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Seniors entertain with high-tempo contest
at West Hills
EastCountySports.com staff report
SANTEE - West Hills coach Jeff Armstrong
called the 2002 San Diego Senior
All-Star game one of the most successful and entertaining all-star
games he's
ever seen. And he's seen a few, given that he's coached at a wide
variety of
venues, including the Saudi Arabian National team. The City All-Stars,
a team
comprised of graduating seniors from the Grossmont, Metro and
City Schools
Conferences defeated the North County Conference (Palomar, Avocado,
and
Valley Leagues) All-Stars 109-91 Friday night (April 19) at West
Hills.
Horizon's Nate Carter, who has accepted
a scholarship to UC Riverside, scored
18 of his game-high 26 points in the second half to earn game
MVP honors for
the City All-Stars.
Kansas-bound Moulaye Niang of Christian
High scored 17 points, grabbed 4
rebounds and blocked 2 shots for the City All-Stars.
Christian's Ben Wohlfeil add 7 points for
the City squad, while Santana's
Hayden Penn - who earlier in the day pitched 6 innings in a varsity
baseball
game, traded in his cleats for hightops - knocked down 6 points
and collected
2 rebounds. West Hills' Matt Henriksen chipped in with 4 points
and 3
rebounds for the winners. Helix guard Kenny Farris, the Grossmont
South MVP,
added 5 points to the City All-Star account.
"It was a great game all around,"
said Armstrong, who coached the City
All-Stars. "We had a nice crowd of about 500, which is pretty
good,
considering we didn't get a lot of pre-game publicity from the
local
newspapers."
The City squad overcame a one-point 1st
quarter deficit to lead 54-38 by
intermission. Niang led the way with 13 points in the opening
two quarters.
"The really amazing thing about this
game is how well these kids played
together," Armstrong said. "Usually in games like this,
the players involved
are mostly interested in their own achievements. But these kids
passed the
ball, ran plays, and looked like a team. I think that's why we
won."
Armstrong also noted that more than
two dozen college coaches were on hand
for the game.
(04-19-02)
2002 San Diego County Senior All-Star Game
Friday - April 19, 2002
(At West Hills High)
CITY ALL STARS 109, NORTH COUNTY ALL STARS 91 CITY 27 27 26 29 - 109 NORTH COUNTY 28 10 24 29 - 91 CITY - Nate Carter (Horizon) 26, Moulaye Niang (Christian) 17, Benas Veikalas (Horizon) 10, Marcus Smith (Mission Bay) 10, Nick Stephens (Bonita Vista) 8, Ben Wohlfeil (Christian) 7, Lucas Jensen (Bonita Vista) 6, Joktan Roberts (Horizon) 6, Hayden Penn (Santana) 6, Kenny Farris (Helix) 5, Erskine Ware (Kearny) 4, Matt Henriksen (West Hills) 4. NORTH COUNTY - Greg Nelson (Carlsbad) 12, Derek Stockalper (Carlsbad) 11, Julius Keeler (Escondido) 11, Jonathan Harris (Oceanside) 11, Evan Demkiew (La Costa Canyon) 10, Rob Benson (Torrey Pines) 10, Carl McCullough (El Camino) 6, Justin Bell (Escondido) 6, Chris Nelson (Escondido) 6, Marquis Clark (Mt. Carmel) 5, Ryan Jorde (Fallbrook) 2. SLAM DUNK CHAMP - Marquis Clark (Mt. Carmel). (04-19-02)
Niang, Wohlfeil, Farris, Henrikson also
head list of South stars at West Hills on Friday
EastCountySports.com staff
report
SANTEE - Santana's Hayden Penn will take
a brief break from his endeavors on
the baseball diamond to participate in the annual San Diego County
Coaches
North/South Senior All-Star boys basketball game Friday (April
19) at West
Hills High at 7 p.m.
Penn will join four other East County athletes
- Christian High's Moulaye
Niang and Ben Wohlfeil, Grossmont South League MVP Kenny Farris
of Helix, and
West Hills forward Matt Henriksen - on the South All-Star team,
coached by
West Hills mentor Jeff Armstrong.
The game matches the top seniors from the
East, City and South Conferences
against the top graduating players from North County.
The 6-foot-10 Niang - bound for Kansas University
- earned Harbor League
Player of the Year honors, averaging 16.2 points and 9.8 rebounds
per game.
Wohlfeil, who averaged 12.1 points and 4.2 assists, also earned
First Team
All-Harbor honors.
Farris' court leadership was more valuable
to the Grossmont South League
champion Highlanders than his statistical averages might indicate.
Through
his steadying influence, the Highlanders nearly upset eventual
state
champions Martin Luther King of Riverside in the Southern California
Regionals before falling 72-64.
Henriksen, a 6-foot-4 forward, averaged
17 points and 9 rebounds per game for
the Wolf Pack.
The 6-foot-3 Penn, who is regarded as one
of the top pitching prospects in
the county, was the top scorer in East County basketball, averaging
24 points
per game. His 11.3 rebounds per game ranks second in East County.
The North All-Stars will be led by Derek
Stockalper of Carlsbad, Justin Bell
of Escondido, Ryan Fuselier of San Pasqual, Greg Nelson of Carlsbad,
Erick
LaForgia of Rancho Bernardo, and J.J. Brull of Torrey Pines.
(04-15-02)
SAN DIEGO COUNTY SENIOR ALL-STAR GAME
Friday, April 19 at West Hills, 7 p.m.
SOUTH ROSTER
NAME School/League/Coach Honors _
MATT HENRIKSEN West Hills/Grossmont North 1st Team
Coach Jeff Armstrong
MOULAYE NIANG Christian/Harbor Player of the Year
Coach Curtis Hofmeister
BEN WOHLFEIL Christian/Harbor 1st Team
Coach Curtis Hofmeister
KENNY FARRIS Helix/Grossmont South Player of the Year
Coach John Singer
NATE CARTER Horizon/Coastal South MVP-State
Div. IV Coach Zack Jones
BENAS VEIKALAS Horizon/Coastal South 1st Team
Coach Zack Jones
JOCKTAN ROBERTS Horizon/Coastal South 2nd Team
Coach Zack Jones
NICK STEPHENS Bonita Vista/Mesa 1st Team
Coach Richard Bobuk
LUCAS JENSEN Bonita Vista/Mesa Player of the Year
Coach Richard Bobuk
MARCUS SMITH Mission Bay/Western 1st Team
Coach Mike Seaman
CHRIS ROBINSON LJCD/Coastal South 1st Team
Coach Paul Wilson
ERSKINE WARE Kearny/Eastern 1st Team
Coach Marlin Christensen
SOUTH COACH:
Jeff Armstrong, West Hills
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - Anthony Cox's role at Mount Miguel
was never to be a scoring
leader. Make a crisp pass, log a steal and play tough defense
were the parts
of the game that coach Jimmy Hurst wanted from the senior guard.
In his final
prep court appearance, Cox reached the scoring pinnacle of his
career as he
poured in a game-high 17 points to lead the South to a 91-76 victory
over the
North in Friday night's (March 22) fourth annual East County Senior
All-Star
Game at Cuyamaca College.
Cox canned 7 of 11 shots from the field
- including one 3-ball - and both of
his free throw attempts. He also had 3 assists and pair of steals.
Valhalla's Danny Sheppard added 14 points
and a team-high 16 rebounds for the
South. Stanley Caldwell of Helix chipped in with 10 points and
12 rebounds,
while Highlanders Kenny Farris and Tramaine West also tallied
10 points
apiece.
Matt Henriksen of West Hills hauled down
a game high 20 rebounds while
leading the North with 14 points. Darick Dubose of El Cajon Valley
tallied 10
points and 7 rebounds for the North.
It was a run-and-gun wide-open affair, to
be sure, as the two teams combined
for 181 shots and 126 rebounds. The two squads were on the mark
for 71
baskets.
Grossmont's Salim Ayub won the 3-point shooting
contest, defeating Monte
Vista's Dalon Wells in the finals.
The game featured the top graduating seniors
from the 10 Grossmont Conference
schools and Christian High, champion of the Harbor League. The
participants
were selected by the East County Sports.com staff.
(03-22-02)
4TH annual East County Senior All-Star Game
Friday, March 22 at Cuyamaca College
EAST COUNTY SOUTH 91, EAST COUNTY NORTH 76
SOUTH - Dalon Wells (Monte Vista) 1-5, 3-4, 5; Kenny Farris (Helix) 5-8, 0-0, 10; Chris Whyte (Monte Vista) 2-4, 0-0, 4; Mohammed Elhabashy (Granite Hills) 1-7, 1-2, 3; Ryan San Juan (Helix) 4-12, 0-0, 8; Tramaine West (Helix) 4-11, 2-4, 10; Chris Campbell (Mount Miguel) 2-5, 0-0, 4; Anthony Cox (Mount Miguel) 7-11, 2-2, 17; Ben Wohlfeil (Christian) 3-12, 0-0, 6; Stanley Caldwell (Helix) 4-9, 2-4, 10; Danny Sheppard (Valhalla) 6-10, 2-2, 14. TOTALS 39-98, 12-19, 91. NORTH - Salim Ayub (Grossmont) 2-6, 0-0, 6; Ricky Zizzo (West Hills) 2-7, 3-4, 7; Matt Henriksen (West Hills) 7-17, 0-2, 14; Jon Sturgill (Santana) 4-7, 0-0, 8; Eric Gregerson (El Capitan) 3-6, 0-0, 8; John Sanders (Grossmont) 2-5, 2-3, 6; Matt Grant (El Capitan) 3-9, 1-2, 7; Darick Dubose (El Cajon Valley) 4-12, 2-4, 10; Nick Felure (El Cajon Valley) 1-3, 0-0, 2; John Relph (El Capitan) 1-4, 0-3, 2; Hayden Penn (Santana) 3-7, 0-0, 6. TOTALS 32-83, 9-18, 76. South 18 19 25 29 - 91 North 23 16 21 16 - 76 3-point shooting: South-Ayub 2, Gregerson 2. North-Cox. Rebounds: South-66 (Sheppard 16, Caldwell 12, West 7, Wells 6). North-60 (Henriksen 20, Dubose 7, Sanders 5, Grant 5). Assists: South-20 (San Juan 5, Campbell 3, Cox 3). North-13 (Grant 3, Zizzo 3). Steals: South-West 3. North-Penn 3. 3-point contest winner: Salim Ayub (Grossmont) (03-22-02)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - The fourth annual East County
Senior High School All-Star Game
will tip off Friday (March 22) at Cuyamaca College at 7 p.m. The
game
matches the top graduating seniors from the 10 Grossmont Conference
schools
and Christian High, champion of the Harbor League. The squads
will be divided
into North and South teams as selected by the East County Sports.com
staff.
The festivities begin at 6:30 with a three-point shooting contest.
Grossmont High's Frank Foggiano will coach
the North, while Monte Vista's
Zach Peck directs the South.
The North won last year, 83-79.
EAST COUNTY NORTH ROSTER Darick Dubose El Cajon Valley Nick Felure El Cajon Valley Matt Grant El Capitan Eric Gregerson El Capitan John Relph El Capitan Hayden Penn Santana Jon Sturgill Santana Salim Ayub Grossmont John Sanders Grossmont Matt Henriksen West Hills Ricky Zizzo West Hills EAST COUNTY SOUTH ROSTER Ben Wohlfeil Christian Mohammed Elhabashy Granite Hills Kenny Farris Helix Stanley Caldwell Helix Ryan San Juan Helix Tramaine West Helix Dalon Wells Monte Vista Chris Whyte Monte Vista Chris Campbell Mount Miguel Anthony Cox Mount Miguel Danny Sheppard Valhalla (03-20-02)
Southern California Regionals - 1st Round
Helix can't get comfortable with surroundings against King
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - During his 22-year coaching career
Helix High's John Singer has
been blessed with his share of star-caliber individuals. Ironically,
the team
that garnered the most victories under his leadership is the 2002
crew, which
produced 26 wins.
No stars, no Division I scholarship-types,
no giants, no speedsters or
sure-shot scoring phenoms. Just vanilla, blue-collar guys who
aren't
impressed by the glitter boys others throw in their path.
On paper, Helix was miscast in Wednesday's
(March 6) Southern California CIF
Regional opener against high-powered Martin Luther King High of
Riverside.
Yet, the Highlanders (26-4), who rolled
to 21 consecutive victories without a
player averaging more than 10.5 points per game, kept the thought
of upset in
the minds of the more talented Wolves all the way to the final
buzzer before
succumbing 72-64.
"Nobody has ever given these kids a
second look,'" Singer said of his
Highlanders. "I'm proud of how well they competed all season,
but I just wish
they would have started a little earlier in this game."
Not known for its offensive prowess, the
Highlanders struggled with their
perimeter shooting all night in the spacious Grossmont College
gym. Fact is,
Helix was an unimpressive 2-for-17 from 3-point range and a placid
23-for-63
from the field overall. Furthermore, Helix converted only 16 of
31 shots from
the free throw line, while the Wolves (28-4) were 26 for 39.
Singer agreed that MLK was more athletic
as a unit, but noted that Helix was
denied its home-court advantage.
"Playing at Grossmont was not my choice,"
Singer said. "My kids have never
even practiced in that gym, so it was hardly a home-court advantage.
It was
more like a neutral site, which, I'm sure, pleased the people
at Martin
Luther King."
Senior Stanley Caldwell kept Helix in the
game as he scored 18 points and
collected a game-high 12 rebounds, blocked 2 shots and logged
3 steals in the
first three quarters.
"(The Wolves) had us outmanned by at
least 3 inches at every position,"
Singer said. "That's nothing knew for us. Our kids are used
to being the
underdogs."
Playing catch-up finally caused Helix to pay an expensive toll.
"We had to foul to try to catch up,
and they (the Wolves) made their free
throws when they had to," Singer said.
MLK milked the free throw line for 26 points
(on 39 attempts) to seal the
victory.
It was not one of Helix's best shooting
nights as the Highlanders converted
only 23 of 63 shots from the field (36 percent) and 16 of 31 free
throws. Not
that MLK was a house-a-fire, hitting 21 of 65 shots (32 percent)
from the
floor. The key for the Wolves is they netted 21 of 27 free throws
in the
final quarter.
What hurt defensive-minded Helix even more
was Tramaine West scored 6 of his
7 points in the final quarter. Guard Ray Toilolo, who was 0-for-6
in the
first three quarters, scored all of his 10 points in the final
period.
Helix was punished by 31 fouls in the game, compared to 20 for MLK.
Guard Kenny Farris finished with 11 points
and 3 assists for the Highlanders.
Raphael Bell chimed in with 9 points and 10 rebounds.
Other Helix stats: West ( 7 points, 3 assists),
Charles Smith (4 points, 6
rebounds), Ryan San Juan (4 points), Tim Bland (1 point, 6 rebounds).
(03-06-02)
Southern California Regionals - 1st Round
EastCountySports.com staff report
LA MESA - How many people in San Diego County
are familiar with the name
Marvin Lea?
The Helix Highlanders are hoping Lee's reputation
remains in Riverside when
the 6-foot-3 senior guard leads the Martin Luther King Wolves
(27-4) into
Wednesday's first round of the Southern California Regionals against
Helix
at 7:30 p.m. at Grossmont College.
Lea averaged more than 30 points per game
as a junior, and is producing 25
points per outing this season.
"He's a left-handed guy who takes whoever
is covering him to the basket,"
Singer said. "As he goes, so his team goes."
Helix, a team that thrives on defense, should
match up well against the
Wolves, who prefer to outscore their opposition rather than out-maneuver
their foe.
"They don't spend a lot of time playing
defense," Singer said. "You can tell
that by their scores."
King High has scored 90 or more points eight times this season.
"I'm sure they don't think a whole
lot about us," Singer said. "Teams that
receive a lot of recognition have individuals that people talk
about. That's
not something that is part of our team."
Senior forward Leon Roseboro is producing
18 points per game for Martin
Luther King, while nobody on Helix averages more than11 points
per outing.
(03-04-02)
San Diego CIF Playoffs - Semifinals
EastCountySports.com staff report
SAN DIEGO - Nothing glitzy or ostentatious
about these Helix Highlanders.
They play with principle, poise and purpose. Basic, blue collar
believers,
who follow the basketball doctrine according to defensive guru
John Singer.
"It's all about winning," said Singer after Helix held
off hard-charging
Escondido Friday night (March 1) at Cox Arena for an 80-76 victory
that sewed
up the Highlanders' first San Diego CIF championship since 1970.
By winning, the SDCIF Division II-champion
Highlanders (26-3) advance to the
Southern California Regionals on Wednesday (March 6). Pairings
and sites are
pending, but Helix figures to land a first-round home game.
For one of the few times in his 22 seasons
at the Helix helm Singer was
groping for words as well-wishers flooded the Cox Arena floor
to offer
post-victory congratulations. The always well-grounded Singer
seemed almost
dumbfounded following the Highlanders' hard-earned title nod after
missing
three previous SDCIF title shots by a total of 15 points.
"Helix has always been a good team
ranked up near the top," noted Highlanders
senior Stanley Caldwell, who grabbed 8 rebounds, blocked 3 shots
and scored 8
points. "It's nice to get that last big win and not come
up short. We are the
champions and we are proud of that."
It boiled down to a well-known basketball
scenario of cat-and-mouse. The
Cougars (21-7), who were playing in their first SDCIF championship
game,
needed to foul to stop the clock and force the Highlanders to
produce from
the free throw line. Sound strategy to be sure, but the Highlanders,
who have
won 20 games in a row, refused to wilt under pressure.
Without scoring a single basket over the
final 3 1/2 minutes, the Highlanders
were deadly accurate from the free throw line. They were 12-for-12
over the
final 2:25 to seal the victory. It was a shocking turn-around
for Helix,
which hit only 10 of 24 charity shots in a 56-43 semifinal victory
over
Oceanside two days earlier.
Helix junior guard Ray Toilolo was 6-for-6
from the line during the final 24
seconds and finished with 11 points in the game.
Kenny Farris, who cast in a career-high
15 points and logged 7 assists
before fouling out with 0:26.6 remaining, converted a crucial
pair of
one-and-one bonuses in the final period.
Traimaine West, who scored a team-high 21
points, also nailed both ends of a
free-throw bonus to give Helix a 72-68 edge with 1:46 left.
West led an early 3-point barrage as the
Highlanders stormed in front 24-9
with 0:37 left in the opening quarter. Ten of West's points came
during that
stretch, including two of his three 3-pointers. Helix was 4-for-7
as a team
from above the arc during the first eight minutes.
Not be to overlooked was 5-foot-7 guard
Ryan San Juan, who contributed keen
floor leadership as well as 9 points to the Helix cause. It was
San Juan who
scored Helix's final basket with 3:32 remaining.
Escondido was playing catch-up all night.
Trailing by as many as 19 points
midway through the third quarter, the Cougars began to claw back.
They never
got closer than two points, however, as Helix was all but flawless
from the
free throw stripe (19-for-21).
The Cougars' classy senior guard Justin
Bell, who generated just one basket
and 4 free throws in the first half, erupted for 18 points in
the second
half. His quickness on offense and aggressiveness on the press
nearly pulled
out a victory for Escondido, one of the oldest high schools in
San Diego
County.
As a consolation prize, the Cougars will
advance to the SoCal Regionals next
week.
Other key Helix statistics: Charles Smith
(6 points, 5 rebounds), Cliff
Johnson (6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals,1 block), Raphael Bell
(4 points, 2
rebounds).
(03-01-02)
EastCountySports.com staff report
SAN DIEGO - Helix High will make its 10th
trip to the San Diego CIF finals
Friday (March 1) when the Highlanders take on Escondido for the
Division II
crown at San Diego State University's Cox Arena at 6 p.m. The
Highlanders
have not captured a SDCIF crown since the 1970 Bill Walton-led
squad defeated
Chula Vista 70-56 to complete a 33-0 season.
Since the Walton era, the Highlanders have
lost six times in the SDCIF
championships, including 1983 (to Morse, 51-50), 1994 (to Grossmont,
60-52 in
OT) and 1998 (to Rancho Bernardo 58-52) under present coach John
Singer.
Singer, who has led Helix to 380 victories
and 10 Grossmont League
championships in his 22 seasons at the helm, was joking about
how he doesn't
want to join infamous NFL coaches Bud Grant, and Marv Levy for
going 0-for-4
in the marquee game.
"I've said from the beginning that
Escondido has the best starting five,"
Singer emphasized after his top-seeded Highlanders smothered No.
4 Oceanside
56-43 in Tuesday's (Feb. 26) SDCIF semifinals at Rancho Bernardo.
"They are
extremely tough offensively, especially with those two guys they
have out
front (Justin Bell and Chris Nelson)."
Helix is the most unlikely of title contenders.
These Highlanders are too
disciplined to command much highlight-reel footage. Very few ESPN
moments
come their way. This is a unit without a defined leader. No one
or two
players can be identified as the hands who make this TEAM tick.
"How do you scout us?," Singer said. "Who do you try to stop or contain?"
What these Highlanders do is win. Consistently.
Helix has reeled off 19
straight victories and finished on top in 22 of its last 23 starts.
The 25
victories by this year's club is the high-water mark during Singer's
tenure.
"Our deal is we'll try to wear you
out with 9 or 10 guys," Singer said. "When
your legs are tired, we'll just keep coming after you."
Case in point was the victory over Oceanside
(18-12), which had won 8 of its
previous 9 games. Seven Highlanders scored 6 points or more, with
6-foot-4
Stanley Caldwell leading the way with 10.
"We nickel-and-dime you to death,"
Singer said proudly. "You have to cover
all of us, because we don't have that one obvious scorer to focus
on.
Oceanside doesn't give you much, but I thought we did a good job
of moving
the ball around."
Singer's trademark remains defense. That's
the phase of the game that earns
his stamp of approval. And this particular crew plays it as well
as any of
Singer's past teams.
Oceanside registered only 4 field goals
in the first half as the Highlanders
forged in front 10-3 after one quarter and led 24-17 at the break.
"They (the Pirates) were tentative
with their outside shooting," Singer
noted. "And we did a good job of closing down the lane."
Helix extended its lead to 15 points in
the fourth quarter, despite hitting
only 7 of 15 free throws. The Highlanders, a better-than-average
free-throw
shooting team, finished a paltry 10-for-24 against the Pirates.
Raphael Bell and Caldwell led the smaller
Highlanders on the boards with 10
and 7 rebounds, respectively.
Other Helix scoring: Tim Bland 9, Kenny
Farris 8, Tramaine West 8, Ray
Toilolo 7, Charles Smith 6, Bell 6, Rajive Otah 1, Cliff Johnson
1.
ESCONDIDO 65, MOUNT MIGUEL 62 - It was an emotional night for the Escondido
Cougars, a team not known for its heartfelt performances on the
court this
season.
When school officials wheeled injured senior
forward Gerald Keeler onto the
Rancho Bernardo High court on a gurney in a pregame ceremony Tuesday
night
(Feb. 27), the Cougars and their fans seemed to elevate their
spirit to a
new, ultra level. Keeler, one of three brothers who start for
Escondido, was
seriously injured in an automobile accident last week.
As if they needed a boost, the Cougars had
a new cause, sort of a "win one
for the gipper."
"I could see that it had an effect
on our kids," Mount Miguel coach Jimmy
Hurst admitted. "But I told our guys that they had something
at stake here,
too. We haven't been to a CIF championship game for a long time
- that they
had a chance to make a difference for themselves and for our school."
Mount Miguel was hoping to return to the
SDCIF finals for the first time
since 1975 when the Matadors of coach Robert Holm lost to San
Diego, 102-72.
The Matadors also finished in the runner-up spot in 1967, and
won the 1968
SDCIF 2A crown when they defeated Helix 69-55 to complete a 29-0
season under
the late Dick Ridgway.
Hurst's Matadors (19-10), who closed the
season with 7 wins in their final 10
games, trailed No. 2-seeded Escondido (22-6) by two points in
the final
minute when the Cougars' Justin Bell extended the margin by nailing
a 15-foot
jump shot.
"Anthony Cox was right in his face
and (Bell) still hit it," Hurst lamented.
"We had it played right. (Bell) hadn't hurt us with that
shot all night."
Dominic Foster (12 points) hustled to the
other end to knock down a bucket
for the Matadors with three seconds left. When the Cougars in-bounded,
Mount
Miguel quickly gave a foul to stop the clock. But the Cougars
hit one free
throw to pad their advantage to 3 points with two seconds left,
and that
would be sufficient for Escondido to lock down the victory.
"We weren't patient enough on offense,"
Hurst said. "We made countless
turnovers against no pressure. Instead of making 5, 6, 7 or 8
passes to get
their zone to shift, to open up gaps and allow us to get some
lay-ups or
wide-open jumpers, we settled for mid-range jumpers. That cost
us."
Clinging to a 31-30 halftime lead, the Cougars
sprinted to a 55-45 advantage
by the close of the third period, and then hung on.
"We played good enough defense to win."
Hurst insisted. "It was our offense
that was too inconsistent."
Ralph Johnson led the Matadors with 15 points,
more than half of which came
from the free throw line where he converted 8 of 10 chances. He
also
collected 5 rebounds and handed out 2 assists.
Foster finished with 12 points, 7 rebounds,
2 assists and a pair of blocks,
while sophomore JR Griffin chipped in 10 points, 4 rebounds and
2 blocks.
Ernie Ballenger added 8 points and 8 rebounds.
"There has been a lot of Mount Miguel
bashing around town, all that 'Mount
Ma-Ghetto' stuff," Hurst said. "I really don't know
why we are bad-mouthed so
much. We run a clean program, and we're going to keep on getting
better. We
have eight players coming back next year, so we will be back in
the thick of
it."
Bell and Chris Nelson led Escondido with 21 and 17 points, respectively.
Other Mount Miguel scoring: Joey Street
6, Chris Campbell 3, William
Burties 2, Cox 2, JR Singh 2, Jay Barber 2.
#3 LINCOLN (20-6) 65, CHRISTIAN 58 - Shooting accuracy has been a Christian
High strong suit all season. Very few lapses.
However, one those rare times when the No.
2-seeded Patriots shot more blanks
than bulls-eyes came in the second half of Tuesday's (Feb. 26)
SDCIF Division
IV semifinal against No. 3 Lincoln (20-6) at West Hills High.
Christian (20-9) led 19-12 after one quarter
and 31-30 at intermission. In
the third quarter, the Patriots lost their mark. The flashy Hornets
(21-6),
sparked by Shaun Davis and Dominque McGuire, claimed a 20-10 scoring
edge
during that 8-minute stretch and continued on to knock Christian
out of the
playoffs for the second straight year.
"The momentum changed in the middle
of the third quarter," Christian coach
Curtis Hofmeister said. "We played uphill the rest of the
way."
Davis, who eliminated the Patriots in the
semifinals with a 35-footer at the
buzzer a year ago, rang up a game-high 23 points in Tuesday's
rematch. He and
McGuire, who totaled 16 in the game, combined for 18 points in
the pivotal
third quarter.
The Patriots were a paltry 5-for-20 shooting
from the field in the final two
quarters, which is about 25 percent lower than their season average.
They
were a subpar 18-for-49 (37 percent) for the game. Lincoln's percent
wasn't a
whole lot better, but the Hornets (27-for-69) had 20 more shots.
"They gave us every chance to win,"
Hofmeister admitted. "They kept missing
the front end of one-and-ones, and didn't make a high percentage
of their
shots from the field. We guarded well, but didn't block out and
didn't do a
good job of handling their pressure."
Nevertheless, the Patriots clawed back to
within 61-58 with 13 seconds left.
But they blew their chance for a victory with back-to-back turnovers.
It was a painful setback for Christian,
which had won 13 games in succession
following a 46-40 loss at Horizon on Jan. 8. Horizon is the top-seeded
team
in Division IV, and now will take on Lincoln in Friday's SDCIF
title game at
San Diego State's Cox Arena at 2 p.m.
Moulaye Niang, Christian's 6-foot-10 center
bound for Kansas University,
closed his high school career with a double-double of 15 points
and 13
rebounds.
Junior Jake Wohlfeil scored a team-high
18 points - half coming on a trio of
3-pointers - for the Patriots. The junior forward also collected
4 rebounds
and 2 steals, while his senior brother Ben Wohlfeil tossed in
12 points,
including a hat trick of 3-pointers. The senior Wohlfeil concluded
his prep
career with 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Junior John Wai added 7 points and 5 rebounds for the Patriots.
Other Christian scoring: Brent Dongell 4,
Josh Paddock 2.
(02-26-02)
EastCountySports.com staff report
LAKESIDE - Even though it may not always
look that way, the party crashers
from Mount Miguel head into every competition with a well conceived
game
plan. Coach Jimmy Hurst's virtual unknowns from Spring Valley
didn't make it
look easy, but managed to pull out a thrilling 79-73 victory over
third-seeded El Capitan in double-overtime in Friday night's San
Diego CIF
Division II quarterfinal.
Mount Miguel's JR Griffin, who was blanked
in the opening two periods, spread
a game-high 25 points over the final two quarters and two four-minute
overtimes to give Mount Miguel (19-9) its seventh win in nine
games.
"Griffin hit some huge shots down the
stretch," said Hurst, noting that the
6-foot-4 sophomore scored all 11 of the Matadors' points in the
first extra
session and 7 of the team's 16 points in the final overtime.
The key to the Mount Miguel victory, however,
was its original game plan
devised by Hurst and his coaching compadres. It focused on El
Capitan's
7-foot junior center Jarrod Boswell, East County's most dominating
player.
"I told (long-time friend) Darin Curtis
(now the El Capitan girls coach)
before the game that either we were going to foul (Boswell) out
or he was
going to set a CIF record for blocked shots," Hurst said.
"There was no secret to what we were
gonna do. We wanted to attack Boswell
at both ends. Put a body on him at halfcourt and ride him out
of their
offense as much as possible. You can't let El Cap reverse the
ball on offense
twice. Once they get it to him inside, it's over."
Boswell had to earn every one of his 18
points, 8 rebounds and 6 blocked
shots before fouling out with 1:43 remaining in regulation.
"He's so tough offensively," Hurst
admitted. "He can go up with his left or
right hand."
Hurst credited 6-foot-2 senior Ernie Ballenger
for doing a yeoman's job on
the 265-pound Boswell.
"On a good day when the wind is blowing
his hair, Ernie might be 6-2," Hurst
said. "Ernie just did a great job of keeping a body on the
big guy and riding
him out of the middle."
Ballenger scored only 4 points, but cleared 6 rebounds and made 4 steals.
Ralph Johnson doubled his season average
with 18 points for the Matadors,
which included 4 points in the overtime periods. He was 9-for-12
from the
free throw line and netted one three-pointer.
Chris Campbell contributed 13 points, 6
rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals for
Mount Miguel, which received a team-high 9 rebounds from Griffin.
El Capitan coach Ross Furrow praised Hurst
- one of his former players - for
his team's performance.
"All year long we've known that pressure
(defense) has been our Achilles
heel," Furrow said. "It got to us again tonight."
El Capitan committed 30 turnovers - 18 in
the first half when the Matadors
marched to a 26-22 halftime lead.
"We struggled getting the ball to Boswell,"
Furrow admitted. "A 7-footer
can't bring the ball up the court himself."
With Boswell seated permanently on the bench,
the Matadors took a 51-47 lead,
but couldn't hold it as El Cap tied things at 52-52 to force overtime.
Once
again, the Matadors marched in 59-54 with 2:08 remaining in the
first OT.
Southpaw Eric Gregerson hit a pair of 3-pointers to pull the Vaqueros
even at
63-all, thus forcing the game to continue to a second extended
session.
This time, Mount Miguel forged to a 10-point
lead and the Vaqueros never got
closer than 6 thereafter.
According to Hurst, Mount Miguel is making
its first trip to the SDCIF
semifinals since 1987.
"This is just a huge victory for our
program," he said. "Before that, it was
1968. That's how big winning this game is in terms of building
our program.
We want to keep our neighborhood kids at Mount Miguel. We don't
want them
leaving us to go someplace else. We can win right here if everybody
stays at
home and works with us."
The Matadors are matched against No. 2 seed
Escondido (20-6) in Tuesday's
semifinals. This is the team most experts believe to be most talented
of the
Division II entries.
"We can't be satisfied with just making
it to the semifinals," Hurst said.
"We want people to take notice of East County basketball,
that we're not just
a bunch of pushovers."
Talk about the agony of defeat. El Capitan
won 12 of its final 14 games. The
two losses came in double-overtime - Friday night's heartbreaker
to Mount
Miguel and an 86-79 nail-bitter to Helix on Jan. 7.
"We didn't get beat by a bunch of slouches,"
Furrow said. "Both of those
teams are going to the semifinals. It's not like we under-achieved.
They have
quicker people with a lot of athleticism. We have a 7-footer and
a bunch of
hard-working blue-collar guys. I'm not ashamed of our season.
We had a nice
run and I expect we'll have another fine season next year."
Senior guard Matt Grant scored a game-high
20 points for El Capitan (15-12).
He also scooped up 6 rebounds, dished off 4 assists and made 3
steals. Mike
Mena (12 points), Gregerson (10) and Brett Stephens (10) also
finished in
double scoring digits for El Capitan. Mena netted 7 of 8 free
throws, while
Grant cashed in 5 of 6 chances from the charity stripe.
El Cap's John Relph scored only 3 points
- nearly 12 below his season average
- but collected 16 rebounds as did Stephens.
"From a fan's standpoint, this was
a great game," Hurst said. "For me, well,
I think I aged about 10 years in 10 minutes. We'd take a lead
and then leave
the door open allowing them to come back. And they kept coming
right up to
the end."
Other Mount Miguel scoring: Dewayne Ary
5, Dominic Foster 5, Joey Street 5,
Anthony Cox 3, JR Singh.
Other El Capitan scoring: none.
#1 HELIX 68, SAN PASQUAL 49 - The swarming Highlanders had the visiting
Golden Eagles on their backs in the opening minutes of Friday's
(Feb. 22)
SDCIF Division II quarterfinal game in La Mesa. And they never
let them
regain their balance.
"San Pasqual turned the ball over five
straight possessions to start the
game," Helix coach John Singer noted. "We know they
aren't as deep as we are,
and it was extremely hot inside our gym. Our pressure got to them
right away
and eventually wore them down."
Seven Highlanders scored in the opening
period as Helix (24-3) sprinted to an
18-3 lead.
"If we can get 18 points a quarter, I'll take that," Singer said.
It was the 18th straight victory for Helix,
which takes on No. 4 Oceanside
(18-10) in Tuesday's (Feb. 26) Division II quarterfinals at a
neutral site
yet to be determined.
"Oceanside has a very good starting
five, and we don't match up all that well
with them," Singer said. "It's like I've been saying
all year -- we don't
know who our top scorer is going to be. We can't come at anybody
with
straight numbers. We try to beat you with our top 9, our depth."
San Pasqual (15-13) tested Helix with a
3-2 zone defense. Not known for their
high percentage shooting, the Highlanders responded with 30 field
goals,
including five from above the arc. Ryan San Juan drilled in a
pair of
3-pointers, while Tramaine West, Ray Toilolo and Kenny Farris
each hit one.
"We only shot 4 free throws (and made
3)," Singer noted. "I thought there
were some missed calls, but it didn't matter. San Juan did a good
of
penetrating, getting the ball into the key and then kicking it
off to Raphael
(Bell) or Charles (Smith)."
San Juan contributed 5 points and 3 assists
in the first half as Helix
hammered out a 33-17 lead by the break. San Pasqual cut the margin
to 7
points in the third quarter, but seemed to wilt in the heat as
Helix pulled
away and was never seriously threatened thereafter.
Bell finished with 15 points and a dozen
rebounds, while Smith tallied 10
points and 8 rebounds.
Other Helix scoring: West 9, San Juan 8,
Toilolo 7, Stanley Caldwell 6, Cliff
Johnson 4, Tim Bland 4, Farris 3, Marlon Pierce 2.
#2 CHRISTIAN 85, IMPERIAL 40 - The Tigers (12-14) were rocked by a 5.4
earthquake Friday (Feb. 22) morning in the Imperial Valley, and
then, about 7
1/2 hours later, they were blown out by a couple of human tornadoes
at
Christian High's Ryan Athletic Center.
Junior Jake Wohlfeil scored 12 points in
the opening 66 seconds of Friday's
SDCIF Division IV quarterfinal, propelling the Patriots (20-8)
into a 14-2
lead.
"Just like that, it was over,"
said Christian High coach Curtis Hofmeister,
who was more matter-of-fact than cocky.
The Patriots powered their way to a 30-11
first quarter lead and never looked
back as they stretched their winning streak to 13 games.
Next up for the Patriots is a rematch of
last year's Division IV semifinal
against Lincoln on Tuesday (Feb. 26) at a site-to-determined.
Hofmeister and
the Patriots remember all-too-well of last year's disaster won
by the Hornets.
Shaun Davis shot holes in a smothering Christian
defense, scoring 25 of his
game-high 37 points in the final quarter as Lincoln overcame a
12-point
deficit in the final four minutes to steal a 74-71 semifinal victory
at
Cuyamaca College. Davis doused Christian's dreams of a possible
state title
by throwing in a 35-footer at the buzzer.
"We haven't forgotten what happened
that night (Feb. 28, 2001)," Hofmeister
said. "We're glad we have another chance."
Meanwhile, Wohlfeil finished with 19 points
- including a pair of 3-pointers
- 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals in the romp over Imperial.
John Wai, another talented junior, hit 8
of 10 shots from the field and 7 of
7 free throws to total a game-high 23 points for Christian. The
6-foot-3
junior from Sudan also hauled down 8 rebounds, made 3 steals and
handed out 2
assists.
Six-foot-10 center Moulaye Niang was a steady
influence in the middle with 13
points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks and 1 steal.
Although he scored only 6 points (both 3-pointers),
senior guard Ben Wohlfeil
did a sparkling job directing the Patriots' offense. He finished
with a
game-high 7 assists.
"He just ran the whole show for us," Hofmeister said.
Brent Dongell produced his second 10-point
game off the bench for the
Patriots, who shot 58 percent (33 of 57) from the floor, while
limiting
Imperial to 30 percent (15 of 50) accuracy.
Christian collected 7 three-pointers, giving
the Patriots 33 bull's-eyes
above the arc in their last four games.
Other Christian scoring: Kevin Epps 6, Jesse
Le Beau 3, Joel Allen 3, Josh
Paddock 2.
(02-22-02)
San Diego CIF Playoffs - First Round
EastCountySports.com staff report
LAKESIDE - Hoover delivered a first-quarter
wake-up call to the heavily
favored El Capitan Vaqueros in Tuesday night's (Feb. 19) opening
round of the
San Diego CIF Division II playoffs. The visiting Cardinals used
a 16-3
scoring run to take a 19-14 lead after one quarter. Following
some rather
inspirational words from coach Ross Furrow, El Capitan regained
its poise to
blunt the Cardinals' upset bid with a 66-48 victory.
Seven-foot- junior center Jarrod Boswell
finished with 26 points, a
school-record 24 rebounds, 5 blocks and 4 assists to headline
El Capitan's
11th straight victory.
But it was John Relph that guided El Capitan
to a 19-6 second-quarter scoring
surge that turned the game around for the Vaqueros (16-11).
"We jumped out in front (11-3) and
then started doing things we just don't
do," Furrow said. "We are normally a methodical team,
not a shake-n-bake
team. Somehow we got caught up in what Hoover (8-20) was doing
and lost our
focus for a while."
Relph scored 7 of his 17 points in the second
period while Boswell added 5
points and Eric Gregerson nailed a 3-pointer to help the Vaqueros
assume
command 33-25 by the break.
Boswell, who canned 10 buckets and 6 of
9 free throws, scored a dozen points
in the third quarter as El Capitan opened up a 53-36 advantage.
"Jarrod had a nice game," Furrow
said. "I don't know how many shots he
bothered, but it was a significant number." Boswell did not
play the final
3:28 nor did any of the El Capitan starters.
Relph finished with 7 rebounds and 7 assists
to go with his 17 points. Matt
Grant rang up only 6 points, but logged 5 assists and 4 steals.
Mike Mena,
although only 5-foot-8, grabbed 8 rebounds for the Vaqueros.
The victory vaults El Capitan (16-11) into
the SDCIF Division II
quarterfinals. The Vaqueros will host Mount Miguel (18-9) Friday
night (Feb.
22) at 7 p.m. in a rematch that offers some interesting twists.
El Capitan
snapped a 6-game losing streak by mauling the Matadors 76-54 for
their first
win of the season on Dec. 17.
The Vaqueros have won 12 of their last 13
games - the only loss being an
86-79 setback at the hands of top-seeded Helix Jan. 7 in Lakeside.
Other El Capitan scoring: Gregerson 5, Mena
4, Brett Stephens 3, Scott
Fisher 2, Jesse Leatherman 2, Justin Galloway 1.
MOUNT MIGUEL 59, POINT LOMA 42 - For the first time all year the Matadors
(18-9) featured a one-two scoring punch Tuesday night (Feb. 19),
as they
knocked visiting Point Loma out of the SDCIF Division II playoffs.
Ralph Johnson scored 22 points and JR Griffin
canned 21 for Mount Miguel,
which has won 6 of its last 8 games.
"I don't think we've had two guys go
over 20 points in the same game this
year," Mount Miguel coach Jimmy Hurst said.
For sure. This is a team that scores by
committee as Griffin was the only
player to average double figures (10.5 ppg) during the regular
season.
Johnson was Mount Miguel's No. 2 point-producer with an 8.9 average.
It took the Matadors until the second quarter
to find their way as the
Pointers (10-15) led 9-6 after the first period.
"We didn't shoot the ball very well
in the first half - even from point-blank
range," Hurst said. "We did a better defensive job in
the second quarter, and
it's no mystery that our defense is our best offense."
Johnson erupted for 15 points in the second
quarter to help stake Mount
Miguel to a 26-20 halftime lead. Then it was Griffin's turn to
connect as the
6-foot-4 sophomore drilled in a trio of 3-pointers to extend the
Matadors'
advantage to 43-30 after three periods.
"Griffin and Johnson did a good job
of attacking the basket," Hurst said.
"They also got some transition baskets."
Johnson clicked on 11 of 13 free throw attempts,
while picking off 6
rebounds, 2 steals and handed out 3 assists. Griffin grabbed 4
rebounds,
blocked 2 shots and pilfered 2 passes.
Ernie Ballenger was Mount Miguel's defensive
poster-boy for the night,
crashing the boards for 7 rebounds while making 5 steals.
"He makes some things happen because
he plays so hard," Hurst said of
Ballenger, a 6-2 senior.
Anthony Cox contributed 3 steals and 3 assists.
Johnson and Joey Street
joined Griffin on the 3-point charts with one apiece.
Tony Javey was the only Point Loma player
to break into double scoring digits
with 11 points.
Mount Miguel travels to Grossmont North
League-champion El Capitan for
Friday's (Feb. 22) Division II quarterfinals at 7 p.m.
Other Mount Miguel scoring: Street 5, Ballenger
4, Dewayne Ary 2, Chris
Campbell 2, Jay Barber 2, Cox 1.
OCEANSIDE 73, GROSSMONT 60 - The Grossmont Foothillers were supposed to be
little more than cannon fodder for the fourth-seeded Pirates (16-11)
of
Oceanside in Tuesday night's (Feb. 19) SDCIF Division II playoffs.
By the
night's end, the Pirates narrowly escaped walking the plank themselves.
Junior Casey Young converted a three-point-play
to give Grossmont a 59-58
edge with 3:50 remaining.
"We had 'em," Hillers coach Frank
Foggiano said. "They were panicking. But
our guys made some mistakes at crucial times, and I probably should
have
called a couple more time outs to break the momentum. Plus, there
were some
calls, well . . . that didn't go our way. They missed some stuff
that hurt
us."
Most glaring of the "missed calls"
were four apparent Oceanside traveling
violations of which three were ignored. All led to baskets. A
charging call
took another basket away from Grossmont and eliminated a second
guard with
his 5th foul.
Oceanside closed with a 15-1 scoring rush over the final 3 1/2 minutes.
On the positive side, Grossmont's Tyler
Vickers shredded the Pirates' defense
for 30 points. The majority of the 6-foot-4 sophomore's 12 field
goals came
inside the paint. He also converted 6 of 9 free throws and grabbed
11
rebounds.
"They left the key wide open in the
middle," Foggiano said. "Vickers just
went to town on them. They couldn't stop him."
Young provided a solid a supporting cast
with a career-high 17 points and 8
rebounds. Blake Brands tossed in 5 points, including a 3-pointer,
and also
doled out 6 assists for Grossmont (11-17).
The remainder of the Foothillers were basically
silent. Senior John Sanders,
who averaged 19.8 points per game during the regular season, was
held to 4
points at Oceanside.
