ECVHS guard Andre Nikkita scores on a reverse layin to help down visiting Santana. (Photo by Tori Mills)

By Nick Pellegrino
© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (1-31-13) — For the majority of three quarters of play, frankly, West Hills High had no business being on the court with Helix, the co-leaders of the Grossmont Hills League.

Trailing by 16 points late in the third, the Highlanders sliced and diced through the zone press of the Wolf Pack.

Then the tide suddenly turned.

Moments after Helix claimed its biggest lead at 46-30, MARTIN PANAYOTOV nailed a 3-point shot to turn a half-court snooze-fest into an up-tempo game. The ride of momentum saw West Hills close the period on a 10-0 run, then outscore Helix, 16-7, in the fourth quarter to pull out a surprising 56-53 triumph.

"We played with a more heart, especially on defense," said Panayotov, who paced the Pack with 21 points. "At the same time, some of their best players stopped shooting the ball."

The Highlanders (14-7 overall, 3-2 GHL) believed they took the foot off the pedal, heavily contributing to the turnaround for West Hills (13-6, 3-2). The teams are now tied for second place, one full game behind front running Grossmont.

"We had players who didn't play the full 32 minutes," admitted Scotties head coach JOHN SINGER. "We had people who went away from what was making us successful and you can't do that."

Helix converted just two of the team's final 14 shots from the field, opening the door to the Wolf Pack.

"We kept changing our zone press - as you would say in football - formations," noted West Hills assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG. "And we told them to play with more energy and with fire in their eyes."

Helix' ROMARIO WILSON led all scorers with 22 points, while teammate KAELEN MITCHELL added 17, mainly on drives to the basket through the zone, resulting in layins or short jumpers. But each only scored a single basket in the fourth.

Meanwhile, JONNY PRESTON hit for half of his 16 points down the stretch, while Panayotov was 6-for-6 from the foul line in the fourth, including four straight in the final minute.

Helix held a 53-46 cushion with 3:17 remaining, but wouldn't score again.

Panayotov made two fouls shots, then a Preston drive resulted in a 4-footer for a bucket to move within three.

Preston's next drive to the basket was rejected on a big shot-block by WILL MILDENHALL, but West Hills kept the momentum with a steal, although Helix insists they called a timeout before the ball went loose on the floor.

Finally, Panayotov was fouled on a drive to the basket, making both ends of a 1-and-1 with 42.9 second left. Preston hit a short jumper from the lane for the Pack's first lead with 22 seconds to go.

Helix' last chance saw a traveling call on a drive to the hoop, with two additional Panayotov foul shots sealing an unlikely win.

"This win was because of heart and a lot of energy," added Preston.

West Hills: Martin Panayotov 21 (4 reb, 2 stl), Jonny Preston 16 (2 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Jeron Satterfield 6 (6 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), D.J. Lewis 6 (3 reb), Chase Parsons 5 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Brent Wilder 2 (2 reb, 2 ast), Will Llamas (1 reb).

Helix: Romario Wilson 21 (13 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk), Kaelen Mitchell 17 (10 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Derrick Chandler 6 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk), Will Mildenhall 4 (10 reb, 1 stl, 2 blk), Titus Young 2 (2 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Jordan Velasco 2 (2 reb, 3 ast), Xavier Jones (2 reb, 1 blk).

Edon Lushi (22) of El Cajon Valley takes on the charge on the drive to the basket by Santana's Andy Miller. (Photo by Tori Mills)

No problem. If the Braves run the table in their last four games they will become the first El Cajon Valley boys basketball league champion since the school opened in 1955.

But first things first.

Sure-footed ANDRE NIKKITA tossed in 25 points to lead the Braves (15-8, 3-1 GVL) past visiting Santana (10-11, 1-3 GVL) on Wednesday (Jan. 30) in a Grossmont Valley League game.

That was a nice win but it sets the stage for Friday’s (Feb. 1) GVL rematch against Monte Vista. The first time these teams met, the Monarchs won 51-47.

Word around the El Cajon Valley campus is this might be a sell-out as students and alumni alike are looking for tickets for the 7 p.m. game.

No question, 6-foot-1, 160-pound Nikkita is a smooth operator.

“He does what needs to be done,” said Santana coach TIM BARRY of the Braves’ sharp-shooter. “He can elevate his mid-range jumper with ease but he doesn’t force his shots. He can totally dominate a game like he did this one. I think one of the things that makes him so great is he involves his teammates.”

DERRICK MOORE solidified the inside game for the Braves against the Sultans with 11 points and 8 rebounds.

El Cajon Valley’s defensive strategy was to shut down the Sultans’ CHRISTIAN BARRY, which was successful.

“We knew who could beat us,” said Ellis. “We locked up Barry. That was our focus and I think we were able to execute the plan.”

Barry finished with 8 points. But DUSTIN MURPHY’s 17 points and 7 rebounds could not make up the difference. Another plus for the Sultans was GABE KRUSE, who collected 11 boards.

One thing that surprised Ellis was the Braves were 0-for-9 from 3-point range.

Good defense will negate that void.

El Cajon Valley: Andre Nikkita 25 (5 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Derrick Moore 11 (8 reb, 2 blk), Ty Donahoo 9 (8 reb, 1 blk), Ibraham Ali 8 (2 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Brandon Rumley 3 (2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Michael Readus 2 (2 reb), Sangar Hasan (1 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl), Loqman Sulyman (1 reb, 1 stl), Mathew Shearin (1 ast).

Santana: Dustin Murphy 17 (7 reb, 3 ast), Christian Barry 8 (2 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Gabe Kruse 4 (11 reb, 1 ast), Daniel Shively 4 (2 reb), Jordan Vargas 4 (6 reb, 1 stl), Andy Miller 2 (1 ast), Tim Huson 2 (1 reb), Austin Miller (2 ast).

The battle for the rebound between Santana and El Cajon Valley high schools. (Photo by Tori Mills)

VALHALLA 61, GRANITE HILLS 57 (OT) – The results of Wednesday’s (Jan. 30) Valhalla -Granite Hills game were not surprising. It was an overtime shootout.

But such occurrences are routine in the Grossmont Hills League where three games divide the six teams from the top.

This game turned into a free-for-all but the Norsemen capitalized on 22 offensive rebounds to turn the game into a victory.

A steal and pass by SPENCER HAVIRD to GEORGE FAKHOURY, which resulted in a basket and a free throw in the overtime session. KEVIN MILLS added a free throw with 11 seconds left to seal the deal.

The game was about rebounds and JORDAN QSAR hauled down 20 and Havird grabbed 19 for the Norsemen.

Mills finished with 11 points, and Qsar with 12.

CODIE SIMMONS paced Granite Hills (10-11, 1-4 GHL) with 17 points and 7 rebounds. JOEY GRUBB chipped in with 11 points and D.J. PALOMERA popped in 13.

TREVOR SPERRY had 10 rebounds for the Eagles to go with 6 points.

“Sperry changed a lot of shots and he’s only going to get better,” said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON.

Valhalla: Spencer Havird 22 (19 reb, 3 ast, 7 stl), Jordan Qsar 12 (20 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 3 blk), Kevin Mills 11 (7 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Andrew Lozoya 8 (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), David Gazale 5 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), George Fakhoury 3 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Cody Gladu (3 reb), Terrell McKay (2 reb).

Granite Hills: Codie Simmons 17 (7 reb, 3 ast), Joey Grubb 11 (6 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl), D.J. Palomera 13 (5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Trevor Sperry 6 (10 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 blk), Koltin Higgins 6 (1 reb), Ja’Ron Sanders 4 (8 reb, 1 blk), Brayan Turner (2 reb, 1 blk), Seth Collins (1 reb, 1 stl), Wes Wehrman (1 reb).

MONTE VISTA 63, EL CAPITAN 51 – Monte Vista kept its Grossmont Valley League playoff chances alive by knocking off visiting El Capitan on Wednesday (Jan. 30).

After being smoked by Steele Canyon 70-37, the Monarchs regained their footing and shuffled past the Vaqueros with relative ease.

The Monarchs outscored the Vaqueros 26-14 by intermission and never looked back.

JAHZDION TAYLOR poured in 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Monarchs, while JUSTIN BRANDY added 14 points and 9 rebounds and JEMEIL JACKSON chipped in with 10 points.

“We played with a lot of heart and we’re looking forward to challenging for the championship,” said Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL.

JUSTIN PHOENIX led El Capitan with 16 points and DRE KYLE added 13.

“We actually played pretty well tonight,” said Vaqueros coach JASON CAVAZOS. “The defense that we tried to play against them was productive the majority of the game. We tried to keep their big guys away from the basket, and I thought we did OK. The kids played harder than they have all year long. We played the best we ever have. It was fun to watch.”

Monte Vista: Jahzdion Taylor 16 (12 reb, 1 blk), Justin Brandy 14 (9 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Jemeil Jackson 10 (4 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl, 2 blk), Adam Wallace 7 (1 reb, 1 ast), Thomas Walker 6 (2 reb, 1 ast, 6 stl), Brendan Harris 4 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Jesse Rivas 3 (2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Josh Martinez 2 (1 ast), Lonnel Smith 1, Jose Jimenez (1 ast), Meliek Johnson (1 reb), Jordan Jackson (3 reb, 3 ast).

El Capitan: Justin Phoenix 16 (3 reb, 1 ast), Dre Kyle 13 (5 reb, 5 stl), Scott Ross 8 (4 ast, 2 stl), Travis Hulsey 7 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Kevin Garcia 4, Aaron Price 2 (1 reb), Myles Emmerson 1 (3 ast), Joey LaChappa (3 reb, 1 ast), Andy Casas (1 blk).

GROSSMONT 65, STEELE CANYON 41 – AUSTIN SWISHER scored 24 points – half of them coming on 3-point buckets – as the Foothillers crushed visiting Steele Canyon Wednesday (Jan. 30) to take over the lead in the Grossmont Hills League.

Swisher is definitely one of the most valuable players in the league. So is freshman TOMMY RUTHERFORD, who poured in 17 points and bagged 16 rebounds for Grossmont (12-8, 4-1 GHL).

Not to be forgotten is the muscle man inside the paint, BILAL RAHIM, who had 13 points and 14 boards.

This game was over early as Grossmont took a 21-4 first quarter lead. The Foothillers extended the advantage to 49-24 by the close of the third period.

“We are playing very well right now,” said Foothillers coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “My players are all in synch with each other. We were expecting to win but not by that kind of margin.”

CASEY BALIKIAN led the Cougars with 12 points.

“We didn’t come out very hard,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS. “We tried to play physical because Grossmont is big. We were in the double bonus in the first quarter. The refs called fouls on boxing out and that hurt us. We had two of our starters on the bench with two fouls each halfway through the first quarter.”

“We came back in the second quarter but it was a tough night. We played bad all around and they played good.”

Grossmont: Austin Swisher 24 (8 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Tommy Rutherford 17 (16 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Bilal Rahim 13 (14 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Anthony Lawrence 6 (6 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Jake Herrod 3 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Tom Lore (2 ast, 1 stl), Carl Blanchard (2 reb), Shawn Charles (1 reb, 1 ast).

Steele Canyon: Casey Balikian 12, Dylan Hamlett 9, Daniel King 8, Jordan Johnson 4, Tariq Tillman 3, Kaedyn Thomas 2, Zach Kissel 1, Donovan Habib 1, Aaron Pisiona 1.

CHRISTIAN 78, CLAIREMONT 24 – Senior PHILLIP GEORGE scored a season best 19 points and handed out 9 assists on Wednesday (Jan. 30) as the host Christian Patriots rolled over Central League opponent Clairemont to snap a six-game losing streak.

Freshman DAVID TODD JEREMIAH added 11 points, the majority coming on 3-for-4 shooting from above the arc, while ZACH KINNINGER also came up big for the Patriots with 9 points and 7 rebounds.

“George set the tone for us from the get-go,” said Patriots coach KELVIN STARR. “We’re playing a lot better. I know we didn’t beat the best team in the league but we played one of our best games of the season.”

The Patriots (10-11, 2-6 CL) led 27-10 after the opening quarter, and 65-18 before the officials started the running clock.

Christian: Phillip George 19 (4 reb, 9 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl), David Todd Jeremiah 11 (2 reb), Zach Kinninger 9 (7 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Stephen Johnston 8 (2 reb, 2 ast), Tyler Ballard 8 (1 ast, 1 stl), Brandon Tardiff 7 (1 reb, 2 stl), Joe Ross 6 (1 reb, 1 ast), Tim Harrison 6 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Justin Vrzich 3 (1 ast), Kyle Stowers 1 (1 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Trent Sauls (9 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Michael Carrillo (4 reb, 4 stl), Jacob Sandusky (2 reb).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-29-13) — It’s not all that often that the El Cajon Valley Braves win the battle of Madison Avenue like they did by knocking off Granite Hills, 69-54, in Monday’s (Jan. 28) non-league faceoff at Granite Hills.

“I don’t know what it means to them but it’s a big deal to us,” said Braves coach MARTY ELLIS. “We’re trying to make history here. We’re trying to change the culture and set a new tone. We’re just trying to get it going over here and I think we’re doing a pretty good job.”

One of the primary reasons for the success of the Braves (14-8) is the play of senior guard ANDRE NIKKITA, who popped in 38 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and dished 7 assists. He nailed 13 of 23 shots from the field and 12 of 15 free throws.

“You always know what you’re going to get from Dre because he’s a leader,” said Ellis. “But I have to keep reminding him that he can’t do it all by himself.”

El Cajon Valley broke the game open in the fourth quarter with 25-14 scoring burst.

D.J. PALOMERA attempted to lead a comeback for the Eagles (10-10) with 17 points. CODIE SIMMONS added 13 points – 9 of them from 3-point range – and JOEY GRUBB added 13.

“You know, we gave them way too many second chance points,” said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON, “and made only 13 of 27 free throws. It’s hard to win games when you do that.”

JOEY GRUBB contributed 13 points for the Eagles and TREVOR SPERRY grabbed 10 rebounds.

“They tried to cover Dre one-on-one and that’s never going to work,” Ellis said. “To help us even more is the fact that he and Derrick connected on a lot of pick-and-rolls.”

DERRICK MOORE added 16 points and 16 rebounds for the Braves, and TY DONAHOO grabbed 12 rebounds.

The way Ellis looks at it, he’s trying to build a program that’s been a doormat for decades.

“We see a lot of new faces at our games now and that’s what we want,” he said.

