coach TOBIN WILKINS. “That early spurt by Canyon Crest was the difference in the game. It just killed us.”

Forced to play catch-up throughout, the Patriots narrowly missed stealing this one back.

VANDER JOAQUIM was solid inside for the Patriots, dropping in 11 of 15 shots from the field and 4 free throws for 26 points. The 6-foot-8 native of Angola pounded the boards for 19 rebounds and rejected 4 Canyon Crest shots.

DANIEL HAZLETT shot only seven times from the floor, hitting a pair of 3s. He also was 6 for 8 from the free throw line for 12 points.

Christian scoring: Vander Joaquim 26, Daniel Hazlett 12 (3 ast), Brad Johnston 2, Taylor Eichhorst 2, Lawrence Walker 2, Manny Walker 2.

WEST HILLS 66, MONTGOMERY 48 – After falling behind in the opening period of Friday’s (Dec. 28) Aztec Holiday Invitational, the Wolf Pack caught fire, scoring 41 points in the middle two quarters and continued on to defeat the tournament hosts in what could be labeled the Santee quintet’s finest outing of the season.

A balanced team effort was how Coach JEFF ARMSTRONG described the Wolf Pack’s highest scoring outing to date.

“It was nice to see the boys bounce back from the butt whuppin’ we took last night,” he said.

Nine members of the Pack contributed to the scoring bonanza, with 6-foot-4 senior center TIM NOWLIN setting the pace with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

“I thought the big fella was key tonight,” said Armstrong. “They collapsed on Tim several times and he kicked out to open men and we were able to knock them down. He made his job look easy.”

Scoring at will has not been in the cards for West Hills, which entered the contest averaging slightly more than 43 points per outing.

“Several players, including LUCAS ARMSTRONG (4 for 5 FG, 9 points, 4 assists) and KYLE McLAUGHLIN (3 for 5 FG, 4 rebounds) gave great support to Nowlin.”

Coach Armstrong, no doubt overjoyed by the impressive performance, heaped accolades on CHASE SENTER who “was solid at point with 5 assists and a couple of 3s and played well defensively too.”

GARRETT CABRAL chipped in with 3 steals, 5 boards and was perfect from the stripe, hitting 6 of 6 and finishing with 11 points for the night.

West Hills scoring: Tim Nowlin 14, Garrett Cabral 11, Lucas Armstrong 9, Ryan Bozelle 9 (5-6 FT), Chase Senter 8, Kyle McLaughlin 6, Kyle Navarre 4, Jon Darby 3 (5 reb), Garrett Middleton 2 (3 reb).

MOUNT MIGUEL 70, NORTHERN 50 – BRAD BARRETT rang up a quartet of 3-pointers on his way to a game-best 22 points to lead host Mount Miguel to a convincing Granite Hills Holiday Tournament victory over Northern High of Toronto, Canada, on Friday (Dec. 28).

The Matadors (8-4) leaped out to a 20-9 first-quarter lead and gradually widened the margin.

But Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT, while pleased by the offensive efforts, was more impressed by his club’s defensive performance.

“This was the first game that we played defense from the opening tip,” said Rowlett. “I was proud of our defense – both execution-wise and effort-wise. Hopefully we can carry it into tomorrow.”

TRAVON CAPLES, who had been mired in a slight slump, broke loose for 14 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore guard JJ NORTON delivered 10 assists, and defensive specialist ARTHUR HOBBS chalked up 5 steals, one more than DEVYN MOORE.

Mount Miguel scoring: Brad Barrett 22 (7 reb, 2 stl), Travon Caples 14, Donte Allen 8 (5 reb), AJ Stanford 6 (3 ast), JJ Norton 6, Devyn Moore 6, Arthur Hobbs 3 (5 stl), Matt Miles 3, Charles Graves 2.

FOUNTAIN VALLEY 53, HELIX 50 (OT) – Highlanders coach JOHN SINGER has been directing the nation’s youth for so long that he’s able to grade a performance on things other than winning and losing.

He was disgusted after Helix’ triple overtime victory one night earlier, but was ecstatic by the Highlanders’ overtime loss in Friday’s (Dec. 29) Chula Vista Spartan Classic game.

“I’m happy more about this game than any of the others we’ve played this season,” Singer said. “I know my kids look at me and think I’m crazy, but we can build our future on a game like this.”

Singer knows what it takes to win and up until this game had his doubts whether this band of Highlanders had the intestinal fortitude to live up to the Helix tradition.

“I saw a semblance of what I think this team can be in terms of intensity and grinding tonight,” Singer said. “I know we’re going to struggle offensively, but I’m more pleased that our kids showed that they can compete on the defensive end. And even more exciting was that our bench rallied us.”

ANDRAY JACKSON came off the bench to hit all four of his shots from the field for 9 points and still found time to deal 4 assists.

Singer also praised ANTHONY ANDERSON, PATRICK WINSTON and LEVINE TOILOLO for their work at the post.

Fountain Valley (9-5) flew to a 10-0 lead, but the Highlanders put on the brakes defensively to force a 17-all tie by intermission.

The game eventually trickled into overtime and Helix (6-5) appeared to have forced a second extra stanza when RED NARCISSE tied the game 50-50 on a layup with 3 seconds left.

Fountain Valley dashed that idea with a quick inbound pass and a buzzer beater from half-court for the victory. Some questioned whether the Barons’ decisive bucket was launched prior to the bell.

Said Singer, “It looked good to me. Give them credit, they won the game.”

Helix scoring: Donald McGowan 12, Red Narcisse 9 (4 ast, 3 stl, 3 reb), Andray Jackson 9, Derrall Chandler 7 (4 reb), Levine Toilolo 6 (6 reb), Anthony Diaz 2 (3 reb), Terrance Cole 2 (4 reb, 5 ast), Dimitar Topalov 2, Joubert Ballard 1.

VISTA 61, STEELE CANYON 58 – The Cougars (3-9) might look at this game as the one that got away Friday (Dec. 28) at Chula Vista High.

Steele Canyon struck for a 10-0 run in the 3rd quarter and seemed to have things under control, leading Vista 49-43 with eight minutes remaining in this Spartan Classic encounter.

The Panthers refused to be declawed, as they used an 18-9 scoring burst in the final period to steal the victory.

“We have trouble closing out games,” Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS said. “We turned the ball over too much in the 4th quarter.” Starting guard ELIJAH CARTER (6 assists) also fouled out during the fateful period.

Steele Canyon ’s JEBARI ROBINSON drilled in a team high 20 points and 6-foot-5 CAMERON MOSS enjoyed his finest day on the court with 18 points and 6 boards.

“Moss dominated the paint and had a solid game for us,” Stephens said.

Steele Canyon scoring: Jebari Robinson 20 (3 ast), Cameron Moss 18, Jake Ransom 8, Eric Gilbert 7 (5 reb, 3 stl), Riley Balikian 2 (4 reb, 3 ast), Elijah Carter 2, Josiah Smith 1.

EASTLAKE 65, GROSSMONT 39 – For the visiting Foothillers (6-6) Friday’s (Dec. 28) Spartan Classic game at Chula Vista High had football-like overtones.

Power forward RICHARD OGUNSALU sprained an ankle, point guard KHALID WATERS suffered a bruised thigh at the beginning of the game, and wing ROBERT SULLIVAN suffered a gash in his face requiring stitches.

Not good news for the Foothillers and coach FRANK FOGGIANO, who tripped the Titans 55-52 earlier this season.

“Waters and Ogunsalu won’t play (Saturday against Helix),” said Foggiano, who’s Hillers will get a second shot at Helix on Wednesday (Jan. 9). The availability of Sullivan was not known.

Senior IAN COCHRAN attempted to carry Grossmont in the Eastlake rematch. An inside force by trade, Cochran was asked to bring up the ball at times which took further toll on the Hillers’ top point maker.

The 6-foot-6 Cochran finished with 13 points, most of which came on 11-for-15 free throw shooting. He also captured 10 rebounds.

Not to be overlooked was the work of junior guard BILLY GANGE, who tossed in a season-best 10 points. He accounted for Grossmont’s only two 3-pointers.

“Eastlake (8-4) did things that hurt us,” Foggiano said. “They used a fast break and ran the floor well. We didn’t get back defensively.”

Grossmont scoring: Ian Cochran 13, Billy Gange 10, Alex Leon 4 (6 reb), Richard Ogunsalu 3 (5 reb), Aaron Griffin 3 (7 reb), Robert Sullivan 2, Graham Hajosy 2, Alden Tollgaard 2.

CORONADO (Nev.) 86, MONTE VISTA 73 – The WATKINS brothers – senior MIKE and junior TRENT – went on a scoring binge, generating 45 points between them in Friday’s (Dec. 28) Governor’s Division of the Torrey Pines Classic.

The older Watkins scored a career high 26 points, nailing half of his 18 shots from the field and all five free throw attempts. Included in his totals was a trio of threes.

Trent Watkins also landed three 3-balls as he finished with a career best 19 markers.

GEOFF HARTMAN pitched in a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds for Monte Vista (6-6).

The Monarchs stepped out to an early 13-4 edge, but Coronado scored the last 13 points of the 1st quarter to take a lead it held the rest of the game.

Coronado clearly had a size advantage with a front line of 6-8, 6-8 and 6-5.

“And they all could shoot 3s,” noted Monarchs coach JAMES CARROLL.

In the 2nd quarter Coronado banged in 7 threes on its way to scoring 35 points.

