Grossmont outscored the Norsemen 21-6 over the final
eight minutes to erase a game-long deficit.
ROBBY NESOVIC stole a Valhalla pass under the basket
and was fouled with 8.5 seconds left. He proceeded to
make two free throws to make it a 3-point lead which
sealed the Grossmont victory.
“This was a tough game to lose,” said Valhalla
coach KEITH JACKSON. “But give Grossmont credit
– they made a great comeback. We didn’t do
what we had to do to win the game. We did a great job
of executing what we wanted to do in the first three
quarters, but that wasn’t the case in the fourth
quarter.”
With 3:30 left in the contest Valhalla was camped out
on a 52-40 advantage. That’s when Grossmont (13-8,
2-2 GHL) went to full court man pressure to create an
11-0 scoring run to make it a 1-point game.
After Valhalla extended its lead to 54-51, Grossmont’s
MICHAEL WNEK hit a 3 to tie the game at 54-all with
a minute to play.
A layup by Nesovic lifted the Foothillers in front
56-54.
Valhalla (11-9, 2-2 GHL) had a chance to tie the game
but DAVID WILSCHETZ, who scored a game-high 25 points
and grabbed 14 rebounds, made only one of two free throws,
leaving the Norsemen a point short with 30 seconds remaining.
Grossmont gave Valhalla another chance by turning the
ball over with 26 seconds left. Valhalla called time
out and Grossmont switched to zone defense.
That’s when Nesovic stepped in to make his victory-clinching
steal. After Nesovic stretched the Hillers lead to 3,
Grossmont called time out and went back to man-to-man
defense. Valhalla was unable to get a final shot off.
“Grossmont shot 12 free throws to Valhalla’s
2 free throws in the fourth quarter,” said Jackson
. “It kinda turned the game around. We never got
in the bonus all night.”
Nesovic led the Foothillers with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
Wnek chipped in with 18 points – more than half
of them coming on 4 three-pointers.
Sophomore DEREK RUSTICH enjoyed a double-double of
12 points and 11 rebounds for the Hillers.
“It was a great game for us to come back from
being down 52-40 with 3½ minutes to go,”
said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “ Valhalla
played very, very hard – they got a lot of loose
balls.”
GRANITE HILLS 53, STEELE CANYON 49 – It’s
guys like JOHN PETTY who have to come up big if the
Granite Hills Eagles are going to make a serious run
at the Grossmont Hills League championship.
A 6-foot senior guard, Petty came off the bench to
tally a season-best 10 points as the Eagles staved off
visiting Steele Canyon in Monday’s (Jan. 31) GVL
encounter.
“You know the first they’ll see about Petty
is his offensive input,” said Granite Hills coach
RANDY ANDERSON. “But he, JAMES SADIK and DALTON
OTINERU did a great job of defending ( Steele Canyon
’s CASEY) BALIKIAN in the second half. Balikian
killed us in the first half when he hit four 3-pointers
to keep them in the game.”
Granite Hills led 30-29 at the intermission, but Balikian
would score only 3 of his team-high 15 points in the
second half.
The Eagles (15-8, 2-2 GHL) kept pecking away but could
never build a sizeable lead.
“We couldn’t shake them,” Anderson said.
“Our biggest lead was 8 points in the fourth quarter
but we missed so many front ends that we kept letting
them back into the game.”
Steady GARRETT LARCH-MILLER scored a game-high 20 points
to lead the Eagles. None of his points came from 3-point
distance, however.
“We didn’t shoot very many threes, just ran
our basic offense,” Anderson noted.
Anderson heaped accolades on 6-foot-9 junior post SCOTT
ATKINSON, who pulled down 13 rebounds and blocked 6
shots.
“He was definitely a defensive force – plugged
up the middle for us,” Anderson said. “The
6 blocks were pretty good but he also altered 7 or 8
shots, just by his presence in the key.”
Steele Canyon was still within reach, trailing by 2
points with 18 seconds to go.
“We played really well, just had a couple of turnovers
at the end,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS.
“ANDREW KING played his heart out,” the Cougars
coach added. “He played all 32 minutes and his
defense and offense were phenomenal. He was guarding
Larch-Miller.”
“Balikian was on fire in the first half –
he was 4 of 5 on threes,” Stephens added. “They
did a good job of guarding him in the second half.”
Steele Canyon : Casey Balikian 15 (4 reb, 2 ast), Danny
Bwinika 12 (3 reb, 4 stl), Andrew King 6 (2 reb, 7 ast,
3 stl), Michael Jordan 6 (11 reb), Justin Norwood 4
(7 reb), Dylan Kirchhofer 4 (2 stl), Reggie White 2
(3 reb), P.J. Russell (3 reb).
HELIX 66, WEST HILLS 30 – Helix High coach
JOHN SINGER is proud to note that he is the only coach
in East County that carries 15 players on his varsity
basketball roster.
While that is all fine and good, sometimes it’s
hard to get all those players into a game.
For one of the few times this season Singer was able
to empty his bench in Monday’s (Jan. 31) Grossmont
Hills League runaway win over visiting West Hills (8-13,
1-3 GHL).
Helix (15-5, 4-0 GHL), the yardstick for defense in
East County if not all of the San Diego CIF, limited
the Wolf Pack to its lowest total since the opening
tournament of the season.
“We really defended the 3-point line,” said
Singer.
The Wolf Pack, which registered 10 three-point buckets
in the second half of Friday’s loss to Grossmont,
was 4-for-18 from above the arc against the Highlanders.
Helix’ defense was pretty solid inside the paint
as well, as the Wolf Pack shot only 24.5 percent (13
of 53) for the game.
“I couldn’t ask for a better effort from
our defense,” Singer said. “And you know what
a premium I place on playing defense.”
So perfect was Helix that West Hills was not afforded
a single free throw attempt in the contest.
Furthermore the Highlanders dominated the boards 52-20.
West Hills collected only 2 offensive caroms all night.
KENNY KEYS netted 8 of 11 shots from the floor on his
way to a game-high 21 points for the Highlanders, who
have won 7 straight and 11 of 12.
BRIAN VALADEZ executed another double-double of 14
points and 12 rebounds for Helix.
Point guard TOMMIE YOUNG distributed 8 assists for
the Highlanders, who opened up a 32-10 halftime lead.
Helix: Kenny Keys 21 (6 reb, 1 ast, 4 blk, 2 stl),
Brian Valadez 14 (12 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Titus
Young 8 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Ray Contreras 6 (4 reb),
Kevin Williams 5 (1 reb, 3 ast), Kene Anigbogu 4 (3
reb), Tommie Young 2 (6 reb, 8 ast, 1 stl), Gary Thompson
2 (2 reb, 1 stl), Isaac Randall 2 (2 reb, 2 stl), Isaac
Sullivan 2 (2 reb, 1stl), John Singer (5 reb, 3 ast,
2 stl, 1 blk), David Woodward (4 reb, 1 ast), Michael
Todd (1 reb, 2 ast), Vann Sabin (1 reb, 1 stl), Earl
Schexnayder (3 ast).
West Hills: D.J. Lewis 9 (3 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Alex
Parsons 8 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), John Magoon
4 (1 reb, 2 ast), Sun 4 (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk),
Jonny Preston 4 (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Kevin
Straub 2 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Nick Findley (1 stl,
1 blk), Ralph Bedoe (2 reb), Joey Clark (1 ast).
MOUNT MIGUEL 64, EL CAPITAN 37 – A balanced
offense doesn’t get much better than what was put
on display by visiting Mount Miguel in Monday’s
(Jan. 31)
Grossmont Valley League romp over the Vaqueros in Lakeside
.
THOMAS BUTLER, MOHAMUD ABDI, MARCUS BOOKER and CORY
LITTLETON scored 13 points apiece while sophomore IZZY
WAGNER tagged on nine for the GVL-leading Matadors (18-5,
4-0 GVL).
Mount Miguel has won eight in a row and 14 of its last
15 games.
Yet, the phase of the game that Matadors coach JAY
ROWLETT found most pleasing was defense.
“We didn’t let them play catch and shoot,”
he said.
Booker and SHAKEEL HILL pounded in the defensive nails
for Mount Miguel as they combined to hold El Capitan
’s KYGAR Brothers –TYSON and CODY – to
21 points, some 15 below their season average.
El Capitan fell to 7-13, 0-3 GVL.
Mount Miguel : Thomas Butler 13 (6 reb, 2 ast), Mohamud
Abdi 13 (7 reb, 2 stl), Marcus Booker 13 (5 reb, 5 ast),
Cory Littleton 13 (8 reb, 1 ast), Izzy Wagner 9 (5 ast,
3 stl), Shakeel Hill 2 (3 ast, 3 stl), Marcellus Jones
(1 reb, 1 stl), Safen Mohammed (1 reb, 1 stl).
MONTE VISTA 81, EL CAJON VALLEY 44 – Monte
Vista registered its season scoring high on Monday (Jan.
31) in a Grossmont Valley League blowout of visiting
El Cajon Valley .
“We had four guys in double figures,” Monarchs
coach JAMES CARROLL said. “We moved the ball around
well and were able to get good looks at open shots.”
Better than that the Monarchs (12-8, 2-1 GVL) shot
59.3 percent from the field (35 of 59) while JAMES JACKSON
charted a triple double with 14 points, 10 rebounds
and 10 assists.
Monte Vista guard KJ HOUSTON gave a solid performance
at the point with 16 points and 10 assists. RUEBEN NWANDO
added 16 points and eight boards.
Obviously pleased by his team’s offensive gusher,
Carroll also noted “We played good sticky defense.”
DOMINIQUE MILLER led El Cajon Valley with 26 points.
The 5-foot-8 junior guard hit the biggest shot of his
career Saturday (Jan. 29) lifting the host Sultans to
a 59-58 non-league victory over The Rock Academy.
Taking a feed from point guard TREY BASS, Rosolino
pulled up in the corner and launched a game-winning
3-pointer at the buzzer.
“Our kids went crazy,” Santana coach TIM
BARRY said. “They really showed a lot of emotion.”
It was Rosolino’s third 3-pointer in the game.
“Bass did a wonderful job of getting the ball
down court,” Barry said. “Just as he crossed
the half court line he made a penetrating kick to Rosolino.
We call that play The Diamond. We’ve used it for
years.”
Rosolino generated a game-high 13 points, while Bass
coined a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Santana (15-7) appeared to have matters in hand, sitting
on a 56-51 lead with the ball and one minute remaining.
The Rock (9-7) had different ideas, reeling off seven
unanswered points to take a 58-56 edge with 4.4 seconds
left.
The Rock came up with two steals and baskets to tie
it at 56-56.
“I called time out and told the kids I wanted
to play for the last shot or go to overtime,” Barry
said. “But we turned the ball over and The Rock
took the lead.”
Once again Santana was deadly from the free throw line,
clicking on 14 of 16 attempts. In the last two games,
the Sultans have netted 35 of 42 chances from the charity
stripe.
Six-foot-8 RYAN BICKFORD tallied 12 points for the
Sultans. Half of his points came from the free throw
line and he has now made 19 straight over the past two
contests.
Santana: Mike Rosolino 13 (1 reb, 1 stl), Trey Bass
12 (13 reb, 8 ast, 2 stl), Jason Corbisez 12 (7 reb,
1 stl), Ryan Bickford 12 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl),
Daniel Levens-Lowery 6 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jordan
Khalaf 4 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Landon Lozoya (3 reb,
1 ast, 1 blk), Christian Barry (1 ast), James Doherty
(1 reb).
Helix' Brian Valadez (left)
avoids the block
by Garrett Larch-Miller of Granite Hills. (Photo by Nathan Price, youatplay.com)
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Senior guard GARRETT LARCH-MILLER came into the
game averaging 26.7 points a game, but it was
Granite Hills sophomore guard JOEY GRUBB who came
out firing, nailing his three shots from long-range.
Helix would dominate the boards in the first quarter
though, out-rebounding the Eagles 12-5 on the
glass and keeping the score close – trailing
by only one at the end of the period.
Helix would respond in the second quarter after
falling behind 21-16 with a 12-3 run to close
out the half. Senior center KENNY KEYS played
a big role for the Scotties, with 3 rebounds and
one steal, while the Highlanders took their first
lead since the opening minutes as Keys got the
Eagles 6-foot-10 center SCOTT ATKINSON his third
foul with 1:59 left in the half.
With Atkinson on the bench the Highlanders would
take advantage with guard TITUS YOUNG driving
to the hole on back-to-back possessions, kicking
it out to a wide-open KEVIN WILLIAMS for two 3-pointers
to make Helix’ lead 28-21 with 43 seconds
left.
Helix coach JOHN SINGER praised Williams' effort
stating, "We got a lot of good minutes out
of Kevin and GARY THOMPSON coming off the bench
tonight. We’re getting contributions from
a lot of guys. I’m not interested in a bunch
of individual stuff – I’m interested
in Ws."
Granite's Grubb would end the half with a trey
at the buzzer to bring the Eagles within four,
while collecting all 14 of his points before halftime.
Once the Eagles tied the score early in the third,
Helix's BRIAN VALADEZ nailed a couple from downtown,
as he scored 10 of his team-high 22 points in
the period. After two inside buckets early, followed
by a layup by Williams and an inside score from
Keys which pushed the Highlanders’ lead to
48-39, the Eagles’ Larch-Miller decided it
was time to fight back.
Larch-Miller nailed a couple of NBA-range 3-pointers
and would score all 13 of the Eagles’ points
in the fourth. But the Scotties swarming D on
the rest of the team and their 10 made free-throws
down the stretch would prove to be too much as
the Highlanders pulled away and won by 13 to bring
their record to 14-5 overall and 3-0 in league.
Granite Hills fell to 13-8 and 1-2 in league play.
When asked to pinpoint the reason for the victory
coach Singer kept it simple, "Overall it
was our team defense...it was a good team effort."
Singer was pleased by the fact that his team
committed only nine turnovers.
Victories have been plentiful for the Highlanders
of late as they have won six straight and 10 of
11.
Said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON, “We
executed well in the first half. Defensively we
didn’t play well in stretches. They had a
big fourth quarter, shot well from the perimeter
– they had five 3s. They shot better than
I thought they would from the perimeter.”
Helix: Brian Valadez 22 (12 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl),
Titus Young 13 (1 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl), Kevin Williams
12 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk), Kenny Keys 10 (8 reb,
1 stl, 1 blk), John Singer 4 (4 reb, 1 stl), Gary
Thompson 1 (2 reb), Tommie Young (2 reb, 3 ast,
1 stl), Ray Contreras (1 reb, 1 stl), Kene Anigbogu
(1 reb)
"We went to the rim – that's all we wanted to
do," explained Santana's JORDAN KHALAF. "And
they kept fouling us."
In an endless second half which featured a parade of
shooters going to the foul line Friday (Jan. 28), the
Sultans made 21-of-26 free throws to stretch a 34-29
halftime lead into a 70-52 triumph over rival El Capitan
at Foster Gym.
"Coach (TIM) BARRY told us to be strong with the
ball and take it to the rack," added TREY BASS,
one of four Sultans to score in double-figures with
10 points. "And it worked."
Considering strong defensive efforts by El Capitan
in recent weeks, including an upset of Granite Hills,
the Vaqueros on this night soon ran into foul trouble
after being unable to prevent the Sultans' penetration.
Of the top six players in their rotation, two fouled
out while two others finished with four fouls each.
And no member of the Sultans seemed to care if they
fell into their own foul difficulties even after El
Capitan took five charges – AUSTIN BETTS single-handedly
held his ground to force three offensive fouls; TYSON
KYGAR and AUSTIN DIGENAN took the others.
"In practice, we always have our best defensive
players guard our best offensive players," noted
Bass. "As long as we don't reach, our defense can
be really strong."
The decisive third quarter saw Santana center RYAN
BICKFORD go 8-for-8 at the foul line, stretching the
lead to 57-35 despite the team recording only two buckets
from the field. Four minutes into the fourth quarter,
the Sultans registered just one additional basket, yet
the lead expanded up to 25 points simply on foul shooting.
For the contest, Bickford made a first-quarter basket
while being fouled for a 3-point play. After that, he
only scored from the foul line, going 11-for-11 to finish
with an unlikely 13 points.
The East County single-game foul-shooting record was
set at Foster Gym back in 1971, when future Santana
girls basketball coach WADE VICKERY sank 14 without
a miss for El Capitan in a Grossmont League contest
against Monte Vista.
Khalaf is well acquainted with the rivalry. He lives
on the schools' boundary line and had a choice on which
school to attend.
"I wanted to play with my nephew, who's in the
same grade as me," noted Khalaf, a Santana senior.
The leading scorer for the Sultans was LANDON LOZOYA,
who collected 15 points plus four assists.
Kygar paced both sides with 26 points, including a
pair of treys to give El Cap the early lead. He later
scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, but the outcome
was already decided.
The Color Purple – El Capitan hosted an
interesting halftime program. They selected a "homecoming"
king and queen among the school's teaching staff. However,
one male teacher is ripe to be fired when it was announced
that his favorite color is purple, the official color
of the arch-rival Sultans.
Santana: Landon Lozoya 15 (9 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk), Jordan
Khalaf 14 (6 reb), Ryan Bickford 13 (9 reb, 4 blk, 3
stl, 1 ast), Trey Bass 10 (8 reb, 2 blk, 2 stl, 2 ast),
Jason Corbisez 8 (4 stl, 3 reb), James Doherty 5 (1
ast, 1 reb), A.J. Bratlien 2 (1 reb), Christian Barry
2 (2 ast, 2 stl), Daniel Levens-Lowery 1 (2 reb, 1 ast),
Mike Rosolino (2 blk).
GROSSMONT 77, WEST HILLS 51 – While the
defending Grossmont Hills League champion Foothillers
finally began performing like the team they were expected
to be Friday (Jan. 28) night, host West Hills managed
to can 10 three-pointers and still was never a factor
in the game.
