Helix's Jake Aftreth (55) and Joe McLellan (43), and
Monte Vista's Zachary Loftis (24) and Chris Whyte (14) position
for a rebound during the Highlanders' victory over the Monarchs
Friday night at Caledonian Gym.ECS. com staff report
EL CAJON - C.J. Zimmerlink of West Hills,
along with Robbie Keller and Josh
Fisher of El Capitan led the Grossmont North to a come-from-behind
83-79
victory over the Grossmont South in Friday's (March 30) East County
Senior
All-Stars Game at Cuyamaca College.
Keller and Zimmerlink canned two free throws
each in the final 10 seconds to
give the North the nod.
Trailing 73-60 with 4:13 to play, Fisher
scored seven points to lead the
North on a 10-1 scoring run over a 2:01 stretch to set up a nail-biting
finish. Mount Miguel's Alan Aguilar hit a 3-pointer to break the
spell and
extend the South's lead to 77-70 with 1:55 left.
Then Keller and Zimmerlink took the North
on a 9-0 run. Keller, the Grossmont
North League Player of the Year, hit a bucket and Zimmerlink followed
with a
3-pointer. After a South miss, Zimmerlink tied the game at 77-77
with a jump
shot at 1:12.
The North took the lead on a steal and lay-up
by Keller. It was a short-lived
advantage, however, as Helix's Johnny Davis, the Grossmont South
Player of
the Year, hit a pair of free throws to tie it at 79-all with 0:33.7
seconds
left.
In almost storybook fashion, it came down
to Keller vs. Davis. Keller, a 6-4
guard, dribbled the ball from the top of the key inside the paint
with the
6-0 Davis defending. As Keller turned to shoot, Davis went for
the steal and
came up with a foul instead.
Keller, who scored 21 of his game-high 25
points in the second half,
converted two free throws with 0:9.9 remaining to make it 81-79.
The South had one last chance, but Christian's
Chris Carter, who finished
with a team-best 19 points, missed a 3-point shot in traffic from
the corner
with 0:02 left. Zimmerlink grabbed the rebound, was fouled, and
then sealed
the victory with two free throws.
Zimmerlink scored 9 of his 12 points in
the final quarter, and also had a
game-high 8 assists. Keller was 7-for-11 shooting in the second
half after
hitting just 2-of-11 in the first half. Fisher missed only one
of his seven
shots in the game, and finished with 15 points.
Christian's Justin Vanderwerff collected
a game-high 15 rebounds for the
South. Davis added 14 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals, while Granite
Hills'
Brent Genton contributed 13 points for the South.
El Cajon Valley's Mike Raney coached the
North, while Christian's Curtis
Hofmeister directed the South.
The players were selected by the Eastcountysports.com
staff.
(03-30-01)
3rd annual East County Senior All-Star Game
At Cuyamaca College
Friday, March 30, 2001
GROSSMONT NORTH 83, GROSSMONT SOUTH 79
SOUTH - Johnny Davis (Helix) 3-9 8-13 14, Sean Gullett (Mt. Miguel) 2-8 0-2 4, Chris Carter (Christian) 7-12 3-4 19, Justin Vanderwerff (Christian) 4-8 1-4 9, Alan Aguilar (Mt. Miguel) 2-5 0-0 5, Brent Genton (Granite Hills) 4-11 4-5 13, Jake Aftreth (Helix) 1-3 0-0 2, Phil Rodriguez (Granite Hills) 2-5 0-2 4, Rodney Hearns (Monte Vista) 4-10 1-2 9. TOTALS 29-71 17-32 79. NORTH - Robbie Keller (El Capitan) 9-22 5-6 25, Jesse Long (Grossmont) 0-3 0-0 0, C. J. Zimmerlink (West Hills) 4-8 3-4 12, Jarod Lott (El Cajon Valley) 2-6 0-0 6, Mike Clark (El Capitan) 2-7 0-0 4, Wes Roys (West Hills) 2-5 3-4 7, Josh Fisher (El Capitan) 6-7 0-0 15, Karl Burris (West Hills) 2-5 0-0 5, Joe Hughes (El Cajon Valley) 2-3 0-0 4, Michael Bass (Santana) 2-3 0-0 5, Hugo Enriquez (El Capitan) 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 31-69 11-14 83. South 21 21 18 19 - 79 North 22 14 19 28 - 83 3-point shooting: South-Carter 2, Aguilar, Genton. North-Fisher 3, Keller 2, Lott 2, Zimmerlink, Burris, Bass. Rebounds: South 57 (Vanderwerff 15, Hearns 8, Davis 8, Genton 6, Aftreth 5). North: 37 (Clark 7, Keller 5, Zimmerlink 5). Assists: Zimmerlink 8. Steals: Carter 5, Davis 4, Keller 3. 3-point contest winner: Chris Carter (Christian) Dunk contest winner: Sean Gullett (Mt. Miguel) (03-30-01)
SD-CIF BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS
ECS.com staff report
EL CAJON - The fact that Christian High's
season won't end in the state
playoffs is a crime.
Credit sophomore Shaun Davis and the Lincoln
Hornets for bringing an abrupt
conclusion to the Patriots almost surreal season. The 5-foot-9
Davis shot
holes in a smothering Christian defense, scoring 25 of his game-high
37
points in the final quarter as Lincoln (21-7) overcame a 12-point
deficit in
the final four minutes to steal a 74-71 San Diego CIF Division
IV semifinal
victory Wednesday (Feb. 28) at Cuyamaca College.
Davis doused Christian's dreams of a possible
state title by throwing in a
35-footer at the buzzer to snap the Patriots' 11-game winning
streak and
hustle the Hornets into the finals opposite Bishop's (25-4) Saturday
(March
3) at Cox Arena.
"It's not like we didn't have a hand
in that guy's face all night," Christian
coach Curtis Hofmeister said of Davis, who buried four three-pointers
in the
final period. "(Michael) Singleton and (Ben) Wohlfeil had
him completely
locked up for three quarters. But there is a reason why he (Davis)
is leading
the county in scoring."
Singleton was sticking to Davis like glaze
to a donut in the final seconds
with the score knotted at 71-71.
"It's not like Singleton backed off,"
Hofmeister said. "(Davis) is just a
great player. He does a good job of getting inside the defense.
He beat us
with an absolute bomb."
For the game, Davis clicked on 13 of 27 shots and 7 of 12 free throws.
With Christian riding the crest of a 12-point
lead midway through the final
quarter, the "Hive" came alive.
"We were executing the game plan to
perfection," said Hofmeister. "We were
making them guard us, boxing out and attacking on defense. Then
Davis
started hitting some shots."
As Davis was heating up at the offensive
end, the Hornets' full-court
pressure began taking its toll at the defensive end.
"We got a little rattled when they
got frantic with their pressure near the
end," Hofmeister admitted. "Every basket they made seemed
to energize them
more. When Davis started hitting those threes, they went wild.
They kept
whittling our lead away. They went from 12 (points) down to three
up."
Christian did not roll over, however, as
Jake Wohlfeil canned a three-pointer
to tie the score at 71-71 with 12 seconds left.
"It was an SRO crowd, and our side
went nuts when Jake hit that three to tie
it," Hofmeister said.
None of that seemed to matter to Davis,
who refused to relinquish the hero's
role.
"When you play a team like Lincoln
you're never out of it because they are
quick shooters," Hofmeister said. "By the same token,
no lead is safe because
they are able to get off so many shots in a short period of time."
Lincoln launched 57 shots, converting 28
for 49 percent accuracy. The
Patriots also shot well, punching in 48 percent of 50 opportunities.
Christian connected on 13 of 22 free throws, while the Hornets
hit 10 of 15
from the foul line.
"It was a great game," Hofmeister
said. "I feel bad that one team had to lose
and end their season at this juncture."
Senior Chris Carter paced Christian's cavalcade
of scorers with 16 points,
the majority coming on his five 3-pointers. Carter also handed
out five
assists, while brothers Ben and Jake Wohlfeil contributed 15 points
apiece.
Six-foot-10 center Moulaye Niang overcame early foul problems
to notch 10
points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals.
Despite the frustrating playoff loss, the
Patriots proved that they could run
with San Diego County's elite. Not many teams played a more challenging
schedule than this bunch. They defeated top-ranked (Division I)
Carlsbad
66-65 on Jan. 31 in North County. That was the pinnacle of a season
that
included conquests of Mount Carmel (65-45), San Diego (57-53),
San Pasqual,
Scripps Ranch, Rancho Bernardo and Rancho Buena Vista.
Christian lost only six of 28 games with
four setbacks coming by four points
or less.
"We had a great season," Hofmeister
said. "I'm proud of our kids. We played
tough people and put ourselves into position to be successful.
Even tonight,
our kids played well enough to win. They executed the game plan.
We just ran
into a team that is red hot."
(2-28-01)
SD-CIF BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS
ECS.com staff report
SANTEE - The Grossmont North League champion
El Capitan Vaqueros dug
themselves into a 15-point deficit after the first quarter of
Wednesday's
(Feb. 21) San Diego CIF Division I playoff game against the visiting
Hilltop
Lancers.
"That's what cost us the ballgame,
getting down by 15 points against a
playoff-caliber team," El Capitan coach Ross Furrow said
after Hilltop pulled
off a 69-67 upset.
"We're not used to guarding teams that
run down the floor as fast and shoot
the ball as well as Hilltop did in that first quarter. We finally
adjusted in
the second quarter, but that first quarter took so much out of
us, I think it
caught up to us in the end."
Tarey Dillard added to the Vaqueros' first-quarter
woes when he hit four
3-pointers to help the Lancers assume a commanding lead. Dillard,
one of four
Hilltop players to reach double figures, finished with a game-high
25 points.
"We had some real good moments, but
like we have often this season, we
self-destructed," Furrow said.
El Capitan (17-10) faltered at the free
throw line, converting only 11-of-21
chances, while Hilltop netted 22-of-29 from the charity stripe.
Furthermore,
the Vaqueros were outscored 21-12 in 3-point shooting.
Senior guard Danny Furrow did an excellent
job of directing the Vaqueros'
offense. It was one of the rare times that Furrow was able to
play a full
game, as he was hampered by a series of ankle injuries through
the course of
the season.
"Danny played real well," said
his father, Coach Furrow. "He made some nice
baskets and some nice passes. It's too bad that we didn't have
him all year."
Senior Rob Keller led the Vaqueros with
22 points and 7 rebounds before
fouling out with four minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The Vaqueros eventually caught and passed
the Lancers to lead by 3 points
with 3 minutes left in the third quarter.
"We came out with great intensity in
the third quarter," Furrow said,
referring to El Capitan's 19-6 scoring advantage during that eight-minute
stretch. "But it seemed like we just ran out of gas in that
last quarter."
After Josh Fisher canned his third 3-pointer
of the game to cut Hilltop's
fourth-quarter lead to 69-67 with 5 seconds remaining, the Vaqueros
could
only stand and watch the clock run out.
"We were coming back, we had the momentum,
but we had no more timeouts left,"
Furrow said. "We had to use our timeouts just to get close.
I think if we had
had another 30 seconds, the outcome might have turned out different."
Sophomore Jarrod Boswell banged in 15 points,
pulled down 5 rebounds and
swatted away 2 shots for El Capitan. Fisher finished with 10 points,
and John
Relph added 8.
"We won 17 games and the league championship,"
Furrow said. "So we had a good
year."
RAMONA 83, SANTANA 74 - Given that the visiting Santana Sultans had won
only
seven of 27 games, ninth-ranked and third-seeded Ramona figured
to win
Wednesday's (Feb. 21) San Diego CIF Division II playoff game in
a snap.
The Sultans, however, refused to follow the status quo.
"We were down by six (points) with
1:30 to go," Santana coach Tim Barry said.
"We were making them so nervous that they had to call a timeout
at that
point."
Santana even had a chance to win, albeit
the Sultans' chances fell under the
category of longshot. They trailed by only six points with 30
seconds
remaining when Ramona missed the front end of a one-and-one.
"When they missed that free throw,
we let them get the offensive rebound,"
Barry said. "We didn't box them out, and it cost us."
In the first quarter it looked as if Santana
was going to be no match for the
Bulldogs (19-9), who raced out to a 31-16 lead.
"We just couldn't stop that guard (5-foot-5
Michael Rivera)," Barry said. "He
was money - every time he shot. We had guys in his face, and he'd
still come
up and hit one. He was quick off the dribble. I don't know what
the official
stats were, but he had to shoot better than 70 percent."
Rivera finished with 28 points, despite
being shut out in the third quarter,
when Santana's Michael Bass took up the defensive surveillance.
"For a high school player, that kid
is 'lights out'," Barry said of Rivera.
"We did a pretty good job on him in the second half, holding
him to 7 points.
But our problem was, we couldn't overcome that big first-quarter
deficit."
Barry's strategy was to keep his starting
five on the floor the majority of
the night. "That's why we didn't pressure them until we were
down by 12 with
4 minutes to play," he said. "We started picking them
up in man pressure and
caused a little havoc. That helped us creep back in."
A major problem for Santana, one of East
County's top free throwing units,
was that the Sultans converted only 18-of-29 at Ramona.
"You can't miss that many free throws
when you're trying to play catch-up
against a superior team," Barry said.
Junior Hayden Penn was one of four Santana
players to reach double figures
with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Garrett Kerns added
17 points, 4
assists and 5 rebounds, while Jon Sturgill cast in 16 points.
Bass notched 12
points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.
Point guard Chris Mazzi didn't have a big
scoring night, but tossed in 3
assists and 3 steals.
Despite losing 75 percent of his games in
his first season at Santana, Barry
was pleased by the progress of the program.
"I'm happy, and very proud," Barry
commented. "Take away that second loss to
West Hills (73-44 on Feb. 9), and we played as well as anybody
in the
conference over the last five games. And our JV won the league
championship,
so all these are very positive steps in the right direction."
SCRIPPS RANCH 64, HELIX 48 - The Grossmont South League champion
Highlanders lost for only the third time in their last 20 starts,
as the
visiting Falcons used a strong second-half surge to put a cork
in the Helix
season.