"It was one of those games that didn't
match up well for Sanders," Foggiano
said. "I don't think he took more than 7 shots."
Salim Ayub, a Grossmont sharp-shooter from
the perimeter (36 threes), was
limited to one trey by the Pirates. Ayub also passed up shots
because Vickers
was wide open underneath.
"Oceanside shot the ball better than
I thought they would," Foggiano said.
"But we had a good shot at beating them right up until the
end."
Other Grossmont scoring: Brands 5, Ayub 3.
CARLSBAD 78, VALHALLA 58 - Right up until game time folks at Carlsbad
continued to mumble about how the top-ranked Lancers (24-4) were
slighted by
their No. 3 seeding in the SDCIF Division I playoffs.
When the visiting Norsemen roared out to
a 15-5 lead after one quarter of
Tuesday night's (Feb. 19) playoff opener, the Carlsbad faithful
had to wonder
if the power ratings might have been more accurate than they thought.
"I don't know who was more surprised
by our start - us or them," Valhalla
coach Eric Thomas admitted. "Our game plan was to run 20
seconds off the
clock on each possession. It worked in the first quarter. We couldn't
miss,
and they couldn't hit anything."
Drew Stinnett netted 6 of his 15 points
in the first quarter, while Blake
Fowler canned 4 of his team-high 16.
"I don't think they disrespected us,
but I'm sure they were taking us
lightly." Thomas added. "I did notice that their crowd
was awfully quiet when
we went up 15-5. People were shocked, because Carlsbad made only
one basket
in the first quarter."
Carlsbad brought the partisan crowd to its
feet in the second quarter,
outscoring the Norsemen (11-13) by a 28-13 margin. Derek Stockalper
cashed in
half of his 26 points during the second 8-minute stanza, which
launched the
Lancers into a 33-28 halftime lead.
"They started trapping us in the second
quarter, taking us out of what we
wanted to do," Thomas said. "We totally fell apart.
They scored the first
five times they touched the ball in the second quarter."
Senior guard Greg Nelson took the Carlsbad
reins in the third quarter,
producing 12 of his club's 19 points during that period. Fowler
accounted for
all but one of Valhalla's 11 points in the quarter, which left
the Lancers
leading 52-39 with 8 minutes unplayed.
Stockalper and Nelson combined for 49 points
to help the Lancers deny
Valhalla's upset bid.
"Those two guys are unbelievable,"
Thomas said. "Nelson is very good off the
dribble. We couldn't stop him."
Nevertheless, Valhalla sliced what had been
a 20-point deficit to 58-48 with
six minutes remaining in the fourth. But the Lancers had too much
firepower
to overcome.
"Even though we lost - and that is
disappointing - we kinda ended the year on
a high note," Thomas said. "I'm proud of our kids. We
could have quit when we
started the year 0-8, but we came on to win 13 of our last 20."
Fowler accounted for Valhalla's only two
three-pointers, while point guard
Tommy Hanna netted 12 points and Danny Sheppard knocked down 11.
Other Valhalla scoring: Steven Daoud 4, Brent Molden 2.
SAN DIEGO 68, WEST HILLS 57 - Although the Wolf Pack turned the ball over 27
times against the speedy Cavers in Tuesday night's (Feb. 19) SDCIF
Division I
playoff contest, West Hills was still in the running for advancement
with
four minutes remaining.
The score was knotted at 50-50 when No.
4-seeded San Diego (23-4) began
making its move.
"We made a couple key turnovers and
they exploded on us," West Hills coach
Jeff Armstrong said. "Their big kid (6-7 Shamar Shire) hit
a key 3-pointer
and (Nigel) Rockett broke loose."
Rockett, who had been dormant (4 points
in three quarters) scored 9 points in
the final period before fouling out.
"San Diego's pressure comes at you
all the time," Armstrong admitted. "And
they have so many athletes up and down their bench. But our kids
never quit,
and I think they earned a lot of respect."
Senior Matt Henriksen turned in an MVP performance
for the Wolf Pack,
powering in 29 points on 14-for-22 shooting, while grabbing 7
rebounds and
handing out 3 assists.
Ross Staback, who only recently joined the
Wolf Pack varsity, was brilliant
on the boards, collecting a team-high 10 caroms.
"Ross came off the bench and contributed
in so many ways," Armstrong said.
"He handled the ball well and also ran down a bunch of rebounds
for us.
Freshman Matt Gilson played a solid floor game with 5 assists
and 3 steals."
Steady Sam Miller charted 9 points and 5
rebounds for the Pack. But senior
guard Ricky Zizzo was limited to 4 points, taking only 5 shots
(none from
3-point distance).
Other West Hills scoring: Bruce Bailey 4,
John Doherty 4, Blake Sutton 3,
Gilson 2, Staback 2.
HILLTOP 73, EL CAJON VALLEY 61 - Nate Reed scored 12 of his 19 points in the
first quarter as the Braves nudged in front of host Hilltop 20-18
after the
opening quarter of Tuesday's (Feb. 19) SDCIF Division II playoff
game. But
surprisingly neither Reed nor the Braves could maintain the rapid-fire
pace
as Hilltop (15-13) avenged an earlier 75-63 loss to El Cajon Valley
(13-13).
"Nate started off really hot,"
El Cajon Valley coach Mike Raney said. "He
could have shot the ball more, but passed up some shots to involve
his
teammates."
Sophomore Deron Taylor answered Reed's call
with 14 points, including one
trey. Eight of Taylor's points came in the final quarter after
Reed had
fouled out with six minutes remaining.
"I thought we had them by the throat
early," Raney said. "But we let them
back in. They're like cats, turn everybody loose."
Reed, who was 4-for-7 from 3-point range,
scored only 3 points in the second
half. Senior Anthony "Pooh" Taylor had a quiet double-double
of 10 points
and 10 rebounds for the Braves, who could not recover from Hilltop's
19-10
second-quarter scoring burst.
Darick Dubose added 8 points and 6 rebounds
for the Braves, who also received
8 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals from Nick Felure.
El Cajon Valley was 20 of 24 from the free throw line.
Other El Cajon Valley scoring: Calvin Pearce
2.
(02-19-02)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - Eight of East County's 11 boys
basketball teams have secured
berths in the San Diego CIF playoffs, which begin Tuesday (Feb.
19) at
various sites. The largest flock of Inland quintets are vying
in the 14-team
Division II tournament where Grossmont South League champion Helix
(23-3) is
seeded No. 1 and draws a first-round bye. Christian (19-8) is
the No. 2 seed
in Division IV, and also earns a free pass to the quarterfinals.
The Highlanders, who have won 17 straight
and 20 of their last 21 games, have
already been smeared with negative comments questioning their
lofty seeding
position.
"I know there are some coaches out
there who think we don't deserve to be
seeded this high, and can't wait to get a piece of us," Helix
coach John
Singer admitted. "That's fine. We'll be ready. We don't have
a bunch of
superstars. What we do have is a group of kids who have been willing
to work
toward a common goal. It's about winning. And that's what we're
about."
The Highlanders face the San Pasqual (14-12)-Scripps
Ranch (15-13) winner on
Friday (Feb. 22) at Helix.
No. 2 Escondido (19-6) also draws a first-round bye.
In Division II first-round games on Tuesday
(Feb. 19), Grossmont North
League-champion El Capitan (15-11), the No. 3 seed, hosts Hoover
(8-19);
Mount Miguel (17-9) welcomes Point Loma (10-14); El Cajon Valley
(13-12)
travels to Hilltop (14-13); and Grossmont (11-16) ventures to
No. 4
Oceanside. All games tip off at 7 p.m.
In Division I, Valhalla (13-14) takes on
No. 3 Carlsbad (23-4) on Tuesday
(Feb. 19) at 7 p.m., and West Hills (13-11) goes to San Diego
High on
Wednesday (Feb. 20) at 7:30 p.m. The not-so-realistic power ratings
have
Bonita Vista (24-4) rated No. 1 and Torrey Pines (24-3) No. 2
ahead of
Carlsbad. Go figure . . .
In Division IV, Harbor League-champion Christian
rides a 12-game winning
streak into the post-season tournament. The Patriots, who proved
they have a
perimeter game (26 three-pointers in their final three games)
as well as 6-10
center Moulaye Niang inside, host the Parker (16-9)-Imperial (11-13)
winner
in the Feb. 22 quarterfinals at 7 p.m.
(02-16-02)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - Identifying the MVP for the Helix
Highlanders (23-3, 8-0), East
County's hottest basketball team, might come as surprise. That
is, unless
you're Helix coach John Singer. The Highlanders are not blessed
with a bevy
of major point producers, board-crashing rebounders or giant shot
blockers.
But they do have a floor leader in unheralded senior point guard
Kenny Farris.
"As far as I'm concerned, he's our
player of the year," Singer said after the
Highlanders concluded the regular-season Friday night (Feb. 15)
by knocking
off visiting Monte Vista 60-49 for their 17th straight victory.
"He's been a
catalyst for us. Never puts his ego ahead of the team."
Farris, who is averaging a modest 6.6 points
against Grossmont South League
competition, garnered a team-high 14 points in the Highlanders'
latest
victory - their 20th in the last 21 games.
"He's the leader of this team,"
Singer emphasized. "He orchestrates what we
do. He distributes the ball, makes his free throws and keeps us
on course.
You don't notice what he does unless you see him out there every
day."
The Highlanders were dealing aces from the
free-throw line against the
Monarchs (6-19, 2-6), converting 25 of 36 chances. Farris was
at the
forefront, nailing 10 of 12 charity shots.
Helix, which expects to earn the No. 1 seed
in the San Diego CIF Division II
playoffs, marched to a 15-6 first-quarter lead over the Monarchs.
They led
31-17 by the break and were never seriously challenged thereafter.
Stanley Caldwell added 12 points for the
Highlanders, while Tramaine West
scored 9. Ray Toilolo tallied 7 points, including Helix's lone
3-pointer.
Dalon Wells led Monte Vista with 16 points,
including a pair of 3-pointers.
He also hauled down 6 rebounds. Clinton Snyder notched 13 points,
while Nick
Childs charted 8 points and 5 rebounds for the Monarchs.
Helix will earn a first-round bye when the
SDCIF playoffs open on Tuesday
(Feb. 19). Winners of six straight Grossmont South League flags,
the
Highlanders hope to make a better showing than a year ago when
they took a
first-round powder, bowing out with a 15-point loss to Scripps
Ranch.
Other Helix scoring: Tim Bland 6, Raphael
Bell 6, Ryan San Juan 3, Charles
Smith 3.
Other Monte Vista scoring: Chris Whyte 5,
Carlos Ramer 4, Diondre Simpson 2,
Johnnie Jennings 1.
EL CAJON VALLEY 74, SANTANA 59 - The Braves (13-12, 4-4) snapped a four-game
losing streak Friday (Feb. 15) and earned a tie with West Hills
for second
place in the Grossmont North League. With the victory, they also
wrote
another chapter in their bid to become one of the best basketball
teams in El
Cajon Valley history.
"We played a lot better than we had
been," said Braves coach Mike Raney after
his club moved into a tie for third on the all-time El Cajon Valley
list for
wins in a season. The 1969 Braves finished 13-12. Only the 1970
El Cajon
Valley team (15-9) and the 1971 Braves (14-12) have posted more
victories
than Raney's bunch.
A couple of unsung heroes paved the way
to the Braves' latest victory. Senior
guard Nick Felure poured in a career-high 17 points, the bulk
of which came
on 4 three-pointers.
"That kid just killed us," Santana
coach Tim Barry said. "I give it all to
him. He was the difference in the game."
Darick Dubose wasn't far behind on the Braves'
Stars of the Game" chart. Not
only did he muscle in 14 points and retrieve 6 rebounds, he did
a bang up
defensive job on Santana senior Hayden Penn, East County's leading
scorer.
Penn scored 14 points in the first half, but only 4 after intermission.
"Dubose has been our stopper,"
Raney said. "He shut down the No. 1 scorer in
East County. He just got in his face and wouldn't back off."
Penn and Dubose literally banged heads,
causing a large bump on Penn's head
with 5:30 to go in the game.
"Hayden was a little woozy, but he
wanted to go back into the game," Barry
said. "That's the type of competitor he is. But his future
is baseball. No
way was I going to take any chances by putting him back in there
when there
wasn't anything at stake for our team."
Santana (8-15, 1-7) was mathematically eliminated
from the SDCIF Division III
playoff picture before Friday's regular-season finale.
Despite missing nearly a quarter of the
game, Penn finished with a game-high
15 rebounds. Jon Sturgill scored 17 of his team-high 19 points
during the
final two quarters.
Nate Reed rang up a game-high 23 points,
including a hat trick of treys for
the Braves. He scored 10 points in the third quarter when El Cajon
Valley
generated its most intensive offensive output of the season with
28 points,
12 more than Santana. That 8-minute burst erased Santana's 26-25
halftime
lead.
Anthony "Pooh" Taylor added 12
points (8 in the third quarter) and 7
rebounds. Deron Taylor chipped in 7 assists, while Demarcus Flemister
delivered 5 scoring passes.
Other El Cajon Valley scoring: Tremaine
Foster 4, Deron Taylor 2, Jake
Oriarte 2.
Other Santana scoring: Jon Sledge 5, John
Bachmann 5, Scott Rohner 5, Mike
Lamoureux 3, Tim Henselmeier 2, Brian Schultz 2.
EL CAPITAN 67, WEST HILLS 50 - Jarrod Boswell narrowly missed executing a
triple-double with 22 points, 15 rebounds and 9 blocked shots
Friday (Feb.
15) as the Vaqueros (15-11, 8-0) put the finishing touches to
the first
undefeated league championship in El Capitan history.
John Relph rolled in 16 points, grabbed
8 rebounds, dished off 5 assists,
recorded 4 steals and rejected 3 shots for El Capitan, which posted
its 15th
in 20 games.
Senior guard Matt Grant delivered 15 points,
11 rebounds and 5 assists for
the Vaqueros, who also got a pair of clutch 3-point buckets from
Brett
Stephens.
The Vaqueros, who figure to earn either
the third or fourth seed in the SDCIF
Division II playoffs, overcame an early 14-7 deficit to subdue
the
upset-minded Wolf Pack (13-11, 4-4).
Ricky Zizzo scored 12 points in the opening
quarter as West Hills held onto a
precarious 17-15 edge. The senior guard, who included a trio of
3-pointers in
his totals, tallied only 5 points over the final three periods.
Matt Henriksen added 15 points and Ryan
Hamann hammered in 10 for West Hills,
a usually balanced outfit that had only five players contribute
to the
scoring. Hamann's bounty included a pair of 3-pointers.
Other El Capitan scoring: Stephens 8, Scott
Fisher 2, Mike Mena 2, Eric
Gregerson 2.
Other West Hills scoring: Sam Miller 6, Blake Sutton 2.
CHRISTIAN 80, ST. AUGUSTINE 61 - Christian High coach Curtis Hofmeister used
Friday night's (Feb. 15) regular-season finale at St. Augustine
as sort of a
test balloon. He wanted to gauge whether his Patriots were playoff-ready.
Mission accomplished.
The Patriots (19-8), who closed the regular
season in a rush with 12
consecutive victories and anticipate receiving the No. 2 seed
in the SDCIF
Division IV playoffs, hit 10 three-pointers to silence a capacity
crowd at
St. Augustine's antiquated gym.
"That gives us 26 three-pointers in
three games this week," Hofmeister noted.
"It's indicative of how well our kids answered the bell in
all three games."
And it's not like the Patriots were just
throwing shots at the basket,
either. Fact is, they made 10 of 20 shots above the arc against
Saints
(13-14).
For the second time in 24 hours, junior
Jake Wohlfeil carried the torch for
Christian with 27 points - giving him 53 in two games. His marksmanship
was
right on the money, as he clicked on 10 of 14 shots. He made 21
of 29 in his
last two starts. Wohlfeil netted five 3-pointers against S. Augustine
made 4
steals, handed out 3 scoring passes and nabbed 3 rebounds.
Moulaye Niang enjoyed another big night
for Christian with a double-double of
17 points and 16 rebounds. The 6-10 senior also blocked 3 shots
and shoveled
off 3 scoring passes.
"This game gave us just what I was
looking for," Hofmeister said. "It was a
playoff-type atmosphere. A hostile, loud crowd in a packed gym.
It was great."
Ben Wohlfeil added 11 points and 4 assists
for Christian, while Brent Dongell
had a huge game off the bench with 10 points, 6 rebounds (5 offensive)
and 2
steals. Josh Paddock pilfered 5 passes and dealt 4 assists for
the Patriots.
Other Christian scoring: John Wai 6, Joel Allen 6, Mike Muniz 3, Paddock 2.
VALHALLA 60, GRANITE HILLS 38 - Blake Fowler scored 9 of his game-high 17
points in the first quarter Friday (Feb. 15) as visiting Valhalla
rolled to a
19-5 lead and continued on for the easy Grossmont South League
victory.
"We were awesome in the first half,"
Valhalla coach Eric Thomas said, noting
how the Norsemen (13-14, 4-4) left little to chance as they stormed
to a
34-16 halftime advantage. "Blake carried us in the first
half and Drew
(Stinnett) carried us in the second half."
Stinnett finished with 16 points. Fowler
hit a trio of 3-pointers, snagged 7
rebounds and handed out 6 assists. Danny Sheppard scored only
6 points, but
was a major influence on the boards with 13 rebounds - 5 at the
offensive end.
Tommy Hanna hit a pair of 3-pointers and
Steven Daoud hit another for
Valhalla.
Greg Chase led Granite Hills (8-19, 1-7)
with 15 points and 9 rebounds. Mark
Hall logged a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. He
also made 3
steals and blocked a shot.
Granite Hills senior Mohammed Elhabashy,
East County's leader in 3-point
baskets, concluded his career with a scoreless finale. He missed
all 12 shots
he attempted.
Other Valhalla scoring: Brent Molden 4,
Travis Rothlisberger 2, Manny
Gonzales 2.
Other Granite Hills scoring: Robert Davis 6, Rony Nasser 5, Robert Fine 2.
END OF REGULAR SEASON
EastCountySports.com staff report
SAN DIEGO - Color the Christian High Patriots
ready for the San Diego CIF
playoffs. Winners of their last 11 starts with one game remaining
Friday
night (Feb. 15) at St. Augustine, the Patriots expect to earn
the No. 2 seed
in Division IV.
Coach Curtis Hofmeister's crew canned 37
of 71 shots (52 percent) as they ran
by host Crawford 91-56 in Thursday's Harbor League finale. It
wrapped up a
10-0 league campaign for Christian, which stretched its league
winning streak
to 37 games dating back to 1999.
Junior Jake Wohlfeil led the charge, hitting
11 of 15 shots from the field on
his way to a 26-point night. He included a pair of 3-pointers
in his bounty
as well as 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals.
"Jake had a fantastic game," Hofmeister
said. "And he did all of his damage
in less than three quarters."
Six-foot-10, 205-pound center Moulaye Niang
was solid in the middle for the
Patriots, collecting 13 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists while
blocking 2
shots.
Senior guard Ben Wohlfeil continued his
late-season shooting spree, knocking
down 4 three-pointers as he finished with 16 points. He hit 6
of 9 shots
overall and also dished off 4 assists.
John Wai tossed in 10 points and could easily
have had more had he elected to
take more than 6 shots of which he made 5.
While Christian has scored 190 points in
two games with the free-wheeling
Colts (9-16, 4-6), Hofmeister was quick to praise the defensive
job his club
did on Crawford sharpshooters Moses Coleman and Frank Egypt.
"They hit 8 threes against us the first
time (in a 99-79 Christian victory),"
Hofmeister said of Coleman and Egypt. "But (Josh) Paddock
did a great job
defending Coleman and we had a variety of different guys on Egypt."
In Thursday's rematch, the Colts connected
on only 20 of 70 shots, including
2 of 20 from above the arc.
"Our guys answered the challenge tonight,"
Hofmeister said. "Everybody was
unselfish with the ball as we had 25 assists as a team."
Other Christian scoring: Paddock 7, Kevin
Epps 5, Mike Muniz 4, Travis Dalton
3, Jesse Lebeau 3, Joel Allen 2, Brent Dongell 2.
(02-14-02)
EastCountySports.com staff report
LA MESA - Helix coach John Singer wasn't
surprised that it was close, that
the outcome went down to the wire, even though his Highlanders
had the
incentive of needing a win to stake exclusive claim to a sixth
straight
Grossmont South League championship Tuesday night (Feb. 12). After
sprinting
to a 13-0 lead over the visiting Mount Miguel Matadors, the Highlanders
had
to scramble to hang onto a 61-59 victory.
"It wound up being a playoff-type game,"
Singer admitted. "They didn't roll
over. They came right at us, got us into foul trouble right away."
Mount Miguel, which concludes the regular
season with an overall mark of 17-9
and a league ledger of 5-3, netted only one basket - a 3-pointer
- in the
first period. The Matadors, however, kept the Highlanders from
running away
by converting 6 of 10 free throws in the opening eight minutes.
"We've been too much in cruise mode,"
Singer said. "Our kids have been lulled
into a false sense of security. Mount Miguel is a good team, the
best we can
play in our league in terms of getting ready for the playoffs.
I sure
wouldn't want to play them again in the (San Diego CIF Division
II) playoffs."
Helix, which has won 16 straight and 19
of its last 20, figures to earn the
No. 1 seed in Division II. Even if they don't, the Highlanders
are assured
of drawing a first-round bye, which might not be the best thing
for Singer's
club at the moment.
Mount Miguel, which takes the next week
off before dipping into the playoffs,
should grab the No. 6 spot, and a first-round home game.
"I think our kids would like a shot
at playing Helix again in the playoffs,"
Mount Miguel coach Jimmy Hurst said. "Our kids are very resilient."
The Matadors had a chance to beat the Highlanders
in the waning seconds of
Tuesday's tiff. Trailing by two points with 15 seconds remaining,
Mount
Miguel fed the ball to leading scorer - 6-foot-4 JR Griffin.
Enter Stanley Caldwell to provide the defensive save for the Highlanders.
"We had a good situation because we
got the ball where we wanted it," Hurst
said. "But Griffin, who had been taking them off the dribble
the whole game,
couldn't finish this time."
Credit Caldwell with blocking Griffin's final shot.
"Caldwell made a good defensive play,"
Hurst said. "He got a good piece of
the ball. He might even have fouled him (Griffin). But you shouldn't
expect
to a get a foul call in a situation like that."
Once again, balance was Helix's trademark.
Tim Bland (12 points), Ray Toilolo
(12), Kenny Farris (10) and Tramaine West (10) paved the way.
Griffin's 12 points topped the Matadors'
scoring list. Joey Street hit a trio
of 3-pointers on his way to 11 points. Anthony Cox tossed in 10
points, while
Ernie Ballenger and Chris Campbell paced the Matadors on the boards
with 7
and 6 rebounds, respectively.
Other Helix scoring: Charles Smith 4, Raphael
Bell 4, Caldwell 4, Ryan San
Juan 3, Marlon Pierce 2.
Other Mount Miguel scoring: Ralph Johnson
8, Campbell 7, Jay Barber 3, Eddie
Woodward 3, Bellanger 2, Dewayne Ary 2, William Burties 1.
WEST HILLS 83, GROSSMONT 66 - If the Wolf Pack has an unsung hero, it would
have to be Sam Miller. Hidden in the shadow of seniors Matt Henriksen
and
Ricky Zizzo much of the season, Miller continues to contribute.
The 6-foot junior was a perfect 9 for 9
from the field as he collected 20
points, helping West Hills move into second place in the Grossmont
North.
Miller also had 4 steals and 4 rebounds.
"Sam turned in another heroic effort,"
Wolf Pack coach Jeff Armstrong said.
"He's adjusted to his new position (4-spot) quickly. He adds
board strength
to the front line and he's a warrior on both ends of the floor."
Henriksen powered in 21 points, grabbed
6 rebounds, dished off 5 assists, and
made 4 steals for the Pack. Zizzo racked up 11 points, including
a pair of
treys, while John Doherty notched 5 steals and handed out 4 assists.
"Ricky got a couple of big 3s when
we needed them, and had an all-around good
floor game," Armstrong noted. "And Doherty gave us another
quality start at
the point."
Ryan Hamann, East County's top free throw
shooter, played long ball against
the Foothillers, hitting 3 of 4 attempts above the arc. West Hills
was 7 for
12 as a team from 3-point distance. Blake Sutton, who finished
with 10
points, contributed a pair of treys to the total.
The Wolf Pack (13-10, 4-3) totaled 19 steals,
but turned the ball over 18
times.
The Foothillers (11-16, 3-5) enjoyed plenty
of offense, but were unable to
put the brakes to the Pack's scoring machine.
John Sanders cast in 25 points and ripped
off 10 rebounds for the Hillers,
who also got 18 points and 7 boards from Tyler Vickers.
Salim Ayub continued his successful 3-point-shooting
campaign by knocking
down a quartet of treys. He's netted 16 three-pointers in his
last four
outings.
Freshman Tyler Barbour spearheaded the Grossmont offense with 7 assists.
Other West Hills scoring: Brad Ostrander
6, Ross Staback 2, Matthew Gilson
1, John Doherty 1.
Other Grossmont scoring: Casey Young 4, Ryan Goldbarg 3, Darrin Parsons 2.
EL CAPITAN 86, EL CAJON VALLEY 54 - The last time these two teams met, the
Vaqueros won on an Eric Gregerson 3-point buzzer-beater.
The rematch, which featured TV cameras and
mega-focus on El Capitan 7-foot
center Jarrod Boswell, was never close. The Vaqueros surged in
front 20-8
after one quarter and led 39-20 by intermission.
Boswell scored all 26 of his points in a
little over 20 minutes playing time.
He also grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked 5 shots.
"Boswell did the job," El Cajon Valley coach Mike Raney said.
So did John Relph. The Vaqueros' 6-foot-2
senior collected a career-high 18
rebounds, shoveled off 8 assists and scored 18 points, which included
8 for
10 free throws. For good measure, he added a couple of steals.
"They really beat us up on the boards," Raney said.
Brett Stephens contributed 9 rebounds to
the El Capitan totals, and 5-foot-8
guard Matt Grant corralled 7 caroms. Grant, however, did most
of his damage
from the perimeter, finishing with 17 points, including a trio
of 3s.
"Grant hurt us from the outside because
we did not defend," Raney said. "And
we shot poorly."
Nate Reed led El Cajon Valley with 25 points,
including 4 three-pointers. The
5-foot-8 junior also retrieved 11 rebounds, logged 5 assists and
2 steals for
the Braves (12-12, 3-4).
Nick Felure added 9 points and 6 rebounds
for the Braves, while Anthony
"Pooh" Taylor chipped in 7 points, 7 rebounds and had
3 steals.
Other El Capitan scoring: Scott Fisher 9,
Stephens 6, Gregerson 5, Mike Mena
3, Sean Hogue 2.
Other El Cajon Valley scoring: Darick Dubose
6, Demarcus Flemister 3,
Tremaine Foster 3, Calvin Pearce 2, Rodney Ridgel 1.
MONTE VISTA 60, GRANITE HILLS 53 - The visiting Monarchs turned in one of
their finest rebounding efforts and had a different player lead
them in
scoring in each of the four quarters of Tuesday's (Feb. 12) Grossmont
South
League victory over Granite Hills.
Nick Childs scored 12 of his 16 points in
the first quarter for the Monarchs
(6-18, 2-5), and Diondre Simpson rang up 9 of his 15 markers in
the second
period. In the third quarter it was Chris Whyte who grabbed the
Monte Vista
reins, pouring in half of his 12 points. Johnnie Jennings was
Monte Vista's
ringleader in the final period, knocking down 6 of his 10 points.
For Monte Vista, the third quarter was the
pivotal period as the Monarchs
outscored the Eagles 14-6 to turn a 2-point halftime lead into
a 10-point
cushion.
The Monarchs enjoyed an excellent shooting
night as a team, connecting on 26
of 51 chances (51 percent). Granite Hills, on the other hand,
shot a paltry
29 percent (18 of 52).
"We rebounded pretty well tonight," Monte Vista coach Zach Peck said.
Dalon Wells led the Monarchs' board brigade
with 10 rebounds. Simpson snagged
9, and Clinton Snyder corralled 7 caroms. Childs chipped in with
6 rebounds.
Passing the ball was another Monte Vista
strength on this night, as Wells and
Simpson each doled out 5 assists. Whyte, who hit a pair of 3s,
also had 4
assists, as did Snyder and Jennings.
Mohammed Elhabashy was the Eagles' top marksman,
hitting 6 of 13 three-point
shots to finish with 18 points.
Robert Davis scored 10 points in the first
quarter, but only two over the
last three periods. Greg Chase added 10 points, and Mark Hall
grabbed 11
rebounds and blocked 2 shots while tossing in 8 points.
Other Monte Vista scoring: Wells 5, Snyder 2.
Other Granite Hills scoring: Rony Nasser 5.
CHRISTIAN 72, CORONADO 57 - So much for the Harbor League showdown.
Although the visiting Islanders (20-4, 6-3)
had planned to provide the
Patriots (17-8, 9-0) with a bona fide challenge Tuesday night
(Feb. 12) at
the Ryan Athletic Center, Christian had little difficulty securing
its third
straight league crown while extending its Harbor winning streak
to 36 in a
row.
Christian cashed in on 16 of 28 shots (57
percent) in the first half to take
a 46-36 lead at the break. Coronado managed to stay within striking
range
thanks to its 6-for-13 shooting from 3-point range. Both teams
cooled off
considerably after intermission as the Patriots' depth and superior
talent
made the difference.
"We did some good things offensively," Christian coach Curtis Hofmeister said.
Balanced scoring was at the forefront of
Hofmeister's evaluation. Six-foot-10
center Moulaye Niang paved the way for the Patriots with 15 points,
11
rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks and a pair of assists. Jake Wohlfeil
added 14
points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, while senior brother
Ben Wohlfeil
charted 10 points and 5 assists. Each of the Wohlfeils hit two
3-pointers.
John Wai and Joel Allen rounded out the
Christian's quintet of double-digit
contributors with 12 points apiece. Four 3-pointers accounted
for all of
Allen's points. Wai also plucked off 5 rebounds.
It was the 10th straight victory for the
Patriots, who expect to earn the No.
3 seed in the SDCIF Division IV playoffs.
Other Christian scoring: Josh Paddock 4,
Brent Dongell 3, Mike Muniz 2.
(02-12-02)
EastCountySports.com staff report
SANTEE - Hayden Penn scored 16 points and
grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Santana
to a 50-48 non-league victory over visiting Eastlake on Monday
(Feb. 11).
Jon Sturgill added 15 points and 7 rebounds for the Sultans (8-14).
Jon Sledge, John Bachmann, Brian Schultz
and Sturgill each had a 3-pointer
for Santana.
"This is a pretty good win for us because
Eastlake is the No. 6 rated team in
Division II," said Santana coach Tim Barry, whose Sultans
are scrambling for
a Division III bid to the San Diego CIF playoffs. "I really
think we could
win Division III, but we've got to figure out how to get in there
first. We
haven't lost to a Division III team all year."
Only 10 playoff berths are available in
Division III. As is the case in all
SDCIF divisions, post-season berths are determined by a power-rating
system.
"I think the system is flawed,"
said Barry, noting that the eight Grossmont
League games carry 60 percent of the weight in the power ratings,
with the 14
non-league games making up the other 40 percent. "We have
more wins than four
of the teams that are ranked ahead of us in Division III.
Santana closes the regular season at El
Cajon Valley on Friday (Feb. 15) at
7:30 p.m.
"We've led at halftime in five of our
seven league games," said Barry. "But
we're playing against some pretty smart coaches and they make
adjustments to
put the squeeze on our primary scorers in the second half. It's
been tough
for us because 80 percent of our offense comes from two guys."
Other Santana scoring: Sledge 7, Scott Rohner
3, Schultz 3, Bachmann 3, Tim
Henselmeier 3.
(02-11-02)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - Eric Thomas and his Norsemen
stood there in stunned disbelief late
Friday night (Feb. 8) after watching the visiting Mount Miguel
Matadors steal
a 52-51 Grossmont South League victory at Valhalla. Mount Miguel
coach Jimmy
Hurst called the final 14 seconds "a blur." Thomas labeled
the same stretch
"a nightmare."
Leading 51-50 Valhalla had the ball, and
the Matadors had fouled often enough
to put the Norsemen in the double bonus. Valhalla point guard
Tommy Hanna
dribbled swiftly upcourt as the Matadors were forced to attempt
to stop the
clock with yet another foul.
Hanna managed to avoid the foul and fired
a pass to Valhalla's top free-throw
shooter, Drew Stinnett, with eight seconds left. Stinnett attempted
a shot
and Mount Miguel's JR Griffin went up with him and got a piece
of the ball.
"I don't know if JR blocked it or just
deflected it - it all happened so
fast. But (Ernie) Ballenger grabbed it."
Ballenger aimed a pass to Ralph Johnson,
who was breaking downcourt. Johnson
took the assist, put a spin move on a Valhalla defender, and then
hit a bank
shot with one second left to give the Matadors (17-8, 5-2) the
victory.
"How close was it?" Hurst said,
repeating the question. "When the ball was
coming down through the net, the last second ticked off. When
the ball hit
the floor, the horn went off."
In recalling the sudden turn of events,
Thomas didn't know where to start. He
noted that his club was a paltry 5 for 11 from the free throw
line in the
final quarter.
"It was unbelievable - a 'game-over'
situation. All we had to do was pull it
out, but we made two bad decisions - an ill-advised pass and an
ill-advised
shot," Thomas lamented. "We played like we were one
point down instead of one
point ahead.
"I almost cried, that's how bad I felt
for these kids. I just felt so bad for
us to play so well, and then let it get away like that. This was
our game."
Mount Miguel, a team with superior speed
and depth, beat the Norsemen only by
a 53-49 count in the first-round meeting Jan. 18 in Spring Valley.
"We kept giving them plenty of chances,
turning the ball over so many times,"
Hurst said. "But when we got that one last chance, the kids
came through.
We're really an unpredictable team. You never know what we're
going to do."
Griffin led the Matadors with 16 points,
8 rebounds and 3 steals. He
accounted for one of Mount Miguel's 4 three-pointers in the game,
with Joey
Street hitting 2 and Johnson hitting the other. Johnson totaled
9 points and
4 steals in the victory.
Ballenger grabbed a team-leading 9 rebounds
and collected 4 steals, while
Anthony Cox chipped in with 4 assists and 4 steals for the Matadors.
Danny Sheppard played a strong game for
Valhalla (12-14, 3-4), tossing in a
team-leading 14 points, grabbing 9 rebounds and blocking 7 shots.
Stinnett
added 12 points, including 4 for 4 shooting from the line. He
also blocked 4
shots. Blake Fowler tacked on 10 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists
before
fouling out. He accounted for one of Valhalla's two 3-pointers,
Steven Daoud
netting the other.
"It was a physical game, but we banged
right with them," Thomas said. "We
didn't back down."
Other Mount Miguel scoring: Dewayne Ary
6, Ballenger 6, Street 6, Jay Barber
4, William Burties 2, Cox 2, JR Singh 1.
Other Valhalla scoring: Daoud 9, Brent Molden
2, Jordan March 2, Manny
Gonzales 2.
WEST HILLS 80, EL CAJON VALLEY 56 - Matt Henriksen played his best game of
the season, scoring 34 points and grabbing 16 rebounds as the
visiting Wolf
Pack devoured the Braves in a Grossmont North League game Friday
night (Feb.
8).
"That's the best I've seen him play
this year," West Hills coach Jeff
Armstrong said. "It was flashes of what he did for us last
year."
The 6-foot-4 senior - nicknamed "the
Big Hen" - netted 13 field goals and 8
of 11 free throws. It was his 11-point surge in the second quarter
that
helped West Hills take a 41-28 halftime lead.
"Hen ran the floor well all night,"
Armstrong said. "He went to the basket
strong and finished the break very well. He had it going. Looked
more
relaxed, was having more fun than I've seen him have at any time
all season.
"Hen was the hub, but I thought this
was an exceptional game for our team.
This, and the (Jan. 29) Grossmont game (won by the Pack 67-45)
are the two
games that come to mind as our best."
Ricky Zizzo and Ryan Hamann added 12 points
apiece for the Pack (12-10, 3-3).
Hamann nailed a pair of 3-pointers, while Zizzo hit one shot above
the arc.
Steady Sam Miller chipped in 10 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists.
"I thought John Doherty and (sophomore)
Ross Staback did a good job of
running the show from the point," Armstrong added.
It was a long night for El Cajon Valley
(12-11, 3-3), which fell into a
second-place tie with West Hills.
Nate Reed was the only Brave to reach double
figures, finishing with 22
points, 11 steals, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. However, he was a
chilly 1 for 9
from 3-point range.
"That's probably the hardest 22 points
he's had all year," said El Cajon
Valley coach Mike Raney. "We went into panic mode out there.
People quit
setting screens, and when they did, Nate wasn't looking for them.
It was a
pretty sloppy night for us (31 turnovers)."
Anthony "Pooh" Taylor was limited
to 5 points and 7 rebounds. Nick Felure
added 7 points, including a three, and also had 4 rebounds as
did Tremaine
Foster.
Armstrong was pleased that the Pack was
able to hold Taylor to 11 points
fewer than in the first-round meeting (won by the Braves 65-63).
He also
noted that his squad was able to limit Darick Dubose to 4 points
- 10 fewer
than the first go-around.
Other West Hills scoring: Doherty 3, Ryan
Soto 3, Staback 2, Bruce Bailey 2,
Matthew Gilson 2.
Other El Cajon Valley scoring: Deron Taylor
6, Calvin Pearce 4, Demarcus
Flemister, Foster 2, Rodney Ridgel 2, Jonathan Agana 2.
GROSSMONT 69, SANTANA 62 - For the second time in as many meetings, the
Foothillers dealt the Sultans a post-intermission dose of frustration
in
Friday's (Feb. 8) Grossmont North League game in Santee.
The results were strikingly similar. In
both games, Santana forged to a
10-point halftime lead only to have the Foothillers catch fire
and smoke them
out in the second half.
John Sanders scored 18 of his team-high
24 points in the final two quarters,
including 14 in the fourth, as Grossmont (11-15, 3-4) outscored
the Sultans
52-35 over the final 16 minutes. Tyler Vickers took a similar
path, pouring
in all but 4 of his 18 points after the break.
Sanders and Vickers have combined for 93
points and 40 rebounds between them
in the Foothillers last two games.
Santana (7-14, 1-6) led until the final
three minutes. With the score tied at
55-55, the Sultans had a fast-break wiped out by a travelling
violation. A
technical foul followed, and Sanders gave Grossmont the lead,
hitting a pair
of free throws. Seconds later Sanders hit a 3-pointer to extend
Grossmont's
lead to 60-55.
The Foothillers outscored the Sultans 28-18
in the fourth quarter, but they
couldn't handle Hayden Penn in any quarter. The Santana senior
spread a
career-high 36 points across the four periods - 8-10-9-9.
"We couldn't stop him," Grossmont
coach Frank Foggiano said of the 6-foot-4
Penn. "He's a good, complete player. We tried to get physical
with him, close
him out, but it didn't work because he's so composed."
Penn has shredded the Foothillers for 62
points and 19 rebounds in the two
meetings.
"I really think he's the best player
in our (Grossmont North) league,"
Foggiano added.
Grossmont's Salim Ayub scored 11 points,
including a trio of 3s. The senior
guard has hit 12 treys in his last three games. Casey Young chipped
in with
11 points for the Foothillers, who also received 5 points and
9 assists from
freshman guard Tyler Barbour.
But the 5-foot-6 Barbour was even more devastating
to Santana on defense, as
he silenced sophomore guard Scott Rohner.
"Tyler just took his shot away from
him, really did the job defensively,"
Foggiano said. Rohner scored only two points after riddling the
Hillers for
17 in the first-round meeting, won by Grossmont 75-69.
Jon Sturgill had an outstanding shooting
night, clicking on 8 of 9 shots from
the field to finish with 17 points. He also had 7 rebounds and
3 assists for
the Sultans.
"They disrupted our offense,"
Santana coach Tim Barry said. "We dominated in
the first half, but Grossmont stepped up defensively in the second
half and
we didn't respond."
Other Grossmont scoring: None.
Other Santana scoring: Jon Sledge 3, Brian Schultz 2, John Bachmann 2.
HELIX 69, GRANITE HILLS 55 - After the visiting Highlanders opened up a
29-point lead early in the fourth quarter of Friday night's (Feb.
8)
Grossmont South League game, Robert Davis brought the Eagles storming
back.
Davis, a 5-foot-11 senior guard, sparked
a 30-point fourth quarter, scoring
14 of his 16 markers during that period. He clicked on 5 of 10
shots from the
field and 6 of 9 free throws while recording 2 steals and 2 assists.
Granite Hills' last-quarter rush was impressive,
but Raphael Bell's 17 points
and 12 rebounds (8 offensive) - and the Highlanders' overall depth
-
permitted Helix to put the game on ice long before the final quarter
started.
Ryan San Juan added 12 points for the Highlanders
(21-3, 6-0), who stretched
their East County-best winning streak to 15 straight. Helix has
won 18 of its
last 19 games, with two of its three losses on the season coming
to Top 10
teams El Camino and Torrey Pines.
Mohammed Elhabashy broke out of a mild slump
for Granite Hills (8-17, 1-5)
with 14 points. He nailed all six of his free throw tosses and
drilled in a
pair of 3-pointers.
Mark Hall was limited to 5 points, but blocked
6 shots and snagged 4
rebounds. Rony Nasser added 9 points and 2 assists for the Eagles,
who
welcomed the return of Greg Chase (8 points) back to the lineup.
Chase, the
team's leading scorer, missed three games with an ankle injury.
Other Helix scoring: Rajive Otah 9, Stanley
Caldwell 9, Ray Toilolo 8, Kenny
Farris 4, Tramaine West 4, Charles Smith 3, Marlon Pierce 2, Cliff
Johnson 1.
Other Granite Hills scoring: Alfred Shammas 2, Robert Fine 1.
CHRISTIAN 76, MADISON 38 - It was "Senior Night" at Christian Friday
(Feb.
8), and 6-foot-10 center Moulaye Niang put on a pretty good show
as the
Patriots plowed past winless Madison for their 35th consecutive
Harbor League
conquest.
Niang treated a full-house at the Ryan Athletic
Center to one of his
typically strong performances of 15 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals
and a pair
of blocks. He drew his biggest roar of approval, however, when
he sank his
first 3-point basket of the season.
By winning, the Patriots (16-8, 8-0) clinched
their third straight Harbor
League crown.
Unsung hero Josh Paddock celebrated Senior
Night with 8 points, 7 steals and
2 assists, while point-guard Ben Wohlfeil handed out a game-high
8 assists.
Jake Wohlfeil represented Christian's junior
class with plenty of flare, as
he poured in a game-high 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting. He scored
11 points
in the first quarter as the Patriots jumped in front 25-13. The
6-foot-4
Wohlfeil also popped in a pair of 3-pointers (as did Joel Allen),
while
doling out 5 assists and logging 4 steals.
"We had a pretty nice night,"
Christian coach Curtis Hofmeister said. "We had
20 steals and 23 assists as a team. And we shot well from the
field (53
percent on 33 of 62 attempts)."
Five-foot-1 freshman guard Jesse LeBeau
scored a career-high 7 points in a
relief role for the Patriots.
Other Christian scoring: Allen 6, Ben Wohlfeil
6, Mike Muniz 6, John Wai 2,
Brent Dongell 2, Travis Dalton 2.
(02-08-02)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - The Grossmont Foothillers had
the El Cajon Valley Braves all
fouled up during Tuesday's (Feb. 5) Grossmont North League game.
The cagey Foothillers baited the visiting
Braves into committing 32 fouls,
which led to the disqualification of four El Cajon Valley players
and enabled
Grossmont to convert 35 of 45 free throws en route to an 82-75
victory.
John Sanders swished a game-high 31 points
for the Hillers (10-15, 3-4),
which included hitting 16 of 19 shots from the charity stripe.
Tyler Vickers
followed Sanders' lead, as he clicked on 12 of 16 free throws.
"They won it at the line, no question
about it," El Cajon Valley coach Mike
Raney said. "We had people in foul trouble the whole night,
and had three
starters foul out. I'm not sure how the foul totals got so one-sided,
considering we played zone and they played man-to-man.
"But it doesn't matter, because they
seemed to want to win more than we did.
We need to pick it up more. We can't just expect to walk into
CIF."
Sanders and Vickers combined for 51 points
and 26 rebounds between them as
they devoured the Braves inside the paint.
But it didn't matter what the Braves did
inside, because Salim Ayub nailed 5
three-pointers from the perimeter and finished with 19 points.