“I created our schedule over the summer so we could play tough teams early to get our players ready for league play in January,” Carroll said. “I think they are beginning to see that, because of the improvement they are showing.”

Monte Vista scoring: Mike Watkins 26 (6 reb, 3 stl), Trent Watkins 19 (3 ast, 2 stl), Geoff Hartman 16 (3 stl, 2 blk, 2 ast), Ryan Houser 6 (6 reb), Kris Galloway 2 (4 reb, 3 blk), Alex Robinson 2 (3 reb), Anthony Bell 2.

VALLEY CENTER 59, EL CAPITAN 26 – Another poor shooting effort Friday (Dec. 28) morning in the Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic added up to a fourth straight loss for El Capitan (5-8).

The Vaqueros shot less than 26 percent from the field (9 for 35) as only BARRETT BRAUN reached double digits with 18 points. The 6-foot-4 senior also snagged 9 rebounds, two less than 6-2 sophomore ARMON WORRELL.

Thirty-three turnovers also contributed to the Vaqueros’ demise.

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 18 (5 stl, 3 blk), Tila Case 6 (7 reb, 3 stl, 2 ast), Michael Overson 2, Jake Zawlacki (4 reb, 3 blk).

EL CAJON VALLEY 52, PATRICK HENRY 50 – The Braves posted their second straight Granite Hills Holiday Tournament victory on Friday (Dec. 28). No further information, including individual scoring, was reported. by the Braves' coaching staff.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-28-07) — It seemed like pretty exciting stuff at the time, when DEAN MILLER executed 2 buzzer-beating baskets to close the second and third quarters of Thursday’s (Dec. 27) Granite Hills Holiday Tournament contest.

Miller nailed a 30-footer to give Granite Hills a 38-25 halftime lead. And then in the 3rd quarter, Miller fetched a rebound and unleashed an off-balance shot in the lane that found the bottom of the net, allowing the Eagles to maintain their 13-point advantage.

Those two rather heroic efforts wound up being the difference in Granite Hills’ 61-56 victory over visiting El Centro Central Union.

“We talk about shots like that all the time, but I’m not sure all of our kids take it seriously,” said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON.

Obviously, the 6-foot-3 Miller does.

“Sometimes when you throw the ball up, it just goes your way,” said Miller, who finished with a game-high 26 points and 13 rebounds. “It’s nice when that happens.”

Miller’s first buzzer beater came with his shoulders squared to the basket. It was not a thing of beauty as it actually turned out to be a bank shot. It was one of 4 treys Miller had in the game.

Miller’s second clutch shot was a little bit more acrobatic.

“I just threw it in and hoped it would help us down the stretch,” he said.

You don’t have to be a math major to deduce that Miller’s 5 points in those fleeting seconds led to Granite Hills’ 8th win in 12 starts.

This was a physical battle between the taller Eagles and the smaller but quicker Spartans from El Centro. Despite an obvious imbalance in size, the Spartans were every bit as physical as the Eagles.

“Yeah, it was pretty physical down inside and stuff, but we tried to keep it at our tempo instead of turning it into a running game with them,” Miller added.

Granite Hills turned a 14-13 edge into a 15-point lead with 3:14 remaining in the 3rd quarter. The pesky Spartans, however, kept pecking away, closing the deficit to 58-56 with 28 seconds left.

Granite Hills staved off Central’s upset bid when Miller hit both ends of a one-and-one bonus free throw situation with 20 seconds remaining.

Central got one more shot and missed, with Miller clearing the rebound. After a Granite Hills timeout, Central fouled in desperation and AARON HARRIS added a free throw in the final 2 seconds.

Harris finished with 8 points, most of which came on 6 of 8 free throw shooting. More impressive were his 21 rebounds.

WAYNE MARTIN added 14 points and 6 assists, while VICENTE STAFFORD chipped in 7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. LANDON TURLEY scored a key layup with 50 seconds left to finish with 2 points and 6 rebounds.

The scary part for Granite Hills is that the Eagles hit only 3 of 17 shots from the floor in the final period.

“We held them off by playing great defense with the game on the line,” Anderson said. “We’ve been in this situation before where we’ve let a sizable lead slip away, and lost. This is a credit to our kids for not letting that happen this time.”

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 26 (2 ast, 1 blk), Wayne Martin 14, Aaron Harris 8, Vicente Stafford 7, Ian Birmingham 2 (4 reb), Landon Turley 2 (6 reb), Kyle San Nicolas 2.

HELIX 68, MATER DEI 63 (3-OT) – LEVINE TOILOLO, a 6-foot-8 junior post, blew out some heady numbers, scoring 25 points and corralling 23 rebounds as the Highlanders outlasted Mater Dei in Thursday’s (Dec. 27) second round of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic.

Toilolo’s point total is more than half of what he produced in his previous six appearances. Same is true of his rebound count.

Nonetheless, Toilolo scored 8 of the Highlanders’ 25 points in the three overtimes.

Senior DONALD McGOWAN tallied 10 of his 13 points in overtime.

“It wasn’t a great game,” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER, whose Highlanders improved to 6-4. “It was a long game. We had 25 turnovers, which is proof that we were out there making simple things look hard – like it was rocket science or something. And those other guys weren’t much better.”

Singer admitted he might be a bit on the cynical side. No argument there.

“Yeah, Toilolo’s numbers look like he dominated, but he didn’t,” Singer said.

Let the record show that Toilolo was 11 of 21 from the floor and 3 of 6 from the free throw line. He also logged 6 steals and took a charge.

“The thing that really bugs me is that Toilolo has no explosion to his game,” Singer said. “He did make some key shots and I have to remember that he’s only a junior. I know he wants to play football, but to do that or to be the kind of player he can be, he needs to get into the weight room in the off-season.”

Playing in only his second game, McGowan also retrieved 11 rebounds.

RED NARCISSE also logged a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds to go along with 4 steals and 3 assists.

DERRALL CHANDLER chipped in with 8 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists.

“I don’t think we’ve had a game where we’ve had three guys in doubles (scoring figures) this year,” Singer noted. “We still have a long way to go but I think we have a chance to be decent.”

Helix scoring: Levine Toilolo 25, Red Narcisse 15 (2 blk), Donald McGowan 13, Derrall Chandler 8, Patrick Winston 4 (4 reb), Terrance Cole 2, Anthony Diaz 1 (4 reb).

MONTE VISTA 66, RANCHO BUENA VISTA 63 (OT) – Nobody quite knows what to make of these Monte Vista Monarchs. One night they’re up challenging to become one of the elite, then a day later they’re attempting to execute the routine play with some consistency.

Such behavior must drive first-year head coach JAMES CARROLL nuts. If so, Carroll doesn’t show it. He’s a man going about his business.

“We expected to play Carlsbad but the schedule was changed at the last minute and that scuttled our pre-game preparation,” Carroll said of the Monarchs’ slate in the Governor’s Division of the Torrey Pines Classic.

That didn’t show in Thursday’s (Dec. 27) duel with Rancho Buena Vista at Rancho Bernardo. Led by GEOFF HARTMAN’s clutch double-double of 23 points, a dozen boards and 4 blocks, the Monarchs bulldogged the Longhorns in the extra four-minute stanza.

TRENT WATKINS pulled the Monarchs even and forced the overtime when he drained a 3-pointer to knot it at 56-all with two minutes to play to tie in regulation.

Monte Vista (6-5) outscored RBV 10-7 in the overtime as Trent Watkins hit 5 of 6 free throws (giving him all 8 of his points over the final six minutes). Hartman and RYAN HOUSER knocked down a bucket apiece and MIKE WATKINS tacked on a free throw, giving the Monarchs the 10 points in OT.

Mike Watkins, a 5-foot-10 senior guard, contributed 17 points, 4 assists and 3 steals. Houser, not known for his offensive prowess, clicked on 3 of 6 shots from the field for 6 points, cleared 8 rebounds and made 3 steals.

“We did a great job rebounding and had only 14 turnovers,” added Carroll. “Our shooting today (47 percent) was much better than in yesterday’s game.”

“Mike Watkins and Geoff Hartman were outstanding in all phases of the game. ALEX ROBINSON and ANTHONY BELL were excellent defensively. We are really starting to come together as a team.”

Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 23, Mike Watkins 17, Trent Watkins 8 (3 ast), Kris Galloway 6 (5 reb, 1 blk), Ryan Houser 6, Anthony Bell 4 (4-4 FT, 2 blk, 2 stl, 2 reb), Alex Robinson 2.

GROSSMONT 53, VISTA 39 – Arguably, nobody in East County has a better starting five than the Grossmont Foothillers.

The Foothillers (6-5) raced out to a 35-10 halftime lead over the Panthers (8-4), and then survived a sloppy 3rd quarter to post a convincing victory in Thursday’s (Dec. 27) second round of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic.

This game was not loaded with surprises, as Grossmont beat up another team inside the paint. IAN COCHRAN set the pace with 19 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists.

RICHARD OGUNSALU added 11 points and 9 rebounds, and ALEX LEON chipped in 11 points and 7 boards.

Senior guard KHALID WATERS gave the Foothillers four players in double digits, finishing with 10 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals.

“We played very, very good in the first half,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “We executed our offense and defense well and got a bunch of our kids playing time. Cochran had 13 of his 19 points in the first half.”