El Cajon Valley: Andre Nikkita 38 (14 reb, 7 ast, 1 stl), Derrick Moore 16 (16 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk), Sangar Hasan 4 (3 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Ty Donahoo 4 (12 reb, 1 blk), Loqman Sulyman 3 (2 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl), Ibrahim Ali 2 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk), Brenden Brocious 2, Brandon Rumley (5 reb).

Granite Hills: D.J. Palomera 17 (3 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Codie Simmons 13 (8 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl), Joey Grubb 13 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Trevor Sperry 5 (10 reb, 1 blk), Ja’Ron Sanders 2 (7 reb, 3 blk), Brayan Turner 2 (2 reb), Alonzo Beepath 2, Koltin Higgins (3 reb), Junior Ferreira (1 reb), Danny Smith (1 reb), Andrew Manning (1 ast).

STEELE CANYON 70, MONTE VISTA 37 – Probably one of the biggest shockers of the East County season occurred on Monday (Jan. 28) at Steele Canyon where the Cougars mauled the Monarchs in a non-league massacre.

“When we play good defense and execute our offense we do OK,” understated Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS. “We had 16 fouls called on us in the first half (yet still managed to lead 40-21).”

Four Cougars reached double scoring digits led by DANIEL KING with 18, KAEDYN THOMAS added 11 and DYLAN HAMLETT and ZACH KISSEL chipped in with 10 apiece.

“We held Monte Vista to nine baskets and 19 of 33 free throws (no 3-pointers),” said Stephens. “(JAHZDION) TAYLOR kind of hurt us on the boards.”

Taylor finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds for Monte Vista.

“It’s pretty hard to beat any team when only one guy comes to play like Jahzdion did,” said Monarchs coach JAMES CARROLL. “This is one of the most embarrassing losses I’ve had in my nine years as head coach.”

Known for their sticky-handed defense, the Cougars (13-9) held the Monarchs (13-9) to four points in the first and third quarters.

“Everything just seemed to click,” recalled Stephens. “Most of my starters played half the game. Everybody played at least a quarter. They’re starting to buy into executing a little bit more.”

Steele Canyon: Daniel King 18, Kaedyn Thomas 11, Dylan Hamlett 10, Zach Kissel 10, Casey Balikian 8, Tariq Tillman 5, Jordan Johnson 5, Donovan Habib 2, Aaron Pisiona 1.

Monte Vista: Jahzdion Taylor 10 (14 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl), Thomas Walker 6 (3 reb, 2 stl), Hasani Jarvis 6, Jesse Rivas 5 (1 reb, 1 stl), Jordan Jackson 4 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Justin Brandy 2 (5 reb), Brendan Harris 2 (2 reb), Erik Collins 2 (2 reb, 1 ast), Jemeil Jackson (1 reb, 1 stl), Lonnel Smith (1 reb, 1 ast), Jose Jimenez (1 ast).

HELIX 68, EL CAPITAN 37 – In what was one of many non-league routs on Monday (Jan. 28), visiting El Capitan was totally mismatched against perennial power Helix.

Fourteen Highlanders participated for Helix (14-6), which outscored El Capitan across the board.

“They made a lot more 2-pointers than we did (Helix 25-48; El Capitan 9-32),” said El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS. “We gave up a lot more easy baskets in the second half – it caused the game to really break open. We competed better in the first half. When you give up layup after layup it wears you down.”

Even in defeat Cavazos found something to be happy about. That would be the play of SCOTT ROSS, who finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals. Included in his bounty were a pair of 3s.

“Scott Ross had a good game,” Cavazos added. “He played real aggressive.”

Despite not starting ROMARIO WILSON led the Highlanders with his 9th double-double of the season with a team-high of 13 points and 11 rebounds. TITUS YOUNG chipped in with 10 markers.

Helix: Romario Wilson 13 (11 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Titus Young 10 (1 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Kaelen Mitchell 7 (5 reb), Christian Bell 7 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Ernesto Martinez 6 (2 reb, 1 stl), Derrick Chandler 5 (7 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), Marcus Norris 5 (1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Jordan Velasco 4 (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Desi Dixon 4 (2 reb, 1 stl), Will Mildenhall 2 (9 reb, 1 stl), Jeremiah Wylie 2 (4 reb), Alex Wilbourn 2 (3 reb, 2 ast), Oscar Picazo (7 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Xavier Jones (1 reb, 3 ast).

El Capitan: Scott Ross 17 (6 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Dre Kyle 7 (3 reb, 1 ast), Aaron Price 6 (3 reb, 1 stl), Travis Hulsey 4 (5 reb, 2 stl), Kevin Garcia 3 (1 reb, 1 stl), Justin Phoenix (6 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Myles Emmerson (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Wyatt Alvarez (2 reb), Ian Grenquist (2 reb).

WEST HILLS 53, CORONADO 49 – In what was the closest Monday (Jan. 28) non-league game involving East County teams, visiting West Hills used a 12-4 fourth quarter run to knock off Coronado on the peninsula.

“Our kids battled all night,” said West Hills assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG of the 12-6 Wolf Pack.

MARTIN PANOYOTOV paced the Pack with 17 points and 7 rebounds.

“Martin really stepped up and led us,” Armstrong said. “He played one of his best games of the season.”

JERON SATTERFIELD added 16 points and 8 rebounds, while CHASE PARSONS punched in 12 points.

Panayotov, Satterfield and Parsons each hit a pair of 3-balls. Not to be overlooked was the 7 rebounds by BRENT WILDER.

“ELIAS TOTAH played some real good minutes in the late 3rd and early 4th quarter,” added Armstrong, “and DJ LEWIS got some huge rebounds down the stretch for us.”

West Hills: Martin Panayotov 17 (7 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Jeron Satterfield 16 (8 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Chase Parsons 12 (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Brent Wilder 3 (7 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jonny Preston 2 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Elias Totah 2, DJ Lewis 1 (4 reb, 1 stl), Will Llamas (1 reb, 1 ast).

BURBANK PROVIDENCE 63, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 51 – After falling behind 16-5 in the first quarter, visiting Foothills Christian played catch-up the rest of the night in a battle with Division V state powers in Monday’s (Jan. 28) non-league game.

This was a showcase of two of the finest young high school players in California.

The Knights T.J. LEAF, a 6-foot-7 freshman, hit 11 of 20 shots from the field to finish with a game-high 26 points. He also grabbed 10 rebounds, sharing the team carom lead with LORO TOMBE, who collected a career-best 10.

Providence guard Marcus LoVett, a 6-1 sophomore and the nation’s leading scorer, finished with 25 points for the Pioneers – some 13 points below his season average.

Nonetheless, Foothills Christian trailed 30–11 late in the second quarter. But the Knights (9-12) clawed back in the second half and cut the deficit to 42-38 before eventually succumbing.

CALEB HOFFMAN dished 11 assists for Foothills Christian.

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 26 (10 reb, 2 ast), Luis Salgado-Villegas 8 (1 stl), Caleb Hoffman 7 (3 reb, 11 ast, 1 stl), Jerome Sherman 6 (6 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl), Loro Tombe 2 (10 reb, 2 stl), Austin Monstrong 2.

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (1-27-13) — It’s not very often – in fact it’s never happened – that Mount Miguel sharp-shooter IZZY WAGNER has been held scoreless in any game this season as he was Saturday night (Jan. 26) by visiting Foothills Christian in a non-league game.

Wagner was limited to three shots in the first two quarters as Foothills Christian took a 46-29 halftime lead. The Knights marched on to an 85-76 victory.

When the game was out of reach Foothills Christian (10-11) eased their defensive focus on Wagner and the Mount Miguel senior went berserk, scoring 28 points in the final 10 minutes of the ballgame.

Wagner nailed four 3s and was 8-for-8 from the free throw line to go along with 7 rebounds and 6 assists.

But it was much too late for the Matadors (12-10), who previously lost a 73-71 decision to Foothills Christian.

“We locked him up,” said Knights coach BRAD LEAF of Wagner. “It took us three days to figure out a defense to stop him.”

Leaf credited LORO TOMBE for helping defuse Wagner in the first half.

“Loro is our defensive stopper,” coach Leaf said. “He always covers our opponent’s best scorer.”

Tombo face-guarded Wagner and when the Matadors scoring phenom had the ball, Foothills would provide a shadow defender.

“It felt like they had three guys on me the whole time in the first half,” Wagner said. “So all I could do was pass the ball.”

The unsung hero for Foothills Christian was LUIS SALGADO-VILLEGAS, who hit 7 of 8 shots from the field, including 4 of 5 threes for a career-best 18 points.

CALEB HOFFMAN added 24 points and 8 assists for the Knights.

“The last time we played these guys we only won by 2 points, after leading by 14,” said Hoffman. “When T.J. (LEAF) fouled out, the game changed. But I think we’re a better all-around team now. We are a much more mature team.

“Loro did a great job on defense against Wagner,” Hoffman added.

The combination of Hoffman and T.J. Leaf has to be one of the better duos in town. Between the two they had 18 assists, not to mention 46 points.

T.J. Leaf rolled a triple-double with 22 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and 6 blocks.

Credit the Matadors, who scored 30 points in the final quarter. They received 19 points from LUCIUS COOKSEY and 14 points from TONY WILLS, and 11 points from MIKE TAYLOR, who hit a trio of treys.

Foothills Christian: Caleb Hoffman 24 (5 reb, 8 ast, 3 stl), T.J. Leaf 22 (11 reb, 10 ast, 6 blk), Luis Salgado-Villegas 18 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jerome Sherman 8 (3 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl), Loro Tombe 8 (4 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Nick Louden 5, Austin Monstrong (2 reb).

Mount Miguel: Izzy Wagner 28 (7 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl), Lucius Cooksey 19 (4 reb, 1 stl), Tony Wills 14 (6 reb, 4 ast), Mike Taylor 11 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Louis Johnson 4 (2 reb, 1 stl), Austin Smith (1 reb).

Grossmont's Austin Swisher (22) drives the lane then goes left-handed for a layin vs, Valhalla. (Photo by Don DeMars Photography) VIEW ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-26-13) — El Cajon Valley High handed Mount Miguel its third straight loss in Friday’s (Jan. 25) Grossmont Valley League action.

On the surface it was a shootout between Mount Miguel’s IZZY WAGNER and El Cajon Valley’s ANDRE NIKKITA – East County’s scoring kingpins.

The game was not decided by Wagner’s 21-19 scoring edge, however.

“I think it came down to Dre’s supporting cast was better than Izzy’s,” said Braves coach MARTY ELLIS.

El Cajon Valley outscored the Matadors 15-6 in the fourth quarter to gain a 49-41 Grossmont Valley League victory.

The Braves received 11 points and 16 rebounds from DERRICK MOORE.

TONY WILLS punched in 11 points for Mount Miguel .

El Cajon Valley: Andre Nikkita 19 (8 reb, 7 ast, 1 blk, 6 stl), Derrick Moore 11 (16 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Ty Donahoo 7 (5 reb), Loqman Sulyman 6 (1 reb, 1 stl), Ibrahim Ali 4 (4 reb), Sangar Hasan 2 (1 ast, 1 stl), Brenden Brocious (1 reb, 1 ast), Brandon Rumley (1 reb).

Mount Miguel: Izzy Wagner 21 (11 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Tony Wills 11 (5 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Devaughn Murray 3 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Louis Johnson 2 (3 reb, 1 stl), Austin Smith 2 (2 ast, 2 stl), Lucius Cooksey 2 (2 reb), Carl Dee Roberson (7 reb), Mike Taylor (1 ast).

STEELE CANYON 41, HELIX 37 – Trailing by 5 points with 2 minutes remaining, Steele Canyon rallied with a trio of 3-pointers by CASEY BALIKIAN, which eventually tied the game with Helix in Friday’s (Jan. 25) Grossmont Hills League contest.

The game came down to the Cougars’ DONOVAN HABIB driving to the basket and getting a two-and-one with 45 seconds left.

Helix fought back to contention before Habib hit another free throw to put the game away with 13 seconds remaining.

“This was a really big win for us,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS. “We got a lot of help from Balikian, who hit three 3s in the last 2 minutes.”

DANIEL KING helped the Cougars cause with 10 points.

ROMARIO WILSON rolled a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Highlanders (13-6, 3-1 GHL).

Steele Canyon: Casey Balikian 17, Daniel King 10, Donovan Habib 7, Zach Kissel 4, Jordan Johnson 3.

Helix: Romario Wilson 10 (10 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Kaelen Mitchell 8 (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Will Mildenhall 7 (17 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Titus Young 6 (2 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Derrick Chandler 4 (10 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Xavier Jones 2 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Christian Bell (2 stl).

GRANITE HILLS 56, WEST HILLS 50 – Granite Hills used a 22-9 fourth quarter surge to capture Friday’s (Jan. 25) Grossmont Hills League encounter with visiting West Hills.

“We played pretty poorly for three quarters, and played well for one quarter,” said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON. “We started to come back a little in the 3rd quarter.”

“TREVOR SPERRY had the best game of his varsity career,” said Anderson . “I thought our guards did a good job of handling their half-court trap in the second half.

Sperry scored 17 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and made 2 blocks for the Eagles.

Said Anderson , “Even though we didn’t play well for three quarters, CODIE SIMMONS played with intensity for the whole four quarters, showed good leadership.”

Simmons punched in 15 points for Granite Hills, while JOEY GRUBB added 10.

CHASE PARSON paced the Pack with 16 points, while MARTIN PANAYOTOV pitched in 10 and JERON SATTERFIELD grabbed 11 rebounds.

“We had the game in control for 90% of the time,” said Wolf Pack assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG. “We were up 16 late in the 3rd quarter, but foul trouble hurt us. Also free throws cost us the game. It was the first time we shoot this poorly from the free throw all season – we missed 15+ free throws.

“We could have easily won by double figures,” Armstrong added. “Very disappointing!”

Granite Hills: Trevor Sperry 17 (17 reb, 2 blk), Codie Simmons 15 (2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Joey Grubb 10 (4 reb, 1 blk), D.J. Palomera 5 (1 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Ja’Ron Sanders 2 (4 reb), Alonzo Beepath 2 (3 reb, 1 blk), Andrew Manning 2 (1 reb), Junior Ferreira 2 (3 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl), Brayan Turner (7 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Wes Wehrman (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Danny Smith 1.

West Hills: Chase Parsons 16 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Martin Panayotov 10 (6 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk), Brent Wilder 9 (7 reb, 1 stl, 3 blk), Jeron Satterfield 7 (11 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 4 stl), Jonny Preston 6 (5 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Elias Totah 2 (1 reb, 2 stl), Will Llamas (1 reb).

GROSSMONT 66, VALHALLA 57 – AUSTIN SWISHER had a career high 25 points to go along with 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals as the Foothillers knocked off Valhalla to move into a tie with Helix for the Grossmont Hills League lead.