The problem for the Wolf Pack (8-12, 1-2) is by the
time it was able to dial up long distance it was the
second half and the Foothillers were rolling 43-11.
All of the Pack’s 3-pointers came in the final
two quarters.
What caged the Wolf Pack was 3-for-24 shooting from
the floor in the first half while Grossmont was 15 for
28. Bottom line is that computed to a 32-point deficit
for West Hills.
“The last couple of games we haven’t come
out strong,” said the Foothillers’ ROBBY NESOVIC,
who scored 17 points and collected 16 rebounds. “We
were able to do that tonight.”
Thus, Grossmont (12-8) was able to win its first league
game in three decisions.
The Foothillers connected on 13 of their first 21 shots
from the field to take a 34-4 advantage with 5:43 left
in the second quarter.
“Our intensity in the first half is what it should
be all the time,” Nesovic added. “We need
to do a little bit better of keeping it up in the second
half. We need to keep playing like we’re either
up by two or down by one.”
Four of Grossmont’s five starters finished in
double scoring digits. DEREK RUSTICH canned 16 points
and corralled 13 rebounds. MICHAEL WNEK was Grossmont’s
deep threat, hitting four 3-pointers on his way to a
14-point finish.
Floor director DeSEAN WATERS contributed 10 point,
5 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
The Foothillers crushed the Pack on the boards 44-22
“As a team I think we improved our inside game
a lot,” said Rustich, a 6-foot-4 sophomore.
Grossmont’s defense wasn’t too bad either,
as it limited West Hills to four D.J. LEWIS free throws
until ALEX PARSONS scored a bucket for the Pack with
5:21 left in the half.
West Hills’ NICK FINDLEY and KEVIN STRAUB each
hit four 3-pointers in the losing effort.
Grossmont: Robby Nesovic 17 (16 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk,
2 stl), Derek Rustich 16 (13 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Michael
Wnek 14 (4 ast, 2 reb, 3 stl), DeSean Waters 10 (5 reb,
5 ast, 3 stl), Adam Robinson 6 (2 reb), Austin Swisher
5 (2 reb, 1 ast), Ryan Green 5 (1 ast), Nick Persinger
3 (2 reb), Christian Meno 1 (1 reb), Marcus Flisher
(1 reb).
West Hills: Nick Findley 14, Kevin Straub 12 (7 reb),
Alex Parsons 7 (6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), D.J. Lewis
6 (1 stl), Jonny Preston 4 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Joey
Clark 3 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Ralph Bedoe 3 (1 ast),
John Magoon 2 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl).
CHRISTIAN 57, KEARNY 49 – Sharp-shooting
SHANE DILLON hammered down a career high 36 points –
including 6 of 13 shooting from above the arc –
to carry Christian to an impressive Central League victory
Friday (Jan. 28) night at Kearny .
The 6-foot-6 Dillon, who was also 10-for-11 from the
free throw line, shared team-high rebounding honors
with AARON HUESLIEN with 8.
Perhaps the unsung hero in this saga was Air Force
bound TYRONE SAULS, who knocked down 6 of 8 shots from
the floor to finish with 14 points for the Patriots
(10-10, 4-3 CL).
“We needed this win,” said Patriots assistant
coach DEREK LARSEN. “They were a very quick team
– their trap hurt us. Shane Dillon was huge for
us tonight as was Aaron Hueslein.”
Christian built a 27-16 first half lead and then managed
to stave off the Komets (9-8, 3-4 CL) in the second
half.
“Hueslein came off the bench and handled the point
guard spot real well when JAKE LARSEN got in foul trouble,”
coach Larsen said. “Jake picked up two fouls in
the first two minutes.”
Steele Canyon's Cody Wells (4)
receives a knock
in the head on a shot attempt against Valhalla. (Photo by Frank Price, youatplay.com)
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VALHALLA 70, STEELE CANYON 52 – The visiting
Norsemen moved into sole possession of second place
of the Grossmont Hills League Friday (Jan. 28) by slapping
around the Steele Canyon Cougars.
The Norsemen (11-8, 2-1 GHL) did the bulk of their
damage in the second quarter when they overpowered the
Cougars 24-14 to gain a 47-24 halftime lead.
“It was close in the first quarter (13-10) and
we had a nice run in the second,” said Valhalla
coach KEITH JACKSON.
Reliable DAVID WILSCHETZ had a keen shooting eye on
this night as he netted 7 of 10 shots from the floor
and 8 of 11 free throws for 22 points on his way to
a double-double that included 10 rebounds. He also blocked
4 shots and pilfered 2 Steele Canyon passes.
Valhalla’s MANNY HERNANDEZ missed only one shot
all night as he was 7-for-8 from the field and 2-for-2
from the line, totaling 16 points. A 6-foot-5 junior,
Hernandez also gobbled up 6 rebounds and blocked 5 shots.
“I can’t say enough about how big Manny and
Dave were for us,” said Jackson . “They scored
half of our points – combined for 38 points. They
did a really good job defensively and rebounding, too.”
Jackson also heralded the work of his guards –
AMIL HERMIZ, KEVIN MILLS and SPENCER HAVIRD.
“I thought they did a good job of getting the
ball, feeding the post, penetrating and dumping off
to Manny and Dave.”
There were several other role players that keyed the
victory, including Havird, who hit a trio of 3-pointers
and handed out 7 assists while recording 4 steals.
THOMAS McDONALD was another player spot-lighted by
Jackson . The 6-foot senior went 3-for-3 from the floor
for 6 points and yanked down 5 rebounds.
Steele Canyon fell to 8-13, 1-2 GHL.
“It was a tough game – it’s always tough
to go over there (to Steele Canyon ),” Jackson
said. “There is a rivalry between us. I was really
proud of how well we played. In our middle two quarters
we outscored them 43-25. When we play a team like that
we have to match their intensity.”
Steele Canyon: Andrew King 14, Danny Bwinika 11, Justin
Norwood 9, Casey Balikian 6, Michael Jordan 5, Dylan
Kirchhofer 4, Isaac Curia-Tobin 2, P.J. Russell 2.
MOUNT MIGUEL 75, EL CAJON VALLEY 42 – Despite
a career-best 30 points by El Cajon Valley’s DOMINIQUE
MILLER, host Mount Miguel maintained its lead in the
Grossmont Valley League.
The defending champion Matadors (17-5, 3-0 GVL) stretched
their winning streak to seven games and have won 13
of their last 14.
Four Matadors reached double scoring digits, including
SAFEN MOHAMMED who punched in a career-high 14 markers.
MARCUS BOOKER led the way for Mount Miguel with 17 points
and 8 assists.
CORY LITTLETON contributed 12 points and 8 rebounds
and IZZY WAGNER added 12 points and 6 assists for the
Matadors.
The Matadors broke the game open with a 24-5 second
quarter to lead 43-15 by the break.
Miller was sharp from the free throw line where he
netted 11 of 15 attempts.
Mount Miguel: Marcus Booker 17 (8 ast, 3 reb, 3 stl),
Safen Mohammed 14 (4 stl, 2 reb), Cory Littleton 12
(8 reb, 2 stl), Izzy Wagner 12 (6 ast), Thomas Butler
9 (7 reb), Shakeel Hill 5 (3 stl), Marcellus Jones 4
(1 ast, 2 stl), Mohamud Abdi 2 (6 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl).
El Cajon Valley: Dominique Miller 30, Alex Jacinto
4, Diante Ashby 3, Brenden Brocious 2, Vernel Moon 2,
Tyler Varela 1.
FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 75, SD-CALVARY CHRISTIAN 31
– The visiting Knights made it 35 Citrus South
League wins in a row as they rolled over Calvary Christian
Academy Friday (Jan. 28) night in Chula Vista. No other
details were reported.
Christian High's Shane Dillon
(right) lets the fans know it after corraling
this rebound away from Islanders forward Justin
Hebner. (Photo by Frank Price, youatplay.com)
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Mosser
gains quadruple-double against 'LeBron-less' Cavs
For the contest, the hosts out-rebounded the Islanders
40-16, but 17 turnovers proved to be too much.
The Islanders came out pressing early in the game, causing
multiple turnovers and bad decisions by the Patriots
and jumping out to a first quarter 15-2 lead before
Christian head coach KELVIN STARR called timeout with
1:35 left in the first quarter.
Just when it seemed like the Patriots were biting off
more than they could chew his team responded with a
16-6 run of their own capped off by a beautiful baseline
move by junior SHANE DILLON that ended with a spectacular
dunk, bringing the Patriots back and cutting the lead
to 21-18 with 2:28 left to go in the second.
Coronado called timeout, regrouped and closed the half
by nailing a trey, pushing their lead back to 31-21.
The Patriots came out in the second half looking like
a team on a mission.
Led by senior TYRONE SAULS, newly-named All-State first
team for his efforts on the football field, along with
the quickness of junior guard JAKE LARSEN, the pair
combined to score the Patriots' first 13 points in the
third quarter.
Christian made a furious second-half comeback, outscoring
the Islanders 18-6 in the third. Sauls did the dirty
work inside for Christian and collected 8 of his 10
rebounds in the second half, with 7 of those being of
the offensive variety.
With 2:03 remaining in the third, the Patriots finally
took their first lead of the game when Dillon was fouled
shooting a 3-pointer in the corner. Dillon would go
on to calmly swish all three free-throws and they led
39-37 after the third.
The fourth quarter started much like the first with
Christian turning the ball over and the Islanders capitalizing
on the turnovers with an 8-0 run to begin the period
and reclaiming the lead at 45-39 before coach Starr
called timeout.
"The problem is they weren't good turnovers. They
weren't attacking turnovers. They just lead to easy
shots for them," Starr commented.
The Patriots tried to fight back. After a 3-pointer
from Dillon and a nice inside score from senior forward
CLARENCE CARTER that cut the lead to one at 47-46, Coronado
guards Justin Hebner and Daniel Hebert would close the
game for the Islanders with a field goal apiece to seal
the victory 52-48.
Hebert would lead the Islanders with 17 points and Hebner
chipped in with 15 points.
Dillon and Tyrone Sauls ended the game for the Patriots
with a double-double apeice, with Dillon going for 14
points and 10 rebounds, while Sauls added 10 points
and 10 rebounds.
AARON HUESLEIN had a career-high 10 rebounds for the
Patriots.
Coach Starr was pleased with his team’s effort
afterwards stating, "If we cut the turnovers down
we win the game easily. In the half-court we did a really
good job defensively and we did a great job crashing
the boards. I'm really proud of how hard we played.
"
The Highlanders (13-5), who have won five straight
and nine of their last 10, led by as many as 30 points
in the first half before settling on a 38-15 advantage
by the break.
“I thought we played well for one half,”
Helix coach JOHN SINGER said. “Then we put it in
cruise in the second half. We got sloppy. I was upset
by that since I wanted to play all my kids. There are
five or six guys I wanted to get into this game.”
San Dieguito Academy (8-12) nailed seven 3-pointers
to climb back into the game.
“Anytime a team can shoot threes, there is always
a chance they can come back,” Singer said.
Keys was 9 for 16 from the field and also blocked three
shots.
“They didn’t have an answer for him,”
Singer said.
This is finals week in the Grossmont Conference and
no games are scheduled until Friday (Jan. 28).
Helix: Kenny Keys 19 (16 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk),
Brian Valadez 15 (8 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk), Titus
Young 10 (7 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Gary Thompson 9 (7 reb),
Kevin Williams 5 (1 reb, 2 ast), Michael Todd 4 (2 reb),
Tommie Young 2 (1 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl), John Singer (6
reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Kene Anigbogu (3 reb, 1 stl).
Mount Miguel's Marcus Booker
drives the lane,
tossing in this 10-footer against Santana. (Photo by Frank Price, youatplay.com)
VIEW/PURCHASE ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE
Matadors secure GVL control
after losing control vs. Santana 19-point lead all but disappears in 62-59 win
Mount Miguel led 26-7 early in the second quarter,
but the Sultans clawed back and turned it into a showdown
in the final period.
The Matadors (16-5, 2-0 GVL) took the lead for keeps
when point guard MARCUS BOOKER scored 5 points and defender
extraordinaire SHAKEEL HILL netted 2 free throws in
the final minute to secure a 62-59 victory for Mount
Miguel.
Even after that the Sultans narrowly missed sending
the game into overtime when a TREY BASS desperation
shot lipped the rim and came off at the buzzer.
Mount Miguel's Cory Littleton
looks for room
to shoot against Santana's Ryan Bickford. (Photo by Frank Price, youatplay.com)
“I really thought we were going to win that game
on a shot at the buzzer,” said Santana coach TIM
BARRY.
While Booker registered 22 points, it was the two free
throws by Hill that stymied Santana (13-7, 1-1 GVL).
After the Sultans’ Bass executed a 3-point play
with 15.3 seconds remaining to make it a 1-point deficit
for Santana, the Santee boys went on the hunt to put
the pressure on one of the lesser-known Matadors. They
chose Hill, who came into the game averaging 2.2 points
per game, but had not attempted a free throw in 18 games.
“You know in practice when you take a lot of free
throws, you never know when it’s going to matter,”
Hill said. “You always think in your mind, there’s
gonna be a night when it’s gonna matter. I’m
not a big scorer – nobody considers me a scoring
threat.”
“We fouled the guy we wanted to foul,” said
Barry, with the Matadors leading 60-59 and 10.5 seconds
left.
Recalled Hill, “I knew how important this game
was for us and all I thought about was making those
shots.”
Santana took its first lead of the game when RYAN BICKFORD
scored on an inbound pass, staking the Sultans to their
first advantage, 50-49, with 6:05 remaining.
Mount Miguel countered on a pair of THOMAS BUTLER free
throws to regain the lead.
Bass then scored to return the lead to Santana.
A putback by CORY LITTLETON returned the advantage
to Mount Miguel, 53-52.
JASON CORBISEZ, who did not start but scored 11 points
in the second quarter – the majority coming on
a trio of treys – scored on a drive to the hoop,
giving Santana a 54-53 edge with 2:44 remaining.
Butler, who missed the majority of the second quarter
due to foul trouble, lifted the Matadors back in front
as he hit both ends of a one-and-one with 1:57 left.
A bucket by Bickford returned the advantage to Santana
and that’s when the Matadors’ Booker took
charge.
Booker hit four short jumpers for 9 points in the first
quarter and 6 points in the third quarter, but when
the game was on the line he elected to attack the basket
rather than shoot from the perimeter.
Booker scored on a baseline lay-up, giving the Matadors
a 57-56 lead they would not lose. Much of that was due
to free throw shooting, as Booker nailed 3 out of 4
and Hill was 2-for-2.
“Even though Hill will probably be most recognized
for making those free throws, it was the defensive job
he did on (Santana’s LANDON LOZOYA) that did the
most good for us,” said Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT.
Lozoya finished with a career-low 2 points. But as
Barry was quick to point out, Lozoya’s contributions
went way beyond scoring as the 6-foot-3 junior grabbed
a team-high 13 rebounds and dished 5 assists.
“Landon proved what kind of a team player he really
is,” Barry said. “I’m sure he wanted
to score more points, but he recognized what it would
take to bring us back into the game, and that didn’t
involve him scoring a lot of points as much as it did
him dealing a lot of assists.”
Barry admitted the first quarter surge by Mount Miguel
was pivotal to the outcome of the game.
“Mount Miguel was stellar in that period,”
he said. “I think the big thing about them is they’ve
been there (winning league and CIF titles) before. For
them this is just another big game.”
Santana: Trey Bass 16 (3 reb, 1 blk, 7 ast, 4 stl),
Jason Corbisez 13 (3 reb, 2 blk, 3 ast), Jordan Khalaf
13 (2 reb, 1 ast), Ryan Bickford 8 (3 reb, 1 blk), Mike
Rosolino 5 (1 reb, 1 ast), Landon Lozoya 2 (13 reb,
5 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl), James Doherty 2, Christian Barry
(1 reb).
Grossmont's Robby Nesovic attempts
to jump in front of a pass to Helix' Brian Valadez
while going for the steal, yet is just a split-second
late. The Highlanders won, 56-45. (Photo by Chris Stone, La Mesa Patch)
HELIX 56, GROSSMONT 45 – When the Foothillers
joined the Grossmont Hills League last season, few expected
them to step up with the big boys of East County and
capture the league crown. Nevertheless, they did so
by nipping their crosstown rival Highlanders in the
inaugural event.
Setting sights on regaining the title which is almost
a birthright to those from the south side of Interstate 8,
the Scotties made several adjustments to their defense
Friday (Jan. 21), taking command of the final three
quarters to down their ancient rivals.
BRIAN VALADEZ registered a double-double with 15 points
and 10 rebounds, leaving Helix (12-5 overall, 2-0 league)
as the lone undefeated team in the GHL after a mere
two ballgames.
"After that first quarter, we defended him (Grossmont
standout ROBBY NESOVIC) well," said Valadez. "We
showed what we're capable of because we knew he can't
beat us by himself."
Nesovic couldn't miss in the first quarter, hitting
all four shots from the field (including a 3-ball) en
route to 11 of his game-high 20 points and a 15-9 lead
for Grossmont. But when the Scotties made Nesovic a
high-priority item, the lead for the hosts soon faded
away.
"We had to defend – and we did," added
Valadez, who clinched the victory by going 4-for-4 from
the foul line in the final minutes. Meanwhile, because
of Helix' defense, the Hillers made just 2-of-15 shots
from the floor in the fourth quarter.
A balanced offensive attack saw four Scotties score
in double figures. KENNY KEYS and TITUS YOUNG finished
with 13 points, while TOMMIE YOUNG added 10 to offset
another strong effort from Nesovic.
"Nesovic was getting the ball high, then driving
to the net, but we also didn't want to get into early
foul trouble" noted Keys. "But coach (JOHN
SINGER) chewed us out at halftime, then we denied (Nesovic)
the ball and we rebounded a lot better."