"They were a better team across the
board," said Helix coach John Singer.
"There's not one place where I could say that we were physically
better. They
have very good individual talent."
Starting with senior guard Matt Vaughn,
who scored a game-high 25 points for
the Falcons (16-11), and ending with 6-foot-5, 220-pound Kellen
Winslow Jr.
"That Vaughn is as good an individual
player as we've gone against all
season," Singer said. "And Winslow is like a man playing
against boys. He
only scored 10 points, but just his presence hurt us."
Scripps Ranch led most of the first half,
but the Highlanders put on a
last-minute flurry to lead 25-23 at the break.
"At halftime we talked about taking
the ball to the basket more," Singer
said. "But then, we came out and started putting the ball
up from the
perimeter. That really hurt us. They invite you to shoot the ball
from the
outside. They spread you out and isolate you on the floor. And
we fell right
into it."
Suddenly Scripps Ranch led 45-31 after three quarters.
"They were playing a straight zone,"
Singer said. "And that exploited the
fact that we can't shoot the ball very well. In that third quarter
we didn't
hit a thing. They hustled hard. We don't usually get out-hustled,
but this
time we did. It seemed like Scripps Ranch got every loose ball."
The Falcons also clicked on 20-of-23 free
throws, while the Highlanders
(21-6) converted only 10-of-20.
Stanley Caldwell paced Helix with 16 points
and 7 rebounds, while Tramaine
West contributed 14 points (11 in the fourth quarter). Senior
guard Johnny
Davis knocked down 10 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Tommy Thompson
collected
a team-high 8 rebounds.
"Physically, we aren't of the same
caliber as the other Top 10 teams," Singer
said. "But we play hard. And we played hard this time. We
won 21 games and
most teams can't say that."
MISSION BAY 61, EL CAJON VALLEY 48 - The visiting Braves were playing
catch-up most of the night, but they applied maximum heat on their
Mission
Bay hosts by the close of the third quarter, trailing only 42-41.
"We got Mission Bay where they were
panicking by the end of the third
quarter," El Cajon Valley coach Mike Raney said. "You
could almost hear it.
'This is El Cajon. How could we lose to these guys?'"
Raney felt the Braves (11-15) were in position
to show the Buccaneers (14-12)
how it felt to lose, that this was not a typical El Cajon Valley
team.
"We could have won it, but we didn't
get the ball into our shooters' hands
often enough," Raney said. "We got out of sync offensively
and just threw up
too many shots."
Mission Bay dominated the fourth quarter 19-7 for the victory.
"They hurt us with the trap, and also
made 6-of-9 free throws in the fourth
quarter," Raney noted. "Heck, we only got four free
throws - all night (and
went 4-for-4)."
Anthony "Pooh" Taylor, the Braves'
6-foot-3, 240-pound junior center, scored
a game-high 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Sophomore guard
Nate Reed
chipped in 16 points and 4 assists.
It was a long night for the rest of the
Braves, especially for senior Jarrod
Lott. The 6-foot-1 guard, who came in averaging 10.6 points per
game, was
held scoreless.
"Nobody predicted that we would do
what we did," Raney said. "But we have to
be proud of ourselves, because we put ourselves in a position
to win the
league the final week of the season. We didn't get it done, but
we gave
ourselves a chance. That's all we can ask. We'll be back."
TORREY PINES 65, MOUNT MIGUEL 32 - Coach Jimmy Hurst couldn't recall the
last time his Matadors failed to score a 3-pointer during the
course of a
game.
Mount Miguel (13-15) shot nothing but blanks
from above the arc, but it was
an insignificant fact, as the top-seeded Falcons (27-3) dominated
every facet
of the Division I first-round game.
"I think our kids were in awe of the
place, intimidated by the whole
surroundings," Hurst said. "In the first quarter, we
were as bad as we've
been all year. You could see it in their faces. I called three
timeouts
during the first four minutes, trying to get us on track. But
it didn't help.
It was a lay-up drill for Torrey Pines. Every defense we tried,
they
shredded."
The Falcons flew out to a 20-5 first-quarter
lead, and had extended the
advantage to 48-19 by the close of the third period.
Sean Gullett had a team-high 11 points for
the Matadors, who lost for the
first time in the last seven starts. Alan Aguilar added 7 points,
and nobody
else had more than four.
"At the beginning of the season, I
thought we'd be around .500, because all
we had returning were two role players," Hurst said. "We
weren't a very good
team starting out, but we came on and got better. We played a
tough schedule,
so we're happy to finish the way we did (13-15)."
(02-21-01)
SD-CIF BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS
ECS.com staff report
EL CAJON - The Mount Miguel Matadors are
playing their best basketball of the
season right now. And it's a good thing.
Coach Jimmy Hurst's crew, which has won
six games in a row, is scheduled for
a San Diego CIF Division I playoff encounter against top-ranked
Torrey Pines
(26-3) Wednesday (Feb. 21) in Del Mar.
Mount Miguel (13-14) registered its first
playoff win of the tournament on
Monday (Feb. 19) when it eliminated Grossmont South League rival
Valhalla
64-56 on the Norsemen's court.
"We came out and jumped right on them,"
said Hurst, whose Matadors built an
8-0 lead in the opening two minutes. "Valhalla didn't give
up, but I think
fatigue was a factor. They were starting to make a run, got their
confidence
up, but I think our pressure just wore them down."
Senior Sean Gullett paced the Matadors with
17 points, including a trio of
3-pointers.
"I've never seen Gullett play harder,"
Hurst said. "He was just not going to
let us lose. He played with a sense of urgency. He finally realizes
that he
is the man, and he's playing like it."
Mount Miguel led 28-23 at the half, but
the Norsemen scrambled back early in
the third quarter on a Brent Molden 3-pointer and an Andrew Stinnett
bucket
to tie it 33-33.
"We had the momentum, and I really
thought we had things going our way," said
Valhalla coach Lenny Schlein. "But Mount Miguel got back-to-back
3's from
Gullett and (Alan) Aguilar to regain the lead. I thought that
was really
crucial."
Aguilar finished with 14 points, including
one of Mount Miguel's five treys
in the game.
"For Mount Miguel, their seniors really
stepped up when the game was close,"
Schlein said. "They played very hungry, very aggressive.
They provided the
kind of leadership you expect from your seniors."
Junior Chris Campbell collected 12 points,
7 rebounds, 5 assists, one steal
and blocked 2 shots for Mount Miguel.
"Campbell destroyed their trap and
penetrated extremely well," Hurst said.
"We have to have him in the game to keep our tempo going.
He does things to
keep the ball alive. With his long arms, he creates a lot of chaos."
The emergence of 6-foot-4 junior post Reggie
Hancock has put some muscle in
the Mount Miguel defense. He collected 11 points, blocked 5 shots
and grabbed
8 rebounds.
"They were killing us in the post at
times, but Reggie stepped up," Hurst
said. "He's really coming on. He's become a factor."
One of the best-kept secrets in all of East
County basketball is Mount
Miguel's Mike McGuire. The 5-11 junior guard doesn't compile a
lot of
statistical data, but he's a royal pain to the opposition. He
doesn't shoot
much, doesn't handle the ball a whole lot, for that matter. But
just try to
score on him. And that's when you'll see him at his best.
"Defensively, we were rotating McGuire,
Campbell and Gullett on (Valhalla's
scoring leader Blake) Fowler," Hurst said. "Gullett
and Campbell get a lot of
attention, but McGuire's pretty tough out there. Anthony Cox gave
us good
defensive pressure too, and made 3 steals."
Fowler was forced to earn his 12 points
and 5 rebounds for the Norsemen, who
were led by Danny Sheppard's game-high 22 points. Both players
are juniors
and are part of a quality contingent of Norsemen who will return
next season.
"We made some great strides as a team
this season," Schlein said. "We laid
some nice foundation for the coming years."
Mount Miguel and Valhalla, who tied for
second place in the Grossmont South,
were separated by 5 points and one overtime in their two league
meetings.
Each side won once, but the Matadors claimed the rubber match.
BONITA VISTA 64, WEST HILLS 56 - The Wolf Pack's roller coaster season came
to an abrupt halt in Monday's (Feb. 19) opening round SD-CIF Division
I
playoff loss to the visiting Barons.
"We should have won the ball game,"
West Hills coach Jeff Armstrong said,
after falling to the Mesa League runner-up. "But we kept
putting them on the
free throw line, and that's where they killed us."
The Barons (12-14) converted 27-of-33 free
throws, including 9-of-12 in the
fourth quarter as they eliminated West Hills (17-10) from the
post-season
picture.
"We were real lackadaisical on defense,
especially in the first half," said
Armstrong, noting that the Pack trailed 39-22 at intermission.
"We weren't
moving our feet, we were reaching tried to block too many shots.
And that
resulted in points for them at the free throw line."
Despite committing 21 personal fouls, it
was a technical foul late in the
third quarter that really took its toll on West Hills.
"We were trailing by two points, and
then we get the technical. That cost us
five points, and suddenly we'd lost the momentum and they had
a 7-point
lead," Armstrong lamented.
Junior Matt Henriksen led West Hills with
19 points on 8-for-11 shooting from
the field and 3-for-4 free throw accuracy.
"Hen played a great game," Armstrong
said of the 6-foot-4 forward, who
collected a team-high 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. "That's
how we got
back in the ballgame in the second half. We were successful at
pounding the
ball down low to Hen."
Senior guard C.J. Zimmerlink had an off-shooting
night, clicking on only
5-of-16 chances as he finished with 15 points.
"C.J. had some good looks, he just
wasn't knocking them down tonight,"
Armstrong said.
One of the unsung heroes for West Hills
was junior Adam Frye, who collected 7
rebounds, 4 points, 3 assists and 3 steals. Sophomore Sam Miller
contributed
4 points, 3 assists and 3 steals.
"It's disappointing to have it end
this way, but it's been a great year for
the kids," Armstrong said. "They should be proud of
their accomplishments.
There's nothing to be ashamed of at all. We put together a terrific
run there
in the middle of the season (13 wins in 14 games)."
(02-19-01)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
SANTEE - El Capitan senior Rob Keller has
been in several pressure packed
spots during his sparkling three-year varsity career. But even
the 6-foot-4
veteran admitted that the stakes, the crowd and the situation
in the waning
seconds of the Vaqueros' title-clinching victory Friday night
(Feb. 16) at
West Hills added up to one of those Kodak moments.
"Yeah, it was very intense," said
Keller of the Vaqueros 73-64 overtime
victory. "I was biting my fingernails, myself. But it was
a great game and I
loved the way it ended - a perfect way to win the league championship."
After Jarrod Boswell hit two free throws
in the final 10 seconds to tie it at
59-all and send the game into overtime, Keller took over. East
County's
leading scorer converted 5-of-6 free throws during the four-minute
overtime,
which also featured a 3-pointer from Josh Fisher, and a slam dunk
from Scott
Deen as the Vaqueros (17-9, 7-1) won the Grossmont North League
crown
outright.
"Boswell really stepped up," Keller
said. "Sophomores aren't supposed to be
able to do what he did - make those two clutch free throws like
that."
But delivering in the clutch has been a
Keller trademark since his sophomore
year. That's probably why several four-year colleges, including
Columbia
University and William & Mary, are starting to take notice.
"This was probably the best overall
game I've played in my whole career,"
said Keller, who cashed in 28 points, a trio of treys, 13-of-17
free throws,
8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. "But
those (overtime)
free throws
"The whole West Hills gym was full,
and the crowd was so loud. When I went to
the line in OT, it was ear-piercing. I know they were trying to
get me to
miss. But I told myself 'Look, you've shot thousands of free throws.'
I
couldn't let the crowd bother me."
The Wolf Pack (17-9, 5-3) led 61-60 in overtime
with 3:33 remaining. But
that's where the Pack stalled and the Vaqueros gained their second
wind to
reel off a 13-3 scoring advantage for the remainder of the extra
session.
"It's nice to win the league championship
by ourselves," said El Capitan
coach Ross Furrow, who has generated four league titles and 240
victories in
his 16 seasons at the Vaqueros' helm. "It was a big win for
us, and our
defense was a major factor. Our ability to pressure them and break
them down
was key.
"One guy I'm really proud of, who doesn't
show up much in the boxscore, is
(senior guard) Hugo Enriquez. He did a good job on their No. 55
(C.J.
Zimmerlink) and No. 44 (Sam Miller). That guy (Zimmerlink) is
a great player,
but Hugo kept him from killing us."
Enriquez forced 10 turnovers between the
two Pack ball-handlers. Zimmerlink,
nevertheless, zipped in 23 points, including five 3-pointers.
He also hit
4-of-5 free throws, made 3 steals and handed out 2 assists.
"We should have won the ball game,"
West Hills coach Jeff Armstrong said. "We
had a four point lead - and the ball - with 30 seconds left in
regulation."
The key call in the fourth quarter came
when the Wolf Pack was called for a
backcourt violation while clinging to a 2-point lead.
"That was critical, no doubt about it," Armstrong said.
After Boswell's free throws tied the game,
the Pack had one last shot at
winning in regulation. But Matt Hutchings' desperation effort
failed to
connect.
"We wanted to get the ball to C.J.,
but they did a good job of denying,"
Armstrong said.
Matt Henriksen led West Hills' supporting
cast in the finale with 16 points,
7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Wes Roys chipped in with 11
points, 8
rebounds and 3 steals.
Although the Pack had to settle for a second-place
tie with El Cajon Valley,
the fact remains that West Hills finished strong, winning 16 of
its final 20
games.
VALHALLA 64, GRANITE HILLS 56 - Visiting Valhalla secured a share of second
place in the Grossmont South as the Norsemen held off their upset-minded
rivals for their fifth win in eight league starts.
Blake Fowler (19 points), Adam Hodges (12
points) and Danny Sheppard (10
points) paced a balanced attack for Valhalla (12-14).
The Norsemen jumped out to a 10-2 lead,
but the Eagles refused to fold,
trailing only 43-37 after three quarters. Fowler scored 7 points
(including
4-for-5 from the free throw line) and Andrew Stinnett slipped
in 6 as the
Norsemen outscored Granite Hills 21-19 in the final period.