Ayub
contributed 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, hitting
back-to-back
treys as the Foothillers sealed the victory. Ayub has totaled
9
three-pointers in his last two games.
Grossmont freshman point guard Tyler Barbour
dished out 8 assists and tallied
5 points, but it wasn't all about offense for Grossmont.
The Hillers slapped a muzzle on El Cajon
Valley sharp-shooting junior guard
Nate Reed, who came in averaging 22.3 points per game. Reed, in
fact, scored
25 points as the Braves defeated the Hillers 63-60 in the first-round
league
meeting on Jan. 15.
This time, Reed was limited to 8 points
and fouled out at the beginning of
the fourth quarter.
"We did a number on Reed," said
Foothiller coach Frank Foggiano. "We played a
box-and-one and double-teamed him in certain areas of the court."
"Nate was really frustrated,"
admitted Raney. "They were very physical
against him, and much of it was our fault because we didn't set
screens for
him."
Anthony "Pooh" Taylor led the
Braves with 20 points, 9 rebounds and 5 steals.
His brother Deron Taylor enjoyed one of his best games of the
season with 12
points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
"Deron arrived as a varsity player
for us," Raney said. "He's going to be a
factor for us, and people are going to have to play him."
Nick Felure added 12 points, and Darick
Dubose chalked up 11 points and 5
rebounds for the Braves (12-10, 3-2). Felure and Deron Taylor
had two threes
apiece, while Demarcus Flemister and Pooh Taylor had one three
each.
Other Grossmont scoring: Blake Brands 5, Casey Young 2.
Other El Cajon Valley scoring: Flemister
6, Tremaine Foster 4, Jonathan
Agana 2.
EL CAPITAN 61, SANTANA 49 - Remember, the Vaqueros started out this season
0-6 - on a road to oblivion.
They've since compiled 13 victories in their
last 18 starts, including six
straight in the Grossmont North League. It's the latest six-game
streak that
has clinched at least a tie for the circuit crown - the 5th during
Russ
Furrow's 16-year tenure as El Capitan's captain.
The Vaqueros need only one more victory
- against El Cajon Valley on Tuesday
(Feb. 12) or West Hills on Friday (Feb. 15) - to clinch the title
outright.
Both games are on the road.
The Sultans (7-13, 1-5) had upset on their
minds when they rolled into
Lakeside for Tuesday's (Feb. 5) contest, claiming a 27-24 halftime
lead.
The third quarter, however, belonged to
El Capitan, as 7-foot center Jarrod
Boswell scored 7 points, Matt Grant buried a pair of 3s, and Brett
Stephens
nailed a third trey, helping the Vaqueros take a 24-15 scoring
edge during
the eight-minute stanza.
Not surprisingly, Boswell was the mainstay
in the El Capitan comeback,
finishing with 27 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocked
shots.
Grant garnered 10 points, 6 assists, 3 steals
and 3 rebounds, while John
Relph rustled up 9 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals for El Capitan.
Brett
Stephens netted a pair of 3s, secured 5 rebounds and dished off
a pair of
assists.
As a touch of irony, Santana shot 33 percent
(6 of 18) from above the arc,
but only 30 percent (13 of 43) from two-point range.
Hayden Penn paced the Sultans with 15 points
and 10 rebounds, while sophomore
Scott Rohner collected 11 points - mostly on 3 for 6 shooting
above the arc.
Jon Sturgill hauled down 9 rebounds and handed out 3 assists for
the Sultans,
who also received 8 points and 2 assists from Jon Sledge.
Other El Capitan scoring: Stephens 6, Mike
Mena 5, Eric Gregerson 2, Scott
Fisher 2.
Other Santana scoring: Tim Henselmeier 4,
Tommy Browning 2, Mike Lamoureux
2, Brian Schultz 2.
VALHALLA 79, MONTE VISTA 50 - Some new faces surfaced in the limelight for
Valhalla Tuesday (Feb. 5) as the Norsemen knocked off host Monte
Vista in a
Grossmont South League game.
Junior Jordan March, who had totaled only
10 points in a limited backup role
for Valhalla all season, canned a career-high 13 points in the
Norsemen's
second lopsided win over the Monarchs in as many meetings. The
6-foot-1 March
was afforded more playing time in this game when the varsity lost
two players
to academic ineligibility and Manny Gonzales was hobbled with
an ankle sprain.
"He's our last kid on the bench,"
Valhalla coach Eric Thomas said. "He came
into the game in the second quarter and got some playing time.
He hasn't had
very many opportunities to play, but he got in there and made
the most of his
time. It was nice for him to show that he can play. It was a good
confidence
booster for both he and I."
Danny Sheppard, a 6-foot-5 senior, broke
out of a lengthy slump with 15
points and 5 blocked shots for Valhalla (12-13, 3-3). He converted
7 of 10
free throws.
"Danny made his first 6 free throws and had a very nice game," Thomas said.
Senior Tommy Hanna, who has done a yeoman's
job of distributing the ball as a
prototype point guard, contributed 10 points, including a pair
of 3-pointers
for the Norsemen. He also had 4 assists and 4 steals.
Steady Drew Stinnett carded 12 points and
a team-high 8 rebounds while
blocking 2 shots for Valhalla. Travis Rothlisberger rolled in
10 points and
was 2 for 2 from the free throw line for the Norsemen, who converted
16 of 21
charity shots. Steven Daoud added 6 points and 3 assists, while
Gonzales
contributed 6 points and 4 rebounds.
"I don't know what it is about these
guys, but they just beat us up,"
lamented Monte Vista coach Zach Peck, recalling the 67-40 first-round
lost to
the Norsemen. "Sheppard just tears us up (with 13 points
and 12 rebounds in
the first meeting). He always plays well against us."
Dalon Wells scored 18 points and snared
5 rebounds to lead Monte Vista (5-18,
1-5). Chris Whyte added 9 points for the Monarchs, who trailed
39-22 at the
half.
Other Valhalla scoring: Brent Molden 5, Blake Fowler 2.
Other Monte Vista scoring: Diondre Simpson
6, Nick Childs 4, Johnnie
Jennings 3, Ronny Yousif 2, Carlos Ramer 2, Derek Sykes 2, Mark
Davis 2,
Clinton Snyder 1, Andre Hadley 1.
CHRISTIAN 77, HOOVER 50 - When 6-foot-10 Moulaye Niang went down in a heap
early in the third quarter of Tuesday's (Feb. 5) Harbor League
game against
Hoover, Christian coach Curtis Hofmeister was obviously concerned
as the
Kansas-bound Niang left the Ryan Athletic Center court for the
trainer's
office after rolling an ankle.
"I don't think it's too serious,"
Hofmeister said. "We'll have him take a day
or two off so he can rehab. I think he'll be ready to go by Friday
(when the
Patriots host Madison at 7:45 p.m.)."
Visiting Hoover (6-18, 3-4) had sliced Christian's
lead to 40-31 at the time
Niang left the game. In his absence, however, the Patriots embarked
on a 25-4
scoring run - a roll that culminated on back-to-back 3-pointers
by Joel Allen
- giving Christian a 65-35 bulge by the close of the third quarter.
"Moulaye wasn't having one of his better
games at the time he sprained his
ankle," said Hofmeister of his big center, who was only 1-for-4
from the
floor and 5-for-8 from the foul line for 7 points. Niang returned
to the
floor briefly in the fourth quarter, but was swiftly removed from
the fray as
the outcome had long since been decided. He finished with 6 rebounds
and one
blocked shot.
It was the 34th league win in a row for
the two-time defending
Harbor-champion Patriots (15-8, 7-0), who have climbed back into
the county's
Top 10.
With Niang on the shelf, Ben Wohlfeil scored
a game-high 20 points to pace
the Pats. The senior guard clicked on 8 of 13 floor shots, including
a pair
of threes and hit both of his two free throws. He also dished
off 7 assists,
logged 4 steals and cleared 3 rebounds.
John Wai added 16 points, which included
netting 6 of 7 free throws, and
plucked 8 rebounds off the glass. Jake Wohlfeil chimed in with
15 points, 6
rebounds and 4 assists, while Josh Paddock contributed 7 points
and 7
rebounds. Allen shared game-high rebounding honors with 8 to go
along with 6
points.
Other Christian scoring: Kevin Epps 3, Mike Muniz 2, Brent Dongell 1.
MOUNT MIGUEL 70, GRANITE HILLS 35 - The Matadors used their superior team
speed and overall depth to run the visiting Eagles ragged in Tuesday's
(Feb.
5) Grossmont South League encounter.
JR Griffin and Chris Campbell combined for
26 points and 4 three-pointers as
Mount Miguel (16-8, 4-2) pulled away in a rush, leading 16-6 after
the first
quarter, 34-15 at the half, and 48-22 after three periods. Griffin
finished
with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals, while Campbell cashed
out a dozen
points and 5 rebounds.
Jay Barber added 11 points, 5 rebounds and
a pair of steals for the Matadors,
while Ralph Johnson tossed in 8 points and William Burties notched
7 points,
2 assists and 3 steals.
Granite Hills (8-16, 1-4), which began the
game without leading scorer Greg
Chase (ankle) and then lost East County's No. 1 three-point marksman
Mohammed
Elhabashy to an ankle sprain early in the third quarter, finished
the game
with six players. Elhabashy did net his 56th three-pointer prior
to his
premature departure.
The short-handed Eagles shot a paltry 29
percent (12 for 42) from the field
and netted just half of their 20 free throws. Mount Miguel, which
played all
14 of its players, converted a bevy of lay-ups while shooting
48 percent (29
of 61) as a team.
Robert Davis led the Eagles with 12 points
on 4-for-7 shooting from the
field, but 6-foot-6 sophomore Mark Hall was the team standout.
He tallied 11
points, 5 rebounds and blocked 7 shots. Robert Fine grabbed a
team-high 6
rebounds.
Other Mount Miguel scoring: Dewayne Ary
6, Joey Street 4, Ernie Ballenger 4,
Brian Montefalcon 2, JR Singh 2.
Other Granite Hills scoring: Fine 5, Keith
Martin 2, Alfred Shammas 2.
(02-05-02)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - Sophomore Mark Hall fused together
a double-double of 15 points
and 20 rebounds Saturday night (Feb. 2), but it wasn't enough
as the
short-handed Eagles dropped a 66-56 non-league decision to Sweetwater
in the
5th annual Outback Hoop Hysteria at Granite Hills.
Robert Davis added 16 points and 4 steals
for the Eagles (7-15), while
Mohammed Elhabashy landed four 3-pointers to extend his East County-leading
long-range shooting total to 55. Elhabashy finished with16 points,
despite
5-for-24 shooting.
Rony Nasser chipped in 6 assists for the
Eagles, who were playing without
leading scorer Greg Chase, sidelined with an ankle injury.
The Red Devils rolled out to a 22-12 lead
before the Eagles went on a 16-0
scoring tear. Sweetwater countered with a 7-2 run to regain the
lead by the
break. Sweetwater sealed the victory with an 18-10 scoring edge
in the final
period.
Other Granite Hills scoring: Robert Fine
4, Alfred Shammas 3, Nasser 1,
Tyrone Araya 1.
(02-02-03)
EastCountySports.com staff report
SANTEE - The odds were stacked against the
visiting Santana Sultans, who had
lost 10 straight games and had an historical disadvantage of winning
only one
time in 22 starts inside the West Hills Wolf Pack den.
Some might suggest, why bother? The Sultans
were on a downward spiral that
figured to last the remainder of the season.
Naysayers, take notice. Coach Tim Barry's Sultans haven't quit.
Led by the ever-reliable Hayden Penn's 19
points and 14 rebounds, as well as
a 15-point contribution from Scott Rohner and 11 more from Jon
Sledge,
Santana stunned host West Hills 61-53 in Friday night's (Feb.
1) Grossmont
North League encounter between the Santee rivals.
"The place was really packed and the
fans were going crazy," Barry said. "The
kids never quit on me and I never quit on them. They deserved
to get this
win. They earned it."
West Hills coach Jeff Armstrong agreed.
"It was very obvious that Santana
came over here to get a win," he said.
"We've been an underachieving basketball
team all year," Armstrong added.
"I'm very disappointed, because we played so well versus
Grossmont and had
two great practices following that win. The kids wearing the West
Hills
uniforms tonight were not the same kids who played that game against
Grossmont. We had a definite lack of intensity. Somebody said
that we were
21-1 versus Santana in our gym, and - I don't know, maybe our
kids got
overconfident."
The Sultans (7-12, 1-4) shot 48 percent
(22 of 46) from the field, including
6 of 8 three-pointers. For good measure, the Sultans also sank
11 of 13 free
throws.
"Santana shot the lights out,"
Armstrong said. "That Rohner kid just killed
us, and then when we left Sledge open, he hurt us too."
Rohner, who was 5 for 5 from the field and
3 for 3 from the free throw line,
was in Barry's doghouse only three days earlier.
"He missed a practice and that's why
he didn't get to play on Tuesday," said
Barry. "He was very upset, but knew he'd made a mistake.
You could see it in
his eyes, but I had to remember that he's only a 15-year old kid
who deserved
another chance."
Barry's wisdom and Rohner's rededication proved to be a winning combination.
"Scott was awesome tonight," Barry
lauded. "He played the point and was just
tremendous. I look forward to being his coach the next two years."
It hasn't been an easy road for Rohner,
who entered high school with a broken
elbow and was forced to begin his basketball career on the freshman
team even
though his skills probably warranted playing at a higher level.
Then he fell
behind at the start of his sophomore season due to a broken big
toe. A family
illness later caused him to miss two more weeks of pre-season
practice.
"There's no quit in this kid,"
Barry said. "He wants to succeed, and I want
him to succeed too."
Rohner, John Bachmann, Mike Lamoureux and
Brian Schultz keyed a tenacious
Santana 2-3 zone defense against the Wolf Pack.
"Those four guys rotated at the top
spot," Barry said. "Our goal was not to
allow a shot that wasn't pressured. I told the kids they needed
to be close
enough to touch them. We did that for most of the game. It was
an
inspirational night for our kids."
It was the first start of Sledge's varsity
career. He connected for two of
Santana's 8 three-pointers.
"He's earned a starting spot because
of his hard work in practice," Barry
said. "He didn't take part in our off-season drills, and
that put him behind.
But he was fluid out there - no panic time."
Sam Miller hit 6 of 10 shots from the field
to finish with a team-high 13
points for West Hills.
"He was sort of a lone warrior out
there," Armstrong said. "I also thought
that Matthew Gilson did a nice job handling the ball and running
the point
guard for us some."
Ricky Zizzo and Matt Henriksen rolled in
11 points apiece for West Hills.
Zizzo hooped a trio of 3-pointers, while John Doherty and Ryan
Hamann knocked
down one shot apiece from above the arc.
Other Santana scoring: Bachmann 6, Tommy Browning 2.
Other West Hills scoring: Gilson 6, Doherty
4, Hamann 3, Ryan Soto 3, Jeremy
Hill 2.
EL CAPITAN 65, GROSSMONT 52 - Eric Gregerson proved that his game-winning
3-pointer at the buzzer to beat El Cajon Valley three days earlier
was no
fluke. The senior southpaw connected for 4 three-pointers on his
way to a
career-high 16 points, as the visiting Vaqueros (12-11, 5-0) dumped
the
Foothillers in a Grossmont North League game on Friday (Feb. 1).
The 5-foot-10 Gregerson is arguably one
of the most accurate three-point
shooters in East County, as his four bullseyes above the arc pushed
his
season percentage to the 50 percent mark.
But Gregerson was only part of the show
for El Capitan. Seven-foot center
Jarrod Boswell, who helped the Vaqueros to an 8-2 lead with 6
points in the
opening four minutes, wound up on the bench for the final 12 minutes
of the
first half with three fouls.
That's when senior guard Matt Grant stepped
up to score 12 of his 18 points
in the first half for the Vaqueros, who have won 12 of their last
17 games.
Nevertheless, the Foothillers, who got 9
points apiece from John Sanders and
Tyler Vickers during a 20-point second quarter, maintained a 34-27
lead at
intermission.
With Boswell and John Relph on the bench
in foul trouble, Grossmont used a
12-2 scoring run over a four-minute stretch of the second quarter
to take a
34-23 lead.
Boswell returned with a vengeance during
the final two quarters, contributing
13 points as the Vaqueros outscored the Foothillers 38-18 over
the final 16
minutes. Despite playing only 20 minutes, Boswell hit 7 of 14
shots and 5 of
5 free throws for 19 points, while securing 10 rebounds and blocking
4 shots.
Relph, who was also dogged by foul maladies,
joined with Boswell to help lead
the Vaqueros' comeback in the third quarter, which concluded with
El Capitan
leading 46-44.
Grossmont coach Frank Foggiano was not overly
happy with what he termed the
inconsistent officiating.
"We tried to develop a strategy, which
was to go right at the big guy
(Boswell), and it worked in the first half because they called
three quick
fouls on him," said the Hillers' coach. "Then, at the
beginning of the third
quarter, they let everything go. They didn't even try to hide
it."
Foggiano, no doubt, would have like to hear
the officials' whistles blow more
often, as the Hillers converted 21 of 24 free throws.
Sanders scored a team-leading 18 points,
which included 12 of 15 free throw
shooting, to lead the Foothillers (9-15, 1-4). He also had a team-best
9
rebounds. Vickers chipped in with 17 points and 6 rebounds, while
Salim Ayub
torched the El Capitan zone with 4 three-pointers for 12 points.
Freshman Tyler Barbour also hit a 3 and handed out 6 assists.
Other El Capitan scoring: Relph 8, Mike Mena 2, Brett Stephens 2.
Other Grossmont scoring: Tyler Barbour 3, Cody Long 2.
MOUNT MIGUEL 55, MONTE VISTA 46 - The Monarchs, who sabotaged Mount Miguel's
Grossmont South League title aspirations with a 41-36 victory
on Jan. 11,
could not officially eliminate the Matadors from the championship
race in
round two on Friday (Feb. 1).
Not that the Monarchs didn't have a chance to deliver the knockout blow.
"We took a lot of bad shots, turned
the ball over, and got behind 15 points
in the third quarter," Monte Vista coach Zach Peck said.
"Then we hit a
couple of threes, got it down to nine, and then to seven. And
then - with
about four minutes to play - we had the ball and were only behind
by seven
points. I'm getting excited, I'm thinking 'We can beat these guys.'
And then
we turned the ball over, missed some shots, and fell back again."
The Matadors (15-8, 3-2), who relied on
coach Jimmy Hurst's
basketball-by-committee philosophy, kept their remote title hopes
alive by
holding off the Monarchs (5-17, 1-4). Mount Miguel trail front-running
Helix
by two games with three to play.
Hurst, whose approach to basketball is not
unlike that of hockey in terms of
using frequent line changes, had 10 players contribute to the
scoring total.
Dewayne Ary and JR Griffin led the way with
11 and 10 points, respectively.
Joey Street hit a trio of 3-pointers for 9 points, while Chris
Campbell added
6 points and a team-high 6 rebounds for the Matadors. Ralph Johnson
and Eddie
Woodward handed out 3 assists apiece, as the Matadors were
uncharacteristically patient, while logging a season-high 16 assists.
Freshman Clinton Snyder had a career night
for the Monarchs, canning 4 of 6
field goals and 7 of 9 free throws for 15 points to go along with
6 rebounds
and 5 assists.
Chris Whyte chimed in with 11 points for
Monte Vista, and Dalon Wells yanked
down a game-high 10 rebounds, scoring just 4 points as he played
only a
little more than half the game.
The Monarchs shot only 38 percent (15 of
39) from the field, but netted 14 of
17 free throws. It was the second game in a row that Monte Vista,
notoriously
poor marksmen from the charity stripe all season, had cashed in
from the foul
line. In their last two games the Monarchs have made 30 of 37
free throws.
The turning point in the final Mount Miguel-Monte
Vista joust of the season
came in the third quarter, where the Matadors claimed a 14-4 scoring
edge.
Other Mount Miguel scoring: Jay Barber 6,
Johnson 5, Woodward 3, William
Burties 2, Ernie Ballenger 2, Dominic Foster 1.
Other Monte Vista scoring: Mark Davis 7,
Carlos Ramer 5, Johnnie Jennings
4.15
HELIX 77, VALHALLA 54 - Both Helix coach John Singer and Valhalla mentor
Eric Thomas agreed on one thing about Friday's (Feb. 1) Grossmont
South
League game - the officiating left a lot to be desired.
"That was one of the worst officiated
games I've ever seen," said Singer, who
has been coaching for more than three decades. Two minutes into
the second
half both teams were at seven and in the bonus. They (officials)
were calling
double fouls, ticky-tack stuff, it was ridiculous. Finally I called
out 'Just
let 'em play, it's not about you.'"
Thomas was equally as frustrated. "It's
not like the officiating cost us the
game," he said. "We played a pretty good first quarter
(trailing the
Highlanders 16-13), but by the second quarter our kids started
to worry more
about not fouling than they did about anything else."
According to Thomas, 22 fouls (resulting
in 29 free throws) were called in
the third quarter alone. Not coincidentally, 18 of the infractions
were
whistled by the same official.
"It took almost an hour to play that one quarter," Thomas complained.
Singer concurred, saying "There was
no continuity in the second half. We were
up by 26 points, so the fouls had nothing to do with the game
except to
prolong it. We are strictly a man-to-man defensive team, never
play zone. But
in the fourth quarter I told my guys to play zone just so there
wouldn't be
any more fouls."
For the record, there were 51 fouls called
in the contest - 26 against
Valhalla. The Highlanders netted 22 of 33 free throws, while Valhalla
hit 17
of 30.
Raphael Bell scored 17 points to pace the
Highlanders (20-3, 5-0), who posted
their 14th straight win and 17th in their last 18 starts. Ray
Toilolo added
12 points, and Stanley Caldwell chimed in with 11.
Sophomore guard Devon Jones scored a career-high
15 points to pace Valhalla
(11-13, 2-3). Jones netted one 3-pointer, while Jared Johnston
made two from
above the arc, as did Blake Fowler.
Ryan San Juan logged the only 3-pointer for the Highlanders.
Bell scored 8 points in the second quarter
as the Highlanders outscored the
visiting Norsemen 16-4 to lead 32-17 at the break.
Other Helix scoring: San Juan 8, Rajive
Otah 7, Tramaine West 7, Tim Bland
6, Charles Smith 5, Kenny Farris 2, Cliff Johnson 1, Marlon Pierce
1.
Other Valhalla scoring: Johnston 9, Drew
Stinnett 9, Brent Molden 8, Fowler
8, Manny Gonzales 2, Danny Sheppard 2, Jordan March 1.
CHRISTIAN 82, CLAIREMONT 42 - The Patriots are making it look easy in the
Harbor League, as they shot 66 percent (33-for-50) from the floor
in Friday
night's (Feb. 1) rout of the Chieftains at Clairemont.
It was the 33rd league win in a row for
the two-time defending
Harbor-champion Patriots (14-8, 6-0), playing without two key
players - Josh
Paddock and Joel Allen - both of whom were on football recruiting
trips this
weekend.
John Wai, a native of the Sudan in East
Africa, hit 8 of 9 shots from the
field on his way to an 18-point outing. The 6-foot-3 junior handed
out 6
assists, cleared 5 rebounds, blocked a shot and made 2 steals
for the
Patriots.
"Wai played well at both ends,"
Christian coach Curtis Hofmeister said. "And
Ben (Wohlfeil) did an excellent job of distributing the ball."
Wohlfeil
shared team-high assist honors with Wai at 6 while tossing in
12 points and
pulling down 4 rebounds.
Christian broke the game open with 44 points
in the middle two quarters. Jake
Wohlfeil scored 17 of his 19 points during that span, while Moulaye
Niang
cashed in 12 of his 19 over the same stretch.
"Jake and Moulaye just took over the
game in the second and third quarters,"
Hofmeister said.
Niang hauled down a game-high 12 rebounds
and blocked 3 shots, while Jake
Wohlfeil pilfered 3 passes, dished off 3 assists and snared 4
rebounds. The
latter was also 6 for 7 from the free throw line.
Kevin Epps knocked down a team-high 2 three-pointers for Christian.
Other Christian scoring: Brent Dongell 6,
Epps 6, Travis Dalton 2.
(02-01-0
EastCountySports.com staff report
LAKESIDE - The El Cajon Valley Braves were
determined not to let El Capitan's
7-footer, Jarrod Boswell, beat them. While the Vaqueros' gentle
junior giant
did not administer the knock-out blow, he pulled down the key
defensive
rebound that set up the winning basket in Tuesday's (Jan. 29)
showdown of
Grossmont North League front runners.
Boswell, who finished with 20 points, 20
rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals and 1
assist, had to accept a co-staring role on this occasion, as the
spotlight
focused on senior guard Eric Gregerson.
After El Cajon Valley missed a pair of free
throws with five seconds
remaining, Boswell came down with the rebound and called time
out with :04.5
seconds left.
El Capitan point guard Mike Mena dribbled
upcourt but was caught in El Cajon
Valley's trapping defense. The Vaqueros' senior floor leader fired
a pass to
Gregerson, who dribbled once and launched what was a game-winning
3-pointer
at the buzzer, giving El Capitan a thrilling 68-66 victory.
"That had to be 25 feet or farther,"
said El Capitan coach Ross Furrow of
Gregerson's game-winning bucket. "But he's a good shooter.
He's our best from
three-point range, about 46 percent."
It was one of those Kodak moments for Gregerson,
who finished the game with 8
points, including 2 for 4 shooting from above the arc.
"I knew I had one second to shoot it,
and I just tried to get it up there,"
said Gregerson, who barely managed to get the shot off as the
buzzer sounded.
Recalling the shot heard around the gym,
Gregerson added "It was dead
silence. It didn't feel like I was here, like it was a dream."
Not that Gregerson hasn't hit a game-winning
shot in the past. "As a freshman
I made one at the buzzer," he said modestly. "But it
was a close-range bank
shot. Nothing like this."
El Cajon Valley's Nate Reed scored a career-high
37 points. The junior guard
broke a 63-all tie when he made 1 of 2 free throws with 2:45 remaining.
A
series of missed layups, fouls and three-second violations kept
the score
where it was until Reed converted both ends of a bonus free throw
opportunity
with 16 seconds remaining.
The Vaqueros clawed back into contention
when Matt Grant converted both sides
of a 1-and-1 with six seconds left, slicing El Cajon Valley's
advantage to
66-65.
"In the last 30 seconds of the game,
we did a lot of things right," Furrow
said. "We were fortunate to win, because they could have
put us away from the
free throw line in those last few seconds."
Reed was a whirling dervish, repeatedly
frustrating the slower El Cap
defenders with his superior speed. East County's second-leading
scorer
connected on 6 three-pointers, and picked off 9 steals to keep
his team in
contention.
"Reed is one of the best players in
the county," El Cajon Valley coach Mike
Raney said. "The kid plays with a lot of heart, every game."
Darick Dubose provided strong support for
Reed and the Braves, finishing with
12 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists and 1 block. The 6-foot
2,
190-pound senior converted 6 of 11 shots and played an integral
role in
defending Boswell.
El Cajon Valley's Anthony "Pooh"
Taylor was just 3 for 12 from the floor and
finished with 7 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
Grant added 16 points on 6 for 12 shooting
for the Vaqueros, who also
received 12 points and 8 assists from Mena.
A major factor in the outcome was El Capitan's
19-6 scoring advantage in the
second quarter. The Vaqueros, who shot 53 percent in the game
(27 of 51), hit
8 of 15 during that eight minute stretch, while the Braves were
only 3 of 20.
The victory left El Capitan (12-12, 4-0)
in the Grossmont North League lead
at the midway point of the season. El Cajon Valley (12-9, 3-1),
which had its
five-game winning streak snapped, fell into second place.
Other El Capitan scoring: John Relph 6, Scott Fisher 6.
Other El Cajon Valley scoring: Demarcus Flemister 6, Jonathan Agana 4.
WEST HILLS 67, GROSSMONT 45 - Don't count the Wolf Pack out of the Grossmont
North League race just yet. Granted, the Pack (11-9, 2-2) is two
games behind
front-running El Capitan with four games remaining.
Nevertheless, West Hills coach Jeff Armstrong
is aware that his team could be
one of the surprise entries in the San Diego CIF Division I playoffs.
Matt Henriksen hammered in 15 points, including
7 of 9 free throws to pace
the Pack in a resounding defeat of the Foothillers (9-14, 1-3)
on Tuesday
(Jan. 29) in a Grossmont North League game at Grossmont.
"It was a nice momentum change when
we came out of the locker room and broke
it open in the third quarter," said Armstrong, referring
to the Wolf Pack's
18-5 third quarter scoring edge that gave West Hills its 47-30
lead.
"We held them to 5 points through the
first 13 minutes of the second half.
It's nice to be on the right end of it. It was probably one of
our better
team efforts."
Blake Sutton zeroed in on a trio of 3-pointers
and finished with 13 points
for West Hills, which also received a 10-spot from guard Ricky
Zizzo.
"Blake probably had his best varsity
game tonight. He's a talented,
multi-sport athlete," Armstrong said.
West Hills silenced Grossmont scoring leader
John Sanders, limiting the
6-foot-3 senior to two free throws in 10 minutes of playing time.
Grossmont sophomore Tyler Vickers saw approximately
16 minutes of playing
time, finishing with 7 points and 2 rebounds.
"I wasn't very happy with our starters,
so they didn't play as much as they
usually do," said Grossmont coach Frank Foggiano.
Armstrong praised the defensive work of Henriksen and Sam Miller.
"Hen did a good job on Vickers, didn't
give him any close looks at the
basket," Armstrong said. "And Miller did a nice job
on Sanders."
West Hills' Ryan Hamman missed his first
free throw in 31 chances this
season, yet he remains East County's top marksman from the foul
line.
Blake Brands was Grossmont's only player
to reach double figures, as he
finished with 12, including a pair of 3-pointers. Freshman point
guard Tyler
Barbour chipped in with 4 assists.
Other West Hills scoring: Miller 6, Hamman
5, Ryan Soto 5, Brad Ostrander 4,
John Doherty 4, Jeremy Hill 3, Dan Lamm 2.
Other Grossmont scoring: Casey Young 6,
Cody Long 5, Ryan Goldbarg 4, Matt
Barbour 4, Salim Ayub 3, Thomas Herandez 2.
CHRISTIAN 58, CORONADO 42 - The Coronado Islanders were determined to stifle
Jake Wohlfeil's scoring contributions in Tuesday's (Jan. 29) Harbor
League
game on the peninsula. Playing a box-and-one, the Islanders held
Wohlfeil to
7 points - less than half his season average.
From a statistical standpoint, Christian
(13-8, 5-0) struggled to extend its
Harbor League winning streak to 32 in a row. The Patriots, in
fact, made only
10 of 34 shots from the field in the opening half, but still managed
to lead
23-18 at the break.
"We did not hit one shot from outside
the key in the first half," Christian
coach Curtis Hofmeister said. "But our pressure and intensity
picked up in
the second half. It wasn't that we weren't guarding people, because
we were.
But we got 19 offensive boards and that helps you get to the foul
line."
Christian, which extended their advantage
to 44-29 by outscoring the
Islanders 21-11 in the third quarter, sealed off the inside on
the defensive
end.
Coronado (17-3, 3-2) was amazingly 9 of
24 from three-point distance and 7 of
27 inside the arc. The Islanders were only 1 for 2 from the free
throw line,
while the Patriots were 13 for 18 from the charity stripe.
The Patriots warmed up their offensive game
during the final two quarters by
hitting 11 of 24 shots.
Moulaye Niang led Christian with 17 points
on 7-of-11 shooting. He also
corralled 8 rebounds and blocked 3 shots.
Point guard Ben Wohlfeil chimed in with
13 points, 12 of which came in the
second half. He also hit a pair of 3-pointers while negotiating
4 steals and
3 rebounds.
John Wai was 6 for 6 from the free throw
line on his way to a 14-point night.
He also hauled down 7 rebounds, one less than Joel Allen, who
shared
game-high rebounding honors with Niang. Allen, however, will miss
Christian's
next basketball game in order to take a football recruiting trip
to Evangel
(Mo.) University on Friday (Feb. 1).
"You know, Joel really does a great
job coming off the bench for us,"
Hofmeister said. "For a 6-foot-1, 170-pound skinny kid, he's
an amazing
rebounder. He's been our team leader the last few games."
Josh Paddock, who will also miss Friday's
game at Clairemont to take a
football recruiting trip to Wheaton (Ill.) College, contributed
4 points, 4
rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists for the Patriots.
Jake Wohlfeil finished with 7 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
Other Christian scoring: Allen 2.
HELIX 72, MOUNT MIGUEL 60 - Not often does a basketball coach have to prod
one of his players to take more shots. It's usually to the contrary,
especially these days when passing the ball has become, well,
passe'.
Enter Ray Toilolo, a 5-foot-11 junior guard.
Seems he gets as much a kick
from making a nifty pass as he does from knocking down a three-pointer.
Toilolo was scoreless in the first half
as the visiting Highlanders struggled
to a 31-25 halftime lead in their Grossmont South League encounter
at Mount
Miguel on Tuesday (Jan. 29).
The always-sensitive John Singer, coach
of the Highlanders, made it clear to
Toilolo that he wanted him to shoot more.
"Ray is so unselfish, such a team player
- a real steady Eddie," Singer said.
"We told him we wanted him to be more aggressive, so he turned
it up in the
second half."
Indeed.
Toilolo scored all of his team-high 14 points
- including a pair of
three-pointers - in the final two quarters as the Highlanders
(19-3, 4-0)
posted their 13th straight win and 16th in their last 17 starts
to open up a
two-game cushion in the Grossmont South.
"You don't hear that much about Toilolo,
but he's just a solid kid," Singer
said. "It's not about himself, it's about winning."
Helix locked up the victory over the Matadors
from the free-throw line,
converting 13 of 18 shots in the fourth quarter. They netted 19
of 29 in the
game.
Raphael Bell added 11 points and Charles
Smith netted 10 for Helix. The
usually-conservative Highlanders also canned five three-pointers,
including
one each by Smith, Tramaine West and Kenny Farris. Stanley Caldwell
also
returned to the lineup from an ankle injury and contributed 6
points.
JR Griffin led Mount Miguel (14-8, 2-2)
with 15 points, including one trey.
Ralph Johnson added 10 points and a trey, while Chris Campbell
cashed in 9
points.
Other Helix scoring: Farris 8, West 8, Ryan
San Juan 6, Tim Bland 5, Cliff
Johnson 4.
Other Mount Miguel scoring: Dewayne Ary
7, Ernie Ballenger 7, Jay Barber 6,
William Burties 4, JR Singh 1, Dominic Foster 1.
VALHALLA 75, SANTANA 62 - Drew Stinnett scored 13 of his 20 points in the
pivotal second quarter as the visiting Norsemen (12-12) subdued
Santana in a
non-league game Tuesday (Jan. 29).
Valhalla's 25-14 second-quarter burst proved
to be the difference in the
game. Brent Molden scored 13 of his 15 points in the opening half,
including
a pair of 3-pointers in the decisive second period.
"We played excellent in the second
quarter," Valhalla coach Eric Thomas said.
"We were shutting down (East County scoring leader Hayden)
Penn pretty well,
held him to seven points in the first half."
Valhalla owned a 46-32 advantage in the fast-paced first half.
Penn, however, picked up the Sultans' offense
and ran with it, scoring 22
points during the final two periods to finish with a game-high
29. Penn
scored all but eight of Santana's 30 second-half points. The 6-foot-4
senior
popped in 11 of 24 shots from the field and 7 of 10 free throws
while pulling
down 8 rebounds.
"We stayed close and had a nice run
on them in the second half," Santana
coach Tim Barry said. "John Bachmann led a good charge (with
6 points, 4
steals and 2 assists) and brought us back in the second half.
But we just
couldn't get over the top."
Santana senior Jon Sturgill turned in a
strong performance with 18 points and
9 rebounds. In his last two games Sturgill has contributed 35
points and 16
boards.
Blake Fowler poured in 17 points, including
a pair of treys, for Valhalla.
Stinnett led the Norsemen on the boards with 8 rebounds.
Other Valhalla scoring: Devon Jones 6, Travis
Rothlisberger 4, Jared
Johnston 4, Manny Gonzales 4, Danny Sheppard 4, Tommy Hanna 1.
Other Santana scoring: Tommy Browning 4, Mike Lamoureux 3, Brian Schultz 2.
GRANITE HILLS 53, MONTE VISTA 50 (OT)
- Robert Davis scored only 6 points
all night, but reached the scoring column when it counted most
in Tuesday's
(Jan. 29) Grossmont South League game at Monte Vista. The Granite
Hills
senior accounted for all 4 of the Eagles points in the four-minute
overtime
to give his team its first league victory.
The Eagles (8-14, 1-3) appeared to have
matters in hand as they built an
11-point lead in the third quarter. However, when Granite Hills
senior Greg
Chase left the game with an ankle sprain late in that period,
momentum began
to sway to Monte Vista.
"It really hurt us to lose Greg at
that point," Granite Hills assistant coach
Randy Anderson admitted.
No doubt. Chase had garnered 15 points and
10 rebounds prior to his premature
departure.
The Monarchs (5-16, 1-3) outscored the faltering
Eagles 13-6 in the final
quarter to force overtime.
Credit 6-foot-6 sophomore Mark Hall for
putting together a clutch
double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds, while blocking 2 shots
for the
Eagles. Mohammed Elhabashy added 12 points and ran his East County-leading
three-point count to 51 with two against Monte Vista.
"Elhabashy's biggest contribution was
on the boards where he got a
career-best 7 rebounds," Anderson noted.
Dalon Wells led Monte Vista with a power
performance of 22 points and 15
rebounds. He made 8 of 10 free throws in the game and netted one
of two shots
from the foul line to give Monte Vista a 51-50 edge in the opening
minute of
overtime.
Davis put Granite Hills back on top by hitting
a 10-foot jumper with 1:10
left. Then, with 0:18 remaining, Monte Vista bungled an inbound
play, and
Eagles guard Rony Nasser retrieved the ball, and fired a strike
to Davis who
spun in a lay-up with 14 seconds unplayed. Monte Vista tried a
desperation
shot to tie, but came up empty.
Chris Whyte and Clinton Snyder added 10
points apiece for Monte Vista, while
Johnnie Jennings chipped in with 6 points and 7 rebounds.
Monte Vista shot only 33 percent (17 of
51) from the floor, but converted a
season-best 16 of 20 free throws. Granite Hills hit 20 of 57 field
goals (35
percent) and 7 of 13 free throws.
Other Granite Hills scoring: none.
Other Monte Vista scoring: Nick Childs 2.
(01-29-02)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - Mike Raney never minced words.
He told his El Cajon Valley Braves
from day one that the 2001-02 season was going to be something
special.
Although the Braves went through a serious swoon during the holiday
tournaments, they're back on course in their quest to become the
most
successful El Cajon Valley boys' basketball team in history.
For the record, not in the 47-year history
of El Cajon Valley have the Braves
ever won a league title in this sport. The most victories in a
season is 15,
a mark achieved by coach Jack Lasley's 1970 squad, which concluded
the
campaign 15-9 despite losing three times to the legendary Bill
Walton and the
33-0 Helix Highlanders.
Raney's raiders, whom he fondly refers to
as the "cardiac kids," overcame a
38-25 halftime deficit Friday night (Jan. 25) in Santee to defeat
Santana
63-55 in a Grossmont North League game.
It was the fifth straight win for the Braves
(12-8, 3-0), who remain tied
with El Capitan for the Grossmont North lead. These two teams
face off on
Tuesday (Jan. 29) at El Capitan at 5:30 p.m.
Only four El Cajon Valley teams have won
as many games in a season as Raney's
crew. In addition to Lasley's record-setting squad, the 1971 Braves
finished
14-12, the 1969 team was 13-12, and the 1965 ECV quintet was 12-12.
This
year's El Cajon Valley bunch has five regular season games remaining,
and is
almost a sure bet to make the playoffs.
The Sultans (6-11, 0-4) had the Braves on
the ropes until the third quarter
when Anthony "Pooh" Taylor ignited a 26 point scoring
spree by popping in a
pair of treys on his way to an 8-point contribution. Guard Nate
Reed netted
two of his 4 three-pointers in that period, and Nick Felure added
a fifth
trey for the Braves.
"The bottom line, the difference in
the game, was three-point shooting,"
admitted Santana coach Tim Barry.
While the Braves were punching in 8 three-pointers,
Santana was firing blanks
- finishing 0-15 from above the arc.
The irrepressible Reed racked up a game-high
26 points, including 6 for 6
free throw shooting. He also contributed 4 assists, 4 rebounds
and 4 steals
for the Braves. Pooh Taylor totaled 19 points and a game-high
14 rebounds
while connecting on a trio of treys and 5 of 6 free throws.
"Pooh was just ripping those rebounds
out of the air," Raney said of the
6-foot-4, 260-pound senior.
Darick Dubose supplied added muscle for
El Cajon Valley with 7 points and 7
rebounds. Deron Taylor corralled 5 rebounds and handed out a season-high
5
assists.
East County scoring leader Hayden Penn,
who is known more for his 90-mph
fastball, poured in a game-high 28 points for the Sultans. He
was deadly from
the free throw line, punching 12 of 14 attempts, but had a so-so
night from
the field, clicking on only 8 of 18 shots. The 6-foot-4 Penn also
plucked a
team-high 10 rebounds and dished off 2 assists.
Santana's Jon Sturgill chipped in with 17
points - hitting 6 of 13 from the
floor and 5 of 5 from the free throw line - while grabbing 7 rebounds
and
pilfering 3 passes.
Other El Cajon Valley scoring: Felure 7,
Deron Taylor 2, Demarcus Flemister
2.
Other Santana scoring: Tim Henselmeier 6, John Bachmann 2, Mike Lamoureux 2.
EL CAPITAN 70, WEST HILLS 60 - Seven-foot junior center Jarrod Boswell is
more than simply the tallest player in San Diego County. At 265
pounds,
Boswell has become a physical force in El Capitan's drive to the
Grossmont
North League championship.
Granted, the Vaqueros (10-11, 3-0) are giant
steps away from claiming the
league crown. But the fact that Boswell presides in the center
of their
offense gives coach Ross Furrow's squad a decisive advantage.
Boswell scored 31 points, grabbed 16 rebounds,
blocked 6 shots, hit 5 of 5
free throws and pilfered a steal as the Vaqueros stuffed the visiting
Wolf
Pack (10-9, 1-2) in Friday's (Jan. 25) league encounter.
Matt Grant provided a strong supporting
cast for Boswell, as he coined 20
points, including a pair of treys, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in
the Vaqueros'
latest victory.
It was clearly a come-from-behind effort
for El Capitan, as West Hills opened
up a 12-point advantage in the first quarter. By the end of the
period, the
Vaqueros trailed by three and remained in arrears by a 36-32 count
at the
half.
By the close of the third quarter, the game was knotted at 47-all.
"We missed our first 10 three-point
shots in the second half, and that really
cost us," said West Hills coach Jeff Armstrong. "We
got away from our game
plan and that made a big difference."
Guard Ricky Zizzo and Matt Henriksen tallied
16 points apiece for West Hills.
It was Henriksen's first appearance in three weeks, and a boon
for the Wolf
Pack.
Nevertheless, Grant's hot-handed shooting
and Boswell's dominating presence
was too much. El Capitan connected on 21 of 25 free throws and
the Pack was a
mere 5 for 7.
The irony is that West Hills connected on
5 three-pointers in the opening
half, including three by Zizzo. John Doherty added two treys in
the fourth
quarter after the outcome was already decided. Blake Sutton also
had a pair
of treys.
John Relph ripped off 11 rebounds and dished
off 5 assists, but failed to hit
a field goal. However, he was 9 for 10 from the free throw line,
which proved
to be invaluable to the Vaqueros.
Brett Stephens chipped in with 6 points,
6 rebounds and 5 assists for El
Capitan. Eric Gregerson nailed his 20th three-pointer of the season.
Sam Miller muscled in 12 points, picked
off 4 rebounds and handed out 3
assists for West Hills. Henriksen led the Wolf Pack with 7 rebounds
and 2
steals.
Other El Capitan scoring: Gregerson 3, Mike Mena 1.
Other West Hills scoring: Tommy Hanna 2,
Matthew Gilson 2.
MOUNT MIGUEL 55, GROSSMONT 52 - Ralph Johnson didn't even get into Friday's
(Jan. 25) non-league game until three minutes into the second
quarter. No
problem. Once the 6-foot-2 senior made his way onto the court,
it proved
disaster for Grossmont and the winning formula for Mount Miguel.
Johnson finished with 21 points, including
9 in the fourth quarter to propel
the Matadors (14-7), who rallied from a 43-40 deficit. Dewayne
Ary scored all
6 of his points in the final period as the Matadors claimed a
15-9 scoring
edge over the final eight minutes.