Helix opened the second quarter on a 9-0 run to take
a brief lead, which switched several times until the
Scotties took control late in the third period.
Titus Young nailed a 3-ball for a 35-33 lead, then
Keys stole the ball to start a fast-break, taking a
return pass from Tommie Young for a layin while being
fouled. The plays started a 22-8 run to cement Helix'
second win over Grossmont this season. Earlier, they
downed the Hillers in the championship game of a tournament
at Chula Vista.
Helix held a 23-14 rebounding edge in the second half,
as KENE ANIGBOGU hauled down 9 boards, while Keys grabbed
7. In addition, senior KEVIN WILLIAMS came off the bench
and took a charge to force a turnover.
For Grossmont, sophomore DEREK RUSTICH had a game-high
12 rebounds to go along with 7 points.
Helix: Brian Valadez 15 (10 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Kenny
Keys 13 (7 reb, 3 stl, 2 ast), Titus Young 13 (2 ast,
2 reb), Tommie Young 10 (3 ast, 2 reb), Kevin Williams
3 (2 ast, 1 stl, 1 charge), Kene Anigbogu 2 (9 reb,
1 blk), Gary Thompson (2 reb, 1 blk), John Singer (2
reb, 1 ast).
More than just a scorer, Garrett
Larch-Miller (11)
of Granite Hills skies to snatch the rebound
in front of Valhalla forward Manny Hernandez (44). (Photo by Ruth Mims)
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE
Both teams arrived with a game plan coming into
the game. West Hills assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG
broke it down simply saying, "We knew versus
pressure they were weak handling the ball. In
the first half we threw a trap on them and caused
some key turnovers. We know we're not the biggest
or the strongest team so we have to make up for
it in other ways," and that they did after
falling behind 18-12 with 6:17 left in the second
quarter.
Steele Canyon came out quickly led by MICHAEL
JORDAN after taking the opening tip right down
the court for an easy lay-up and foul on a 3-point
play 3 seconds into the game. Jordan would score
the Cougars first seven points and they led at
the end of the first 12-11 after a 3-pointer by
DANNY BWINIKA ended the quarter. Jordan would
go on to finish the game with a double-double
scoring 14 points and notching an impressive 14
rebounds.
After a steal early in the second quarter by Steele
Canyon 's CODY WELLS, which led to an easy lay-up,
the Wolf Pack flipped the switch and applied the
pressure.
West Hills came out pressing and caused multiple
turnovers as they went on a 15-5 run and ended
the first half with the 27-23 lead. Included was
a notable play as KEVIN STRAUB drove to the hoop,
drew the defense to him and dished it to ALEX
PARSONS for an easy deuce.
When asked about the victory after the game Straub
simply replied, "We were just finding the
open man tonight."
The Cougars came out of halftime pouncing on the
Wolf Pack with a 13-4 run before they met their
doom... leaving West Hills open behind the arc.
"If they were gonna beat us we knew it would
be with their shooting," Jordan stated.
That's exactly what happened after a timeout
with 2:20 to go in the quarter. The Wolf Pack
shooting arrived as they hit five unanswered 3-pointers
in a row. Two by Straub, one from JOEY CLARK,
one from NICK FINDLEY and the fifth by sophomore
guard JONNY PRESTON.
Noted Armstrong, “ Preston had two big baskets
for us down the stretch. He was key tonight, taking
care of the ball.”
Preston had an overall solid game posting 12
points, grabbing 3 boards, handing out 4 dimes
and collecting 4 steals.
Straub commented, "We always play better
with him (Preston) on the court. He's our point
guard, our leader."
After a late technical foul by the Cougars, Straub
calmly stepped to the line making both free throws
to put West Hills up 47-40 heading into the fourth.
Parsons and Preston then took over and pushed
the Wolf Pack advantage to 57-47 with 1:28 left
to go in the contest.
Steele Canyon attempted to come back in the final
minute as Bwinika hit a late trey and narrowed
the margin to three, but the final attempt was
off the mark as Parsons grabbed the rebound and
West Hills held on to claim the victory.
"We just played great team basketball. We
moved the ball around a lot, getting wide open
shots and making them." Parsons said after
the game.
Assistant coach Armstrong agreed stating, "We
had five different players make a shot from deep.
Tonight the kids really found their stroke."
West Hills: Alex Parsons 15 (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl,
1 blk), Kevin Straub 14 (4 reb, 3 ast), Jonny
Preston 12 (3 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Joey Clark 6
(3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Nick Findley 5 (1 reb,
1 ast), Ralph Bedoe 3 (1 reb), DJ Lewis 2 (3 reb,
1 ast, 2 stl), John Magoon (3 reb).
After penetrating the lane,
El Capitan's Tyson Kygar
gets off a pass for the layin just as he's about
to get
trapped by Monte Vista defender Kylie Luster (32). (Photo by Leslie Autry)
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE
VALHALLA 54, GRANITE HILLS 44 – The Valhalla
Norsemen added a little spice to the Grossmont Hills
League race Friday night (Jan. 21) by knocking off visiting
Granite Hills to create a four-way tie for second place
in the 6-team circuit.
The Norsemen (10-8, 1-1 GHL) fell behind 14-8 in the
first quarter but grounded the Eagles 26-10 in the middle
two quarters to extend their undefeated at home streak
to seven games.
MANNY SILVA, the most successful basketball coach in
Valhalla history, was on hand and provided a little
added incentive for this longtime rivalry.
“I invited Coach Silva to speak to the team about
the rivalry between Valhalla and Granite Hills when
he was the basketball coach at Valhalla (in the 1980s
and 90s),” said Norsemen coach KEITH JACKSON. “The
kids really liked it.”
Despite missing most of the first quarter and part
of the second due to foul problems, unicyclist DAVID
WILSCHETZ came back to register team bests of 19 points
and 12 rebounds to lead the Norsemen. He was 6-for-8
from the field and 7-for-8 from the foul line.
“We had a pretty good night defensively,”
said Jackson. “KEVIN MILLS did a really good job
on their leading scorer (GARRETT LARCH-MILLER).”
But nonetheless Larch-Miller still cranked in 27 points
for the Eagles (13-7, 1-1 GHL), including shooting 12
of 16 shooting from the free throw line.
Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON pointed to the second
quarter as the pivotal period of the evening.
“They had seven guys score in that quarter and
Wilschetz is the only guy who had more than one basket,”
Anderson said.
That binge vaulted Valhalla into a 26-21 halftime lead.
The Norsemen extended their edge with an 8-3 scoring
advantage in the third period.
“In the third quarter we really started working
on our help defense,” said Jackson. “We did
a good job rebounding in that quarter. We didn’t
score much in the third but we played good defense.
When we out-rebound teams we have more success.”
That wasn’t the case against Granite Hills, which
received a game-high 15 boards from SCOTT ATKINSON and
9 more from DALTON OTINERU.
Another stealth weapon in the Valhalla defensive arsenal
is 5-foot-8 AMIL HERMIZ, who took his East County-leading
10th charge for the Norsemen.
A nugget in the Valhalla huddle is MANNY HERNANDEZ,
who blocked 9 shots, made 7 steals, grabbed 5 rebounds
and scored 7 points.
“We always have trouble playing over there (at
Valhalla),” said Anderson.
CHRISTIAN 50, CLAIREMONT 36 – SHANE DILLON
drilled in 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as visiting
Christian snapped a three-game losing streak by overpowering
host Clairemont in Friday’s (Jan. 21) Central League
action.
The Patriots (9-9, 3-2 CL) buried the Chieftains in
the middle two quarters by a composite 30-9 score.
“We had a strong second period (16-4) and at halftime
we talked about the third period, which has been hurting
us all year,” said Patriots assistant coach DEREK
LARSEN.
On this evening Christian outscored Clairemont 15-5
in the third stanza to open up a 38-18 lead with 8 minutes
remaining.
“We played great defense in the first three quarters,”
Larsen said, “which cranked up our transition game
and lit a fire under our offense.”
JAKE LARSEN added 11 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds
and 4 steals for the Patriots.
Dillon was 10 for 21 from the field and 2-for-5 from
the free throw line. He also blocked 3 shots.
For the second week in a row Christian was without
6-foot-2, 230-pound TYRONE SAULS, who is a football
recruiting trip to the Air Force Academy in Colorado
Springs.
MONTE VISTA 68, EL CAPITAN 51 – K.J. HOUSTON
scored a season-best 23 points as the Monarchs marched
past host El Capitan Friday (Jan. 21) night in a Grossmont
Valley League contest.
Houston nailed 9 of 13 shots from the field, including
one trey, for the Monarchs (11-8, 1-1 GVL), who won
for only their second time in their last eight starts.
The 6-foot-2 junior also handed out 8 assists, snagged
6 rebounds and made 3 steals.
Six-foot-5 JAMES JACKSON added 16 points, 7 rebounds
and 6 assists for Monte Vista, which outscored the Vaqueros
in each of the four quarters.
“We’re the tallest team in the league but
we need to play inside out,” said Monarchs assistant
coach KEITH HOUSTON. “That’s something we
haven’t been doing which has kept us from taking
advantage of our height.”
Instead of trying to play one-on-one basketball ala
the NBA, as the Monarchs did in a lopsided loss to Helix
last week, they changed tactics against the Vaqueros
(7-11, 0-1 GVL).
“We had great ball movement – less dribbling,
more passing,” coach Houston said. “El Cap
played us man-to-man but once the ball went inside they
would double-down on our big man (Jackson) and try to
force the ball back out to the guy making the entry
pass (KJ Houston).”
On paper it was sound strategy, but KJ Houston made
the Vaqueros pay by connecting from the perimeter.
As usual, the KYGAR brothers – TYSON and CODY
– carried the offensive torch for El Capitan, combining
for 33 points.
Monte Vista won the battle of the boards 34 to 23.
FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 87, LUTHERAN 12 –
No report on this Citrus South League contest, slated
for Parkway Gymnasium in Chula Vista.
MAJOR
MEDIA POLLS (Thru Jan. 17)
NORTH COUNTY TIMES
1. Lincoln (16-1), 2. El Camino (17-1), 3. Hoover
(13-5),
4. Torrey Pines (11-4), 5. Rancho Buena Vista (16-2),
6. St. Augustine (15-2), 7. La Costa Canyon (15-3),
8. Army-Navy Academy (12-3), 9. Francis Parker (11-5),
10. Westview (13-5), Others: Cathedral Catholic
(11-5), Hilltop (13-4), Mater Dei (12-4), Mount
Miguel (15-5), Coronado (15-4), Otay Ranch (12-4),
Eastlake (11-4).
SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE
1. Lincoln (16-1), 2. Hoover (13-5), 3. El Camino
(17-1),
4. Rancho Buena Vista (17-2), 5. La Costa Canyon
(15-3),
6. Torrey Pines (11-5), 7. St. Augustine (15-2),
8. Army-Navy Academy (12-3), 9. Francis Parker (11-5),
10. Hilltop (13-4). Others: Granite Hills (13-5),
Fallbrook 12-6), Cathedral Catholic (11-5), Helix
(10-5), Morse (10-7), La Jolla Country (Day
9-6), Poway (8-8).
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Thompson is a highly decorated
talent for the Highlanders, who also enjoys playing
basketball.
Granted, Thompson will not attract the awards on the
court that he will on the gridiron. None the less, Highlanders
veteran basketball coach JOHN SINGER believes Thompson
has honed a niche that could help the Highlanders capture
the Grossmont Hills League title. The perennial power
Highlanders have won league titles in 15 of the last
19 years.
Thompson bounced off the Helix bench to produce a career-high
12 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field as the Highlanders
dismantled visiting Monte Vista 73-41 in Tuesday’s
(Jan. 18) final round of Grossmont Conference crossover
activity.
“I’m more of a rebound guy,” Thompson
said. “I wasn’t really keeping track of my
points but I knew it felt good. I think I was probably
most excited by a block I got on the defensive end.”
Thompson also had three rebounds and three steals.
Grossmont Conference Crossover
Gro. Hills
W
L
Valhalla
Steele Canyon
Grossmont
Helix
Granite Hills
West Hills
3
3
2
2
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
3
Gro. Valley
W
L
Mount Miguel
El Capitan
Santana
Monte Vista
ECVHS
2
2
2
1
0
0
2
2
4
4
“Like always our defense came through,” he said.
“Scoring as much as we did is kind of a plus.”
Helix (11-5), which has won seven of its last eight
games, buried Monte Vista (10-8) from the free throw
line 28-6. The Highlanders, in fact, were 10 of 13 from
the charity stripe as they earned an 18-4 first quarter
advantage.
For those who thought Helix was looking ahead to Friday’s
Grossmont Hills League showdown against defending circuit
champion Grossmont, would have been hard-pressed to
convince Monte Vista.
“All we were thinking about was beating these
guys (the Monarchs) first,” Thompson said. “They
are a Division II team like we are so beating them was
important.”
Flashy guard TOMMIE YOUNG led Helix’s balanced
attack with 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting (one three)
and 3-of-4 accuracy from the free throw line.
“Our fast-break kept producing points for us all
night,” Young said.
So did senior post KENNY KEYS, who cranked out a double-double
of 13 points and 12 rebounds.
“When we practiced on a non-school day (Monday,
Jan. 17) we didn’t really pump playing this (Monte
Vista) game,” Helix coach JOHN SINGER said. “I
don’t believe you can always be ‘up’
so you have to kinda watch when you turn up the gas
a little bit. You can’t just turn it up, turn it
up... we just talk about what we do. We are what we
are.”
JAMES JACKSON led Monte Vista with 16 points and 7
rebounds.
Helix: Tommie Young 14 (6 reb, 4 ast, 5 stl), Kenny
Keys 13 (12 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Gary Thompson
12 (3 reb, 3 stl, 1 blk), Brian Valadez 7 (2 reb, 6
ast, 3 stl), Titus Young 6 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Kevin
Williams 6 (3 reb, 2 ast), John Singer 4 (4 reb, 2 ast,
1 stl), Ray Contreras 4 (2 reb), Earl Schexnayder 3
(1 ast, Kene Anigbogu 2 (1 reb, 1 blk), Isaac Randell
1 (1 reb, 1 stl), Donald Woodard 1, 2 stl), Michael
Todd (1 reb, 1 ast),Vann Sabin (2 reb, 1 stl).
EL CAPITAN 66, WEST HILLS 56 – Wolf Pack
coach JEFF ARMSTRONG realized West Hills had qualified
for the consolation prize in Tuesday’s (Jan. 18)
Grossmont Conference crossover contest in Santee.
“We outscored them 50-41 over the last three quarters.”
Armstrong noted. “The trouble is we dug ourselves
into a deep hole in the first quarter.”
In well-size proportions to be sure, as the visiting
Vaqueros (7-10) darted in front 25-6.
“It took so much energy to fight our way back
from that deficit that we just did not have enough left
to pull it out,” Armstrong said.
El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS was not surprised that
his crew allowed West Hills back into contention.
“Basketball-wise we are not very educated,”
Cavazos said. “For us to maintain a lead like that
when you start out really strong is not our strong suit.
We do better when the game is close. We get complacent
when we get ahead.”
TYSON and CODY KYGAR combined for 47 points to lead
El Capitan. The duo also combined for eight three-pointers
– four apiece. Three of Cody Kygar’s treys
came in the opening quarter.
“Every time West Hills made a little bit of a
run we were able to stall them,” Cavazos said.
“NESTOR RAMIREZ is really coming on strong for
us – not so much in scoring but defensively. He’s
coming on huge.”
The Pack’s power post ALEX PARSONS punched in
14 points, yanked down six rebounds and blocked two
shots.
West Hills (7-11) nailed 11 of 32 shots from long distance,
with NICK FINDLEY netting 4 of his 6 attempts from beyond
the arc.
“JOEY CLARK, RALPH BEDOE and JOHN MAGOON did an
outstanding job coming off the bench,” Armstrong
said. “I put them in the game when we were 19 down
and they helped bring us back. We were down only seven
points with about a minute to go.”
West Hills: Alex Parsons 14 (6 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 2
blk), Nick Findley 12 (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Ralph Bedoe
7 (1 ast), Jonny Preston 6 (4 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), DJ
Lewis 6 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Joey Clark 6 (1
reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Kevin Straub 5 (1 ast, 1 stl), John
Magoon (7 reb, 1 ast).
GROSSMONT 74, EL CAJON VALLEY 49 – Instead
of looking forward to Friday’s (Jan. 14) Grossmont
Hills League shootout with arch-rival Helix, the visiting
Foothillers set a season team record of sorts by having
11 players contribute to Tuesday’s (Jan. 18) Grossmont
Conference crossover victory.
“It’s a good thing to have my younger players
get a substantial amount of playing time like they did
tonight,” Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO said.
“I had all of my starters out of the game after
the first quarter.”
That’s because the Grossmont regulars (11-7) had
compiled a 25-5 advantage after the opening eight minutes.
DOMINIQUE MILLER registered a game-high 18 points for
the Braves (2-13)
“I felt we were not ready tonight,” said
Braves coach MARTY ELLIS. “We had no fire or energy.
When you don’t come out with that you get these
kind of results. We will continue to make strides.”
Grossmont: DeSean Waters 13 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl),
Derek Rustich 8 (8 reb), Robby Nesovic 8 (6 reb), J.T.
Barnes 8 (3 reb, 1 ast), Adam Robinson 7 (4 reb, 1 ast),
Christian Meno 7 (2 reb, 1 stl), Michael Wnek 6 (4 reb),
Ryan Green 6 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Anthony Lawrence
5 (3 reb, 1 ast), Nick Persinger 4 (2 reb), Austin Swisher
2 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Marcus Flisher (1 reb, 1 ast).
CRAWFORD 68, CHRISTIAN 61 – Junior SHANE
DILLON equaled his season-opening high game of 29 points
but it was not enough to rescue the visiting Christian
High Patriots in Tuesday’s (Jan. 18) Central League
action at Crawford.