Grossmont scoring: Ian Cochran 19, Richard Ogunsalu 11, Alex Leon 11, Khalid Waters 10, Robert Sullivan 2 (6 reb, 2 ast), Aaron Griffin (4 reb).

CHRISTIAN 86, SANTA CLARA-SAINT LAWRENCE 54 – Who knows what kind of offensive numbers Christian’s Patriots might have garnered against Santa Clara ’s Saint Lawrence Celtics in Thursday’s (Dec. 27) first round of the Tri-City Holiday Tournament.

As it was, the Patriots (7-3) scored more than 20 points in each quarter while rolling to a season-high scoring total. A season-best eight players contributed to the offensive output, including 6-foot-8 VANDER JOAQUIM (32 points) and DANIEL HAZLETT (20).

Joaquim, a native of Angola, missed only 2 of 18 shots while grabbing 13 rebounds and making 3 steals.

“Vander was a man amongst boys today,” said Christian assistant coach TOBIN WILKINS. “He played inside and they didn’t have an answer to him. He picked up three quick fouls in the 1st half and played for just 2 ½ quarters. We put him in the middle and our guys did a good job getting him the ball. He’d just catch it, turn and shoot it.”

Hazlett nailed 8 of 16 shots from the floor – 2 of them from beyond the arc. The veteran point guard also handed out 5 of Christian’s season-high 17 assists in addition to posting 3 steals and 4 rebounds.

BRAD JOHNSTON and ANDREW SEXTON chipped in with 8 points apiece. Johnston also gathered 5 rebounds and handed out 4 scoring passes.

Freshman TYRONE SAULS tossed in a career-best 7 points off the bench, while TAYLOR EICHHORST added 4 assists.

Christian scoring: Vander Joaquim 32, Daniel Hazlett 20, Brad Johnston 8, Andrew Sexton 8, Tyrone Sauls 7, Andrew Whitten 5, Michael Pitts 4, Aaron Whitten 2.

NEWBURY PARK 73, EL CAPITAN 56 – Despite a 27-point outing by senior scoring machine BARRET BRAUN, the Vaqueros (5-7) suffered their third straight setback, stumbling in Thursday’s (Dec. 27) second round of the Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic.

The Vaqueros actually registered a superior shooting percentage (49 percent) than did the Panthers (45 percent). The difference here was Newbury Park put up 67 shots from the floor – nearly double the number of attempts launched by the Lakeside quintet, which made 17 of 35.

“We played a lot better today than we did yesterday,” JASON CAVAZOS said. “We competed a lot better than we have lately. I’ve seen a lot of improvement on defense lately, especially on the perimeter. We need to improve our interior defense.”

JAKE ZAWLACKI continues to establish himself as a major contributor behind Braun. The 6-foot-7 Zawlacki dropped in 10 points and bagged 8 rebounds, one less carom than Braun.

“We’ve stumbled a bit lately, but I see some ray of sunshine on the horizon,” Cavazos said.

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 27 (9 rebs), Tila Case 13 (4 rebs, 3 asts, 2 stls), Jake Zawlacki 10, Michael Overson 4 (7 rebs), Will Radasa 2.

MOUNT MIGUEL 49, MAPLE RIDGE (B.C., Canada) 33 – If nothing else Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT had to take solace in that his Matadors overcame a 13-8 first quarter deficit to pancake Maple Ridge in Thursday’s (Dec. 27) Granite Hills Holiday Tournament action.

Not that Rowlett is satisfied with Mount Miguel ’s 7-4 record.

“We are still not where we need to be defensively. Every basketball team has something they have to get better at, and ours is defense. I was pleased with our 2nd half effort on defense.”

BRAD BARRETT banged in 18 points, wrestled down 6 boards and dished 4 assists for the Matadors. AJ STANFORD pitched in with 12 points and 5 assists, while TRAVON CAPLES tallied 12 points and snared 8 rebounds for the Matadors.

“We had some good moments from Stanford and JJ NORTON passing the ball. I liked when everybody shares the ball,” Rowlett said. “Norton had a lot of hockey assists.”

Mount Miguel scoring: Brad Barrett 18, AJ Stanford 12, Travon Caples 12, JJ Norton 5, Donte Allen 2.

PERRIS 75, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 68 – Although listed as a mere Division V school, the Foothills Christian Knights continue to stalk teams with much greater resources, and somehow manage to hold their own.

It’s not all about winning and losing at this point in the season. It’s about gaining experience, finding new ways to out-maneuver superior opponents.

Playing Thursday (Dec. 27) in the second round of the Above the Rim Tournament at Cathedral Catholic, the Knights (9-4) went toe to toe with the Division I Panthers.

Foothills Christian trailed by 14 points in the 3rd quarter but scrambled back, shaving Perris’ advantage to a single point with 3 minutes remaining.

“This isn’t a group that you can get flustered very easily,” said Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. “Just coming back like they did from that kind of deficit shows they have a lot of composure.”

TROY LEAF was back on his game, hitting 11 of 20 shots from the floor, including 6 of 13 from above the arc for a game-high 34 points. The 6-foot-2 sophomore also shared team-high rebounding honors with BRANDON HALE at 7, blocked 2 shots (same as AARON HALE), and dished 3 assists.

“Troy was pretty solid on both ends of the floor,” McHugh said. “We rebounded better in the 2nd half tonight than we have in a long time and that was key because our rebounding numbers have been abysmal at best. We are still yielding far too many 2nd, 3rd or 5th chance points.”

KALOB HATCHER added 17 points, 7 assists, 2 steals and 4 rebounds for the Knights.

“Perris' coaches had great things to say to us following the game and our boys should take that as a tremendous compliment,” McHugh said.

“This tournament has been a great test for us,” McHugh continued. “This is where these kids want to be, they would not have been satisfied playing in Borrego like we did last year and stacking our schedule with easy wins – not with the amount of work they have put in. This is a group of players that wants challenge and they learn from their mistakes.”

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 34, Kalob Hatcher 17, Zach Kaul 10 (3 ast, 3 reb, 2 stl), Brandon Hale 5, Aaron Hale 2.

SAN PEDRO 73, VALHALLA 52 – By the time the Norsemen found their feet, the visiting Pirates (4-5) of San Pedro had fired out to leads of 10-0 and 14-1 in Thursday’s (Dec. 27) Granite Hills Holiday Tournament action.

“They hit their first six shots and 7 of their first 8,” Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON said. “We were playing catch up the rest of the way.”

Junior guard AUSTEN SUHAY led Valhalla (7-4) with 13 points. He nailed a pair of 3-balls and didn’t miss from the foul line in three tries.

“It’s his time to step up and be the guy,” Jackson said.

Jackson was also pleased to introduce 6-foot-4 sophomore JOSH AUSTEL, who made his varsity debut against San Pedro. Austel was 3-for-3 from the field, netted 2 of 4 free throws and grabbed 5 rebounds coming off the Valhalla bench.

”We had four sophomores who had significant minutes out there today,” the Norsemen’s second-year head coach said. One of them was KYLE KRIEBEL, who finished with 7 points and 7 boards.

Valhalla scoring: Austen Suhay 13, Josh Austel 8, Kyle Kriebel 7, EV Alcantar 6, Trevor Cahoon 4 (4 rebs), David Zetts 4, Ruffy Bacong 3, Derek White 3, Damaine Bradshaw 2 (4 ast, 3 rebs), Steven Kleist 2.

EASTLAKE 69, STEELE CANYON 41 – Just when it appeared the Cougars were turning the corner they crashed and burned in Thursday’s (Dec. 27) Spartan Classic bout with Eastlake in Chula Vista.

“This was the worst performance I’ve ever seen out of a Steele Canyon team,” said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS. “I can’t play for them, I can only tell them what to do and hope they do it.”

Of course, the Titans (7-4) – winners of five straight – are no easy mark. They stomped on Steele Canyon (3-8) by a 24-8 score in the first quarter and upped that advantage to 45-17 by intermission.

One bright spot glimmered in Stephens’ eyes and that was the long distance shooting of junior ERIC GILBERT, who canned a trio of 3-pointers, earning a share of the club’s high-point honors.

“Gilbert played an inspired game tonight, he plays with a lot of heart,” Stephens praised.

Steele Canyon scoring: Eric Gilbert 11, Elijah Carter 11, Cameron Moss 7, Jebari Robinson 6, Zane Keith 4, Jake Ransom 2.

PARAMOUNT 70, WEST HILLS 39 – The Pirates of Paramount (10-5) buried the Wolf Pack 48-19 in the middle two quarters of Thursday’s (Dec. 27) Aztec Holiday Invitational action at Montgomery.

“ Paramount is a very athletic team, and were able to stay with them for the first quarter (trailing only 13-9),” West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG said. “But after that we could not stop the penetration of their guards in the middle of the key. We didn’t get good ball pressure or decent (defensive) help once they did reach the key.

“Bottom line is we just lost focus once we fell behind.”

West Hills scoring: Tim Nowlin 13, Lucas Armstrong 7, Jon Darby 7, Kyle McLaughlin 3, Garrett Middleton 3, Chase Senter 2, Ashur Gelyana 2, Garrett Cabral 2.

EL CAJON VALLEY 62, LEDUC (Canada) 53 – The Braves defeated the Canadians in a Granite Hills Holiday Tournament game on Thursday (Dec. 27).

El Cajon Valley scoring: Kevin Benton 20, Raylondo Ford 12, LaRoy McGee 11, Chris Franco 9, Charles White 6, Anthony Ussery 2, Shivan Sulyman 2.