"To be honest, that was two teams trying
to give it away all night," said
Mount Miguel coach Jimmy Hurst. "It was a typical game for
us where we played
really hard and executed really well for a few moments at a time.
You never
know when we're going to be 'on' or 'off'."
Grossmont (9-13), which led by three points
entering the fourth quarter,
missed three costly free throws in the final two minutes which
proved to be
the difference in the game. Johnson hit a 3-pointer to give Mount
Miguel a
50-48 lead with 90 seconds to play, and followed that up with
another bucket
to extend the advantage to 52-48.
"Johnson helped us do a better job
of penetrating in the fourth quarter,"
Hurst said. "But you have to give credit to guys like William
Burties and Jay
Barber (4 steals) for raising havoc there at the end."
John Sanders had an impressive double-double
of 21 points and 15 rebounds for
Grossmont. Unfortunately for the Foothillers, Sanders came up
empty in the
fourth quarter.
"Sanders just killed us for the first
three quarters," Hurst said. "But we
finally figured out that we should block the guy out."
Sophomore Tyler Vickers scored all of 9
Grossmont's points in the fourth
quarter and finished with 20 in the game to go along with 6 rebounds.
"Vickers is a really nice player,"
Hurst said. "If he touches the ball inside
eight feet, it's either going to be a basket or a foul against
your team."
JR Griffin generated 10 points for Mount
Miguel, including two of the
Matadors' 7 treys in the game. Chris Campbell chipped in with
5 rebounds, 3
assists and 3 blocks for the Matadors. Jay Barber had a team-high
4 steals
for Mount Miguel.
Freshman guard Tyler Barbour dished off
7 assists, and Blake Brands pulled
down 8 rebounds for Grossmont is a losing cause.
Other Mount Miguel scoring: Barber 4, Dominic
Foster 3, JR Singh 3, Anthony
Cox 2, Campbell 2, Ernie Ballenger 2.
Other Grossmont scoring: Matt Barbour 5, Casey Young 4, Tyler Barbour 2.
HELIX 74, MONTE VISTA 49 - Helix coach John Singer heaped accolades on one
of the Highlanders' many unsung heroes Friday night (Jan. 25)
following an
easy Grossmont South League victory over the Monarchs at Monte
Vista. The
player in question is 5-foot-10 senior point guard Kenny Farris.
The box score will credit Farris with only
3 points, but his contributions
extend well beyond that.
"All the things that Kenny does for
us - that helps us win games - are sort
of intangible," said Singer. "He's definitely the leader
of our team. He's
kind of like the Lakers' Derek Fisher. He's always diving on the
floor and is
concerned more about his teammates scoring than he is about personal
achievements. It's kind of like he's saying 'I'll just orchestrate
this
thing.'"
Farris did a fine job of feeding junior
Raphael Bell, who rang up a game-high
21 points for the Highlanders (18-3, 3-0), who extended their
winning streak
to 12 straight and 15 out of 16.
Tramaine West chipped in with 13 points,
including his team-leading 22nd
three-pointer of the season. Junior Tim Bland added 10 points
for the
Scotties, who surged to a 24-9 first-quarter lead and never looked
back.
"Helix really plays aggressively, and
they just hammered out kids," said
Monte Vista coach Zach Peck. "That's not a complaint, it's
just a style that
they play."
Dalon Wells led the Monarchs (5-15, 1-2)
with 15 points and 5 rebounds.
Diondre Simpson connected for a pair of three-pointers and finished
with 7
points, as did Chris Whyte who also handed out 3 assists.
Monte Vista shot 49 percent (18 of 37) from
the floor, but hit only 10 of 19
free throws while turning the ball over 27 times.
Other Helix scoring: Ryan San Juan 7, Ray
Toilolo 7, Cliff Johnson 6, Rajive
Otah 4, Charles Smith 3.
Other Monte Vista scoring: Johnnie Jennings
6, Nick Childs 5, Clinton Snyder
4, Ronny Yousif 3, Mark Davis 2.
CHRISTIAN 99, CRAWFORD 79 - Josh Paddock is recognized more for his athletic
skills on the football field than on the basketball court. But
the 6-foot-1
senior put together one of those "career nights" as
he pounded in 8 of 8
shots from the field for 16 points, handed out 4 assists, picked
off 5 steals
and pulled down a pair of rebounds as the Patriots extended their
Harbor
League winning streak to 31 in a row.
This game was a spectator's delight, as
free-wheeling offense was the order
of the day. Christian shot 65 percent from the field (40 of 62),
and Crawford
clicked on 48 percent (31 of 64).
"It was a track meet of a game - a
real crowd pleaser," admitted Christian
coach Curtis Hofmeister.
On the offensive end, it was pretty close
to perfection for the Patriots, who
turned the ball over six times in the first quarter and a mere
four times
over the final three periods.
Moulaye Niang connected on 10 of 15 shots
from the floor en route to a 23
point outing. The 6-foot-10 senior had to settle for only 5 rebounds,
2
steals and 1 block, which was the result of the high-accuracy
shooting by
both teams.
Senior Ben Wohlfeil knocked down 17 points
on 5 for 9 shooting from the field
and 6 for 6 accuracy from the charity stripe. His brother Jake
Wohlfeil
whistled in 14 points, ripped off 6 rebounds and handed out 3
assists, while
John Wai scored 11 points on 4 for 5 shooting, pulled down 4 rebounds
and
dealt 4 assists.
Junior Joel Allen, one of San Diego County's
top passing quarterbacks, proved
he has talents in other areas as he buried a pair of treys and
finished with
8 points and 6 rebounds.
"Joel is deceptively quick," Hofmeister
said. "He's probably one of the
fastest - if not the fastest - kid on our campus."
Other Christian scoring: Brent Dongell 5, Mike Muniz 3, Travis Dalton 2.
VALHALLA 61, GRANITE HILLS 58 - With 45 seconds left in the game, Danny
Sheppard hit a field goal to put Valhalla up 59-58 in Friday's
(Jan. 25)
Grossmont South League encounter at the Thunderdome on the Norsemen's
campus.
Granite Hills in-bounded the ball to Greg
Chase (who had scored 23 points in
the game). Valhalla's Blake Fowler stole the ball and called time
out. With
just 15 seconds remaining, Drew Stinnett made two free throws
pushing the
score to 61-58. Granite Hills' desperation shot at the buzzer
missed its mark.
Granite Hills outscored Valhalla 14-2 in
the second quarter to take a 32-28
halftime lead.
The Norsemen, however, came out fired up
in the second half, with Fowler
producing the first six points of the third quarter. On his second
field goal
of the period, Fowler drove to the basket, avoided the Eagles'
6-foot-6 Mark
Hall and slammed a two-handed "monster dunk."
"In the second quarter Granite Hills
played great defense and we fell apart,"
said Valhalla coach Eric Thomas. "Then in the third quarter,
Blake took
charge and brought us back. That dunk really fired us up."
However, a few minutes later Hall would
put away his own dunk for the Eagles.
In Thomas' words "He rebounded over the front of the rim
and one-handed
tomahawked it."
Hall finished with 6 points, 8 rebounds
and 6 blocked shots for Granite Hills
(7-14, 0-3). Robert Davis scored 10 points in the first quarter
for the
Eagles, but faded over the final three quarters, finishing with
13 points. He
also had 4 steals.
"Sheppard was tough and Blake really
stepped up when we needed him." Thomas
said. "They kept us from losing. And Drew finished it up
with those last two
free throws of the game. I was glad to see him at the line because
he's a 70
percent free throw shooter."
Sheppard finished with 20 points, 8 rebounds
and 2 blocks. Fowler chipped in
with 16 points and 7 rebounds. Stinnett totaled 10 points an Brent
Molden
tossed in 6 points, including a 3-pointer and 6 rebounds.
Other Valhalla scoring: Jared Johnston 6, Tommy Hanna 3, Steven Daoud 1.
Other Granite Hills scoring: Mohammed Elhabashy
6, Rony Nasser 5, Tyrone
Araya 3, Robert Fine 2.
(01-25-02)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - Jake Wohlfeil and Moulaye Niang
poured in 10 points apiece during
the third quarter Thursday night (Jan. 24) to help host Christian
seal a
61-41 non-league victory over St. Augustine at the Ryan Athletic
Center.
The Patriots (11-8), who had built a 33-21
halftime lead, used the 1-2
offensive punch of Wohlfeil-Niang to extend their advantage to
55-29 by the
close of the third period. Christian ballooned its cushion to
31 points with
four minutes remaining before substitutes finished the game.
The 6-foot-4 Wohlfeil garnered a game-high
24 points, clicking on 10 of 14
floor shots including a trio of treys. His totals also included
6 rebounds, 4
steals and one assist.
Kansas-bound Niang netted 14 points, reeled
in 9 rebounds, swiped 4 passes,
and swatted away 3 shots in about 22 minutes playing time.
Ben Wohlfeil added 11 points, 5 assists,
4 rebounds and 2 steals, while John
Wai contributed 5 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 assists.
Joel Allen hit a 3-pointer and snared 7
rebounds in a relief role for
Christian.
St. Augustine was playing without senior
guard Rommel Martenez, a 23-point
scorer sidelined with a foot injury. His absence was obvious when
the
Patriots pressed in the opening half.
"Martenez may be the best point guard
in the county," Christian coach Curtis
Hofmeister said. "It's totally a different kind of game when
he's not in
there. I'm sure he'll be back in the lineup when we play St. Augustine
down
at their place on the final night (Feb. 15) of the regular season.
That
band-box of theirs will be rocking-and-a-reeling that night I'm
sure."
Other Christian scoring: Allen 3, Josh Paddock 3, Kevin Epps 1.
SCHEDULE CHANGE: The Helix-at-Monte Vista
Grossmont South League boys-girls
doubleheader will be played Friday (Jan. 25) instead of Thursday
(Jan. 24) as
was originally scheduled. The girls play at 6 p.m., the boys at
7:30 p.m.
(01-24-02)
EastCountySports.com staff report
SANTEE - Darick Dubose was one of the iron
horses on the El Cajon Valley
football team that surprised East County by finishing 5-5 last
fall. While
the 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior has not previously been heralded
for his
basketball prowess, Dubose let it be known Friday night (Jan.
18) at West
Hills that he is a versatile athlete who can contribute on the
court as well
as the gridiron.
Dubose delivered a double-double of 14 points
and 11 rebounds (6 offensive),
as the Braves (11-8, 2-0) edged host West Hills 65-63 in the Grossmont
North
League contest. It was the fourth win in a row for El Cajon Valley.
"That No. 24 (Dubose) really hurt us
down the stretch," West Hills coach Jeff
Armstrong said. "He scored 8 points in the fourth quarter
- 6 in the final
1:30. He's got a great vertical jump and is very effective inside."
Dubose sank two free throws to give the
Braves a 4-point lead with 15 seconds
remaining.
"He gets that look in his eyes, and
you just know that he's focused in on the
job at hand," El Cajon Valley coach Mike Raney said of Dubose.
"He was just
grabbing rebounds and going back up with them. That's two strong
games in a
row for him."
Sam Miller, who scored a team-high 22 points
for West Hills (10-8, 1-1),
nailed a 3-pointer with 6 seconds remaining. But after the Braves'
Nate Reed
made one of two free throws with 3 seconds left, the Pack cleared
the
defensive rebound and would be reduced to a desperation shot three-quarters
the length of the court as the buzzer sounded.
The ever-reliable Reed converted four 3-point
shots and 8 of 9 free throws en
route to a game-high 26 points. The frustrating factor for West
Hills was
that Reed netted only one field goal in the second half, but zeroed
in on 7
of 8 shots from the free throw line. The junior guard also had
8 assists, 7
steals and 5 rebounds.
Anthony "Pooh" Taylor tallied 16 points and 7 rebounds for the Braves.
"We know we're for real," said
Raney, whose Braves are tied with El Capitan
for the Grossmont North lead. "It's a special season for
us, and our kids are
fired up."
One of the unsung heroes in the Braves'
latest triumph was Demarcus
Flemister. The fiery 5-foot-8 sophomore supplied the defensive
charge in El
Cajon Valley's latest effort.
"He was our leader on defense,"
said Raney. "He forced a lot of turnovers and
helped key our transition game."
Nick Felure netted a 3-pointer in the first
quarter and then went silent on
the scoring end, yet still contributed 4 assists, 4 rebounds and
2 steals.
Long-ranger Ricky Zizzo zipped in his 37th
and 38th three-pointers en route
to a 16-point evening for West Hills.
Ryan Hamann, one of the best-kept secrets
in East County, extended his
season-long free throw perfection to 29 in a row, with a 5 for
5 effort.
That's right. Hamann has not missed a single charity shot all
year. A senior
capable of dialing long distance, Hamann included his 25th three-pointer
as
part of his 12 points against the Braves.
"They killed us on the offensive boards,
and beat us to almost every loose
ball," Armstrong said of the Braves. "We made too many
turnovers and errant
passes. But you've gotta give them credit. Reed is extra quick
and a streak
shooter. When he gets it going, he's hard to contain."
Other El Cajon Valley scoring: Flemister 4, Tremaine Foster 2.
Other West Hills scoring: Blake Sutton 9, Matthew Gilson 3, Bruce Bailey 1.
GROSSMONT 75, SANTANA 69 - Statistically speaking, John Sanders' 29 points
will be the headline of the Foothillers' Grossmont North League
victory over
the visiting Santana Sultans on Friday (Jan. 18).
Sanders, who has scored 155 points in his
last six games for a 25.8 average,
was the spearhead in Grossmont's victory. Fact is, he scored 11
points and
netted 3 of his 4 three-pointers during the third quarter as Grossmont
shaved
a 10-point halftime deficit to 56-54.
But it was a couple of unsung heroes who
secured the victory for Grossmont
(9-12, 1-2). Senior Cody Long came off the bench to score 8 points,
including
a three-pointer that gave the Foothillers a 79-69 lead with 30
seconds
remaining.
Junior Matt Barbour enjoyed his finest night
in a reserve role, muscling in
11 points and grabbing 3 rebounds for the Foothillers.
"Cody and Matt just did an excellent
job for us, coming off the bench,"
Grossmont coach Frank Foggiano said. "Cody got that really
big 3, and it
seemed like Matt got every loose ball in addition to his 11 points."
Another unknown yet valuable contributor
for Grossmont was Casey Young, who
poured in a dozen points.
"Young has always been a decent offensive player, who we've
used more as our
defensive stopper," Foggiano said. "Lately people have
been paying so much
attention to (sophomore Tyler) Vickers that Young has been able
to help us on
the offensive end."
Vickers, who has been bothered by the flu all week, made modest
contributions
of 8 points and 7 rebounds.
Freshman point guard Tyler Barbour handed out 8 assists and scored
5 points
for the Foothillers.
East County scoring leader Hayden Penn of Santana poured in 26
points on 9 of
20 shooting from the field and 6 of 6 free throws. The 6-foot-3
senior also
nailed a pair of 3-pointers, pulled down 9 rebounds, and dished
off 4 assists.
Sophomore guard Scott Rohner buried a quartet of 3-pointers, netting
6 of 11
shots from the field overall to finish with 17 points. It was
only the third
varsity game for Rohner, who has connected for 8 treys and 32
points.
Senior Jon Sturgill chipped in 10 points for Santana before fouling
out with
four minutes left in the third quarter. Tim Henselmeier added
8 points and 5
rebounds for the Sultans (6-10, 0-3).
Other Grossmont scoring: Blake Brands 1, Casey Williams 1.
Other Santana scoring: Brian Schultz 4, Tommy Browning 2, John Bachmann 2.
MOUNT MIGUEL 53, VALHALLA 49 - The hot-and-cold Matadors reached a blue
flame in the final quarter to foil an upset bid by the visiting
Norsemen in
Friday's (Jan. 18) Grossmont South League game.
Ralph Johnson scored 9 of his 14 points
in the fourth quarter as Mount Miguel
(13-7, 2-1) overcame a 44-39 deficit to secure the victory.
"Our kids are so high-strung that sometimes
they're not very patient, and
just get too anxious," Mount Miguel coach Jimmy Hurst said.
"In the last four
minutes of the game we decided to play defense. Up until then,
we didn't put
any pressure on them."
"But give our kids credit for being
resilient. We were down nine points in
the third quarter, but we flattened out their 1-2-1-1 zone,"
Hurst continued.
"They started the game out by playing us man, and we'd of
crushed them if
they'd stayed in that. When they went to zone it took us awhile
to adjust.
But the middle was open, and we finally exploited it."
Valhalla led 47-42 with 4:25 to play. But
that's when the Norsemen's offense
stalled.
"In the last four minutes we had two
traveling calls, an offensive foul, two
wild shots and another turnover," Valhalla coach Eric Thomas
lamented. "You
can't play like that and expect to beat anybody, let alone a good
team like
Mount Miguel."
JR Griffin scored a game-high 15 points,
including a pair of treys, for the
Matadors. Dominic Foster added 8 points.
Drew Stinnett paced Valhalla (9-12, 1-2)
with 12 points. Blake Fowler, Brent
Molden, Jared Johnston and Tommy Hanna each had a 3-point bucket
for
Valhalla, which converted only 9 of 16 free throw opportunities.
The Matadors had even less success from
the charity stripe, converting only 7
of 21 chances.
Other Mount Miguel scoring: JR Singh 5,
Eddie Woodward 4, Jay Barber 3,
Ernie Ballenger 2, Chris Campbell 2.
Other Valhalla scoring: Danny Sheppard 9,
Fowler 9, Devon Jones 6, Molden 5,
Hanna 3, Johnston 3, Travis Rothlisberger 2.
EL CAPITAN 57, MONTE VISTA 41 - Frustrated by a last-second 70-68 loss to
Monte Vista on Dec. 27, the visiting Vaqueros jumped out in front
31-19 in
the opening half and never looked back Friday (Jan. 18) in Spring
Valley, as
they avenged the Christmas vacation loss.
Jarrod Boswell, El Capitan's 7-foot, 265-pound
junior center, turned in
another overpowering performance with 18 points, 15 rebounds,
8 blocked shots
and 3 assists as the Vaqueros (9-11) won their third straight.
"Jarrod is just dominating the game,"
El Capitan coach Ross Furrow said. "Not
just this game, but every game, of late. He's so agile and has
great hands.
He's a very, very young junior, but he's legit, and he's starting
to grow up."
Monte Vista coach Zach Peck concurred. "Boswell
makes a big difference, no
question about it." The Monarchs' coach also noted that Vaqueros
guard Mike
Mena played a key role in the game.
Mena scored 15 points, dealt 8 assists and
made 3 steals. The 5-foot-8,
140-pound senior scored 7 points in the second quarter, which
helped ignite
the Vaqueros on a 13-3 run in the period. He was 6 for 6 from
the free throw
line, including 4 for 4 in the final quarter.
"Usually I don't let juniors play on
the JV, but we had so many guards on the
varsity last year that I thought it best that Mike got a chance
to start, so
he played JV," Furrow said. "Mike has really done a
good job at the 1-guard.
He's pushing the ball well and feeding people. He's really playing
a pretty
complete game for us."
The effectiveness of Mena's court leadership
was evident in that the Vaqueros
turned the ball over only 7 times all night.
John Relph, who was hindered by foul problems,
finished with 9 points, 6
rebounds and 3 assists for El Capitan. Matt Grant also contributed
9 points
for the Vaqueros.
Monte Vista's shooters were off the mark,
netting only 18 of 60 field goal
attempts (30 percent). Although Dalon Wells led the Monarchs with
a dozen
points, he connected on only 5 of 20 shots from the field, one
of which was a
3-pointer. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound senior corralled 11 rebounds
and 3 steals.
Diondre Simpson canned a trio of threes,
cleared 6 rebounds and handed out 3
assists, while Clinton Snyder grabbed 7 rebounds and 3 steals
for the
Monarchs. Chris Whyte added 6 points, 6 rebounds and a team-high
4 assists.
"We actually rebounded well,"
Peck said. "And we got some pretty good looks,
but we just don't shoot very well."
The Monarchs have scored only 122 points in their last three games.
Other El Capitan scoring: Brett Stephens 2, Scott Fisher 2, Eric Gregerson 2.
Other Monte Vista scoring: Nick Childs 7, Ronny Yousif 5, Snyder 2.
HELIX 87, GRANITE HILLS 39 - The Highlanders made it 14 out of 15 - and 11
straight - as they dismantled visiting Granite Hills Friday night
(Jan. 18)
in a Grossmont South League encounter.
Helix (17-3, 2-0) broke the game open by
outscoring the Eagles 19-0 in the
second quarter to lead 40-13 at intermission. For various reasons,
only nine
Highlanders were in uniform for the game and all of them contributed
to the
scoring. Seven had 8 points or more.
"Our whole is so much better than our parts," Helix coach John Singer said.
Nevertheless, two individual standouts in
Helix's latest conquest were
Raphael Bell and Charles Smith, each of whom scored 15 points.
"Bell was very impressive," Singer
said. "He just keeps getting better. His
presence was definitely felt inside tonight. And Smith is showing
steady
improvement too."
Some might question Helix's 31-11 fourth quarter scoring margin.
"We didn't try to run anything up,"
Singer insisted. "We were down to eight
players, because we lost Tramaine West to an ankle sprain in the
third
quarter. That doesn't leave you much room to substitute. But we
play all of
our kids all the time anyway. And I don't believe in telling my
kids to stop
playing."
Ray Toilolo tossed in 11 points, including
a 3-ball for the Highlanders. He
has tallied 24 points and 4 treys in his last two outings. Rajive
Otah added
10 points, and Ryan San Juan and West chipped in with 9 points
apiece. West's
totals included his 21st three-pointer - tops on the team.
Greg Chase was the only Granite Hills player
to reach double figures, netting
10. It was a long night for Mohammed Elhabashy, who was limited
to his East
County-leading 47th three-pointer for the Eagles (7-13, 0-2).
Other Helix scoring: Tim Bland 8, Cliff Johnson 6, Kenny Farris 4.
Other Granite Hills scoring: Rony Nasser
6, Robert Fine 6, Tyrone Araya 5,
Mark Hall 4, Keith Martin 2, Robert Davis 2, Deo Ilunga 1.
CHRISTIAN 71, MADISON 44 - Moulaye Niang scored 20 points, grabbed 15
rebounds, stole 7 passes, and blocked 4 shots as the Patriots
(10-8, 3-0)
pummeled host Madison (0-13, 0-3) in a Harbor League contest on
Friday (Jan.
18).
It was the 30th consecutive league victory
for the Patriots, who stormed to a
44-29 halftime lead. Christian clicked on 16 of 33 shots from
the field in
the first half, but endured their worst shooting of the season
in the half -
sinking just 4 of 25. Furthermore, the Patriots, who were 29 of
42 from the
free throw line, missed 10 charity shots in the final quarter.
Jake Wohlfeil led the Patriots' supporting
cast with 15 points, 5 assists and
3 steals. His senior brother Ben Wohlfeil popped in 14 points,
dished off 5
assists and recorded a pair of steals, while John Wai chipped
in with 10
points.
Brent Dongell contributed 6 points, 5 rebounds
and 2 steals. Mike Muniz
didn't score, but pilfered 4 passes as Christian totaled 23 steals
in the
game.
Other Christian scoring: Joel Allen 2, Josh
Paddock 2, Travis Dalton 1,
Kevin Epps 1.
(01-18-02)
EastCountySports.com staff report
LA MESA - Helix High's Stanley Caldwell
is down, and temporarily out. But he
is not finished. X-rays of the 6-foot-5 senior's injured ankle
taken Thursday
(Jan. 17) were negative.
"At first we thought he had a high
break," Helix coach John Singer said. "But
that wasn't the case. There is still a lot of swelling, but our
trainer
(Damon Chase) thinks Stanley will be ready to go by next week
(Jan. 24
against Monte Vista)."
Caldwell suffered the ankle injury two minutes
into Helix's 62-48 non-league
victory over Grossmont on Wednesday night (Jan. 16). He will miss
Friday's
(Jan. 18) Grossmont South league game against Granite Hills.
(01-17-02)
EastCountySports.com staff report
LA MESA - The Helix Highlanders may have
lost Stanley Caldwell for the
season. The 6-foot-5 senior and tallest player on an otherwise
smallish Helix
squad suffered a severe ankle injury in the opening two minutes
of the
Highlanders' 62-48 non-league victory over visiting Grossmont
on Wednesday
night (Jan. 16).
"He may have broken it," Helix
coach John Singer said. "He's going in to have
it X-rayed. Hopefully, it's only a bad sprain."
Caldwell is averaging 10.6 points and more
than 9 rebounds for the
Highlanders (16-3), who have won 13 of their last 14 games.
"If we lose Stanley we are in trouble,"
Singer said. "He can do so many
things for us, and he's one of our most experienced players. We
need him."
Even if the X-rays do prove negative, Caldwell
figures to be on the shelf for
a while. That means Helix will need more from Raphael Bell. The
6-foot-3
junior delivered a team-high 14 points and 9 rebounds in the Highlanders'
victory over Grossmont.
"Raphael is a strong kid who is progressing
nicely," Singer said. "We passed
the ball around and isolated him against Grossmont in the second
half and
they couldn't stop him."
One of the reasons for that was Grossmont
(8-12) was playing without 6-foot-4
sophomore center Tyler Vickers, who was at home with the flu.
"This was an old-fashioned Grossmont-Helix game - very intense,"
Grossmont
coach Frank Foggiano said. "They hurt us by pounding the
boards, especially
at the end. I wish we could play them with Vickers in there."
Grossmont held a 20-18 lead midway through
the second quarter before Helix
scrambled in front 27-24 at the break. The Highlanders outscored
the Hillers
18-10 in the third quarter and never looked back.
Senior John Sanders, who is playing in only his second season
of organized
basketball, led the Foothillers' charge with 21 points, 12 rebounds
and 3
assists.
"Sanders is a nice player," Singer
said. "He's very deceiving, kind of a
sleepy-looking guy. But he gets the job done. He was their whole
game."
Junior Casey Young added 9 points for the
Foothillers, who also got 6 assists
from freshman quarterback Tyler Barbour.
Ray Toilolo cast in a trio of three-pointers
on his way to a 13-point night
for the Highlanders, who also got 12 points from Tramaine West.
Other Grossmont scoring: Blake Brands 7,
Matt Barbour 6, Thomas Hernandez 3,
Tyler Barbour 2,
Other Helix scoring: Kenny Farris 8, Charles
Smith 7, Tim Bland 4, Eric
Robinson 2, Caldwell 2.
(01-16-02)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - A Christmas vacation slump -
seven losses in eight starts - left
the El Cajon Valley Braves in disarray. Finger-pointing, placing
of blame and
a lengthy slide in the loss column caused coach Mike Raney to
wonder whether
his club could challenge for the Grossmont North League championship,
as he
had figured it would at the outset of the season.
The Braves (10-8, 1-0) have since righted
the ship with three straight
victories. None of those conquests were more rewarding than the
63-60
Grossmont North League win over visiting Grossmont on Tuesday
(Jan. 15).
Not surprisingly, the Braves relied on sure-shot
guard Nate Reed. The
5-foot-8 junior hit his only two treys of the night with the game
on the
line. His first bulls-eye from above the arc tied the game, and
his second
won it.
"The one he hit to win it was all net,"
Raney said. "From the opening tipoff
to the end of the game, Reed comes to play. Some people play not
to lose;
Nate plays to win."
Reed finished with a game-high 25 points,
9 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals
for the Braves. Nick Felure added 11 points and 4 steals, while
Anthony
"Pooh" Taylor grabbed 9 rebounds, made 3 steals and
netted 6 points.
John Sanders led Grossmont (8-11, 0-2) with 19 points and 7 rebounds.
"With the score tied at 60, Sanders
drove to the basket and got stripped of
the ball," Grossmont coach Frank Foggiano said. "We
didn't keep up our
intensity as much as we needed to."
Salim Ayub scored his 11 points, including
his 18th, 19th and 20th
three-pointers of the season. Not bad for a guy who hasn't started
the
majority of the season.
Freshman guard Tyler Barbour logged 7 assists
for the Foothillers, while
Sanders and Casey Young were the leading rebounders with 7 and
6,
respectively.
Other El Cajon Valley scoring: Darick Dubose
9, Deron Taylor 6, Jonathan
Agana 6.
Other Grossmont scoring: Tyler Vickers 9,
Young 8, Blake Brands 7, Matt
Barbour 4, Jesse Gerber 1, Tyler Barbour 1.
HELIX 76, WEST HILLS 74 - No matter what the Highlanders do or how they
play, they always seem to land on their feet - smack dab in the
middle of the
winner's circle.
Despite missing 18 of 35 free throws, the
Highlanders (15-3) made like
Houdini as they sidestepped a bona fide upset bid by host West
Hills (10-7)
for their 12th win in the last 13 starts.
The Wolf Pack was closing in on a chance
to tie in the final seconds when
Helix senior point guard Kenny Farris stole the ball to foil West
Hills'
challenge.
"It's like their CIF playoffs, when
they play us," said Helix coach John
Singer. "They had a chance to beat us because we didn't defend,
didn't
convert a lot of easy baskets, and generally played a poor game."
Singer was pleased, however, that the Wolf
Pack pushed his Highlanders to the
brink of defeat.
"We need games like this," Singer
said. "We had some selfishness out there
today, and we need to find out things like who should have the
ball when the
game is on the line."
The bottom line is Helix's trademark offensive
balance, which included Tim
Bland (13 points), Stanley Caldwell (12), Charles Smith (12),
Farris (9) and
Raphael Bell (8). Smith accounted for the Highlanders' only 3-point
basket.
"It's difficult for teams to figure
out who they should focus their defensive
attention on," Singer said. "We have a different scoring
leader every night."
Trailing by 12 points late in the third
quarter, the Wolf Pack received a
scoring rush from guard Ricky Zizzo, who tallied the final 6 points
of the
period as well as the first 6 points of the fourth quarter.
Ignited by Zizzo's surge, the Pack eventually
tied the game with less than a
minute to play. Helix, however, refused to relinquish the lead
and quickly
went back up by four points. Zizzo converted a steal into a basket
to slice
the Highlanders' advantage to two, with nine seconds remaining.
An "intentional foul" by the Pack
with nine seconds left gave Helix two free
throws that it failed to convert, thus keeping the Wolf Pack's
chances alive.
West Hills never got off a final shot, however, as the Highlanders'
Farris
made the victory-stealing save.
Zizzo, who came in averaging 13.5 points
per game, scored a game-high 27
points. The 6-foot senior was 13 of 14 from the free throw line
and hit a
pair of treys, giving him 36 for the season.
Ryan Hamann, who finished with 13 points,
went 2 for 2 from the charity
stripe, giving him 24 free throws without a miss this season.
Bruce Bailey, a 6-foot-7, 250-pound senior,
scored 8 points and grabbed 3
rebounds, and was a major factor in West Hills' comeback bid.
Blake Sutton
added 7 points, 5 assists and 4 steals for the Wolf Pack, while
Sam Miller
contributed 8 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Sutton also had
a pair of
3-pointers, while Hamann and John Doherty each had one.
Other Helix scoring: Cliff Johnson 7, Ray
Toilolo 5, Ryan San Juan 4,
Tramaine West 4, Marlon Pierce 2.
Other West Hills scoring: Adam Frye 4, Doherty
3, Matthew Gilson 2, Jeremy
Hill 2.
EL CAPITAN 75, SANTANA 55 - When you have a 7-foot, 265-pound stalwart in
the middle of your defense, it's easy to feel somewhat secure.
The El Capitan Vaqueros enjoy such a luxury.
Just by his presence, Jarrod
Boswell, San Diego County's tallest prep performer, commands attention.
Boswell pulled off a triple-double, with
23 points, 14 rebounds and 10
blocked shots at the Vaqueros (8-11, 2-0) breezed past host Santana
(6-9,
0-2) in a Grossmont North League contest on Tuesday (Jan. 15).
John Relph was equally as impressive for
El Capitan. The 6-foot-2 senior
corralled a career-high 15 rebounds, dished off 5 assists, picked
off 2
steals and scored 13 points.
Not to be overlooked was El Capitan guard
Matt Grant, who generated 15
points, including one of the Vaqueros' 5 three-pointers in the
tilt. Brett
Stephens popped in a pair of treys, while Mike Mena and Eric Gregerson
each
hit one shot above the arc as El Capitan advanced to a 23-16 lead
after the
opening quarter.
Mena, a 5-foot-8 senior guard, was a classic
quarterback as he dished out a
dozen assists.
East County's leading scorer, Santana's
Hayden Penn, paced the Sultans with
27 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals. Jon Sturgill added 11 points,
4 assists,
3 rebounds and 3 steals for Santana. Sophomore Scott Rohner, who
made his
Santana debut last week, hit a pair of treys and finished with
9 points.
Other El Capitan scoring: Stephens 8, Gregerson 7, Mena 5, Scott Fisher 2.
Other Santana scoring: Kellan Kemp 3, Mike Lamoureux 3, Tim Henselmeier 2.
VALHALLA 67, MONTE VISTA 40 - Led by Danny Sheppard's 13 points and 12
rebounds, the visiting Norsemen displayed excellent balance as
they
overpowered the Monarchs in Tuesday's (Jan. 15) Grossmont South
League game
in Spring Valley.
Drew Stinnett, Travis Rothlisberger and
Devon Jones had 11 points apiece for
Valhalla (9-11, 1-1), which has won nine of its last 12 decisions.
Jones, a
sophomore, also generated a game-high 5 steals.
Valhalla stormed to a 31-17 lead, but the
Monarchs fought back to trail only
35-24 by the break.
"We pressed a lot, which is something
we don't normally do," said Valhalla
coach Eric Thomas. "We kind of surprised Monte Vista. It
wasn't until the
second half that they were able to break our press. It was pretty
disruptive
to them. Monte Vista wanted to slow it down, and Fowler wouldn't
let this
happen," Thomas said. "Blake (Fowler) was the big difference,
even though he
only scored 4 points in the first half."
Fowler finished with 7 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists for the Norsemen.
Valhalla used an 18-9 splurge at the beginning
of the second half to increase
its advantage to 55-33 by the close of the period.
"We were able to alternate the reserves
with the starters, five at a time,"
Thomas said. "They came in the game in the third quarter
and boosted the
score up by 22."
Jared Johnston, Brent Molden, Rothlisberger,
Jones and Fowler each hit a
3-pointer for Valhalla.
Dalon Wells paced the Monarchs (5-13, 1-1)
with 13 points, but scored only
one in the second half. The 6-foot-2 senior accounted for Monte
Vista's only
two treys in the game and garnered 6 rebounds - one less than
teammate
Clinton Snyder.
Chris Whyte added 6 points, 4 assists and
4 steals, while Carlos Ramer
charted 6 points, 3 assists and 3 steals for the Monarchs.
"Snyder, Wells and Whyte played hard
tonight," Monte Vista coach Zach Peck
said.
Other Valhalla scoring: Molden 7, Johnston 5, Tommy Hanna 2.
Other Monte Vista scoring: Snyder 4, Derek
Sykes 4, Ronny Yousif 3, Diondre
Simpson 2, Andre Hadley 2.
MOUNT MIGUEL 59, GRANITE HILLS 39 - It isn't likely that any Mount Miguel
player is going to produce scoring records this season.
Not with the "hockey line" approach
of coach Jimmy Hurst. Of course, the
Matadors' mentor isn't seeking individual milestones. Team victories
and
league championships would be just fine, to his way of thinking.
Although the Matadors do not have a single
player averaging double figures,
after 19 games this season, the facts speak for themselves. Mount
Miguel
(12-7, 1-1) is a bona fide contender for the Grossmont South League
championship.
Hurst's philosophy is all about team achievements.
Thus, he had to be pleased
with Tuesday's (Jan. 15) 20-point victory over the Eagles (7-12,
0-1).
"We had a total team effort tonight,"
Hurst said sincerely. "It's one of the
benefits of being deep."
Eleven of the Matadors' 14 players contributed
to the scoring column, with JR
Griffin leading the way with 15 points.
"We were just telling JR to beat his
guy off the dribble, and he did it,"
said Hurst of Griffin, who leads the Matadors with a 9.6 scoring
average. The
6-foot-4 sophomore also led the Mount Miguel with 7 rebounds and
4 assists.
Senior Chris Campbell chipped in with 10
points and 4 rebounds for Mount
Miguel.
Joey Street hit 2 of Mount Miguel's 7 three-pointers
in the game, raising his
bulls-eyes above the arc to 33. Eddie Woodward also connected
on a pair of
treys. JR Singh added 7 points and 6 rebounds to the Matadors'
totals.
Greg Chase cashed in a game-high 19 points
and 12 rebounds for the Eagles.
Mohammed Elhabashy connected for his East-County leading 46th
three-pointer,
and Mark Hall blocked 3 shots for Granite Hills.
Mount Miguel broke out to a 16-10 first
quarter lead when Woodward and Street
hit four consecutive 3-pointers between them. The Eagles, who
shot 33 percent
from the floor (15 for 45), never got closer than nine points
thereafter.
Other Mount Miguel scoring: Woodward 6,
Anthony Cox 4, Brian Montefalcon 3,
Dewayne Ary 2, Ernie Ballenger 2, Dominic Foster 2, Eugene Pujida
2.
Other Granite Hills scoring: Robert Davis
6, Elhabashy 5, Robert Fine 4,
Mark Hall 3, Rony Nasser 2.
CHRISTIAN 54, HOOVER 40 - It was far from the Patriots' finest performance
of the season, but it was good enough to keep Christian in a tie
for the
Harbor League lead.
Despite committing 28 turnovers, the Patriots
(8-8, 2-0) stretched their
Harbor League winning streak to 29 in a row.
"The turnovers really were upsetting,
because we weren't getting pressed and
we were going against a zone defense," Christian coach Curtis
Hofmeister
said. "It was just a matter that we couldn't play pass-and-catch.
I don't
know why, but we just came out flat."
The exclamation point in the Patriots' struggle
could be seen in the
uncharacteristic numbers compiled by 6-foot-10 senior Moulaye
Niang, who
finished with a season-low 5 points and a season-high 8 turnovers.
It wasn't all bad for the Kansas-bound Niang,
however, as he grabbed a
game-high 14 rebounds, negotiated 4 steals and handed out 2 assists.
"Moulaye took only five shots the whole
game," Hofmeister lamented. "There
was just no fire in him or our team."
The Patriots chugged out to an 18-12 first-quarter
lead and led 44-24 after
three quarters.
John Wai clicked on 7 of 12 shots from the
field on his way to a game-high 16
points. He also garnered 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
Ben Wohlfeil popped in 5 of 9 shots from
the field to net 12 points. His
brother Jake Wohlfeil snared 9 rebounds, netted 9 points, dealt
5 assists and
made 2 steals.
Other Christian scoring: Josh Paddock 4,
Mike Muniz 3, Kevin Epps 3, Brent
Dongell 2.
(01-15-02)
EastCountySports.com staff report
SANTEE - Some new faces stepped to the forefront
Friday night (Jan. 11) to
help the West Hills Wolf Pack open the Grossmont North League
season with a
71-57 victory over crosstown rival Santana.
Blake Sutton, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, scored
9 of his team-high 17 points in
the fourth quarter as the Wolf Pack smothered the Sultans 23-12
during the
final eight minutes. He also pulled down 4 rebounds. Junior Sam
Miller scored
7 of his 13 points in the final quarter to help seal the victory
for West
Hills (10-6, 1-0).
West Hills scored on its final seven possessions.
Sutton ignited the surge,
popping in three consecutive baskets off assists from Ricky Zizzo.
Ryan Hamann followed with a 3-pointer, Adam
Frye tossed in a bucket, Miller
hit a pair of free throws, and Sutton completed the onslaught
with a
3-point-play off another perfect pass from Zizzo.
Santana's Jon Sturgill, who was saddled
with four fouls, could not offer much
defensive resistance to Sutton.
"Sutton was isolated at the post and
did a nice job," Sultans coach Tim Barry
acknowledged.
The 5-foot-11 Miller banged the boards for
7 rebounds, while Zizzo, known
more for his scoring input than his play-making prowess, delivered
5 assists
in addition to 10 points.
"I was real happy to see Zizzo not
contribute just scoring," said West Hills
coach Jeff Armstrong. "He did a nice job of getting the ball
to Blake in the
box. And made some nice feeds to Sutton."
Armstrong was equally as pleased with Sutton, Miller and Frye.
"This was by far Blake's best game,"
the coach said. "And Miller, what a job
he did. So much of what Sam contributes is not on the stats sheet.
A good
example of that is Sam has taken five charges in the last two
games. He and
Frye are our best defenders."
Frye also added 11 points and 8 rebounds
for the Pack in his most extensive
court session of the season.
"Adam was really pumped up to play
our down-the-street rival," Armstrong
noted.
Hamann rolled in 13 points, giving West
Hills five players in double digits
for the night.
East County scoring-leader Hayden Penn paced
Santana (6-8, 0-1) with 24
points and 12 rebounds. Tim Henselmeier added 8 points and Brian
Schultz
slipped in 7 points and corralled 4 rebounds. Santana sophomore
Scott Rohner,
who has been sidelined with a broken toe, returned to the lineup
to sink a
pair of three-pointers.
Other West Hills scoring: Matt Gilson 6, John Doherty 1.
Other Santana scoring: Tommy Browning 6, Sturgill 4, John Bachman 2.
EL CAPITAN 72, GROSSMONT 64 - The El Capitan Vaqueros didn't leave their
fate during Friday's (Jan. 11) Grossmont North League opener exclusively
in
the hands of 7-foot junior center Jarrod Boswell.
For one thing, the Grossmont Foothillers
wouldn't let them. Boswell was
bogged down by foul problems the whole night, as the Hillers continually
baited him to take the fateful fifth.
Boswell, who had scored 60 points, grabbed
30 rebounds and blocked 14 shots
in his previous two starts, just missed a triple-double as he
finished with
18 points, 10 rebounds and 9 blocks against Grossmont (8-10, 0-1).
John Relph, who had been mired in a mild
slump of late, regained his early
season form, producing 14 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Matt
Grant
chipped in with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, while Brett
Stephens
tossed in 9 points, dished out 4 assists and secured 4 rebounds.
Eric
Gregerson hit a pair of 3s and totaled 8 points.
Senior John Sanders continued to pave the
way for the Foothillers, generating
game-highs of 23 points - including 4 treys - and 12 rebounds
to go with a
team-best 5 assists. Sanders has scored 107 points in his last
four starts -
an average of 26.8 per game.
Grossmont received an unplanned bonus from
Blake Brands, who knocked down a
season-high 17 points - including 2 treys, cleared 6 rebounds,
made 3 steals
and dealt 3 assists. Tyler Vickers drew constant attention from
the El Cap
defense, but managed 15 points and 6 rebounds.
The Foothillers, who trailed by as many
as 15 points in the first half,
caught and passed the Vaqueros 45-44 with 52 seconds left in the
third
quarter 45-44. That would be Grossmont's only lead in the game,
as it lasted
just one possession.
In an ironic twist, El Capitan (7-11, 1-0)
committed only 13 fouls to
Grossmont's 12. But the Foothillers hit 14 of 18 free throws,
while the
Vaqueros were only 2 for 3 from the charity stripe.
Other El Capitan scoring: Mike Mena 7, Scott Fisher 4.
Other Grossmont scoring: Tyler Barbour 4, Casey Young 4, Matt Barbour 1.
MONTE VISTA 41, MOUNT MIGUEL 36 - It was a strange beginning to the
Grossmont South League season for these two clubs. The usually
free-wheeling
Matadors (11-7, 0-1) were forced to endure a slower tempo by the
Monarchs
Friday night (Jan. 11) at Monte Vista.
"The game was played at a good tempo
for us," Monte Vista coach Zach Peck
said. "We were pretty patient. We still missed a lot of short-range
shots,
but did a decent job of taking care of the ball."
Despite shooting only 33 percent from the
field (14 for 42), the Monarchs
(5-12, 1-0) turned the ball over just 14 times.
Monte Vista's zone defense limited the Matadors
to 10 field goals. Carlos
Ramer, Diondre Simpson and Clinton Snyder each had 4 steals for
the Monarchs.
Dalon Wells logged 3.
"We played kind of a match-up zone,"
Peck said. "And none of their shooters
ever got going."
No player for either team scored more than 8 points.
Ramer, who was 4-for-4 from the free throw
line, led the Monarchs with 8
points, while Simpson netted 7. Ronny Yousif nailed a pair of
3-pointers and
hauled down 5 rebounds. Wells, the Monarchs' top season scorer,
was bothered
by an ankle injury and did not start. He contributed 6 points.
Snyder snagged a game-high 12 rebounds to
go with 5 points for Monte Vista,
which also received 5 points and 4 assists from Chris Whyte.