The 6-foot-6 Dillon also corralled 10 rebounds for
the Patriots (8-9, 2-2 CL), who maintained a 32-29 halftime
lead.
Once again the third quarter led to Christian’s
demise as the Colts galloped off to a 23-11 scoring
spread during that stanza.
“In our last three losses it’s been the third
quarter where we’ve scored the fewest points and
our opponents have had their biggest output,” said
Christian assistant coach DEREK LARSEN said. “We
have to do something about that.”
The fact that Crawford canned 11 three-pointers didn’t
help, either.
FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 62, OCEAN VIEW CHRISTIAN 40
– DALTON MOSSER and CALEB HOFFMAN knocked down
20 points apiece as Foothills Christian crunched Ocean
View Christian in a Citrus South League game on Tuesday
(Jan. 18) in the South Bay.
Hoffman nailed nine of 13 shots from the field as he
registered a career high, while Mosser added 8 steals
to his coffer.
IAN MATHISEN chipped in with a double-double of 19
points and 12 rebounds for the Knights (6-11, 2-0).
That opening allowed University City to pull away,
turning a tight 56-55 nail-biter into a misleading double-digit
victory, 69-59, at Point Loma High.
The Centurions dominated on the boards, but the superior
shooting of the Knights allowed the Division V school
to stay in the contest. But when UC turned up the intensity
on defense, it led to transition baskets or fouls by
Foothills Christian, with the Cents cashing in at the
foul line where they registered almost half of their
fourth-quarter points.
"Foothills is still a pretty good team, so our
team had to play better defense for the last two quarters,"
said UC forward Amir Hicks, who recorded 7 of his 15
points in the final period. "We came out focused
and pulled together."
University City gained leads of 9-2, 21-13 and 40-33,
yet each time the Knights answered to move back in front.
One rally saw DALTON MOSSER (26 points) nail three straight
jumpers in the second quarter to close the gap, then
Aytes drained a pair of third-quarter 3-balls to tie
the game at 42-all.
However, Aytes – who finished with a game-high
27 points, 8 rebounds and 6 blocks – was tagged
for three fouls over a 3-minute span down the stretch
in fouling out. This allowed Hicks (15 points) and Tim
Patrick (team-best 18 points) to penetrate to the basket.
University City (7-10) also received 13 points from
Stephen Rivera, while James Scott added 12.
Foothills Christian (5-11) now has only one remaining
non-league contest in the regular season, in addition
to its Citrus South League slate. The Knights will host
El Capitan on Feb. 12 at Granite Hills.
The Bennie Edens Classic is named for the late Point
Loma football coach, who guided the Pointers for nearly
a half-century (1950-98).
MOUNT MIGUEL 66, El Centro-SOUTHWEST 30 —
Coach JAY ROWLETT’s Matadors (15-5) stretched their
winning streak to five games while posting their 11th
win in 12 starts in Saturday’s (Jan. 15) romp over
El Centro Southwest as part of the MLK Showcase at Horizon.
Six-foot-4 MOHAMUD ABDI scored a career high 13 points
and bagged 12 boards to help lead the Matadors past
the Eagles for the second time this season. Mount Miguel
posted a 67-28 win over EC-Southwest last month.
“Actually, we thought we were playing San Diego
Southwest in this tournament,” Rowlett said. “We
tried to change it but it was too late.”
The Matadors will now have nearly a week before Friday’s
(Jan. 21) Grossmont Valley League showdown against Santana
in Spring Valley.
Mount Miguel: Thomas Butler 18 (3 reb, 2 stl), Mohamud
Abdi 13 (12 reb, 1 stl), Marcus Booker 10 (5 ast, 2
reb, 4 stl), Izzy Wagner 9 (3 stl, 3 ast), Cory Littleton
8 (11 reb, 2 stl), Safen Mohammed 4 (3 stl), Shakeel
Hill 4 (5 stl, 2 ast), Marcellus Jones (1 ast, 1 stl).
THE BISHOP’S 55, CHRISTIAN 37 — Playing
short-handed with TYRONE SAULS visiting the East Coast
on a football recruiting trip and guard ICARO PARISOTTO
out for the season due to injury, the Patriots could
not keep pace with visiting The Bishop’s in Saturday’s
(Jan. 15) non-league encounter at the Ryan Athletic
Center.
“Turnovers hurt us,” Christian assistant
coach DEREK LARSEN said. “It wasn’t so much
the number (19) as it was they seem to turn every one
into a fast-break layup.”
The Knights (7-9) grabbed a 17-8 first quarter lead
and extended their advantage to 48-28 by the close of
the third quarter.
SHANE DILLON anchored Christian (8-8) with 16 points
and 13 rebounds, while Bishop’s flashy guard Dominque
Watkins hammered down a game-high 19 points.
“Watkins is really quick – we couldn’t
stay in front of him, stop his penetration,” Larsen
said.
Valhalla's David Wilschetz (20)
with the
blocked shot (top), but Helix stakes its
revenge later in first-half action on this rejection
by Gary Thompson (41). The
Highlanders took a 41-32 GHL triumph. (Photos by Ruth Mims) ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE
Cougars
ground Hillers in
Grossmont Hills League opener
That would be Steele Canyon’s 52-47 Grossmont
Hills League opening victory over preseason favorite
Grossmont Friday (Jan. 14) in the Cougars’
den.
Picked to repeat as GHL champions, the Foothillers
(10-7) never got in synch as Steele Canyon (8-11)
– tabbed to finish in the six-team circuit
cellar – led wire-to-wire.
“Everybody wants to beat us, so it is up
to us not to let that happen,” said Grossmont
coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “But don’t take
anything away from Steele Canyon. They played
hard.”
CASEY BALIKIAN paced the Cougars with 13 points.
MICHAEL JORDAN added a double-double of 10 points
and 12 rebounds.
“Earlier in the season we played too much
as individuals – everybody was trying too
hard to make us win games,” Jordan said.
“Now we are coming together more as a team
– not being as selfish.”
The Cougars built a 41-31 lead through three
quarters and then held on. They were whistled
for 27 fouls (10 in the first period, but none
in the second quarter). Four Cougars fouled out.
Grossmont, however, managed to convert only 15
of 27 free throws.
The 6-foot-1 Jordan was asked to help seal off
the inside, which is Grossmont’s strength.
“Since their guys are considerably taller
than us the best way to defend them is not let
them catch the ball,” Jordan said. “By
denying the ball, they can’t score. I think
we did a decent job of keeping it out of their
hands.”
Senior guard DeSEAN WATERS led Grossmont with
15 points. Six-foot-4 ROBBY NESOVIC chimed in
with 14 points and 9 rebounds, while 6-4 DEREK
RUSTICH dialed up 11 points and a dozen boards.
“Jordan did a good job defending Nesovic,”
Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS said. “JUSTIN
NORWOOD did a good job on Rustich, too.”
Stephens believes “the turning point to
our season was beating Santana 48-45 (on Jan.
7).” The Cougars followed that up with a
44-43 nod over Monte Vista and then conquered
Grossmont.
“Our kids have been playing well lately,”
Stephens said. “It’s kinda fun out there
right now. I told our boys if we can hold a team
in the 40s we have an excellent chance of winning.”
“I’ve been waiting for the fight to
come out in our guys.”
Jordan admits there is new confidence at Steele
Canyon.
“We know coach Stephens believes in us and
that has helped our overall confidence.”
“You can see that just by the way our kids
run onto the court,” Stephens concluded.
Steele Canyon: Casey Balikian 13 (4 reb, 1 ast,
1 stl), Michael Jordan 10 (12 reb, 1 stl), Justin
Norwood 9 (8 reb), Andrew King 5 (2 reb, 2 ast,
1 stl), Danny Bwinika 5 (2 reb), P.J. Russell
4 (3 reb, 1 stl), Dylan Kirchhofer 4 (4 reb, 1
ast, 3 stl), Isaac Curia-Tobin 2 (1 stl), Aundre
Belcher (2 reb, 1 stl), Ryan Gilbert (1 reb).
That may be true, but few teams in the San Diego CIF
have more bite to their defense than do these Highlanders.
“That is what we are all about – defense,”
said Helix senior guard TOMMIE YOUNG. “I was just
hedging off on the screens, keying most of the time.”
Good thing because once again the Highlanders (10-5)
muscled up on the defensive end to open the Grossmont
Hills League season with a 41-32 victory over visiting
Valhalla.
BRIAN VALADEZ was Helix’s offensive leader with
15 points, hitting six of 13 shots from the floor and
3 of 4 free throws.
“We dominated the offensive boards,” said
Valadez, a 6-foot-2 junior.
Helix outscored Valhalla, 12-2, on second-chance points.
KENNY KEYS added 10 rebounds and 8 points for the Highlanders.
“I consider myself mostly an outside guy, but
I’ll do what it takes to win,” said Valadez,
who hauled down 8 rebounds. “I think I’m versatile.
I can take the big man off the dribble and post up smaller
guards.”
Nobody on Valhalla’s side reached double scoring
digits. Even standout DAVID WILSCHETZ was handcuffed,
finishing with 8 points and a dozen rebounds.
“We did a good job coming back, but missed too
many opportunities,” said Valhalla coach KEITH
JACKSON.
Trailing most of the night, the Norsemen (9-8) had
a chance to tie it at 25-25 in the third quarter, but
missed a layup. That would be as close as Valhalla would
get as a bucket by Valadez and a pair of free throws
by Keys extended Helix’s advantage to six points
by the close of the third period.
“We won the game with our defense and on the boards,”
Helix coach JOHN SINGER said. “I can’t call
what we do fancy. What we did is basic.”
MOUNT MIGUEL 58, MONTE VISTA 36 — The Matadors
opened defense of their Grossmont Valley League crown
as a big defensive effort in the third quarter was enough
to dash the host Monarchs.
IZZY WAGNER collected three of his five steals in the
third, when Monte Vista's offense stalled badly to the
tune of 11 turnovers and only five shot attempts over
the entire 8-minute period.
"We locked them down because this was a big league
game," said Wagner, a sophomore guard. "We
don't want to lose in league."
Wagner and the rest of the defense forced numerous
turnovers, although Monte Vista didn't help itself with
an array of disastrous passes which sailed into the
stands. The miscues transformed Mount Miguel's 28-23
halftime lead into a 22-point cushion by midway through
the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, Wagner and MARCUS BOOKER found little difficulty
moving the ball inside, allowing center THOMAS BUTLER
to score easy buckets or go to the foul line. Butler
finished with 18 points – one shy of his season
high – and 8 rebounds.
"Our game plan was to move the ball around and
try to get to the basket," noted Butler. "But
we try to play our best on defense – we practice
hard on defense every day."
Monte Vista's BRIAN STERLING hit a 10-foot jumper to
open the second quarter to tie the game at 13-all. But
Mount Miguel answered on consecutive 3-balls by MOHAMUD
ABDI and Butler.
The second half started in a similar fashion. The Monarchs
scored first on a foul shot, then the Matadors answered
with an 18-5 scoring run to cement the victory.
"Our defense is definitely why we took control,"
said Booker, who registered 17 points. "Izzy believed
in our defense, which carried over to everyone else.
I'm proud of him."
Matadors forward CORY LITTLETON also posted a double-double
with 10 points and 11 boards. SHAKEEL HILL aided the
defensive effort with 5 steals.
Meanwhile, Sterling, the Monarchs' scoring leader,
was limited to just six points. The team leaders were
JAMES JACKSON (12 points) and K.J.HOUSTON (11). The
hosts also recorded twice as many turnovers (26-to-13).
GRANITE HILLS 65, WEST HILLS 34 – This
Grossmont Hills League opener was almost over before
it started as host Granite Hills grabbed a 21-2 first-quarter
advantage over the Wolf Pack on Friday (Jan. 14) in
eastern El Cajon.
Six-foot-9 SCOTT ATKINSON was not the high-point performer,
but the Granite Hills junior was a force. The big guy
in the paint collected 18 rebounds, bucketed 12 points
and blocked 11 shots for an impressive triple-double.
“Scott was swatting away everything in sight,”
Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON said. “Knowing
how they like to shoot the three, we played pretty good
defense on the perimeter. When they managed to get penetration
Atkinson was there waiting.”
GARRETT LARCH-MILLER led the Eagles (13-6) with 24
points, nailing 8 of 14 attempts from the field and
7 of 11 free throws. The 6-foot-2 senior also crashed
the boards to corral 10 rebounds, while blocking three
shots.
“Garrett let things come to him rather than taking
everything onto his shoulders,” Anderson said.
“It wasn’t like he put up a shot every time
he touched the ball.”
JOEY GRUBB turned in one of his better games with 15
points for Granite Hills.
“The Grubb kid hurt us and we didn’t have
any answer for their scorer,” West Hills coach
JEFF ARMSTRONG said. “Their big man in the middle
is getting better and better and defensively he is a
load. We were not able to get anything going on the
interior.
“I think they put a lid on our basket the first
and third quarters (when the Pack totaled 6 points).
Our offensive input those two quarters was next to nil.
And you can’t win games shooting 20 percent (12-for-54)
from the floor.”
West Hills: Alex Parsons 10 (6 reb, 5 blk, 1 ast, 1
stl), D.J. Lewis 6 (1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Joey Clark
6 (2 reb), John Magoon 3 (4 reb, 1 ast), Nick Findley
3 (1 stl), Jonny Preston 2 (1 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Gus
Lopez 2 (4 reb, 1 blk), Kevin Straub 2 (2 reb, 1 ast,
3 stl), Ralph Bedoe (1 reb).
SANTANA 80, EL CAJON VALLEY 40 – It wasn’t
a perfect game for the Santana Sultans, but it was a
solid start to the Grossmont Valley League season Friday
(Jan. 14) when the Santee squad belted the visiting
Braves.
LANDON LOZOYA turned in a double-double of 18 points
and 10 rebounds, while RYAN BICKFORD banged out 11 points
and bagged 11 boards for the Sultans (13-6, 1-0). Steady
point guard TREY BASS punched in six points, while dishing
8 assists and snagging 7 rebounds.
Not to be overlooked were Santana unsung heroes MIKE
ROSOLINO (13 points), who nailed 5 of 7 shots from the
field including a trio of treys, CHRISTIAN BARRY, who
added 10 points, the majority coming on three triples,
and DANIEL LEVENS-LOWERY, who pitched in 9 points.
“The big thing about this game is we got more
contributions from some of our rotation players,”
Santana coach TIM BARRY said. “That helps give
our whole team more confidence.”
Santana barged in front 22-10, but led only 27-21 at
intermission.
“We played a good first half – I’m happy
for my guys because they did everything I prepared them
for,” said El Cajon Valley MARTY ELLIS. “We
had only 13 turnovers and we were only down by six points
at halftime. We met our goal. This week we worked on
breaking the press. I remember from last year (Santana)
just killed us. What hurt us so bad tonight was Santana
hitting a lot of threes.”
Indeed. Santana hit 14 threes in 42 attempts, but most
of the long-range action came in the second half. The
Sultans were 9 for 17 from above the arc in the final
two quarters when they rang up their second-highest
scoring output of the season.
El Cajon Valley’s DOMINIQUE MILLER returned to
the Braves’ lineup and contributed a game-high
23 points and grabbed 9 rebounds.
That’s because it might be his final campaign
as he figures to focus on his studies in college rather
than extend his athletic career.
The 6-foot-3 Wilschetz is not just talking. The statistic
he’s most proud of is his 4.3 grade-point average.
He’s already been accepted academically to several
major colleges, including Purdue and Minnesota, but
hopes to attend UC Davis or UC Irvine.
“That’s why I want to do everything I can
to make this a memorable basketball season at Valhalla,”
Wilschetz said.
In Valhalla’s 67-54 Grossmont Conference crossover
victory against visiting El Capitan on Wednesday (Jan.
12), Wilschetz turned in his usual double-double, scoring
18 points and bagging 17 rebounds.
“My guys did a good job getting me the ball down
low,” said Wilschetz, who connected on 6 of 9 shots
from the floor. “I didn’t do as good at the
free throw line as I wanted to (hitting 6 of 10). That
was one of my goals this year, to shoot 75 percent.”
As it is, Wilschetz is averaging 17.1 points from the
floor and 73.6 percent on 106 chances from the charity
stripe.
“This was a really physical game from the beginning,”
he said. “I think of myself as a rebounder first
because I’ve always been strong in that area since
I was young. I get a lot of my offense off rebounding
– putbacks.”
Wilschetz is collecting 9.7 caroms per game at the
moment.
The Norsemen (9-7) marched to a 15-9 first quarter
lead and maintained a 38-29 edge over the Vaqueros (6-10)
by halftime.
One of East County’s better 3-point shooting teams,
the Vaqueros were limited to only 3 of 15 shooting accuracy
above the arc. CODY KYGAR, who paced the Vaqueros with
18 points, made all three of the long-rangers.
TYSON KYGAR, the East County 3-point leader, was blanked
on 6 attempted triples. He was hounded all night by
Valhalla ’s KEVIN MILLS and ANDREW LEWELLEN.
Valhalla ’s MANNY HERNANDEZ muscled in 15 points,
grabbed 8 rebounds and blocked 3 shots. He was 6-for-7
from the floor.
AMIL HERMIZ took a charge for the Norsemen, his ninth
of the season.
“We think he’s trying to be the next STEVEN
KLEIST,” said Valhalla assistant coach DON ROLLINS,
referring to last year’s all-leaguer.
“When we’re playing our game we can beat
anybody,” said Wilschetz. “It’s just
a matter of being consistent.”
“This was a real foul fest,” said Valhalla
coach KEITH JACKSON, noting that El Capitan was whistled
for 32 infractions and had four players foul out.
SANTANA 62, GROSSMONT 55 – Some might call
this an upset, but Sultans coach TIM BARRY doesn’t
think so.