© East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (12-27-07) — The Helix Highlanders welcomed some reinforcements to their anemic lineup in time for Wednesday’s (Dec. 26) opening round of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic.

Seniors KAREEM ABUKAR and DONALD McGOWAN, the most experienced players on the roster, combined for 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals as the Highlanders whipped Cowichan of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, 56-43.

“We’ve played eight games with no true varsity experience,” Helix coach JOHN SINGER said. “Abukar and McGowan are the only guys who spent much time on the floor last year.”

However, Abukar’s return was cut short as he suffered a sprained ankle. His status is in limbo.

“It’s just hard to get a barometer on this team,” Singer said. “We lost Abukar again and we’re back another step. We haven’t had a top five identified after nine games – we’re still searching. We’re just not very good right now, we can’t sustain anything.”

DERRALL CHANDLER, who had brief varsity appearances a year ago, scored 9 points as did PATRICK WINSTON and Abukar.

RED NARCISSE also had 5 steals, 4 assists and 4 rebounds.

LEVINE TOILOLO led the Highlanders (5-4) with 10 rebounds, while JOUBERT BALLARD pitched in 5 assists and 7 points.

Helix scoring: Derrall Chandler 9, Kareem Abukar 9, Patrick Winston 9, Joubert Ballard 7, Red Narcisse 6, Donald McGowan 5, Dimitar Topalov 5, Levine Toilolo 4, Terrance Cole 2.

VALHALLA 62, NORTHERN (Canada) 57 – It’s early in the season, but the Valhalla Norsemen – a team most pundits have dismissed as challengers for the Grossmont South League championship – can take a bow for now for having the best record of the circuit’s six squads.

Not a bad start for a team in a so-called rebuilding year.

Bouncing back from a 38-29 halftime deficit, the Norsemen (7-3) dominated the 2nd half of Wednesday’s (Dec. 26) Granite Hills Holiday Tournament opener to turn back the Red Knights from Toronto Northern.

AUSTEN SUHAY, a 5-foot-11 junior, scored a career-high 20 points, including a pair of 3s, to pace the Norsemen. Fifteen of his points came in the 2nd half as Valhalla earned a 33-19 scoring advantage.

“We really needed someone to step up and Suhay did it,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. “He had a huge block in the 3rd quarter (and 3 blocks in the game) that changed the momentum in the game for us.”

Junior TREVOR CAHOON and sophomore KYLE KRIEBEL contributed 8 points and 10 rebounds apiece for Valhalla. Kriebel also had 3 blocks.

DAMAINE BRADSHAW led Valhalla with 5 assists and 4 steals.

“At halftime we challenged the kids to step up,” said Jackson. “For the first 14 minutes of the 2nd half we held them to 11 points.”

Valhalla scoring: Austen Suhay 20, Kyle Kriebel 8, EV Alcantar 8, Trevor Cahoon 8, Steven Kleist 6, Derek White 6, Damaine Bradshaw 4, David Zetts 2.

GRANITE HILLS 83, EDWIN PARR (Canada) 32 – WAYNE MARTIN nailed 7 shots from above the arc to take over the East County 3-point shooting lead at 42 as the Eagles pounded the Pacers from Edwin Parr (80 miles north of Edmonton, Alberta) in the Granite Hills Holiday Tournament Wednesday (Dec. 26).

Martin, a 5-foot-11 senior guard, has connected for 16 treys in his last two games and 26 over his last five outings.

Granite Hills’ 6-foot-3 junior DEAN MILLER rejected a career-high 8 shots to vault himself into the East County lead for blocks with 27. Miller also had 15 points, a trio of treys, 5 assists and 5 rebounds.

Five Eagles reached double scoring figures as Granite Hills (7-4) racked up its highest offensive output of the season.

Unsung IAN BIRMINGHAM put together one of the better complete games of his career with 13 points and 7 rebounds.

VICENTE STAFFORD also enjoyed a big night with 10 points, 7 assists and 5 steals. Not far off that pace was sophomore KYLE SNYDER with 10 points and 6 assists.

Granite Hills outscored the Pacers 50-11 in the second half.

“It wasn’t the intensity we’d have liked in the first half,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. “We needed to play with more intensity. We started playing the way we’re capable of in the second half.”

Granite Hills scoring: Wayne Martin 23, Dean Miller 15, Ian Birmingham 13, Kyle Snyder 10 (6 ast), Vicente Stafford 10, Parker Dow 6, Landon Turley 2, Aaron Harris 2 (9 reb), Cameron Roberts 2.

STEELE CANYON 74, POINT LOMA 45 – JEBARI ROBINSON scored a season-high 23 points, the majority of it coming on 4 three-points connections as Steele Canyon pounded Point Loma in Wednesday’s (Dec. 26) opening round of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic.

Steele Canyon, which has played better than its 3-7 record, pulverized the porous Pointers (0-9) from the outset, storming to a 47-22 halftime lead.

ELIJAH CARTER chipped in with a brilliant game that included 15 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.

“Jebari and Elijah really set the pace for us at guard,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS.

Not to be overlooked were the contributions of 6-foot-5 junior CAMERON MOSS and senior guard CASEY GAYTON. Moss muscled in 12 points and collected 5 rebounds, while Gayton nailed a trio of treys and logged 2 steals.

ZANE KEITH, a 6-foot-5 junior, was tough inside with 4 blocks and 5 rebounds.

“Cameron and Zane were in complete control down low,” said Stephens.

“We got a chance to get a lot of players some minutes in today’s game,” said Stephens. “We came out fast and we were able to run the floor. I’m really happy with our defensive effort today.”

Steele Canyon scoring: Jebari Robinson 23 (4 ast, 2 stl), Elijah Carter 15, Cameron Moss 12, Casey Gayton 9 (2 stl), Eric Gilbert 4 (3 reb), Jake Ransom 4 (2 ast, 3 stl), Stephen Howell 3 (2 reb, 1 blk), Zane Keith 2, Riley Balikian 2 (3 reb, 1 blk, 4 stl), Jeff Reid (3 reb).

WEST HILLS 60, BRAWLEY 54 – Coaches never know what they’re going to see from their players following a major holiday. More often than not some key players fall on their face… and take their team down with them.

That didn’t happen to the Wolf Pack of West Hills (4-7) in the opening round of the Aztec Holiday Invitational at Montgomery Wednesday (Dec. 26).

“Our starting group came out of the gate very well,” said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. “We were pretty close to having all five guys in double figures. But our bench support was not there like it usually is.”

“It was the same thing, both halves – the starters played well and the guys off the bench didn’t add much.”

TIM NOWLIN (15 points), GARRETT CABRAL (13), RYAN BOZELLE (12) and CHASE SENTER (10) carried West Hills’ balanced scoring effort.

“All five of our starters shot the ball much better,” Armstrong said. “But turnovers allowed (Brawley) to get back into the game.”

West Hills led by 11 points with 3 minutes remaining, but the Wildcats clawed back to within 2.

“It got a little sloppy there at the end because I think our guys tried to overdo things instead of running the clock,” said Armstrong. “We were rushing things – we were making one pass and firing it up. And then we were called for two charges.”

“The main thing is we won the game, and hopefully we learned a little bit more important it is to put people away and not wait until the final seconds.”

West Hills scoring: Tim Nowlin 15, Garrett Cabral 13, Ryan Bozelle 12, Chase Senter 10, Lucas Armstrong 8, Kyle McLaughlin 2.

GROSSMONT 59, CRAWFORD 49 – Coaches from ages past have discussed the importance of the opening round of any tournament. A first-round victory shows the character of a team and also propels that squad into the winner’s bracket.

Grossmont’s FRANK FOGGIANO has been coaching for decades, and he took Wednesday’s (Dec. 26) opener of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic for what it’s worth.

“We didn’t do anything spectacular, we just kept plugging away,” said Foggiano.

The Foothillers led 18-9 after the first quarter and then held off the upset-minded Colts. Once again it was Grossmont’s inside trio of IAN COCHRAN (21 points, 11 rebounds), RICHARD OGUNSALU (11 points, 15 rebounds, 2 steals) and ALEX LEON (10 points, 7 rebounds).

“Cochran shot the ball well,” said Foggiano. “He’s picking it up every game. He and RICHARD OGUNSALU are pretty effective when you get them both on the same side of the floor. It’s hard to defend. And ALEX LEON is another presence inside for us.”

Grossmont scoring: Ian Cochran 21, Richard Ogunsalu 11 (2 stl), Alex Leon 10, Robert Sullivan 8 (4 reb), Khalid Waters 6 (4 ast, 3 stl), Alden Tollgaard 2, Billy Gange 1.

LACES 88, MONTE VISTA 77 – Things started out in style for the Monte Vista Monarchs, a team some might believe is over its head in the Governor’s Division of the Torrey Pines Holiday Prep Classic at Rancho Bernardo.

For the first 3 minutes of Wednesday’s (Dec. 26) opening round, the Monarchs proved that they can run with the best when they opened up a 12-point lead against Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies (LACES).

“Their full-court press did not allow us to get into our set offense after that,” said Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL.

Still, Monte Vista scored 29 points in the first quarter to lead by one. Although the pace slowed down a bit, the Monarchs maintained a 41-36 edge by intermission.

GEOFF HARTMAN was a force inside for Monte Vista, knocking down 14 of 19 shots for 32 points to go along with 8 rebounds.