Swisher, a senior wing, nailed 7 buckets including two 3-pointers as well as 5 of 9 free throws.

Grossmont’s inside game was stable as usual as TOMMY RUTHERFORD popped in 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while BILAL RAHIM pitched in 11 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.

J.T. BARNES hit three treys and TOM LORE and JAKE HERROD hit one each.

“I was happy that we made seven 3s,” said Foothillers coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “If we can hit 3s like that it makes our inside game much easier to run. We just played our man-to-man half-court defense.”

Valhalla was forced to play inside against Grossmont’s taller posts.

“They did a good job of getting a lot of second chances,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. “They used their size advantage and kinda wore us out inside.”

SPENCER HAVIRD paced the Norsemen with 23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, a black and 9 steals, while KEVIN MILLS scored 17 points and ANDREW LOZOYA scored 12.

Regarding Swisher, Jackson said, “That lefty had a real solid game against us. You’ve got to give him credit for that.”

“It seemed like we were a half-step behind all night,” Jackson said.

Grossmont: Austin Swisher 25 (8 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Tommy Rutherford 13 (14 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Bilal Rahim 11 (10 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), J.T. Barnes 9 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jake Herrod 5 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Tom Lore 3 (1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Anthony Lawrence (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl).

Valhalla: Spencer Havird 23 (5 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 9 stl), Kevin Mills 17 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Andrew Lozoya 12 (2 reb), Terrell McKay 3 (2 ast), Jordan Qsar 2 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), David Gazale (1 reb, 3 stl), George Fakhoury (2 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Cody Gladu (2 reb), Jacob Hammett (1 reb, 1 ast).

MONTE VISTA 60, SANTANA 49 – Monte Vista won its 11th straight league game as the Monarchs slapped Santana in Friday’s (Jan. 25) Grossmont Valley League contest.

JAHZDION TAYLOR rolled 15 points and 9 rebounds got Monte Vista. Twelve of his scores came in the pivotal 3rd quarter when the Monarchs took a 12-9 advantage to break the game open.

This was a game of streaks for Monte Vista (13-8, 3-0 GVL) as JESSE RIVAS hit a trio of 3-pointers in the 2nd quarter on his way to a 12 point finish. BRENDAN HARRIS scored all 7 of his points in the 4th quarter, and THOMAS WALKER pitched in 11 points for the Monarchs.

CHRISTIAN BARRY paced Santana, while RYAN BRATLIEN added 10 for the Sultans.

Monte Vista: Jahzdion Taylor 15 (9 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Jesse Rivas 12 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Thomas Walker 11 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Brendan Harris 7 (4 reb, 1 stl), Jemeil Jackson 7 (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Jordan Jackson 2 (8 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Justin Brandy 2 (4 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk), Jose Jimenez 2 (1 reb, 1 stl), Josh Martinez 2 (1 reb), Hasani Jarvis (3 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl).

Santana: Christian Barry 19, Ryan Bratlien 10, Dustin Murphy 9, Andy Miller 8, Jordan Vargas 3.

POINT LOMA 52, CHRISTIAN 48 — Patriots head coach KELVIN STARR mixed his lineup, placing some of his talented freshmen on the court with some veterans to try a new look. Still, the results were the same.

Christian suffered another frustrating, lengthy stretch with virtually no points, the difference in Friday's (Jan. 25) Central League setback to the first-place Pointers at Trepanier Gymnasium.

Senior guard PHILLIP GEORGE accepted a strong feed from frosh guard KYLE STOWERS for a 3-ball to give the Patriots a 32-31 third-quarter lead, then Stowers scored on a drive to the basket for a layin while being fouled.

Then the lights went out on the offense, which went nearly a full length of a quarter (the span covered 7:55) with just one made free throw and a putback bucket by Stowers. By the time Christian scored again, Point Loma held a 46-37 advantage.

A 6-0 run over the final 90 seconds made the final moments interesting, but the Pointers (11-6 overall, 7-0 CL) held on in league's second round opener. Christian (9-11) remains in a 3-way deadlock with Kearny and Clairemont at 1-6.

"After they took the lead in the third, we made a major tune-up to play defense," said Point Loma senior guard Dillon Fitzmorris, who drilled four 3-balls to record a game-high 19 points.

For Christian, George led the offense with 15 points, followed by Stowers' 10, while center ZACH KINNINGER posted 15 boards and a pair of shot blocks.

Christian: Phillip George 15 (4 reb, 2 stl, 1 ast), Kyle Stowers 10 (4 reb, 2 ast), Tim Harrison 9 (3 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl), Stephen Johnston 8 (4 reb, 2 ast), Tyler Ballard 3 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Zach Kinninger 2 (15 reb, 2 blk), David Todd Jeremiah 1, Brandon Tardiff (1 stl, 1 blk), Joe Ross (1 reb).

© East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (1-25-13) — The results were inevitable when these two teams locked up on Thursday (Jan. 24) in a Sunset League game at Park Way Community Center.

Basically this was a layup drill as the Knights took a 38-12 lead in the first quarter on their way to a 91-31 romp over Lutheran. Things didn’t change much in the second period as Foothills Christian led 65-15 by intermission.

JEROME SHERMAN scored 12 of his 17 points in the first quarter and T.J. LEAF scored 10 of his 24 points in the opening period.

Leaf nailed 11 of 16 shots from the field, collected 10 rebounds and dished 8 assists.

Sherman made 7 of 10 from the field, including a pair of treys. The Knights’ freshman point guard also had 11 assists.

Foothills Christian was 8 for 9 from 3-point range. LUIS SALGADO-VILLEGAS was 4 for 4 on triples, finishing with 12 points for the Knights, who have won 12 straight games in the series.

Foothills Christian’s next game is Saturday (Jan. 26) at 7:30 p.m. at Mount Miguel.

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 24 (10 reb, 8 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Jerome Sherman 17 (3 reb, 11 ast, 2 stl), Caleb Hoffman 13 (4 reb, 7 ast, 5 stl), Luis Salgado-Villegas 12 (7 reb, 6 ast, 5 stl, 1 blk), Loro Tombe 8 (6 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl, 1 blk), J.R. Rivera 4 (7 reb, 2 blk), Austin Monstrong 6 (3 reb), Jonny Van Ommering 4 (2 reb), Connor George 3 (1 reb, 1 stl).

© East County Sports.com
TALMADGE (1-22-13) — Everybody is prone to having a weird dream once in awhile, but not even Martin Luther King Jr. himself could compose a dream like the finish on Monday (Jan. 21) afternoon at Hoover High in the MLK Showcase between Foothills Christian and La Jolla Country Day.

It was a well fought battle through three quarters, but the bigs of LJCD finally started to shove their weight around in the end and even with a late heroic charge the Knights still fell, 55-54, for their second straight loss.

“When you're out-sized like that, you just try to have to be more physical than they are and outwork them,” explained T. J. LEAF of the mismatch. “I thought we did a good job against them until the final quarter.”

That size advantage and mismatch he was talking about was the dual combo of down low hogs Jordan Poland (6-foot-9, 335 pounds) and Ziad Damanhoury (6-8, 300).

Everything was pretty much even keel through three quarters, as the game was tied 41-41, but the Torreys had already reached their foul limit in the second half after four minutes of play. That led to 8 Knights' points off free throws in the third quarter and 13 points from the charity stripe overall in the second half, helping to keep them in the game.

In the fourth quarter it seemed like it was going to be an early night for the Knights, as the Torreys' big men played pepper off the backboard, combining for 10 rebounds between the two – 6 of them coming on the offensive glass – leading to 8 quick points and a nine point advantage.

Foothills cut that lead to 55-50 with 3:30 left to play, but then went on to miss eight straight shots before junior CALEB HOFFMAN was fouled attempting a 3-pointer with just seconds remaining.

Hoffman hit 2 of those 3 attempts to make it a three point contest, but little did he know that the one miss would come back to haunt him as he fouled Sage Burmeister with 2 seconds to play.

Having felt like he was tackled in the backfield on fourth-and-short Burmeister gave a subtle shove and was called for a technical foul. That gave the Knights two shots (Hoffman connected on both) and the ball out of bounds.

The dream of a victory came up just a bit short as Leaf's last-second attempt from the corner missed the mark. He ended the day with a solid game, but from downtown his long-range shooting was only 1-of-8.

“I thought my outside game was awful tonight,” Leaf admitted. “Trust me, there's no excuse on my part, but I've played here twice and it's definitely a different setting than most.”

Foothills Christian: T. J. Leaf 20 (8 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Caleb Hoffman 16 (7 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Jerome Sherman 12 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Loro Tombe 6 (5 reb), Luis Salgado-Villegas (3 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Nick Louden (1 reb), J.R. Rivera (1 ast).

SANTA FE CHRISTIAN 82, EL CAPITAN 44 – It’s hard to figure out a whole lot of positive points in a lopsided loss as El Capitan suffered to No. 14-ranked Santa Fe Christian in Monday’s (Jan. 21) non-league encounter in Solana Beach.

Yet Vaqueros coach JASON CAVAZOS managed to do so.

“I felt this was the best we have played all season,” said Cavazos. “We played hard, more aggressive.”

This is an El Capitan (2-17) team that lost SCOTT ROOT to a broken wrist in a Tuesday (Jan. 15) Grossmont Valley League game at El Cajon Valley. Three other Vaqueros have been dismissed from the team.

On the high side, 6-foot-3 El Capitan senior TRAVIS HULSEY poured in 10 points and collected 17 rebounds against SFC.

By Andrew Smith
Special to © East County Sports.com
CLAIREMONT (1-20-13) – It was supposed to be the headlining act on Saturday's (Jan. 19) bill card of the Martin Luther King Showcase at Horizon High – the youth of Foothills Christian, led by freshman phenom T. J. LEAF, against an experienced Santa Fe Christian squad.

However, this dream match-up quickly turned into a nightmare for the Knights after the Eagles limited Foothills Christian to 32.6 shooting percent from the floor and walked away with an impressive 61-49 victory.

Santa Fe Christian forward Grant Corsi was anxious about facing Leaf, who poured home 22 points and collected 20 boards (10 offensive) and swatted 6 shots.

Once SFC head coach Chad Bickley decided to focus more attention on Leaf with help underneath, the game started to move toward the direction of the Eagles.

“He's a really tough kid to guard,” admitted Bickley, the former San Diego Christian College standout. “We didn't really have any time to prepare for this game and scout them, but I think once we sent the double and triple teams at him it was successful.”

CALEB HOFFMAN, who was playing the point in the absence of JEROME SHERMAN (sidelined with a knee injury), chalked up 17 points for the Knights. He also grabbed 5 rebounds, dished out 4 assists, with a pair of steals and one block. He also was a perfect 9-of-9 from the charity stripe.

“It's hard to have much success when they're triple teaming T.J.,” Foothills Christian head coach BRAD LEAF stated. “I wish I had a better answer for it, but that really slowed our success down.”

Foothills Christian: T. J. Leaf 22 (20 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 6 blk), Caleb Hoffman 17 (5 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Luis Salgado-Villegas 6 (6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Loro Tombe 4 (3 reb, 1 stl), J. R. Rivera (1 reb, 1 blk), Austin Monstrong (1 reb).

VALHALLA 51, SAN DIEGO HS 48 – In what was perhaps the most entertaining game at the MLK Showcase at Horizon High on Saturday (Jan. 19), the Norsemen survived despite shooting an abysmal 31.9 percent from the field. After scoring just twenty points in the first half, they exploded for 23 in the third quarter and sealed the game late with their defense.

SPENCER HAVIRD led the way with 14 points and 9 rebounds against a taller group of Cavers.

“We knew they were big and athletic,” he said afterwards. “Our focus was on boxing out and taking good shots. Rebounding is the main key though against a bigger team like this.”

Valhalla only held a 31-26 advantage on the glass overall, but in crunch time, clinging to a one point lead, sophomore guard JACOB HAMMETT nailed a crucial pair of treys on back-to-back possessions. The lead was quickly cut back down to one with 17 seconds remaining and the Cavers had possession of the ball after an errant pass.

JORDAN QSAR saw a play developing he was familiar with and decided to take a chance.

“They had been running a play all game where they had two guys on the block and one in the post and then try to isolate one of them,” he said after making a break on the ball and collecting his fourth theft of the game. “So I just kind of sat back and waited on it and once I got it all I could think was 'I have to finish this.'”

Qsar calmly laid it up and the Norsemen have rather quietly, under the radar, put together two wins in two days.

Valhalla: Spencer Havird 14 (9 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), George Fakhoury 9 (4 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Jacob Hammett 8 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), David Gazale 7 (2 reb, 1 stl), Jordan Qsar 6 (7 reb, 4 stl), Kevin Mills 5 (5 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl), Cody Gladu 2 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Correy Ruth (1 stl).

SERRA 66, MOUNT MIGUEL 59 (OT) – For all the shots IZZY WAGNER has seen go through the basket this year for him, there was one against the Serra Conquistador’s that you know he would definitely love to have back.

In a back-and-forth game, consisting of 23 lead changes, the leading scorer in the state of California (40 ppg) stood at the free throw with 5 seconds remaining having already made his prior 12 attempts, needing to sink both to give the Matadors an one point advantage.

The crowd got rowdy and the shot was rushed leading to a miss, but he calmly sunk the second for his game-high 25th point, but luckily for Serra, that only put the game into overtime.

In OT the Q's turn to their offense and made their first 5 shots from the floor and the Matadors quickly got into a hole they couldn't climb out of.

When Mount Miguel fell down early, trailing 15-7 at the end of one quarter, they put together a 18-5 run to close out the half. For the first time all season they failed to connect on a 3-point shot and only had 8 assists on 24 made field goals.

Wagner was undoubtedly still the star of the game, as he dazzled the crowd with his quick moves and dominated on the boards, collecting 14 in all. LUCIUS COOKSEY connected on 7-of-11 shots for 15 points in a supporting role and LOUIS JOHNSON and AUSTIN SMITH each pitched in with 7 seven.

Mount Miguel: Izzy Wagner 25 (14 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk), Lucius Cooksey 15 (5 reb, 2 stl), Louis Johnson 7 ( 5 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Austin Smith 7 (2 reb), Tony Wills 5 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Carl Dee Roberson (1 reb, 1 blk), Mike Taylor (1 ast).

Three members of the Patriots dive for the loose ball during Saturday's MLK Classic contest at Horizon. (Photo by Dangel Photography)

MONTGOMERY 45, CHRISTIAN 32 – Early on it looked as though the Patriots would get to have a shot at victory despite the Aztecs' press. Although they committed 7 first quarter turnovers, they hit the boards hard, owning a 12-2 advantage on the glass and led 9-2 in Saturday’s (Jan. 19) MLK Showcase at Horizon High.