“This was a character win for us,” Barry
said. “We dug deep and played hard, unlike at Helix
where we played not to lose (but did, 48-44). We went
after this game aggressively. It’s just a matter
of can we do this on a consistent, which we have not
done so far.”
Santana (12-6) zipped out to a 10-0 start in Wednesday’s
(Jan. 12) Grossmont Conference crossover finale and
led 17-8 after one quarter.
“I have three principles that I preach to my kids,
that if we do them, we will be successful,” Barry
said. “They are: Don’t shoot if a (defender)
is close enough to touch you; Always be on balance when
you shoot; Never shoot off the dribble unless you’re
in the paint.”
The Sultans proved to be good students as they landed
10 treys on 28 shots.
“It’s a good feeling to know that we have
guys that want the ball,” Barry said. “I also
tried something different by rotating all 10 of my guys
into the game by the second quarter. I try to give everybody
a two or three minutes blow. These are scheduled changes
for everybody except LANDON LOZOYA, who probably only
sat out two minutes total.”
Lozoya led the Sultans with a typical double-double
of 17 points and 10 rebounds. He was 3 of 7 from beyond
the arc.
Santana also received a solid offensive boost from
MIKE ROSOLINO, who was 4-for-4 from the field –
three from long distance – and finished with 13
points. The Sultans also gained a decisive edge by sinking
14 of 17 free throws.
Six-foot-8 postman RYAN BICKFORD was 9-for-9 from the
charity stripe as he totaled 13 points.
“In the fourth quarter Bickford made two power
moves – drop step moves to the basket,” said
Barry. “He was playing with four fouls but was
still aggressive and that’s what we want him to
be. He squared his shoulders and attacked the basket.”
Grossmont had three players in double digits led by
DeSEAN WATER’s 19 points, which included canning
a trio of triples.
MICHAEL WNEK added 16 points for the Foothillers, the
majority of which came on 4 treys.
ROBBY NESOVIC chipped in 14 points and 8 rebounds for
Grossmont, while DEREK RUSTICH snagged a game-best 11
rebounds.
“You have to play well to beat a team like Grossmont,
and I think we did,” Barry said.
Santana: Landon Lozoya 17 (10 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 1
stl), Ryan Bickford 13 (3 reb, 1 ast), Mike Rosolino
13 (1 reb, 1 stl), Trey Bass 9 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk,
3 stl), Jason Corbisez 5 (4 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Jordan
Khalaf 3 (2 ast, 2 stl), Daniel Levens-Lowery 2 (3 reb,
3 ast), James Doherty (3 reb), Christian Barry (1 reb).
Monte Vista's Devin Rendo (far
right) with
the rejection of a Steele Canyon shot. (Photo by Frank Price, youatplay.com) VIEW/PURCHASE ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE
STEELE CANYON 44, MONTE VISTA 43 – Guys with
the name MICHAEL JORDAN are used to making big plays.
A 6-foot-1 Steele Canyon junior by that name scored a
game-winning layup with 10 seconds remaining giving the
Cougars the Grossmont Conference crossover victory over
visiting Monte Vista.
That was just the clincher as Jordan had his deeper
in the Steele Canyon comeback.
“We were down by three with a minute left and
ISAAC CURIA-TOBIN dove and knocked the ball out off
the (Monarchs) guy’s hand,” Steele Canyon
coach DEREK STEPHENS recalled. “Michael recovered
it and missed a layup. But he was fouled and made both
free throws.”
That turn of events shaved Monte Vista’s advantage
to 43-42 with 30 seconds unplayed. The Cougars fouled
and the Monarchs missed a free throw with 20 seconds
remaining.”
Steele Canyon (7-11) captured the rebound and at 15
seconds called time out allowing Stephens to design
what proved to be the winning play.
“It was a really physical, intense game,”
Stephens said. “We didn’t play well offensively
but like I told my guys, if you play great defense whether
you play great offense or not, you’ll win it at
the end. We have been playing pretty good defense.”
Curia-Tobin made 3 of his 8 steals in the last minute
and a half of the game.
REUBEN NWANDO scored a game-high 11 points and made
9 steals to pace Monte Vista (10-6).
“In the first half Monte Vista pressed but we
were handling it and got some easy layup,” Stephens
said. “Then they put Nwando on our point guard
(ANDREW KING). We got caught trying to dribble too much.
We have been doing a good job recently handling pressure,
but in the third quarter our guys were standing around
a lot.”
That allowed Monte Vista to use a 15-5 third quarter
run to take a 39-32 lead with one quarter remaining.
Steele Canyon, which began the season 0-5, seems to
be improving by the outing. The Cougars showed that
by carving out a 12-4 edge in the final 8 minutes.
“In the fourth quarter a lot of our points were
off of steals,” Stephens said. “Our defense
won the game for us.”
MADISON 56, CHRISTIAN 45 – After playing
a stout first half, the Christian High Patriots’
offense stalled in the second half of Wednesday’s
(Jan. 12) Central League contest against the visiting
Warhawks.
Christian (8-7, 2-1 CL) took a 35-29 halftime lead
and then were outscored 15-3 by Madison (7-9, 2-1) in
the third quarter.
Junior SHANE DILLON was shouldering most of the offensive
load in the first half when he scored 20 of his team-high
24 points.
“They did a good defensive job denying Shane the
ball in the second half,” said Christian assistant
coach DEREK LARSEN. “And they got more physical
with him. He didn’t get many shots in the last
two quarters.”
Nobody else in the Christian lineup produced more than
six points. Dillon led with nine rebounds, three more
than TYRONE SAULS.
Sauls, however, will not be available to the Patriots
for their non-league game against Bishop’s this
weekend. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Sauls will be taking
a football recruiting trip the US Naval Academy in Annapolis,
Md. A week later Sauls will be visiting the Air Force
Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Six-foot-3 Madison junior Corey Oswalt registered a
game-high 28 points, including seven 3-pointers. He
was 10-for-13 on field goal shooting overall.
HILLTOP 59, GRANITE HILLS 36 – In what
he hoped would be a tune-up for Friday’s (Jan.
14) Grossmont Hills League opener against West Hills,
coach RANDY ANDERSON saw his Eagles score their season
low in Wednesday’s (Jan. 12) non-league loss at
Hilltop.
The Lancers (11-4) outscored the Eagles (12-7) in all
four quarters despite 20 points from GARRETT LARCH-MILLER.
“We came out of the gate and could not make our
shots,” Anderson said. “It set the tone for
the whole game. It was a tough road game for us. The
atmosphere wasn’t very good, it was kind of quiet
– not much of a crowd. We could never get things
going tonight. I’m confident that we’ll be
ready for league though.”
Granite Hills: Garrett Larch-Miller 20 (3 reb, 1 blk),
Scott Atkinson 5 (9 reb, 2 blk, 2 stl), Joey Grubb 5
(2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), James Sadik 4, John Petty 2,
Dalton Otineru (2 reb, 2 ast), Stephen Keppel (2 stl),
Danny Densel (1 reb).
Two members of the Foothills Christian cast collected
career highs – DANIEL LABAHN (20 points)
and CALEB HOFFMAN (19 points).
The Knights (5-9, 1-0 CSL) seek their fourth
consecutive league title in five seasons (they
played as an independent for one season in 2007-08).
They have now captured 30 consecutive CSL contests.
Under their new coach, the RedHawks (5-3, 0-1
CSL) entered the ballgame with the best non-league
record among the six schools in the circuit.
GROSSMONT HILLS LEAGUE
1. Grossmont — Although the Foothillers lost
to Helix by 14 points during the finals of the Chula
Vista Spartan Classic last month, they still get the
nod to repeat as GHL champions. Except for depth, the
Foothillers have all the ingredients in senior point
guard DeSEAN WATERS, nimble wing man ROBBY NESOVIC,
strong post DEREK RUSTICH and three-point marksman MICHAEL
WNEK.
2. Helix — Nobody in East County plays
better defense than the Highlanders and that could be
enough to produce a league title. Finding consistency
on offense is the key for Helix.
3. Granite Hills — Senior guard GARRETT
LARCH-MILLER is a scoring machine and 6-foot-9 junior
SCOTT ATKINSON is a power in the post. Rarely do these
two have an ‘off’ night. Defense is the question
mark for the Eagles.
4. Valhalla — The Norsemen could be the
surprise team in this loop. Six-foot-3 senior DAVID
WILCHETZ is the hub of a team that seems to get better
every time out.
5. West Hills — This is another team capable
of springing an upset or two. The Wolf Pack, led by
point guard JONNY PRESTON and postman ALEX PARSONS,
has a keen shooting eye but not much size.
6. Steele Canyon — As a rule, the Cougars
play decent defense. Scoring and rebounding have been
inconsistent.
GROSSMONT VALLEY LEAGUE
1. Mount Miguel — Looking to repeat as GVL
champions, the Matadors (13-5) have won nine of their
last 10 heading into league play. THOMAS BUTLER and
MARCUS BOOKER are steady veterans and CORY LITTLETON
has become a steady force inside at 6-foot-3. The recent
improvement of IZZY WAGNER should give Mount Miguel
enough offensive contributions to wear the crown again.
2. Santana — Don’t count the Sultans
out. Coach TIM BARRY’s crew has a 6-foot-8 postman
in RYAN BICKFORD, a superb floor leader in TREY BASS
and an all-around standout in LANDON LOZOYA. If they
bump the Matadors out of the penthouse don’t be
surprised.
3. Monte Vista — When the season began,
few figured the Monarchs would be contenders. This is
a club that can score and rebound. If the defense is
consistent, watch out.
4. El Capitan — This may be too low to
place the Vaqueros, who recently surprised Granite Hills.
The KYGAR brothers – TYSON and CODY – are
major point producers. Not much height here and that
will be a drawback.
5. El Cajon Valley — Coach MARTY ELLIS
is building a program and is still a year or two away.
CENTRAL LEAGUE
Despite losing premier guard ICARO PARISOTTO to a season-ending
knee injury, Christian High rates as a primary contender
in this seven-team circuit. It shapes up as a battle
between Coronado (14-4, 3-0), the Patriots (8-6, 2-0)
and Kearny (6-5, 1-1 CL). Multi-talented SHANE DILLON
is Christian’s trump card, but he’ll need
help from guard JAKE LARSEN and forward TYRONE SAULS
if the Patriots are able to nose out the Islanders.
They already own a 61-57 overtime win over the Kearny
Komets.
Here’s the Central’s predicted order of finish:
1. Christian; 2. Coronado; 3. Kearny; 4. Madison; 5.
Point Loma; 6. Clairemont; 7. Crawford.
CITRUS SOUTH LEAGUE
No contest here. Foothills Christian, burned by five
forfeit losses due to the use of an ineligible player,
has won 30 league contests in a row. There is no end
in sight this year as the streak will continue.
Granite Hills guard GARRETT LARCH-MILLER just took
over the East County lead in scoring following a 45-point
effort, the best individual performance by any local
player all season.
The Vaqueros (6-9) needed someone to stop him; the
volunteer was an obvious choice.
"I played against Garrett in the summer (league)
and got inside his head a little bit," said Vaqueros
junior NESTOR RAMIREZ. "And I did the same thing
again."
Playing man-up against him all contest, Ramirez limited
Larch-Miller to just 12 points – his lowest total
against a San Diego County opponent all season –
as El Capitan rallied from a 9-point deficit over the
final five minutes to stun the visiting Eagles, 64-63,
in Grossmont Conference crossover action Monday (Jan.
10) at Foster Gym.
A brilliant pass by TYSON KYGAR led to a game-winning
layin by AUSTIN DIGENAN with 3.3 seconds remaining to
cap a 15-5 run over the final 4:19 to secure the upset
for only their second victory over Granite Hills in
seven meetings over the past six seasons.
"Tyson kept dribbling around trying to find a
shot, but I could tell he actually was looking to make
the pass," recalled Digenan. "Then he suddenly
gave me a look and I knew the ball was coming my way."
While one Granite Hills player stepped forward to stop
Kygar from driving to the basket, the weak-side defense
failed to pick up Digenan, who was wide open for the
easiest shot in a ballgame filled with bumps and grinds.
The bucket was Digenan's lone points on the night and
gave him 22 for the season.
"It was a total team-first play by Tyson,"
Digenan added.
Larch-Miller failed to score against Ramirez in the
first half, scoring his lone basket on a putback after
grabbing an offensive rebound off a missed foul shot.
Throw in eight Eagles turnovers in the first quarter,
and El Capitan mounted a 10-point lead.
However, Granite Hills found scoring from DALTON OTINERU
and SCOTT ATKINSON – they each registered a team-high
15 points – to close the half on an 11-0 run over
the final 3:04 to secure a 29-28 halftime advantage.
"We worked really hard, with everyone helping
me out on every single cut or backcut Garrett made,"
noted Ramirez. "They were there to back me up,
so it was a little disappointing to be losing at halftime."
Granite Hills (12-5) then pulled away by scoring the
first seven points of the fourth period for a 58-49
cushion, looking like it would be another easy triumph
over the Vaqueros; the previous five victories came
by an average of 27.4 points.
However, the comeback started on a pair of 3-point
bombs by Tyson Kygar.
"Those shots got our energy level going,"
said Digenan. "That got the crowd going, which
pumped us up."
El Capitan eventually got even at 62-all on Digenan's
pass to RYAN QUINTERO for a layin with 56 seconds left.
Larch-Miller then got a steal leading to a breakway,
yet was fouled from behind with 24.3 to go. Although
he converted 1 of 2 foul shots for the lead, it left
the window open for the Vaqueros to pull out the victory.
Kygar, the second-leading scorer in the Grossmont Conference,
finished with 29 points.
MONTE VISTA 59, WEST HILLS 56 – Six-foot-5
Monte Vista junior forward JAMES JACKSON did not score
a single basket until the final 1.5 seconds of the Monday’s
(Jan. 10) Grossmont Conference crossover game against
visiting West Hills.
But it was Jackson ’s three-pointer from the wing
that snapped a 56-56 tie and gave Monte Vista its 10th
win against five losses.
Junior guard K.J. HOUSTON, who left the floor due to
foul trouble with 3:04 remaining and the Monarchs leading
by 10, made the game-winning assist. Houston actually
gained possession of the ball on a steal with 11 seconds
unplayed. He worked the clock down before Monte Vista
coach JAMES CARROLL called a time out and designed the
game-winning play.
“ Jackson took the pass with nobody in front of
him and followed through with perfect rhythm,”
said Monte Vista assistant coach KEITH HOUSTON.
No question West Hills (7-9) was taken by surprise
when Jackson – who finished with 5 points –
sealed its doom.
“We did not recognize him as their primary three-point
shooter,” admitted Wolf Pack coach JEFF ARMSTRONG.
RUEBEN NWANDO paced a balanced Monte Vista attack with
17 points and 10 rebounds. He canned 8 of 12 shots from
the floor and netted his only free throw. BRIAN STERLING
(14 points), KJ Houston (13) also reached double scoring
digits.
West Hills led 39-38 after three quarters, but quickly
fell behind by 10 in the final period.
Sophomore point guard JONNY PRESTON helped lead the
Wolf Pack back into the game. Hampered by an ankle injury
suffered during the Coronado Tournament last month,
Preston finished with 8 points, 5 steals and 3 assists.
“We are a different team when Jonny is on the
floor,” Armstrong said. “He has been banged
up lately, but he looked like he was back to full strength
tonight.
ALEX PARSONS was once again a force inside for West
Hills with a team high 16 points and 9 rebounds. KEVIN
STRAUB and NICK FINDLEY added 11 tallies apiece for
the Wolf Pack
Poor free throw shooting dogged West Hills, which converted
only 14 of 25 chances from the stripe.
“That and we got killed on the offensive boards,”
Armstrong said. “We had only three offensive putbacks
and they must have had 25 second-chance points.”
West Hills: Alex Parsons 16 (9 reb, 3 stl), Kevin Straub
11 (7 reb, 2 ast), Nick Findley 11 (2 ast, 1 stl), Jonny
Preston 8 (5 stl, 3 ast), Gus Lopez 6, Joey Clark 2
(1 stl, 1 reb), Ralph Bedoe 2.
HELIX 48, SANTANA 44 – Shooting from the
perimeter is not a strength of the Helix Highlanders
this season.
However, in Monday’s (Jan. 10) come-from-behind
Grossmont Conference crossover contest at Santana JOHN
HENRY SINGER nailed 7 of 9 shots from the floor for
a team-high 14 points as the Highlanders (9-5) knocked
off the Sultans (11-6).
“Johnny’s not about points, he’s about
‘Ws,’” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER of
his senior son. “Santana was doubling down on KENNY
KEYS and Johnny was able to help pick us up. He played
a solid game and he had the right to feel good about
himself.”
Keys finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while
TOMMIE YOUNG chipped in with 10 points and 7 assists.
What impressed coach Singer the most was Tommie Young’s
defense on Santana’s LANDON LOZOYA.
“Lozoya played a helluva first half,” Singer
said, noting that the Sultans led 28-21 at the break.
“But Tommie Young did a great job on him in the
second half. In fact our whole team played better in
the last two quarters.”
Although defense was his strength, Tommie Young hit
a 3-pointer to lift Helix into a 46-44 lead with 40
seconds remaining.
“We ran an offensive set and got a pretty good
look by Lozoya but it just didn’t fall and we had
to foul,” said Santana coach TIM BARRY.
Once again it was Tommie Young that burned the Sultans
as he hit two free throws to seal the victory. Young
was 5 of 6 from the free throw line.
“In the second quarter we played really well,”
said Barry, noting that the Sultans outscored Helix
19-5 in the second quarter. “It was the first time
in a long time we ran our offensive plays to perfection.
I was really pleased with our guys. We had 5 threes
in that quarter – Lozoya had 3, JASON CORBISEZ
had one and MIKE ROSOLINO had one.”
By the same token Barry was equally as pleased with
his team’s defensive efforts.