RYAN HOUSER also enjoyed one of his better games in the paint, netting 8 of 15 shots for 16 points while procuring a team-high 14 rebounds.

KRIS GALLOWAY was another Monarch nugget that lived off the glass, finishing with 10 points and 9 rebounds.

In the 3rd quarter, LACES played longball, hitting six 3s en route to a 30-point scoring burst and a 66-52 lead. The Monarchs added 25 points over the final 8 minutes, but by then the issue had been decided.

“Their outside game killed us in the 2nd half,” said Carroll. “Our outside shooting was horrendous. We did most of our damage inside.”

Monte Vista, which was 0-14 from 3-point range, got no closer than 9 points in the 4th quarter.

Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 32 (2 ast, 2 blk), Ryan Houser 16 (2 ast, 1 blk), Kris Galloway 10 (1 blk, 2 stl), Anthony Bell 9 (4-4 FG, 5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Chris Jones 4 (3 stl), Mike Watkins 2 (4 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Trent Watkins 2, Alex Robinson 2.

CORONA 73, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 64 – The injury bugaboo continued to haunt the Foothills Christian Knights in Wednesday’s (Dec. 26) Above the Rim Tournament opener at Cathedral Catholic.

“This was a game we certainly could have won,” said Foothills Christian assistant coach JAMES McHUGH.

Maybe so, but when team leader TROY LEAF rolled his ankles and had to be helped to the bench with 1:20 left in the 1st quarter, the Knights’ chances did not appear all that promising.

Yet living up to his school’s nickname, Leaf somehow regained his footing and returned to the court with 3 minutes left in the half. The game was deadlocked at 32-all by the break.

Corona gradually pecked away at Foothills Christian (9-3). The Knights, who trailed 53-51 after three quarters, wound up playing chase the rest of the way.

“I think these little stints without certain players can help us a lot later in the season,” McHugh said. “We've had to learn to play without ZACH KAUL for a few games and now during this game we were forced to play without Troy for a stretch. Then later in this game we lost KALOB HATCHER for a stretch when he went out with an ankle injury.”

Kaul led the Knights with 21 points, including a pair of treys and 5 steals. Leaf added 17 points and 3 rebounds, while Hatcher finished with 13 points, 9 assists and 2 steals.

As a team Foothills Christian hit a season-low 14 of 26 free throws.

“There are 5 or more guys on this squad that can shoot 90 percent and then some from the line for an entire season, and right now we're just not getting it done,” McHugh said. “Kaul was a bright spot for us returning from an injury and looking like he was feeling well.”

Foothills Christian scoring: Zach Kaul 21, Troy Leaf 17, Kalob Hatcher 13, Brandon Hale 7, Aaron Hale 6, Ryan Smith (4 reb).

WEST RANCH 77, EL CAPITAN 40 – Having seen Valencia’s West Ranch rope visiting El Capitan Wednesday (Dec. 26) afternoon, the director of Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic, Sundevils coach Chris Vitous said, “They might be the best team in our (16-team) tournament.”

The Wildcats of West Ranch galloped off to a 52-24 halftime lead and that pretty much decided the issue.

BARRETT BRAUN paced El Capitan (5-6) with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals. JAKE ZAWLACKI added 10 points, 3 rebounds and a pair of blocks.

“We came out and bombed the whole first half,” El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS said. “In the second half we did a lot better. As long as the kids learn something from these games we’ll be able to compete in league.”

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 17, Jake Zawlacki 10, Tila Case 6 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Michael Overson 4 (3 reb, 1 blk), Armon Worrell 2, Jon Molzen 1 (3 reb).

A.N. MYER (Canada) 61, MOUNT MIGUEL 38 – As a rule, Canadian teams don’t do too well when they venture south of the border. A.N. Myer of Niagara Falls, Ontario is an exception to that line of thinking.

These particular Canadians ran roughshod over host Mount Miguel in Wednesday’s (Dec. 26) first round of the Granite Hills Holiday Tournament. Perhaps that is why they sport a 9-1 record.

“We didn’t do the things we need to do defensively, especially,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT. “They had a 6-foot-6 Division I prospect that scored 38 points – he shot inside and outside. That one guy beat us. I’ll be interested in seeing how he does against other teams in the tourney.”

Mount Miguel scoring: Brad Barrett 14, Matt Miles 6, AJ Stanford 4, JJ Norton 4, Donte Allen 4, Devyn Moore 2, Arthur Hobbs 2, Travon Caples 2.

KEARNY 74, EL CAJON VALLEY 41 – LaROY McGEE scored 19 points as the Braves (4-8) were manhandled by Kearny in Wednesday’s (Dec. 26) opening round of the Granite Hills Holiday Tournament. No other details were reported.

El Cajon Valley scoring: LaRoy McGee 19, Kevin Benton 7, Anthony Ussery 5, Raylondo Ford 5, Chris Franco 3, Shivan Sulyman 2.

© East County Sports.com
BULLHEAD CITY, Ariz. (12-23-07) — A trip to the Mohave Desert reaped many benefits for the Granite Hills Eagles, who captured the 3rd place trophy in Mohave High School's 20th annual Matador Shootout.

Granite Hills senior guard WAYNE MARTIN hit a tournament record 9 three-pointers to carry the Eagles to an 81-43 victory over Sir Winston Churchill (Ontario, Canada) in Saturday’s (Dec. 22) final round of the tournament.

Martin finished with a career-high 32 points for the Eagles (6-4), who opened up a 46-19 lead by halftime.

This was no case of Martin simply firing up shots from all over the court. He was accurate; he made his efforts count, hitting 7 of 9 shots from above the arc in the 1st half.

As a team, Granite Hills scored 35 treys in the four tournament games, including 19 by Martin.

“I was pretty happy with how we finished the tournament,” said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON. “Churchill wasn’t a bad team, we just played pretty well. Everybody did a good job working the ball and getting it to Wayne.”

Junior AARON HARRIS, who plays much bigger than his 6-foot stature, added 13 points and crashed the glass for 11 rebounds.

“He continues to play really, really tough – all out every game,” said Anderson.

IAN BIRMINGHAM pulled down 7 rebounds to go along with 4 points.

“Even though he doesn’t score a lot, Ian plays good defense and rebounds well for us,” added Anderson.

DEAN MILLER contributed 11 points and 5 steals to the Eagles’ coffers.

VICENTE STAFFORD dished a team-best 6 assists.

Granite Hills scoring: Wayne Martin 32, Aaron Harris 13, Dean Miller 11, Landon Turley 7, Kyle Snyder 6, Ian Birmingham 4, Kyle San Nicolas 2, Vicente Stafford 2, Clint Davis 2, Andre Lewis 2.

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 79, ST. AUGUSTINE 70 – KALOB HATCHER of Foothills Christian is neither the tallest nor the fastest player in the San Diego CIF. But the 6-foot sophomore guard can produce results with any player in town.

Hatcher hammered down a season-high 32 points, hitting 9 of 14 shots from the field and 9 of 12 free throws to spark the Knights (9-2) past St. Augustine in Saturday’s (Dec. 22) final round of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

Hatcher’s game extended well beyond just scoring, as he led the Knights with rebounds (8), assists (8) and steals (5).

“This was a huge game for Kalob,” said Foothills Christian assistant coach JAMES McHUGH.

It could not have come at a better time considering Foothills was operating without one of its more versatile players, ZACH KAUL, on the bench with a bruised tailbone.

Foothills fired out to a 47-28 halftime lead.

The Knights set the tempo early and then went on a shooting spree in the 2nd quarter, including 5 straight treys in that quarter.

“This was a great win for us with one of our big scorers on the bench,” said McHugh.

“We dropped 10 of 13 threes in the first half and we knew they would defend on that in the second. In the 4th quarter Saints applied a lot of pressure and doubled Kalob and TROY LEAF every time they touched the ball.”

Leaf finished with 26 points, including 5 of 7 shooting from above the arc. Hatcher hit 5 of 8 from long distance, while BRANDON HALE nailed 3 of 5 treys.

“We only had 8 field goals in the 2nd half but it wasn't because of poor shooting, it was because we made a huge adjustment based on Saints' defense,” noted McHugh.

Nearly half of Foothills’ 19 points in the final quarter came on Hatcher’s ability to convert 9 of 13 free throws.

Defensive accolades once again went to junior TRAVIS GEORGE.

“I think the key for Travis was that he stayed in our game plan even when Saints’ 6-foot junior Stephon Lamar started heating up,” said McHugh.

George limited Lamar to 7 points on just 7 shots in the first half, but the high-scoring Lamar managed to get his points, finishing with 33.

“In the 4th quarter Lamar started hitting shot after shot and Travis just stayed with him, he never looked worried or frustrated, he simply did what we asked him to do,” added McHugh.

“Our defense did a great job tonight keeping the big guys from getting too many easy baskets in the lane.”

Foothills Christian scoring: Kalob Hatcher 32, Troy Leaf 26 (7 reb, 2 stl, 6 ast), Brandon Hale 10 (3 reb, 2 ast), Travis George 5, Aaron Hale 4 (2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Ryan Smith 2.

CHRISTIAN 69, BONITA VISTA 51 – No question, the Christian High Patriots have two of the most prolific scorers in San Diego CIF this season. The Patriots would like to find a third consistent contributor to their scoring efforts.