All of those same trends would continue on throughout the entire game...except in the scoring column.

The Pats dominated the glass by a margin of 43-20, but any time you commit more turnovers (33) than points (32), even MLK himself couldn't dream that scenario.

Freshman TIM HARRISON showed some future promise, posting a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Dooming Christian’s chances of a victory was the fact that they probably missed just as many layups at the rim as they had turnovers.

Christian: Tim Harrison 12 (11 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Zach Kinninger 7 (4 reb, 2 blk), Jacob Sandusky 5 (1 reb), Tyler Ballard 4 (5 reb, 2 stl), Kyle Stowers 3 (6 reb, 1 stl), David Todd Jeremiah (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Stephen Johnston (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Michael Carrillo (3 reb, 1 ast), Brandon Tardiff (2 reb, 2 ast).

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (1-19-13) — In a typical battle that will highlight the Grossmont Hills League action, Grossmont High knocked off West Hills, 53-39, in Friday’s (Jan. 18) league play.

While this one belonged to the Foothillers (9-8, 2-1 GHL), the game was decided in the paint where Grossmont freshman TOMMY RUTHERFORD and BILAL RAHIM were the pivotal powers.

Grossmont’s inside game, which featured 17 points and 9 rebounds by Rahim and 10 points and 19 rebounds by Rutherford, were more than West Hills could counter.

“We know our strength is the inside game,” said Rutherford. “And we have to give credit to our perimeter players for getting the ball to us.”

Grossmont took a 14-2 lead only to surrender a 9-1 scoring run by West Hills in the 1st quarter. The Wolf Pack (11-5, 2-1 GHL), in fact shaved the lead to 14-11 but never got closer.

The Foothillers continued to pull away and led 43-29 early in the 3rd quarter.

“West Hills did what they thought they had to do to defend us,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “But we were able to overcome it.”

When four Foothillers reached double scoring figures, Grossmont is probably going to win.

AUSTIN SWISHER rolled a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds and dished 7 assists, while ANTHONY LAWRENCE pitched in 10 points and 8 rebounds.

For West Hills JERON SATTERFIELD scored 13 points and MARTIN PANAYOTOV chipped in 10.

Grossmont: Bilal Rahim 17 (9 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Austin Swisher 13 (10 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl), Tommy Rutherford 11 (19 reb, 2 stl, 1 ast, 4 blk), Anthony Lawrence 10 (8 reb, 2 ast), Tom Lore 2 (2 reb, 1 stl), J.T. Barnes (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Jake Herrod (1 stl).

West Hills: Jeron Satterfield 13 (4 reb, 1 ast), Martin Panayotov 10 (4 reb, 1 ast), Jonny Preston 9 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Chase Parsons 7 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Brent Wilder (6 reb), 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Will Llamas (2 reb), Elias Totah (1 ast).

Steele Canyon's Casey Balikian heads to the basket, but Valhalla's Spencer Havird takes the charge. No report on if the call was a charge or a block. (Photo by Don DeMars Photography) ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE

VALHALLA 65, STEELE CANYON 58 – The visiting Norsemen nailed 10 three-pointers in Friday night’s (Jan. 18) Grossmont Hills League game to knock off host Steele Canyon.

The Norsemen realized that in a pocket tight GHL race that every outcome will decide their fate.

“I told my guys we can’t start out 0-3, otherwise we’ll be playing for the bottom of the league,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON.

The kingpin for the Valhalla assault was SPENCER HAVIRD, who scored 17 points, dished 3 assists, made 2 steals and had 2 blocks.

“He’s really had a tough week for a lot of reasons,” Jackson said. “The biggest problem is his house burned down. He could have just folded his tent but he really inspired us. We kinda rallied around him. He was all over the court.”

Four Norsemen scored in double digits, including DAVID GAZALE with 18 points, KEVIN MILLS with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 7 steals, and ANDREW LOZOYA with 14 points, including a trio of treys. Mills made 11 of 14 free throws. JORDAN QSAR collected 10 rebounds for Valhalla.

Other three-point shooters were Havird with three and Gazale with four.

For Steele Canyon CASEY BALIKIAN led the way with 22 points, the majority coming on 4 three-pointers, while DANIEL KING contributed 12 points for the Cougars.

“We made a run at them in the 4th quarter but it was too little, too late,” said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS. “We didn’t execute our game plan offensively or defensively. We turned the ball over too much.”

“Give Valhalla credit – they outplayed us. We know they like to shoot 3-pointers. We should have fouled them and forced them to drive. They got too many open looks.”

Valhalla: David Gazale 18 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Spencer Havird 17 (5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Kevin Mills 15 (5 reb, 6 ast, 7 stl), Andrew Lozoya 14 (1 stl), Jordan Qsar 1 (10 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Jacob Hammett (1 ast), George Fakhoury (2 ast, 1 stl), Terrell McKay (1 stl), Cody Gladu (1 reb).

Steele Canyon: Casey Balikian 22, Daniel King 12, Zach Kissel 9, Dylan Hamlett 8, Donovan Habib 5, Jordan Johnson 2.

HELIX 52, GRANITE HILLS 43 – The Highlanders maintained their lead as the only undefeated team in the Grossmont Hills League as they knocked off Granite Hills in Friday night’s (Jan. 18) action.

TITUS YOUNG, a four year starter, had one of his best games of the season for Helix with 20 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the floor and 7 of 12 from the free throw line.

“We played a team with two bigs (Grossmont) on Tuesday, then we come back and faced a Granite Hills team that lives basically on the 3-point shot,” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER. “We adjusted pretty in the first quarter and then laid an egg in the last three quarters. I think we got a little into ourselves – Granite Hills could have gotten us.”

Such was not the case as the Highlanders took a 17-4 first quarter lead and held off the Eagles (9-9, 0-3 GHL) after that.

“We got off to a slow start in the first quarter – that’s kinda been our theme this year, then we have to battle back,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. “It was the same thing in the last two games. We were within 2 points in the 3rd quarter tonight.”

ROMARIO WILSON added 14 points and 11 rebounds for his 6th double-double of the season for the Highlanders. Not to be overlooked was 16 rebounds by WILL MILDENHALL along with 10 rebounds from KAELEN MITCHELL.

JOEY GRUBB paced Granite Hills with 14 points, while CODIE SIMMONS and D.J. PALOMERA pitched in 10 points apiece. JA’RON SANDERS grabbed 12 rebounds for the Eagles.

Helix: Titus Young 20 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Romario Wilson 14 (11 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Kaelen Mitchell 5 (10 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Xavier Jones 5 (1 reb, 3 ast), Christian Bell 4 (4 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Will Mildenhall 4 (16 reb), Derrick Chandler (4 reb, 1 stl).

Granite Hills: Joey Grubb 14 (3 reb, 1 ast, 5 stl), Codie Simmons 10 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), D.J. Palomera 10 (2 reb, 4 stl), Ja’Ron Sanders 5 (12 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk), Alonzo Beepath 2 (5 reb), Brayan Turner 2 (2 reb, 1 stl), Trevor Sperry (9 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Danny Smith (2 reb), Andrew Manning (1 reb), Seth Collins (1 reb).

SANTANA 51, EL CAPITAN 33 – Santana climbed back into the Grossmont Valley League race by knocking off El Capitan Friday night (Jan. 18) in Lakeside.

CHRISTIAN BARRY provided the charge for the Sultans, who outscored the Vaqueros 33-16 in the 2nd half by pouring in 15 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, dishing 3 assists and collecting 3 steals.

JORDAN VARGAS added 14 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals for Santana. He was 5-for-6 from the floor and 4-for-6 from the free throw line.

“In the first half we weren’t very patient,” said Santana assistant coach JEFF BARRY, as the Sultans maintained only a 18-17 advantage. “At the half we talked about being more intense. The 2nd half we came out a different team. In the 3rd quarter we played with more energy on defense and had much better shot selection.”

And gained a 15-4 advantage.

“Christian Barry had back-to-back 3’s in the 3rd quarter to kinda stretch the lead out,” coach Barry said.

Santana: Christian Barry 15 (11 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Jordan Vargas 14 (8 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Dustin Murphy 7 (5 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Andy Miller 5 (6 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Ryan Bratlien 5 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Gabe Kruse 4 (4 reb), Daniel Shively 1, Tim Huson (1 reb).

El Capitan: No information reported.

MADISON 58, CHRISTIAN 50 – The youth movement at Christian hasn’t quite taken hold yet but its getting better as proven by Friday’s (Jan. 18) Central League loss to Madison.

In the 2nd half of the contest three freshmen were on the floor for the Patriots (9-9, 1-5 CL) the majority of the period. The results were positive.

Freshman DAVID TODD JEREMIAH nailed a team high 18 points, including 5-for-8 shooting from 3-point land.

Ninth graders TIM HARRISON chipped in with 8 markers and 6 rebounds, and KYLE STOWERS added 7 points and 4 rebounds.

Playing in only his second game, freshman JACOB SANDUSKY had 2 steals.

Not to be overlooked was junior ZACH KINNINGER who crashed the boards for 10 rebounds.

Christian: David Todd Jeremiah 18 (3 stl), Tim Harrison 8 (6 reb, 1 stl, 2 blk), Kyle Stowers 7 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Stephen Johnston 7 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), 1 blk), Zach Kinninger 6 (10 reb, 2 ast), Tyler Ballard 4 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Brandon Tardiff (1 ast, 2 stl), Jacob Sandusky (2 stl).

© East County Sports.com
NATIONAL CITY (1-18-13) — Foothills Christian cranked out 29 assists and shot 58.3 percent from the floor as the visiting Knights downed San Diego Academy, 87-54, in Thursday’s (Jan. 17) Sunset League encounter.

Freshman guard JEROME SHERMAN drilled in 10 of 17 shots, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range, to finish with a game high 25 points. His contributions didn’t stop there as he also dished 10 assists, collected 5 rebounds and made one steal.

T.J. LEAF, who did not participate when Foothills Christian beat San Diego Academy, 60-35, a week ago, rolled a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds while dishing 5 assists.

Not to be overlooked was CALEB HOFFMAN who connected on 7 of 9 shots from the field for 14 points. He also had 10 assists and 6 steals.

LUIS SALGADO-VILLEGAS nailed a trio of 3-pointers in Foothills Christian’s 27-point fourth quarter. He also had 3 assists and 3 rebounds.

Foothills Christian, which is 8-9, 2-0 in the Sunset League, has won 53 league games in a row over the last seven seasons. That is one shy of the listed San Diego CIF record registered by Lincoln from 1985-1993. The Knights moved a notch ahead of Horizon, which cashed in 52 consecutive league wins from 1995-2001.

Although the Knights are favored to roll right through the Sunset League, they are facing a couple of major challenges this weekend. They’ll face Santa Fe Christian in the MLK Showcase at Horizon on Saturday (Jan. 19) at 6 p.m.

Two days later Foothills Christian will meet La Jolla Country Day in the MLK Showcase at Hoover at noon.

Foothills Christian: Jerome Sherman 25 (5 reb, 10 ast, 1 stl), T.J. Leaf 17 (11 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl), Caleb Hoffman 14 (4 reb, 10 ast, 6 stl), Austin Monstrong 8 (3 reb, 2 blk), Luis Salgado-Villegas 9 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), J.R. Rivera 6 (4 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk), Nick Louden 3 (3 reb, 2 stl), Loro Tombe 2 (2 reb, 1 stl), Jonny VanOmmering 2 (2 reb), Connor George 1.

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
LA MESA (1-16-13) — Helix High coach JOHN SINGER calls him the ‘Jamaican Wonder,’ and for good reason.

A 6-foot-3 senior who moved from Jamaica to the United States as a 9-year old, ROMARIO WILSON leads the Highlanders in scoring.

“I never started playing basketball until I was in eighth grade,” Wilson said. “I didn’t know the game at all.”

Once Wilson enrolled at Helix, he crossed paths with one of the best coaches in the game, and it’s obvious that he’s learned a lot.

Wilson made 7 of 15 shots from the field and grabbed 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season as the Highlanders rocked visiting Grossmont, 65-46, in Tuesday’s (Jan. 15) Grossmont Hills League game in front of a full house.

“It’s all about having confidence in your shot,” said Wilson, who landed 2 of 4 three-pointers. He also gobbled up 10 rebounds, dished 3 assists and notched 2 steals for the Highlanders without committing a single turnover.

“Grossmont has beaten us on our home court the last three years, so this is really a key win for us,” Wilson added.

Four-year starter TITUS YOUNG was also flawless handling the ball as he also did not commit a single turnover while scoring 13 points, handing out 10 assists and notching a pair of steals.

Six-foot-5 senior KAELEN MITCHELL paced the Highlanders with 21 points in the victory over the Foothillers.

Helix was 8-for-19 from 3-point range, which is extremely rare in the Singer game plan.

“The great thing about our 3-point shooting tonight is we didn’t force any 3s,” said Singer. “I’m a meat and potatoes guy. I like to grind it.”

Grossmont, which was picked to finish second behind Helix in the EastCountySports.com preseason predictions, received 18 points and 9 rebounds from freshman TOMMY RUTHERFORD.

AUSTIN SWISHER tossed in 12 points for the Foothillers.

“I’m really disappointed,” said Foothillers coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “We just did not defend very well. They played harder than we did.”

Helix: Kaelen Mitchell 21 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Romario Wilson 16 (10 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Titus Young 13 (2 reb, 10 ast, 2 stl), Christian Bell 7 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Xavier Jones 5 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Will Mildenhall 2 (9 reb, 2 stl), Derrick Chandler 2 (2 reb, 2 stl), Ernesto Martinez 1 (1 reb).

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 18 (9 reb), Austin Swisher 12 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Bilal Rahim 9 (8 reb, 4 ast), Anthony Lawrence 6 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Tom Lore 3 (1 reb), Jake Herrod (2 reb, 1 ast), Christian Meno (1 reb), Hunter Reed (1 reb).

STEELE CANYON 60, GRANITE HILLS 58 – CASEY BALIKIAN scored the key points down the stretch for Steele Canyon (11-8, 1-1 GHL), which knocked off host Granite Hills by scoring 3 points in the final seconds of the Cougars’ victory over the Eagles in Tuesday’s (Jan. 15) Grossmont Hills League game.

The Cougars took a 20-8 first quarter lead but the Eagles (9-8, 0-2 GHL) to cut the deficit to 32-28 by halftime. It was push and shove after that.

“We’re happy to be 1-1 two games into our league season,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS.