“We held KENNY KEYS to one field goal in the second
quarter and we kept him to a minimum number of points
in the game,” Barry said. “I wasn’t going
to lose with him being the key guy.”
Helix reversed the tables in the third quarter, gaining
a 12-4 advantage as Singer scored 8 of the Highlanders’
points in that period.
“We had a cold start at the beginning of the third
quarter,” Barry said.
The usually balanced Sultans saw two of their players
account for the majority of their points.
“Lozoyo and Corbisez combined for 32 points of
our 44 points,” said Barry. “It was one of
those games.”
Said Singer about his halftime speech to his team,
“I keep telling these guys you just can’t
walk on the floor with ‘Helix’ on your shirt
and figure that teams are just going to fold.”
STEELE CANYON 77, EL CAJON VALLEY 35 –
The Cougars staggered out of the gate but eventually
ran roughshod over visiting El Cajon Valley in Monday’s
(Jan. 10) Grossmont Conference crossover clash in Rancho
San Diego.
The Cougars (6-11) led only 40-27 after two quarters
and that concerned Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS.
“Fortunately, the team I’m used to seeing
came out and played the second half,” Stephens
said. “We buckled down on offense and turned up
our intensity on defense.”
The Cougars held the Braves (2-11) to eight points
in the second half and blanked them with a running clock
in the fourth quarter. Offensively, Steele Canyon scored
37 points over the last two quarters.
JUSTIN NORWOOD led a balanced Steele Canyon attack
with a career-high 15 points.
DOMINIQUE MILLER, the Braves’ leading scorer,
did not play due to disciplinary action, but will return
to the court on Friday (Jan. 14) against Santana.
“Without a leader on the floor it was hard for
us to have any guidance at all,” said El Cajon
Valley coach MARTY ELLIS. “We didn’t play
well at all in the second half.”
VALHALLA 74, CALEXICO 40 – Valhalla coach
KEITH JACKSON has never been a fan of playing games
on Mondays. But sometimes that’s the way the schedule
goes.
Visiting Calexico helped fill a void on Monday (Jan.
10) and the Norsemen, after a sluggish start, were clicking
on all eight cylinders by the second half of what turned
out to be a lopsided victory.
Once again it was 6-foot-3 senior DAVID WILSCHETZ paving
the way for Valhalla (8-7) with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
He was 8-for-15 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the
free throw line.
“David is committed to doing some good things
for us,” Jackson said.
MANNY HERNANDEZ also came up strong with 14 points,
8 rebounds and 3 blocks, and guard SPENCER HAVIRD chipped
in with a dozen points, including a pair of treys.
“This game was kind of like a practice in the
second half in that we were able to work on some things
under game conditions,” Jackson said.
This was clearly a balancing act for Santana (11-5),
which had five players score 9 points or more.
LANDON LOZOYA turned a double-double of 12 points and
12 rebounds, while TREY BASS tallied 12 points and 9
boards to go along with a team-high 6 steals.
JASON CORBISEZ and JORDAN KHALAF chipped in with 10
points apiece for Santana, while 6-foot-8 junior post
man RYAN BICKFORD, who was in bed with the flu until
game time, came off the bench to contribute 9 points
and 12 boards.
In Friday's loss to Steele Canyon, Bickford gave little
more than a cameo appearance due to illness.
“I wasn’t sure we’d have him tonight,”
Sultans coach TIM BARRY said. “I was driving to
West Hills when he texted me and told me he was going
to give it a go. I didn’t know if he’d be
able to because he was so sick the night before. I told
him I’d determine in warm-ups whether he’d
be able to go against West Hills.”
Bickford didn’t start, but entered the game midway
through the first period.
“Give the kid credit,” Barry said. “He
really gutted it out. Just his presence on the court
was a big deal. Not only did it give our team an emotional
boost, it allowed us to play the defenses we wanted
to play.”
Bass said beating West Hills (7-8) is always high up
on Santana’s list of goals.
“We haven’t beaten these guys since I was
a freshman,” said Bass, a 6-foot-4 senior guard.
“It always feels good to beat these guys.”
The Sultans built up a 48-25 advantage by late in the
third quarter.
“We didn’t play good defense, or offense,
last night,” Bass recalled. “It was a good
thing to come back and turn it around and play like
we usually do. I’m really happy that Ryan persevered
and came out and worked with us.”
Bass was blunt when he pointed out what the turning
point in the game was.
“I really think we wanted it more,” he said.
Added Lozoya, “I think we got a lot of people
involved, even those that weren’t starters. We
just turned the page on the Steele Canyon game.”
The Sultans led 15-4 in the opening period, but West
Hills closed the gap to 18-15 early in the second quarter.
“This was the real Santana team,” Bass said.
“We did a better job of pushing the ball and that’s
when we got that first big run.”
Santana outscored the Pack 14-3 over the final six
minutes of the first half. After that the issue was
never in doubt.
Freshman guard D.J. LEWIS paced West Hills with 13
points, including a pair of treys and 5 of 6 free throw
shooting.
ALEX PARSONS, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior, was strong
inside the paint against the larger Sultans. Although
he scored only 6 points he came down with a game-high
16 rebounds.
“We had the big crowd that we anticipated,”
said West Hills assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG. “But
I thought going into the game that we would have gotten
a better effort out of our kids. They weren’t attacking
the basket the way they can, and I think it caused Santana’s
perimeter defense to look better than it really was.”
Santana: Landon Lozoya 12 (12 reb, 6 ast, 1 blk, 4
stl), Trey Bass 12 (9 reb, 3 ast, 6 stl), Jason Corbisez
10 (4 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Jordan Khalaf 10 (2 reb, 3
ast), Ryan Bickford 9 (12 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl),
James Doherty 5 (1 reb, 1 ast), Mike Rosolino 5 (2 ast),
Christian Barry (2 reb).
West Hills: D.J. Lewis 13 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Jonny
Preston 8 (5 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl), Kevin Straub 8 (2 reb,
1 stl), Nick Findley 6 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Alex Parsons
6 (15 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl), John Magoon 3 (1 reb,
3 stl).
MOUNT MIGUEL 62, SERRA 47 – The one thing
that Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT feared most going
into Saturday’s (Jan. 8) non-league game against
visiting Serra was a possible letdown following the
Matadors’ impressive win over Helix one night earlier.
“It’s human nature for guys to have a letdown
following an emotional win like we had over Helix in
front of a full house,” said Rowlett. “Obviously
my guys weren’t as crisp (tonight) as they were
against Helix but they managed to focus on the task
at hand.”
Sophomore IZZY WAGNER, who played a key role down the
stretch in the conquest of Helix, poured in a game-high
20 points against Serra. Wagner nailed a pair of treys
and 8 of 9 free throws while dishing out 4 assists.
“We’re 13-5 going into the start of league
play next Friday (Jan. 14) at Monte Vista,” said
Rowlett. “We’re ready to defend our (Grossmont
Valley League) title.”
Mount Miguel: Izzy Wagner 20 (4 ast), Cory Littleton
13 (7 reb), Thomas Butler 12 (6 reb), Safen Mohammed
6, Mohamud Abdi 2 (2 reb), Shakeel Hill 2 (2 reb, 5
stl, 2 ast), Marcellus Jones 1.
Helix guard Titus Young tries
to scoop the ball
underneath Mount Miguel's Thomas Butler.
(Photo by Frank Price, youatplay.com) VIEW/PURCHASE ADDITIONAL PHOTOS
HERE
So go games with rivalry connections. These two teams
are not in the same league any more, so this was a one-shot
deal and it seemed that the Matadors (12-5) wanted it
more.
We’re talking about bragging rights, if nothing
else.
In what could be considered an upset, Mount Miguel,
led by THOMAS BUTLER’s 15 points and 12 rebounds,
knocked off No. 10 ranked Helix, 40-37.
Eagles'
Larch-Miller
discovers new math
on way to 45 points
Now East County’s leading scorer with 409
points and a 25.6 points-per-game average, the
6-foot-2 Larch-Miller nailed 23 of 26 free throws
against Bonita Vista. He has clicked on 41 of
his last 45 charity shots (.911 percent) over
the last three games and is 124 of 160 for the
season (.775).
Realizing that this was not his finest night
shooting from the field — he was 11 of 26
— the usually long range Larch-Miller moved
his game closer to the glass.
It proved to be a wise move.
“I’ve never shot that many free throws
in a game before,” Larch-Miller admitted.
“The refs called a lot of touch fouls in
the second half. I tried to take advantage.”
The Eagles’ sharpshooter added, “I
still can’t believe I did not make a single
three in the game.”
Larch-Miller missed only two of 20 free throws
in the second half as Granite Hills (12-4) erased
a 31-25 halftime deficit. He made 9 of 10 in the
final period as the Eagles expanded a one-point
edge.
“Garrett was really aggressive going to
the basket in the second half,” said Eagles
coach RANDY ANDERSON. “They couldn’t
stop him without fouling him.”
Granite Hills used a 9-0 run to overtake Bonita
Vista to start the third quarter.
“I guess the bottom line is the guys were
getting me the ball all night,” said Larch-Miller.
“I was having a good time out there tonight.”
Larch-Miller also led the Eagles with 15 rebounds
and 5 assists.
Six-foot-9 junior SCOTT ATKINSON rolled a triple-double
for the Eagles, tapping in 10 points, bagging
13 rebounds and swatting away 10 shots.
The unsung hero of the night was DALTON OTINERU.
“He frustrated their best player and that
began to show more in the second half,” Anderson
said. “He just did a great defensive job.”
“We always try to play defense and protect the basket,”
said Butler.
What he was emphasizing was shutting down Helix senior
post KENNY KEYS, and the Matadors were successful as
Keys made only 3 of 4 shots from the floor along with
capturing 7 rebounds.
Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT credited CORY LITTLETON,
SAFEN MOHAMMED and Butler for denying the ball to the
Helix scoring kingpin.
“I saw Littleton in school before the game today,
and he said ‘Coach, don’t worry about it –
I’ve got it.’ He took stopping Keys as a personal
challenge,” Rowlett said.
Mount Miguel's Thomas Butler
raises
for the inside basket to help down Helix.
(Photo by Frank Price, youatplay.com) VIEW/PURCHASE ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE
Holding Keys to 6 points was Mount Miguel’s game
plan.
Battling a physical brawl inside the paint, Butler
was 7-for-14 from the field.
“It was a physical game that came down to endurance,”
Butler said.
Mount Miguel was sitting on a 35-29 lead with 5:29
remaining. That’s when Helix (8-5) began a comeback
that would give them the lead. Two baskets by TITUS
YOUNG, sandwiched around a putback by Keys, tied the
game at 35-all with 2:33 remaining.
That’s when Mount Miguel sophomore IZZY WAGNER
took over. Wagner made the front end of a one-and-one
to give Mount Miguel a 36-35 lead with 1:58 remaining.
It was short-lived as Helix junior BRIAN VALADEZ scored
on a drive to put the Highlanders back in front with
1:43 left.
A series of turnovers and missed shots followed before
Butler put the Matadors on top for keeps with a short
hook and 37 seconds left.
Mount Miguel guard Marcus Booker
buries
this jumper in front of Helix' Tommie Young. (Photo by Frank Price, youatplay.com)
Helix missed two shots in an attempt to regain the advantage.
Wagner, who finished with 11 points, captured the rebound
and was fouled with 10.6 seconds remaining. He made
both ends of a one-and-one to stretch the Matadors’
advantage to three points.
“All I could think about was I gotta make these
because this is Helix,” recalled Wagner, who scored
7 of his 11 points in the final period. “I wasn’t
nervous. This was a big win because Helix was ranked
No. 10. This was a rivalry game.”
Mount Miguel MARCUS BOOKER chipped in with 12 points
and 5 assists.
“They are the best team we’ve played,”
Booker said. “The difference is we shut down their
star player. Whether we should be ranked in the top
10 is up to somebody else. All I know is we beat the
team that was supposedly No. 10.”
Helix: Tommie Young 13 (2 reb, 3 stl), Brian Valadez
11 (8 reb, 3 ast), Kenny Keys 6 (7 reb, 1 ast, 5 stl,
2 blk), Titus Young 9 (6 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), John Singer
6 (2 reb, 1 ast), Mike Todd (1 ast), Kene Anigbogu (8
reb, 1 ast, 3 blk), Gary Thompson (1 ast), Kevin Williams
2 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl).
Valhalla's David Wilschetz (right)
gets
challenged by Monte Vista defender
James Jackson. Valhalla won, 49-45.
(Photo by Ruth Mims)
VALHALLA 49, MONTE VISTA 45 – Quiet and unassuming,
the host Norsemen slowly mounted a 27-15 lead moments
into the second half of Friday's (Jan. 7) Grossmont Conference
crossover affair.
But when the Monarchs finally answered with an
11-0 run, it was game on.
However, despite the Monarchs staying on Valhalla's
back the rest of the way, the Norsemen never gave up
the lead to hang on – barely – to climb back
to the .500 plateau with a 7-7 record.
DAVID WILSCHETZ paced Orange Nation with game-highs
of 20 points and 13 rebounds, nailing all four of his
foul shots down the stretch to keep Monte Vista at bay.
"It was tough, but we pulled through," noted
Wilschetz. "We were finally able to get the ball
through their press."
Although not pretty at times, the Norsemen made enough
plays and kept the turnover count to a minimum, with
forward MANNY "El Guapo" HERNANDEZ taking
a lot of stress off Wilschetz by adding 13 points and
10 boards.
"Monte Vista was putting a lot of pressure on
us," noted Hernandez. "But we finally found
the openings and moved the ball up the court."
Wilschetz opened the second half with a pair of easy
layins, the first on a putback, then on a scoring feed
from guard KEVIN MILLS to post a 12-point lead. Then
Monte Vista's shooters began to convert, eventually
moving to within a point when a steal by JAMES JACKSON
led to a 3-point goal by BRIAN STERLING, who registered
a team-best 16 points.
But every time the Monarchs cut the lead to within
a basket, Valhalla always found a way to counter. Included
was a key steal for a breakaway layin by AMIL HERMIZ
for his only bucket of the contest, then Hernandez added
a putback basket for a 46-38 advantage with 2:21 remaining.
Monte Vista also hindered its comeback with 16 turnovers,
of which nine were from unforced errors.
Valhalla's Spencer Havird (right)
is confronted by a pair of defenders
from Monte Vista – K.J. Houston (10) and
Kylie Luster (32).
(Photo by Ruth Mims)
STEELE CANYON 48, SANTANA 45 – ISAAC CURIA-TOBIN
hadn’t scored a single point in Friday’s (Jan.
7) Grossmont Conference crossover contest until he launched
a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left to give host Steele
Canyon a 46-45 lead.
In its effort to regain the lead, Santana passed the
ball inside to 6-foot-8 junior RYAN BICKFORD, but the
pass sailed out of bounds.
The Cougars had the ball with a one-point lead with
17 seconds remaining. Santana, which had recorded only
four second-half team fouls, realized it had to give
three fouls before having any chance of making the Cougars
relinquish the ball.
Once reaching the bonus the Cougars (5-11) capitalized
as ANDREW KING hit both ends of a one-and-one with 5.7
seconds remaining to extend Steele Canyon ’s lead
to three points.
This is probably the biggest victory of Steele Canyon
’s season as MICHAEL JORDAN coined a double-double
of 16 points and 10 rebounds.
“I was really pleased with our defense and I thought
King was outstanding on that side of the court,”
Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS said.
Santana coach TIM BARRY was more or less stunned with
the result.
“First of all I’d have to say we got what
we deserved,” said the flu-ridden Barry. “They
totally outplayed us – got every loose ball. We
made 22 turnovers to a team that played half-court man
defense. My hat’s off to Derek.”
Santana, which welcomed back the return of (formerly
injured) LANDON LOZOYA (12 points), suffered from the
illness of Bickford, who finished with season lows of
6 points and 3 rebounds.
“We’re so Jekyll & Hyde that every time
we start to turn the corner, we do something like this,”
Barry said. “I could sit here and moan and groan
about that, but it’s time to turn the page. We
have West Hills on Saturday (Jan. 8).”
Steele Canyon: Michael Jordan 16 (10 reb, 4 stl), Casey
Balikian 10 (4 reb, 1 stl), Dylan Kirchhofer 5 (2 reb,
2 stl), Andrew King 5 (2 reb, 2 stl), Danny Bwinika
5 (1 reb, 1 stl), Isaac Curia-Tobin 3 (3 stl), Justin
Norwood 2 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl),
Drew Myles 2 (3 reb), Aundre Belcher (2 stl).
Santana: Landon Lozoya 12 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Trey
Bass 10 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 4 stl), Ryan Bickford
6 (3 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl), Jordan Khalaf 5 (2 reb), Mike
Rosolino 4 (1 ast, 1 stl), James Doherty 4 (1 reb, 1
ast, 1 stl), Jason Corbisez 4, Christian Barry (1 reb,
2 ast, 1 stl), Daniel Levens-Lowery (1 ast, 1 reb).
CHRISTIAN 61, KEARNY 57 (OT) – In what Patriots
assistant coach DEREK LARSEN called “the most exciting
game we’ve had so far,” Christian edged visiting
Kearny in Friday’s (Jan. 7) Central League encounter
at Ryan Athletic Center.
Sturdy SHANE DILLON was at the forefront of the Christian
victory with the majority of his 23 points coming on
4 three-pointers. The 6-foot-6 junior also completed
a double-double of 14 rebounds to go along with 5 assists.
Six-foot-2, 230-pound Senior TYRONE SAULS, who learned
earlier in the day that he was named the state small
schools’ player of the year in football, turned
in one of his best complete games in basketball with
15 points and 9 rebounds.
He made 7 of 9 shots from the floor and tacked on a
free throw.
“We didn’t even know that he’d won that
award,” said Larsen. “But he’s not one
to toot his own horn, by any means. All I know is what
I saw. This was probably one of his best basketball
outings of the season, and we certainly needed it.”