As always, rivalry games such as this tend
to be spirited - on the floor and
in the stands. However, an intentional foul call with 1:20 remaining
raised
the ire of all concerned.
"The next thing I knew, there was a
crowd of people out there pushing and
shoving," Valhalla coach Lenny Schlein said. "A couple
of players came off
the Granite Hills bench, and then there were people who came out
of the
stands. It was mayhem out there for awhile, but no punches were
thrown. No
violence, just a lot of mouthing off. But thanks to quick work
by the
administrators, the coaches and the officials, order was restored
in a hurry."
Nevertheless, the referees wanted to end
the game immediately - with Valhalla
leading by 12 points.
"I told the ref I didn't want the game
to end this way,'" Schlein said. "I
reminded him this is a neighborhood rivalry - these kids know
each other. It
was just the heat of the moment. I told him I didn't want this
to carry over
for years to come."
Granite Hills coach Jim Gleboff agreed,
and the game was played to its
completion without further interruption. The contest concluded
with the
traditional post-game handshake among players.
Senior guard Brent Genton etched his name
into the Granite Hills record books
with 24 points and a quintet of three-pointers in his final prep
outing.
Genton, the East County three-point leader, set an Eagles' single
season
record with 76 treys. He finished the season with 524 points --
the
fourth-highest total in Granite Hills history -- and a 19.4 average.
Phil Rodriguez added 8 points, 9 rebounds
and 3 steals for Granite Hills
(5-22, 1-7), while Joe Sesi contributed 6 points and 6 rebounds.
The Eagles shot only 28 percent (7-for-25)
in the first half, and trailed
29-18 at intermission. They heated up to 56 percent (14-for-25)
during the
final two quarters to keep the game close.
Valhalla shot 45 percent (25-for-56) in the game.
SANTANA 84, EL CAJON VALLEY 64 - The Santana Sultans saved their pinnacle
performance for the final night of the regular season as they
battered the
visiting Braves, who - only a week ago - were tied for the Grossmont
North
League lead.
Hayden Penn popped in 25 points and grabbed
8 rebounds, to pace Santana
(7-19, 3-5) as the Sultans avenged a first-round loss to the Braves
(11-14,
5-3).
"For us, this is about as close as
we've gotten to a perfect game," Santana
coach Tim Barry said. "Our team should be so proud of this
game. We put
everything together."
Santana streaked to a 26-16 first-quarter
lead, maintained an 11-point
advantage at the half, and led 69-48 after three periods.
"We ran a motion offense and continued
to back door them all night long,"
Barry said. "We repeatedly beat them off the dribble, and
turned it into a
lay-up drill. We never hit a bad run all night. It was just one
of those
nights where everything clicked."
Even so, Barry admitted that El Cajon Valley's
potent offense was nothing to
take for granted.
"They shoot so well that you can never
let down, no matter what the score
is," Barry said.
Garrett Kerns canned 17 points and grabbed
6 rebounds for Santana, while
Chris Mazzi had a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists.
Jon Sturgill
tossed in 12 points and grabbed 3 rebounds, while versatile Michael
Bass
netted 9 points, dished out 6 assists, hauled down 4 rebounds
and made 5
steals.
"Bass played a sensational game. Talk
about the ultimate team player. He
could have scored a whole lot more," Barry said. "He
penetrated, dished off,
and gave us lay-up after lay-up."
Guard Nate Reed led El Cajon Valley with
16 points. Jarrod Lott added 11
points, Anthony Taylor 10, and Isaac Lee 9.
MOUNT MIGUEL 66, MONTE VISTA 46 - Closing the season with five straight
victories has primed the Mount Miguel Matadors for the San Diego
CIF playoffs.
"Our kids don't care who we play in
the playoffs," Matadors coach Jimmy Hurst
said. "We didn't play very well for the first three-quarters
of the season,
but we're peaking at the right time."
The Matadors made quick work of their Spring
Valley rivals, taking a first
quarter lead of 16-10, and extending the advantage to 53-30 after
three
periods.
"I'm really happy with these guys because
we're playing very well right now,"
Hurst said. "We're playing hard, playing together. You can
see it on the
court."
Sean Gullett's 16 points and 8 rebounds
led the Matadors (12-14, 5-3), who
finished the Grossmont South League season tied with Valhalla
for second
place. Anthony Cox chipped in 12 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals,
while Chris
Campbell contributed 11 points and 6 rebounds.
"We led by 30 points at one stretch,
so I cleared the bench," Hurst said. "I
thought our defense was good all night. It was really good in
the first half
because we got a lot of easy transition baskets."
Mount Miguel junior Reggie Hancock hauled
down 11 rebounds, scored 6 points
and handed out 2 assists despite missing most of the first half
due to foul
problems.
"Reggie was just pounding the glass,"
Hurst said. "And he did a better job of
getting a hand in the face on defense. He did a good job of denying."
Although 10 Matadors contributed to the
scoring, Hurst insisted defense was
the victory ticket.
"Cox did a great job on (Monte Vista
scoring leader Jacques) Alaby," he said.
"He just wouldn't let him have the ball."
Alaby finished with 6 points, while Rodney
Hearns, the Monarchs No. 2 scorer
on the season, was limited to four. Scott Crabtree scored a game-high
19 for
Monte Vista (7-18, 2-6).
"We had a lot of guys doing a good
job of running and jumping," Hurst said.
"We did a lot of gambling on defense and did a great job
of trapping the
ball. We showed them all kinds of different pressure, but the
main thing is
we got into a good groove of communication with each other. We
rotated a lot
of guys in, and everybody contributed."
CHRISTIAN 60, CLAIREMONT 49 - For one of the few times all season, the
Christian High Patriots fell behind early. The visiting Clairemont
Chieftains
raced out to a 9-1 lead at Ryan Athletic Center, but the Patriots
regained
their composure to complete a perfect Harbor League season.
"It was not a very good showing on
our part," Christian coach Curtis
Hofmeister said. "About the best thing I can say about this
game is that we
won, and we had 18 steals."
Of course, winning has been a habit for
the Patriots (22-5, 10-0), who
stretched their Harbor League victory string to 27 games (dating
back to the
1998-99 season). They closed this season with 11 consecutive victories,
and
anticipate landing the top-seed position in the San Diego CIF
Division IV
playoffs.
The playoff seedings, which are based on
season-long power ratings, will be
announced Saturday (Feb. 17).
If they are top-seeded, it will be 12 days
before the Patriots play again.
Hofmeister has mixed reactions to that prospect.
On one hand, when you've won 11 straight,
as have the Patriots, taking that
long a break offers few benefits. However, for Christian the fact
that
6-foot-10 junior center Moulaye Niang has tendonitis in both knees
makes a
lengthy layoff more attractive.
"We're going to take some days off,
do a little scouting, and then get back
after it," Hofmeister said.
In Friday's finale, Christian shot 44 percent
(23-for-52), while Clairemont
(12-13, 4-6) clicked on 21-of-41 (51 percent).
"Yes, it's not very often that a team
shoots better than we do," Hofmeister
admitted.
One of the Patriots who had a keen shooting
eye was Jake Wohlfeil, who
clicked on 5-of-7 field goals en route to a team-high 14 points.
Ben Wohlfeil
added 12 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Niang has 7 points,
9 rebounds, 5
steals and blocked 2 shots. John Wai chipped in 8 points, while
Michael
Singleton added 4 points, 4 assists and 3 steals.
(02-16-01)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
SANTEE -- Anybody who has been around San
Diego County high school basketball
for any length of time knows the name John Singer.
Yeah, even the officials are familiar with
the 6-foot-6 Helix coach, and the
giant shadow that he casts. But there is more to this man with
the
intimidating glare and gruff voice than meets the eye -- or the
ear, for that
matter.
"I don't know what it is. He just gets
in their grill at halftime and they
come out and just tear you apart defensively in the third quarter,"
Valhalla
coach Lenny Schlein said after the Highlanders turned a 3-point
halftime lead
into a 37-24 advantage.
"It was more a tribute to their defense
rather than anything we didn't do.
Our kids played hard, but they (the Highlanders) were so intense
on defense
It's hard for us to simulate that kind of defense in our own practices."
The result? Helix 50, Valhalla 37.
"If you hold somebody to 37 points,
you've gotta like your chances of
winning," said Singer, whose Highlanders won a fifth-straight
Grossmont South
League championship and finished the regular season 21-5. "We
played solid
defense, and that's the name of the game."
It would be difficult to argue with Singer's
philosophy. In his 20 seasons at
the Helix helm, the Highlanders have compiled a 355-160 record
(.689 winning
percentage) while capturing 9 league titles.
Helix's regular-season finale against the
visiting Norsemen did not go
smoothly, however. Senior point guard Johnny Davis has spent more
time on
crutches than in practice since he tweaked his knee last Friday
(Feb. 9)
against Granite Hills.
"Johnny iced his knee all weekend,
and he's such a tough kid we thought he
could go. But we didn't start him," Singer said. "We
went with a lineup of
(sophomore Rajive) Otah, Tramaine (West, a junior), (sophomore)
Cliff
Johnson, Stanley Caldwell (a junior), and Jake (Aftreth, a senior).
Makeshift or not, the Highlanders led 10-7
after the first quarter, and 18-15
at the half.
"We put Johnny into the game in the
second quarter," Singer said. "He settled
us down and flattened out the game when he came in. A lot of kids
in his
condition wouldn't have played. His movement was a little bit
impaired, but
he knows how to win. He has a lot a wins under his belt. I told
him after the
game 'You might be a little sore tomorrow.' But he didn't care."
Caldwell led the Highlanders with 17 points
(on 6-for-9 shooting) and
grabbed10 rebounds, while West tossed in 11 points. Otah finished
with 7
points, 3 assists, 2 steals and 3 rebounds. Johnson contributed
5 points, 4
rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists.
"There's no question Johnson's our
best defender," said Singer, whose
Highlanders have won 17 of their last 19 games. "He took
over the game in the
third quarter. He had three key steals that helped us go from
a 3-point lead
to 12 points up in the third quarter. You know, Cliff and Stanley
were both
stars. Stanley got a lot of put-backs, and Tommy Thompson did
a really good
job too, with 9 rebounds and 6 points off the bench."
Davis' leadership was more valuable than
his boxscore totals of 4 points, 4
assists and 3 rebounds.
Blake Fowler was the only Norseman to finish
in double figures, with 12
points.
"We were right with them in the first
half, and then we make a turnover on
our first possession in the third quarter," Schlein said.
"It's almost funny
how one mistake like that can turn things around. But they went
on an 8-0 run
after we made that one turnover, and it was all uphill for us
from then on."
Schlein doesn't pull any punches. "We
need to beat Granite Hills (on Friday,
Feb. 16) to make the playoffs," he said. "But that's
a rivalry game. You can
throw out the record. You know their coaches are telling them
if they beat
us, it will make their season and knock us out of the playoffs.
But our kids
also know that if we win, we're in. Making the playoffs has been
our goal all
season."
EL CAPITAN 77, EL CAJON VALLEY 70 - Mike Raney, coach of the El Cajon Valley
Braves, was scheduled to undergo knee surgery on Wednesday (Feb.
14). Some
Valentine's day for him.
"Naw, it's one of those deals where
it's been planned for a year," Raney
said, noting that the Braves' loss to El Capitan on Tuesday (Feb.
13) was
purely coincidental to his going under the knife. "But I'll
be back Friday
(Feb. 16th, when the Braves close the regular season at Santana)."
The Braves - who had won six in a row -
were flirting with a shot at locking
up their first league title in 18 years, when they fell to the
preseason
favorite El Capitan Vaqueros (16-9, 6-1). El Cajon Valley (11-13,
5-2) could
conceivably gain a co-championship with a victory over the Sultans,
coupled
with an El Capitan loss to West Hills in Friday's regular season
finale.
Not unlike most of the Braves' games during
the Grossmont North League
season, El Cajon Valley's latest battle with El Capitan was something
of a
shooting gallery. One major difference for the Braves was that
they turned
the ball over 28 times compared to just 16 for the Vaqueros.
"We didn't handle their press very
well - made too many lob passes," Raney
lamented. "We just didn't protect the ball."
Nevertheless, the Braves trailed El Cap
only 58-54 entering the final eight
minutes. The closest El Cajon Valley would come to the Vaqueros
was 69-68
with three minutes left in the fourth quarter, however.
With the score at 73-68 and 45 seconds left,
El Cajon was in possession of
the ball when the Vaqueros' Matt Grant made a key steal and was
fouled. Grant
made both free throws, giving El Capitan an 7-point cushion.
As the clock wound down, El Cajon fouled
Rob Keller, who converted both of
his shots from the charity stripe to make it 77-68.
Keller led El Capitan with 26 points, including
a pair of 3's, and 6-of-7
free throws.
"Even when you think you're doing a
decent job of defending that guy
(Keller), he always seems to wind up with something in the high
20's," Raney
said.
Mike Clark, a 6-foot-7 senior, scored a
season-high 14 points and grabbed 6
rebounds for El Capitan. Josh Fisher added 13 points, 7 rebounds
and 4 steals
for the Vaqueros, who also got 9 points and 3 steals from John
Relph. Hugo
Enriquez chipped in 8 points and 6 steals, while Grant ground
out 6 points
and 4 steals in a relief role.
Anthony Taylor got into early foul trouble,
but still managed 22 points and 7
rebounds for the Braves. Nate Reed added 19 points, including
a pair of 3's
and 5-for-5 free throw shooting, while Joe Hughes hammered in
17 points and
11 rebounds. Isaac Lee contributed 7 points, 7 assists and 2 steals
for the
Braves.
WEST HILLS 65, GROSSMONT 52 - The Wolf Pack, winner of 16 of its last 19
starts, applied its potent 1-2 punch in the opening half as Matt
Henriksen
and C.J. Zimmerlink scored 13 and 10 points, respectively, enabling
West
Hills to take a 30-21 halftime lead.