One of the turning points in the game was the Cougars collected 17 offensive rebounds.

“When we can crash the boards like that we know we’ll have a better chance,” Stephens said.

DANIEL KING had 13 points for the Cougars and grabbed 13 rebounds, while DYLAN HAMLETT punched in 11points and crashed the boards for 12 rebounds.

D.J. PALOMERA pitched in 19 points for the Eagles, while JOEY GRUBB tossed in 16 points and CODIE SIMMONS added 14. Not to be overlooked was TREVOR SPERRY, who dominated on the boards with 15 rebounds.

Steele Canyon: Daniel King 13 (13 reb), Casey Balikian 12, Dylan Hamlett 11 (12 reb), Jordan Johnson 8, Zach Kissel 8, Donovan Habib 6, Kaedyn Thomas 2.

Granite Hills: D.J. Palomera 19 (1 reb, 2 stl), Joey Grubb 16 (2 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Codie Simmons 14 (1 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Alonzo Beepath 4 (2 reb, 1 stl), Trevor Sperry 3 (15 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Ja’Ron Sanders 2 (4 reb, 1 stl, 2 blk), Brayan Turner (1 reb, 1 stl).

EL CAJON VALLEY 69, EL CAPITAN 39 – ANDRE NIKKITA sank half of his 22 shots from the field and 3 of 4 free throws to go along with 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals as the Braves blistered the Vaqueros in Tuesday’s (Jan. 15) Grossmont Valley League contest in Lakeside.

TY DONAHOO added 13 points and 6 rebounds for El Cajon Valley (12-8, 1-1 GVL), while EDON LUSHI pitched in 11 points. DERRICK MOORE rolled a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Braves.

DRE KYLE led the Vaqueros with 11 points and 5 rebounds.

“We were down by 9 at halftime,” said El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS. “Dre Kyle has used his athleticism to help us. We were OK the whole first half but the second half we just didn’t compete like we did in the first half. In this game it just all went out the window.

“I take pride when my kids play hard and compete. We are struggling this year but I don’t even remember my record last year or the year before. The things that I remember are the life lessons I was able to teach kids, it means a lot when a kid comes to me and says, ‘Coach you really taught me a lot about life when I played for you.’”

El Cajon Valley: Andre Nikkita 25 (11 reb, 6 ast, 5 stl), Ty Donahoo 13 (6 reb, 1 stl), Edon Lushi 11 (1 reb, 1 ast), Derrick Moore 10 (12 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), Ibrahim Ali 4 (6 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Loqman Sulyman 3 (2 stl), Sangar Hasan 3 (2 ast, 1 stl), Brandon Rumley (4 reb, 1 stl), Brenden Brocious (2 reb).

El Capitan: Dre Kyle 11 (5 reb), Joe Ross 7 (3 reb, 3 stl), Aaron Price 4 (3 reb), Scott Root 4 (3 reb, 2 ast), Justin Phoenix 4 (3 reb), Travis Hulsey 4 (4 reb, 1 ast), Ian Grenquist 4.

KEARNY 35, CHRISTIAN 30 – If Christian High is to become a contender, the future is not now.

Give it a year.

Case in point was Tuesday’s (Jan. 15) Central League game at Kearny.

Freshmen KYLE STOWERS and TIM HARRISON combined to score 20 points could not rescue the Patriots (9-8, 1-4 CL).

“All of the scoring punch we’re getting is from our freshmen,” said Patriots coach KELVIN STARR. “Our seniors just aren’t contributing.”

Stowers was 7-for-13 from the floor and Harrison was 3-for-8 with 4 blocks for Christian.

Christian: Kyle Stowers 14 (5 reb, 2 stl), Tim Harrison 6 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 4 blk), Michael Carrillo 3 (5 reb, 1 stl), Stephen Johnston 3 (1 ast, 5 reb, 2 stl), Tyler Ballard 2 (1 reb, 1 ast), Phillip George 2 (2 reb), Brandon Tardiff (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Joe Ross (5 reb, 1 stl), Zach Kinninger (3 reb, 1 stl), Justin Vrzich (1 reb).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-15-13) — Although host Valhalla High temporarily survived a 19-8 first-quarter deficit on Monday night (Jan. 14), the Norsemen still wound up on the short end of a 54-45 non-league decision to visiting Rancho Bernardo.

ANDREW LOZOYA led Valhalla with 20 points, the majority coming on his 4-for-10 shooting from above the arc. The 6-foot-1 senior also led the Norsemen with 9 rebounds.

Valhalla’s problem was that only one other player scored more than five points – DAVID GAZALE with 8.

Valhalla rallied to cut the halftime lead to 25-23, but never could overtake the Broncos (6-12).

Valhalla: Andrew Lozoya 20 (9 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), David Gazale 8 (4 reb, 2 stl), Kevin Mills 5 (7 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Terrell McKay 4 (8 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jacob Hammett 3 (3 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Cody Gladu 3 (6 reb), Jordan Qsar 2 (5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), George Fakhoury (1 ast, 1 stl).

© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (1-13-13) — In the battle for Santee supremacy in boys basketball, host West Hills High applied the defensive clamps to the Santana Sultans in Saturday’s (Jan. 12) non-league activity.

West Hills (10-4) held Sanana’s top scoring trio of CHRISTIAN BARRY, DUSTIN MURPHY and ANDY MILLER to a total of 10 points en route to a 49-32 victory for the Wolf Pack.

West Hills, which will probably not have a scoring leader in the Top 5, used a balanced attack led by MARTIN PANAYOTOV’s 12 points to cut down the Sultans.

“We held them to 18 points through the first three quarters,” said West Hills assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG. “This is a rivalry game and we came in with a lot of energy and did a very good job on defense.

“We turned a lot of turnovers and mistakes into points,” Armstrong added.

JORDAN VARGAS was the Santana standout with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Excluding Vargas the Sultans were 8 of 38 from the floor. The Sultans shot 21 percent from the field.

“I cannot believe the number of open shots that we couldn’t hit,” said Santana coach TIM BARRY. “We could never put together back-to-back baskets. Give West Hills credit, because they did some attacking stuff out of their zone.”

West Hills: Martin Panayotov 12 (7 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Jeron Satterfield 11 (7 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Brent Wilder 10 (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Chase Parsons 10 (2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Will Llamas 3 (4 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Elias Totah 2 (1 reb), D.J. Lewis 1 (5 reb, 2 stl), Jonny Preston (3 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl).

Santana: Jordan Vargas 13 (10 reb, 1 ast), Dustin Murphy 7 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Ryan Bratlien 6 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Christian Barry 3 (1 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Gabe Kruse 2 (2 reb), Tim Huson 1 (3 reb, 2 stl), Andy Miller (9 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Tyler Kirk (1 reb).

MISSION BAY 57, MOUNT MIGUEL 38 – In arguably their worst game of the season, the Mount Miguel Matadors were mauled by host Mission Bay in Saturday’s (Jan. 12) non-league game at the beach.

It’s never a good sign for the Matadors when scoring ace IZZY WAGNER scores 14 points, which is 19 below his season average.

To make matters worse for Mount Miguel (11-6) is the Matadors totaled only 11 rebounds for the game.

“No defense and no rebounding equals no win,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT. “That’s not to mention what a waste of gas and time it was go out there.”

Mount Miguel: Izzy Wagner 14 (1 reb), Tony Wills 9 (1 stl), Devaughn Murray 5 (1 stl), Lucius Cooksey 5 (1 ast), Louis Johnson 2 (6 reb, 1 stl), Austin Smith 2 (1 ast, 1 stl), Mike Taylor 1 (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Carl Dee Roberson (1 reb).

Monte Vista's Thomas Walker.

El Cajon Valley's Andre Nikkita. (Photos by Frank Price, youatplay.com) ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (1-12-13) — Some people might call this the rubber match, but Friday night’s (Jan. 11) Grossmont Valley League opener between El Cajon Valley and Monte Vista in the Monarchs’ gym carried a lot more weight.

The game was headed for a blowout as El Cajon Valley took a 15-3 lead in the first quarter.

But the Monarchs (11-7, 1-0 GVL) scrambled back behind their pressure defense guided by THOMAS WALKER and JEMEIL JACKSON to claw back into contention.

That swung the momentum Monte Vista’s direction. The game was tied at 27-all in the third period before the Monarchs took control to gain a 51-47 victory over the visiting Braves.

Walker scored 9 of his 11 points off the bench, while Jackson scored 4 points and made 5 steals in a reserve role that helped Monte Vista put the pressure on El Cajon Valley (11-8, 0-1 GVL).

Monte Vista, which had split two non-league previous meetings with El Cajon Valley, took the lead on a pair of JUSTIN BRANDY free throws with 1:20 remaining.

The Monarchs put the game away when BRENDAN HARRIS sank a pair of free throws with 4.5 seconds left.

“We were not the same team that beat Helix (48-38 earlier this week),” said Braves coach MARTY ELLIS. “And I’m sure that Monte Vista coach (JAMES CARROLL) would say this is not the same game that they played when they lost to West Hills (74-49).

HASANI JARVIS paced the Monarchs with 15 points, including 3-for-3 shooting from above the arc. Walker, who scored most of his points off the transition game, finished with 11.

ANDRE NIKKITA led El Cajon Valley with 23 points, while LOQMAN SULYMAN pitched in 12 points for the Braves.

“Dre wasn’t himself today,” said Ellis. “He was forcing too many things.”

Regarding Nikkita, Monte Vista’s Harris said, “He can score from any place on the floor. He’s probably better at driving to the bucket.”

Statistics would prove that as Nikkita made 5 of 6 free throws in the fourth quarter after not hitting a single shot from the charity stripe in the first three quarters.

Added Harris, “I can’t believe that he didn’t drive to the bucket more than he did.”

Monte Vista : Hasani Jarvis 15 (4 reb, 1 stl), Thomas Walker 11 (4 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Brendan Harris 9 (2 reb), Justin Brandy 6 (3 reb, 1 ast), Jahzdion Taylor 6 (13 reb, 2 stl), Jemeil Jackson 4 (1 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl), Adam Wallace (1 reb, 1 stl),

Josh Martinez (1 reb), Jesse Rivas (1 reb).

El Cajon Valley: Andre Nikkita 23 (8 reb, 2 ast, 7 stl, 1 blk), Loqman Sulyman 12 (3 reb, 1 stl), Derrick Moore 5 (8 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl, 2 blk), Sangar Hasan 3 (5 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl), Ty Donahoo 2 (7 reb), Ibrahim Ali 2 (3 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Brenden Brocious (1 stl), Edon Lushi (1 reb).

GROSSMONT 55, GRANITE HILLS 54 – This Grossmont Hills League opener Friday night (Jan. 11) in La Mesa was one of streaks.

The Foothillers sprinted to a 16-0 lead but were unable to maintain their momentum down the stretch.

“We went up 16-0 to start the game,” said Foothillers coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “Then all of a sudden they couldn’t miss a shot and went up 38-37 at the half.”

Eventually the game was tied at 52-all with 29 seconds left as the Foothillers rallied.

D.J. PALOMERA scored a layup for Granite Hills with 14 seconds left and Grossmont called a time out. The Foothillers ran a play and with 7 seconds remaining ANTHONY LAWRENCE hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to win it for the Foothillers.

“ Lawrence hit a 3 with 7 seconds left then we ran a play and they fouled us, but we weren’t in the bonus yet,” recounted Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON. “We threw a lob pass to Ja’RON SANDERS, who missed a shot with 2 seconds left.”

JOEY GRUBB led the Eagles (9-7, 0-1 GHL) with 21 points, while CODIE SIMMONS popped in 14 and Palomera contributed 13.

“I was really proud of the guys, the way we battled back,” Anderson SAID. “We were down 16-0 to start the game but we were ahead at halftime.”

TOMMY RUTHERFORD led Grossmont (8-7, 1-0 GHL), reeling off a pair of double-doubles of 17 points and 16 rebounds, while BILAL RAHIM punched in a double-double of his own with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Lawrence finished with 12 points.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 17 (16 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Bilal Rahim 13 (14 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Anthony Lawrence 12 (8 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Tom Lore 5 (1 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Jake Herrod 3 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), J.T. Barnes 3 (2 reb), Kyle Williams 2 (1 reb), Christian Meno (1 reb).

Granite Hills: Joey Grubb 21 (3 reb, 4 stl, 1 blk), Codie Simmons 14 (3 reb, 2 stl), D.J. Palmera 13 (4 reb, 3 ast, 7 stl, 2 blk), Brayan Turner 6, Ja’Ron Sanders (9 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 4 blk), Trevor Sperry (4 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk), Alonzo Beepath (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Junior Ferreira (1 stl, 1 blk).

WEST HILLS 53, STEELE CANYON 46 – West Hills used a 16-4 fourth quarter run to submarine Steele Canyon in Friday’s (Jan. 11) Grossmont Hills League opener in Santee.

MARTIN PANAYOTOV paced the Pack with 18 points, while D.J. LEWIS and CHASE PARSONS pitched in with 12 apiece.

Assistant West Hills coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG credited the final quarter play by D.J. LEWIS for giving West Hills the swing vote.

“D.J. scored on a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer to tie the game at 43-all,” Armstrong said. “But even more than that, he held Steele Canyon ’s (CASEY) BALIKIAN to two free throws in the second half (after the senior Cougars marksman hit four 3-pointers in the first half).”

After tying the contest West Hills (9-4, 1-0 GHL) went on a 10-3 run to close out the victory.

It had to be a disappointing loss for Steele Canyon (9-8, 0-1 GHL), which held a 42-37 advantage after three periods.

“We played pretty good,” said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS. “Of the 32 minutes we played, we were ahead for 31 minutes. It was pretty lop-sided on calls.”

West Hills was 22 of 30 from the free throw line, including 9-for-10 in the fourth quarter.

BALIKIAN finished with 14 points, while DYLAN HAMLETT pitched in 10 for the Cougars.

West Hills: Martin Panayotov 18 (2 reb, 2 stl), D.J. Lewis 12 (5 reb, 1 blk), Chase Parsons 12 (1 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl), Jeron Satterfield 8 (5 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl), Brent Wilder 1 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Will Llamas (3 reb).

Steele Canyon: Casey Balikian 14, Dylan Hamlett 10, Zach Kissel 8, Daniel King 7, Donovan Habib 4, Jordan Johnson 2, Aaron Pisiona 1.

Top: Scotties senior Romario Wilson. Bottom: Helix guard Titus Young, a four-year starter for the Highlanders. (Photos by Don DeMars Photography) ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE

Wilson, a 6-foot-3 senior, nailed 14 of 17 shots from the field, including 3 treys.