The Patriots might have won this game in regulation
had they not missed the front end of a one-and-one,
allowing Kearny standout Mike Oloya, a 6-4 senior, to
hit a bucket at the buzzer, tying the game at 52-all
and sending it into overtime.
The Patriots fought back in overtime though as Dillon
hit his fourth 3-pointer giving Christian (8-6, 2-0
CL) the early lead in the extra session.
After Kearny tied it again, Tyrone Sauls responded
with a putback, giving the Patriots the advantage once
more.
AARON HUESLEIN expanded the Patriots’ edge with
his third 3-pointer of the game to make it a 5-point
spread.
A Kearny bucket chopped it to three again before the
Patriots put the game away at the free throw line.
“I think our kids are learning what it means not
to have (former East County scoring leader ICARO) PARISOTTO
in our lineup,” Larsen observed. “Tyrone Sauls
and Aaron Hueslein are learning that their roles have
changed. We need a lot of help to pick up for the loss
of Parisotto (injury).”
WEST HILLS 87, EL CAJON VALLEY 36 – Host
West Hills scored a Grossmont Conference high against
outmanned El Cajon Valley in a crossover game Friday
(Jan. 7) in Santee.
Six players reached double scoring digits for West
Hills, led by freshman D.J. LEWIS and junior NICK FINDLEY,
who popped in 14 points apiece in a game the Pack led
77-34 after three quarters.
The unsung hero of the West Hills show was 6-foot junior
KEVIN STRAUB, who fell an eyelash short of executing
a triple-double.
“He was our headliner,” said West Hills assistant
coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG of Straub, who tallied 13 points,
grabbed 11 rebounds and registered 9 assists.
“He’s usually a two or a three, but we played
him more as a point tonight,” Armstrong said. “No
doubt this was a career game for him. He took only eight
shots (from the field) but still managed to crash the
boards and did an excellent job of moving the ball.
He should be proud.”
West Hills, which shot 50 percent (36 of 72) from the
field, led 45-23 by halftime.
All of those reaching double digits shot well above
40 percent.
“This should be a good confidence boost for us,”
said Armstrong. “Any time you get six kids in double
figures you have to like your chances.”
El Cajon Valley: Corey Evans 14, Diante Ashby 7, Tyler
Verela 6, Alex Jacinto 5, Brenden Brocious 4.
GROSSMONT 79, EL CAPITAN 52 – Just who
is the best team in East County is still open for discussion.
The Grossmont Foothillers aren’t ready to concede
a back seat to anybody.
The Foothillers (10-5) broke to a 19-8 first quarter
lead and went on to outscore the visiting Vaqueros (5-9)
in all four quarters in Friday’s (Jan. 7) Grossmont
Conference crossover action.
Senior point guard DeSEAN WATERS did more than just
orchestrate the offense as he rang up a season-best
22 points. He also dished off 6 assists and recorded
4 steals.
“They were trying to stop Waters and ROBBY NESOVIC,”
said Foothillers coach FRANK FOGGIANO.
Nesovic still reached his scoring average with 17 points
and 8 rebounds.
DEREK RUSTICH scored 13 of his 15 points in the first
half, helping stake Grossmont to a 44-28 advantage at
the break. He completed a double-double with a game-high
16 rebounds.
“Rustich was dominant in the paint,” noted
Foggiano.
MICHAEL WNEK accounted for 8 of Grossmont’s seven
treys in the game.
Grossmont’s offensive output against El Capitan
was its highest of the season by 12 points.
“We got out to a lead and I rotated everybody
in,” said Foggiano. “It was good for everybody
to get to play.”
TYSON KYGAR paced the Vaqueros with 22 points, including
5 treys.
The ever-improving NESTOR RAMIREZ chipped in with 15
points, 5 rebounds and 5 steals for El Capitan.
El Capitan: Tyson Kygar 22 (4 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Nestor
Ramirez 15 (5 reb, 1 ast, 5 stl), Austin Betts 7 (3
reb, 1 blk, 1 stl), Cody Kygar 5 (1 reb, 1 ast), Austin
Digenan 2 (4 reb), Scott Ross 1 (1 ast), Ryan Quinten
(4 reb, 1 ast), Kameron Brown (1 reb), Anthony Agunat
(1 reb).
FRANCIS PARKER 71, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 43 –
Sophomore JAMAL AYTES scored 24 points for the visiting
Knights, who proved to be no match for Francis Parker
in Friday’s (Jan. 7) non-league encounter on the
Lancers court.
Foothills Christian: Jamal Aytes 24 (no other information
available).
The Patriots (7-6, 1-0) converted 14 of 19 free throws
compared to the Pointers hitting just seven of 10.
“That was the difference,” Christian assistant
coach DEREK LARSEN said. “We’d been shooting
something 20-to-30 percent from the line the past few
games.”
SHANE DILLON paced the Patriots with 23 points, nine
rebounds and three blocks. He was 6-for-8 from the charity
stripe.
JAKE LARSEN nailed all four of his free throws and
finished with a dozen points for the Patriots.
“We pressed pretty much the whole game,”
coach Larsen said. “Instead of staying back and
waiting for something to happen, our defensive pressure
seemed to increase our overall intensity.
“For the first time in a while our guys showed
they wanted it. They played with passion and heart.”
Steele Canyon's P.J. Russell
(left) attempts to block the shot
on this driving layin attempt by Marcellus Jones
of Mount Miguel. (Photo by Frank Price, youatplay.com) VIEW/PURCHASE ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE
Havlicek is the most famous sixth man ever in NBA history,
who played for the Boston Celtics from 1962 to 1978.
Some people called him “instant offense.”
No question Havlicek could have started but he was so
effective coming off the bench that coach Red Auerbach
loved to insert him into the lineup four or five minutes
into the game. He was an impact player from end to end.
Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON is using Grubb in
a similar role.
It was Grubb’s basket with 6 seconds left that
proved to be the winner in a 59-58 victory over Monte
Vista (9-4) in Tuesday’s (Jan. 4) Grossmont Conference
crossover contest.
At the time Grubb’s bucket gave the Eagles a 4-point
advantage, but JAMES JACKSON’s uncontested trey
at the buzzer pulled Monte Vista to within one point.
Actually Grubb’s victory-clinching 3-point basket
was his only hoop in the game as the majority of his
8 points came from his 5-for-6 free throw shooting.
Once again GARRETT LARCH-MILLER was the Granite Hills
(10-4) offensive star with 27 points, including 10 of
11 free throw shooting.
Eagles 6-foot-9 junior center SCOTT ATKINSON did not
miss a shot although he was 4-for-4 from the floor and
2-for-2 from the free throw line for 10 points, his
teammates did not get him the ball very often.
“It was a really hard-fought game,” said
Anderson. “Monte Vista was a very physical team
tonight. DALTON OTINERU made a couple of good plays
at the end of the game.”
With 1:30 remaining in the game, Otineru hit a key
jump shot to give Granite Hills a 6-point lead. Then
with 45 seconds remaining Otineru grabbed a key rebound
to keep the ball away from Monte Vista.
K.J. HOUSTON led Monte Vista with 15 points, while
REUBEN NWANDO added 13 points and JAMES JACKSON pitched
in 11.
“We had two starters foul out,” noted Monte
Vista coach JAMES CARROLL. “We played a horrible
game tonight. It was good to get Jackson back (missing
earlier due to injury). He needs to work himself back
into basketball shape but we needed him on the floor
and I’m glad to have him back.”
MOUNT MIGUEL 47, STEELE CANYON 25 – Mount
Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT was worried that his Matadors
might be looking forward to Friday’s (Jan. 7) duel
with archrival Helix when his team took the floor in
Tuesday’s (Jan.4) Grossmont Conference crossover
action.
“You never know what they’re thinking,”
Rowlett said. “But I know how they played. Our
guys gave a great defensive effort. All we do is play
man defense and when the effort is there, we’re
pretty good. Any time you can hold another varsity team
to 25 points it speaks for itself.”
That is the fewest points Mount Miguel (11-5) has allowed
this season. The Matadors are surrendering 43.4 points
per game. They’ve held six of their opponents to
37 points or less.
THOMAS BUTLER led the charge as Mount Miguel took a
26-13 lead over Steele Canyon (4-11).
“He just killed us,” Cougars coach DEREK
STEPHENS said of Butler, who scored 14 points in the
opening half. “They played harder than we did.
We had a chance in the third quarter to get back in
the game as we made four stops in a row. But all four
times we misfired on transition by missing layups. That’s
been the story of our season.”
Mount Miguel's CORY LITTLETON, 6-foot-3 junior forward,
was the general of the boards as he collected a game-high
15 caroms.
After clearing the Steele Canyon hurdle Rowlett felt
free to speak about the impending joust with the Highlanders
(8-4).
“It’s one of those games that our kids always
look forward to playing, “he said. “We’re
kind of mirror images of each other in that we both
stress defense and both play man-to-man.”
Mount Miguel: Thomas Butler 19 (5 reb), Marcus Booker
12 (2 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Cory Littleton 6 (15 reb,
1 stl), Mohamud Abdi 4 (6 reb), Izzy Wagner 4 (4 ast),
Safen Mohammed 2 (1 ast, 2 stl), Shakeel Hill (2 ast,
4 stl), Marcellus Jones (2 stl).
Steele Canyon: Drew Myles 6, Michael Jordan 6, P.J.
Russell 5, Isaac Curia-Tobin 3, Casey Balikian 3, Andrew
King 2.
VALHALLA 71, EL CAJON VALLEY 43 — Having
not played since Dec. 22, Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON
wasn’t sure what to expect in Tuesday’s (Jan.
4) Grossmont Conference crossover contest against visiting
El Cajon Valley.
“I gave the guys a week off and then we had some
time to practice after that,” Jackson said. “It
kinda energized our guys.”
DAVID WILSCHETZ put together one of his finest efforts
in leading the Norsemen (6-7) past the Braves (2-9).
The 6-foot-3 senior knocked down 10 of 14 shots from
the field and 3 free throws to finish with 23 points.
To top off his brilliant performance he also gobbled
up 20 rebounds – 10 ricocheting off the offensive
glass. He also blocked 2 shots and made 3 steals.
“Wilschetz carried us in the third quarter,”
Jackson noted.
Valhalla led 34-14 at halftime and then broke the game
open in the third quarter as Wilschetz scored 17 points
that period to make it 60-30.
“We came out with a little energy in the first
quarter but their defense made us turn the ball over
(22 times),” said Braves coach MARTY ELLIS. “It’s
tough going against an experienced, big team like Valhalla.
For us to be successful we have to get easy baskets
and have less turnovers. I continue to believe that
El Cajon is moving in the right direction.”
x-forfeited first 5 non-league games
y-rec'd. forfeit win from San Pasqual Acad.
z-On Feb. 10, Lutheran now reports a win at Julian, 56-39 (from early
December)
Feb. 18: Mtn. Empire-Julian, not reported
CIF State, Southern Regional
DIVISION V
Tue., Mar. 8
View Park Prep 67, Foothills Christian 63
CIF San Diego Section ChampionshipsFINALS, At USD
Fri., Mar. 4
DIVISION V
(1) Horizon 62, (2) Foothills Christian 40 DIVISION II
(1) Lincoln 85, (2) Hoover 55
Sat., Mar. 5
DIVISION I (1) La Costa Canyon 68, (2) Torrey Pines 48
DIVISION III (5) University City 63, (2) Mission Bay 62
DIVISION IV
(3) The Bishop's 73, (1) Francis Parker 70 (OT) SEMIFINALS
Wed., Mar. 2
DIVISION I
(1) La Costa Canyon 72, El Camino 68, OT
(2) Torrey Pines 70, (3) Rancho Buena Vista 60
DIVISION II
(1) Lincoln 74, Morse 39
(2) Hoover 65, (3) Helix 50
DIVISION III
University City 71, (1) St. Augustine 50
(2) Mission Bay 60, (3) Mount Miguel 54
DIVISION IV
(1) Francis Parker 60, Army-Navy Acad. 51
(3) The Bishop's 70, (2) La Jolla Country Day 55
DIVISION V
(1) Horizon 56, (4) The Rock 33 (2) Foothills Christian 51, (3) Calvin Christian 44
QUARTERFINALS
Sat., Feb. 26
DIVISION I (1) La Costa Canyon 69, Vista 57
El Camino 69, (4) Otay Ranch 50
(3) Rancho Buena Vista 99, San Ysidro 91
(2) Torrey Pines 69, Poway 50
DIVISION II (1) Lincoln 82, Monte Vista 40
Morse 49, (4) Westview 44 (3) Helix 57, Hilltop 51
(2) Hoover 68, Point Loma 24
DIVISION III (1) St. Augustine 79, Valley Center 39
University City 59, (4) Cathedral Cath. 51 (3) Mount Miguel 53, Canyon Crest 49
(2) Mission Bay 57, La Jolla 35
DIVISION IV (1) Francis Parker 64, Santa Fe Christian 50
Army-Navy Academy 53, (4) Coronado 52
Mater Dei at (3) The Bishop's, late
(2) La Jolla Country Day 75, Imperial 32
DIVISION V (1) Horizon 65, SD-Calvary Christian 28
(4) The Rock 54, Maranatha Christian 51
(3) Calvin Christian 60, Tri-City Chr. 54 (2) Foothills Christian 90, Vincent Memorial 44 FIRST ROUND
Wed., Feb. 23
DIVISION I
(1) La Costa Canyon 84, Escondido 49
Vista 69, Eastlake 62
El Camino 80, Rancho Bernardo 55
(4) Otay Ranch 58, Granite Hills 42
(3) Rancho Buena Vista 78, Fallbrook 50
San Ysidro 68, Grossmont 62
Poway 75, Mission Hills 70 (OT)
(2) Torrey Pines 74, San Diego HS 48
DIVISION II
(1) Lincoln 83, Steele Canyon 29
Monte Vista 63, Scripps Ranch 42
Morse 60, San Marcos 40
(4) Westview 72, Bonita Vista 55
(3) Helix 59, EC-Southwest 27
Hilltop 66, Kearny 47
Point Loma 50, Valhalla 46
(1) Hoover 59, Mt. Carmel 41
DIVISION III
(1) St. Augustine 70, El Capitan 66 (OT)
Valley Center 51, Santana 50
University City 57, San Dieguito 34
(4) Cathedral Catholic 56, Brawley 20
(3) Mount Miguel 57, Olympian 40
Canyon Crest 67, Madison 64
La Jolla 41, SD-Southwest 38
(2) Mission Bay 79, Mar Vista 36
DIVISION IV
Santa Fe Christian 53, Christian 43
Army-Navy 71, UCSD Preuss 44
Coronado 71, Palo Verde Valley 46
Mater Dei df. Calipatria, no score report
Imperial 74, Guajome Park 55
DIVISION V
(1) Horizon 81, Ocean View Christian 39
SD-Calvary Chr. 49, Escondido Adventist 47 (OT)
Maranatha Chr. 68, San Diego Acad. 33
(4) The Rock 86, St. Joseph’s 35
(3) Calvin Christian 75, SoCal Yoshiva 52
Tri-City Christian 81, Christian Life 60
Vincent Mem. 48, San Diego Jewish 38
(2) Foothills Chr. 98, Vista-Calvary Chr. 21
Fri., Feb. 18
Grossmont Hills League
Grossmont 67, West Hills 57
Helix 48, Granite Hills 34
Steele Canyon 47, Valhalla 39 Grossmont Valley League
Mount Miguel 71, El Cajon Valley 44
Santana 68, El Capitan 56 Central League
Coronado 53, Christian 45
Point Loma 63, Clairemont 40
Madison 60, Kearny 45 Non-League
Mountain Empire at Julian, no report Thurs., Feb. 17
Non-League
Ocean View Chr. 70, Borrego Springs 19
San Diego Academy 35, Escondido Adventist 34
Tue., Feb. 15
Grossmont Hills League
Granite Hills 64, Grossmont 55
Valhalla 57, West Hills 42
Helix 48, Steele Canyon 31 Grossmont Valley League
El Capitan 77, El Cajon Valley 43
Santana 76, Monte Vista 61 Central League
Christian 65, Crawford 39
Coronado 54, at Kearny 52