John Sanders and Trevor Pike kept Grossmont
(5-22, 0-8) close, scoring 11 and
8 points in the opening two quarters.
West Hills' Karl Burris opened the third
quarter with a dunk, which got the
Wolves and their fans howling. Zimmerlink tacked on eight points
and Ryan
Soto slung in six as West Hills opened up a 49-30 advantage after
three
quarters.
Grossmont, which concluded the season with
13 straight losses, went out with
its guns ablazin'. In fact, the Foothillers -- behind a blitz
of 3-pointers
(two by Jesse Long, one by Pike and one by Blake Brands) -- cut
the West
Hills lead to 10 in the final quarter.
But the Pack refused to buckle, as Henriksen
went 6-for-6 from the free throw
line in the fourth quarter. The 6-foot-4 junior finished 13-for-13
from the
charity stripe, and totaled 21 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists
for the night.
Zimmerlink produced a game-high 23 points,
including a trio of 3-pointers and
7 assists.
Perhaps West Hills' greatest strength in
the game was its 76 percent free
throw shooting (29-of-38).
Sanders, who scored only 2 points in the
second half, led Grossmont with 13.
Long and Pike picked up 11 points apiece.
MOUNT MIGUEL 72, GRANITE HILLS 55 - Sean Gullett scored 20 points, Chris
Campbell canned 16, Alan Aguilar added 13 and Anthony Cox collected
12 as the
Matadors (11-14, 4-3) moved into a second place tie with Valhalla
in the
Grossmont South.
The Matadors turned a 38-31 halftime lead
into a 25-point cushion when they
outscored host Granite Hills (5-21, 1-6) by a 27-9 count in the
third quarter.
Brent Genton led Granite Hills with 14 points,
while Joe Sesi had 13 points
and 11 rebounds. Joe Rodriguez also had 13 points for the Eagles.
(0-2-13-01)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
SANTEE - The West Hills Wolf Pack hasn't
conceded the Grossmont North League
championship. Granted, coach Jeff Armstrong's Pack stands in third
place -
one game behind co-leaders El Capitan and El Cajon Valley - with
two games
remaining in the regular season.
Don't forget, however, that West Hills has
won 15 of its last 18 games. So
the Pack is hardly a Johnny-come-lately contender.
In its latest conquest, West Hills ran roughshod
over crosstown rival Santana
73-44 Friday (Feb. 9) in the Wolf Pack den.
After strutting out to a 15-7 first quarter
lead, the Pack turned in its
finest defensive quarter of the season, limiting the Sultans to
3 points
while assuming a 35-10 halftime lead.
One of the unsung heroes in the West Hills'
rout was 6-foot-4 junior Ryan
Soto. In his best performance of the season, Soto scored 9 of
his 13 points
in the first half. He finished the night 6-for-6 from the field
for 13
points, grabbed 6 rebounds, dished out 3 assists and made 2 steals.
But the focal point was on senior guard
Colter Jack (C.J.) Zimmerlink, who
hit 2 treys to raise his season total to 66, breaking the West
Hills' season
record for 3-pointers (65) set by John Parker last year. Parker
is continuing
his career at Dominican College in San Rafael.
Zimmerlink totaled 14 points against the
Sultans, with 5 rebounds, 5 steals
and 3 assists.
When West Hills starting point guard Sam
Miller got bogged down by early foul
woes, junior Ryan Hamann stepped up to hit two 3's and 4-of-4
free throws for
a season-best 10 points in relief. Hamann also had 2 steals.
The Wolf Pack's Matt Henriksen had an off-night
in the scoring department (6
points), but led all rebounders with 8, logged 5 steals and dished
out 2
assists.
Senior guard Chris Mazzi led the Sultans
(6-19, 2-5) with 10 points, while
Michael Bass added 9, and Jon Sturgill tossed in 8.
VALHALLA 50, MONTE VISTA 39 - It was not the best of nights for Blake
Fowler. Early foul problems, a technical, and three scoreless
quarters were
making for a forgettable evening.
But the 6-foot-4 junior came through when
the Norsemen needed a boost,
scoring 10 points in the final quarter to help Valhalla (12-13,
4-2) defeat
host Monte Vista and secure second place in the Grossmont South
League.
"This win puts us back into position
to play another key game of championship
magnitude," Valhalla coach Lenny Schlein said, referring
to Tuesday's (Feb.
13) battle against league-leading Helix in La Mesa.
The Norsemen, who mauled the Monarchs 76-38
in the first-round meeting, raced
to an 8-0 lead as Tommy Hanna hit back-to-back 3's, and Danny
Sheppard
dropped in a deuce.
Only this time Monte Vista (7-17, 2-5) refused
to surrender as easily. The
Norsemen, in fact, were clinging to a 23-21 halftime lead. The
Monarchs may
have moved on top if it hadn't been for Valhalla point guard Erik
Rapolla.
"We weren't sure Erik could go at all,
but he played about eight minutes for
us and that seemed to stabilize things," Schlein said.
Valhalla played a vise-like defense in the
third period, holding the Monarchs
to 6 points while expanding its lead to 36-27. Sheppard was the
offensive
force, scoring 6 of his game-high 18 in that period. Andrew Stinnett,
one of
East County's top free throwers, contributed 4 points in the third
quarter.
In the final quarter Valhalla outscored
Monte Vista 14-12 as Fowler took
control of the proceedings.
Rodney Hearns and Scott Crabtree paced Monte
Vista with 13 and 12 points,
respectively. Jacques Alaby, who came into the contest averaging
15.7 points,
was limited to 4 by the Norsemen.
HELIX 86, GRANITE HILLS 55 - A losing streak for the Helix Highlanders this
year has never stretched longer than two games. When the Highlanders
were
tripped up at Mount Miguel on Tuesday (Feb. 6), they hardly were
in the mood
to fold their tent.
"We knew after they struggled against
Monte Vista, and then lost to Mount
Miguel, that they would come out gunning for us," said Granite
Hills
assistant coach Randy Anderson. "They were hitting from all
over the court."
Helix (20-5, 6-1), which scored 50 points in the first half and
then breezed
to its 16th win in 18 games, officially shot 56 percent (37-for-66).
Even
more impressive was the fact that the Highlanders generated 30
assists and 18
steals in the rout.
"The way we'd been playing the last
couple of games, we didn't know what to
expect," Helix coach John Singer said. "But our kids
don't lack for
confidence. They don't get rattled."
Tramaine West scored a game-high 21 points
on 9-for-13 shooting, while
Stanley Caldwell cranked in 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting. Johnny
Davis
chipped in 12 points, grabbed 5 rebounds and handed out 5 assists
for the
Highlanders. West also had 5 assists, Caldwell had 4, and Rajive
Otah had 3.
Tommy Thompson added 10 points and 4 rebounds.
"Almost everybody plays us zone,"
Singer admitted. "But Granite Hills has
always played man-to-man, so we weren't sure whether they would
switch to
zone, just for us. But they played man the whole game."
Another startling statististic is Helix
turned the ball over only three times
in the first half, as it built a 21-point cushion.
Brent Genton led Granite Hills (5-20, 1-5)
with 16 points, but was only
2-for-9 from the field. That included only one 3-pointer as Genton
did most
of his damage from the free throw line, where he converted 11-of-16
chances.
Joe Sesi added 12 points and 10 rebounds
for the Eagles, who also got 10
points on 4-for-7 shooting from Robert Davis.
EL CAPITAN 75, GROSSMONT 58 - The Foothillers have been a proverbial thorn
in the side of the El Capitan Vaqueros. Sure, the Vaqueros escaped
with a
63-62 win earlier this season, but the last four meetings between
these teams
have been decided by a total of 11 points. And Grossmont claimed
three
victories.
The latest edition in this series broke
the trend, as the Vaqueros (15-9,
5-1) maintained control throughout while moving
into a tie with idle El Cajon Valley for the Grossmont North League
lead.
Rob Keller cast in a game-high 29 points,
including a trio of 3-pointers. The
6-4 senior rounded up 15 rebounds and handed out 3 assists.
Reliable Josh Fisher contributed 11 points,
5 steals and 3 assists, while
John Relph scored a career-high 12. Junior Matt Grant enjoyed
one of his
better nights, with 8 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists.
El Capitan was sitting on a 19-point lead
midway through the fourth quarter
when the Foothillers attempted a belated comeback with an 8-0
run. The
Vaqueros snuffed out the budding rally when Mike Clark sank two
free throws,
Thomas Sutton hit one, and Brett Stephens nailed a 3-pointer to
seal the
victory.
Noah Stevens scored a team-high 21 points
for Grossmont (5-21, 0-7), which
lost its 12th straight. Stevens was 6-for-7 at the free throw
line. John
Sanders netted 10 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Kris Zimmer popped
in 10
points, and Fabian King added 8 for the Hillers.
CHRISTIAN 78, HOOVER 43 - It was senior night at the Ryan Athletic Center
for the Christian High basketball team, so the Patriots decided
to do a
little celebrating.
Christian (20-5, 8-0) sprinted to a 13-0
lead during the first 2 minutes
against the visiting Cardinals, and continued on to a victory
that would
assure Curtis Hofmeister of a Harbor League championship in his
first season
as the Patriots' head coach.
"We have five seniors and there was
a big crowd, and the adrenaline was
running high," Hofmeister said. "Everybody played well,
not just our seniors.
We had 11 guys score."
Christian's pressure defense virtually ran
Hoover (3-20, 1-7) out of the gym.
The Cardinals committed 26 turnovers, while the Patriots' Jake
Wohlfeil and
Michael Singleton each had 5 steals. Chris Carter and 6-foot-10
junior center
Moulaye Niang had 3 steals apiece, while Clint Gerlek had 2.
Although it was a night to celebrate the
seniors, sophomore Jake Wohlfeil
stole the show. He scored a game-high 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting,
which
included a pair of 3's. He was 2-for-2 from the free throw line
and scored on
an alley-oop dunk.
By contrast, Niang scored a rare 3-point bucket from above the arc.
"I know he likes to shoot out there,
but we don't encourage it," Hofmeister
laughed. "It's either the first or second 3-pointer he's
had all season, so
he's pretty happy."
Niang finished with 12 points and 9 rebounds.
Sophomore John Wai scored 10
points in 10 minutes for the Patriots, who posted their ninth-straight
victory.
(02-09-01)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
SPRING VALLEY -- Long before the Grossmont
South League season began, coach
Jimmy Hurst believed his Mount Miguel Matadors would wrestle Helix
for the
circuit crown.
But it's taken the Matadors the better half
of the season to get their act
together. Part of the learning process included a 66-41 shellacking
from the
Highlanders Jan. 16 at Helix.
After four straight losses, the Matadors
found a winning formula. Mount
Miguel has reeled off three consecutive league victories since,
but Hurst
enjoyed his squad's latest performance more than any of the others.
"This throws us back into the playoff
picture," Hurst said Tuesday (Feb. 6)
after the Matadors (10-14, 3-3) handed Helix a stunning 60-59
loss. It was
Mount Miguel's second straight one-point victory, and only the
second loss in
the last 17 games for the No. 4-ranked Highlanders (19-5, 5-1).
Ironically, Tuesday's rematch looked as
if it were going to end up in another
lop-sided loss for Mount Miguel, as the Highlanders sprinted in
front 20-7.
Helix extended its advantage to 17 points early in the second
period.
"The difference this time is we didn't
cash it in," said Hurst, whose
Matadors trailed only 27-24 at the half. "We came out in
the third quarter,
hit some shots, did a much better job on the glass and started
attacking
their defense from the baseline."
Mount Miguel tied the game 29-all with 6:23
left in the third quarter when
Sean Gullett hit the Matadors only 3-pointer of the night.
"I told my guys at halftime that they
could win this game unless they were
too scared of that H-E-L-I-X across the front of their jerseys,"
Hurst said.
"It seemed to get their attention. When we came out, we started
to turn
things around."
Mount Miguel outscored the Highlanders 22-11
in the third quarter to lead
46-38, but Helix would not go down easily.
"We were up by 10 with two minutes
to go, and then, for some reason, started
playing not to lose," Hurst said.
Helix senior guard Johnny Davis brought
the Highlanders back. Not known for
his 3-point shooting, Davis nailed a pair of treys that sliced
the Matadors'
advantage to one point with 11 seconds left.
Mount Miguel could have padded its lead,
but missed a pair of free throws
with nine seconds left. Then it was Davis' turn again, as he went
for the
victory bucket only to have his shot blocked by Mount Miguel's
Chris
Campbell.
Helix would have yet one more chance to
deny the Matadors the upset. Davis
lobbed the ball inside to Stanley Caldwell, but during the commotion,
Caldwell's four-footer lipped the rim and came off.
"That ball seemed to hang on the rim forever," Hurst said.
Mount Miguel guards Gullett and Alan Aguilar
led the Matadors with 15 and 13
points, respectively. That was quite a difference, considering
neither played
in the first-round loss at Helix.
"It wasn't just the Aguilar-Gullett
show," Hurst said. "Everybody
contributed, did a good job of getting bodies on people. I'm talking
about
(6-foot-4 Reggie) Hancock. He was a force in the middle. He must
have blocked
6 shots. And there was Ernie Ballenger (13 rebounds), and Campbell
-- they
were all over the boards. So was Willie Moore."
One of Mount Miguel's unsung heroes can't
be found in the boxscore --
athletic trainer Josh Reiderer.
"Josh was just fantastic," Hurst
said. "Aguilar got a cut above his eye, and
Josh stopped the bleeding, patched him up and got him back in
the game."
Losing for only the second time in seven
weeks hardly spells disaster for
Helix.
"You can't take anything away from
our kids because, the fact is, they've won
19 games," Helix coach John Singer said. "But we just
can't shoot the ball
very well and people are starting to zone us to death."
Davis led Helix with 19 points, 5 assists
and 3 steals. Tramaine West added
11 points before fouling out. Caldwell finished with 8 points
and 8 rebounds,
while Tommy Thompson contributed 8 rebounds and 6 points. Jake
Aftreth had 8
points and 4 rebounds, while his brother Josh Aftreth collected
7 caroms.