TITUS YOUNG, a four-year starter in the Helix backcourt, put together one of his better games this season with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and one block. He was 3-for-3 from long distance.

It was a big night for KAELEN MITCHELL as well, as the 6-5 senior pumped in 13 points, cleared 15 rebounds and dished 3 assists.

“If you look at the score it looks like we’re better than we are,” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER. “We had some good individual efforts, including Mitchell’s defensive job on Valhalla ’s (SPENCER) HAVIRD.”

Helix (10-5, 1-0 GHL), which is a slight favorite to win the highly competitive Grossmont Hills League, broke the game open with a 44-30 second half advantage.

“What we have this year is a jigsaw puzzle that is never the same,” said Singer. “I still don’t have a real feel for this team so I never know what to expect.”

ANDREW LOZOYA paced the Norsemen with 16 points, while SPENCER HAVIRD punched in 10 points.

Helix: Romario Wilson 33 (15 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Titus Young 15 (5 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Kaelen Mitchell 13 (15 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), Derrick Chandler 8 (7 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Will Mildenhall 3 (5 reb), Christian Bell 2 (3 reb, 2 ast), Alex Wilbourn 2 (2 reb), Ernesto Martinez (1 ast), Xavier Jones (3 ast, 1 stl).

Valhalla: Andrew Lozoya 16 (4 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Spencer Havird 10 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), George Fakhoury 8 (2 reb, 2 stl), Terrell McKay 6 (1 reb, 1 stl), David Gazale 6 (5 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Kevin Mills 4 (7 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Jacob Hammett 4 (2 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Jordan Qsar 1 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Cody Gladu (1 ast).

MOUNT MIGUEL 83, EL CAPITAN 53 – It’s not often that the Mount Miguel Matadors feature four players in double scoring digits, as they did in Friday’s (Jan. 11) Grossmont Valley League opening victory over visiting El Capitan.

So potent were the Matadors that they enjoyed their highest offensive output of the season.

As expected, national scoring leader IZZY WAGNER popped in 32 points to set the pace for Mount Miguel (11-5, 1-0 GVL). Included in his totals were four 3-pointers and 6-for-6 free throw shooting as well as 6 steals.

Crawford's Jordan Carrillo drives the lane for two. (Photo by Phuc Nguyen, Phuc Photography)

Top: Crawford's Jordan Carrillo is picked up under full-court pressure by Christian's Justin Vrzich. Bottom: Retiring Colts coach/instructor Jim Sams (third from left) is honored at halftime. (Photos by Timothy Shaw;Crawford High School)

LUCIUS COOKSEY pitched in with 10 points for Mount Miguel, which has been installed as the favorite to win the Grossmont Valley League title.

Not to be overlooked was the Matadors’ MIKE TAYLOR, who tallied 8 points – the majority coming on a pair of 3-pointers.

Mount Miguel : Izzy Wagner 32 (4 reb, 3 ast, 6 stl), Louis Johnson 14 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Tony Wills 13 (8 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Lucius Cooksey 10 (2 reb, 1 stl), Mike Taylor 8 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Carl Dee Roberson 4 (7 reb, 1 stl), Austin Smith 4 (1 ast, 1 stl).

El Capitan: No stats reported.

CRAWFORD 60, CHRISTIAN 45 -- When a team collects more turnovers than shot attempts for three quarters, it proved to be an easy night for the host Colts, which mounted a 30-point lead at 47-17 before taking off the heat late in the third period.

The guard-play of Crawford proved too much for Christian, as 49 of the team's points come on the transition, including an array of put-back points by forward Deion Davis (19 points).

The Colts' backcourt saw Jordan Carrillo post a double-double of 10 points and 10 steals, while Cameron Marcus added nine points.

However, the future of the Patriots seems secure. The team played a majority of the final 10 minutes with four freshmen and a sophomore on the court. The unit out-scored Crawford by a 28-11 count down the stretch, when first-year forward TIM HARRISON recorded seven of his 11 points.

During halftime, the Colts honored former long-time coach Jim Sams, who is retiring from teaching.

Christian: Tim Harrison 11 (6 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Phillip George 5 (3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Brandon Tardiff 4 (2 reb), Joe Ross 4 (7 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Jacob Sandusky 4 (2 reb), David Jeremiah 3 (3 reb), Kyle Stowers 3 (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 charge), Michael Carillo 3 (1 ast), Justin Vrzich 2 (2 reb, 1 ast), Tyler Ballard 0 (2 reb, 1 stl), Curtis Hampton 0 (1 stl).

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
NATIONAL CITY (1-11-13) — Despite playing without
6-foot-7 freshman T.J. LEAF, visiting Foothills Christian opened the Sunset League season with a 60-35 victory over host San Diego Academy on Thursday (Jan. 10).

Six-foot freshman guard JEROME SHERMAN stole the show for the Knights, finishing with a career best 32 points and 10 assists.

It was a breakout game for Sherman who landed 13 of 23 shots from the field, including 4 of 9 from beyond the arc. For good measure he was 2-for-2 from the free throw line.

Junior CALEB HOFFMAN added 12 points for the Knights (7-9, 1-0 SL) and LORO TOMBE led Foothills Christian on the boards by collecting 10 caroms.

The Knights, who have not played for two weeks, posted their fifth win in their last six starts.

Foothills Christian: Jerome Sherman 32 (3 reb, 10 ast, 3 stl), Caleb Hoffman 12 (4 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl), Loro Tombe 8 (10 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), J.R. Rivera 6 (7 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk), Austin Monstrong 2 (6 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl), Luis Salgado-Villegas (4 reb, 2 stl), Nick Louden (1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Keith Grant (1 reb).

SANTANA 51, SD-HIGH TECH 44 – Santana used a balanced attack and came from behind to edge San Diego High Tech High in Thursday’s (Jan. 10) non-league game in Santee.

CHRISTIAN BARRY set the pace for Santana (9-6), pouring in 16 points – the majority coming on 3-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc.

JORDAN VARGAS added 13 points while RYAN BRATLIEN crashed the boards for 10 rebounds.

Santana need a 16-7 run in the fourth quarter to avoid the upset.

The Sultans will play at West Hills on Saturday (Jan. 12) in a quadruple header featuring the boys and girls teams from both schools. The program begins with junior varsity girls and 1:30 and concludes with the varsity boys at 6 p.m.

Jan Gloster scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for High Tech High.

Santana: Christian Barry 16 (6 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Jordan Vargas 13 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Andy Miller 8 (8 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Ryan Bratlien 7 (10 reb, 2 stl), Dustin Murphy 7 (4 reb, 1 ast), Tim Huson (1 ast).

VALHALLA at EC-SOUTHWEST – Due to high winds in the mountain passes, this non-league game was postponed to a future date to be determined.

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-10-13) — It doesn’t seem like many of the experts believe that El Cajon Valley is in line for any kind of championship. But the Braves and head coach MARTY ELLIS are not among those that believe the prognosticators.

And why should they? This is not a powerhouse league that is out of their reach.

El Cajon Valley’s offense centers around senior ANDRE NIKKITA, who popped in 33 points to leave the Helix Highlanders reeling in a 48-38 El Cajon Valley victory in Wednesday’s (Jan. 9) Grossmont Conference crossover action.

The underdog Braves proved that they can play with the best as they knocked off perennial powerhouse Helix. Maybe it was their new (refurbished) floor, but the Braves had Nikkita dazzling the Highlanders by hitting 13 of 20 shots from the field and 5 of 7 from the free throw line.

“Nikkita is one of the best players in the league, if not the best player,” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER. “He was obviously the best player on the floor in this game. He dominated the game.”

That didn’t surprise Ellis.

“We’ve moved Dre all around,” Ellis said. “And I knew he’d be excited because he’s played against a lot of the Helix guys, including TITUS YOUNG, at the Kroc ( Joan Kroc Recreational Center ), so they know each other’s moves. I think Dre wanted to prove a point, and I think he did.”

KAELEN MITCHELL paced the Highlanders with 20 points and WILL MILDENHALL grabbed 13 boards for Helix.

El Cajon Valley: Andre Nikkita 33 (4 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Ty Donahoo 7 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Loqman Sulyman 6 (2 reb, 1 stl), Sangar Hasan 2 (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Derrick Moore 2 (10 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk).

Helix: Kaelen Mitchell 20 (5 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Titus Young 8 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Romario Wilson 6 (8 reb, 3 stl), Christian Bell 3 (3 ast, 1 stl), Will Mildenhall (13 reb, 2 stl), Derrick Chandler (9 reb, 1 ast), Ernesto Martinez (1 reb), Oscar Picazo (2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk).

WEST HILLS 74, MONTE VISTA 49 – This game might be considered a little bit on the shocking side as West Hills used a 24-8 second quarter to turn Wednesday’s (Jan. 9) Grossmont conference crossover game into a rout.

“We got our butts kicked,” said Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL. “West Hills is a good team. We have our work cut out for us. Everything was going fine at the start, but then we looked like we had never played or practiced before. It’s one of the better West Hills teams I’ve seen since I’ve been here. I would not be surprised if they won that side of the league.”

West Hills assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG pointed out that the Pack logged 21 steals.

“And that doesn’t even count the times they just threw the ball out of bounds,” he said.

No question, the experts have overlooked West Hills all season.

“You have to remember, three of our losses were to teams ranked in the Top 10,” said Armstrong. “We played pretty good post defense and got 20 assists on our 26 field goals. You can’t ask for a lot more than that.”

No doubt it was West Hills’ balance that overcame Monte Vista in the scoring column. JERON SATTERFIELD led the way with 15 points, 3 rebounds, 6 steals and 2 blocks. BRENT WILDER chipped in with 14 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals, while CHASE PARSONS pitched in 12 points.

The majority of Monte Vista’s points belonged to JAHZDION TAYLOR, who tallied 20 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. JUSTIN BRANDY scored 14 points and had 8 rebounds.

West Hills: Jeron Satterfield 15 (3 reb, 4 ast, 6 stl, 2 blk), Brent Wilder 14 (3 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl), Chase Parsons 12 (1 reb, 4 ast, 7 stl), Martin Panayotov 9 (6 reb, 1 stl), D.J. Lewis 9 (2 reb), Jonny Preston 7 (1 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Elias Totah 6 (2 reb), Will Llamas 2 (1 reb, 2 ast).

Monte Vista: Jahzdion Taylor 20 (15 reb, 1 stl), Justin Brandy 14 (8 reb), Hasani Jarvis 5 (3 reb, 1 blk), Josh Martinez 4 (1 reb), Jose Jimenez 2 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Jesse Rivas 2 (1 reb), Brendon Harris 2 (2 reb), Jemeil Jackson (2 reb, 1 stl), Adam Wallace (1 blk), Erik Collins (2 reb).

STEELE CANYON 55, EL CAPITAN 36 – After the first quarter when the Cougars found themselves trailing 17-15, Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS had to be scratching his head.

“We spotted them 9 to 10 points right away,” Stephens said. “I know they hit their first three 3-point shots in succession.”

After that, however, the Cougars (9-7) put the brakes on and limited the Vaqueros to 20 points over the final three quarters of Wednesday’s (Jan. 9)

Grossmont conference crossover contest.

“We take a lot of pride playing defense,” Stephens said. “Offensively we did not shoot the ball very well.”

There were exceptions to this, however, as CASEY BALIKIAN set the offensive tone for the Cougars with 15 points and DYLAN HAMLETT added 12 markers.

SCOTT ROSS led El Capitan (2-13) with 12 points, while TRAVIS HULSEY pitched in 10.

Steele Canyon: Casey Balikian 15, Dylan Hamlett 12, Daniel King 9, Donovan Habib 6, Aaron Pisiona 6, Tariq Tillman 4, Zach Kissel 2, Jordan Johnson 1.

El Captian: Scott Ross 12, Travis Hulsey 10, Dre Kyle 4, Justin Phoenix 3, Wyatt Alvarez 3, Myles Emmerson 2, Ian Grenquist 2.

MOUNT MIGUEL 50, OTAY RANCH 41 – IZZY WAGNER, the national scoring leader according to MaxPreps with a 40.2 average, was limited to just 33 points which was plenty for the Matadors who knocked off Otay Ranch on Wednesday (Jan. 9) in South Bay.

This was a strange game as the Matadors (10-5) fell behind 24-14 in the first quarter and came back to blank the Mustangs 8-0 in the second quarter to make it a 2-point game.

The second half belonged to Mount Miguel 28-17.

“We were pathetically lethargic in the first quarter,” said Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT. “In the second quarter we changed our defense and that seemed to frustrate them but we still were unable to take advantage.”

In the second half the Matadors gradually pulled away to gain the non-league victory.

Mount Miguel : Izzy Wagner 33 (8 reb, 1 ast, 5 stl), Tony Wills 9 (4 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Carl Dee Roberson 2 (3 reb, 1 ast), Louis Johnson 2 (3 reb), Lucius Cooksey 2 (2 reb), Mike Taylor 2 (1 reb, 3 stl), Austin Smith (1 stl).

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (1-9-13) — Visiting Granite Hills High received contributions from unusual sources in Tuesday’s (Jan. 8) non-league game at Hilltop as the Eagles edged the Lancers, 63-58.

Five-foot-9 senior CODIE SIMMONS scored a game-best 18 points, while ANDREW MANNING came off the bench to add 9 tallies as Granite Hills improved its record to 9-6.

“We don’t win this game if Manning doesn’t have the game of his life,” said Eagles assistant coach DAN DUFFY.

Not to be overlooked was the play of Ja’RON SANDERS, who gobbled up 16 rebounds.

Duffy also heaped accolades on Sanders.

“I don’t think he had even one rebound in the first quarter but he took over the boards in the second half,” Duffy said.

Duffy noted that the boxscore shows that Simmons had the big scoring night.

“Probably where he helped us the most is he locked up Hilltop’s best scorer with his aggressive defense.”

Granite Hills: Codie Simmons 18 (2 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Joey Grubb 12 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Andrew Manning 9 (2 reb, 2 stl), Ja’Ron Sanders 7 (16 reb, 2 stl), D.J. Palomera 6 (2 reb, 3 stl), Danny Smith 5 (2 reb, 1 stl), Alonzo Beepath 4 (2 reb, 4 stl), Brayan Turner 2 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Junior Ferreira (1 ast).

SANTANA 60, PALO VERDE VALLEY 51 – Santana coach TIM BARRY admits that the first week after Christmas vacation it’s always tough to get back in the groove.

DUSTIN MURPHY, a 6-foot-4 senior, had no trouble finding his feet for the Sultans (8-6) as he scored a career high 29 points as Santana defeated visiting Palo Verde Valley for the second time this season in Tuesday’s (Jan. 8) non-league game.