Point Loma 52, Point Loma 49 Citrus South League
Foothills Christian 79, CV-Calvary Chr. 39
San Diego Academy 72, Mtn. Empire 54
Ocean View Christian 60, Lutheran 23
Sat., Feb. 12
Citrus South League
Foothills Christian 75, El Capitan 52
Fri., Feb. 11
Grossmont Hills League
Grossmont 51, Helix 47
Valhalla 53, Granite Hills 50
Steele Canyon 52, West Hills 50 (OT) Grossmont Valley League
Santana 58, Mount Miguel 49
El Capitan 52, Monte Vista 42 Citrus South League
SD-Calvary Christian 48, Ocean View Christian 34
Mountain Empire 88, Lutheran 48
Thurs., Feb. 10 Citrus South League
Foothills Christian 59, San Diego Academy 39
Central League
Christian 50, Clairemont 39
Madison 56, Crawford 37/38 (both scores reported)
Kearny 53, Point Loma 40
Tue., Feb. 8
Grossmont Hills League
Grossmont 53, Valhalla 44
Granite Hills 55, Steele Canyon 31
Helix 80, West Hills 26 Grossmont Valley League
Monte Vista 71, El Cajon Valley 52
Mount Miguel 52, El Capitan 42 Central League
Madison 49, Christian 42
Clairemont 47, Coronado 42
Point Loma 58, Crawford 49 Citrus South League
Foothills Christian 99, Lutheran 21
SD-Calvary Chr. 55, San Diego Acad. 39
Mountain Empire 53, Ocean View Chr. 37 Non-League
St. Augustine 68, Kearny 41
Sat., Feb. 5
Non-League
Foothills Christian 61, Christian 44
Montgomery 64, Clairemont 40
Olympian 59, Crawford 42
Point Loma 72, Bonita Vista 58
Fri., Feb. 4
Grossmont Hills League
Grossmont 61, Steele Canyon 51
Granite Hills 85, West Hills 58
Helix 47, Valhalla 34 Grossmont Valley League
Santana 76, El Cajon Valley 66
Monte Vista 52, Mount Miguel 47 Citrus South League
Foothills Christian 74, Ocean View Christian 31
SD-Calvary Christian 57, Mtn. Empire 35 Central League
Coronado 52, Point Loma 44
Madison 73, Clairemont 52
Kearny 65, Crawford 52
Thurs., Feb. 3
Citrus South League
San Diego Academy 70, Lutheran 26
Wed., Feb. 2
Grossmont Hills League
Grossmont 60, Granite Hills 48
Valhalla 70, West Hills 45
Helix 62, Steele Canyon 39 Grossmont Valley League
El Capitan 80, El Cajon Valley 62
Monte Vista 53, Santana 39 Central League
Kearny 46, Clairemont 40 Citrus South League
SD-Calvary Christian 65, Lutheran 30
Tue., Feb. 1
Central League
Point Loma 57, Christian 31
Coronado 71, Crawford 49
Clairemont at Kearny, moved to Feb. 2 Citrus South League
Foothills Christian 92, Mtn. Empire 50
San Diego Academy 45, Ocean View Christian 37 (OT)
SD-Calvary Christian 65, Lutheran 31
Mon., Jan. 31
Grossmont Hills League
Grossmont 58, Valhalla 55
Granite Hills 53, Steele Canyon 49
Helix 66, West Hills 30 Grossmont Valley League
Monte Vista 81, El Cajon Valley 44
Mount Miguel 64, El Capitan 37
Sat., Jan. 29
Non-League
Santana 59, The Rock Academy 58
Fri., Jan. 28
Grossmont Hills League
Grossmont 77, West Hills 51
Helix 62, Granite Hills 49
Valhalla 70, Steele Canyon 52 Grossmont Valley League
Mount Miguel 75, El Cajon Valley 42
Santana 70, El Capitan 52 Central League
Christian 57, Kearny 49
Coronado 58, Madison 56
Clairemont 63, Crawford 60 Citrus South League Foothills Christian 75, SD-Calvary Chr. 31
Ocean View Christian 75, Lutheran 16
Thurs., Jan. 27
Citrus South League
San Diego Academy 55, Mtn. Empire 44
Tue., Jan. 25
Central League
Coronado 52, Christian 48
Kearny 55, Madison 52
Point Loma 56, Clairemont 43 Citrus South League
Foothills Christian 84, San Diego Acad. 29
SD-Calvary Christian 54, Ocean View Christian 46
Mountain Empire 79, Lutheran 47 Sat., Jan. 22
Non-League
Valley Center 71, El Cajon Valley 41
Mon., Jan. 24
Non-League
Helix 64, San Dieguito 49
Fri., Jan. 21
Grossmont Hills League
Helix 56, Grossmont 45
Valhalla 54, Granite Hills 44
West Hills 57, Steele Canyon 54 Grossmont Valley League
Monte Vista 68, El Capitan 51
Mount Miguel 62, Santana 59 Central League
Christian 50, Clairemont 36
Madison 58, Crawford 44
Point Loma 55, Kearny 51 Citrus South League
Foothills Christian 87, Lutheran 12
Ocean View Chr. 54, Mountain Empire 13
Thurs., Jan. 20
Non-League
Oceanside 75, El Cajon Valley 29
Wed., Jan. 19
Non-League
Cathedral Catholic 61, Madison 54
Tue., Jan. 18
Grossmont Conference Tournament
Grossmont 74, El Cajon Valley 49
Helix 73, Monte Vista 41
El Capitan 66, West Hills 56 Central League
Crawford 68, Christian 61
Madison 48, Point Loma 31
Coronado 56, Kearny 53 (OT) Citrus South League
Foothills Christian 62, Ocean View Chr. 40
SD-Calvary Christian 69, Mtn. Empire 36
San Diego Academy 70, Lutheran 19
Sat., Jan. 15
Bennie Edens Classic, at Point Loma University City 69, Foothills Christian 59
M.L. King Classic, at Horizon
Mount Miguel 66, EC-Southwest 30
Non-League
The Bishop’s 55, Christian 37
Fri., Jan. 14
Grossmont Hills League
Steele Canyon 52, Grossmont 47
Granite Hills 65, West Hills 34
Helix 41, Valhalla 32 Grossmont Valley League
Santana 80, El Cajon Valley 40
Mount Miguel 58, Monte Vista 36 Non-League
Liberty Charter 48, Lutheran 45
The Bishop's at Christian, moved to Jan.15 Thurs., Jan. 13
Citrus South League
SD-Calvary Christian 46, San Diego Academy 24
Wed., Jan. 12
Grossmont Conference Tournament
Santana 62, Grossmont 55
Steele Canyon 44, Monte Vista 43
Valhalla 67, El Capitan 54
Helix at El Cajon Valley, ccd. Central League
Madison 56, Christian 45 Non-League
Hilltop 59, Granite Hills 36
Tue., Jan. 11 Citrus South League
Foothills Christian 81, Mtn. Empire 10
San Diego Academy 57, Ocean View Christian 31
SD-Calvary Chr. 75, Lutheran 33 Central League
Point Loma 55, Crawford 52
Coronado 67, Clairemont 32
Mon., Jan. 10
Grossmont Conference Tournament
El Capitan 64, Granite Hills 63
Steele Canyon 77, El Cajon Valley 35
Helix 48, Santana 44
Monte Vista 59, West Hills 56 Non-League
Valhalla 74, Calexico 40
Sat., Jan. 8
Grossmont Conference Tournament
Santana 63, West Hills 47 Non-League
Mount Miguel 62, Serra 47
Fri., Jan. 7
Grossmont Conference Tournament
Grossmont 79, El Capitan 52
West Hills 87, El Cajon Valley 36
Mount Miguel 40, Helix 37
Steele Canyon 48, Santana 45
Valhalla 49, Monte Vista 45 Central League
Christian 61, Kearny 57 (OT)
Clairemont 70, Crawford 60
Coronado 53, Madison 47 Non-League
Granite Hills 68, Bonita Vista 54
Francis Parker 71, Foothills Christian 43
Point Loma 60, Mira Mesa 51/52 (both scores were reported)
Thurs., Jan. 6
Non-League
Santana at The Rock Academy, Salvation Army Gym (Clairemont), ppd. (moved
to Jan. 29)
Ocean View Christian 40, SoCal Yeshiva 38
San Diego Academy at Julian, no report
Wed., Jan. 5
Central League
Christian 54, Point Loma 48 Non-League
Capo. Valley Christian 65, Lutheran 22
Tue., Jan. 4
Grossmont Conference Tournament
Granite Hills 59, Monte Vista 58
Mount Miguel 47, Steele Canyon 25
Valhalla 71, El Cajon Valley 43 Central League
Kearny 54, Clairemont 46
Coronado 77, Crawford 42
Thurs., Dec. 30
Sportland Holiday Classic
Granite Hills 54, Archbishop MacDonald (CAN) 16
Championship: Parkland (El Paso, Texas) 74, Foothills Christian 48 Montgomery Holiday Classic
El Capitan 58, EC-Southwest 38
Championship: Hilltop 52, Mount Miguel 43 Monarchs Basketball Classic
Ramona 58, Christian 42
Championship: Eastlake 50, Monte Vista 49 LV-Mtn. View Christian Holiday Classic
Santana 57, Agassi Prep 54 Chula Vista Classic
Championship: Helix 48, Grossmont 34
Sweetwater 70, Steele Canyon 65 Braves Classic
Canyon Crest 77, El Cajon Valley 25
Wed., Dec. 29
Sportland Holiday Classic
Granite Hills 74, Capt. John L. Chapin (El Paso, Texas) 65
Foothills Christian 60, Huntington Park 23 Montgomery Holiday Classic
Mar Vista 55, El Capitan 36
Mount Miguel 57, Montgomery 32 Chula Vista Classic
Steele Canyon 49, Olympian 43
Grossmont 51, SD-Southwest 46
Helix 47, Morse 34 LV-Mtn. View Christian Holiday Classic
Pahranagat Valley (Alamo, Nev.) 54, Santana 42 Monarchs Basketball Classic
Monte Vista 68, Christian 48 Braves Classic
Valley Center 66, El Cajon Valley 40
Tue,, Dec. 28
Sportland Holiday Classic
At Granite Hills:
Foothills Christian 95, Capt. John L. Chapin (El Paso, Texas) 79
Kearny 50, Granite Hills 45 Montgomery Holiday Classic
Bonita Vista 63, El Capitan 59
Mount Miguel 44, Mater Dei 39 Coronado Tournament
West Hills 84. SD-High Tech 59
West Hills 60, Guajome Park 53 Monarchs Basketball Classic
Christian 46, main/2010-11/prep/basketboys.shtml 30
Monte Vista 62, Sitka (AK) 55 (OT) Chula Vista Classic
Helix 55, Olympian 33
Grossmont 66, Vista 64 (OT)
Chula Vista 50, Steele Canyon 47 LV-Mtn. View Christian Holiday Classic
Santana 67, Lake Mead (Nev.) 34 Braves Classic
El Cajon Valley 58, Orange Glen 51
Mon., Dec. 27
Sportland Holiday Classic
Foothills Christian 64, Calipatria 41
Granite Hills 77, Calexico 49 LV-Mtn. View Christian Holiday Classic
Santana 76, River Valley (Mohave Valley, Ariz.) 42 Montgomery Holiday Classic
Hilltop 63, El Capitan 45
Mount Miguel 67, EC-Southwest 28 Monarchs Basketball Classic
Christian 55, Sitka (Alaska) 41
Monte Vista 53, North Hollywood-Oakwood 38 Coronado Tournament
West Hills 68, Del Norte 43
29 Palms 61, West Hills 46 Chula Vista Classic
SD-Southwest 60, Steele Canyon 43
Grossmont 63, Point Loma 53
Helix 74, Sweetwater 55 Braves Classic
El Cajon Valley 84, Liberty Charter 36
Thurs,, Dec. 23
Sweetwater Holiday Invitational
Mount Miguel 58, West Hills 42 Wed., Dec. 22 Grossmont Winter Classic
Christian 61, El Cajon Valley 38
Escondido 71, Grossmont 60
Monte Vista 67, Bonita Vista 55
El Capitan 77, Foothills Christian 50
Consolation final: Madison 54, Santana 52 LV-Foothill Holiday Classic
Granite Hills 68, LV-Green River 62
Ridgewood (Norridge, Ill.) 57, Valhalla 34 Sweetwater Holiday Invitational
Mount Miguel 59, Fraser Valley (CAN) 56
West Hills 61, Mar Vista 58 Tue., Dec. 21
Grossmont Winter Classic
Foothills Christian 48, Christian 47
El Capitan 65, El Cajon Valley 28
Santana 64, Monte Vista 43
St. Augustine 61, Grossmont 57 LV-Foothill Holiday Classic
Ridgewood (Norridge, Ill.) 63, Granite Hills 43
LV-Green Valley 55, Valhalla 50 Sweetwater Holiday Invitationald
Mount Miguel 58, San Pasqual 45
West Hills 66, UCSD-Preuss 36
Sat., Dec. 18
Grossmont Winter Classic
EscoMon., Dec. 20
Grossmont Winter Classic
Monte Vista 33, Christian 32
Santana 61, Foothills Christian 51
Bonita Vista 71, El Capitan 62
Madison 70, El Cajon Valley 38
Scripps Ranch 63, Grossmont 50 LV-Foothill Holiday Classic
Granite Hills 71, LV-Del Sol 60
Reno-Hug 63, Granite Hills 48
Valhalla 66, LV-Desert Pines 64
LV-Shadow Ridge 50, Valhalla 48 Sweetwater Holiday Invitational
Mar Vista 54, Mount Miguel 49
Chula Vista 72, West Hills 70 (OT)
ndido 73, Foothills Christian 42
Westview 59, Christian 44
Scripps Ranch 66, El Cajon Valley 33
Cathedral Catholic 60, Santana 45
St. Augustine 65, El Capitan 47
University City 55, Monte Vista 28
Grossmont 54, Madison 45 North County Basketball Classic
Temecula-Chaparral 65, Steele Canyon 34 Red Bluff Tournament
Third Place: Lake Oswego (Ore.), 73, Helix 54
Fri., Dec. 17 North County Basketball Classic Steele Canyon 54, San Jacinto 52
Red Bluff Tournament
Semis: Pleasant Valley 52, Helix 50 Non-League
Mountain Empire 47, Borrego Springs 40
Thurs., Dec. 16
Red Bluff Tournament
Helix 35, Red Bluff 23 North County Basketball Classic
San Marcos 66, Steele Canyon 45
Wed., Dec. 15
North County Basketball Classic
Steele Canyon 63, Orange Glen 53 Non-League
Mount Miguel 60, Patrick Henry 37
Tue., Dec. 14
Non-League
Granite Hills 59, Escondido 41
San Pasqual Academy at Mountain Empire, no report
Mon., Dec. 13
San Diego D-III Challenge
Championship: La Jolla 54, Santana 47 North County Basketball Classic
Steele Canyon 58, Del Norte 35 Non-League
Monte Vista 54, Mater Dei 34
Sat., Dec. 11 LJCD Tournament
Valhalla 48, SJC-St. Margaret's 42
San Diego D-III Challenge
Mount Miguel 50, Brawley 34
Semis: Santana 44, Kearny 29
Semis: La Jolla 55, El Capitan 46 Wolf Pack Horsman Tournament
Consolation: Coronado 65, West Hills 55 Eagle Invitational
Championship: El Camino 70, Granite Hills 48 Tri-City Christian Tournament
Semis: Christian 60, Brethren 40
Championship: Calvin Chr. 58, Christian 47
Eastlake Titan Tip-Off
Consol.: Eastlake 53, Steele Canyon 36
Championship: Hoover 60, Grossmont 40 Non-League
San Pasqual 70, El Cajon Valley 50
Fri., Dec. 10
Eastlake Titan Tip-Off
Semis: Grossmont 62, La Costa Canyon 61 Tri-City Christian Tournament
Christian 72, Linfield Christian 64 LJCD Tournament
Army-Navy 66, Valhalla 60 Hilltop Tournament
Consolation: Helix 41, Patrick Henry 29 Non-League
Mission Bay 65, Mount Miguel 46
Thurs., Dec. 9 Eastlake Titan Tip-Off
Ramona 57, Steele Canyon 48 Hilltop Tournamnt
Torrey Pines 69, Helix 58 (OT) LJCD Tournament
La Jolla Country Day 45, Valhalla 38 Tri-City Christian Tournament
Christian 88, San Pasqual Academy 21
Eagle Invitational
Foothills Christian 56, Mt. Carmel 40
Wed,, Dec. 8 LJCD Tournament
Madison 51, Valhalla 50
San Diego D-III Challenge
Mount Miguel 57, Crawford 44
Santana 76, Montgomery 48 Eastlake Titan Tip-Off
Grossmont 66, Mission Hills 56
Bonita Vista 73, Steele Canyon 57 Eagle Invitational
Granite Hills 68, Oceanside 42 Non-League
Orange Glen 52, El Cajon Valley 42
Mountain Empire 46, Liberty Charter 24
Tue., Dec. 7
Wolf Pack Horsman Tournament
Carlsbad 53, West Hills 27 Eagle Invitational
Foothills Christian 74, The Bishop’s 60 Hilltop Tournament
Helix 59, Westview 48 Non-League
Mountain Empire 53, Kuyper Prep 50
Mon., Dec. 6
San Diego D-III Challenge
Santana 51, Brawley 33
Kearny 58, Mount Miguel 56
El Capitan 66, Montgomery 56 Eastlake Tournament
Grossmont 53, Eastlake 43 Eagle Invitational
Granite Hills 60, Rancho Bernardo 59
Sat., Dec. 4 Wolf Pack Horsman Tournament
West Hills 57, EC-Southwest 55 Eagle Invitational
Vista 86, Foothills Christian 58
Valhalla 49, Oceanside 30
Eastlake Titan Tip-Off
Hoover 76, Steele Canyon 25 Herb Jergentz Tournament
Monte Vista 49, Oroville 35 Hilltop Tournament
Hilltop 52, Helix 40
Fri., Dec. 3
San Diego D-III Challenge
El Capitan 67, San Dieguito Academy 47
La Jolla 47, Mount Miguel 45 Eagle Invitational
Granite Hills 68, The Bishop's 61
El Camino, 7:30 81, Foothills Christian 67
Valhalla 46, Mt. Carmel 43 Wolf Pack Horsman Tournament
Otay Ranch 68, West Hills 54 Eastlake Titan Tip-Off
Grossmont 67, Calexico 26 Herb Jergentz Tournament
Monte Vista 54, Durham (Calif.) 35 Hilltop Tournament
Helix 61, Mar Vista 49 Non-League
Mountain Empire 47, Warner 42
Thurs., Dec. 2 Wolf Pack Horsman Tournament
Cathedral Catholic 67, West Hills 28
Eagle Invitational
Foothills Christian 74, Oceanside 71 Herb Jergentz Tournament
Monte Vista 49, Las Plumas 45
Wed., Dec. 1
San Diego D-III Challenge
Brawley 65, El Capitan 61
Santana 57, San Dieguito Academy 46 Eastlake Titan Tip-Off
SD-Southwest 70, Steele Canyon 51 Eagle Invitational
Valhalla 50, Morse 49
Tue., Nov. 30
San Diego D-III Challenge
Kearny 52, El Capitan 39
Santana 81, Crawford 57
Mount Miguel 73, Castle Park 36 Eastlake Titan Tip-Off
Grossmont 58, San Ysidro 46