EL CAJON VALLEY 72, GROSSMONT 67 (OT)
-- Those expecting the Braves to
fall
apart had better think again. This team is for real. Six straight
victories
and counting.
The visiting Foothillers, however, were
upset-bound, as they led 14-4 after
the first quarter. The Braves bounced back to lead 25-22 at halftime,
but
couldn't shake the pesky Hillers.
Anthony Taylor was one of the major differences
as he strong-armed the
Hillers from inside the paint. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound center
produced eight
of his game-high 26 points during overtime, as El Cajon Valley
claimed a 14-9
scoring edge during the four-minute extra period.
"We had some holes in our defense,
so we're going to have to work on that,"
said El Cajon Valley coach Mike Raney, whose Braves are 4-1 in
overtime
games. "But we did a great job on the boards and made the
shots when we had
to."
Taylor grabbed 20 rebounds and blocked 2
shots to spark the Grossmont North
League-leading Braves (11-12, 5-1). Joe Hughes gave the Braves
a second force
under the basket, as he hauled down 16 rebounds to go along with
7 points.
Sophomore guard Nate Reed knocked down 21
points, 19 of which came after
intermission. He was 4-for-4 from the free throw line during overtime,
and
also totaled 5 assists for the game. Jarrod Lott lived up to his
name, with a
nice double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. He was 2-for-2 from
the line in the
extra period.
Jesse Long kept the Hillers in the game
down the stretch, scoring all 20 of
his points during the final 20 minutes. That included 11 of Grossmont's
23
points in the fourth quarter.
Noah Stevens added 10 points, and freshman
Tyler Vickers chipped in 8 for
Grossmont.
It was another frustrating night for the
Foothillers (5-20, 0-6), who
suffered their 11th straight loss. Even more bitter is the fact
that the
Hillers' six league losses have come by a total of 25 points --
and two of
them in overtime.
EL CAPITAN 56, SANTANA 52 -- Josh Fisher saved his best work for last. The
Vaqueros senior guard scored 8 of his 10 points in the fourth
quarter, and
made a key steal with 10 seconds left.
Trailing 55-52, Santana aimed an inbound
pass toward 3-point shooter Michael
Bass. The ball never reached its intended target, as Fisher made
the
interception, and was fouled. Fisher then sealed the victory by
sinking one
of two free throws.
"Fisher just killed us in that last
quarter," Santana coach Tim Barry said.
"That kid plays with a lot of heart. He hit a crucial 3-pointer
and a
follow-up basket for 2, and then made 3-of-4 from the free throw
line."
The steal -- his fourth in the game -- speaks
for itself. Fisher also had 5
rebounds and 3 assists.
Rob Keller led the El Capitan offense with
22 points, including 6-for-8 free
throw shooting. He also had 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
Jarrod Boswell rustled up 7 points, 7 rebounds
and 2 steals, while Thomas
Sutton collected 7 rebounds and 6 points for the Vaqueros (14-9,
4-1).
Not to be overlooked were the contributions
of 6-foot-7 senior Mike Clark.
The boxscore will credit him with only one point, but he also
blocked 3 shots
and grabbed 7 rebounds.
Bass, sidelined with an injury the previous
three games, came back to lead
the Sultans (6-18, 2-4) with 12 points against El Cap. He also
had 5
rebounds, 3 assists and one steal.
Chris Mazzi chipped in 10 points, 3 assists
and 2 steals for Santana. Hayden
Penn grabbed a game-high 8 rebounds but was limited to 9 points
by the taller
Vaqueros before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Jon Sturgill
added 9
points and 5 rebounds.
"We played real well, but we missed
too many two-footers," said Barry, who
saw his Sultans enjoy leads as large as 13 points in the first
half. "I just
wish it had translated into a win for the seniors. But it showed,
when we can
play El Capitan like this, it makes me believe we can play with
anybody in
Division II."
CHRISTIAN 51, CORONADO 44 -- It must have seemed strange for the Christian
High Patriots when they returned to the Ryan Athletic Center for
the first
time in three weeks. They had played seven consecutive road games
-- all
victories -- following a four-point home loss to Horizon on Jan.
16.
The Patriots' homecoming started out sluggish
in the first quarter, but
picked up steam in the second period as Christian claimed a 28-13
halftime
lead.
"We should have been up a lot more
than that, but we missed six lay-ups,"
Christian coach Curtis Hofmeister said. "Give Coronado credit,
they always
bring their A+ game when they play us. They did a good job of
taking us out
of what we wanted to do."
The visiting Islanders (16-4, 5-2) nearly
spoiled the Patriots party as they
shaved Christian's lead to four points early in the fourth quarter.
That's
when the Pats broke out the long ball. Chris Carter, Ben Wohlfeil,
and Jake
Wohlfeil each hit a trey to curb Coronado's comeback bid.
Christian's 6-foot-10 center Moulaye Niang,
who helped seal the victory with
a pair of free throws in the waning seconds, collected game-highs
of 16
points and 11 rebounds. Carter contributed 11 points and 2 steals,
while Ben
Wohlfeil added 4 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists.
"Coronado is not a patsy," Hofmeister
noted. "They're a team that's won 16
games and they're going to do well in the playoffs."
Christian (19-5, 7-0), can clinch the league
title with a win over Hoover
Friday night (Feb. 9) at the Ryan Athletic Center.
MONTE VISTA 66, GRANITE HILLS 45 -- After losing to Granite Hills by 15
points in the first-round meeting, the Monarchs turned the tables
in
Tuesday's (Feb. 6) Grossmont South League rematch in Spring Valley.
Scott Crabtree (18 points), Jacques Alaby
(17), and Rodney Hearns (16)
provided balanced scoring for Monte Vista (7-16, 2-4), which shot
51 percent
(30-for-59).
"That's a good shooting percentage for us," Monarchs coach Zach Peck said.
Credit for the Monarchs improved shooting
must be shared with guards Seth
Gomez (7 assists) and Chris Whyte (6 assists). Hearns led the
Monarchs on the
boards with 8 rebounds.
Brent Genton logged 16 points to lead Granite
Hills (5-19, 1-4). He also hit
two treys, raising his East County-leading 3-point basket total
to 69. Joe
Sesi added 10 points, giving him 38 in his last three starts.
Mohammed
Elhabashy chipped in 8 points and a pair of 3's.
(02-06-01)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
EL CAJON -- Those who didn't take the El
Cajon Valley Braves seriously take
notice.
Coach Mike Raney's Braves are the leaders
in the Grossmont North League.
That's right. First place. Five straight wins has given El Cajon
Valley a
one-half game lead over second-place El Capitan.
"This has been an unbelievable week
for us," Raney said after the Braves
(10-12, 4-1), who were once buried in an 11-game losing streak,
completed a
full victory sweep of their Grossmont North League rivals. "There
is no
reason to think we can't win it. They've got to take it away from
us."
El Cajon Valley claimed the victory over
West Hills when Isaac Lee nailed a
three-pointer with 3.4 seconds left. Equally as important was
Anthony
Taylor's block of Matt Henriksen's last-second, desperation shot.
"Obviously, Lee's basket was huge,"
Raney said. "But the turning point, I
think, was our ability to get 28 offensive rebounds."
El Cajon Valley outscored West Hills 10-9
during the four-minute extra
session. Lee and Joe Hughes scored four points apiece, while Nate
Reed rang
up two of his team-high 21 points.
West Hills (15-8, 3-2) missed four free throws in overtime, which
hurt the
Wolf Pack's chance of nailing down a victory.
C. J Zimmerlink led all scorers with 27
points for West Hills. His totals
included five three-pointers.
For El Cajon Valley, Reed netted 9 of 11
free throws, while Hughes hauled
down 16 rebounds and Taylor grabbed 10.
HELIX 73, MONTE VISTA 67 (2 OT) -- The Monarchs were flirting with what
would have been one of East County's biggest upsets of the season
Friday
(Feb. 2).
"We had a chance to win it twice,"
Monte Vista coach Zach Peck said. "It was
a lack of experience. We had them right there, and it's very disappointing
that we couldn't pull it out."
Helix (19-4, 5-0) pulled the great escape
as Johnny Davis scored six of his
game-high 33 points in the second overtime to give the Highlanders
the
victory.
"We probably didn't deserve to win
it," Helix coach John Singer said. "But to
work as hard as we have all year It's nice to get a little luck.
Finding a
way to win when you're not playing particularly well is a mark
of a
championship team."
Monte Vista (7-15, 1-4) had the ball and
led by two points with :08 left in
the first overtime. That's when Rajive Otah intercepted a Monte
Vista pass
and was fouled. The sophomore missed the first free throw, and
Helix called
time out. Otah made the second one, perhaps by accident as it
left the
Monarchs one point ahead.
Helix's Otah made a second steal and was
fouled with 0:03 left. He then
converted one of two free throws to send the game into the second
overtime.
"Davis took over the game in overtime,"
Singer said. "He knows how to win.
It's games like tonight that he shows why he should be (Grossmont
South
League) Player of the Year."
Davis totaled 19 points in the fourth quarter
and the two overtimes. He was
11-for-12 from the free throw line and totaled nine rebounds,
five assists
and two steals.
Otah finished with nine points, four assists
and three rebounds. Jake
Aftreth chipped in six points and eight rebounds, while Stanley
Caldwell
added four points and nine rebounds.
Thomas Hearns led Monte Vista (7-15, 1-4)
with 23 points. Chris Whyte added
11 points as did Seth Gomez.
MOUNT MIGUEL 62, VALHALLA 61 -- Alan Aguilar hit two free throws with 0:07
left to give the Matadors (9-14, 2-3) the Grossmont South League
victory over
the visiting Norsemen (11-13, 3-2).
Aguilar scored 10 of his 24 points in the
fourth quarter, as the Matadors won
their second straight league game.
"This is the kind of stuff we've been
waiting for all year," Mount Miguel
coach Jimmy Hurst said. "We were at a point where it would
have been real
easy for these kids to just cash it in. But they've worked hard
and come
together."
Sean Gullett scored a game-high 25 points,
including five 3-pointers. The
Matadors' senior leader also had 12 rebounds and 8 steals.
"Gullett kept us in the game in the
first half," Hurst said. "That's when he
hit four of his 3-pointers. But more than that, this was his best
overall
game. He played all but 45 seconds (of a possible 32 minutes)."
Hurst also credited Gullett and Mike McGuire
with their defensive effort on
Valhalla's scoring leader Blake Fowler.
"We were able to keep Fowler from shooting
wide open shots," Hurst said. "We
made him put the ball on the floor. He hurt us early because they
were
beating our trap and getting some uncontested layups.
"But we got it together, and our pressure
defense was basically outstanding.
We just wore them down by playing tenacious defense in the last
three
quarters."
Hurst credited Chris Campbell and Anthony
Cox for spearheading the Mount
Miguel defensive assault. Campbell had 5 steals and could have
had more.
"I don't know how many tips he had
that led to steals, but it seemed like
every time I turned around, he was deflecting the ball to Sean
(Gullett),"
Hurst said.
Valhalla led by 11 with 6:45 left. That's
when Aguilar took charge and
brought the Matadors storming back. It was his second 3-pointer
that gave
Mount Miguel its first lead of the night 49-48.
"Alan (Aguilar) took over in the fourth
quarter," Hurst said. "He hit some
nice floaters on the baseline, and made some key free throws."
In spite of Mount Miguel's furious rally,
Valhalla still had a chance to win
the game. The Norsemen had the ball at midcourt with 0:03 left,
but never got
off a clear shot before the buzzer.
"This was a tough loss," Valhalla
coach Lenny Schlein said. "We beat them by
one point in overtime the first time (in league play), which means
we're
probably equal teams. The ironic thing is, these two games kind
of mirrored
each other. They led us by 20-10 in the first quarter of the first-round
game, and we won. We led them 21-10 in this game, and they won
by one point."
Danny Sheppard led Valhalla with 18 points
and 8 rebounds, while Fowler
finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Brent Molden added 11
points.
"We got off to a great start,"
Schlein said. "But we got into foul trouble in
the second quarter, and lost the momentum. Not having (point guard
Erik)
Rapolla (out with an ankle injury) really hurt us."
CHRISTIAN 72, MADISON 46 -- The Patriots may not have a lineup laden with
superstars, but they do have depth. Christian's bench contributed
39 points,
as the Patriots (18-5, 6-0) remain unbeaten and maintain their
Harbor League
lead.
"I think some of our starters are a
little bit fatigued after the Carlsbad
game (a 66-65 Patriots' victory over the No. 1 team in the county),"
Christian coach Curtis Hofmeister said.
Six-foot-10 junior center Moulaye Niang
scored only 6 points against the
Warhawks, but pulled down 10 rebounds and blocked 4 shots for
Christian. One
of the major contributions came from John Wai, who hit 6-of-7
shots for a
team-high 17 points, clicked on 3-of-3 free throws, and grabbed
4 rebounds in
a reserve role.
Chris Carter missed his first two shots,
but canned his last six to finish
with 16 points for the Patriots. His totals included four 3-pointers.
Josh
Paddock added 9 points, 4 steals, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, while
Ben
Wohlfeil chipped in 8 points, 5 assists and 2 steals.
One of the unsung heroes for Christian was
Michael Singleton, who did not
score but contributed 4 assists and 3 rebounds.
SANTANA 67, GROSSMONT 58 -- The visiting Foothillers, who had lost their
first four games by a total of 11 points, appeared to be in position
to break
into the victory column when they led host Santana 19-8 after
one quarter.
Steady Hayden Penn pounded in 19 points,
and Jon Sturgill sank 15 as the
Sultans (6-17, 2-3) used a 21-10 fourth-quarter scoring burst
to secure the
come-from-behind victory. The key to Santana's win, however, was
the return
of senior Michael Bass, who banged in 17 points after missing
two games due
to injury.
Jesse Long had 19 points to lead Grossmont
(5-19, 0-5), while John Sanders
netted 13 and Noah Stevens added 10.