Palo Verde jumped out to an 8-0 lead and maintained a 33-21 halftime advantage. But Murphy caught fire in the second half as Santana outscored the Yellowjackets 24-10 in the third quarter to take a 2-point lead.

Murphy, who has scored 75 points in his last four games, was 11-for-19 from the field in this game, including 3-for-6 from long distance and 4-for-4 on free throws.

“We picked them up full court in the third quarter,” said coach Barry. “That really helped us but Murphy was the man – he was a wrecking crew, scoring almost half of our points.”

CHRISTIAN BARRY plucked 10 rebounds and JORDAN VARGAS added 10 points for the Sultans.

Santana: Dustin Murphy 29 (6 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Jordan Vargas 10 (2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Christian Barry 8 (10 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Andy Miller 7 (8 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Ryan Bratlien (2 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Tim Huson 2 (1 reb), Gabe Kruse 2 (1 reb).

CORONADO 63, CHRISTIAN 44 – Christian coach KELVIN STARR will be the first one to admit when only two players score more than 6 points, the chances for victory are not promising.

That was the case against visiting Coronado on Tuesday (Jan. 8) as the Islanders peppered the Patriots in a Central League encounter.

Seems that only one Patriots showed up to play and that was football quarterback MICHAEL CARRILLO, who finished with a career high 20 points – the majority coming on 6 of 14 three-point shooting.

“Outside of Michael we were 1-for-18 on threes,” Starr said.

To make matters even worse for Christian (9-6, 1-2 CL), the Patriots were a collective 3-for-9 from the free throw line.

“On top of that we gave up 14 offensive rebounds,” the coach added. “We just didn’t play very well.”

On the upside Christian welcomed power forward TRENT SAULS back to lineup, who was coming off an injury and played sparingly.

Christian: Michael Carrillo 20 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Stephen Johnston 8 (4 reb, 2 stl), Tim Harrison 6 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk),Kyle Stowers 5 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Tyler Ballard 5 (2 reb, 1 ast), Phillip George (4 reb, 3 ast), Zach Kinninger (4 reb, 1 blk), Trent Sauls (2 reb, 1 blk), Brandon Tardiff (2 reb), Joe Ross (1 blk), Justin Vrzich (1 ast).

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
RANCHO SAN DIEGO (1-8-13) — Look out for the Steele Canyon Cougars this season because they’re not getting much recognition but have won four in a row and six of eight games.

Could the Cougars be a contender for the championship in the Grossmont Hills League?

In Monday’s (Jan. 7) Grossmont crossover game against El Cajon Valley the Cougars (8-7) rallied from a 17-9 first quarter deficit and gained a 27-15 advantage in an attempt to deny the Braves (10-7) the upset bid.

Steele Canyon held off the late charge by the Braves to gain the 47-43 victory despite 24 points from Nikkita.

“Dre ( El Cajon Valley’s ANDRE NIKKITA) had 11 points and LOQMAN SULYMAN hit two threes in the first quarter,” said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS. “I told my guys those two guys could beat us so we changed defenses a little bit.”

“We played a little rusty in the first quarter. I was happy with the win. This was the first game where we had adversity and came back and won. It was nice for the guys to experience that.”

Once again the Cougars used a balanced attack led by DYLAN HAMLETT’s 10 points.

“They ran a box-and-one on CASEY BALIKIAN,” said Stephens. “He played pretty well but they had someone on him the whole time. But we aren’t a one-dimensional team. We had a lot of guys play that played well. KAEDYN THOMAS came off the bench with a lot of energy.”

“Free throws killed us tonight,” said El Cajon Valley coach MARTY ELLIS. “The game plan was perfect but you can’t coach free throws. It’s mental. We were 3 of 10 on free throws; Steele Canyon was 15 for 25. We have offense and we have defense, but the free throws… If we had made the free throws the game would have been tied.”

“We played hard – led at halftime 28-20.”

“It’s all good,” he said. “We’ve still got the league ahead of us. Steele Canyon is Division II and so are we. We haven’t had a home game since Dec. 19, so we’re finally going to get to play in front of our home fans on Wednesday (Jan. 9) (against Helix). We had our gym floor redone and we’re pretty proud of it.”

Steele Canyon: Dylan Hamlett 10, Daniel King 9, Donovan Habib 9, Zach Kissel 6, Casey Balikian 6, Kaedyn Thomas 4, Jordan Johnson 3.

El Cajon Valley: Andre Nikkita 24 (9 reb, 5 ast), Loqman Sulyman 9 (2 reb), Edon Lushi 3, Brendon Brocious 3 (1 reb, 2 stl), Derrick Moore 2 (9 reb, 3 blk), Ibrahim Ali 2 (2 reb, 1 blk), Ty Donahoo (6 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 3 blk), Sangar Hasan (1 ast, 1 stl), Mike Readus (1 reb).

GROSSMONT 45, MONTE VISTA 34 – In a Grossmont crossover game that was sluggish, to say the least, East County contenders Grossmont and Monte Vista sludged their way in a game won by the Foothillers (7-7) over the Monarchs (10-6) on Monday (Jan. 7).

“Both team played solid half court defense,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “It kinda slowed everybody down. I think we can play a lot more intense than we did tonight.”

Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL agreed.

“I don’t know what we were thinking out there,” said Carroll, whose team shot 27 percent from the floor. “We did not have good ball movement although I thought we did have good post defense.”

HASANI JARVIS was the only Monarch to reach double scoring digits with 10 points.

Grossmont’s BILAL RAHIM turned in a powerful double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Grossmont: Bilal Rahim 12 (11 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Tommy Rutherford 8 (9 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), J.T. Barnes 8 (6 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Anthony Lawrence 6 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jake Herrod 6 (2 reb, 1 ast), Tom Lore 5 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Hunter Reed (1 reb).

Monte Vista: Hasani Jarvis 10 (4 reb, 1 stl), Justin Brandy 7 (6 reb, 2 ast), Jahzdion Taylor 6 (8 reb, 1 stl), Adam Wallace 5 (1 reb), Jesse Rivas 3 (5 reb, 2 stl), Thomas Walker 2 (1 ast, 1 stl), Jemeil Jackson 2 (1 stl), Brendon Harris (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Erik Collins (3 reb).

WEST HILLS 72, EL CAPITAN 53 – JERON SATTERFIELD tallied 19 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and made 3 steals to lead West Hills past El Capitan in Monday’s (Jan. 7) Grossmont crossover game.

The Pack put the game away in the first quarter with a 23-11 run.

“We got off to a good start early,” said West Hills assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG. “We were up 14 at the half and had a pretty balanced scoring attack. We had four guys in double figures. JONNY PRESTON is beginning to lead us again, he is getting healthier.”

CHASE PARSONS pumped in 15 points and made 5 steals, while MARTIN PANAYOTOV poured in 12 points, made 5 rebounds, dished 3 assist and made 3 steals.

“Chase Parsons is finally is starting to shoot it better,” said Armstrong. “He hit 3 of 5 from the 3-point line.”

WILL LLAMAS added 10 points for the Pack.

“Our defensive effort wasn't very good,” Armstrong said. “We allowed too many easy baskets.”

“We executing everything we wanted to,” said El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS. “We just gave up too many easy baskets and that hurt us. It was probably one of our highest scoring games. We put up the points but gave up a lot of easy baskets. We struggled tonight.”

“All the guys contributed,” Cavazos added. We’ve just got to improve on our defense.”

West Hills: Jeron Satterfield 19 (6 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Chase Parsons 15 (1 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl), Martin Panayotov 12 (5 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Will Llamas 10 (1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), D.J. Lewis 7 (7 reb, 2 ast), Jonny Preston 6 (3 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl), Elias Totah 2 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Brent Wilder 1 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 3 blk).

El Capitan: No scoring or stats provided.

All-Tournament pick DUSTIN MURPHY set the pace for the Sultans with 23 points, 6 rebounds and 1 assist.

The Sultans (7-6), who have won 5 of their last 6 games, outscored Rancho 29-10 in the middle two quarters.

CHRISTIAN BARRY added 12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal as he, too, earned All-Tournament recognition for Santana.

Given all the adversity we’ve had to go through, to go 3-1 in this tournament is really special,” noted coach Barry.

Santana: Dustin Murphy 23 (6 reb, 1 ast), Christian Barry 12 (6 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Ryan Bratlien 9 (8 reb, 1 stl), Andy Miller 8 (4 reb, 4 ast), Jordan Vargas 6 (4 reb, 1 stl), Gabe Kruse 2 (1 reb), Tim Huson 1 (1 ast), Daniel Shively (1 ast).

HELIX 57, OLYMPIAN 40 – Playing their first home game of the season the 9-4 Highlanders turned an 18-4 first half lead into a rout in the second half of Saturday’s (Jan.5) non-league game against the Eagles Olympian (5-9).

KAELEN MITCHELL poured in 18 points on 7 of 11 shooting, including a pair of treys to lead the Highlanders. The 6-foot-5 senior also snagged 8 rebounds, dished 3 assists and recorded 5 steals.

The Highlanders turned the game in their favor with a 21-10 third quarter run.

“One of my former players, ALEX SALAZAR, coaches at Olympian and he really teaches his kids to get in your grill,” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER.

The Highlanders turned the ball over 13 times in the first half but only 5 times in the final two quarters.

Helix put the game away in the fourth quarter with an 18-16 edge.

“Our kids are so excited to be on our (refurbished) home floor for the first time,” Singer said. “It took them until the second half to settle down.”

Singer noted the outstanding play of WILL MILDENHALL. A 6-foot-4 senior, Mildenhall landed 6 of 7 shots from the field and grabbed 3 rebounds.

“It’s like I keep telling these guys, we have to have three scorers to win,” Singer said. “Will did a good job of converting some putbacks.”

Not to be overlooked was the play of ROMARIO WILSON, who punched in 13 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, handed out 2 assists and made 6 steals.

Helix: Kaelen Mitchell 18 (8 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl, 1 blk), Will Mildenhall 14 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Romario Wilson 13 (6 reb, 2 ast, 6 stl), Christian Bell 5 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Titus Young 4 (5 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl), Derrick Chandler 2 (4 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 3 blk), Ernesto Martinez (1 reb), Alex Wilbourn (2 reb), Oscar Picazo (1 reb).

MORSE 75, MOUNT MIGUEL 48 – It’s a rare occurrence when the Mount Miguel Matadors fall behind 20-2 in the first quarter as they did in Saturday’s (Jan. 5) Matador Showcase in Spring Valley.

Actually Mount Miguel never recovered as the visiting Tigers (14-3) outscored the Matadors (9-5) across the board.

“They were just two steps quicker than us – probably had 20 offensive rebounds,” said Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT. “We just didn’t make any plays.

“We got punked in our own gym.”

You know it’s going to be a bad day for Mount Miguel when sharp-shooter IZZY WAGNER scored a season-low 14 points – about 30 points below his season average.

Mount Miguel: Izzy Wagner 14 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Tony Wills 11 (3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Devaughn Murray 8 (6 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Lucius Cooksey 7 (2 reb, 2 stl), Carl Dee Roberson 4 (2 reb), Louis Johnson 2 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Austin Smith 2 (2 reb).

JOEY GRUBB was the only Eagle to score in double figures as he finished with 12 as Granite Hills fell to 8-6.

“We just couldn’t deal with their length,” said Eagles assistant coach DAN DUFFY. “They had a 6-9 guy and a 6-5 guy. But we can’t complain about going 2-2 against quality competition.”

Granite Hills: Joey Grubb 12 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Brayan Turner 9 (4 reb), D.J. Palomera 8 (3 reb, 1 stl), Codie Simmons 5 (3 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Ja’Ron Sanders 4 (7 reb, 2 blk), Wes Wehrman 3, Alonzo Beepath 2 (4 reb), Junior Ferreira (3 reb), Andrew Manning (1 reb).

MOUNT MIGUEL 62, CORONADO 56 – Even when IZZY WAGNER scores 69 points in two games, the Matadors are not guaranteed anything,

Wagner scored 38 points as the Matadors knocked off the Islanders in Friday’s (Jan. 4) Crawford Tournament.

AUSTIN SMITH added 11 points in the victory.

“Playing two games – especially one at 9:30 a.m. – certainly doesn’t help your team get ready to play at their best,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT. “And we certainly did not.”

Mount Miguel: Izzy Wagner 38 (6 reb, 4 ast, 6 stl), Austin Smith 11 (2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Devaughn Murray 9 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Carl Dee Roberson 4 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Donnell Payne (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Lucius Cooksey (1 reb, 1 ast), Mike Taylor (1 reb, 1 stl).

SAN DIEGUITO 65, MOUNT MIGUEL 63 – IZZY WAGNER scored 31 points and DEVAUGHN MURRAY added 15 but it wasn’t enough as the Matadors fell to San Dieguito in the second game of Friday’s (Jan. 4) Crawford Tournament.

Mount Miguel: Izzy Wagner 31 (7 reb, 5 ast, 5 stl), Devaughn Murray 15 (5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Lucius Cooksey 8 (6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Tony Wills 6 (2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Austin Smith 3 (2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Carl Dee Roberson (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl).

WEST HILLS 67, CLAIREMONT 50 – The Wolf Pack used a balanced attack in Friday’s (Jan. 4) non-league game against Clairemont.

CHASE PARSONS paced the Pack (6-4) with 13 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. BRENT WILDER had 12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks, while ELIAS TOTAH chipped in 12 points and 3 rebounds.

The Wolf Pack survived a 14-4 second quarter deficit to pull out the victory.

West Hills: Chase Parsons 13 (5 reb, 7 ast, 3 stl), Brent Wilder 12 (5 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 3 blk), Elias Totah 12 (3 reb), Jeron Satterfield 8 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Jonny Preston 8 (4 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl), Martin Panayotov 7 (1 reb, 1 ast), Will Llamas 5 (5 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), D.J. Lewis 2 (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl).

Las Vegas-CHAPARRAL 64, VALHALLA 51 – KEVIN MILLS scored 14 points for the Norsemen in the third place game against Las Vegas Chaparral in Friday’s (Jan. 4) Las Vegas Foothill Holiday Classic, as the Norsemen had to play catch-up from the get-go.

Valhalla: Kevin Mills 14 (6 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), David Gazale 8 (1 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Andrew Lozoya 8 (6 reb, 4 ast), Terrell McKay 7, David Fakhoury 5 (4 reb, 4 stl), Cody Gladu 4 (8 reb, 1 stl), Jacob Hammett 3 (1 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Jordan Qsar 2 (3 reb, 1 ast).