All that considered, Christian’s first-year head coach KELVIN STARR took solace in the fact that his Patriots produced 15 assists in Saturday’s (Dec. 22) surprisingly easy Grossmont Winter Classic romp over Bonita Vista.

Seven of those assists were dealt by junior TAYLOR EICHHORST, who also had 6 rebounds and 3 points.

“We did a better job on offense because of the number of assists we had,” said Starr.

DANIEL HAZLETT capitalized on those scoring passes to ring up a season-high 33 points. The senior guard connected on 11 of 17 shots from the field, including 4 treys. He was also 7 of 9 from the free throw line.

Six-foot-8 junior VANDER JOAQUIM netted 11 of 18 shots from the floor – one of them a 3 – and captured a team-best 12 rebounds.

“Vander was effective playing from the outside today,” said Starr of the Angolan native whom he hopes can contribute more from the inside in the future.

Another spark of hope was provided by sophomore MANNY WALKER, who only two weeks ago was on the football field. Walker could be that No. 3 scoring entity that Starr so badly desires. Walker finished with 7 points, including one trey.

As a team Christian shot 61 percent from the floor (27 of 44).

Christian scoring: Daniel Hazlett 33 (3 reb.), Vander Joaquim 23, Manny Walker 7, Brad Johnston 3, Taylor Eichhorst 3.

MONTE VISTA 60, RAMONA 40 – Obviously, Monarchs first-year head coach JAMES CARROLL realizes what preseason tournament games really mean. It’s about experimenting, it’s about learning the strengths and weaknesses of your players.

The stakes weren’t high when Monarchs engaged Ramona in Saturday’s (Dec. 22) final day of the Grossmont Winter Classic. While many coaches and players complained about being tournament weary, the Monarchs came out and looked sharp.

Monte Vista (5-4) romped to a 34-15 halftime lead and never looked back.

To combat any lingering fatigue, Carroll made wholesale substitutions on a regular basis.

“We started our regular lineup but had a second lineup that I put in as a unit in the 1st quarter,” said Carroll. “We did the same thing in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. We got off to a great start and were able to give all the players significant minutes tonight.”

That philosophy has worked for Rancho Bernardo all season as the Broncos own a San Diego CIF-best 11-0 mark.

Monte Vista senior RYAN HOUSER put together a powerful double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds.

GEOFF HARTMAN also tallied 14 points, bagged 9 boards and logged 4 steals. Both players netted 6 of 12 shots from the field.

TONY JACKSON, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, made his only two shots from the field, crashed the boards for 8 rebounds and blocked 2 shots.

“Houser, Jackson and Hartman all were a force inside,” said Carroll. “They controlled both boards. ANTHONY BELL played another great game defensively. He is the energy that drives our engine.”

Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 14, Ryan Houser 14 (2 ast, 1 blk), Kris Galloway 8 (7 reb, 4 blk), Trent Watkins 6 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Mike Watkins 4 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Tony Jackson 4 (2 blk), Alex Robinson 4, Brian Williams 2 (4 reb), Josh Gossmeyer 2, Chris Jones 2 (4 reb, 2 ast).

MAR VISTA 70, WEST HILLS 65 – Despite producing its highest scoring total in 10 games, the Wolf Pack came up short in Saturday’s (Dec. 22) Otay Ranch-Mater Dei Holiday Tournament finale at Otay Ranch.

The Pack marched in front 16-11 in the first quarter, but then was out-scored 42-26 in the middle two periods.

Attempting to work around 26 turnovers, West Hills (3-7) clawed back to within 2 points with two minutes remaining. Forced to foul in that situation, the Pack just couldn’t get over the hump.

“We started to play with a purpose too late,” said Wolf Pack coach JEFF ARMSTRONG, whose team averaged just 46.6 prior to Saturday’s offensive breakout.

Six-foot-5 TIM NOWLIN, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, led the Wolf Pack with 20 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks.

Nowlin hit 8 of 11 shots from the field and converted all four of his free throw chances.

Junior guard CHASE SENTER also had an excellent shooting touch as he hit 5 of 9 attempts above the arc for a season-high 15 points.

Another plus for the Wolf Pack was five players contributed to a perfect 11 for 11 free throw shooting night. RYAN BOZELLE made all three of his charity shots and totaled 10 points in the game.

West Hills scoring: Tim Nowlin 20, Chase Senter 15 (4 ast), Ryan Bozelle 10 (2 reb), Garrett Cabral 6 (5 reb), Lucas Armstrong 3 (7 ast, 4 reb), Kyle McLaughlin 3 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Kyle Navarre 2 (3 stl), Jon Darby 2 (2 reb, 3 ast), Ashur Gelyana 2, Garrett Middleton 2.

UNIVERSITY CITY 55, GROSSMONT 50 – Although forced to play catch-up the majority of Saturday’s (Dec. 22) third-place game of the Grossmont Winter Classic, the host Foothillers nearly pulled out a victory against a strong University City squad.

Trailing 53-50 with 17 seconds remaining, Grossmont got the ball inside to one of their most reliable scorers, but the senior who took the shot missed a 2-foot hook in the middle of the key.

“That miss really hurt us because then we had to foul to stop the clock,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO.

University City capitalized by sinking 2 free throws in the waning seconds to claim the victory.

RICHARD OGUNSALU led Grossmont with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

IAN COCHRAN, who was a non-scoring factor for the first three quarters, knocked down 9 points in the 4th period to help put Grossmont in position for a last-second victory. Cochran finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 2 steals.

ALEX LEON added 8 points inside the paint and tugged down 8 rebounds.

Grossmont scoring: Richard Ogunsalu 19, Ian Cochran 13, Alex Leon 8, Khalid Waters 5 (3 ast, 3 stl, 2 reb), Robert Sullivan 3 (4 reb, 3 stl).

SERRA 67, STEELE CANYON 56 – It’s been a struggle for first-year coach DEREK STEPHENS and his Steele Canyon Cougars. The club’s problems were magnified in Saturday’s (Dec. 22) final day of the 61st Kiwanis Tournament at Mission Bay.

Steele Canyon was operating without leading scorer ELIJAH CARTER and No. 1 rebounder JOSIAH SMITH. Even so, had it not been for a slow start, the Cougars (2-6) could well have created a more favorable outcome.

“We played hard and really well,” Stephens said. “I think it was hard missing some leadership at the beginning. We came out sluggish in the 1st quarter (and trailed 24-10).”

JEBARI ROBINSON (18 points) took over some leadership and JAKE RANSOM (8 points) and NICK STATHAS (13 points) helped fill in the void.

“It was a blessing in that some of our guys that normally don’t play in crunch times got to play,” Stephens said.

However, there is no making up for missing six free throws in the 4th quarter, which thwarted Steele Canyon ’s comeback bid.

Steele Canyon scoring: Jebari Robinson 18, Nick Stathas 13, Cameron Moss 8, Jake Ransom 8, Zane Keith 4, Riley Balikian 3, Eric Gilbert 2.

CLAIREMONT 46, SANTANA 43 – Santana coach TIM BARRY called Saturday’s (Dec. 22) Grossmont Winter Classic loss “probably the worst coaching loss I’ve ever had.”

It didn’t start out that way as the Sultans (10-4) streaked to a 12-0 lead in the opening 2:13 of the game.

“We just lost our focus,” said Barry, whose Sultans had earlier this season beaten Clairemont 50-48. “I know our kids were tired so I didn’t want to leave anyone out there too long.”

Clairemont, meanwhile, didn’t find its focus until the 2nd quarter when the Chieftains outscored the Sultans 19-9 to leave the game tied at 21-all by intermission.

What momentum Santana had built in the early going was completely diluted in the 2nd half as the teams went back and forth.

Reliable TYLER BLACKLEDGE paced the Sultans with 13 points and 9 rebounds.

Guard JESSE VARGAS hit a pair of 3s and finished with 10 points.

However, Santana’s overall shooting was a forgettable 25 percent (16 of 64).

“We’ve had a very good start to our season, and then to end it this way really leaves a sour taste,” Barry said. “I’ll take the blame for this loss because I’m the coach. We don’t play again until Jan. 5 so we really need to work hard in these next few practices and go out and get it (momentum) back.”

Santana scoring: Tyler Blackledge 13, Jesse Vargas 10 (3 ast), Carlos Vargas 6 (5 ast), Brett Romero 5, Blake Harper 5, Ryan Garlin 2, Kevin Engelke 2.

SAN PASQUAL 71, EL CAPITAN 52 – Not unlike most new coaches attempting to build a team, El Capitan ’s JASON CAVAZOS admits playing four games in as many days without any practice creates a stressful situation.

No question, El Capitan gave one of its poorest performances in Saturday’s (Dec. 22) Kiwanis Tournament consolation contest at Mira Mesa.

“We strive on trying to get better every game, but this game we kinda took a step backwards,” said Cavazos. “We will get one practice before our next game.”

BARRETT BRAUN scored only 13 points – about half of his season average. All but three of Braun’s points came in the 2nd quarter as the Vaqueros eked out a 35-34 halftime lead.

The 3rd quarter was a complete bust for El Capitan as San Pasqual (3-7) claimed a 16-1 scoring edge.

TILA CASE, who scored 12 points in the 1st half, hit one free throw in the decisive 3rd period to keep El Capitan from being blanked.

Despite being dogged by foul problems JON MOLZEN delivered 14 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals to the El Capitan attack. He also blocked a shot, as did Braun and JAKE ZAWLACKI. Braun topped his team with 11 rebounds.