(02-02-01)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
EL CAJON - This season will not go down as one for the record books for Granite Hills. But the fact that the Eagles' official record to date is 5-18 is somewhat misleading.
After opening the season with 11 straight losses, the Eagles have played .500 ball on the court (excluding a forfeit loss to El Cajon Valley) at 6-6.
One of the highlights occurred during Saturday's (Feb. 3) Outback Hoop Hysteria at Granite Hills. Long-range shooter Brent Genton scored 34 points in an individual battle with USDHS's Anthony Stabile, who also tallied 34 markers.
But Genton received more support from his teammates as the Eagles downed the Dons 74-62. Phil Rodriguez added 14 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks for the Eagles, while Joe Sesi chipped in 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Stabile launched the visiting Dons off to a fast start by hitting three consecutive 3-pointers, but the Granite Hills defense put the clamps on after that. Sort of. Stabile made only one of his next 13 three-point shots, but finished 12-for-29 in his overall shooting from the floor.
Genton was 9-for-19 overall, including 4-for-12
from 3-point range. But he was most effective from the free throw
line where he converted 12-of-14 chances.
Brian Mosier added 8 points, including a pair of 3-pointers for
the Eagles, while Mohammed Elhabashy collected 8 rebounds.
This game was the final of an all-day affair
matching the boys' and girls' varsity, JV, and freshman teams
of Granite Hills and USDHS.
(02-03-01)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
CARLSBAD -- It doesn't get much bigger than this.
For first-year head coach Curtis Hofmeister, Christian's High's 66-65 upset of top-ranked Carlsbad Wednesday night (Jan. 31) is one of those games that will be talked about for years.
"This is one of the best high school
games I've ever been a part of," Hofmeister said. "We
weren't interested in gaining a moral victory. We weren't interested
in just coming close. We wanted to win, because a victory
like this is huge."
Indeed.
Carlsbad (21-3) was No. 1 ranked in San
Diego County and had not lost to a local team all year. The only
setbacks the Lancers had suffered were to
Orange County's Mater Dei and Pineview (Ariz.).
"They are a quality team that is not
used to losing," Hofmeister said of Carlsbad, which defeated
Christian by 24 points in December. "But I'll tell you, this
is the biggest regular season win in a long, long time at
Christian. We beat the No. 1 team in the county, on the road,
in their brand new arena where they'd never been beaten."
Ben Wohlfeil whipped in 20 points -- the majority on four 3-pointers -- to pace the 7th-ranked Patriots (17-5).
"We were at a crossroads at halftime," Hofmeister said, noting that his club trailed the Lancers 34-23 at the break. "We could have just rolled over, but that didn't happen. Our kids bought into what we practice every day."
Jake Wohlfeil was knocked to the floor and
suffered a wrist injury in the third quarter, but rebounded to
score 7 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter when Christian
used a 21-12 offensive surge to overcome a 53-45
deficit.
"Jake was going hard to the hole when he got fouled," Hofmeister said. "The (Carlsbad) guy hit him across the arm, and I really thought he'd broken his wrist. The trainers put a splint on it, and he came back into the game in the fourth quarter."
Christian, a defense-oriented team, enjoyed
another banner shooting night, which included 9-for-18 accuracy
from 3-point range. Overall the Patriots
canned 23-of-37 shots (62 percent), including 16-for-21 (76 percent)
in the second half.
"We shot with confidence," Hofmeister said. "We were patient and let our offense come to us."
Moulaye Niang, Christian's 6-foot-10 junior center, was hampered by early foul problems as the Patriots fell behind 34-23 at halftime. But Niang rebounded for a strong second half, scoring 14 points, grabbing 7 caroms and blocking 6 shots. Niang's biggest block came with one second left, as he rejected a potential game-winning putback to preserve the victory.
Derek Stockalper kept Carlsbad in the game with 34 points. His totals included a pair of 3's and 10-for-11 free throw shooting.
"We put our best guy on him, and he just kept scoring. He's legit. He just carried them," Hofmeister said.
Hofmeister likened the magnitude of Christian's latest conquest to a 39-37 victory over a talent-laden St. Augustine team in 1993.
"Saints had beaten us by 40 points
at their place that year, and then we came back and got them 39-37
at the RAC (Ryan Athletic Center). That was a pretty
talented Saints team, with (6-10) Jelani McCoy and (6-5, 300-pound
Oakland Raiders defensive tackle) Darryl Russell."
Christian resumes Harbor League play on
Friday (Feb. 2) at Madison at 7:30 p.m.
(01-31-01)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
EL CAJON - When the El Cajon Valley Braves
were mired in a nine-game losing
streak, even second-year head coach Mike Raney must have wondered
if his club
was destined to finish the season in the downward spiral.
Yet Raney never talked 'doomsday.' Instead,
the ever-optimistic coach
insisted that the Braves were going to turn it around - this season.
No
cries of 'Wait 'til next year' coming out of their gym.
The Braves are brand new. They're in first
place. After knocking off visiting
El Capitan 77-74 on Tuesday (Jan. 30), El Cajon Valley has locked
itself into
a 3-way tie with the Vaqueros and West Hills for the top spot
in the
Grossmont North League.
"I know this is the biggest win that
we've had at El Cajon Valley in a long
time," said Raney after the Braves won their fourth straight
game. "We're
playing well, and we're not relying on just one guy."
Six Braves contributed to the scoring, but
it was sophomore guard Nate Reed
who set the tone.
"They were triple-teaming him, but
they couldn't stop him," Raney said of
Reed, who scored 27 points. Twelve of those came in the fourth
quarter as the
Braves held off the Vaqueros 26-25.
Reed was 11-for-12 from the free throw line,
while the Braves were 22-of-28
as a team. Although Reed's focus was offense, he also came up
with 6 steals.
El Cajon Valley's Anthony "Pooh"
Taylor garnered a triple-double with14
points, 16 rebounds and a dozen assists.
Jarrod Lott contributed 14 points, including
a trio of treys and 6 rebounds.
Isaac Lee added 12 points and 6 rebounds, while Joe Hughes tossed
in 7 points
and had 5 boards for El Cajon Valley.
El Capitan (13-9, 3-1), which had its five-game
winning streak snapped,
marched out to a 22-10 lead early in the second quarter. But the
Braves
(9-12, 3-1) just kept coming.
El Cajon Valley led 51-49 after three quarters,
and extended that advantage
to 74-66 with a minute left to play. Josh Fisher hit two long-range
3-pointers to pull the Vaqueros to within two points, but Hughes
scored a
driving lay-up at the other end and completed a 3-point play to
seal the
upset.
Rob Keller, the East County scoring leader,
generated 29 points (including
three 3's), 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals to pace El Capitan.
Fisher finished with 10 points, 5 assists
and 6 steals, while Mike Clark
collected 10 points, 5 rebounds and blocked 2 shots. Thomas Sutton
grabbed 9
rebounds, handed out 3 assists and totaled 7 points.
HELIX 60, VALHALLA 45 -- When it's Big Game time in East County basketball,
the Helix Highlanders are almost sure to be involved.
But even coach John Singer had to be somewhat
surprised that his team was
battling Valhalla for sole possession of first place in the Grossmont
South
when the two front-runners faced off Tuesday night (Jan. 30) in
El Cajon.
The Norsemen (11-12, 3-1) enjoyed their
first lead in two years over the
Highlanders when Erik Rapolla sank a pair of free throws to vault
Valhalla
into a 36-35 advantage with 1:30 left in the third quarter.
"From a confidence standpoint, I think
we showed that we can play with them,"
Valhalla coach Lenny Schlein said. "Last year they beat us
by 50 and 35
points (actually 44 and 25)."
One thing Valhalla couldn't do was stop
Helix's Tramaine West. The junior
guard scored a game-high 24 points, hitting 7-of-12 field goals
(including 3
treys) and 7-of-8 free throws.
"West really killed us," Schlein
said. "I was really surprised by how much he
got to us, but we were concentrating more on not letting (Johnny)
Davis beat
us."
It was Davis, however, who put Helix back
into the lead 39-36 with
back-to-back baskets. That burst started Helix on a 19-5 run that
extended
well into the fourth quarter.
Davis scored 11 of his 16 points in the
second half. Jake Aftreth added 11
points on 5-for-7 shooting and pulled down a team-high 8 rebounds.
Stanley
Caldwell encountered early foul trouble, but managed 6 points,
7 rebounds and
3 assists.
Singer, a well-known advocate of the defensive
game, called sophomore Cliff
Johnson an unsung hero.
"He did a nice defensive job on Blake
Fowler in the second quarter," Singer
said. "He just loves to play defense. You cannot screen that
kid out -- he's
just plain hard to pick."
Johnson did not score, or even attempt a shot, but came up with 3 steals.
"Cliff kind of got lost in the shuffle,"
Singer said. "He missed the first 2
weeks because he got hurt. (Assistant coach Pat) Kelly said 'Why
don't we
give this kid another look?' And I'm glad we did. He has a chance
to be as
good a defensive player as I've ever had."
Fowler finished with 18 points to lead the
Norsemen. Danny Sheppard chipped
in with 7 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks, while Tommy Hanna added
7 points
and 3 assists.
"We play our last four league games
on the road," Schlein noted. "We're
looking forward to it. Helix has had tougher teams, but they're
the best in
our league this year. Maybe we can get them over at their place,
but I'd be
awfully happy to finish 6-2 in league."
WEST HILLS 63, GROSSMONT 60 (OT) -- The Wolf Pack's 1-2 punch of Matt
Henriksen and C.J. Zimmerlink saved their best for last, scoring
10 points in
overtime to give West Hills (15-7, 3-1) the victory and a share
of the
Grossmont North League lead.
After Jesse Long gave the Foothillers (5-18,
0-4) a 56-53 lead on a 3-pointer
early in the overtime period, Henriksen countered with a bucket
and a pair of
free throws to put the Pack back in front. Zimmerlink nailed down
the victory
with a basket and 4 free throws during the extra session.
"It was an exciting game," West
Hills coach Jeff Armstrong admitted. "As a
coach, it wasn't very pretty. But we're glad to get out with a
win."
Grossmont had a chance to pull off the upset
in regulation, but Trevor Pike
drove baseline and missed a 12-footer in the waning seconds to
send the game
into overtime at 53-53. Ironically, Pike was Grossmont's leading
scorer in
overtime, producing four of the Hillers seven points.
Henriksen scored a game-high 23 points,
while Zimmerlink knocked down 18 as
West Hills endured its fourth-straight road game. Reliable Wes
Roys rolled in
12 points. The Pack, which has won 14 of its last 16, will play
its final
regular season road game at El Cajon Valley on Friday (Feb. 2)
at 7:30 p.m.
The hard-luck Hillers, who have lost their
four league games by a combined
total of 11 points, exhibited rare offensive balance in their
latest setback.
Grossmont placed four players in double
figures with Noah Stevens topping the
list with 14 points. He hit a trio of 3-pointers in the second
quarter as the
Hillers erased a seven point deficit. Long added 13, while Pike
and John
Sanders popped in 12 apiece.
CHRISTIAN 69, CLAIREMONT 29 -- While the Patriots (16-5, 5-0) were
pulverizing the Chieftains (10-10, 2-3) in a Harbor League game
at
Clairemont, their thoughts were probably elsewhere.
Foremost, it's finals week in the classroom,
and Wednesday night (Jan. 31)
the 7th-ranked Patriots have a chance to knock off the No. 1 team
in San
Diego County when they travel to Carlsbad (21-2).
"When I scheduled the game I didn't
realize that it was in the middle of
finals week," Christian coach Curtis Hofmeister said. "But
we're always
looking for opportunities to play the best teams."
This will be Christian's second crack at
Carlsbad. The Patriots jumped out to
a 17-9 first quarter lead when they engaged the Lancers at the
National Prep
Classic on Dec. 11 at Torrey Pines. It was a short-lived advantage,
however,
as Carlsbad claimed a 70-46 victory.
"This is going to be a big test for
us," Hofmeister said. "And we'll be
playing them in their new arena."
Against Clairemont, Christian shot better
than 59 percent from the floor
(29-of-49), including 17-of-25 (68 percent) during a 39-point
second half. By
comparison, Clairemont clicked on only 10-of-40 shots.
Moulaye Niang finished with 12 points, 13
rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 steals,
recording most of those numbers in the first half. John Wai, making
only his
second start of the season, scored 8 of his 10 points in the second
quarter
when the Patriots turned an 11-8 lead into a 16-point cushion
by halftime.
Jake Wohlfeil added 9 points, 3 assists
and 3 steals, while Chris Carter and
Justin Vanderwerff landed a pair of 3-pointers each.
MOUNT MIGUEL 76, GRANITE HILLS 63 -- The Matadors turned to their strength
to garner their first Grossmont South League victory in four starts.
That is,
they put the ball in the hands of shooting guards Sean Gullett
and Alan
Aguilar, and the backcourt duo combined for 49 points.
Gullett cranked in 28 points, including
one 3-pointer, while Aguilar hit a
pair of treys and was 3-for-3 from the free throw line.
Ernie Ballenger added 11 points, including
5-for-6 shooting from the free
throw line for Mount Miguel (8-14, 1-3).
Joe Sesi rang up a season-high 16 points
to pace Granite Hills (4-18, 1-3).
Brent Genton added to his East County-leading 3-point goals total
by hitting
a trio of treys, giving him 63 on the season. Jonathan Torres
tossed in 10
points for the Eagles.
MONTE VISTA 46, SANTANA 43 -- The Sultans came within inches of overcoming
a 44-39 deficit in the final 50 seconds of the non-league game
at Monte
Vista. Back-to-back buckets by Chris Mazzi and Hayden Penn pulled
the Sultans
(5-17) to within a single point with 0:06.7 seconds remaining.
"We had the ball and we got the shot
we wanted, but missed a lay-up," Santana
coach Tim Barry lamented. That would have put the Sultans in the
lead, but
instead, Santana fouled the rebounder with one second left. Scott
Crabtree
hit a pair of free throws for Monte Vista (7-14) to seal the victory.