Sherman Oaks-BUCKLEY 64, SANTANA 21 – Buckley of Sherman Oaks buried Santana in Friday’s (Jan. 4) semifinal game of the Las Vegas Invitational.

The game was decided when the Griffins (12-3) gained a 15-1 scoring advantage to earn a 34-11 halftime lead.

“It’s one of those cases of ‘be careful of what you wish for: a semifinal game in Las Vegas,’’ said Santana coach TIM BARRY. “The team we played was definitely legit.”

CHRISTIAN BARRY scored 11 points for the Sultans (6-6).

Santana will play for third place against Las Vegas Rancho on Saturday (Jan. 5) at 6:30.

Santana: No stats available.

EL CENTRO-CENTRAL 62, EL CAJON VALLEY 59 – The Braves took a bonding trip to the desert on Friday (Jan. 4) to play in a non-league game with El Centro Central.

ANDRE NIKKITA paced the Braves with 31 points and 10 rebounds, while LOQMAN SULYMAN nailed three 3-pointers.

The game turned into a fourth-quarter shootout with the host Spartans (8-6) prevailing over the Braves (10-6).

“We came out flat and got down in the fourth quarter by 12,” said El Cajon Valley coach MARTY ELLIS. “We made a run with about 2 minutes left but it was too late. We did have the ball in the fourth quarter with 7 seconds left to tie the game but Dre (Nikkita) came up short.

“It was a fun trip. We took a charter out there. It was a good time to get away and bond a little away from home.”

El Cajon Valley: Andre Nikkita 31 (10 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Loqman Sulyman 9, Brendon Brocious 8 (3 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), Ibrahim Ali 4 (3 reb, 1 stl), Sangar Hasan 3 (2 stl), Mike Readus 2 (3 reb, 1 stl), Brandon Rumley 2, Derrick Moore (5 reb, 3 stl), Edon Lushi (1 reb, 1 ast).

Murphy nailed 6 of 13 shots from the field, including a pair of treys as well as 3 of 4 free throws as the Sultans (6-5) propelled themselves into Friday’s (Jan. 4) semifinals against Buckley of Sherman Oaks at 8 p.m.

“Murphy was en fuego (as he scored 8 of the Sultans first 10 points),” said Santana coach TIM BARRY. “No question this was one of his best games.”

Murphy, CHRISTIAN BARRY (10 points) and ANDY MILLER grabbed 7 rebounds apiece, one less than JORDAN VARGAS, who also pitched in 12 points for the Sultans.

“To be successful we have to be team oriented, which means whoever has the hot hand, we need to get the ball to him,” Barry said. “I’m really happy with this win because it was a pretty good team we played.”

Santana: Dustin Murphy 17 (7 reb, 2 stl), Jordan Vargas 12 (8 reb, 1 ast), Christian Barry 11 (7 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Andy Miller 8 (7 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Ryan Bratlien 3 (4 reb, 1 ast), Tim Huson (3 reb).

DOUGLAS COUNTY (Colo.) 66, GRANITE HILLS 65 – Despite dropping a 1-point decision to Douglas County on Thursday (Jan. 3), Granite Hills has qualified for the championship game of the Las Vegas Foothill Holiday Classic on Friday (Jan. 4). The Eagles will face the Lincoln (Colo.) Lancers (7-3) at 6:20 p.m.

Trailing by one point with 15 seconds remaining, the Eagles (8-5) turned the ball over with 6 seconds left. Douglas missed a one and one free throw opportunity and Granite Hills grabbed the rebound but was unable to get off a last shot.

“We gave away too many possessions,” said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON. “Hopefully we’ll learn from that.

JOEY GRUBB paced the Eagles with 18 points, while D.J. PALOMERA added 17 points. Ja’RON SANDERS pitched in 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

ALONZO BEEPATH scored 10 points for Granite Hills.

Granite Hills: Joey Grubb 18 (5 reb, 3 ast), D.J. Palomera 17 (2 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl), Ja’Ron Sanders 10 (10 reb, 1 blk), Alonzo Beepath 10 (4 reb, 1 blk), Codie Simmons 6 (5 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Brayan Turner 4 (8 reb, 1 ast), Koltin Higgins 3 (4 reb, 1 ast), Danny Smith (1 blk), Andrew Manning (1 reb).

CRAWFORD 72, MOUNT MIGUEL 62 – Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT has no complaints about his offense, which is becoming more balanced by the game.

It’s about defense, and the lack of it.

“If we score that many points in a game, we should win,” Rowlett said. “We’re just not making plays on the defensive end, just not getting it done.”

Of course against Crawford (13-1) there are not many chances to capitalize on mistakes.

IZZY WAGNER poured in 33 points, including 4 treys and 7-for-7 free throw shooting. DEVAUGHN MURRAY added 16 points, including a trio of 3-pointers in Thursday’s (Jan. 3) Crawford Tournament action.

“We need to stop being so sloppy on the defensive side and practice a team concept,” Rowlett said. “If we do that we’ll be OK; if not, we’ll struggle.”

Mount Miguel: Izzy Wagner 33 (5 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Devaughn Murray 16 (2 reb, 2 stl), Tony Wills 8 (1 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Carl Dee Roberson 2 (7 reb, 1 stl), Mike Taylor 2 (1 reb, 1 stl), Lucius Cooksey 1 (3 reb), Austin Smith (4 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Louis Johnson (3 reb).

SEQUIM (Wash.) 57, VALHALLA 45 – The Norsemen shot a paltry 25 percent as they fell to the Sequim Wolves (8-3) in Thursday’s (Jan. 3) Las Vegas Foothill Holiday Classic.

The Wolves took a 16-5 first quarter lead and never relinquished control.

Of course playing without kingpin SPENCER HAVIRD, who suffered a severe ankle sprain in the first game of the tournament, didn’t help the Norsemen (8-4).

“We probably won’t have Spencer until the end of next week at the earliest,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON.

DAVID GAZALE (15 points) and ANDREW LOZOYA (12 points) tried to pick up the slack.

Jackson pointed out that the Norsemen had 19 steals but were unable to capitalize the majority of the time.

“We just couldn’t hit a shot,” he said. “I’d like to blame somebody but I can’t blame the officiating but I can’t because over here they let you play. They don’t call ticky-tack fouls.”

Valhalla will play Las Vegas Chaparral on Friday (Jan. 4) at 2:20 p.m.

Valhalla: David Gazale 15 (2 reb, 4 stl), Andrew Lozoya 12 (4 reb, 1 ast, 5 stl), Kevin Mills 7 (7 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl), Cody Gladu 5 (4 reb, 3 stl), David Fakhoury 3 (4 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Jordan Qsar 3 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jacob Hammet (6 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Terrell McKay (1 reb, 1 stl).

HILLTOP 55, MONTE VISTA 53 – The visiting Monarchs missed 10 foul shots in the fourth quarter, including 7 in the final 2 minutes, as they dropped a non-league contest at Hilltop on Thursday (Jan. 3).

As close as the score was this game was a see-saw battle. The Monarchs (10-5) led by 9 in the second quarter and maintained a 30-25 halftime lead.

In the third period Hilltop (4-11) went up by 10 but the Monarchs fought back.

“We had the ball with 6 seconds to play and we were down by 2,” said Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL. “We dribbled the length of the floor but the kid who took the shot had it blocked. This was the perfect storm – an all-around bad game.”

JAHZDION TAYLOR hit 6 of 9 shots from the field and finished with 14 points and 8 rebounds, while BRENDON HARRIS tossed in 12 points, which included 4 for 5 free throw shooting.

Despite being in foul trouble most of the night JUSTIN BRANDY contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Monte Vista: Jahzdion Taylor 14 (8 reb), Brendon Harris 12 (5 reb), Justin Brandy 10 (10 reb), Hasani Jarvis 6 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Thomas Walker 5 (1 reb, 1 ast), Erik Collins 4 (3 reb), Adam Wallace 2 (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Jemeil Jackson (3 reb, 2 stl), Jesse Rivas (2 reb).

Leading the way was D.J. PALOMERA, who scored 26 points in a 74-67 victory over Las Vegas Chaparral after leading the team with 18 points in an earlier 65-59 win over Del Sol.

Palomera nailed 10 of 23 shots from the field and 23 of 28 free throws in the Eagles’ (8-4) sweep.

CODIE SIMMONS chipped in with 28 points, including 5 treys for Granite Hills.

After rallying from a 10-4 deficit against Del Sol the Eagles gradually pulled away as nine players contributed to their scoring totals.

Coach RANDY ANDERSON credited Ja’RON TURNER for a major uplift off the bench with 7 points, 7 rebound and 3 assists against Del Sol.

Against a much tougher Las Vegas Chaparral team the Eagles bombarded the Cowboys (7-3) with 8 three-pointers and 32 of 46 free throws.

“We were 19 for 30 from the free throw line in the second half against Chaparral,” said Anderson.

In Nevada, there is no shot clock and Granite Hills played that to its advantage.

North Carolina’s Dean Smith would have loved this strategy.

“We went into a four corner offense with 9 minutes left,” said Anderson. The coach did so because his key players were in foul trouble. “I’m not in favor of no shot clock but this time it really helped us. It was a long 9 minutes.”

Granite Hills vs. Chaparral: D.J. Palomera 26 (2 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Codie Simmons 12 (6 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk), Koltin Higgins 11 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Danny Smith 8 (3 reb), Ja’Ron Turner 7 (6 reb, 4 stl), Joey Grubb 5 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Alonzo Beepath 4 (2 reb, 1 ast), Ja’Ron Sanders 1 (2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Junior Ferreira (1 blk).

Granite Hills vs. Del Sol: D.J. Palomera 18 (3 reb, 1 ast, 7 stl, 1 blk), Codie Simmons 16 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Joey Grubb 11 (4 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk), Brayan Turner 7 (7 reb, 3 ast), Koltin Higgins 4 (4 reb, 2 ast), Ja’Ron Sanders 3 (4 reb, 1 blk), Andrew Manning 3 (1 reb, 1 blk), Danny Smith 2 (2 reb, 1 stl), Alonzo Beepath 1 (3 reb, 1 ast), Wes Wehrman (1 reb, 1 ast).

LINCOLN (Colo.) 62, VALHALLA 55 – “It’s like we were sleepwalking out there,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON of Wednesday’s (Jan. 2) opening round of the Las Vegas Foothill Holiday Classic.

Perhaps that’s why the Norsemen trailed Lincoln 52-31 after three quarters.

“This was definitely not our best game,” said Jackson. “What hurt us even more was SPENCER HAVIRD rolled his ankle and was not able to help us very much.”

ANDREW LOZOYA poured in 21 points and KEVIN MILLS pitched in 10 points and grabbed 6 rebounds for the Norsemen.

Valhalla: Andrew Lozoya 21 (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Kevin Mills 10 (6 reb, 4 ast, 5 stl), David Gazale 8 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), George Fakhoury 7 (4 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Jacob Hammet 6 (1 reb, 3 ast), Spencer Havird 2 (5 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Terrell McKay 1 (1 stl, 1 blk), Jordan Qsar (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Cody Gladu (1 blk).

VALHALLA 66, Las Vegas-BONANZA 62 – The Norsemen fell behind 9-2 and trailed at halftime in the second game of the Las Vegas Foothill Holiday Classic on Wednesday (Jan. 2).

With 7 minutes remaining Valhalla (8-3) trailed 57-51 as Bonanza tried to run out the clock with a four-corner offense.

“We did a good job of putting the pressure on and causing turnovers,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON.

Which is why the Norsemen came away with the victory.

Some of the unsung Norsemen heroes included CODY GLADU who came off the bench for 10 points and 7 rebounds. DAVID GAZALE turned in a powerful performance with 22 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks for Valhalla.

KEVIN MILLS contributed 11 points and 4 rebounds for the Norsemen.

“Mills provided the leadership that we needed with SPENCER HAVIRD (sprained ankle) unable to play fulltime,” said Jackson. “Guys like Gladu turned into unsung heroes and came through to help us.”

Valhalla: David Gazale 22 (4 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk), Kevin Mills 11 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Cody Gladu 10 (7 reb, 1 ast), Andrew Lozoya 7 (2 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), David Fakhoury 7 (2 reb, 3 ast), Jordan Qsar 4 (8 reb, 2 stl), Jacob Hammet 3 (3 reb, 4 ast), Terrell McKay 2.

LA JOLLA COUNTRY DAY 64, MOUNT MIGUEL 62 – The Mount Miguel Matadors thought they were headed into overtime against La Jolla Country Day on Wednesday (Jan. 2) in the first round of the Crawford Tournament, but up popped Torreys senior Josh Church to throw in a game-winning basket at the buzzer to stun the Matadors (8-2).

Mount Miguel led the first half 32-27 but the Torreys (4-5) rebounded to take the lead 46-42 after three periods.

“We didn’t rebound the ball, missed a lot of easy bunnies (layups),” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT. “We’ve gotta get back to basics – just playing the game straight up.”

As usual IZZY WAGNER led the Matadors with 32 points, including a trio of 3-balls.

DEVAUGHN MURRAY scored a career high 14 points, including 3 treys for Mount Miguel.

College coaches are starting to follow the progress of Wagner, who is averaging approximately 40 points a game.

Among those recruiting Wagner are San Diego State, Colorado State and Cal State Bakersfield. One of those coaches was in town to watch the game and chat with Rowlett.

Mount Miguel: Izzy Wagner 32 (6 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Devaughn Murray 14 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Tony Wills 6 (7 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Louis Johnson 4 (5 reb, 1 stl), Lucius Cooksey 4 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Carl Dee Roberson 2 (4 reb).

SANTANA 65, Las Vegas-SPRING MOUNTAIN 38 – CHRISTIAN BARRY popped in 22 points including 6 of 9 shooting from above the arc as the Sultans submarined Spring Mountain, Nevada (7-5) in Wednesday’s (Jan. 2) Las Vegas Invitational.

Barry hit four consecutive 3-point shots to help the Sultans turn a 2-point halftime lead into a 46-32 advantage by the close of the third quarter.

“Barry’s hot shooting was part of it but when we switched from zone to man defense in the second quarter it turned the game in our favor,” said Sultans assistant coach TYLER BLACKLEDGE.

Santana (5-5) outscored the Eagles 53-18 over the final three quarters. Part of that surge belonged to ANDY MILLER, who poured 18 points and dished 5 assists.

Santana: Christian Barry 22 (2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk), Andy Miller 18 (2 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Jordan Vargas 8 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Ryan Bratlien 7 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Tyler Kirk 4 (3 reb), Daniel Shively 4, Austin Miller (2 reb, 1 stl), Gabe Kruse (1 reb, 1 ast).