Mount Miguel stepped out to a 10-5 first-quarter
lead, but the Monarchs kept
pecking away until they forged in front late in the third quarter.
Dominic Foster led Mount Miguel with 7 points
and 5 rebounds. Chris Campbell
collected 7 rebounds and 3 steals.
Other Monte Vista scoring: Nick Childs 4.
Other Mount Miguel scoring: JR Griffin 5,
Jay Barber 4, Eddie Woodward 4,
Ernie Ballenger 4, Campbell 4, JR Singh 3, Joey Street 3, Anthony
Cox 2.
HELIX 83, VALHALLA 52 - Winners of five straight Grossmont South League
titles, the Highlanders are showing no cracks in their budding
dynasty. Coach
John Singer's club opened the league season in blowout fashion
Friday night
(Jan. 11), as they used a 26-8 second quarter to snuff out any
plans the host
Norsemen had of springing an upset.
"You've got to beat us for four quarters,"
Singer said. "Individually, we
know we're not great, but you have to handle us for 32 minutes.
Tonight we
had 12 in the book, and all 12 scored. That's the kind of depth
that's hard
to beat."
Singer was pleased to note that his eight
underclassmen combined for 56
points. Junior Charles Smith set the pace with 14 points, including
a pair of
3-pointers. Six-foot-3 junior Raphael Bell banged in 11 points
and grabbed 10
rebounds for Helix (14-3, 1-0), which has won 11 of its last 12
starts.
"Helix was quicker to the ball and
fought harder for the ball than we did,"
said Valhalla coach Eric Thomas. "We played a zone, planning
on them to miss
some shots. They didn't miss. Helix had five 3s in the first half,
four of
them in the second quarter.
"I would hope to think they played
one of their best games tonight. They were
aggressive and they got the calls. They were just plain awesome."
Kenny Farris added 10 points for the Highlanders,
while Ray Toilolo landed a
pair of 3-pointers to finish with 9 points. Rajive Otah and Tramaine
West
contributed 8 points apiece.
Andrew Stinnett led Valhalla with 20 points
and 6 rebounds. Blake Fowler
accounted for the Norsemen's only 3-pointer, totaling 12 points
and 5
rebounds before fouling out. Sophomore Davon Jones also had 5
rebounds.
Other Helix scoring: Tim Bland 6, Ryan San
Juan 5, Stanley Caldwell 4, Eric
Robinson 4, Cliff Johnson 3, Marlon Pierce 1.
Other Valhalla scoring: Brent Molden 8,
Jared Johnston 4, Danny Sheppard 3,
Manny Gonzales 3, Travis Rothlisberger 2.
CHRISTIAN 79, CLAIREMONT 42 - The two-time defending Harbor League champion
Patriots opened the circuit campaign Friday (Jan. 11) with an
easy victory
over the visiting Chieftains at the Ryan Athletic Center.
It was Christian's 28th consecutive league
victory, dating back to the middle
of the 1998-99 season.
Christian (8-8, 1-0), which clicked on 61
percent of 54 field goal attempts,
opened up a 19-6 first-quarter lead. The Patriots were breezing
64-29 after
three quarters.
Moulaye Niang had a double-double of 18
points and 10 rebounds. He also
blocked 6 shots, dished out 3 assists and made 2 steals.
The Wohlfeil brothers - Jake and Ben - also
made major contributions in
abbreviated performances. A 6-foot-3 junior, Jake canned 7 of
9 shots from
the field, including a pair of 3s to finish with 17 points. In
addition, he
had 9 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. Senior Ben Wohlfeil knocked
down a
pair of treys on his way to a 16-point night and had a team-high
3 steals.
"Moulaye, Jake and Ben played well,"
said coach Curtis Hofmeister. "We
substituted liberally. Jake didn't play the last 10 minutes of
the game, and
Niang did most of his damage in 16 minutes."
Josh Paddock chipped in 8 points and 3 assists,
while John Wai added 6 points
and 3 assists, as did Kevin Epps, who also had a trey.
Clairemont was no match for Christian's
attacking defense. It was reflected
in the Chieftain's 30 percent field goal shooting (15 for 49).
"We guarded well," Hofmeister emphasized.
Other Christian scoring: Brent Dongell 4, Jesse LeBeau 2, Mike Muniz 2.
EL CAJON VALLEY 48, GRANITE HILLS 47
- Nate Reed scored 18 points, and
Anthony "Pooh" Taylor chipped in with 11 points and
11 rebounds Friday night
(Jan. 11) as the visiting Braves (9-8) avenged a 70-52 loss to
Granite Hills
last month.
"We played really inspired," said
El Cajon Valley coach Mike Raney. "We were
fired up."
It was a come-from-behind effort for the
Braves, who rallied from a 17-10
first quarter deficit. El Cajon Valley led 38-36 after three quarters,
and
then had to hang on in the final seconds.
"We missed three free throws in the
last 30 seconds," Granite Hills assistant
coach Randy Anderson said. "And one of those was the front
end of a bonus."
Mediocre shooting was the standard for both
teams. Reed, one of the top
backcourt marksmen in East County, was only 6 for 22 from the
floor. However,
he made three from above the arc.
As a team El Cajon Valley was 19 of 54 for
35 percent from the field. Granite
Hills (7-11) wasn't much better, as the Eagles netted just 16
of 46 shots. To
further frustrate themselves, the Eagles - who were 7 for 8 from
the free
throw line in the opening half - missed 6 of 8 in the final two
quarters.
Raney praised the defensive efforts of Nick
Felure and Jonathan Agana on
Mohammed Elhabashy, limiting East County's top 3-point shooter
to one trey.
Elhabashy totaled only 4 points over the final three quarters,
after scoring
eight in the opening period.
Rony Nasser added 12 points for Granite
Hills, hitting a trio of 3s while
handing out 3 assists. Greg Chase finished with 12 points, despite
connecting
on only 3 of 12 shots from the field.
Mark Hall contributed 6 points and 6 rebounds
for Granite Hills, while Felure
and Deron Taylor had 6 boards apiece for the Braves.
Other El Cajon Valley scoring: Felure 5,
Deron Taylor 4, Demarcus Flemister
4, Darick Dubose 4, Agana 2.
Other Granite Hills scoring: Robert Davis
4, Tyrone Araya 1.
(01-11-02 Rev.)
EastCountySports.com staff report
LAKESIDE - There's something special about
these Helix Highlanders. They have
an innate quality of not accepting defeat. You have to beat this
team because
they don't beat themselves.
The El Capitan Vaqueros enjoyed leads up
to 17 points over the visiting
Highlanders in Monday's (Jan. 7) Grossmont Conference crossover
game, but
still came up short in the end.
It took two overtimes before the Highlanders
(12-3) could vanquish the
Vaqueros 86-79. The victory was Helix's ninth in its last 10 starts.
"The game looked over and done with
and people were leaving," Helix coach
John Singer admitted. "But the really neat thing about our
kids is, they
somehow find a way to win,"
Senior Tramaine West, who garnered a team-high
28 points, totaled 17 in the
fourth quarter and two overtimes. In fact, it was his 11-point
outburst that
enabled Helix to claim a 24-15 scoring edge in the fourth quarter.
West hit a
trio of 3-pointers in the contest and accounted for four of Helix's
12 points
in the second overtime. Charles Smith also tallied 4 points in
the decisive
extra stanza.
"We play a style that we don't deviate
from," Singer said. "We're an
aggressive, man-to-man defensive team. We're telling you what
we're going to
do, and we're going to win or lose with that."
One factor the smallish Highlanders had
trouble dealing with was El Capitan's
7-foot, 240-pound junior center Jarrod Boswell, who arguably had
his finest
game of the year. Boswell posted a triple-double, knocking down
28 points,
grabbing 14 rebounds and blocking 10 shots.
"It's hard for us to match up with
that big guy," Singer said of his
Highlanders, who only have two players taller than 6-foot-1 -
senior Stanley
Caldwell (6-5) and junior Raphael Bell (6-3).
"He (Boswell) has really improved.
It's not like we're coming at him with any
big meat-and-potatoes kind of guys, but he's really hard to shoot
over,"
Singer added.
However, when Boswell fouled out with four
minutes left in regulation, the
Highlanders made their move - literally.
"With the big guy out of there, we
were like piranhas attacking the basket,"
Singer said.
To most observers the Highlanders' overall
team speed seemed to take its toll
as the game wore on. By the second four-minute overtime, El Capitan
(5-11)
was clearly out of gas.
Balance has been the key in Helix's offensive
make-up all season. Never was
it more evident than against the Vaqueros. Caldwell finished with
11 points
and 8 rebounds. Smith and Ryan San Juan tossed in 10 points each,
while Kenny
Farris contributed 9. Bell and Tim Bland had 8 points apiece.
Bell also
logged 6 rebounds.
El Capitan's Matt Grant scored 12 of his
20 points in the second quarter, as
the Vaqueros claimed a 45-30 halftime lead. The 5-foot-8 senior
guard also
rescued 7 rebounds, dished out 5 assists and made 2 steals. Mike
Mena, a 5-8
senior, rang up 17 points - including a pair of 3-pointers - for
the
Vaqueros. John Relph totaled 8 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists
before
fouling out.
Other Helix scoring: Cliff Johnson 2.
Other El Capitan scoring: Scott Fisher 3,
Eric Gregerson 3.
(01-07-02)
EastCountySports.com staff report
SANTEE - When it comes to taking games down
to the wire and pulling out a
victory, West Hills has been pretty successful this season. In
fact, in games
decided by five points or less, the Wolf Pack is 5-2.
The Wolf Pack came up inches short on Saturday
(Jan. 5), however, when Ryan
Hamann's bid for a game-tying 3-pointer missed its mark, enabling
visiting
San Marcos (12-4) to escape with a 61-58 non-league victory.
Sam Miller sank two free throws to pull
the Pack (9-5) to within 59-58 with
16 seconds remaining. Blake Sutton stole the Knights' inbound
pass and fired
to Matt Henriksen, who missed a shot but appeared to be fouled,
as he was
undercut going to the basket. No foul was called.
However, seconds later West Hills was whistled
for an infraction at the other
end of the court. Adam Greene hit two free throws to extend San
Marcos' lead
to 61-58 with 7 seconds left.
The Pack had one more chance to send the
game into overtime when Miller
dribbled through full-court pressure to deliver a pass to Hamann.
But Hamann
- who was 2 for 4 from 3-point range - was unable to connect this
time.
Hamann finished with12 points, including
4 for 4 shooting from the free throw
line.
Henriksen again came up big for West Hills,
netting 8 of 12 shots on his way
to 18 points. He also had a game-high 14 rebounds, 3 assists and
3 steals.
Guard Ricky Zizzo knocked down 18 points
for West Hills, while Adam Frye
chipped in with 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Sutton finished with
5 rebounds and
John Doherty contributed 4 assists.
The Knights, who shot 20 free throws in
the final period and converted 12,
outscored the Wolf Pack 22-19 over the last eight minutes.
Other West Hills scoring: Miller 4, Sutton
4, Frye 2.
(01-05-02)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - The Monte Vista Monarchs were
determined not to let Grossmont's
Tyler Vickers beat them in Friday's (Jan. 4) rematch between the
two teams.
The Monarchs (4-11) succeeded in their quest
to shut down Vickers, but
Grossmont senior John Sanders had a field day. The 6-foot-3 Sanders
poured in
30 points as the Foothillers defeated the visiting Monarchs for
the second
time, 58-54, in a non-league game.
Monte Vista utilized a box-and-one defense
to successfully keep Vickers out
of the scoring column, holding the 6-foot-4 sophomore to 5 points
- 17 fewer
than he recorded in Grossmont's 71-53 victory over the Monarchs
on Dec. 21.
Sanders, however, sank 9 field goals (two
from 3-point range) and 10 of 12
free throws in round two after scoring 21 points in the first
victory over
the Monarchs. He also had 8 rebounds and 2 steals in the rematch.
"The box-and-one they ran on Vickers
gave John some freedom and he took
advantage," Grossmont coach Frank Foggiano said.
Freshman Tyler Barbour, who has led Grossmont
(7-9) to five wins in six
starts since being promoted to the varsity, handed out 8 assists,
scored 7
points and made 3 steals against the Monarchs.
"Tyler is a tough kid, who plays really
tough defense," Foggiano praised.
"He's very quick and does a lot of things to help us."
Salim Ayub provided Grossmont with the long
ball, hitting 4 three-pointers on
his way to a 14-point finish. All of Ayub's scoring came in the
second half
as the Hillers garnered a 35-26 scoring edge over the Monarchs
in the final
two periods.
Dalon Wells had a big night in a losing
effort for the Monarchs. The 6-foot-2
senior scored 24 points, hitting 9 of 14 shots from the floor
and 6 of 8 free
throws. He also collected 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.
"Wells played very hard," Monte
Vista coach Zach Peck said. "He had a nice
game for us."
Carlos Ramer added 10 points and 4 rebounds
for the Monarchs, who also
received a 10-rebound, 7-point effort from freshman Clinton Snyder.
Chris
Whyte canned a pair of threes and totaled 7 points for the Monarchs,
who also
received a 6-rebound, 4-point effort from sophomore Nick Childs.
"I saw a lot of good things from our
kids out there tonight," Peck said. "The
main thing is we improved a lot over the first time that we played
them. They
really smoked us that first night. This game went down to the
wire."
Other Grossmont scoring: Blake Brands 2.
Other Monte Vista scoring: Ronny Yousif 2.
WEST HILLS 65, MARIAN CATHOLIC 64 - Sam Miller's lay-up with 15 seconds left
broke a 63-63 tie and provided the visiting Wolf Pack (9-4) with
the winning
margin in the non-league victory over the Crusaders Friday (Jan.
4) at Marian
Catholic.
The Wolf Pack, which hosts San Marcos Saturday
(Jan. 5) at 7 p.m., led by 10
points midway through the fourth quarter before a flurry of three-pointers
by
the Crusaders gave Marian a one-point edge with two minutes remaining.
With 20 seconds left and the game tied,
Miller missed the front end of a
one-and-one free throw opportunity. In the ensuing scramble for
the rebound,
Wolf Pack senior Ryan Hamann came up with the ball and fired a
pass to
Miller, who went in for the go-ahead lay-up. It was Miller's only
points in
the game.
West Hills nearly let the victory slip from
its grasp when Matt Henriksen
fouled Reginald Reynoso with 0:01 remaining. Reynoso missed the
first free
throw, but made the second, allowing the Pack to leave South Bay
with the
narrow victory.
Henriksen led the Pack with 20 points and
9 rebounds. He was deadly from the
free throw line, hitting all 6 of his attempts. Sharp-shooting
Ricky Zizzo
nailed a trio of three-pointers and finished with 15 points.
John Doherty played what was arguably his
finest basketball game at West
Hills. The junior guard clicked on 4 of 5 shots from the field
and 4 of 6
free throws for 12 points.
West Hills' Adam Frye tallied only 5 points,
but was a major factor in the
victory as he converted 3 of 4 free throw shots during the final
minute.
"This was a good win for us,"
West Hills coach Jeff Armstrong said. "But our
perimeter defense needs some work. We gave up 8 threes."
Other West Hills scoring: Hamann 7, Blake Sutton 2, Ryan Soto 2.
HELIX 64, HOOVER 49 - Coach John Singer's Highlanders (11-3) continued
to
prove themselves to be East County's finest unit Friday (Jan.
4) as they
handled Hoover in a non-league game on the Cardinals' court.
Despite winning for the 8th time in their
last 9 starts, the Highlanders
weren't at the pinnacle of their game as they trailed 14-12 after
one
quarter. They moved in front by 4 points at intermission, extended
their
advantage to 39-32 after three periods and broke the game open
down the
stretch.
"After playing in three tough tournaments,
our kids weren't real fired up for
this game," Singer admitted. "Basically, they just showed
up and played."
Nevertheless, Helix's overall talent and
deep bench prevailed. Nine
Highlanders contributed to the scoring column. Senior Stanley
Caldwell set
the pace with 14 points and 8 rebounds, before leaving the game
with an
apparent broken nose in the fourth quarter. The availability of
Caldwell -
the tallest of the Highlanders at 6-foot-4 - for Monday's (Jan.
7) Grossmont
Conference crossover game against El Capitian and 7-foot Jarrod
Boswell, is
uncertain.
Junior Tim Bland continued to make major
contributions for the Highlanders as
he netted 13 points against Hoover. Tramaine West added 10 points,
including
his team-leading 16th three-point bucket. Charles Smith tossed
in 8 points
and Ryan San Juan shoveled in 6 points and handed out 3 assists.
Helix plays at Santana on Tuesday (Jan.
8) before opening the Grossmont South
League campaign at Valhalla on Friday (Jan. 11). The Norsemen,
who have won 8
of their last 9, figure to provide a challenge for the defending-champion
Highlanders.
Other Helix scoring: Kenny Farris 5, Raphael
Bell 4, Eric Robinson 3, Rajive
Otah 2.
TORREY PINES 54, CHRISTIAN 34 - The Patriots' top three
scorers were off the
mark, hitting just 5 of 29 shots between them, and that spelled
disaster in
Friday's (Jan. 4) non-league game against the No. 2-ranked Falcons
(13-1).
Torrey Pines, which starts the tallest lineup
in the county, controlled the
boards and the tempo against the normally fast-breaking Patriots
(7-7).
"They play an extended zone, and slow
the game down to almost a crawl,"
Christian coach Curtis Hofmeister said. "And we still turned
the ball over
17 times. As you might expect against a team with their size (including
starters 6-10, 6-7, 6-6, 6-4), they don't give you many second
shots."
Christian's 6-foot-10 center Moulaye Niang
was in early foul trouble and
played only four minutes in the first half and less than 12 minutes
during
the final two quarters. He eventually fouled out, finishing with
season lows
of 3 points and 3 rebounds.
"We didn't give Moulaye much help,"
Hofmeister said. "Except for John Wai and
Josh Paddock we had a pretty awful shooting night," Hofmeister
said.
Wai scored a team-high 13 points, hitting
6 of 9 shots from the floor and one
three. Paddock notched 6 points on 3-for-4 shooting accuracy.
Jake Wohlfeil added 4 points, a team-best
6 rebounds and 3 assists in the
losing cause. Ben Wohlfeil chipped in with 6 points and a team-high
4 steals.
Wai also had 4 rebounds and 3 steals.
"Torrey Pines was coming off a loss
to Carlsbad and wanted to make a
statement," Hofmeister said.
For Christian, which travels to Horizon on Tuesday (Jan. 8), the
message was
received loud and clear.
Other Christian scoring: Brent Dongell 2.
(01-04-02)
EastCountySports.com staff report
CHULA VISTA - Helix is accustomed to playing
for championships. The
Highlanders celebrated the new year by clipping host Chula Vista
64-60 in
Monday night's (Dec. 31) 2001 Spartan Classic title game.
Tournament MVP Tramaine West scored 13 points,
and All-Tournament selection
Tim Bland came off the bench for 11 points as the Highlanders
(10-3) won for
the 7th time in their last 8 starts.
"We're playing 10 guys and we'll rotate
those 10 guys at any time," Helix
coach John Singer said. "We've kind of settled into a starting
five, but
there's not much difference between the first five and the second
five. You
could flip a coin on who should be the starters."
Helix's starting five at the moment consists
of point guard Kenny Farris, Ray
Toilolo, Stanley Caldwell, Charles Smith and West.
"Farris is a bulldog out there,"
Singer said. "You tell him how to do
anything during a game, and he'll see that it gets done."
Singer is equally as high on his deep bench.
"I want my guys to understand that
coming off the bench is just as valuable
to the team as starting," the coach said. "It's all
about winning as a team.
We've been in the finals of three straight tournaments, and we're
10-3. And
we've only played one home game (because the gym floor is being
refurbished).
"We're trying to get our kids to see
the big picture. It's bigger than
winning this tournament championship. We want to win our (Grossmont
South)
league a 6th straight time, and then get into CIF and see what
we can do."
Helix was not playing at a championship
tempo for the majority of the first
three quarters. The Highlanders went into the fourth quarter of
Monday's
title tilt trailing the Spartans 48-43.
"We picked up our intensity and that
seemed to lift our emotions on the
court," Singer said. The Highlanders outscored the Spartans
21-12 over the
final eight minutes.
West, who was hampered by foul troubles
most of the first half, scored 10
points in the final two quarters. Caldwell made several key blocks
and
finished with 14 points.
"It's like Chula Vista coach Mike Collins
told me after the game. He said,
'Your kids are just tougher and play harder when the game is on
the line.' "
Other Helix scoring: Farris 6, Toilolo 5,
Ryan San Juan 4, Rapael Bell 4,
Smith 4, Cliff Johnson 3.
MOUNT MIGUEL 52, CALIPATRIA 49 - JR "Chicago" Singh scored 14 points and
grabbed a dozen rebounds to lead the Matadors (10-6) past Calipatria
in
Monday's (Dec. 31) consolation final of the 2001 Spartan Classic
at Chula
Vista High.
"Chicago plays hard - he defends, rebounds
and scores," Mount Miguel coach
Jimmy Hurst said of the 6-foot-2 senior, who was named to the
All-Tournament
team. "It was very well deserved. He was our best player
in the tournament."
The Matadors took a 41-36 lead into the
final quarter and then hung on for
the win.
Chris Campbell and JR Griffin added 7 points
apiece for Mount Miguel, which
also got 10 rebounds from Ernie Ballenger.
Mount Miguel turned the ball over 22 times
and connected on only 10 of 22
free throws.
"We didn't play very well," Hurst
admitted. "We won't get away playing like
this in our (Grossmont South) league. But like Campbell said when
we came
into the locker room, It's a win."
Other Mount Miguel scoring: Joey Street
5, William Burkies 4, Dewayne Ary 3,
Ralph Johnson 3, Anthony Cox 3, Jay Barber 2, Dominic Foster 2,
Ballenger 2.
(12-31-01)
EASTCOUNTYSPORTS.COM STAFF REPORT
EL CAJON - It can no longer be classified
as a surprise when the Valhalla
Norsemen win a basketball game. After all, coach Eric Thomas'
squad has won
eight of its last nine, including a 78-70 victory over Crawford
in Saturday's
(Dec. 29) championship game of the Granite Hills Sportland Festival.
Drew Stinnett scored 25 points and grabbed
11 rebounds, while Blake Fowler
contributed 13 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists for the Norsemen
(8-9), who
overcame 13 three-point buckets by Crawford.
The Colts cashed in 6 of their treys in
the final period, but Stinnett helped
offset Crawford's challenge by scoring 8 of his points in the
last quarter.
"Every time they hit a three (in the
fourth quarter), Drew hit a two," said
Thomas, noting that Stinnett made good on 10 of 16 shots from
the floor.
Crawford claimed only a 24-21 scoring edge
over the final eight minutes. The
Norsemen converted 6 of 7 free throw chances during the same span.
Tommy Hanna made a key play at the close
of the first half, as he retrieved a
loose rebound, turned and chucked the ball three-quarters of the
length of
the floor and swished the longest 3-pointer of his career to increase
Valhalla's halftime lead to 40-32.
Brent Molden helped protect Valhalla's advantage
with a 3-point bucket in
each of the final two quarters. Manny Gonzalez was 5 for 5 from
the free
throw line on his way to 9 points in the game. Danny Sheppard
finished with
10 rebounds and 8 points for Valhalla, which must be considered
a contender
in the Grossmont South League race starting next month.
Other Valhalla scoring: Molden 8, Hanna 7, Jared Johnston 5, Devon Jones 3.
HELIX 68, SAN DIEGO 64 - Tramaine West scored 12 of his game-high 26 points
in the fourth quarter, as the Highlanders (9-3) overcame a 53-45
deficit to
defeat the Cavers in Saturday's (Dec. 29) semifinals of the Spartan
Classic
at Chula Vista High.
The come-from-behind win qualifies Helix
for Monday's (Dec. 31) championship
bout against tournament host Chula Vista - a surprising 64-61
semifinal
winner over Morse. The New Year's Eve contest starts at 7 p.m.
the
Highlanders and Spartans are no strangers. Helix defeated Chula
Vista 61-60
on West's game-winning lay-up in the final seconds Dec. 7 in the
Hilltop
Tournament.
West was clutch again, hitting a trio of
3-pointers, including one that gave
Helix the lead for keeps in the final period against San Diego.
The 5-foot-10
guard also netted 9 of 10 free throws. Tim Bland chipped in with
10 points,
and Stanley Caldwell added 8 as the Highlanders overcame a 13
point San Diego
lead in the fourth quarter.
"We just kept chipping away,"
said Helix coach John Singer. "These kids are
amazing."
Singer, who is not known for his appreciation
of flashy court antics, was
admittedly in awe of a putback dunk by the Highlanders' Cliff
Johnson.
"I've been coaching this game for more
than 30 years, and that was one of the
most spectacular plays I've ever seen," Singer said. "We're
talking about a
kid 5-10, 145 pounds who goes up in traffic and dunks the ball
over guys 6 to
7 inches taller than he is. He must have gotten a burst of energy
from
somewhere, because he really got elevated on that putback. Even
our kids were
surprised."
Other Helix scoring: Raphael Bell 7, Charles
Smith 5, Johnson 4, Ray Toilolo
4, Ryan San Juan 2, Kenny Farris 2.
MONTGOMERY 55, GROSSMONT 49 - The Foothillers were closing in on their
fourth straight victory and a championship in the Aztec Holiday
Invitational
Saturday (Dec. 29) at Montgomery.
The Hillers took a 42-37 lead into the final
period, but could not turn the
tables on the Aztecs, who used an 18-7 scoring spurt over the
final eight
minutes to steal the tournament crown.
"We played very, very well," Grossmont
coach Frank Foggiano said. "But we
had trouble putting the ball in the basket in the fourth quarter."
All-Tournament selection John Sanders led
Grossmont with 23 points, which
included a pair of 3-pointers and 5 for 6 free throw shooting.
Sophomore
Tyler Vickers, who also earned an All-Tournament berth, scored
only 9 points
in the championship game.
Casey Young helped pick up some of the scoring
slack with 11 points. He made
5 of 6 free throws, as Grossmont (6-9) netted 13 of 17 as a team
from the
charity stripe.
Other Grossmont scoring: Blake Brands 2, Jesse Gerber 2, Tyler Barbour 2.
WEST HILLS 69, HILLTOP 64 (OT) - All-Tournament pick Matt Henriksen hit 11
of 18 shots for 25 points and plucked 14 rebounds to lead the
Wolf Pack (8-4)
to the third-place, overtime victory in the Aztec Holiday Invitational
on
Saturday (Dec. 29) at Montgomery High.
Henriksen averaged 17 points in the four
tournament games, one less than
guard Ricky Zizzo, who also made the All-Tournament team. Zizzo,
who averaged
18 points in the tournament, knocked down a trio of 3-pointers
and finished
with 16 points against Hilltop.
Freshman Matthew Gilson went 4 for 4 in
the waning seconds of regulation, and
then sealed the deal with two more on-the-mark charity shots in
overtime.
Zizzo also hit a key 3-pointer during the extra period.
"This is the best team game we've had,"
said West Hills coach Jeff Armstrong.
"And Sam Miller had a huge game tonight."
Miller chipped in with 10 points - 2 free
throws in overtime - 7 rebounds and
6 assists for West Hills.
Other West Hills scoring: Ryan Hamman 4,
John Doherty 2, Blake Sutton 2,
Jeremy Hill 2, Bruce Bailey 1.
CHRISTIAN 75, BISHOP GORMAN 67 - Moulaye Niang and John Wai scored 20 points
apiece to carry the Patriots (7-6) to the National Prep Classic
victory over
Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas on Saturday (Dec. 29).
Niang, who was bogged down with foul trouble
in the opening half, scored all
of his points in the final two quarters. The 6-foot-10 senior
center, who
also garnered 11 rebounds and 4 assists, was named to the prestigious
National Prep Classic All-Tournament team.
Jake Wohlfeil, wearing a knee brace, scored
17 points, including 9 in the
second quarter, as Christian claimed a 31-28 halftime lead.
"Jake brings a calming influence to
us," said Christian coach Curtis
Hofmeister. "He didn't start either half, but played about
20 minutes and
accomplished quite a bit (including a pair of 3s on 5 of 8 shooting)."
It was a big night for Wai, who played all
32 minutes. The 6-foot-3 junior
crashed the boards for 13 rebounds - 10 on the offensive end.
He netted 7 of
12 field goals and logged 5 assists.
"Overall this was one of Wai's best games of the season," Hofmeister said.
Ben Wohlfeil contributed 6 points and 6
assists for the Patriots, while Brent
Dongell collected 5 offensive rebounds in the first half and totaled
6 points
in the game. Josh Paddock added 6 points for Christian.
EL CAPITAN 73, CENTENNIAL 52 - Jarrod Boswell scored 21 points, grabbed 12
rebounds and blocked 3 shots as the Vaqueros (5-10) defeated the
Golden Hawks
from Bakersfield in Saturday's (Dec. 29) Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops
Classic.
John Relph added 12 points, 5 rebounds and
4 steals, while Matt Grant hit a
pair of 3s, went 4 for 4 from the foul line, and totaled 12 points
for the
game. Eric Gregerson corralled 7 rebounds and canned a pair of
3-pointers for
6 points in a reserve role. Scott Fisher flagged down 6 rebounds
and tossed
in 6 points.
Other El Capitan scoring: Brett Stephens 7, Mike Mena 7, Sean Hogue 2.
GRANITE HILLS 53, CALEXICO 38 - Mohammed Elhabashy scored 22 points,
including a trio of 3-pointers to lead the Eagles (7-9) to the
victory over
Calexico in the third-place game in Saturday's (Dec. 29) Granite
Hills
Sportland Festival.
Greg Chase added 10 points and 5 rebounds,
while Mark Hall chipped in with 10
points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Elhabashy has an East
County-leading
42 three-pointers, while Hall has blocked 11 shots in his last
two games.
Other Granite Hills scoring: Rony Nasser
2 (4 assists), Robert Davis 3,
Robert Fine 5, Travis Heath 1 (6 rebounds), Tyrone Araya 3 (7
rebounds).
BURBANK 37, MOUNT MIGUEL 34 - Ralph Johnson had 9 points and 2 steals for
the Matadors (9-6), who bowed to Burbank in Saturday's (Dec. 29)
Spartan
Classic at Chula Vista High.
"This game was ours, and we gave it
away in the last two minutes," said Mount
Miguel coach, Jimmy Hurst.
JR Griffin garnered a team-high 9 rebounds
and 6 points for Mount Miguel,
which takes on Calipatria in Monday's (Dec. 31) consolation round
game at 1
p.m.
Other Mount Miguel scoring: Ernie Ballenger
6, Dominic Foster 6, Joey Street
3, and Jay Barber 2, Dewayne Ary 2.
KEARNY 37, MONTE VISTA 32 - Dalon Wells had 8 points for the Monarchs, who
shot only 32 percent in the Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic consolation
loss
on Saturday (Dec. 29).
Other Monte Vista scoring: Carlos Ramer
7 (3 assists), Ronny Yousif 3, Chris
Whyte 2, Diondre Simpson 2, Clinton Snyder 2, Andre Hadley 2,
JJ Jennings 2.
PACIFIC HILLS 64, EL CAJON VALLEY 42
- Nate Reed had 15 points and two
3-pointers, while Pooh Taylor had 9 points and 10 rebounds for
the Braves
(7-8), who dropped the Granite Hills Sportland Festival consolation
game on
Saturday (Dec. 29).
Darick Dubose had 8 points and 9 rebounds for Braves.
Other El Cajon Valley scoring: Demarcus
Flemister 4, Deron Taylor 4 (9
rebounds), Rodney Ridgel 2.
(12-29-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - The Valhalla Norsemen are closing
in on a championship. While
that may not sound like headline news, it's pretty big stuff when
you
consider coach Eric Thomas' club opened the season with eight
straight
setbacks.
By virtue of Friday's (Dec. 28) semifinal
56-51 victory over Pacific Hills of
West Hollywood, the Norsemen (7-9) take on Crawford for the Granite
Hills
Sportland Festival championship Saturday at 8:15 pm.
Known mostly for his 3-point shooting, Brent
Molden came up with a key
rebound with the game on the line. The 6-foot-3 senior ripped
off a rebound
at the defensive end. He passed the ball to Tommy Hanna who relayed
it to
Blake Fowler, who in turn, drove in for a clutch jumper in the
lane, giving
the Norsemen a 54-50 lead.
Drew Stinnett sealed the victory by sinking
2 free throws with nine seconds
remaining.
Although the Norsemen finished strong, they
were nearly blown out by the
Bruins at the start, as Pacific Hills darted out to an 8-0 lead.
"They were very aggressive, they were all over us," Thomas said.
Hanna helped right the ship for Valhalla,
hitting two 3-pointers as the
Norsemen pulled even at 14-14 by the close of the first period.
The game remained tied 26-all at the half,
and the Norsemen scored the final
six points of the third period to move ahead 41-39.
Danny Sheppard led the Norsemen with 16
points (4 for 4 on free throws) and
10 rebounds. Fowler finished with 15 points and 5 assists. He
was 7 for 10
from the free throw line. Stinnett totaled 10 points for the night.
Other Valhalla scoring: Hanna 6, Travis Rothlisberger 5, Devon Jones 4.
MOUNT MIGUEL 67, LA JOLLA COUNTRY DAY
59 - The Matadors' Ralph Johnson
celebrated his 17th birthday with a season-high 23 points, as
Mount Miguel
(9-5) stunned LJCD in Friday's (Dec. 28) Spartan Classic tilt
at Chula Vista
High.
"Johnson had 2 dunks and three 3s in
the first half," said Matadors coach
Jimmy Hurst, noting that the 6-foot-2 junior scored 15 points
during the
opening two quarters. "He's got a chance to be a pretty good
player. As long
as he keeps playing defense, I'll put him out there."
Johnson also had 6 steals and 5 rebounds.
Dewayne Ary, a 5-foot-11 junior, picked
off 16 rebounds for the Matadors,
while JR Singh shoveled in 11 points and cleared 7 caroms. Chris
Campbell
charted 10 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
It was a seesaw battle, to be sure. The
Torres took a 22-16 first-quarter
lead, before the Matadors gained control in the second period
to lead 39-31
at the break. Then it was the Torres' turn again in the third
quarter, as
LJCD claimed a 19-9 scoring advantage to tote a 50-48 edge into
the final
period.
"This is the roller coaster effect
you get with youth," said Hurst, who was
pleased to see the Matadors score 19 of the game's final 28 points
to secure
the victory. "One minute we look like world beaters, and
the next we look
like we're from a totally different planet."
Other Mount Miguel scoring: JR Griffin 9,
Dominic Foster 5, Jay Barber 5,
Ary 4.
GROSSMONT 89, LUTHERAN 44 - The Foothillers (6-8) steamrollered to their
fourth straight win and into Saturday night's (Dec. 29) finals
of the Aztec
Holiday Invitational at Montgomery. Coach Frank Foggiano's Hillers
(6-8) will
face the tournament's host team at 8:15 pm.
Despite not shooting any free throws in
the second half, Grossmont scored a
season-high against outmanned Lutheran. The Hillers connected
for a
season-best 11 three-pointers, with Blake Brands and Salim Ayub
setting the
pace with three each. John Sanders sank two shots from beyond
the arc, as he
shared the high-point honors with Brands and Ayub at 13 apiece.
Tyler Vickers scored all 10 of his points
in the first quarter as Grossmont
bounced out to a 30-14 lead. Jesse Gerber also finished with 10
markers for
the Hillers.
Other Grossmont scoring: Cody Long 7 (one
trey), Casey Young 6, Matt Barbour
5, Ryan Goldbarg 5 (one trey), Taylor McDonald 5 (one trey), Casey
Williams 2.
HELIX 89, MIRA MESA 57 - Stanley Caldwell canned 5 putback baskets during
a
28-point second quarter to help the Highlanders turn a 1-point
first-quarter
deficit into a 41-22 halftime lead over the Marauders in Friday's
(Dec. 28)
Spartan Classic at Chula Vista High.
Caldwell finished with 15 points, sharing
Helix's highwater mark with Tim
Bland. Raphael Bell rang up 14 points, and Charles Smith and Tramaine
West
tossed in 10 apiece.
"The key to our team is we don't drop
off when we need to make a move," Helix
coach John Singer said. "When someone gets into foul trouble,
we just put
somebody else in. This team has a lot of interchangeable parts."
The Highlanders (8-3) need a victory over
San Diego in Saturday's (Dec. 29)
semifinals at 5:30 pm to advance to the Spartan Classic championship
game on
Monday (Dec. 31).
Other Helix scoring: Ray Toilolo 6, Ryan
San Juan 6, Cliff Johnson 4, Eric
Robinson 4, Kenny Farris 3, Rajive Otah 2.
MONTGOMERY 55, WEST HILLS 39 - The Wolf Pack (7-4) sputtered on offense, as
senior guard Ricky Zizzo cooled off on Friday (Dec. 28) after
two sizzling
shooting nights in the Aztec Holiday Invitational at Montgomery
High.
"We didn't have a lot of offensive
continuity," West Hills coach Jeff
Armstrong admitted. "And we weren't very aggressive, as we
shot only two free
throws."
Nevertheless, the Pack cut the Aztecs' lead
to six points midway through the
fourth quarter before falling back for the final time.
Matt Henriksen and Ryan Hamann popped in
10 points apiece to pace the Wolf
Pack. Hamann nailed a pair of threes, as did Zizzo, who settled
for 6 points
on the night.
Other West Hills scoring: Blake Sutton 5,
Adam Frye 3, Sam Miller 3, Brad
Ostrander 2.
GRANITE HILLS 72, CENTRAL UNION 63 - In a game that was dominated by a flock
of Eagles, the host Granite Hills' version of the species flew
by the Central
Union Eagles of El Centro in fast-paced encounter on Friday (Dec.
28).
Granite Hills' Robert Davis scored 20 points
to pace a balanced attack for
the Eagles (6-9), who advance to the 3rd place game of the Granite
Hills
Sportland Festival tournament on Saturday against Calexico at
6:30 pm.
Greg Chase chipped in 16 points and 10 rebounds
for Granite Hills. Mohammed
Elhabashy contributed 15 points, and Mark Hall chimed in with
10 points as
the Eagles won for the fourth time in their last seven starts.
Elhabashy and Hall each hit a 3-pointer. Rony Nasser handed out 6 assists.
Other Granite Hills scoring: Robert Fine 5, Nasser 4, Tyrone Araya 2.
CRAWFORD 73, EL CAJON VALLEY 68 - Nate Reed turned in another brilliant
performance for the Braves, drilling in 27 points (12 on 3-pointers),
hit 7
of 7 free throws, corralled 10 rebounds, handed out 3 assists,
and made 2
steals in Friday's (Dec. 28) Granite Hills Sportland Festival
game.
But the Braves (7-7) were lacking in support for their junior quarterback.
Crawford's 28-point second quarter clearly
irked Braves' coach Mike Raney. As
far as El Cajon Valley was concerned, there wasn't a whole of
defense goin'
on.
In the third quarter the Braves tightened
their defense, limiting the Colts
to 9 points. But Crawford came back for 24 in the final period
to hold off
the Braves and advance to Saturday's (Dec. 29) tournament championship
game.
Pooh Taylor garnered a game-high 11 rebounds
and tossed in 13 points. Nick
Felure added 9 points, and Darick Dubose banged in 8.
Other El Cajon Valley scoring: Jonathan
Agana 5, Demarcus Flemister 4,
Calvin Pearce 2.
RANCHO BUENA VISTA 84, EL CAPITAN 80
(OT) - The Vaqueros played well
in
several areas, but missing 15 of 30 free throws led to their third
straight
loss in the Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic contest.
El Capitan (4-10) wasted a 30-point, 21-rebound
effort by 7-foot center
Jarrod Boswell. He also blocked 4 shots and accounted for 4 points
during the
overtime period. However, he struggled from the free throw line,
converting
only 2 of 7 chances in the game.
John Relph, who totaled 15 points, 10 rebounds
and 4 assists, also struggled
from the charity stripe, hitting just 3 of 10.
Matt Grant tried to win it for El Cap during
the four-minute overtime as he
scored 6 of his 13 points during that pressure-packed period.
His effort
included 4 for 4 shooting from the free throw line. Grant also
had 5 assists,
5 steals and 6 rebounds in the game.
Mike Mena hit a pair of 3s and finished
with a career-high 13 points in the
losing cause. Eric Gregerson also connected for two 3-pointers,
and Grant hit
one trey.
Jeremy Cross led the RBV crusade with 38
points, including 11 of the
Longhorns' 14 tallies in overtime.
Other El Capitan scoring: Gregerson 6, Brett Stephens 2, Scott Fisher 1,
EISENHOWER 71, CHRISTIAN 36 - In Curtis Hofmeister's two seasons as
Christian High head coach, he can't recall his Patriots trailing
38-12 at the
halftime of any game.
But that was the case on Friday (Dec. 28)
in a National Prep Classic game at
San Dieguito Academy. The injury-riddled Patriots (6-6) found
themselves down
by 26 points after two quarters to Rialto Eisenhower.
"If we would have had a full squad,
we probably could have made it
interesting," said Hofmeister, noting that second-leading
scorer Jake
Wohlfeil and versatile Michael Singleton are sidelined with ankle
injuries.
As it was, the Patriots - who have lost
three straight, and 6 of their last 8
against blue chip competition - relied almost exclusively on 6-foot-10
center
Moulaye Niang to carry them against Eisenhower. Niang accounted
for 26
points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals.
Other Christian scoring: John Wai 4, Ben Wohlfeil 4, Kevin Epps 2.
OCEANSIDE 59, MONTE VISTA 36 - The Monarchs (4-9) fell behind 18-12 after
one quarter, and never recovered as they dropped the Mt. Carmel
Holiday Hoops
Classic contest to Oceanside (7-6) on Friday (Dec. 28).
Dalon Wells led the Monarchs with 12 points.
Ronny Yousif had 8 points,
including a pair of treys.
(No other information was provided.)
(12-28-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - Monte Vista sophomore Ronny Yousif's
two free throws with nine
seconds remaining broke a 68-68 tie and gave the Monarchs a 70-68
Mt. Carmel
Holiday Hoops Classic victory over El Capitan on Thursday (Dec.
27).
The Monarchs (4-8) had tied the game at
68-all a few seconds earlier when
Diondre Simpson sank a pair of free throws.
Monte Vista was sitting on a 65-62 lead
with 2:25 remaining. But El Capitan's
Matt Grant hit a pair of 3-pointers to vault the Vaqueros into
the lead.
After the Monarchs edged in front in the waning seconds, Grant
launched a
potential game-winning 3-point shot, but failed to connect.
Simpson scored a career-high 23 points to
lead the Monarchs. His totals
included 6 for 7 free throw shooting, and the Monarchs' only 3-pointer
in the
game. The 6-foot senior also had six rebounds.
Dalon Wells rolled a double-double for the
Monarchs, knocking down 21 points
while clearing 10 rebounds. He also had 3 steals and a pair of
assists.
Freshman Clinton Snyder was also strong
on the boards for Monte Vista,
collecting 9 caroms to go with 5 points and 3 assists. Senior
guard Chris
Whyte chipped in 7 points and 5 steals.
Playing on a sore ankle, El Capitan's 7-foot
center Jarrod Boswell poured in
18 points, and was the Vaqueros' top man on the board with 9 rebounds.
He
also blocked 2 shots and made 2 steals. His totals are impressive,
considering that his activity was punctuated by brief breaks on
the bench to
rest his ankle. He eventually fouled out midway through the fourth
quarter.
Grant totaled a team-high 19 points, a trio
of 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, 4
steals and 2 assists for the Vaqueros (4-9).
John Relph converted 7 of 10 free throws on his way to a 17-point outing.
Other Monte Vista scoring: Yousif 6, Nick Childs 6, Carlos Ramer 2.
Other El Capitan scoring: Scott Fisher 6, Mike Mena 4, Brett Stephens 4.
GRANITE HILLS 70, EL CAJON VALLEY 52
- The Eagles pulled the plug on
the El
Cajon Valley offense in Thursday's (Dec. 27) Granite Hills Sportland
Festival
encounter.
"We didn't get into a running game
with them," Granite Hills assistant coach
Randy Anderson said. "They wanted to play a speed game, but
we slowed things
down."
The strategy was successful, as El Cajon
Valley aces Anthony "Pooh" Taylor
and Nate Reed were held to a combined 21 points - 54 less than
they had
generated one day earlier.
One of the keys - and there were many -
to Granite Hills' dominance was the
play of Mark Hall at point guard. The 6-foot-6 sophomore not only
directed
traffic, but also scored 10 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and blocked
4 shots.