Jacques Alaby paced Monte Vista with 21
points, while Penn topped Santana
with 15.
(01-30-01)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
SANTEE - Christian High went on a 350 mile excursion Saturday night (Jan. 27). The purpose for the sourjourn was a non-league basketball game in the desert against Twenty-Nine Palms High School.
It was a fruitful venture, albeit a wearing drive.
"They only have one senior, so they're going to be a pretty strong team in the (CIF) Southern Section next year," Christian coach Curtis Hofmeister said. "But I thought they'd be a little tougher than they were."
Christian (15-5) jumped out to a 30-13 lead early in the second quarter, and then cruised to a 62-45 victory.
Despite missing most of the first half with foul problems, 6-foot-10 junior Moulaye Niang led the Patriots with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. He was 7-for-7 from the floor, and scored all nine of Christian's points in the third quarter.
"They played us in a straight 2-3 zone the entire game," Hofmeister said.
Not that the Patriots enjoyed one of their better shooting nights, hitting 41 percent of 58 chances.
"We played all of our kids a lot of minutes," Hofmeister noted. "Our effort was there, and that's all you can ask."
Ben Wohlfeil popped in 12 points - all coming
on 3-pointers. He also had 4 rebounds, while Michael Singleton
handed out 4 assists. Jake Wohlfeil chipped in 8 points, 4 steals
and 3 rebounds. Justin Vanderwerff contributed 8 points, including
two 3's, and John Wai tossed in 8 points and grabbed 3 rebounds.
(01-27-01)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
SANTEE -- No question, the Grossmont Foothillers
have been struggling of
late. So the Grossmont North League-leading El Capitan Vaqueros
paying them a
visit on Friday (Jan. 19) would, on the surface, be viewed as
ominous. Unless
you knew the history between these two teams
A year ago Grossmont was an unsolvable riddle
to El Capitan. Three times the
teams met. Three times the Foothillers prevailed. The total margin
of victory
was 10 points, including one overtime.
That trend didn't appear to be in the offing
this year when these clubs
collided for the first time Friday night. Grossmont was in the
throes of a
six-game losing skid, and the Vaqueros were riding a three-game
winning
streak.
Yet it took a last-second bucket by East
County's leading scorer -- El
Capitan senior Rob Keller -- to give the Vaqueros a 63-62 victory.
The Foothillers (5-16, 0-3) did not go quietly,
as they were only seconds
away from springing one of East County's biggest upsets. That's
when Keller,
a 6-foot-4 veteran, took matters into his own hands. With 7 seconds
remaining, he brought the ball upcourt, using a crossover dribble
to elude
one defender and then weaved his way through traffic before going
in for the
game-winning layup with 0:1.5 left.
Keller finished with a season-high 34 points,
12 rebounds and 7 assists. He
scored 16 points in the third quarter, as El Capitan turned a
33-31 halftime
lead into a 56-46 advantage after three periods.
After scoring 23 points in the third stanza,
El Cap's offense stalled in the
final period, producing only seven points. Grossmont scored 16
points during
the final eight minutes.
El Capitan (12-8, 2-0) received a strong
performance from 6-foot-10 Jarrod
Boswell, who generated 11 points, 13 rebounds and blocked 3 shots.
Scott Deen
chipped in 4 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals for the Vaqueros.
Grossmont's John Sanders came up big with
15 points and 13 rebounds. Jesse
Long landed 12 points, grabbed 4 rebounds and handed out 3 assists.
Kris
Zimmer added 9 points, and Noah Stevens had seven.
VALHALLA 76, MONTE VISTA 38 -- Pacific Bell would have loved the Norsemen
(10-11, 2-0) Friday night (Jan. 19), as they dialed up long distance
-- 19
times -- and made a connection 12 times.
Blake Fowler and Brant Molden canned six
3-pointers apiece, as Valhalla shot
holes in Monte Vista's zone defense, squashing the visiting Monarchs
in a
Grossmont South League game.
"We really can be a good shooting team
when Fowler and Molden are hitting on
the wings," Valhalla coach Lenny Schlein said. "We work
on our shooting a lot
in practice. We played to our strength."
Talk about a not-close-encounter of the
3-point kind the Norsemen nailed
five treys in the opening quarter to take a 23-7 lead. They extended
their
lead in every quarter, as Schlein emptied the Valhalla bench.
"In the past we've had some bad starts,
and wound up playing catch-up all
night," Schlein said. "This was one of the few times
we've played from the
lead, right from the start."
Fowler finished with 21 points, while Molden
produced 18. Danny Sheppard
tossed in a dozen points. Andrew Stinnett added eight, and Aaron
Wade netted
six.
Zach Loftis and Jacques Alaby scored 12
points apiece for Monte Vista (5-14,
0-3).
"If you had told me that we were going
to win this game by 38 points, I would
have thought you were crazy," Schlein said. "We played
pretty good defense,
put pressure on the whole game, did a nice job of trapping."
WEST HILLS 82, SANTANA 56 -- West Hills (14-6, 2-0) won the Grossmont North
League match in the first-round battle for Santee bragging rights
with its
13th win in the last 14 games.
The Wolf Pack's Matt Henriksen picked up
a couple of quick fouls, but Wes
Roys stepped up to fill the void, scoring 12 of his 22 points
in the opening
half. Roys made 9-of-10 shots from the field, grabbed 5 rebounds
and picked
off 5 steals.
"We didn't want to use 'Russ' (Roys),
as his ankle -- which he hurt in the
Helix game (Jan. 9) -- is not healthy yet," West Hills coach
Jeff Armstrong
said. "But when 'Hen' (Henriksen) got in trouble, Wes played
superbly."
Henriksen came back strong in the second
half as the Wolf Pack used a 22-11
scoring edge in the third quarter to take a 59-36 lead. All but
four of
Henriksen's 17 points came after intermission. The 6-foot-4 junior
collected
a team-high 11 rebounds -- eight coming off the offensive glass.
He had 3
steals, as did Sam Miller, who also had 4 assists.
Sure-shot C.J. Zimmerlink connected on 9-of-12
attempts to finish with 22
points and 9 assists. He also had 5 rebounds. Ricky Zizzo knocked
down a pair
of 3's and contributed 8 points.
The ever-improving Hayden Penn pounded the
boards and poured in 20 points for
Santana (5-15, 1-2). Penn kept the Sultans within shouting distance
(37-25)
by scoring 11 in the opening two quarters. Jon Sturgill contributed
16 points.
HELIX 66, GRANITE HILLS 41 -- It wasn't the shot heard around the world when
Helix sophomore Ray Toilolo took a crisp pass from Johnny Davis
and sank a
3-pointer at the end of the first half. But Toilolo's bucket gave
the
Highlanders a 31-25 lead at the break.
"That was a big shot," Helix coach
John Singer said. "For one reason, we're
trying to get Ray to shoot the ball more. For another, we're trying
to get
Johnny to pass the ball more."
Helix (16-4, 3-0), which has won 12 of its
last 13 games, rationed the Eagles
to eight points per quarter in the second half. The Highlanders
are
permitting only 41.7 points per game in Grossmont South League
play.
"Overall we're really not playing the
way I thought we could," Singer noted.
"But we turned it up defensively in the second half."
What was impressive about the Highlanders'
performance was that they began
the game without two starters. Jake Aftreth was sidelined with
an ankle
injury, and Tramaine West was benched for the first 212 quarters
for missing
practice.
Stanley Caldwell turned in another solid
effort for Helix with 12 points and
11 rebounds. Davis hit 8-of-16 shots en route to a game-high 18
points. He
also had 8 rebounds -- four of which resulted in put-backs --
as well as 3
assists and 3 steals.
Josh Aftreth added 9 points, 5 rebounds,
3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks for
the Highlanders, while Tommy Thompson chipped in 7 rebounds and
6 points.
Phil Rodriguez rolled in 4-of-7 shots from
the field and 6-of-9 free throws
to lead the Eagles (5-15, 1-1) with 14 points. Dogged by the Scotties'
Davis
and Kenny Farris, Brent Genton was limited to 12 points on 4-for-12
shooting.
He rang up only one 3-pointer, but did hit 6-of-9 free throws
while grabbing
4 rebounds and handing out 2 assists. Mohammed Elhabashy added
8 points for
Granite Hills.
EL CAJON VALLEY 64, MOUNT MIGUEL 60 -- For the first time since the opening
week of the season, the Braves (6-13) posted consecutive victories
as they
surprised visiting Mount Miguel (7-13).
After snapping a lengthy losing streak with
a victory at Grossmont earlier
this week, the Braves came from behind to dump the Matadors.
Sophomore guard Nate Reed sparked the El
Cajon Valley attack with 22 points,
including 8-for-10 accuracy from the free throw line. Reed scored
10 of his
points -- and all of his free throws -- in the third period as
the Braves cut
Mount Miguel's advantage to 39-38.
The game turned into a track meet in the
fourth quarter, with the Braves
gaining a 26-21 scoring edge.
"How did we turn the game around?"
El Cajon Valley coach Mike Raney said,
repeating the question. "We stopped panicking, and did a
better job of
protecting the ball."
Anthony "Pooh" Taylor scored 11
points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the
Braves, who also got 11 points from Isaac Lee. Lee's totals included
7-for-7
free throw shooting. Jarrod Lott landed a pair of 3's, as did
Reed. Other
standouts were Jeroid Jordan (7 rebounds, 3 assists) and Al Tooks
(3 steals).
Mount Miguel, which crushed El Cajon Valley
86-27 the last time they met a
year ago, was paced by Anthony Cox (18 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists
and 3
steals). Alan Aguilar, who was coming off a sprained ankle, added
17 points,
4 rebounds and 4 assists. Chris Campbell collected 6 rebounds
-- one more
than Dominick Foster, who also had 4 assists and 2 steals. Willie
Moore had 5
rebounds and 3 steals to go along with 4 points.
CHRISTIAN 70, HOOVER 47 -- All 10 Patriots contributed to the scoring as
Christian (13-5, 3-0) clubbed the Cardinals (3-14, 1-2) to maintain
its grip
on first place in the Harbor League.
Moulaye Niang carried the torch for the
Patriots, producing 19 points, 13
rebounds, 4 steals and 5 blocks. The 6-foot-10 junior center from
Senegal
made 6-of-11 floor shots and 7-of-9 free throws.
"This was one of Moulaye's best offensive
games of the season," Christian
coach Curtis Hofmeister said. "He shot the ball well and
did a good job
inside."
Jake Wohlfeil also had a fine shooting night,
hitting 4-of-6 from the field
and 6-of-8 from the foul line to finish with 15 points. His brother
Ben
Wohlfeil added 7 points and 3 assists, while Michael Jackson had
7 points and
4 rebounds. John Wai had 4 points and 6 rebounds off the bench.
(01-19-01)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
SAN DIEGO -- There shouldn't be much mystery
involved in the Harbor League
boys' basketball race. Granted, the Christian Patriots are in
first place and
Crawford is in last. So Friday's (Jan. 26) 88-48 lop-sided victory
by the
Patriots should come as no surprise.
But consider this -- Christian led 30-9
after one quarter, and 50-13 at
halftime. It could have been a lot worse.
"Eleven of our guys scored in the first
half," Christian coach Curtis
Hofmeister said. "And nobody on our team played more than
17 (of a possible
32) minutes."
Christian (14-5, 4-0) canned 22-of-30 shots
from the field (73.3 percent) in
the first half. Only wholesale substitution kept the Patriots
from reaching
the century mark. The Patriots did cool off in the second half,
but still
shot 60 percent (36-for-60) in the game.
Chris Carter, who returned to the lineup
after a 16-day absence due to an
ankle sprain, scored 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting from 3-point
range in a
mere nine minutes playing time.
Junior center Moulaye Niang knocked down
a team-leading 16 points and made 5
steals for the Patriots, while John Wai delivered 12 points in
a relief role.
"Our stats are pretty well divided
- spread among everybody," Hofmeister
said. "But we got 20 steals as a team."
Jorge Cerna had 3 steals, as did Ben Wohlfeil
for Christian. Wohlfeil also 8
points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Michael Jackson added 8 points
and 6
rebounds. Michael Singleton tossed in 9 points.
It was another long night for Crawford (3-15,
0-4). The Colts connected on
only 5-of-28 shots from the field (18 percent) in the first half,
and
19-of-62 in the game (31 percent).
M.A.S.H. Update
Santana coach Tim Barry is probably a little
bit paranoid about conducting
anymore practices these days. In his first year at the Sultans'
helm he has
witnessed an alarming number of injuries.
Michael Bass, who was injured during a practice
last week, received six
stitches and a clean bill of health to play in the Sultans' game
at Monte
Vista on Tuesday (Jan. 30).
Senior point guard Chris Mazzi, who received
a gash above his left eye in a
first-quarter collision during a Grossmont North League game at
El Cajon
Valley (Jan. 25), was mended with seven stitches and figures to
be available
for the Sultans' battle against the Monarchs as well.
On a more questionable and possibly more
serious note, is the availability of
Santana senior Garrett Kerns. The 6-foot-3 forward, who suffers
from asthma,
may have a collapsed lung, according to coach Tim Barry. If that's
the case,
Kerns' season may be over.
"We're hoping for the best," said
Barry.
(01-26-01)
Helix's Jake Aftreth (55) and Joe McLellan (43), and
Monte Vista's Zachary Loftis (24) and Chris Whyte (14) position
for a rebound during the Highlanders' victory over the Monarchs
Friday night at Caledonian Gym.
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
SANTEE -- When the prognosticators
were pondering their preseason picks as to
who was going to do what in the Grossmont South League, few figured
Valhalla
to be among the elite.
After the visiting Mount Miguel
Matadors jumped out to a 10-2 lead in Friday
night's (Jan. 12) league opener, the Norsemen could easily have
wilted in
front of their home crowd. Such was not the case, however.
The Norsemen (9-10), who fought
back to tie the game at 31-31 by
intermission, took the favored Matadors (7-11) into overtime and
pulled out a
somewhat surprising 59-55 victory.