Cavazos has been suffering from the flu and mentioned that his kids were complaining of not feeling well.

“Today was a downhill day,” he added. “We can only get better from here. We’re already better than we were last year. We just hit a pretty big speed bump today.”

El Capitan scoring: Jon Molzen 14, Barrett Braun 13 (2 stl), Tila Case 13 (2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Jake Zawlacki 6 (4 reb), Michael Overson 3 (4 reb, 3 ast), Michael Landis 2 (4 reb), Brian Deuel 1.

VALHALLA 56, PARIS (Ontario, Canada) 47 -- The Norsemen (6-3) won easily over the Canadians in Saturday's (Dec. 22) final day of the Matador Shootout in Bullhead City, Ariz.

Valhalla scoring: Austen Suhay 14 (2 treys, 5 steals), Kyle Kriebel 12 (rebs), Trevor Cahoon 8 (4 rebs), Steven Kleist 8, Derek White 7, Damaine Bradshaw 3, David Zetts 3, Alex Merutka 1.

MATER DEI 56, EL CAJON VALLEY 37 – The Braves saw their record dip to 4-7 on Saturday (Dec. 22) as they lost to the co-hosting Crusaders in the Otay Ranch-Mater Dei Holiday Tournament. No information was reported by the coaching staff.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-22-07) – Although it doesn’t probably stand up there with the so-called “holy wars” between Cathedral Catholic and St. Augustine, Friday’s (Dec. 21) Grossmont Winter Classic action between East County rivals Foothills Christian and Christian High was not lacking for intensity.

The trump card in Foothills Christian’s 64-60 win over Christian was the play of virtual unknown junior guard TRAVIS GEORGE.

Making only his third appearance in 10 games, George was designated a defensive cog in Foothills Christian’s pregame plans against their crosstown foe. His job was to keep a tight rein on Christian sharpshooter DANIEL HAZLETT.

“Today we stuck Travis George on Hazlett and basically gave him the duty of being Daniel's shadow for 32 minutes,” said the Knights’ assistant coach JAMES McHugh. “Travis did a great job in his first high school start. Hazlett still got his 20 points but he worked for them.”

Perhaps more impressive than his sterling defense was George’s unexpected contributions on offense. George had not taken a varsity shot before Friday’s game – ever – but was 4 for 4 from the floor and added a free throw to finish with 9 points.

This was a dogfight to the finish. Foothills Christian (8-2) barged in front 32-24 by the break. The third quarter, however, belonged to the Patriots, who cut the deficit to a single point heading into the final eight minutes.

The lead exchanged hands five times in the first four minutes of the final period.

TROY LEAF, who paced Foothills with 30 points, scored 9 of the Knights’ last 12 points over the final 3:55.

Christian (5-3) erased a 54-53 deficit on a 5-point scoring burst by VANDER JOAQUIM to lead 58-54 with 2:42 left.

After KALOB HATCHER pulled the Knights to within one by hitting his second trey of the day, Hazlett countered by converting both ends of a one-and-one, staking Christian to a 60-57 advantage.

The final 2:11, however, belonged exclusively to Leaf as he converted a 3-pointer, a bonus free throw situation and a layup for 7 points, and the victory.

Perhaps the most impressive of Foothills Christian’s ability to pull out a win is that they did so without ZACH KAUL, one of their top 3-point shooters and an excellent defender.

“Zach’s X-rays showed he was ok, just bruised,” McHugh said. “The doctors recommended 6 days off so we're giving him a rest. It's tough to replace Zach's scoring.

Joaquim hit 12 of 20 shots in the field to finish with 32 points for Christian, including 6 of 7 free throw shooting. He also dominated the glass with 25 rebounds.

Hazlett settled for 20 points, including 4 treys.

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 30, Kalob Hatcher 11, Brandon Hale 9, George Travis 9, Aaron Hale 5.

Christian scoring: Vander Joaquim 32, Daniel Hazlett 20, Brad Johnston 3, Taylor Eichhorst 3, Manny Walker 2.

RANCHO BERNARDO 83, GROSSMONT 67 – The host Foothillers ran into one of the hottest teams in the San Diego CIF during Friday’s (Dec. 21) semifinals of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

The Broncos (10-0) were relentless as they used the old “hockey line change” to run over the Hillers into Saturday’s (Dec. 22) championship game opposite Westview.

“That team is 10 players deep,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “They rotated two 5-team units. When you have that kind of quality depth, you can run and gun the whole game, which is what they do.”

Rancho Bernardo sprinted to a 26-11 first-quarter lead.

“We tried to slow it down and dump it inside,” Foggiano said. “And we did a pretty good job on the offensive end. If we play it like we did tonight we will win most of our games. Rancho Bernardo is a very good team.”

In addition to their continuous rotating substitutions, the Broncos utilized a full-court press and a half-court trap on the defensive end.

“We had trouble adapting to their complete line changes,” said Foggiano. “We don’t have that kind of depth so our guys had trouble concentrating at times. I can’t tell you for sure but I’ll bet they scored at least 10 points on layups because we didn’t know who we had defensively.”

Despite all the apparent disadvantages, the Foothillers pulled to within four points of the Broncos with 5 minutes remaining.

Bottom line is, Rancho Bernardo was 10 for 10 from the free throw line in the final quarter compared to Grossmont’s 5 for 10.

For the game, Rancho Bernardo was 10 of 24 from the charity stripe while Grossmont was 14 of 27.

Foggiano was proud of his inside trio – 6-foot-5 RICHARD OGUNSALU (20 points, 11 rebounds), 6-6 IAN COCHRAN (18 points, 12 rebounds) and 6-5 ALEX LEON (18 points, 10 rebounds).

“I can’t complain when I get that kind of play out of my three bigs,” Foggiano said.

Grossmont scoring: Richard Ogunsalu 20 (3 stl), Ian Cochran 18 (2 ast), Alex Leon 18, Khalid Waters 4 (4 ast, 2 stl), Michael Graham 4, Robert Sullivan 3 (2 ast).

CANYON CREST 63, SANTANA 54 – Without any powerhouse programs on Grossmont Conference hardwoods this winter, the team which plays the most consistent over 32 minutes will gain the upper hand towards a league title.

Santana has displayed more steady play than any of its Grossmont North League rivals so far, yet two short spurts Friday (Dec. 21) cost them a shot at a victory.

Despite game highs of 21 points and 13 rebounds by forward KEVIN ENGELKE, the Sultans fell to visiting Canyon Crest, 63-54, in a Grossmont Winter Classic consolation contest.

"You're going to go through bad shooting streaks, but you can't go through bad turnovers streaks if you expect to win," said Santana coach TIM BARRY. "Sometimes I think it would be better to take a bad shot rather than turn the ball over, because maybe we could get a rebound and a putback."

Trading baskets throughout the first half, suddenly a 19-16 Santana lead disappeared when the Ravens (6-3) went on a quick 13-0 tear over a 4:20 span. The Sultans roared back to tie it, but Canyon Crest opened the fourth period on a 10-0 run, with both spurts caused by the inability to make an entry pass when starting the offense.

Instead, turnovers in the backcourt led to a series of easy baskets by Canyon Crest.

"I'm a little bit disappointed by that, yet it was a good effort by us," added the coach.

And when the Ravens did run their offense, they converted nine 3-point baskets, including four by Travis Steinberg, who was 6-for-6 from the floor for 16 points. Meanwhile, Peter Fink drained three treys to finish with a team-high 18 points.

"Canyon Crest is a solid team with a bunch of great shooters -- they will hold their own in a tough league for teams like Horizon and ( La Jolla ) Country Day," added Barry. "As for us, take away those two little runs and we're right in the ballgame. At least we know what we need to fix to become a better ballclub."

JESSE VARGAS kept Santana close early with five of his 10 points coming in the first period. TYLER BLACKLEDGE added 7 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists for the Sultans (10-3).

The first Ravens run gave them a 29-19 lead, but Santana got even at 36-all, capped by a Vargas drive to the basket, followed by a last-second feed to Engelke for the layin.

The game would be tied two more times, but after a putback by BRETT ROMERO to trim the Ravens lead to 49-45 late in the third period, Canyon Crest forced six turnovers over the next five minutes, not allowing Santana to score again until there was 2:50 left to play in building a 16-point lead.

Santana scoring: Kevin Engelke 21 (13 reb), Jerrell Patacsil 10 (2 stl), Jesse Vargas 7 (2 stl), Tyler Blackledge 7 (6 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Carlos Vargas 5, Brett Romero 2, Anthony DeBarrows 2, Chris Sodergren (2 ast, 2 stl).

MONTE VISTA 73, BURROUGHS 54 – Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL did some shuffling in the Monarchs lineup for Friday’s (Dec. 21) Grossmont Winter Classic consolation contest in Santee.

Nice move, coach.

The Monarchs (4-4) scored 41 points in the first half to take a 13-point lead they wouldn’t lose.

“I mixed up the starting lineup tonight. ANTHONY BELL and TONY JACKSON started and GEOFF HARTMAN and ALEX ROBINSON came in off the bench,” Carroll said. “Tony and Anthony really played well. Hartman sparked us defensively. When Geoff and Alex were in the game we were able to press more.”

Hartman snapped out of a mild scoring slump with 17 points to go along with 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 1 block. Definitely a solid effort off the bench.