Another standout for the Eagles (5-9) was
Robert Davis. The 5-foot-11 senior
shadowed the Braves' Reed, limiting him to 5 points in the first
half and 14
in the game. Reed was 6-for-20 from the floor against the Eagles.
Meanwhile, Davis hit 7 of 9 shots on the offensive end, totaling 16 points.
Greg Chase paced the Eagles with 18 points,
including 6 of 12 shooting from
the field.
Not to be overlooked was Travis Heath. The
Granite Hills senior turned in a
double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, but was probably more
valuable
for his defensive job on the Braves' Taylor. The 6-foot-4, 260-pound
El Cajon
Valley senior connected on only 3 of 14 shots from the field,
and finished
with 7 points and 9 rebounds.
"Heath contested Taylor on all of his
shots. He did a great job," said
Anderson.
The Braves fell to 7-6.
Other Granite Hills scoring: Mohammed Elhabashy
8, Rony Nasser 4, Robert
Fine 2.
Other El Cajon Valley scoring: Jonathan
Agana 9, Nick Felure 8, Demarcus
Flemister 7, Tremaine Foster 3, Deron Taylor 2, Rodney Ridgel
2.
WEST HILLS 57, HOOVER 54 - After taking a 17-10 first-quarter lead, the Wolf
Pack fell behind 31-28 by halftime and was forced to play a game
of catch-up
in Thursday's (Dec. 27) Aztec Holiday Invitational at Montgomery.
Enter long-ranger Ricky Zizzo. The senior
guard, who has scored 51 points in
the last two games, hit a 3-pointer to give the Wolf Pack (7-3)
a one-point
edge with less than three minutes remaining. Matt Henriksen helped
protect
the lead by pounding in a pair of field goals in the final minutes.
Zizzo hit 4 treys in the game and netted
6 of 7 free throws as the Wolf Pack
won its fifth straight.
"Zizzo's back must be getting sore
because he's carried us these last couple
of games," said West Hills coach Jeff Armstrong. "He
also did a good job
defending their point (guard)."
In addition to Zizzo's game-high 24 points,
the Pack also got 15 points from
Henriksen, who clicked on 7 of 9 shots from the floor. Henriksen
also hauled
down 7 rebounds, grabbed 4 steals and handed out 3 assists.
Blake Sutton scored only 2 points, but contributed
with 6 rebounds and 3
assists. Sam Miller picked off 3 steals and dealt 3 assists for
the Pack.
Other West Hills scoring: Ryan Hamann 7,
Matthew Gilson 4, Miller 2, Ryan
Soto 2, Jeremy Hill 1.
VALHALLA 75, CALEXICO 34 - The Norsemen probably can't even remember being
0-8 less than two weeks ago, as they've won six of their last
seven games.
In its latest conquest, Valhalla led Calexico
13-2 after one quarter, and
52-25 after three in Thursday's (Dec. 27) Granite Hills Sportland
Festival.
Danny Sheppard broke out of a recent slump
with 15 points and 10 rebounds to
bolster Valhalla (6-9). Steady Drew Stinnett shuttled in 17 points
while
taking down 5 rebounds, while sophomore Travis Rothlisberger rang
up 11
points, including two of the Norsemen's 7 treys in the game. Rothlisberger
also ripped off 6 rebounds, as did Blake Fowler.
Sophomore Devon Jones added 7 points, including
one 3-pointer, while Tommy
Hanna registered 4 rebounds and a team-high 4 steals.
Other Valhalla scoring: Fowler 7, Brent
Molden 5, Jared Johnston 5, Jordan
March 3, Steven Daoud 3, Manny Gonzales 2.
GROSSMONT 59, SOUTHWEST (EC) 39 - Don't look now, but the Foothillers (5-8)
are starting to gain a little momentum. They made it look easy
in Thursday's
(Dec. 27) Aztec Holiday Invitational when they smothered El Centro
Southwest
for their third victory in a row at Montgomery.
Once again it was sophomore Tyler Vickers
(18 points, 8 rebounds) and senior
John Sanders (16 points) leading the way for Grossmont (5-8).
Sanders hit a
three-pointer, as did Salim Ayub.
Keeping track of the tournament schedule
has been a bigger problem than
handling the competition. Grossmont was slated to play a Desert
View crew on
Friday (Dec. 28), but the Arizonans decided to stay home. Local
Midway
Baptist was added to the tournament, but elected not to play Grossmont.
Now
it appears that tiny Lutheran will face the Foothillers in Friday's
third
round at 1:45 p.m.
Other Grossmont scoring: Blake Brands 6,
Thomas Hernandez 6, Jesse Gerber 4,
Darrin Parsons 4, Taylor McDonald 2.
SANTA MARGARITA 62, CHRISTIAN 42 - Playing without junior Jake Wohlfeil
didn't help. Neither did falling behind 11-0 to Santa Margarita,
the No.
1-ranked team in Orange County. Then when 6-foot-10 center Moulaye
Niang was
tagged for two fouls just three minutes into Thursday's (Dec.
27) game, it
only added to the woeful outing for the Christian Patriots (6-5).
"They think Jake has a stretched ligament
in his knee," Christian coach
Curtis Hofmeister said. "He's out for the rest of the (National
Prep Classic)
tournament, but hopefully that's all. We can't afford to lose
what Jake gives
us."
Only three Patriots contributed to the club's
lowest scoring output of the
season. Niang notched 15 points and 9 rebounds. Guard Ben Wohlfeil
also
netted 15 markers and handed out 3 assists. John Wai chipped in
12 points and
3 assists.
"We had only three offensive rebounds
the whole game," Hofmeister noted. "And
we didn't get many fast-break buckets. No second shots and no
fast break. It
killed us."
One high point for Christian was its second-half
defense. Santa Margarita,
which was 7-for-12 from three-point range en route to a 38-20
first half
lead, was 0-for-8 above the arc in the final two quarters.
HELIX 77, SAN PASQUAL 67 - The Highlanders (7-3) don't find themselves in
too many scoring-fests the likes of Thursday's (Dec. 27) first-round
contest
of the 2001 Spartan Classic against San Pasqual at Chula Vista
High.
"They were in a 3-2 zone the whole
game," Helix coach John Singer said of the
taller Golden Eagles. "Basically, they were just standing
around covering
wood. We finally took it to them in the third quarter."
San Pasqual stayed in the game by hammering
down 9 three-pointers, while
Helix was hampered by first-half foul troubles.
"When we stopped fouling and started
moving our feet to play defense, we
started to pull away," Singer said.
Stanley Caldwell canned 17 points to pace
the Highlanders, who also received
a 15-point effort from Ray Toilolo. In addition to hitting 5 of
6 free
throws, Toilolo also tickled the twine for a pair of 3-pointers.
Raphael Bell
also reached double figures with a 10-spot for Helix.
Other Helix scoring: Tim Bland 8, Charles
Smith 7, Tramaine West 4, Ryan San
Juan 3, Rajive Otah 2, Cliff Johnson 2, Eric Robinson 2.
MORSE 77, MOUNT MIGUEL 60 - The Matadors (8-5) watched the Tigers sprint to
a 23-7 first-quarter lead and never look back in Thursday's (Dec.
27) opening
round of the Spartan Classic at Chula Vista High.
"We're still on vacation," Mount
Miguel coach Jimmy Hurst offered for his
team's uninspired performance.
Junior Ralph Johnson was the one of the
Mount Miguel's bright spots as he led
the Matadors with 18 points. Half of his points came via the three-point-shot
route. Joey Street added 8 points, including a pair of treys.
Other Mount Miguel scoring: Dwayne Ary 7, JR Griffin 7, Chris
Campbell 6,
Ernie Ballenger 2, Dominic Foster 3, Eddie Woodward 3, JR Singh
3, Jay
Barber 3.
(12-27-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - Word of caution: Do not challenge
the El Cajon Valley Braves to
a game of run-and-gun basketball. They're pretty good at it.
In one of the top 1-2 scoring punches in
a game thus far this season, the
Braves' Anthony "Pooh" Taylor and Nate Reed combined
for 75 points, as El
Cajon Valley ran down El Centro's Central Union 86-72 in Wednesday's
(Dec.
26) opening round of the Granite Hills Sportland Festival.
Taylor, a 6-foot-4, 260-pound senior, registered
career highs of 39 points
and 24 rebounds, while Reed, a fast-breaking 5-foot-8 junior guard,
popped in
36 points, including a pair of 3s. Reed also logged 7 steals,
7 rebounds and
a pair of assists for the Braves (7-5), who snapped a three-game
losing
streak.
"I'll say one thing for Central, they
didn't quit," said Braves' coach Mike
Raney. "And for us, I'm just pleased that we finally won
one."
It's pretty difficult to beat Taylor and
Reed when they're on their game like
they were against the Spartans.
The whole story Raney noted, however, was
not exclusively about the
point-makers. Football player Calvin Pearce, who recently joined
the
basketball team, collected 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Nick Felure
also had 4
rebounds for the Braves.
Other El Cajon Valley scoring: Demarcus
Flemister 7, Rodney Ridgel 2, Felure
2.
VALHALLA 65, SWEETWATER 60 - Norsemen coach Eric Thomas was glad to have
Blake Fowler back at the top of his game in Wednesday's (Dec.
26) opening
round of the Granite Hills Sportland Festival.
Fowler scored 9 of his team-high 19 points
in the fourth quarter as Valhalla
(5-9) came from behind to win.
"Blake was absolutely outstanding,"
Thomas lauded. "He was all over the court
- wasn't about to let us lose. He really held us together down
the stretch.
He must have had 15 rebounds and 4 steals in the game."
It was the 5th win in the last six games
for the Norsemen, who outscored the
Red Devils 23-14 in the fourth quarter.
Drew Stinnett added 17 points, and Manny
Gonzales contributed 10 points,
including 5-for-5 free throw shooting in the final quarter.
Thomas praised the defensive work of Steven
Daoud. The senior guard cooled
off Sweetwater's Rene Truijillo, who scored 18 of his team's 33
first-half
points. Once Daoud locked on, Truijillo was limited to 4 points
until the
game was in hand late in the fourth quarter.
"Daoud really shut that kid down,"
Thomas said. "(Truijillo) got a couple of
easy lay-ups at the end, but that was really after-the-fact."
Other Valhalla scoring: Brent Molden 7,
Danny Sheppard 4, Travis
Rothlisberger 3, Tommy Hanna 3, Daoud 3.
CRAWFORD 57, GRANITE HILLS 55 - The Eagles looked sharp in the second
quarter, as they outscored the Colts 22-6 to take a 31-22 halftime
lead in
Wednesday's (Dec. 26) first round of the Granite Hills Sportland
Festival.
However, Granite Hills could not sustain
the momentum in the third quarter,
as the Colts crept in front 42-41 by the end of the period.
"We missed an awful lot of shots in
the third quarter, didn't play with much
intensity," Granite Hills assistant coach Randy Anderson
said.
Even so, with 15 seconds remaining the Eagles
had their chances to pull it
out. Greg Chase missed a short bank shot. Crawford got the rebound
and the
Eagles immediately fouled. The Colts then missed the front end
of a
one-and-one, and the Eagles (4-9) were still alive.
Granite Hills, however, was unable to capitalize
on two scoring chances in
the final eight seconds. Rony Nasser missed a potential game-winning
three-pointer, and Robert Davis could not convert the putback.
Chase paced the Eagles with 12 points and
7 rebounds. Mark Hall hit a trio of
3-pointers and finished with 11 points, while Travis Heath enjoyed
his first
double-double of the season, scoring 10 points and clearing a
game-high 12
rebounds. Mohammed Elhabashy hit a pair of 3-pointers on his way
to 10 points.
Other Granite Hills scoring: Robert Fine
5, Tyrone Araya 3, Nasser 2, Davis
2.
CAPISTRANO VALLEY 68, CHRISTIAN 67 - Fifteen missed free throws proved to be
the difference, as the Patriots dropped Wednesday's (Dec. 26)
National Prep
Classic prelim game at Torrey Pines.
"Usually we're pretty good from the
line, but we just couldn't knock 'em down
today," Christian coach Curtis Hofmeister said, referring
to the Patriots'
17-for-32 effort. "We missed 6 of 11 free throws in the last
quarter, when
the game was on the line. You can't expect to do that against
a good team
like Capo Valley and expect to win."
More important than the Patriots' loss on
the court was the knee injury
suffered by junior Jake Wohlfeil in the third quarter. The 6-foot-3
Wohlfeil,
who left the game with 18 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, was
taken to a
nearby hospital for X-rays.
"It didn't look good," Hofmeister
said. "Whenever he moved it, he said he
felt pain."
The Patriots took a 67-66 lead on a free
throw by Moulaye Niang with 35
seconds remaining.
"Even after Capo regained the lead
(68-67), we still got three shots in the
last 10 seconds, but couldn't get it in," Hofmeister lamented.
Niang led the Patriots with 21 points, 7
rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Ben
Wohlfeil chipped in 11 points. Josh Paddock didn't score, but
managed to
garner 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
Other Christian scoring: Michael Singleton 8, Brent Dongell 5, John Wai 4.
WEST HILLS 64, BRAWLEY 59 - Senior guard Ricky Zizzo scored a career-high 27
points, including a key bucket in the final minute, as the Wolf
Pack (6-3)
tamed the Wildcats in Wednesday's (Dec. 26) opening round of the
Aztec
Holiday Invitational at Montgomery.
Zizzo hit 7 of 11 floor shots, including
2-for-5 from 3-point range, and all
7 of his free throw opportunities.
"Ricky continues to shoot the ball
very well," West Hills coach Jeff
Armstrong said.
But this was no one-man show. Matt Henriksen,
who was 8 for 11 from the
floor, chimed in with 17 points, a team-high 12 rebounds, and
3 steals.
Junior Jeremy Hill scored only 2 points,
but his two free throws with less
than two minutes remaining gave West Hills a one-point lead it
didn't lose.
Buckets by Zizzo and Henriksen sealed the victory.
Freshman Matthew Gilson garnered 5 rebounds
for the Pack, which also got a
team-best 3 assists from Blake Sutton.
Other West Hills scoring: Sutton 4, Adam Frye 4, Ryan Soto 4, Bruce Bailey 2.
GROSSMONT 64, HILLTOP 55 - John Sanders scored 21 points and grabbed 8
rebounds, while Tyler Vickers collected 20 points and 7 boards,
as the
Foothillers defeated the Lancers in Wednesday's (Dec. 26) first
round of the
Aztec Holiday Invitational at Montgomery.
"We were in the control pretty much
the whole way," said Grossmont coach
Frank Foggiano.
The Foothillers (4-8) led by as many as
14 points early in the fourth quarter
before Foggiano made wholesale substitutions.
Sanders and Blake Brands each had a 3-pointer for Grossmont.
Other Grossmont scoring: Brands 9, Jesse
Gerber 6, Salim Ayub 4, Tyler
Barbour 2, Casey Young 2.
SONORA (La Habra) 74, EL CAPITAN 48 - Vaqueros center Jarrod Boswell was off
to one of his best starts of the season, but left the game with
an ankle
sprain two minutes into the second quarter of Wednesday's (Dec.
26) opening
round of the Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic.
The 7-foot junior had generated 10 points
and grabbed 11 rebounds prior to
his premature departure. His status for the remainder of the week
is
questionable.
To make matters worse for the Vaqueros (4-8),
senior marksman John Relph
missed the majority of the third quarter after reportedly having
the wind
knocked out of him. He settled for 7 points, which is less than
half his
season average.
Without Boswell and Relph, the Raiders from
Sonora claimed a 22-5 scoring
advantage in the third period to take a 57-32 lead.
Matt Grant led El Capitan with 14 points,
2 rebounds and 2 assists, while
Brett Stephens added 9 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Scott
Fisher scored
only 4 points, but hauled down 4 rebounds, made 5 steals and dealt
3 assists.
Mike Mena came off the bench for 5 rebounds and 4 steals.
Other El Capitan scoring: Billy Lieberknecht 2, Sean Hogue 2.
MT. CARMEL 60, MONTE VISTA 29 - The Monarchs (3-8) reached a new low in
Wednesday's (Dec. 26) opening round of the Mt. Carmel Holiday
Hoops Classic
when they fell behind the host Sundevils 22-0 after one quarter.
It didn't
get much better in the second period, as Monte Vista trailed 30-4
at halftime.
"Our kids are so inexperienced that
when they meet a real aggressive,
pressing team it takes them awhile to adjust," Monte Vista
coach Zach Peck
said. The Monarchs turned the ball over 21 times.
Dalon Wells led the Monarchs with 13 points.
Clinton Snyder pulled down a
team-high 6 rebounds, one more than Derek Sykes.
Other Monte Vista scoring: Sykes 4, Chris
Whyte 4, Nick Childs 3, Ronny
Yousif 3, Diondre Simpson 2.
(12-26-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - Folks at the Mission Prep Classic
in San Luis Obispo finally got
to see the Christian High Patriots at their best in Saturday's
(Dec. 22)
final round of the four-day tournament.
The Patriots (6-3) were breezing 10-0 after
90 seconds, 20-0 after five
minutes and 31-7 after the first quarter. The issue was pretty
much decided
by then as the Patriots, who led by 30 points in the fourth quarter,
cruised
to an 84-69 victory over Fresno Edison.
Kansas-bound Moulaye Niang, Christian's
6-foot-10 senior center, scored 28
points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked 5 shots to lead the Patriots.
He and
Jake Wohlfeil, who finished with 23 points, ganged up on Edison
to score 24
points between them in the pivotal first quarter.
"We sustained intensity for most of
the game, and that's not easy to do when
you're up by a bunch early," Christian coach Curtis Hofmeister
said. "This
was a good team, and we jumped all over them in the first quarter.
I think
they thought they were going to be able to do that to us."
Naing converted 13 of 17 shots from the
floor, while Jake Wohlfeil was
on-target with 10 of his 12 shots. Wohlfeil also had 5 assists,
as did his
brother Ben Wohlfeil, who added 5 points and 3 steals to the mix.
John Wai rolled a double-double with 12
points and 10 rebounds to go along
with 5 assists. Brent Dongell contributed 9 points.
The Patriots shot 63 percent from the floor
(19 of 30) in the first half, and
connected on 57 percent of 58 shots in the game.
"I thought we competed well all four
days of this tournament against good
competition," Hofmeister said. "Our two losses were
to nationally-ranked
teams, and we came close to beating both. Hopefully, we can take
some of this
momentum into the National Prep Classic next week."
Other Christian scoring: Josh Paddock 3,
Michael Singleton 2, Travis Dalton
2.
EL CAPITAN 76, HENRY 63 - The Vaqueros (4-7) used a 23-9 third-quarter
scoring tear to subdue Patrick Henry in a consolation game of
the Lions
Club/Sweetwater Holiday Prep Classic Saturday (Dec. 22) at Sweetwater
High.
Senior guard Matt Grant scored a game-high
24 for the Vaqueros, who won for
the fourth time in their last five outings. Grant landed a trio
of
three-pointers, one less than Brett Stephens, who totaled 17 points
for the
evening. It was a night of threes for Stephens, who also was 3-for-3
from the
free throw line, grabbed 3 rebounds and handed out 3 assists.
Stephens
spearheaded El Cap's third-quarter assault with 10 points.
Despite being bogged down by foul troubles,
El Cap's 7-foot center Jarrod
Boswell contributed 13 points and 5 rebounds, while John Relph
notched 12
points, made 8 scoring passes and cleared 4 rebounds.
Scott Fisher added 6 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for the Vaqueros.
Other El Capitan scoring: Eric Gregerson 3, Billy Lieberknecht 1.
EL CAMINO 71, HELIX 67 - For the third straight game, the Highlanders were
matched against an undefeated team. They disposed of Miramonte
and Hanford in
the opening two rounds, but came up short in Saturday's (Dec.
22) loss to
SDCIF power El Camino (10-0) in the championship game of the Red
Bluff
Holiday Classic.
The Highlanders (6-3) led 30-29 at the half,
but the Wildcats used a 28-16
third-quarter spurt to turn the game around.
El Camino netted only 18 field goals to
25 for the Highlanders. Both teams
made 16 free throws. The difference - El Camino held a 7-1 edge
in
three-point buckets.
Tramaine West, an all-tournament pick, led
the Highlanders with 15 points,
while Kenny Farris tossed in 12.
Other Helix scoring: Ryan San Juan 9, Raphael
Bell 9, Tim Bland 9, Charles
Smith 6, Stanley Caldwell 4, Cliff Johnson 2, Ray Toilolo 1.
(12-22-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
SANTEE - Santana coach Tim Barry went ballistic
in the third quarter of
Friday's (Dec. 21) Grossmont Conference crossover game against
visiting Mount
Miguel. "It was not a pretty sight," said Barry, who
was ejected before his
Sultans lost to the Matadors 67-59.
"Never in my 10 years of coaching have
I been more frustrated," said Barry,
who was whistled for three technical fouls and then ordered to
leave the
Santana gym by game officials. "I just lost it emotionally.
I've never been
this bad, and I'm totally embarrassed for myself and the official
who caused
all this. I apologized to my family and to my team."
Barry's team, however, did not except his
apology. Instead, they sympathized
with their coach.
"When my kids came into the locker
room after the game, some of them were
crying," Barry said. "One of them told me, 'I never
had anybody care this
much about me.' When I hear stuff like that, I know what I'm doing
is right.
This wasn't about me, it's about my kids."
The official involved called a technical
foul against the Mount Miguel girls
coach Robbie Sandoval in the game prior to the start of the boys
encounter
between the same two schools. According to on-site reports, the
same official
was on the whistle-end of five technicals in the boys game - three
on Barry,
one on Mount Miguel coach Jimmy Hurst and one on Santana assistant
Aaron
Slojkowski.
Technical foul No. 1 on Barry occurred when
the Santana coach stepped onto
the court while asking for a rule interpretation.
"I was out of the box, and that's against
the rules," Barry admitted. "That
one was my fault, and I can accept that."
The major blow up came in the final 45 seconds
of the third quarter, with the
score tied 38-38. Santana's Brian Schultz was apparently called
for an
offensive foul. But the referee - after much confusion - assessed
the
personal on the Sultans' Jon Sturgill, which, at the time, would
have been
his fourth.
Barry questioned the call. The officials,
however, elected to ignore the
Santana coach and the clock continued to wind amidst protests
from the
scoring table.
"We could not get the official to tell
us who the foul was on," Mount Miguel
official scorer Kim Hiebing said.
So Barry, who had already been assessed
one technical, hollered for the
officials to clarify whom the foul was on. His efforts fell on
deaf zebra
ears. Finally, Barry directed the official timer to honk the game
horn and
stop the game clock.
It was a move that did not sit well with the on-court officials.
"There was uncertainty at the table
on that call, so I wanted the officials
to clear it up," Barry said. "When the official came
over and asked if I told
the timer to stop the clock, I told him I did."
Thus, the official charged Barry and the
Sultans with a timeout. "I did not
have a problem with that," Barry said. "Then, as I was
on one knee in a
huddle talking with my team, I heard another whistle. When I looked
up, that
same official (who shall remain nameless, but not guiltless) was
calling a
technical on my assistant coach (Slojkowski) who standing over
by the
scorer's table."
When Barry confronted the official, he said
he was told the technical was
being assessed because Slojkowski had broken the "seat belt"
rule," during a
time out no less.
"I was totally frustrated by then,"
Barry admitted. "So I sat down on the
bench and slammed my clipboard. Then, the ref came over to me,
blew his
whistle and said, 'you're outta here, coach.'"
By that time, Barry's temper was boiling
over. So, the Santana coach walked
onto the court to offer further protest. Before the brouhaha had
subsided,
Barry was escorted from the Santana gym by his vice principal
and friend
Randy Montesanto.
Nevertheless, Barry said he wrote a three-page
letter assessing the situation
and plans to take his protest to a higher court.
"I owe it to my kids." Barry said. "They deserve better."
Mount Miguel's Hurst, who had led his Matadors
to a 77-40 victory over
Santana a week earlier, sided with Barry's line of reasoning.
"It was a brutally officiated game,"
Hurst said. "The officials are way too
sensitive. The coaches have a code of ethics, and the officials
don't.
That's what makes it tough for the coaches. It's getting so bad
that coaches
can't even talk to the refs. They need to give us a little room.
In way too
many cases, the refs have become totally vindictive."
That rash of technicals helped the Matadors
(9-4) gain control and momentum
in this game. The Matadors' RJ Singh went 4-for-4 from the free
throw line to
enable Mount Miguel to break the deadlock..
"I think we went on a little bit of
a run after that, got up by something
like 15 points," Hurst said. "It gave us some breathing
room and we were able
to hang on for the win."
Dwayne Ary scored a career-high 19 points,
snagged 6 rebounds and made 5
steals to lead the Matadors (8-4), while Singh chimed in with
12 points
(8-for-8 from the free throw stripe) and JR Griffin tossed in
10 points.
Hayden Penn pumped in a game-high 26 points
and corraled 14 rebounds for
Santana (6-6). Schultz finished with 10 rebounds and 6 points
for the
Sultans, while John Bachmann handed out 5 assists.
Other Santana scoring: Mike Lamoreoux 9,
Bachmann 6, Tim Hensilmeier 6,
Sturgill 4, Greg Gobin 2.
Other Mount Miguel scoring: Ralph Johnson
8, Joey Street 6, Jay Barber 3,
William Burties 1, Ernie Ballenger 4, Anthony Cox 4.
HELIX 66, HANFORD 44 - For the second day in as many starts at the Red
Bluff
Classic, the Highlanders mowed down an undefeated team on Friday
(Dec. 21).
Helix had a bit of added incentive, as the
Hanford coaches were letting it be
known on the eve of their game against the Highlanders that they
were not
impressed by coach John Singer's squad.
"Yeah, they gave us some bulletin board
material," Singer said. "And we used
it as a motivational thing. Our kids came out loaded for bear
- very intense."
Helix edged in front 13-10 after the opening
quarter, led 30-20 at halftime,
and broke the game open 51-31 in the third quarter.
"For us to hold a team as good as Hanford
(6-1) to 44 points is a credit to
our kids," Singer said. "It's all about defense, and
our kids chased them all
over the floor. They shoot the ball well and try to spread you
out, try to
get you to play hedge-and-help defense."
Tramaine West scored 21 points to lead the
Highlanders, and now has 38
markers in the tournament.
"He's growing up and becoming the guy
we thought he'd be," Singer said. "They
couldn't stop him. When he went to the hole, they had no answer
for him."
West was the only Highlander to finish in
double scoring figures, although 10
Helix players contributed to the final point total.
"We don't try to showcase any one kid,"
Singer said. "But West is doing it
every night. His shot selection is very, very good. He's accepted
the
leadership role, and knows it's his time to take it to another
level. He's
matured. There are no more melt-downs like he had in his first
three years
here. He loves basketball, and now he's getting respect."
Ryan San Juan and Raphael Bell rang up 8
points apiece, while Stanley
Caldwell added 7 and Kenny Farris flipped in 6 for Helix. Charles
Smith
scored only 5 points, but his offensive totals did not matter
to Singer, who
was more impressed by the junior wide receiver's court defense.
"Charles doesn't give away his cards,"
Singer said. "He's a good athlete, who
doesn't say much and is easy to coach."
The Highlanders (6-2) will play El Camino
for the tournament championship on
Saturday (Dec. 22) at 7:30 p.m.
Other Helix scoring: Cliff Johnson 4, Ray
Toilolo 4, Tim Bland 2, Rajive Otah
1.
ARCHBISHOP CARROLL (Wash., D.C.) 57,
CHRISTIAN 54 - Alfred Walsh hit
a
3-point bucket at the buzzer to break a 54-54 tie and give nationally
renowned Archbishop Carroll the narrow victory in Friday's (Dec.
21) third
round of the Mission Prep Christmas Classic in San Luis Obispo.
"That was as close as you can get to
time expiring when he released that
shot," said Christian coach Curtis Hofmeister. "And
Ben (Wohlfeil) was right
on top of the guy and said he got a piece of the ball."
Christian (5-3), which plays Fresno Edison
in the final round on Saturday
(Dec. 22) at noon, took a 13-6 lead over the visitors from Washington,
D.C.
They maintained that advantage and entered the final quarter with
a 45-39
edge.
"They are the most talented team that
we've played," Hofmeister said. "I
mean, we're talking BIG here. They had a starting lineup of 6-3,
6-3, 6-8,
6-8 and 6-10. We don't match up to that kind of height that well,
but we
still had the lead most of the way. Our kids played great defense
against a
big-time team."
Hofmeister said he was amazed that Archbishop
Carroll (5-4) elected to play
at such a slow tempo.
"They went to a zone and almost stalled
when they had the ball," the coach
said.
Michael Singleton led the Patriots with
15 points off the bench, hitting 4 of
8 shots from the field, including a trio of 3s, and 4 of 5 free
throws. Jake
Wohlfeil added 13 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, while Ben
Wohlfeil canned
twin 3s on his way to 12 points.
Christian's 6-foot-10 center Moulaye Niang,
scored buckets on two of the
Patriots first three possessions of the game, but virtually disappeared
after
that. Niang totaled 7 points and 4 rebounds in his brief outing.
John Wai contributed 6 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals for the Patriots.
WEST HILLS 51, GRANITE HILLS 46 - Senior Matt Henriksen is back on track.
Obviously, missing the outside scoring support he enjoyed when
C.J.
Zimmerlick wore the silver, blue and black a year ago, the 6-foot-4
Henriksen
ripped off 20 rebounds and banged in 17 points Friday (Dec. 21)
to lead host
West Hills to the Grossmont Conference crossover victory.
The board-crashing Henriksen tied Christof
Faber for second place on the
all-time West Hills rebounding charts. Faber gathered his 20 caroms
in 1998,
two short of the school record held by Alfred Enriquez.
Ricky Zizzo canned a dozen points, including
a pair of threes for West Hills
(5-3), which took a 22-16 first-quarter lead and then survived
a scoring
drought in the final quarter. The Eagles (4-8) earned a 12-5 scoring
edge
over the final eight minutes, but the Pack repelled the belated
uprising.
Ryan Hamann canned two three-pointers for
West Hills and finished with 8
points, 3 steals and 2 assists, while Sam Miller muscled in 9
rebounds and
Blake Sutton grabbed 7 boards for the Pack.
Mohammed Elhabashy hit five three-pointers
on his way to a 15-point night for
Granite Hills, while Greg Chase canned 15 points inside the paint
on 7-for-14
shooting.
Chase blocked 3 shots and retrieved 3 rebounds,
but Mark Hall was the major
fly-swatter inside with 7 blocks. Hall also had 5 rebounds and
4 steals for
the Eagles. Elhabashy has an East County-leading 34 three-pointers.
West Hills managed to win despite committing 23 turnovers.
Other Granite Hills scoring: Rony Nasser 4, Robert Davis 2, Tyrone Araya 3.
Other West Hills scoring: Jeremy Hill 6,
John Doherty 2, Sutton 2, Miller 2,
Adam Frye 2.
GROSSMONT 71, MONTE VISTA 53 - Unhappy with the Foothillers meager beginning
to the season, Grossmont coach Frank Foggiano decided to hand
over the court
leadership of his team to a 5-foot-6 freshman guard named Tyler
Barbour.
You won't find Barbour's name in the boxscore
because he didn't score a
single point. But he did come up big in his varsity debut, dishing
off 8
assists as the Foothillers (3-8) generated their highest scoring
output of
the season.
"Tyler totally ran the show,"
Foggiano said. "We didn't turn the ball over
like we have in most of our games this season. We took better
care of the
ball, and Tyler had something to do with that. And he did a great
job
defensively, too."
Sophomore Tyler Vickers turned in a powerful
performance with 22 points and
11 rebounds. John Sanders was equally as superb with 21 points,
including a
trio of three-pointers for the Hillers.
Blake Brands knocked down a pair of three-pointers
and Jesse Gerber added 7
points for Grossmont.
Eleven Monarchs contributed to the scoring,
but Ronny Yousif was the only one
to reach double figures with 12 points.
Grossmont led 19-12 after the first quarter
and used a 24-10 second quarter
to break the game open.
Other Grossmont scoring: Casey Young 6,
Thomas Hernandez 3, Salim Ayub 2,
Matt Barbour 1, Casey Williams 1.
Other Monte Vista scoring: Wilson 7, Clinton
Snyder 6, Carlos Ramer 6, Nick
Childs 6, Chris Whyte 4, Johnnie Jennings 4, Diondre Simpson 2,
Aaron Roberts
2, Mark Davis 2, Derek Sykes 2.
VALHALLA 69, EL CAJON VALLEY 64 - Drew Stinnett sank 5 treys on his way to
24 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and blocked 3 shots as the Norsemen
(4-9)
defeated host El Cajon Valley for their fourth win in the last
five starts in
Friday's (Dec. 21) Grossmont Conference crossover game.
"He's tough to guard because he's agile
and can go to the hoop," said El
Cajon Valley coach Mike Raney of the 6-foot-3 Stinnett. "The
best way to stop
him is to deny him the ball, but we didn't do that."
The Norsemen used a 19-10 third quarter
to overcome a 37-30 halftime deficit.
Danny Sheppard, who totaled 12 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks,
scored 6
points in the key third quarter.
"They played a zone on us, and we were
able to hit 5 of 13 from 3-point
range," Valhalla coach Eric Thomas said. "We made them
come out to guard the
perimeter and that allowed us to dump the ball inside to Drew
and Sheppard."
Brent Molden scored 8 points off the bench
and hit a pair of 3-pointers,
while Blake Fowler, plagued with foul problems all night, had
to settle for 8
points and a pair of 3s.
"Blake probably played only 10 minutes all night," Thomas
said. "He got his
fourth foul with 6:30 to go in the third quarter. Not having him
out there
hurts us. Molden played extensive minutes off the bench for one
of the few
times this season. He did a great job."
El Cajon Valley, led by Anthony "Pooh" Taylor's game-high
27 points, barged
in front 21-18 in the opening quarter and extended its advantage
to 7 points
by the break. Taylor hit 9 of 15 shots from the field, including
a trio of 3s
and 6 of 10 free throws in the game. He also scooped up 7 rebounds
and handed
out 3 assists.
"They couldn't miss in the first half,"
Thomas said of the Braves (6-5), who
hit 13 of 24 shots, including 4 of 9 from three-point range. "It
was
incredible."
In the second half, however, the Braves
cooled off, hitting only 9 of 34
shots (26 percent). Despite playing with four fouls, Taylor accounted
for 15
of the Braves 17 points in the final quarter.
Nate Reed, who has been the Braves' hot
hand of late, scored 11 points in the
first half, but only 2 points in the final two quarters. He also
had 4
assists and 2 steals.
Demarcus Flemister fired in 11 points, grabbed
7 rebounds and handed out 5
assists in a losing cause.
Other Valhalla scoring: Travis Rothlisberger
6, Jared Johnston 5, Devon
Jones 4, Manny Gonzalez 2.
Other El Cajon Valley scoring: Darick Dubose
6, Nick Felure 4, Jonathan
Agana 2.
(12-21-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON -- No matter who they play or where
they go, John Singer and his
Helix Highlanders seem to find a way to challenge for the top.
Albeit one of
the smallest teams in San Diego County this season, Singer's crew
made a
dominating impression in Thursday's (Dec. 20) opening round of
the Red Bluff
Holiday Classic, rolling over Miramonte 56-42.
Once again, Helix's victory formula was
defense. The Matadores of Miramonte
(Orinda) came into this tourney undefeated. But the Highlanders
(5-2)
needed only one quarter to send Miramonte (5-1) on a downward
spiral, taking
a 10-4 lead.
Pepperdine-bound Steve Panawek, a 6-foot-5
forward, scored a game-high 26
points for the Matadores, but Singer was pleased with the defensive
work on
the Miramonte leader turned in by 6-1 junior Charles Smith.
"We took away a lot of their stuff
on the defensive end," Singer said.
"Panawek is a nice shooter. But Smith went right after him.
Overall, I think
we tired them out with our pressure and depth."
Tramaine West led Helix with 17 points,
while Rapheal Bell contributed 10
points off the bench. West hit a pair of three-pointers as did
Ray Toilolo.
The Highlanders face Hanford in Friday's
(Dec. 21) second round at 5:30 p.m.
A victory puts them in Saturday's finals.
Helix has never won a tournament title in
its three trips to this Northern
California venue near Redding. And the Highlanders aren't cast
in a
favorite's role this time around, either. Not unlike most Singer
teams,
however, this group seems to have that added air of confidence
that makes
them play taller than the physical yardstick says they should.
Other Helix scoring: Smith 6, Cliff Johnson
6, Stanley caldwell 4, kenny
Farris 4, Lance Hurdle 2, Tim Bland 1.
CHRISTIAN 56, SANTA BARBARA 44 - Fouls weren't the primary factor in
Thursday's (Dec. 20) second round of the Mission Prep Christmas
Classic in
San Luis Obispo.
The Patriots' 6-foot-10 center Moulaye Niang
remained on the court for the
majority of the game, pouring in a game-high 22 points, grabbing
7 rebounds,
recording 4 steals and handing out 2 assists.
"They (the officials) let the kids
play today," Christian coach Curtis
Hofmeister said.
Jake Wohlfeil whipped the Patriots (5-2)
off to a fast start with a pair of
three-pointers and a fast-break dunk, staking Christian to a 19-9
first-quarter lead. Wohlfeil finished with 13 points, 4 rebounds,
3 steals
and 2 assists.
Although they shot only 40 percent from
the field, the Patriots received a
boost when Niang converted 8 of 11 free throws. Santa Barbara
(4-4), a
Division II outfit, shot 43 percent from the floor.
"We guarded pretty well," Hofmeister said.
Christian faces its biggest test of the
young season on Friday (Dec. 21),
taking on Archbishop Carroll of Washington, D.C. - the No. 11-ranked
team in
the nation - at 1:30 p.m..
"They are a tall team with great guards,"
Hofmeister noted. "And they have a
couple guys who are going to Georgetown next year. It should be
interesting."
Other Christian scoring: John Wai 9, Ben Wohlfeil 9, Brent Dongell 3.
EL CAPITAN 89, IBERO AMERICANO (TIJUANA)
59 - Matt Grant scored a game-high
23 points as the Vaqueros (3-7) won for the third time in four
starts on
Thursday (Dec. 20) in the Lions Club/Sweetwater Holiday Prep Classic
at
Sweetwater High.
Jarrod Boswell scored 11 of his 19 points
in the first quarter enabling El
Capitan to take a 21-14 lead. The Vaqueros scored 20-plus points
in all four
quarters while making wholesale substitutions throughout the game.
Scott Fisher added 10 points and Grant and
Eric Gregerson popped a trio of
three-pointers apiece for El Capitan, which converted 22 of 24
free throws
during the rout.
Barry Lague had 15 points to lead an Ibero
team that did not have a single
player taller than 6 feet.
Other El Capitan scoring: John Relph 9,
Brett Stephens 9, Mike Mena 8, Sean
Hogue 2.
(12-20-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - It was déjà vu
at Monte Vista Wednesday (Dec. 19) - pleasant
memories for Monarchs' coach Zach Peck, and a painfully familiar
outcome for
coach Tim Barry and his Santana Sultans.
Monte Vista's Diondre Simpson hit a 3-pointer
from the baseline with 17
seconds left, and the Sultans failed to convert a short-range
jumper on the
ensuing possession, resulting in a 49-48 victory for the Monarchs.
"Just about the same thing happened
last year," Peck recalled. "We beat them
by one point when they had a last-second shot go three-quarters
of the way
down, and then spin out. I guess maybe we're lucky or something,
because they
got the ball into the paint again, got a shot from 6-8 feet away,
and it went
in . . . and out."
Simpson's game-winner was his second 3-pointer
and Monte Vista's fourth of
the game. Even though Santana (6-5) did not nail a 3-pointer all
night, the
Sultans still were in position to win with 3 seconds left.
"Just frustrating, very frustrating,"
Barry sighed. "We got the shot we
wanted, but it hit the rim and came off. It just didn't fall for
us."
It was one of the few shots senior Hayden
Penn missed, as he finished with a
game-high 28 points and 14 rebounds. A year ago it was Penn's
close friend
and current teammate Jon Sturgill who came up inches short of
sinking a
game-winning bucket against the Monarchs.
The Sultans' frustration did not hinge on one missed shot this time, however.
Santana was clinging to a 46-44 lead with
35 seconds left when the Monarchs
(3-6) missed the front end of a bonus free throw opportunity.
Penn came down
with the rebound, but was whistled for a foul.
"It was such a bad call that I thought
the ref made a mistake when he pointed
at Penn," Barry said. It was a costly call for the Sultans,
as the Monarchs
made good on the reprieve, making both free throws to tie the
game.
Santana regained the lead but got sloppy
on the defensive end, and Simpson
made the Sultans pay.
"We didn't defend that 3-point shot
very well," Barry said. "(The Monarchs)
brought the ball up and swung it to the corner (to Simpson). That's
the only
time that we didn't do what we were supposed to do all night.
The guy was
wide open in the corner. Give him credit - the kid made the shot."
Dalon Wells hit 7 of 12 shots to finish
with 16 points and 8 rebounds to lead
the Monarchs. Simpson was 5 for 9 from the field, as he totaled
14 points and
6 rebounds. Ronny Yousif clicked on 4 of 8 shots, including a
pair of 3s for
11 points and 5 rebounds.
Sturgill led Santana's supporting cast with 11 points.
Other Monte Vista scoring: Carlos Ramer
4, Clinton Snyder 2, Johnnie
Jennings 2.
Other Santana scoring: Mike Lamoureux 5, Tommy Browning 4.
WEST HILLS 56, VALHALLA 42 - Matt Henriksen scored 23 points, grabbed 11
rebounds and dished off 4 assists as the visiting Wolf Pack (4-3)
snapped the
Norsemen's three-game winning streak.
"It's nice to have big Hen back in
the rotation," said West Hills coach Jeff
Armstrong of the 6-foot-4 senior who canned 10 of 16 shots. "Blake
Sutton (8
points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) and Sam Miller had strong games
too."
So did Ryan Hamann, who tossed in 10 points
on 5 for 6 shooting, garnered 4
assists and 4 rebounds for West Hills.
"Hamann turned in another fine performance
with solid floor play," Armstrong
said. "And we played great team defense."
Ricky Zizzo zipped in 9 points, 3 assists and a pair of steals for the Pack.
Drew Stinnett paced Valhalla (3-9) with
12 points and 8 rebounds. Danny
Sheppard grabbed a team-high 9 rebounds, but scored only 7 points.
Tommy
Hanna canned a pair of 3s for Valhalla, as did Sutton for West
Hills.
Norsemen coach Eric Thomas was pleased with
some of the players coming off
the bench, including sophomore Travis Rothlisberger, who pulled
down 8
rebounds in a relief role.
"Rothlisberger played well tonight,"
said Thomas. "He did a good job
rebounding, better than some of our starters."
Other West Hills scoring: Miller 4, John Doherty 2.
Other Valhalla scoring: Blake Fowler 5,
Manny Gonzales 5, Rothlisberger 4,
Devon Jones 3.
WASHINGTON UNION 56, CHRISTIAN 45 (OT)
- Patriots' coach Curtis Hofmeister
was impressed by Fresno's Washington Union, the No. 2 ranked Division
III
team in the state.
Too bad he didn't have the same respect
for the officials who worked
Wednesday's (Dec. 19) opening round game in the Mission Prep Christmas
Classic in San Luis Obispo.
It couldn't help but appear to Hofmeister
that the officials somehow had it
in for Christian's 6-foot-10 center Moulaye Niang, who was limited
to 12
minutes playing time before fouling out. Kansas assistant coach
Neil
Dougherty, who had traveled more than 1,500 miles to watch his
star recruit
play, was equally as stunned.
Niang fouled out with 8 points and 6 rebounds
- both totals well below his
season average.
"They took away all of his aggressiveness,"
Hofmeister said of Niang. "And
that's a shame."
Nevertheless, the Patriots (4-2) made it
into overtime when the Panthers
(7-1) missed the second shot of a one-and-one with three seconds
left in
regulation.
Washington Union, which has won three state
championships in the last 10
years, outscored the Patriots 15-4 during the four-minute overtime.
Javance Coleman, a 6-foot-3 senior, scored
a game-high 21 points to pace the
Panthers.
Ben Wohlfeil was the only Christian player
to reach double figures, finishing
with 12 to go along with 3 assists. Jake Wohlfeil added 8 points
and 6
rebounds, while John Wai contributed 7 points and 5 rebounds.
Christian will play Santa Barbara Thursday
(Dec. 20) in a consolation round
game at 12:30.
Other Christian scoring: Josh Paddock 6,
Michael Singleton 2, Brent Dongell
2.
EL CAPITAN 80, GRANITE HILLS 54 - After being shut out in the first quarter,
El Capitan's John Relph went on a scoring bender as he netted
a career-high
35 points in leading the Vaqueros (2-7) to the Grossmont Conference
crossover
victory at Granite Hills on Wednesday (Dec. 19).