Team-high scoring honors went to MIKE WATKINS, who like Hartman hit 6 of 15 shots from the field. Watkins was 5 for 5 from the free throw line and 2 of 5 from above the arc.

Although Carroll was most pleased with RYAN HOUSER’s work on the glass, he couldn’t help but notice the 6-foot-3 senior’s 5 for 10 shooting from the field. Houser totaled 7 rebounds, blocked a shot, dished 3 assists and made 2 steals.

“Houser was a force inside and on the boards,” said Carroll.

Nine Monarchs contributed to the scoring. TRENT WATKINS did a nifty job of distributing the ball as he collected a team-best 8 assists.

KRIS GALLOWAY was a stable force inside with 5 rebounds, 2 blocks and 3 steals.

Although Bell ’s contributions might be considered subtle on the surface, he made the most of his opportunities, hitting both of his two shots from the field for 4 points while nabbing 4 rebounds.

Jackson also was a stealth contributor, converting both of his field goal shots and adding one free throw and 6 rebounds.

“Everybody contributed in all phases of the game tonight,” noted Carroll.

Monte Vista scoring: Mike Watkins 19, Geoff Hartman 17, Ryan Houser 10, Alex Robinson 8, Kris Galloway 6, Tony Jackson 5, Anthony Bell 4, Trent Watkins 2, Brian Williams 2.

EL CAPITAN 64, MORSE 55 – If nothing else, first-year head coach JASON CAVAZOS can look back to the second game of the season when his Vaqueros were mauled by Morse 81-64.

Since then the Vaqueros have made giant strides to right their ship, including a payback win over the Tigers in Friday’s (Dec. 21) Kiwanis Tournament action.

“It was a definite advantage having played them before,” said Cavazos. “We were familiar with their offensive and defensive tendencies, who liked to shoot the ball and where they liked to shoot it.”

To measure El Capitan ’s defensive progress one needs only look to Morse’s one-two scoring punch of Remil Landrum and Chris Humphries. In the first go-round Landrum tallied 28 points but was held to 17 in the rematch. Humphries burned the Vaqueros for 26 points in November but was limited to 13 on Friday.

“We did a good job on both offense and defense,” said Cavazos. I’m pleased with the way we played today.”

As usual, senior BARRETT BRAUN carried the offensive torch for the Vaqueros with 27 points – 20 of them coming in the first half. Braun also hit 4 threes, grabbed 7 rebounds and handed out 3 assists.

Junior JON MOLZEN chimed in with 15 points, the majority coming on a trio of 3-pointers. He also gobbled up a team-best 10 rebounds, one more than MICHAEL OVERSON.

“We have more players stepping up on offense now. They want the ball in key moments and are not afraid to shoot it,” Cavazos said.

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 27, Jon Molzen 15 (4 stl, 3 ast), Tila Case 7, Michael Overson 6 (4 ast), Jake Zawlacki 6 (5 reb), Michael Landis 3.

FRANCIS PARKER 58, WEST HILLS 35 – After spinning off three straight wins, the Wolf Pack hit a stone wall when it tipped off against Francis Parker (5-1) in Friday’s (Dec. 21) Otay Ranch-Mater Dei Holiday Invitational in Chula Vista.

“It was a tough night for the Pack versus a tough team,” emphasized West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG.

West Hills held Parker’s best player, Jerome Fried, scoreless. While defensively sound, however, the Wolf Pack could not find its offense, hitting just 10 of 33 shots from the field and 11 of 23 free throws. Twenty-one turnovers didn’t help matters.

Parker capitalized from the outset, taking a 21-9 first quarter lead.

“We appeared tired from two games yesterday,” Armstrong said. “Once we settled in we stayed with them for two of the next three quarters.”

Parker extended its advantage with a 12-5 scoring spree in the 3rd period.

TIM NOWLIN, the Wolf Pack’s top scorer and leading rebounder, picked up his third foul early in the 2nd quarter. That limited his playing time and scoring to 4 points, but he still managed to scoop up 11 rebounds.

GARRETT CABRAL led the Wolf Pack in scoring with 11 points and JON DARBY chipped in 8 points.

“Darby is getting better every game,” Armstrong said. “He’s starting to figure out how to play this game. He’s so fast and strong and has the best vertical jump on the team. Give him a couple more weeks and he’s really going to help us.”

West Hills scoring: Garrett Cabral 11, Jon Darby 8, Ryan Bozelle 6, Tim Nowlin 4, Chase Senter 3, Kyle Navarre 1, Kyle McLaughlin 1, Garrett Middleton 1,

HILLTOP 59, GRANITE HILLS 44 – It seems funny that these two San Diego County teams would travel some five hours and 300-plus miles to the Matador Shootout in Bullhead City, Ariz., only to find themselves staring across from each other in Friday’s (Dec. 21) second-round matchup.

It was not advantageous for Granite Hills, as the Eagles turned in a lackluster performance and suffered their 3rd loss in eight decisions.

Once again Granite Hills relied on the one-two scoring punch of DEAN MILLER (14 points) and WAYNE MARTIN (13), but it was hardly enough as Hilltop built a 51-31 lead by the end of three quarters.

Martin knocked down a trio of 3s. AARON HARRIS banged the boards for 9 rebounds, while Miller and IAN BIRMINGHAM collected 8 caroms apiece.

“We played poorly,” admitted Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. “We came out not ready to play. Our intensity level was not where it should be.”

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 14, Wayne Martin 13, Aaron Harris 5, Kyle Snyder 4, Parker Dow 3, Kyle San Nicolas 2, Clint Davis 2, Lewis 1.

SANTA RITA (Tucson) 79, GRANITE HILLS 64 – The Eagles picked up their intensity in the second game of Friday’s (Dec. 21) Matador Shootout double-header in Bullhead City, Ariz., but it may not look like it considering Granite Hills was tackling the No. 2 ranked team in Arizona.

Although the Eagles (5-4) trailed most of the way, they crept to within four points of Santa Rita (9-0) late in the 3rd quarter, but that’s as close as they would get.

“We played much better in the second game, played hard the whole time,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. “We’ll use this tournament as a valuable learning tool in getting ready for league.”

DEAN MILLER nailed a trio of 3s on his way to a game-high 26 points for Granite Hills. WAYNE MARTIN popped in 4 three-pointers on his way to an 18 point finish. Martin also had 8 assists and 4 steals.

Although they didn’t score a whole lot of points between them, AARON HARRIS and IAN BIRMINGHAM combined for 24 rebounds – 13 by Harris.

The fact that Harris, a 6-foot junior, and the 6-3 senior Birmingham were able to battle a Santa Clarita front line that included 6-8 and 6-5 jumping jacks was impressive.

“Harris had a good all-around game, and Birmingham played a real solid defensive game on their 6-foot-8 guy.”

Anderson also noted that Santa Rita’s talent-laden lineup included a 6-foot guard who is being recruited by UCLA and Arizona, and who scored 27 points against the Eagles.

“They were pretty tough,” said Anderson.

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 26, Wayne Martin 18, Landon Turley 7, Vicente Stafford 5, Kyle Snyder 3.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN (Colo.) 92, VALHALLA 53 – Colorado’s Rocky Mountain Lobos ran roughshod over the Norsemen in Friday’s (Dec. 21) Matador Shootout in Bullhead City, Ariz., in the first of two games.

The Lobos (8-1) laced Valhalla (5-2) by knocking down 10 three-pointers on their way to a 61-16 halftime lead.

One of the bright spots for Valhalla continues to be the play of 6-foot-5 sophomore KYLE KRIEBEL, who punched in 18 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and blocked 2 shots.

“We came out a little bit lethargic and you can’t do that against a good team,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. “The kids played a lot more solid and with more intensity in the 2nd half.”

Valhalla actually outscored the Lobos 37-31 in the 2nd half.

Valhalla scoring: Kyle Kriebel 18, Damaine Bradshaw 10, Steven Kleist 5, David Cahoon 4 (4 reb, 3 stl), David Zetts 3, Austen Suhay 3 (4 reb), Rod Fakhoury 3, Alex Merutka 2, Scott Sturgeon 2, Derek White 2, Ruffy Bacong 1.

MOHAVE (Ariz.) 61, VALHALLA 46 – It was another big outing for sophomore KYLE KRIEBEL as he scored 16 points, bagged 10 boards and blocked 6 shots in Valhalla’s second game of Friday’s (Dec. 21) Matador Shootout double-header in Bullhead City, Ariz.

“Kriebel had a good game for us,” said Norsemen coach KEITH JACKSON. “We shot 18 of 51 (35 percent) from the field. But other than that, not a lot of things went well for us. We didn’t play like a confident, experienced team today.”

Valhalla scoring: Kyle Kriebel 16, Austen Suhay 9 (3 ast), Derek White 7, EV Alcantar 6 (2 stl), Trevor Cahoon 4 (2 stl), Rod Fakhoury 2, Steven Kleist 2.

LA COSTA CANYON 55, STEELE CANYON 50 – Riding the crest of a 31-point blowout victory the night before, Steele Canyon came out steaming in the first half of Friday’s (Dec. 21) of Kiwanis Tournament at Mission Bay.

The Cougars led La Costa Canyon 34-27 after the first 16 minutes, but faltered in the 3rd quarter and was unable to pick up the slack in the final period.

“This was the best first half we have played this year,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS. “But they shot us down in the 2nd half. We did not shoot the ball well in the last two quarters. Our defense was just a little shoddy in the 2nd half.