Relph got the hot hand in the second quarter
as he rolled in 14 points,
hitting 4 field goals and 6 of 7 free throws. The 6-foot 2 senior,
scoring
primarily on drives to the bucket, added 10 more points in the
third quarter
and 11 in the final period to complete his record-breaking day.
It was quite
a turn-around for Relph, whose only stat in the first quarter
was 0 for 2
from the free throw line. He finished the game 9 for 12 from the
line, with 5
rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals.
For Granite Hills (4-7) it was a shocking
turn of events. The Eagles had
taken a 14-10 first quarter lead as Mohammed Elhabashy and Mark
Hall each
landed a pair of 3-pointers. But the Vaqueros outscored the Eagles
28-17 in
the second quarter to lead 38-31 at intermission.
The Vaqueros, spurred on by Relph's relentless
output, outscored the Eagles
42-23 in the final two quarters, as they won for the second time
in their
last three starts.
Jarrod Boswell added 12 points, 7 rebounds,
3 assists and 3 blocked shots for
the Vaqueros, who also received 12 points from Matt Grant. Brett
Stephens
picked off a career-high 13 rebounds.
Hall led Granite Hills with 13 points -
including a trio of 3-pointers - and
7 rebounds. Greg Chase chipped in 12 points, and Robert Davis
contributed 11
points and 4 steals for the Eagles.
Other El Capitan scoring: Scott Fisher 8,
Stephens 8, Eric Gregerson 3, Sean
Hogue 2.
Other Granite Hills scoring: Elhabashy 8,
Robert Fine 5, Tyrone Araya 2,
Travis Heath 2, Alfred Shammas 1.
MOUNT MIGUEL 76, EL CAJON VALLEY 52 - There's one thing certain about the
Mount Miguel Matadors - the same player won't finish as the leading
scorer in
consecutive games.
It was Ralph Johnson's turn to enjoy a career
day in Wednesday's (Dec. 19)
victory over the visiting Braves. The 6-foot-2 junior scored 23
points,
hitting 6 of 8 free throws and one trey while grabbing 6 rebounds.
Sophomore Jay Barber clipped the Braves
for 14 points, including 6-of-7 free
throw shooting and 6 rebounds. Anthony Cox collected 9 points,
5 rebounds, 5
steals and 3 assists for Mount Miguel (7-4). Ernie Ballenger added
6 points
and 7 steals.
Nate Reed led the Braves (6-4) with a game-high
28 points, which included a
pair of 3-pointers. He also logged 4 assists and 3 steals.
Anthony Taylor collected a team-high 7 rebounds
but contributed only 4 points
on the offensive end.
To make matters worse for the Braves, Deron
Taylor sprained his ankle early
in the game and wound up watching from the sidelines.
"I didn't realize how important he
is to our team," said El Cajon Valley
coach Mike Raney.
The Braves started fast, taking an 18-15
first quarter lead. But Mount Miguel
reversed the trend with a 15-6 second quarter edge to gain a 30-24
advantage
at the half. The second half was a track meet, with the Matadors
prevailing
46-28.
Other Mount Miguel scoring: Joey Street
7, JR Griffin 5, Dewayne Ary 4,
William Burties 2, JR Singh 4, Eugene Pujida 2.
Other El Cajon Valley scoring: Darick Dubose
8, Demarcus Flemister 8,
Jonathan Agana 4.
(12-19-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - Less than 24 hours after celebrating
their first victory, the El
Capitan Vaqueros fouled themselves out of making it two straight.
Francis
Parker converted 21 of 23 free throws, including 11 of 11 in the
fourth
quarter, to defeat the Vaqueros 62-61 in Tuesday's (Dec. 18) second
round of
the Lions Club/Sweetwater Holiday Prep Classic.
Hudson Moore and Larry Christian combined
for 20 points in the pivotal fourth
period to propel Parker to the victory. Moore finished with 20
points,
including 12 of 13 from the free throw line. He scored 9 points
in the final
period, while Christian scored 11 of his 16 during the last eight
minutes.
El Capitan's 7-footer, Jared Boswell, scored
21 points during the first three
periods, but was blanked in the final stanza. Despite his decisive
height
advantage, Boswell cleared only 5 rebounds, but did block 5 shots
and
recorded 4 steals.
Matt Grant contributed 16 points, while
John Relph chimed in with 11 points,
7 rebounds and 5 assists for El Capitan (1-7).
The Vaqueros led 20-13 after the first quarter,
but saw that advantage
diminish to 30-29 by halftime. El Capitan led by 3 going into
the final
quarter, but Parker pulled out the victory with a 22-18 scoring
edge in the
fourth.
Brett Stephens corralled a team-high 10
rebounds and shoveled in 5 points.
Mike Mena completed the El Cap scoring with 8 points.
(12-18-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - The brand of basketball the El
Capitan Vaqueros played the first
six games of the season was hardly the kind of stuff from which
memories are
made.
Nightmares, maybe. But make no mistake about
it, El Capitan's veteran coach
Ross Furrow had seen enough. Whatever secret verbal formula Furrow
delivered
to his team prior to Monday's (Dec. 17) Grossmont Conference crossover
opener
paid major dividends as El Capitan celebrated its first victory
of the season
over a team many believe to the Grossmont Conference's finest.
Guard Matt Grant generated 24 points and
was the leader of a four-player
ladder of double-figure scorers in El Capitan's stunning 76-54
domination of
the Mount Miguel Matadors in Spring Valley.
It was the Vaqueros' first win in seven
starts. Mount Miguel, which had won
three in a row, fell to 6-4.
"My first team, which won a league
title in 1982, started out 0-6," Furrow
recalled. "And then I changed the offense over Christmas
vacation and we came
back to win 7 in a row. We went to a passing game (offense) and
that's what
we needed, as it turned out."
The Vaqueros, who race-horsed to 26-12 lead
in the opening quarter, burned
the Matadors from the free throw as they converted 26 of 37 chances
in the
game. This was no one-man show as four Vaqueros scored four or
more points
from the foul line. John Relph was 8-for-11 from the charity stripe
and
finished with 14 points.
"Relph is very quick around the basket," Furrow said.
El Capitan's slump-ridden 7-foot center
Jarrod Boswell broke out for 18
points and 12 rebounds, while blocking 4 shots and handing out
4 assists. He
canned 6 of 10 from the floor and 6 of 9 free throws.
"We shot 67 percent against Mount Miguel,"
Furrow said. "We did a good job
of getting Boswell the ball, and he responded. When Grant, Boswell
and Relph
all show up to play at the same time, we can be pretty tough.
This is the
first time that has happened this season."
Brett Stephens added 10 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds for El Capitan.
"I think we are a pretty good team
even though our (1-6) record doesn't show
it," Furrow said. "I like to think our kids play hard,
but pressure gets to
us because we aren't strong at the point and turn the ball over."
The 5-foot-8 Grant was the catalyst for
the Vaqueros, as he also grabbed 4
rebounds, blocked 2 shots, dished off 2 assists and made 2 steals.
"He's a great athlete," Furrow
said. "He should be a two guard, but he's out
of position because we need him to be a one guard. He's one of
the best
players in our league."
Joey Street cannoned in a quartet of three-pointers
to lead Mount Miguel with
14 points, while Ralph Johnson chipped in with 10. JR Griffin
sank 7 of 8
free throws and totaled 9 points.
"We negated Mount Miguel's quickness,
and were able to get them into a 5-on-5
game where it wasn't all about transition," Furrow said.
"They were content
to take perimeter shots (hitting 42 percent)."
Other El Capitan scoring: Scott Fisher 6, Mike Mena 4.
Other Mount Miguel scoring: Jay Barber 7,
Dwayne Ary 6, Anthony Cox 3,
William Burties 2, Dominic Foster 3.
HELIX 63, EL CAJON VALLEY 56 - Mike Raney's El Cajon Valley Braves received
a major endorsement from one of East County's all-time greatest
basketball
coaches on Monday (Dec. 17).
"I think they could win the (Grossmont)
North side this year," coach John
Singer said after his Highlanders (4-2) came from behind to snub
the Braves'
bid for an upset. "I knew they had improved, and I was concerned
that we
wouldn't be ready to play after the great job we did in the Torrey
Pines
game. So I was pleased to get out of there (the Braves' gym) with
a win."
The key to the Highlanders' escape was the
free throw line. Tramaine West was
9-for-9 and Kenny Farris was 6-for-6 from the charity stripe for
Helix, which
was 29-for-39 as a team.
"We're still struggling in terms of
who is going to play and who isn't,"
Singer said. "We aren't getting any gym time to practice.
Our choir and band
are having their winter concert."
Helix led 30-23 at halftime, but saw the
Braves (6-3) take the lead on the
strength of a 21-11 third quarter. But the Highlanders' superior
depth and
defensive determination proved to be the difference as they claimed
a 22-12
scoring edge in the final period for the win.
Stanley Caldwell led Helix with 20 points, while West whistled in 18 markers.
El Cajon Valley guard Nate Reed garnered
a game-high 22 points, 5 steals, and
2 assists. Anthony Taylor added 12 points and Deron Taylor chipped
in 10.
Nick Felure led the team with 7 rebounds.
Other Helix scoring: Charles Smith 9, Farris 8, Ray Toilolo 6,
Rajive Otah 2.
Other El Cajon Valley scoring: Darick Dubose
8, Demarcus Flemister 2, Felure
2.
VALHALLA 73, GROSSMONT 63 - Coach Eric Thomas and his Norsemen are on a
roll. After submitting to eight straight losses to open the season,
Valhalla
has bounced back to win three in a row.
Steady Drew Stinnett paced the Norsemen
in Monday's (Dec. 17) Grossmont
Conference crossover contest, knocking down 18 points - 12 in
the first half
- as Valhalla earned a 36-33 lead by intermission. But it was
6-foot-5 senior
Danny Sheppard, who helped secure Valhalla's second win over Grossmont
in
three days.
"Sheppard really came to life at the
start of the third quarter," Thomas
said.
"He went in there and scored three straight buckets. We just
threw it in to
him and he took them to the rack. He was awesome. We've been expecting
that
all year and he really came through."
Sheppard, who grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds,
scored 9 of his 15 points in
the third quarter, as Valhalla claimed a 19-10 scoring edge to
increase its
advantage to 55-43.
"We blew them out in the third quarter,"
Thomas said. "And that (the third)
has been our bad quarter. It was a nice thing to see."
Junior guard Jared Johnston had a career
shooting night, as he nailed four
three-pointers on his way to a 16-point effort for Valhalla (3-8).
Sophomore
Travis Rothlisberger tossed in 8 points and Blake Fowler added
7 points and
5 assists in abbreviated playing time.
Center Jesse Gerber, a 6-foot-5 junior transfer
from Helix, scored a
career-high 23 points to lead the Foothillers (2-8). John Sanders
added 16
points, but sophomore Tyler Vickers, who had been the Hillers'
hot hand of
late, cooled a bit, and settled for 10 points.
Other Valhalla scoring: Brent Molden 5,
Manny Gonzalez 4.
Other Grossmont scoring: Blake Brands 9, Taylor McDonald 2, Thomas
Hernandez
2, Casey Young 1.
WEST HILLS 59, MONTE VISTA 47 - West Hills coach Jeff Armstrong knew he was
in trouble when the Wolf Pack's star forward Matt Henriksen was
carrying
104-degree temperature at game time. The flu bug had already put
freshman
sensation Matt Gilson on the shelf for the second straight game.
Credit senior captain Ryan Hamann for stepping
up for a career-high 22 points
and 4 assists as West Hills (4-3) won the Grossmont Conference
crossover game
Monday (Dec. 17) in Spring Valley.
"Ryan can be a very good ballplayer
when he plays with confidence," Armstrong
said. "This was his best game."
Sam Miller added 13 points for the Pack,
while Blake Sutton chimed in with 12
points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Miller was 9-for-11 from the
free throw
line, while Hamann was 4-for-4.
Carlos Ramer led Monte Vista (2-6) with
12 points, while Clinton Snyder
added 11 and Mark Davis had 8.
Other West Hills scoring: John Doherty 4,
Adam Frye 4, Jeremy Hill 2, Ricky
Zizzo 2, Ryan Soto 2.
Other Monte Vista scoring: Dalon Wells 7,
Chris Whyte 4, Ronny Yousif 3,
Nick Childs 2.
GRANITE HILLS 69, SANTANA 57 - Host Granite Hills (4-6) turned a one-point
halftime deficit into a convincing victory over the Sultans (6-4)
in Monday's
(Dec. 17) Grossmont Conference crossover contest.
Mohammed Elhabashy continued his accurate
long-distance shooting, netting 3
of 5 shots above the arc and finished with 13 points. The senior
guard has
clicked on 9 of 15 of his three-point shots in his last two starts,
lifting
his season success total to 27.
Junior Greg Chase topped the Granite Hills'
point parade with 21 and led his
team with 8 rebounds.
The Eagles took command in the third quarter,
as Robert Davis turned a pair
of steals into baskets and finished with 9 points in the period.
Chase popped
in 10 points in the third.
Rony Nasser doled out his usual 6 assists,
while Mark Hall hauled down 5
rebounds and chipped in 6 points.
Robert Fine came off the bench to contribute
10 points, including 6-for-6
free throw shooting for the Eagles. Granite Hills sizzled from
the charity
stripe, converting 19 of 21 chances. Santana was equally as productive
from
the line, hitting 20 of 25.
Hayden Penn, who never has an "off"
night, led Santana with game highs of 23
points and 13 rebounds. Brian Schultz added a dozen points for
the Sultans.
Other Santana scoring: Jon Sturgill 8, John
Bachmann 7, Tommy Browning 4,
Mike Lamoureux 3.
Other Granite Hills scoring: Nasser 4, Tyrone
Araya 4, Travis Heath 2.
(12-17-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - Valhalla's Blake Fowler scored
10 of his 16 points in the first
quarter to help nudge the Norsemen (2-8) into a 22-11 lead that
they never
surrendered en route to a 60-48 victory over Grossmont in Saturday's
(Dec.
15) San Diego Elite Surgical Winter Classic contest.
Fowler finished with 16 points, two less
than teammate Drew Stinnett, who led
all scorers with 18. Stinnett's contributions included 5 blocked
shots as
part of a snug defense on Grossmont sophomore sensation Tyler
Vickers.
Valhalla coach Eric Thomas credited Danny
Sheppard and Manny Gonzales for
sharing with Stinnett in the Norsemen's rotating man-to-man defense
coverage
on Vickers, who had scored 66 points in his previous two games.
"Drew blocked some shots and Blake
made some steals on Vickers," Thomas said.
"But he's a good player, and you have to be aware of his
presence. I thought
we did a good job of that."
Nevertheless Vickers led Grossmont (2-7)
with 16 points. Jesse Gerber added a
career-high 13 points for the Foothillers, who also got 7 from
Blake Brands.
Ironically, these same two teams are matched
in Monday's (Dec. 17) beginning
of Grossmont Conference interleague play at Valhalla at 5:30 p.m.
Other Valhalla scoring: Sheppard 8, Gonzales
7, Jared Johnston 5, Travis
Rothlisberger 4, Tommy Hanna 2.
Other Grossmont scoring: Taylor McDonald 4, Casey Williams 2,
Thomas
Hernandez 2, Darrin Parsons 2, and Salim Ayub 2.
GRANITE HILLS 75, CLAIREMONT 67 - Five Eagles reached double figures as
Granite Hills snapped a five-game losing streak in Saturday's
(Dec. 15) final
round of the San Diego Elite Surgical Winter Classic.
Mohammed Elhabashy was 6-for-10 from 3-point
range as he lead the Eagles with
18 points. Greg Chase chimed in with 16 points, Robert Davis netted
14
points, and 6-foot-6 sophomore Mark Hall tallied 13 points, snagged
10
rebounds, and blocked 4 shots. Rony Nasser passed out 7 assists
while
notching 10 points himself.
Granite Hills led by as many as 18 points
before coach Jim Gleboff emptied
his bench in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles (3-6) enjoyed some of their finest
shooting of the season,
clicking on 47 percent of 45 shots from the field while hitting
25 of 35 free
throws.
Other Granite Hills scoring: Alfred Shammas 2, Robert Fine 2.
MOUNT MIGUEL 77, SANTANA 40 - The Matadors and Sultans have identical 6-3
records, but that's where the similarities stop. That is, if you
base your
comparisons on what occurred when the two teams met in Saturday's
(Dec. 15)
final round of the San Diego Elite Surgical Winter Classic.
Coach Jimmy Hurst's Basketball-by-Committee
Matadors marched to a 25-7
first-quarter lead and never broke stride as they dealt Santana
its worst
loss of the season.
Dominic Foster paced the Matadors with 13
points, while Anthony Cox collected
10 points and 4 assists. Joey Street buried a trio of three-pointers
to
finish with 9 points, as did sophomore Jay Barber. JR Griffin
chipped in with
8 points and 5 rebounds.
Hayden Penn put in a game-high 22 points and 10 rebounds for Santana.
Other Mount Miguel scoring: Ralph Johnson
7, William Burties 6, Chris
Campbell 5, JR Singh 4, Dwayne Ary 2, Ernie Ballenger 2, Brian
Montefalcon 2.
Other Santana scoring: Jon Sturgill 6, Brian Schultz 5, Tommy
Browning 4,
Mike Lamoureux 3.
MT. CARMEL 75, EL CAPITAN 57 - Senior forward John Relph continues to
deliver for the winless Vaqueros (0-6), who have been porous at
the defensive
end. Case in point was Saturday's (Dec. 15) opening round of the
Lions
Club/Sweetwater Holiday Prep Classic at Sweetwater High.
While Relph was knocking down 21 points,
grabbing 5 rebounds, dishing off 4
assists and making 3 steals, Mt. Carmel was churning out three
20-plus
scoring quarters.
Matt Grant added 13 points and 5 rebounds
for El Capitan. The Vaqueros'
7-foot center Jarrod Boswell logged only 9 points and 5 rebounds
before
fouling out.
Other El Capitan scoring: Brett Stephens
9, Scott Fisher 6, Mike Mena 1.
(12-15-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
CHULA VISTA - Those expecting a blowout
at Friday night's (Dec. 14) Hilltop
Invitational finals, don't know Helix coach John Singer.
Granted, his Highlanders were in a physical
mismatch against towering Torrey
Pines. The top-ranked Falcons, who take flight with a lineup of
four players
6-foot-6 or taller, managed to handle the Highlanders 54-41, but
not in the
manner one might have expected.
"Torrey's guards are bigger than our
forwards," Singer agreed. "But we
competed. This showed me what we can be if we keep working, keep
improving.
Our intensity was the best it's been all year. And we competed
on the glass
against these guys."
Trailing 31-22 at the half, Helix (3-2)
cut the deficit to one point with
less than a minute remaining in the third quarter. That's when
6-foot-7 Josh
Kramer burned the Highlanders with his perimeter shooting. Kramer
canned a
trio of three-pointers and tallied 10 of his team-high 15 points
in the final
quarter as Torrey Pines (5-0) claimed a 16-9 scoring edge to nail
down the
victory.
"We're not going to overpower you,"
Singer said. "But we'll get after it on
defense."
Indeed. The Highlanders limited 6-foot-10
center Rod Benson, the tournament
MVP, to 8 points. Credit Helix's tallest player, 6-foot-4 Stanley
Caldwell
with providing the defensive edge on the Torrey Pines big man.
Equally as
impressive was the defensive job done by Helix's 5-11 junior guard
Ray
Toilolo on 6-6 senior J.J. Brull, holding the Falcons scoring
ace to 2 points.
Senior guard Kenny Farris paced the Highlanders
with 15 points, while Charles
Smith added 8. Tramaine West was limited to 5 points, but earned
an
all-tournament berth as did Caldwell, who finished with 4 points.
VALHALLA 69, CLAIREMONT 49 - Eric Thomas knows a little something about
emotional elevator rides. In a span of 24 hours, the Norsemen
coach suffered
a forfeit loss when he referred to an obsolete tournament schedule,
and then
celebrated Valhalla's first win under his command on Friday (Dec.
14).
"I told the kids yesterday that we
couldn't get any lower than this (when
they had to forfeit)," Thomas said. "It feels a whole
lot better around here
tonight."
Blake Fowler, who had been hampered by nagging
injuries, turned his finest
quarter of the season when the Norsemen needed it most. The 6-foot-3
senior
fired in 17 points in the fourth period as Valhalla (1-8) outscored
the
Chieftains 29-10 over the final eight minutes of the San Diego
Elite Surgical
Winter Classic contest.
"Blake really came through," Thomas
agreed. "He got three baskets and made a
nice dish on a fourth when the game was on the line."
So he did. After Clairemont scored the first
five points of the final period,
to take a 44-40 lead, Fowler took charge, spearheading the Norsemen
on a 15-0
scoring run.
Fowler, who finished with 19 points, was 7-for-9 from the free throw line.
Drew Stinnett paced the Norsemen with 25
points, including one trey and
6-for-8 accuracy from the charity stripe. As a team, Valhalla
made 11 free
throws in the fourth quarter.
Other Valhalla scoring: Brent Molden 9,
Danny Sheppard 7, Manny Gonazlez 6,
Tommy Hanna 3.
GROSSMONT 63, GRANITE HILLS 50 - Not many East County players can fill it up
faster than Grossmont's Tyler Vickers. The 6-foot-4 sophomore
spun in 35
points, nailing 11 field goals and 13 of 14 free throws as the
Foothillers
(2-6) grounded the visiting Eagles (2-6) in Friday's (Dec. 14)
San Diego
Elite Surgical Winter Classic.
"If you let him get the ball, he's
gonna score," Grossmont coach Frank
Foggiano said. That's something Vickers has done frequently the
past two
games, pouring in 66 points.
Vickers also hauled down a game-high 14 rebounds in the win.
Grossmont, which also got 11 points from
Blake Brands, broke the game open in
the final quarter with a 21-10 run.
Granite Hills was stone cold from the field,
hitting just 29 percent of 58
shots. Robert Davis was one of the few Eagles who did find the
range as he
dropped in 6 of 9 shots en route to a 14-point total. Greg Chase
added 13
points and Mark Hall hammered in 10. Rony Nasser delivered 6 assists
and 5
points for the Eagles. Mohammed Elhabashy hit a pair of threes.
Other Grossmont scoring: Casey Williams
7, Matt Barbour 3, Casey Young 2,
Jesse Gerber 2, Ryan Goldbarg 2, Casey Young 2, Thomas Hernandez
1.
Other Granite Hills scoring: Luke Arehart 2.
SANTANA 47, USDHS 45 - Santana sophomore Mike Lamoureux sank a pair of
free
throws with 10 seconds left and it proved to be the difference
in the game as
the visiting Dons hit a three-point bucket at the buzzer in Friday's
(Dec.
14) San Diego Elite Surgical Winter Classic contest.
Hayden Penn paced Santana (6-2) with 19 points, while Lamoureux netted 10.
Other Santana scoring: Kellan Kemp 7, Jon
Sturgill 6, Tommy Browning 3, Brian
Schultz 2.
MOUNT MIGUEL 66, RAMONA 45 - Jay Barber banged in 12 points and snagged 9
rebounds as the Matadors (5-3) raced past Ramona (2-7) in Friday's
(Dec. 14)
San Diego Elite Surgical Winter Classic contest at Grossmont.
JR Griffin added 11 points, 5 boards and
3 steals, while Dwayne Ary chimed in
with 10 points. Joey Street zipped in a pair of 3s on his way
to an 8-point
outing, and Ernie Ballenger contributed 7 points and 6 rebounds.
Chris
Campbell had a little bit of everything, notching 5 points, 3
assists, 3
rebounds and 3 blocked shots.
The Matadors, who were 5-for-9 from three-point
range and 15-for-21 on the
free throw stripe, broke the game open with a 23-11 second-quarter
burst.
Other Mount Miguel scoring: Dominic Foster
5, Ralph Johnson 2, William
Burties 2, Brian Montefalcon 2, JR Singh 2.
LA JOLLA 59, MONTE VISTA 50 - The Monarchs (2-5) shot a chilly 37 percent (21
for 57) against the Vikings' zone as they fell in Friday's (Dec.
14)
consolation game of the Hilltop Invitational.
Dalon Wells led Monte Vista with 19 points,
hitting 8 of 17 shots while
grabbing 4 rebounds. Carlos Ramer connected on 5 of 12 shots and
totaled 11
points, while draining one three-pointer. Chris Whyte also netted
a trey and
finished with 9 points.
Other Monte Vista scoring: Nick Childs 6,
Clinton Snyder 3, Diondre Simpson
2, Mark Davis 2.
(12-14-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
SANTEE - Rarely will the Helix Highlanders
(3-1) - who have only two players taller than
6-foot-1, and eight players under 6-foot - be staring up more
than they will
against the giant Torrey Pines Falcons. No team in the county
has more height than the
Torrey Pines, which features trees such as 6-foot-9 Rod Benson,
6-8 Ryan
Neff, 6-6 J.J. Brull, and 6-7 Josh Kramer.
Coach John Singer's Highlanders advanced
with a 63-51 romp over host Hilltop
in Thursday's (Dec. 13) semifinals.
"We started our fourth different lineup
(in as many games)," Singer said. "We
included three football players."
One of them was junior Ray Toilolo, who
finished with 11 points, two fewer
than team leader Stanley Caldwell. The Highlanders jumped out
to a 17-7 lead
and hoisted that advantage to 19 points in the second half.
Other Helix scoring: Ryan San Juan 9, Raphael
Bell 9, Tramaine West 7,
Charles Smith 6, Rajive Otah 5, Kenny Farris 3.
MOUNT MIGUEL 67, GRANITE HILLS 56 - Coach Jimmy Hurst believes his Matadors
will be primary contenders for the Grossmont South League championship
this
winter.
"We have 10 guys who can score, and
our defense, at times, is very, very
good," Hurst said after Mount Miguel (4-3) took a 20-4 first-quarter
lead in
Thursday's (Dec. 13) San Diego Elite Surgical Steel Winter Classic
game at
Granite Hills. "We could be 6-1 right now, but we give a
lot of stuff away.
Like in this game. We were solid in the first quarter and then
we went soft
and let them back into it."
JR Griffin drilled in 21 points, hitting
a pair of three-pointers and all
five free throw attempts to pace the Matadors. Chris Campbell
collected 10
points, 4 assists and 4 steals, while JR Singh yanked down 13
rebounds.
Singh, a 6-foot-2 senior, is known to his teammates and coaches
as "Chicago."
"We have two guys named JR," Hurst
noted. "Singh came to us from Chicago, so
that's what we call him."
Dominic Foster grabbed 11 rebounds and 5
points for the Matadors, while Ralph
Johnson contributed 11 points and 3 steals. Anthony Cox chipped
in with 6
rebounds, 3 steals and 4 points.
Granite Hills junior Greg Chase canned a
game-high 23 points, hitting 10 of
19 floor shots while grabbing 6 rebounds. Mohammed Elhabashy tossed
in 17
points, clicking on 7 of 10 shots (3 of 5 from 3-point range).
Robert Davis
had 10 points for the Eagles, while Mark Hall hauled down 9 rebounds
and had
6 points. Rony Nasser handed out 5 assists.
Other Mount Miguel scoring: Dwayne Ary 4,
Ernie Ballenger 2, Joey Street 2,
Jay Barber 2.
SANTANA 45, CLAIREMONT 41 - The Sultans streaked to a 29-16 halftime lead and
then held on to defeat Clairemont in Thursday's (Dec. 13) San
Diego Elite
Surgical Winter Classic game at Grossmont.
Hayden Penn scored 17 points, including
a pair of 3s, and Jon Sturgill netted
16 points and two 3s.
Usually one of the top free-throw shooting
teams in East County, the Sultans
struggled against the Cheiftains, making only 4 of 10 chances
from the
charity stripe.
"We clearly outplayed them," Santana
coach Tim Barry said, noting that the
Sultans have beaten Clairemont twice this season. "But missing
the front end
of three one-and-ones let them back into the game. We didn't close
the door."
Other Santana scoring: Tommy Browning 5,
Mike Lamoreux 4, Kellan Kemp 2, Tim
Henselmeier 1.
RAMONA 77, GROSSMONT 70 - Sophomore Tyler Vickers rammed in 31 points, but
the Foothillers (1-6) were unable to hold onto a 45-39 halftime
lead in
Thursday's (Dec. 13) San Diego Elite Surgical Winter Classic contest
against
the visiting Bulldogs (2-5).
Grossmont trailed by four points with 1:45
remaining, but a Hiller turnover
led to a Ramona basket and suddenly the Bulldogs had victory clinched
in
their teeth. Just to make sure, they sank 6 of 7 free throws during
the final
70 seconds.
Vickers canned 11 field goals and 9 of 11
free throws. Junior Blake Brands
added 11 points for the Foothillers, who also got 9 from John
Sanders. The
latter did not play in the second half due to an ankle sprain.
Other Grossmont scoring: Jesse Gerber 7,
Salim Ayub 3, Casey Williams 2,
Casey Young 2, Thomas Hernandez 2, Darrin Parsons 1, Brandon Avant
1, Matt
Barbour 1.
CHULA VISTA 51, MONTE VISTA 28 - The Monarchs (2-4) got mowed down 23-1 in
the second quarter of Thursday's Hilltop Invitational game and
never
recovered.
"They just crushed us in that quarter,"
Monte Vista coach Zach Peck admitted.
"I don't think I've ever had a team not score in a quarter."
The Monarchs'
Mark Davis made one of two free throws to prevent Peck from a
first-time
experience.
Clinton Snyder led Monte Vista with 10 points
and 5 rebounds, one more than
Dalon Wells.
Other Monte Vista scoring: Chris Whyte 5,
Wells 3, Carlos Ramer 4, Nick
Childs 2, Derek Sykes 2, Davis 2.
USDHS 2, Valhalla 0 (forfeit) - A mix-up in game sites pinned another loss
on the Norsemen (0-8), who were forced to forfeit. Coach Eric
Thomas had an
old tournament bracket, which did not contain the revised format.
Thus,
Valhalla arrived too late to play the Dons.
(12-13-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
SANTEE - Tim Henselmeier took matters into
his own hands and almost lifted
Santana to a victory over highly regarded Mira Mesa in Wednesday's
(Dec. 12)
San Diego Elite Surgical Winter Classic game.
The Sultans' 6-foot-4 junior forward scored
only 4 points in the game, but
came up with a major bucket when he hit an eight-footer in the
middle of the
lane to tie the game 57-all with 20 seconds remaining.
But Mira Mesa, which was playing its first
game of the year, snagged the
victory when football-quarterback-turned-basketball-guard J.J.
Schmidt hit a
3-point basket with two seconds left to give the Marauders the
60-57 win.
"Mira Mesa is the best team we've played
all year," Santana coach Tim Barry
said. "But we played them tough. It was a tight, one basket
game most of the
way."
Henselmeier's tying basket came off a pass from Hayden Penn.
"Tim actually had the ball stripped
away, but got it back and put it in,"
Barry said. "Then, on the defensive end, he had a hand in
Schmidt's face
along with Jon Sturgill, but the guy was athletic enough to still
make the
shot. It's kinda frustrating, because we made them take the shot
we wanted
them to take."
Sturgill led the Sultans (4-2) with 17 points,
6 rebounds and 5 assists. Penn
chipped in 14 points and 6 rebounds, while Brian Schultz hit a
pair of 3s on
his way to 12 points.
Other Santana scoring: Tommy Browning 6, John Bachmann 3, Kellan Kemp 1.
UNIVERSITY CITY 46, MOUNT MIGUEL 45 - The Centurions hit five straight free
throws in the waning seconds of Wednesday's (Dec. 12) San Diego
Elite
Surgical Winter Classic game to steal a victory from the host
Matadors (3-3).
With two seconds remaining, Mount Miguel turned the ball over
on an inbound
pass, and UC ran out the clock.
Further frustrating Mount Miguel was the
fact that the Matadors had beaten
University City 67-62 in the Titan Tipoff Classic at Eastlake
on Dec. 7.
The Matadors led the Centurions 37-29 after
three quarters on Wednesday, but
were outscored 17-8 in the final period.
JR Griffin, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, led Mount
Miguel with 11 points, but did
not score in the second half.
Other Mount Miguel scoring: Jay Barber 5,
Dwayne Ary 4, Ernie Ballenger 4,
Dominic Foster 4, Chris Campbell 4, Anthony Cox 4, JR Singh 4,
Joey Street 3,
Ralph Johnson 2.
CASTLE PARK 71, GROSSMONT 63 - Tyler Vickers scored 18 points for the
Foothillers (1-5) in Wednesday's (Dec. 12) San Diego Elite Surgical
Winter
Classic game at Grossmont, but no one else reached double figures.
Nine Hillers, however, joined Vickers, a
6-foot-4 sophomore, in the scoring
column. John Sanders and Darrin Parsons added 8 points apiece,
while Casey
Young and Jesse Gerber each had six.
Down 42-27 at the half, Grossmont scrambled
back to trail by only six points
in the third quarter, but could get no closer.
"We're playing hard, but we get down
to the end and just can't finish it
off," lamented Grossmont coach Frank Foggiano.
Other Grossmont scoring: Thomas Hernandez
4, Salim Ayub 4, Blake Brands 2,
Brandon Avant 2, Matt Barbour 2, Taylor McDonald 2.
LA COSTA CANYON 71, VALHALLA 55 - The Norsemen started slowly in both halves
of Wednesday's (Dec. 12) San Diego Elite Surgical Winter Classic
game. The
visiting Mavericks, who led 20-9 after the first quarter, doubled
a 12-point
halftime lead with a 23-11 edge in the third quarter.
Drew Stinnett scored 13 of his team-high
16 points in the second half to lead
Valhalla (0-7). Danny Sheppard powered in 9 of his 15 points in
the fourth
quarter, as Valhalla outscored LCC 21-16 over the final eight
minutes.
Blake Fowler, who converted 9-of-10 free
throw chances, also finished with 15
points for the Norsemen. Valhalla, in fact, enjoyed a big night
from the free
throw line, canning 23-of-28.
"It's pretty tough right now,"
Valhalla coach Eric Thomas said. "We have to
work on some confidence things. We're so much better than we're
playing right
now. We just need to right the ship."
Other Valhalla scoring: Tommy Hanna 4, Travis
Rothlisberger 3, Brent Molden
2.
ST. AUGUSTINE 76, GRANITE HILLS 48 - If the Eagles (2-4) were expecting the
visiting Saints to be rusty coming out of the gate for the season
opener,
they were sadly mistaken.
Senior guard Rommel Marentez scored 23 of
his game-high 33 points in the
first half, as St. Augustine rolled to an easy victory in Wednesday's
(Dec.
12) opening round of the San Diego Elite Surgical Winter Classic.
Mohammed Elhabashy and Greg Chase scored
17 points apiece to lead Granite
Hills. Elhabashy did most of his damage from above the arc, as
he hit four
3-pointers, one more than Marentez. Rony Nasser had 6 assists
for Granite
Hills.
(12-12-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
CHULA VISTA - There are two things that
are apparent about coach John
Singer's band of Helix Highlanders this season. They don't have
much height,
and they have a flair for the dramatic.
For the third time in as many starts the
Highlanders were involved in a
cliff-hanger in Tuesday's (Dec. 11) opening round of the Hilltop
Tournament.
Although they never led until the final second, the Highlanders
(2-1)
squeezed out a 75-73 victory over Sweetwater as senior Stanley
Caldwell
turned an offensive rebound into the game-winning basket at the
buzzer.
Helix, which is four points away from being
undefeated, received a 21-point
effort from Tramaine West. All of West's points came in the second
half, as
the Highlanders overcame a 15-point deficit.
Caldwell finished with 14 points, Cliff
Johnson netted 12, and Charles Smith
tossed in 10 for Helix.
"We have a lot of kids who can play
this game, but they're so much alike that
it's hard to give everybody enough minutes," Singer said.
"We've got 10
guards and four football players who just came out. We don't have
any real
big guys. It's real frustrating because we can't lock in. I'm
trying to be
patient, but it's totally foreign to me to try to play 14 guys
in a close
game. It's not my normal way of coaching. But everybody deserves
to play, so
we're going to have to try to figure out how to make this work."
Leave it to Singer to find a solution. In
the last five years he's led Helix
to five Grossmont South League championships and a 111-30 record.
PT. LOMA 59, MONTE VISTA 58 - George Brown's
put-back with 6 seconds
remaining gave the Pointers the narrow victory in Tuesday's (Dec.
11) opening
round of the Hilltop Tournament. Brown's rebound came after the
Pointers
missed back-to-back free throws.
The Monarchs (2-3) called timeout with 3.5
seconds left. A desperation shot
by Monte Vista from halfcourt at the buzzer wasn't close, as Pt.
Loma
prevailed.
Monte Vista, which trailed 33-17 at halftime,
used a 25-9 third quarter to
tie the game at 42-all. The Monarchs, in fact, went on to hold
a one-point
lead and had possession of the ball with 40 seconds remaining.
"We played better than I thought we
would," Monte Vista coach Zach Peck said.
"We played pretty darn well in the second half, and we really
should have won
it. The plan was, if they made the go-ahead shot, that we'd run
a sideline
play, without calling timeout. We figured that was our best chance.
Instead,
our kids got panicky and called a timeout, and we lost valuable
time. I guess
it's part of the learning process."
Senior Dalon Wells scored a team-high 21
points, including 13 in the third
quarter when the Monarchs overcame a 16-point deficit. Wells also
hit a trio
of 3-pointers and grabbed 6 rebounds. Carlos Ramer tallied 6 of
his 15 points
in the pivotal third quarter.
Sophomore Ronny Yousif nailed a pair of
3-pointers and handed out 3 assists,
while sophomore Nick Childs also contributed 6 points. Freshman
Clinton
Snyder added 5 points, 4 steals and 3 rebounds.
Other Monte Vista scoring: Chris Whyte 3,
Johnnie Jennings 2.
(12-11-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
SANTEE - West Hills guard Ricky Zizzo zipped
in 21 points, including 5-for-6
shooting from 3-point distance, but it wasn't enough as the Wolf
Pack dropped
a 58-53 non-league decision to visiting La Costa Canyon on Monday
(Dec. 10).
Trailing by 14 points in the first half,
the Wolf Pack (2-3) eventually
fought back and overtook the Mavericks to claim a 6 point advantage
with less
than six minutes remaining in the game.
"We made a nice comeback, but then
a couple of turnovers - and our failure to
block out - led to some easy baskets," West Hills coach Jeff
Armstrong said.
"That cost us."
West Hills turned the ball over 23 times.
"When you turn the ball over that many
times, come that close to winning, it
makes it pretty frustrating," Armstrong said. "Their
defense was aggressive,
up in our face. But I thought we played pretty well until the
last few
minutes of the game."
Freshman Matt Gilson tallied 10 points,
as did Ryan Hamman. Included in
Hamman's totals were a pair of 3-pointers.
"I thought Gilson played his best varsity game of the year," Armstrong said.
La Costa Canyon owned a decisive height
advantage. The Mavericks were
determined to keep West Hills senior Matt Henriksen in check.
They succeeded,
as Henriksen settled for a season-low 6 points and 3 rebounds.
Blake Sutton also had 6 points, 3 rebounds
and 2 assists for West Hills.
(12-10-01)
Carlsbad takes Horsman title by knocking off Patriots in battle of county's elite
EastCountySports.com staff report
SANTEE - Top-ranked Carlsbad knocked off
Christian, 72-56, in the finals of the Horsman/Wolf Pack Tournament
Saturday night at West Hills High.
Ben Wohlfeil led Christian in scoring with 21 points, and he also
had 4 steals and 4 assists.
Moulaye Niang had 14 points and 12 rebounds, and blocked 3 shots
for the Pats, while Jake Wohlfeil, who was named to the All-Tournament
Team, contributed 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
Wai John Wai had 8 points, 3 boards and 2 steals for CHS.
Carlsbad knocked down 10 threes and was led by Greg Nelson with
21 points and tournament Most Valuable Player Derek Stockhalper
with 18.
Christian's next game is on Dec. 19th versus (Fresno) Washington
Union High in the Mission Prep Classic in San Luis Obispo.
Also named to the All-Tournament Team from the East County were
El Cajon Valley's Nate Reed and West Hills' Sam Miller.
Kearny 57, Mount Miguel 54 (OT) - The Matadors (3-2) fell to the Komets in overtime
at the Titan Tip-Off Classic at Eastlake despite the efforts of
Ralph Johnson, who had 15 points, including the game-tying three
at the end of regulation, and five steals.
Sophomore J.R. Griffin had 10 points and nine rebounds for Mount
Miguel and long-distance specialist Joey Street hit four 3s on
the way to 12 points.
Anthony Cox had 7 points for Mount Miguel, while teammate Chris
Campbell had 6 points and three assists.
Campbell and Cox had overtime buckets, but the Matadors were outscored
7-4 in OT.
Campbell and Griffin were both named to the all-tournament team.
Other Matadors scoring: Barner 2, Ary 2.
Point Loma 51, Helix 47 - In reverse fashion of the Highlanders' season-opening
come-from-behind win on Friday, Helix squandered a big early lead
to drop the Hilltop Tournament game on Saturday night to the Pointers.
Senior Tramaine West had a game-high 18 points, while senior Stanley
Caldwell added six points.
The Scots led by as many as 15 in the first-half and took an 11-point
edge into the locker room.
Other Helix scoring leaders: Bland 5, Robinson 5.
Montgomery 56, Grossmont 50 - Grossmont's John Sanders and Tyler Vickers both
had 13 points, but the Hillers were outscored 14-9 in the third
quarter to lose at the Titan Tip-Off Classic at Eastlake High.
Casey Young and Casey Williams both added six points for Grossmont
(1-4).
Vickers was named to the all-tournament team.
Southwest 68, Valhalla 54 - Souhwest outscored the Norsemen in each of the
first three quarters, dealing the Norse their sixth-straight defeat.
Valhalla closed the gap in the fourth with a 21-12 run, as three
Norsemen - Drew Stinnett (13 points), Manny Gonzales (12) and
Blake Fowler (11) - finished in double figures.
The balance of Valhalla's scoring came from Tommy Hanna (8), Danny
Sheppard (5), Jared Johnston (3) and Brent Molden (2).
Sweetwater 60, Monte Vista 37 - No other information reported.
EastCountySports.com staff report
CHULA VISTA - Helix never led until the
final two seconds against Chula Vista in its season opener at
the Hilltop Tournament Friday night.
Down by 24 in the first half, the Highlanders outscored the Spartans
36-19 in the second half to grab a 61-60 win on senior Tramaine
West's game-winning layup in the final seconds.
West, who averaged 12.8 points and three assists per game as a
junior, had 14 points, including a three-pointer. The star defensive
back from the CIF Division II football champions was playing with
just one 30-minute practice under his belt on Thursday - one day
after the football title contest.
Senior Stanley Caldwell more than doubled his per-game-average
from last season, topping the Highlanders' scoring sheet with
17 points, including 10 after halftime.
Helix was having a tough time containing Chula Vista's big tandem
of Paul Millingan and Mark Burns, who combined for 47 points.
Late in the game, a scoring error allowed both players to remain
in the game for several minutes after picking up fifth fouls.
Helix's scorekeeper was finally able to get the attention of the
Highlanders' bench.
"Needless to say, I was in (the officials') ear," Helix
coach John Singer said. "(Chula Vista) is a very good team,
but not without those guys. They should've fouled out with three
minutes left. After they left the game, it was a different game
in our favor."
Down by one with 20 seconds to go in the game, Helix ran its offense
against the Spartans' zone.
West got isolated against his defender and got the ball up and
in with two ticks left.
Other Helix scoring: Bland 10, Bell 6, Farris 5, San Juan 5, Johnson
4.
Christian 89, Central Union 51 - Jake Wohlfeil (9-of-13 FGs) and Wai John Wai led
the Patriots with 22 points each, as Christian won at the Wolf
Pack/Horsman Tournament.
Wohlfeil added 5 rebounds and 3 assists, while Wai contributed
5 boards, 2 steals and 2
assists.
Ben Wohlfeil had 19 points, including 3 threes. He also had 5
assists and 4
rebounds.
Moulaye Niang scored 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting, while pulling
down
9 rebounds. He also had 4 steals, 3 blocks and 2 assists.
Brent Dongell chipped in 4 points and had 4 steals. Travis Dalton
had 6 boards.
Christian (4-0) shot 34-of-59 from the floor and 16-of-20 from
the line, while Central was limited to 20-of-64 and made 7-of-12
from the stripe.
Mount Miguel 67, University City 52 - The Matadors (3-1) led from the get-go, taking
a 6-point lead after one quarter to win at the Titan Tip-Off Classic
at Eastlake.
Chris Campbell hit for a team-high 16 points, including a three-pointer.
He also dished out five assists and had three steals.
Sophomore J.R. Griffin tallied 14 points for Mount Miguel and
sharp-shooter Joey Street landed a pair of 3s on the way to 11
points. J.R. Singh contributed 6 points and eight rebounds, while
Dwayne Ary came home with 6 points and 6 boards.
Dominic Foster finished with 6 points for Mount Miguel, while
Anthony Cox and Ernie Ballenger both had four points. Cox also
added four assists and three steals.
Grossmont 64, Ramona 59 - The Foothillers are in the win column after losing
three games by a total of 12 points, as they took down the Bulldogs
in the early game at the Titan Tip-Off.
Grossmont's John Sanders was the star in this one, pouring home
27 points, including three three-pointers. He scored nine points
in the first eight minutes and combined with Blake Brands for
16 points in the first quarter to help spur the Hillers to a 22-17
advantage after one.
Brands finished with 16 points, including a trio of threes of
his own.
Sophomore Tyler Vickers added 14 points and was strong on the
boards again, pulling down a team-high 12 rebounds.
Casey Young netted five for Grossmont.
Other Grossmont scoring: Gerber 2.
El Cajon Valley 74, Serra 70 - Nate Reed led the Braves (6-2) with 26 points,
11 steals and three assists, as the Braves won at the Wolf Pack/Horsman
Tournament.
Reed was 5-for-5 from the foul stripe and also canned a three-pointer,
as El Cajon Valley made its first-half lead, which reached as
many as 15, stand throughout.
Pooh Taylor had 20 points and seven rebounds for the Braves, which
also received a well-rounded performance from Demarcus Flemister,
who had six points, 2 rebounds, three assists and three steals.
The team had 19 steals combined.
"We were a more disciplined team in the first half,"
El Cajon Valley coach Mike Raney said. "Deron really set
the stage for us with his patience and good defense."
Jonathan Agana and Deron Taylor scored 6 points each for the Braves,
who were 10-of-14 from the line.
Other El Cajon Valley scoring: Nick Felure 5, Darick Dubose 2,
Jake Oriarte 2.
West Hills 67, Orange Glen 49 - Matt Henriksen dropped in 20 points, including
9-of-13 from the foul stripe, and grabbed eight rebounds, as the
tournament host Wolf Pack evened its record at 2-2 with the win
at the Horsman Tournament.
Ricky Zizzo was next with 11 points, including three three-pointers,
and five rebounds for West Hills.
Sam Miller contributed 9 points and Ryan Hamann chipped in with
7, including a three, for the Pack. West Hills controlled the
boards with the help of Blake Sutton's four boards.
Other West Hills scoring: Hill 6, Gilson 6, Frye 2, Bailey 2,
Soto 2.
Hilltop 60, Monte Vista 54 - 10 Monarchs got into the scorebook, but the team
squandered a sizable early lead to the host Lancers at the Hilltop
Tournament.
"We are struggling," Monte Vista coach Zach Peck said.
"(We) hope to get better."
EastCountySports.com staff report
SANTEE - Hayden Penn was almost perfect. Well, nearly unstoppable anyway.
The 6-foot-3 senior poured in 34 points
to lead host Santana to a 52-45
non-league boys basketball victory over Clairemont Thursday night
(Dec. 6).
"He's just amazing," Santana coach
Tim Barry said of Penn, who punched in 13
of 16 shots from the floor and netted 10 of 13 free throws. "We
single posted
him and he worked his (defensive) guy pretty good. He's one of
the best
athletes I've ever coached."
Penn, who carries a 26.2 scoring average,
tallied all but two of Santana's
first-half points as the Sultans (4-1) claimed a 19-15 lead at
the break.
"Obviously, baseball is his ticket
to the future," Barry admitted. "But
Hayden just loves the game of basketball, too. And he's such a
natural at it.
He made a play tonight where he was in traffic, dribbled between
his legs and
threw in a left-handed runner off the glass."
Penn, a pro pitching candidate, also pounded the boards for 19 rebounds.
Jon Sturgill added 7 points and 5 assists,
while John Bachmann had 3 assists
and 2 steals for Santana.
(12-06-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
SANTEE - Christian High is just beginning
to pick up steam. Ranked No. 4 in
the county, the Patriots (3-0) had four of their starters score
20 or more
points on Wednesday (Dec. 5) as they overpowered El Cajon Valley
106-70 to
qualify for the finals for Saturday's (Dec. 8) finals of the Wolf
Pack/Horsman Tournament.
Ben Wohlfeil (26 points), John Wai (22),
Moulaye Niang (22) and Jake Wohlfeil
(20) provided uncommon balance for the Patriots.
"I've never seen a high school game
where four kids on the same team had
20-plus points," said Christian coach Curtis Hofmeister.
"But those are four
very good players who got a lot of playing time."
The 6-foot-10 Niang grabbed 11 rebounds,
made 5 steals, and shoveled off 5
assists. Wai collected 8 rebounds and 3 steals, while Jake Wohlfeil
dished
out 7 assists, garnered six rebounds and made 4 steals. Senior
Ben Wohlfeil
canned 4 of Christian's 7 three-pointers, including 3 in the Patriots'
30-point third quarter.
"Christian came out shooting,"
said Braves coach Mike Raney. "They're very
disciplined. They make few mistakes, protect the ball and they
all run the
court. We panicked under pressure. We need to make this a learning
experience."
Nate Reed led the Braves (5-2) with 18 points,
including a pair of 3s.
Jonathan Agana scored 9 points in the fourth quarter to finish
with a
career-high 16. He was 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
Pooh Taylor had an off night, settling for
12 points and a pair of 3s. Jake
Oriarte, the Braves 6-foot-3, 265-pound senior center, didn't
score but
crashed the boards for 8 rebounds.
Other El Cajon Valley scoring: Nick Felure
8, Demarcus Flemister 5, Darick
Dubose 4, Tremaine Foster 2, Calvin Pearce 2.
Other Christian scoring: Mike Muniz 8, Brent Dongell 4, Jesse
LeBeau 2,
Travis Dalton 2.
EL CAMINO 77, VALHALLA 56 - It was another big night for Drew Stinnett (23
points), and all-leaguer Blake Fowler returned to the lineup for
host
Valhalla, but the third-ranked Wildcats started fast and never
shifted gears
in Wednesday's (Dec. 5) Eagle-Vaquero Classic contest.
Mikel Watson buried 4 three-pointers (three
from NBA range) in the first
quarter as El Camino claimed a 17-11 advantage. Watson had 22
by halftime and
totaled 34 for the night.
The big news for Valhalla (0-5), which has
lost games to four top 20 teams,
was having Fowler back in the lineup.
"Blake is inclined to take too much
responsibility for the team," Valhalla
coach Eric Thomas said. "He played at about 80 percent tonight,
but it was
his first game back (since injuring his ankle three games ago).
He played
outstanding in the second half (scoring 9 of his 13 points).
Other Valhalla scoring: Manny Gonzales 8,
Danny Sheppard 7, Jared Johnston 3,
Brent Molden 2.
POWAY 85, GRANITE HILLS 42 - Six-foot-6 Alan Wiggins scored 20 of his 21
points in the second half Wednesday (Dec. 5) as the visiting Titans
toppled
Granite Hills in an Eagle-Vaquero Classic game.
The Eagles (2-3) moved out to an 11-7 lead
midway through the first quarter,
but it was all Poway after that. The Titans turned up the heat
on their
full-court press, causing the Eagles to turn the ball over 28
times.
Matt Hall led Granite Hills with 11 points,
including a trio of
three-pointers. Mohammed Elhabashy netted 10 points for the Eagles.
(12-05-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - The streaking El Cajon Valley
Braves (5-1) will get a shot at
taking down one of San Diego County's elite Wednesday night (Dec.
5) when
they face the Christian High Patriots (2-0) in a Wolf Pack/Horsman
semifinal
game at West Hills. Tip-off has been changed to 8 p.m. The winner
faces
top-ranked Carlsbad for the tournament title Saturday (Dec. 8)
at 8:30 p.m.
The Braves had a bit of a scare as they
tuned up for Wednesday's showdown
with a 74-64 victory over El Centro's Central Union on Tuesday
(Dec. 4). It
took a second half comeback to nail down the win, as the Eagles
led 36-31 at
intermission.
"We had a little talk at halftime,
about playing with intensity and running
the court," El Cajon Valley coach Mike Raney said.
His players must have gotten the message
as El Cajon Valley outscored the
desert visitors 26-5 in the third period.
Sharp-shooting guard Nate Reed rang up 25
points, including a pair of threes.
He also rustled up 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.
Pooh Taylor also came up big with 21 points
and 15 rebounds, and Nick Felure
connected for 13 points. Taylor and Felure hit threes, while Darick
Debose
and Deron Taylor grabbed 9 and 7 rebounds, respectively.
Other El Cajon Valley scoring: Debose 4,
D.Taylor 4, Demarcus Flemister 4,
Jake Oriarte 4.
VALLEY CENTER 67, EL CAPITAN 59 - Seven-foot, 240-pound senior center Jarrod
Boswell blocked 13 shots and grabbed 10 rebounds for host El Capitan,
but
fell more than 17 points short of his 23.6 season scoring average.
While Boswell is averaging 12.3 rebounds
and 7 blocked shots per outing, his
scoring is a must if the Vaqueros are going to find the victory
column with
any consistency. He scored 4 points in the first quarter of Tuesday's
(Dec.
4) Eagle-Vaquero Classic contest in Lakeside, and then drew blanks
until
sinking a pair of free throws in the fourth quarter before fouling
out.
John Relph picked up the slack - at least
in the first half as he scored 15
of his 17 points in the first two quarters. He also had 10 rebounds
and a
pair of assists.
Matt Grant shared high-point honors with
Relph at 17, while Brett Stephens
netted a season-best 15 points. Stephens also drilled in a trio
of
three-pointers and pulled down 8 rebounds.
The Vaqueros (0-4) took their first lead
of the season by scoring the opening
bucket and maintained a 32-26 advantage at the half. When El Cap's
offense
stalled in the third quarter, producing only 5 points, the visiting
Jaguars
(1-3) clawed in front and eventually finished on top in the contest
between
winless teams.
The Jaguars were deadly from the free throw
line as they clicked on 22 of 30
charity tosses, including 13 of 16 during the final eight minutes.
Other El Capitan scoring: Eric Gregerson 2, Scott Fisher 2.
SCRIPPS RANCH 59, WEST HILLS 49 - Sam Miller spun in 13 points and Matt
Henriksen and Ryan Hamann chipped in with 10 apiece, but it wasn't
enough as
the Wolf Pack (1-2) could not hold a slim third-quarter lead.
Miller hit 4-of-7 shots from the field,
while chasing down 4 rebounds and
handing out 4 scoring passes. Henriksen hauled down 9 rebounds,
while Hamann
hit a pair of three-pointers in the Wolf Pack/Horsman Invitational
game on
Tuesday (Dec. 4).
Other West Hills scoring: Blake Sutton 6,
Ricky Zizzo 4, Ryan Soto 4, Matt
Gilson 2.
SAN MARCOS 67, GRANITE HILLS 55 - A weak third quarter cost the Eagles
(2-2), who saw a 35-33 halftime edge melt under an intense 21-7
scoring surge
by the visiting Knights (3-1). It was during that period that
the Eagles
committed an unhealthy portion of their 22 turnovers.
In addition, the Eagles were an unimpressive
14-for-27 from the free throw
line compared to 17-for-22 by San Marcos.
Junior Greg Chase rolled in 15 points to
pace Granite Hills, which also got
13 points and 10 rebounds from 6-foot-6 sophomore Mark Hall. Mohammed
Elhabashy added 11 points, while Robert Davis chimed in with 7.
Hall landed a
pair of 3-pointers as did Rony Nasser.
Other Granite Hills scoring: Luke Arehart 2, Travis Heath 1.
EASTLAKE 65, MOUNT MIGUEL 64 - The Matadors (2-1) missed a chance to dribble
into Friday's (Dec. 7) semifinals of the Titan Tipoff Classic,
as a
fourth-quarter rally came up short, allowing host Eastlake to
fill that slot.
Mount Miguel outscored the Titans 28-20
in a hectic final quarter, but could
not overtake the tournament hosts.
Sophomore J.R. Griffin tallied 12 points
and Dominic Foster and Chris
Campbell canned 11 apiece for Mount Miguel. Each member of the
trio grabbed 5
rebounds, as did Dwayne Ary. Campbell collected six steals.
Other Mount Miguel scoring: Anthony Cox
7, Ernie Ballenger 6, Jay Barber 6,
William Burties 4, Ary 2.
UNIVERSITY CITY 71, GROSSMONT 64 - More frustration for coach Frank
Foggiano's Foothillers, who have lost three games by a total of
12 points.
Much like previous losses to Montgomery
and Kearny, Grossmont had this one
within its grasp, only to have it roll off its fingertips. The
game was
deadlocked at 60-all with four minutes left when the Centurions
embarked on a
modest 8-4 scoring run to seal the deal.
"We have to learn how to win,"
Foggiano said. "We'll get there. This one
could have gone either way. By game 10 we'll be a winning team."
Sophomore Tyler Vickers led Grossmont with
18 points and 9 rebounds in his
finest performance of the young season. John Sanders added 12
points, while
Salim Ayub netted a pair of 3-pointers.
Other Grossmont scoring: Casey Young 8,
Ayub 8, Blake Brands 7, Casey
Williams 6, Darrin Parsons 4, Thomas Hernandez 1.
(12-04-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
VISTA - You have to give coach Eric Thomas and the Valhalla Norsemen credit for accepting a challenge. Without a doubt, they are playing a grueling non-league schedule.
For the third time in four starts, the Norsemen faced a Top 20 team Monday (Dec. 3). A strong fourth quarter rush at Rancho Buena Vista was an encouraging sign to Thomas, but the Norsemen (0-4) still came up short, as the Longhorns prevailed 56-48.
"Our kids are learning how much effort
it takes to play against the top teams in the county," Thomas
said. "We're playing straight up man defense this
year, and that's been a very difficult change for the kids. For
the most part, we've been in a zone the last three years."
Valhalla took a 9-4 lead at RBV before the Longhorns went on a 14-2 scoring stampede and eventually built a 34-18 halftime advantage.
The Norsemen claimed a 20-11 scoring edge in the final quarter, as Danny Sheppard scored 11 of his team-high 15 points. Brent Molden added 12 points, including a pair of 3s, while Drew Stinnett drilled in 10 points.
Other Valhalla scoring: Tommy Hanna 5, Jared
Johnston 4, Travis Rothlisberger 2.
(12-03-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - Santana coach Tim Barry called several of his players following the game and told them "It's the most fun I've had in two or three years."
Barry was almost giddy after his Sultans lost to Mar Vista 106-96 in quadruple overtime in Saturday's (Dec. 1) Francis Parker Invitational championship game.
"We're not Carlsbad or Torrey Pines, but I'll tell you this: It was the greatest high school basketball game I've ever been associated with - as a player or a coach," Barry said. "I was exhausted. So were my players. But everybody was hugging everybody after the game. It was like neither team lost."
Consider this. The game was tied 56-56 at the end of regulation.
"This was no run-and-gun affair, at all," Barry said of the longest game in Santana history, which ties the Grossmont Conference record set by Valhalla and Granite Hills in 1998. "I even ran out of room in my score book."
By the time the game ended, four Sultans had fouled out and the only remaining players left to Barry were the five on the court. And two of them had four fouls.
For the record, Hayden Penn paced the Sultans with 27 points (including 13-of-18 free-throws), a personal record 19 rebounds and 4 steals. The 6-foot-3 senior forward was named to the all-tournament team, along with Jon Sturgill, who tallied 18 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists.
Brian Schultz led Santana's supporting cast with a career-high 19 points, while Tommy Browning (14 points), sophomore Mike Lamoureux (12 points), and Kellan Kemp (11 points) all made healthy deposits to the Sultans' scoring total.
Tournament MVP, Dean Curry of Mar Vista, scored a game-high 41 points. The left-handed point guard denied the Sultans a victory in regulation when he dribbled the length of the floor, pulled up and hit a fall-away 17-footer with eight seconds left to send the game into overtime.
Each team scored 10 points in the first four-minute overtime.
Then in the second overtime, after three Sultans had fouled out, Penn hit 2 free throws with 5 seconds left to put Santana (3-1) on top 79-76. But apparently Curry hadn't had enough. The 5-foot-7 Mariners' floor leader pulled up just across the center-court line and hit a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Bring on Round 3. Santana had a fourth player foul out in the third overtime. Then with 33 seconds left, and the score tied 91-all, the Sultans went into a spread offense, attempting to isolate Penn.
The Mariners had other plans, however, as they trapped one of the Sultans in the corner, and he called time out. Unfortunately, Santana had exhausted its supply of timeouts. Thus, a technical foul was assessed against the Sultans.
Only this time, Curry couldn't put the victory in the Mar Vista column, as he missed both free throws - and the game stretched on to a fourth four-minute overtime.
With five exhausted players left, the Sultans finally fell behind by more than two points for the first time in the extra sessions, as Mar Vista pulled in front 97-94. The Mariners were 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final session, and the Sultans could not counter.
"You don't usually feel this way after a loss," Barry said. "But this is one of those special games that you'll never forget."
Other Santana scoring: Jon Sledge 2, John Bachmann 1.
SANTANA 63, JULIAN 32 - Hayden Penn arrived late to the Saturday (Dec.
1) matinee game after completing his S.A.T. exams that morning,
but it didn't
affect his play on the court. Penn pushed in 24 points (hitting
10-of-16 shots), grabbed 12 rebounds and made 7 steals while playing
only 2- quarters.
"We moved the starting time of this game back because a couple of kids, like Hayden, were taking their S.A.T.s," Santana coach Tim Barry said. "By the time we finished, we only had 45 minutes to rest until we started the championship game (versus Mar Vista)."
Other Santana scoring: Jon Sturgill 10, John Bachmann 9, Mike Lamoureux 7, Tommy Browning 4, Kellan Kemp 4, Jon Sledge 2, Greg Gobin 2, Brian Schultz 1.
EL CAJON VALLEY 76, CALVIN CHRISTIAN 42 - Anybody who believes coach Mike Raney's Braves will be an easy mark this season, isn't paying attention.
Nate Reed fired in four 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 20 points, as the Braves improved to 4-1 with the lop-sided victory over Calvin Christian in Saturday's (Dec. 1) Parker Invitational. The junior guard also had 6 assists and 5 steals.
"He's seeing the court a lot better, seeing other guys," Raney said of Reed. "Like I've said before, he's our quarterback."
Anthony "Pooh" Taylor shoveled in 15 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, while senior Nick Felure continues to impress with 12 points and 9 rebounds.
"Nick is developing into a strong "sixth man," Raney said. "When we put him into the game, we want him to shoot."
Deron Taylor chipped in 6 points and corralled 7 rebounds, while Darick Dubose muscled in 8 points.
Other El Cajon Valley scoring: Jonathan Agana 5, Tremaine Foster 4, Rodney Ridgel 4, Calvin Pearce 2.
CHRISTIAN 84, SERRA 62 - Moulaye Niang scored 15 of his game-high 25 points in the third quarter when Christian smashed Serra 31-12 over that eight-minute stretch.
The 6-foot-10 senior center connected on 12-of-18 shots, grabbed 14 rebounds, made 8 blocks, 5 steals and handed out 3 assists.
"Moulaye really got after it in this game," Christian High coach Curtis Hofmeister said.
The Patriots (2-0) used a 21-3 scoring run to snap a 26-26 tie in the Wolf Pack/Horsman Tournament game, and never looked back.
Jake Wohlfeil whipped in 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the floor, dished out 9 assists, and picked off 5 rebounds, while John Wai clicked on 8-of-12 shots for 16 points. Guard Ben Wohlfeil handed out 6 assists, and scored all 10 of his points in the second half for Christian.
The Patriots, who shot 55 percent (35-for-64), learned Saturday that they will be competing in the Open Division of the prestigious Nike National Prep Classic (Dec. 26-29).
CARLSBAD 85, WEST HILLS 45 - Top-ranked Carlsbad raced to its third straight win as Derek Stockalper smoked in 24 points and Greg Nelson notched 20, as the Lancers downed the host team in the Wolf Pack/Horsman Tournament.
Giving away a decisive height advantage, the Wolf Pack received 16 points from Ricky Zizzo, who cast in four 3-pointers. Matt Henriksen rolled in 11 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, while freshman Matt Gilson put in 7 points off the bench.
"If there's a better team than Carlsbad in town, they must be a heckuva team," West Hills coach Jeff Armstrong said.
KEARNY 61, GROSSMONT 60 - Another close call for the Foothillers - and a second straight loss in the Titan Tipoff Classic. Trailing by a single point with 11 seconds remaining, Grossmont worked the ball into position for a potential game-winning shot.
"We got the ball inside, and - just
like last night - we missed a
three-footer," Grossmont coach Frank Foggiano said. "We
had the lead most of the game (19-9 after one quarter, and 50-47
after three)."
John Sanders led Grossmont with 19 points,
including a pair of 3s. Salim Ayub also hit two shots from 3-point
range and totaled 8 points for the night.
Tyler Vickers netted 11 points for the Hillers, while Casey Young
tossed in 8.
Other Grossmont scoring: Blake Brands 5, Thomas Hernandez 4, Jesse Gerber 2.
MOUNT MIGUEL 62, RAMONA 43 - Four Matadors reached double scoring figures as
Mount Miguel rolled over Ramona for its second straight win in
the Titan Tipoff Classic.
J.R. Griffin led the way with 12 points, Joey Street landed a trio of 3s and finished with 11 points, while Jay Barber and Dwayne Ary logged 10 apiece.
The Matadors broke the game open with a 26-8 third quarter scoring advantage.
Other Mount Miguel scoring: J.R. Singh 6, Ralph Johnson 3, Ernie Ballenger 4, Chris Campbell 4, Eugene Puijida 2.
GRANITE HILLS 62, HOOVER 57 - After falling behind the visiting Cardinals 41-30
at halftime, host Granite Hills came within 30 seconds of shutting
out Hoover in the third quarter, claiming a 14-2 scoring edge.
The
Eagles-Vaqueros Classic game, however, was still in doubt, as
Granite Hills (2-1) took a 44-43 lead into the final period.
Greg Chase scored 12 of his team-leading 17 points in the second half, while Mohammed Elhabashy canned four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points. Robert Davis contributed 10 points, 3 assists and 3 steals. Mark Hall had a team-high 5 rebounds, and Rony Nasser dished out 5 assists and made 2 steals for the Eagles.
SAN MARCOS 86, VALHALLA 56 - The Norsemen (0-3) received a solid 19 points from junior forward Drew Stinnett in an otherwise long night for Valhalla in the Eagles-Vaqueros Classic game at San Marcos. While Valhalla was struggling at the free throw line, hitting just 16 of 34 chances, the Knights were hitting 10 three-pointers (8 in the first half, when they marched to a 47-33 lead).
"They played a version of the UNLV ameba defense Tarkanian used," Norsemen coach Eric Thomas said. "We were OK in the first quarter (trailing only 23-20), but we didn't attack it in the second. When we went zone, they killed us with three straight 3s."
Valhalla played without all-leaguer Blake Fowler, who was sidelined with a sprained ankle.
Other Valhalla scoring: Danny Sheppard 7, Brent Molden 7, Travis Rothlisberger 6, Jared Johnston 6, Jordan March 4, Tommy Hanna 4, Steven Daoud 2, James Burnett 1.
SAN DIEGO 90, EL CAPITAN 54 - Fifth-ranked county power San Diego ran roughshod over the Vaqueros (0-3) Saturday (Dec. 1) in Lakeside. Six different Cavers connected for 3-pointers as turned the Eagles-Vaqueros Classic game into a rout with a 32-13 scoring rush in the final quarter.
Jarrod Boswell led El Capitan with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. John Relph added 11 points and 8 rebounds, while Matt Grant netted 9 points and collected 7 rebounds.
Other El Capitan scoring: Eric Gregerson
7, Mike Mena 6, Brett Stephens 4, Sean Hogue 2.
(12-01-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - It took the Monte Vista Monarchs until the middle of December to post their second win last season. It took them two starts to collect their second victory this year.
Not that Friday night's (Nov. 30) win came
easily. In fact, it was a 55-54 non-league nail-biter that Monarchs'
veteran coach Zach Peck was relieved to
get.
"We led the darn thing the whole way, and then it almost got away from us at the end," Peck said of his undefeated Monarchs.
Jacques Alaby's second 3-pointer of the night gave Monte Vista a 53-46 advantage with 2:32 to play.
"And then we started fouling," Peck noted. "And they (the Patriots) started making free throws."
Patrick Henry forged its way in front 54-53
with less than a minute to play.
Ironically, the Monarchs wound up winning the game from the free
throw line.
After senior Dalon Wells was fouled on a drive to the basket with 13 seconds remaining, he promptly sank the tying and winning free throws.
Wells finished with 20 points and a dozen rebounds while converting 7-of-10 free throws. Alaby rang up a game-high 24 points, which included 11-of-12 free throw shooting. Alaby also had 6 steals and 5 rebounds.
Freshman Clinton Snyder pulled down 8 rebounds and scored 5 points, while Chris Whyte notched 4 steals for the Monarchs.
Other Monte Vista scoring: Mark Davis 2, Carlos Ramer 2, Whyte 2.
CHRISTIAN 77, SAN PASQUAL 55 - Coach Curtis Hofmeister's Patriots opened the season
Friday (Nov. 30) somewhat short-handed - six of his players are
still
involved in the San Diego CIF football playoffs. It made for a
slow start, as San Pasqual jumped out to a 10-2 lead.
Not a problem for the Patriots, who proceeded on a 24-2 scoring run to take a commanding 26-12 lead midway through the second quarter. Christian was never threatened seriously thereafter in the Wolf Pack/Horsman Tournament game.
Junior Jake Wohlfeil hit 10-of-14 field goals and 4-of-5 free throws for a game-high 24 points to go with 4 rebounds and 4 steals. John Wai whistled in 21 points, knocking down 9-of-13 shots from the floor while collecting 6 rebounds and 3 steals.
Kansas-bound Moulaye Niang tallied 18 points,
15 rebounds, 4 steals and blocked 5 shots against the Golden Eagles.
Ben Wohlfeil had an off shooting
night from the field, but dished off 11 assists and cleared 5
boards while tossing in 9 points.
WEST HILLS 60, SOUTHWEST EL CENTRO 38 - Senior Matt Henriksen rolled a double-double in the Wolf Pack's season opener, spinning in 22 points and ripping off 10 rebounds in its own tournament. Henriksen drained 10-of-18 shots while shoveling off 4 assists.
Ryan Hamann contributed 14 points, which included 5-for-9 shooting from the field. Ricky Zizzo zipped in 6 points, handed out 3 assists and pulled down 3 rebounds, while sophomore Blake Sutton grabbed 6 rebounds and logged 3 assists.
The Wolf Pack enjoyed a 35-13 lead late in the first half, and then cruised to the victory.
All 13 West Hills players participated in the opener, and nine contributed to the scoring.
EL CAJON VALLEY 54, CLAIREMONT 50 (OT) - El Cajon Valley senior Jonathan Agana saved his only 3 points of the game for overtime, as the Braves edged the Chieftains in Friday's (Nov. 30) 29th annual Francis Parker Invitational game.
Nate Reed, who came in averaging 24.7, scored only 3 points in regulation, but chipped in 4 more during overtime for the Braves (3-1). Anthony "Pooh" Taylor scored 3 of his 23 markers in overtime, as well.
"We jumped out ahead in the first quarter (15-8), but they came back on us (to lead 26-22 at halftime)," said El Cajon Valley coach Mike Raney. "We should have put them away earlier. It looked like they were going to win it, then they missed two free throws (at the end of regulation). In overtime we forced them to make errors and then we took over."
Nick Felure scored all 11 of his points, which included a pair of 3-pointers, after intermission. Sophomore Deron Taylor contributed 6 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists for El Cajon Valley.
Other El Cajon scoring: Darick Dubose 2, Demarcus Flemister 2.
SANTANA 59, FRANCIS PARKER 55 - Hayden Penn hit a pair of free throws to give the Sultans a 53-51 lead with 2:20 remaining, as Santana (2-0) defeated the host team in the Parker Invitational on Friday (Nov. 30).
Penn was 4-for-4 from the line during the final quarter, as he finished with team-highs of 22 points, 15 rebounds and 6 steals. In addition, the 6-foot-3 senior forward was accurate on 10-of-13 floor shots.
"We trailed by 10 points with 5:50 to go in the fourth quarter," Santana coach Tim Barry said. "We made some defensive switches and put on the pressure, forced some turnovers and got some transition baskets."
Jon Sturgill was hampered by early foul trouble and scored only one point in the first three quarters. But the Sultans' 6-foot senior guard was on the mark in the fourth period, as he scored 10 points, including 6-for-6 free throw shooting.
Tommy Browning notched a trio of 3-pointers en route to a 20-point night for Santana, which converted 19-of-24 free throws in the game.
Other Santana scoring: Brian Schultz 3, John Bachmann 2, Kellan Kemp 1.
MONTGOMERY 56, GROSSMONT 52 - A controversial "no-call" in the waning seconds of Friday's (Nov. 30) Titan Tipoff Classic game at Montgomery turned what the Foothillers thought was a foul into a victory-clinching lay-up.
With the shot clock running down, Montgomery broke a 52-52 deadlock on a 17-foot fadeway from the baseline with 1:10 remaining. Seconds later the Foothillers had a chance to tie, but missed the front end of a one-and-one.
Grossmont got another chance when sophomore Thomas Hernandez made a steal, giving the Hillers - who trailed 54-52 at the time - possession with 11 seconds remaining, only to have Montgomery counter with the controversial steal at midcourt.
"The (Montgomery) guy reached across
Hernandez's body (making contact) but no foul was called,"
said Grossmont coach Frank Foggiano, who is back in the
coaching saddle after a lengthy hiatus.
Senior John Sanders led the Hillers with 23 points, including one trey. Salim Ayub contributed 9 points in his varsity debut, while Tyler Vickers added 8.
Other Grossmont scoring: Blake Brands 4, Casey Young 4, Casey Williams 2, Jesse Gerber 2.
MOUNT MIGUEL 69, CRAWFORD 42 - The Matadors outscored the Colts 39-17 in the second half to capture their season opener in Friday's (Nov. 30) Titans Tipoff Classic at Mount Miguel.
Junior Joey Street came up big in his varsity debut, scoring a game-high 18 points. The 5-foot-11 guard netted half of Mount Miguel's six 3-pointers, and converted 3-of-5 free throws.
Dwayne Ary chipped in with 10 points, while Ernie Ballenger grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds and 3 assists for the Matadors. Chris Campbell corralled 10 rebounds and 7 assists to go with 8 points.
Mount Miguel's Anthony Cox added 8 points and 3 assists, and junior Ralph Johnson canned a pair of 3-pointers, finishing with 7 points. J.R. Singh pulled down 8 rebounds.
Other Mount Miguel scoring: Jay Barber 7, Ballenger 4, Singh 4, J.R. Griffin 3.
MURRIETA VALLEY 80, EL CAPITAN 69 - The Vaqueros turned up their offense, but forgot to bring their defense in the second half, as visiting Murrieta Valley won a 50-44 scoring free-for-all over the final two quarters.
Trailing the Nighthawks by 17 points late in the third quarter, the Vaqueros went on an 11-0 scoring spree to pull within 54-48 by the end of the period. They never got any closer.
El Capitan's 7-footer, Jarrod Boswell, scored
24 of his 28 points in the second half while garnering 18 rebounds,
2 steals and 6 blocked shots.
Boswell has 56 points in two games for the Vaqueros, who fell
to 0-2.
Senior John Relph nailed 23 points, including 11-of-13 free throws for El Cap. He also had 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.
Other El Capitan scoring: Matt Grant 8,
Brett Stephens 6, Scott Fisher 4.
(11-30-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - Greg Chase crunched in 18 points and corralled 7 rebounds as host Granite Hills slipped past the visiting Madison Warhawks 58-51 in a Eagles-Vaqueros Classic encounter on Thursday (Nov. 29).
After falling behind 13-11 in the opening quarter, the Eagles took flight for a 16-11 second-quarter scoring spree that allowed them to sit on a three-point edge at the break.
"In the second quarter we started picking them up full court, got some steals and a lot of fast-break buckets off our transition game," Granite Hills assistant coach Randy Anderson said.
Robert Davis nailed 14 points and Luke Arehart turned in a solid performance with 8 points and a team-leading 8 rebounds for Granite Hills (1-1).
MAR VISTA 75, EL CAJON VALLEY 65 - Granted, it's a little early in the season to start talking about leading scorers. But when such tabulations become a weekly endeavor, El Cajon Valley guard Nate Reed is sure to be counted.
Reed rolled in 27 points, mostly off 9 steals and a trio of three-pointers, but it wasn't enough as the Braves lost for the first time in three starts on Thursday (Nov. 29) at the 29th Annual Francis Parker Invitational.
With games of 23, 24 and 27 points, Reed ranks as East County's leading scorer with a 24.7 average for the Braves.
Unfortunately for El Cajon Valley coach Mike Raney, the Braves received so-so support for Reed in the loss to Mar Vista. Deron Taylor delivered 10 points (including a pair of 3s), 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Pooh Taylor turned in 9 points and 7 rebounds.
What irked coach Raney most about the Braves' latest outing was the fact that they missed 10 free throws in the first half and fell behind 38-33.
"We really only played hard in the last three minutes," said Raney, whose club trailed 54-41 after three quarters. "I think we may have taken this team a little bit lightly, possibly overlooked them. We didn't execute our fundamentals."
SANTANA 86, PARKER JV 37 - Jon Sturgill registered a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds, while teammate Hayden Penn did a similar number with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 7 steals on Thursday (Nov. 29), as the Santana varsity pulverized the Parker JV in the Francis Parker Invitational.
"This wasn't the game that we were expecting to play, but a team dropped out at the last minute and (newly appointed Parker varsity) coach Phil Connor had to fill that spot with his JV team," said Santana coach Tim Barry. "The main thing is it gave us a chance to play everybody an extensive amount."
John Bachmann landed 15 points and sophomore Mike Lamoreaux drained a trio of three-pointers on his way to a varsity debut of 13 points. John Sledge hammered down 7 rebounds in a relief role.
Other Santana scorers: Tim Henselmeier 6,
Kellan Kemp 4, Tommy Browning 2, Schultz 1.
(11-29-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - Coach Mike Raney believes that his El Cajon Valley Braves will be contenders in the Grossmont North League this year.
He might have started having second thoughts after falling behind San Pasqual 22-12 in the first quarter of Wednesday's (Nov. 28) Wolf Pack/Horsman Tournament game at West Hills.
The Braves showed why their coach is so confident, as they came from behind to defeat the Golden Eagles 68-61.
Junior guard Nate Reed rattled in a team-high 24 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, as the Braves improved to 2-0.
"He's the quarterback of our club, just unreal" said Raney of Reed, who converted 6-of-7 free throws down the stretch.
Pooh Taylor added 18 points, and Nick Felure chimed in with 11, including a trio of 3's to go with 9 rebounds for the Braves.
"Felure really played inspired today,"
Raney said. "He scored all 11 of his points in the second
half (to help the Braves overcome a 33-28 halftime deficit)."
Felure, who scored 3 points in his varsity debut off the bench
on
Tuesday (Nov. 27), has been elevated into the starting lineup.
Deron Taylor chipped in 8 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while Tremaine Foster funneled in 6 points for El Cajon Valley.
"Foster did a great defensive job on (San Pasqual's Kris) Petrovich, holding him to 2 points in the fourth quarter," Raney said. Petrovich finished with 13 points, trailing only all-county 6-foot-5 pre-season pick, Ryan Fusilier, who scored a game-high 28 for the Golden Eagles.
LA JOLLA COUNTY DAY 84, VALHALLA 59 - All-county candidate Chris Robinson knocked down 29 points, including four 3-pointers to lead the Tories past the visiting Norsemen (0-2) on Wednesday (Nov. 28). LJCD drilled in eight 3-pointers, and the Norsemen countered with a trio of treys by Blake Fowler.
Fowler, a three-year starter, finished with 13 points despite suffering a sprained ankle just prior to tipoff. The 6-foot-3 senior might have scored even more had not coach Eric Thomas elected to rest his limping star over the final seven minutes of the game.
"I hope he'll be ready to go against San Marcos on Saturday (Dec. 1)," Thomas said. "If he's not, he won't play. We don't want to hurt him."
James Burnett and Drew Stinnett added 10
points apiece for Valhalla, which also got 9 points from Danny
Sheppard.
(11-28-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON - Anthony "Pooh" Taylor of El Cajon Valley High figures to be one of the top players in East County this season. The muscular 6-foot-4, 260-pound senior gave the visiting Hilltop Lancers a sample of his abilities in the Braves' 74-62 non-league opening victory on Tuesday (Nov. 27) at El Cajon.
Taylor tossed in 32 points and grabbed a dozen rebounds, while sharp-shooting junior guard Nate Reed rang up 23 points, 9 steals and 4 assists for coach Mike Raney's Braves. Taylor and Reed were both 8-for-11 from the free throw line.
Darick Dubose chipped in 9 points and a dozen rebounds for El Cajon Valley, which took a 21-13 first quarter lead and never looked back.
"Dubose did a good job helping Pooh on the boards," Raney remarked.
One of the pleasant surprises for the coach was 6-foot-4 Nick Felure.
"Nick ran the court real well, diving on the floor, played good defense, rebounded and passed the ball well," Raney said. "He only played four games last year, but he sparked us coming off the bench tonight."
Deron Taylor, Pooh's 6-3 sophomore brother, handed out 4 assists.
"I think we're going to do well this year," Raney said.
Jason Tydinco led Hilltop with 24 points, including 4-for-7 shooting from 3-point range.
POWAY 77, EL CAPITAN 71 - Junior Jarrod Boswell, the tallest player in San Diego County at 7 feet, 240 pounds, gave a dominating performance with 28 points, 11 rebounds, 7 blocks and 2 assists for El Capitan in Tuesday's (Nov. 27) opening round of the Eagles-Vaqueros Classic in Lakeside. Boswell's scoring effort was more than three times the 9.2 point production he produced as a sophomore.
Senior forward John Relph, one of six lettermen returning from last year's 17-10 Grossmont North League championship team, scored a career-high 19 points for the Vaqueros. He also ripped off seven rebounds.
Senior guard Matt Grant chipped in with 8 points, 6 assists, 2 steals and a pair of rebounds.
The Vaqueros trailed by as much as 12 points in the second half, but fought back to tie it 67-67 with two minutes remaining. That's when all-county candidate Alan Wiggins sparked a 10-0 run for Poway. Wiggins finished with 18.
MONTE VISTA 57, HOOVER 31 - Dalon Wells scored 12 points and freshman Clinton Snyder added 10 as Monte Vista swamped Hoover in the non-league opener for both teams on Tuesday (Nov. 27) in Spring Valley.
The Monarchs, who were 15-of-21 from the free throw line, used a 19-8 second quarter scoring edge to take a 33-16 halftime lead.
Jacques Alaby contributed 8 points, as did Chris White for the Monarchs, who figure to be an improved team over last year's 7-18 squad.
BONITA VISTA 100, GRANITE HILLS 59 - The visiting Barons left Granite Hills in their dust in Tuesday's (Nov. 27) opening round of the Eagles-Vaqueros Classic. Led by Gene Stephens' 34 points, the Barons barged to a 26-16 first-quarter lead. The Eagles shaved the edge to 26-21 with five minutes left in the first half, but quickly fell out of contention thereafter.
Granite Hills committed 25 turnovers against the Barons' aggressive full-court pressure defense.
Junior Greg Chase popped in 13 points on
6-for-11 shooting for Granite Hills. He also hauled down 4 rebounds,
while sophomore Mark Hall canned a team-high 14 points for the
Eagles. Six-foot-5 senior Luke Arehart rattled in 11 points and
corralled 3 rebounds.
(11-27-01)
EastCountySports.com staff report
EL CAJON -Valhalla was the first East County
basketball team out of the chute Monday (Nov. 26). The only problem
was, the visiting Fallbrook Warriors
spoiled the debut of Norsemen first-year head coach Eric Thomas.
Fallbrook, as it turns out, is going to be a bona fide contender in the Avocado League and the San Diego CIF Division I playoffs. The Warriors return three all-league players and some excellent outside shooters from a club that finished 17-9 a year ago.
"We were right with them for 2 quarters," Thomas said. "But then they started dominating on the boards, limiting us to one shot. Their spread offense and crisp, fast cuts were more than we could handle at this stage in the season."
The result: Fallbrook 66, Valhalla 43.
Senior letterman Brent Molden knocked down a trio of 3-pointers and finished with 13 points to pace Valhalla, which returns six players from last year's 13-15 team. All-Grossmont South League picks Danny Shepard and Blake Fowler added 8 and 6 points, respectively. Andrew Stinnett chipped in with 6 points for the Norsemen.
"Fallbrook is going to be one of the top teams in the county," Thomas said. "But I think we're going to be a pretty good team too, when all is said and done."
Valhalla led 25-20 with two minutes left in the first half. But the Warriors, who received 23 points from junior Tim Manning and 21 more from senior Cole Lipovac, scored the final seven points of the second quarter to lead 27-25 at halftime.
The Norsemen were trailing only 37-30 midway through the third quarter when Fallbrook began to dominate both ends of the floor.
EastCountysports.com staff report
EL CAJON - A 6-foot-10 high school basketball
player with the mobility that
Moulaye Niang possess is almost certain to draw national attention.
That was the case with Christian High's
Niang. The 6-10, 205-pound center,
who came to the United States from Senegal, West Africa, 14 months
ago, caught
the watchful eye of coaches from the nation's top collegiate basketball
powers in his first season of performing on America courts last
year.
Christian High coach Curtis Hofmeister said
he fielded inquiries about Niang
from more than 50 colleges, including Kansas, San Diego State,
New Mexico,
Michigan, Georgia Tech, Oregon State, Yale and Liberty (Va.) University.
Niang's decision boiled down to a choice between Kansas and SDSU.
After averaging 12.5 points, 10 rebounds,
four blocks and two steals per game
for the 22-6 Patriots as a junior, Niang made a verbal commitment
to Kansas
after taking a recruiting trip to Lawrence, Kan., campus the weekend
of Oct.
12-14.
Credit Kansas basketball coach Roy Williams
and his staff for rolling out the
welcome mat for Niang, who was greeted by 20 KU students from
his native
Senegal.
"It was important for me to see so
many people from Senegal," Niang said. "I
spoke with them and they all said they enjoyed being students
at KU. And the
players on the team were great, too. It's not every day you see
seniors
hanging out with the freshmen. At KU I saw everybody hanging out
together,
joking around and laughing. You could tell they were a tight knit
group."
Niang visited Kansas on Homecoming weekend.
He attended the football game
between the Jayhawks and Oklahoma University on Saturday. But
it was what
occurred the night before when Niang walked into Allen Fieldhouse
for the
infamous "Late Night With Roy Williams" basketball scrimmage
that made a
lasting impression upon the young recruit.
"There were 16,300 people in the place
hours before the program began,"
Hofmeister said. "Think about a young kid like Moulaye walking
into the place
and people are chanting his name in unison. How could he not be
impressed by
that?"
NCAA rules prohibit coaches from commenting
until a player signs a letter of
intent. The early signing period is Nov. 14-21.
Niang said his basketball skills have improved
greatly during his stay in the
U.S.
"When I first came (to Christian High),
I could do nothing with my left
hand," he said. "Now I can dunk with either hand. My
ball-handling is better,
my shooting is better, I run faster and I'm much stronger."
At Kansas, winning teams are expected, not
hoped for. In Williams' previous
13 seasons, the Jayhawks have compiled a 355-89 record. This is
a program
exclusively for the elite.
By the time Niang reports to Kansas, most
of the Jayhawks' big men will have
departed. Drew Gooden, a 6-10 junior, is expected to turn pro
after this
season. Nick Collison, a 6-9 junior, may follow the same course.
Both players
are candidates are on the ballot for the Naismith College Basketball
Player
of the Year Award.
As it stands now, the only big men guaranteed
to be on the 2002-2003 KU
roster other than Niang will be JC transfer Nick Graves (6-9,
255) and Wayne
Simien (6-9, 250). Of course, the recruiting gate will re-open
after this
season, meaning Williams and his staff can woo additional talent
to Kansas
before Niang clears his first rebound.
"I know nothing has been guaranteed
to me," Niang said. "All I can do is work
hard and hope for the best."
Hofmeister said Niang hasn't been lost in his own star status.
"He's realistic, he knows he needs
to get stronger and work at being more
aggressive," the coach said.
(10-18-01)