"I think there are going
to be some interesting games in the Grossmont South
this year," Valhalla coach Lenny Schlein said. "It should
be very
competitive."
Danny Sheppard scored all seven
of Valhalla's points in overtime. Actually,
it was a Sheppard free throw that tied the game at 52-52 in regulation
and
sent it into overtime.
Valhalla nearly snatched a
victory on the final play of regulation when Brian
Tarpy's 60-footer at the buzzer rimmed the basket and came off.
Valhalla held a 57-55 lead
with 12 seconds remaining, but the Matadors had
possession.
Mount Miguel's Alan Aguilar
took a shot at a potential game-winning
3-pointer. But Valhalla's Aaron Wade got a piece of the ball,
and Aguilar's effort fell short. The Norsemen's Tommy Hanna retrieved
the loose ball and
fired to Sheppard who scored a victory-clinching lay-up.
"We had played zone the
whole game," Schlein said. "Then we came out in a
man-to-man for the first time, and it seemed to confuse them.
We had several
people step up in key situations during that last sequence."
Sheppard shared team-high scoring
honors with Blake Fowler at 13 points
apiece. Fowler canned a pair of 3's, while Sheppard was 6-for-8
from the free throw line. Brant Molden hit a trio of 3's for nine
points.
Valhalla converted 16-of-20 free throws, including 4-for-4 by Andrew Stinnett.
Dominick Foster scored a game-high
19 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, notched 3
steals and blocked 2 shots for Mount Miguel. Aguilar finished
with 17 points,
but sank only one 3-pointer.
One of the key factors in the
game was Valhalla's ability to hold Sean Gullett scoreless. In
fairness to Gullett, East County's third leading scorer
at 17.1 ppg, he did not play in the second half. The reason for
his absence was unknown.
Marquis Bates led the Matadors with 9 rebounds. Ernie Ballenger chipped in with 11 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals.
WEST HILLS 90, EL CAJON
VALLEY 77 -- Nobody
shoots 3-pointers better than
the West Hills Wolf Pack. The Pack bagged 11 three-pointers in
17 attempts
(65 percent) as it opened the Grossmont North League season with
a victory over the visiting Braves.
C.J. Zimmerlink was the Grand
Marshall of the Pack's 3-point parade, hitting
5-of-9 from above the arc. Ricky Zizzo hit all four of his treys
in the second quarter as West Hills scored 22 points to lead 42-36
at the half.
"Zizzo kept us alive in the second quarter -- it was nice to see him pull the trigger when we needed it," said West Hills coach Jeff Armstrong, noting that the Pack produced eight 3-pointers in the opening half.
Matt Henriksen garnered high-point
honors with a season-best 31 -- 27 in the second half. The 6-foot-4
junior connected on 10-of-19 shots from the field,
and 11-of-14 free throws. He also hauled in 11 rebounds (6 offensive),
dished
out 5 assists and made 2 steals.
"Sometimes I tend to take
Matt a little bit for granted," Armstrong admitted.
"That's because he's so consistent. You just count on him
being there."
Zimmerlink has been equally
smooth for West Hills (12-6), which has won 11 of
its last 12 starts. The 6-1 senior added 5 rebounds, 5 assists
and 2 steals
to his bounty.
Senior Karl Burris collected
10 points, including a pair of treys for West
Hills.
"Defensively we broke
down a little bit," Armstrong said. "But give El Cajon
Valley credit, they have some nice athletes."
One of the Braves' aces is
6-foot-3, 220-pound junior Anthony "Pooh" Taylor.
He generated 21 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
Nate Reed added 17 points,
6 assists and 3 steals for the Braves (3-14), who
were also bolstered by 13 points from Jarrod Lott and 12 from
Starr Sadik.
"I really feel like we're
climbing out of it," El Cajon Valley coach Mike
Raney said of the Braves' recent slump.
Armstrong, on the other hand, is hoping his Wolf Pack remains on track.
"Our biggest test is upon
us now," said Armstrong, whose team is facing four
consecutive road games. "Confidence is building as we move
along, and I've
seen a lot of growth in our team. Now we've got to go out and
get some road
kill."
HELIX 55, MONTE VISTA 43
-- The visiting Monarchs
(5-12) had thoughts of an
upset dancing in their heads as they lead Grossmont South favorite
Helix
16-13 after one quarter. Monte Vista maintained its advantage
through the
first half, taking a 30-26 lead at the break.
Monte Vista made 12 of its
first 13 shots, but cooled off to net just seven
of its final 23 attempts. Helix, meanwhile, made 24-of-55 shots
(44 percent)
but grooved just 1-of-10 from 3-point range.
"We're kind of in a funk,
struggling a little right now," Helix coach John
Singer admitted. "We're not a great shooting basketball team.
And people are
zoning us more. We don't have a zone buster or any big guys."
So the Highlanders (14-4) went
back to doing what they do best -- play
defense. Sparked by sophomore Rajive Otah, the Highlanders limited
the
Monarchs to 13 points in the final two quarters to pull out a
victory in
their league opener.
"Otah did a nice job defensively
on their point guard (Chris Whyte)," said
Singer. "He stayed between the ball and the basket and just
harassed him all
over the place."
Whyte scored 8 points in the
first half, but was blanked once Otah was in his
face.
The Highlanders dominated on
the boards 34-18. Monte Vista corralled only two
offensive rebounds in the game.
"We just kept coming at
them and kind of wore them down," Singer said. "We
took the game over defensively in the second half, and got some
breakouts off
that."
Johnny Davis, Stanley Caldwell
and Joe McLellan had 11 points apiece to lead
the Highlanders, who have won nine of their last 10 games. Caldwell
was
5-for-5 from the free throw line and claimed a game-high 10 rebounds.
McLellan had one of his best games, clicking on 5-of-8 shots from
the field.
Davis also had 3 assists and 3 rebounds.
Tommy Thompson produced 8 points
and 8 rebounds for Helix, which also got 6
points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks from Jake Aftreth.
Jacques Alaby and Rodney Hearns had 13 points apiece for Monte Vista.
SANTANA 55, GROSSMONT 51
-- Santana coach Tim
Barry led his new team against
his former team to open the North League season at Grossmont.
"It was a weird feeling,
going back there and sitting on the opposing bench
for the first time in six years," Barry said. "It was
big crowd and very
noisy. My kids could hardly hear me."
In the end Santana's Hayden
Penn was the standout performer. The 6-foot-3
junior scored a game-high 16 points, including 10-for-10 shooting
from the
free throw line.
With the Sultans (5-13) clinging
to a two-point lead and 10 seconds
remaining, senior Michael Bass had a chance to ice the victory.
Bass,
however, missed three consecutive free throws, and Grossmont came
up with the
rebound.
It didn't take long for Bass
to gain a reprieve, as he stole Grossmont's
outlet pass and fired the ball back inside to Penn, who was fouled.
Penn
punched in two free throws with 3.7 seconds left.
"That was a great play
by Bass. That tells you the caliber of athlete he is,"
Barry said. "And Hayden Penn was just awesome. Right before
he shot those
last two free throws, Penn looked at me and said 'Coach, I'm going
to make
'em.'"
Garrett Kerns tossed in 10
points and grabbed a game-high 9 rebounds for
Santana. Guard Chris Mazzi added 10 points, while Jonathon Sturgill
produced
9 points and 7 rebounds.
John Sanders led Grossmont (5-14) with 14 points. Trevor Pike added nine.
CHRISTIAN 65, MADISON 41
-- When Jake Wohlfeil
christened the Patriots'
Harbor League season with a dunk off the opening tip, Christian
coach Curtis
Hofmeister knew it was going to be a good night. Wohlfeil followed
with a
3-pointer seconds later, helping stake Christian (11-4) to a 12-2
lead. The
6-foot-3 sophomore totaled 11 points for the period as the Patriots
pranced
to a 25-13 advantage after 8 minutes.
Wohlfeil had the hot hand all
night as he converted 7-of-9 shots and all
eight of his free throw opportunities en route to a season-scoring
high.
Junior guard Ben Wohlfeil led
the supporting cast with 12 points, 7 rebounds
and 3 assists.
"We played well in the
beginning, and played well in the end," Hofmeister
said, noting that the Patriots claimed a 19-9 fourth-quarter scoring
advantage.
Christian will host Horizon
Tuesday (Jan. 16) at 6:30 p.m. in a battle of Top
10 teams.
EL CAPITAN 70, GRANITE HILLS
57 -- Rob Keller cranked
in 32 points on
13-for-21 shooting from the floor and 8-for-8 accuracy from the
free throw
line to vault the Vaqueros (10-8) to the non-league victory over
the visiting
Eagles (4-14).
Thomas Sutton added 6 points
and 3 assists to El Capitan's ledger, while
Jarrod Boswell pulled down 7 rebounds, blocked 2 shots, made 2
steals and
handed out 2 assists. John Relph chimed in with 7 points, and
Josh Fisher
added 6. Keller had 5 rebounds.
Granite Hills' 1-2 scoring
punch of Brent Genton (27) and Phil Rodriguez (19)
accounted for all but 11 of the Eagles' points. Genton was 9-for-15
shooting,
including 5-for-8 from 3-point range. He also had 5 assists. Rodriguez
rammed
in 13 of 14 free throws, grabbed 6 rebounds and blocked 2 shots.
(01-12-01)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
SAN DIEGO - One of the biggest names in major college basketball was on hand Wednesday night (Jan. 10) at Mount Carmel High.
But Roy Williams, coach of
the 5th-ranked Kansas University Jayhawks, wasn't in North County
to watch the Sundevils (11-6). He was there to scout
Christian High's 6-foot-10 center Moulaye Niang, a junior from
The Republic of Senegal. Apparently this was Kansas' third look
at Niang, as the Jayhawks
scouted him during the National Prep Classic last month.
The Patriots (10-4) rallied
to beat Mount Carmel, 65-45, snapping a three-game losing streak
as Niang contributed 14 points, 10 rebounds and blocked 2
shots.
"We started slowly because we hadn't played in 10 days," Christian coach Curtis Hofmeister said. "And we lost Clint Gerlek, our first post man off the bench, to an injured ankle in pre-game warm-ups."
Things got worse before they got better for the Patriots, as three-point marksman Chris Carter twisted an ankle midway through the second quarter.
"Chris hit a jumper and
then when he came down, somehow rolled his ankle," Hofmeister
said. "He only played about seven minutes. There was a lot
of
swelling. Gerlek is day-to-day, but Carter could be out longer."
Christian outscored Mount Carmel 11-0 during the final minutes of the first half to take a 25-17 lead by intermission.
"We cranked up the pressure
and got them out of sync," Hofmeister said of the Patriots'
ability to overtake the Sundevils. "We can throw a lot of
fresh
legs at you. We want to make people play at an uncomfortable pace.
Up-tempo - that's the style we play best. We don't have to create
steals to make our pressure effective. We want to make the non-decision-makers
make decisions."
In spite of the two injuries, Christian had nine players contribute to the scoring. Butch Paddock came off the bench for 10 points. Guards Ben Wohlfeil and Michael Singleton performed brilliantly at the point, combining for 11 points and 12 assists. Their composite shooting was 5-for-5 and they totaled only two turnovers between them.
Equally as impressive was the defensive job Paddock, Wohlfeil and Singleton did on Mount Carmel's scoring ace Minas Be-Ement, limiting him to four points.
Justin Vanderwerff chipped
in 8 points off the bench, while Jake Wohlfeil had seven and John
Wai six. Michael Jackson grabbed 6 rebounds to go with 4
points.
Christian, which hosts Madison
to open the Harbor League season at 7:30 p.m. on Friday (Jan.
12), shot better than 58 percent (28-for-48) in the rout of
Mount Carmel.
"We showed a lot of patience,
and got a lot of good shots because of it," Hofmeister said.
"The fact that we turned the ball over only eight times didn't
hurt either."
(01-10-01)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
LA MESA - Apparently the West Hills Wolf Pack wasn't impressed by the Helix mystique.
Matched against the hottest team in East County, the Pack was not intimidated by the Highlanders, their No. 4 (San Diego County) ranking, and their eight-game winning streak.
"We knew we were going to war, and the kids laced up their
boots and won the fight," West Hills coach Jeff Armstrong
said following the Wolf Pack's 51-49
upset Tuesday night (Jan. 9) at Helix. "We forced them (the
Highlanders) to try to win the game from the perimeter, and they
came up a bucket short."
Helix (13-4) shot a paltry 30 percent (21-for-69) from the field.
"They packed in a tight zone," Helix coach John Singer said. "We couldn't hit a thing."
The Wolf Pack (11-6), which has won 10 of its last 11, saw the lead change hands four times in the final three minutes.
West Hills' Ricky Zizzo went backdoor for what turned out to be the winning bucket on an assist from Matt Henriksen with 1:22 left. After the layup by Zizzo, which put the Pack up by one, the Highlanders came down court only to have Adam Frye come up with a major steal.
"Adam turned in a rugged effort," Armstrong said. "He played outstanding defense all night, and hauled down 6 rebounds against the much taller Highlanders. That steal he had late in the game was just huge."
After a timeout, West Hills put the ball in the hands of long-ranger C.J. Zimmerlink. The senior guard was fouled and converted 1-of-2 free throws, giving the Pack a two-point lead.
Helix dribbled the ball down court with 15 seconds to play.
Senior point guard Johnny Davis penetrated the West Hills' defense
and kicked the ball out
to wing Tramaine West, who in turn, pulled up and missed a short
jumper.
Helix had two tip opportunities, and the Pack's Henriksen pulled
down the
final rebound as the buzzer sounded.
"They sort of beat us at our own game," Singer said.
"They shot 33 free
throws (making only 16), while we only got 6-of-8.
"You've got to give West Hills credit, but you would have
thought they'd just
won the CIF championship. They must have jumped around for 10
minutes."
Henriksen and Zimmerlink had 12 points apiece to pace the Pack.
The 6-foot-4
Henriksen (aka "Big Hen") went 4-for-5 from the field,
grabbed 7 rebounds and
dished out 7 assists. Colter Jack (C.J.) Zimmerlink was 6-for-8
from the
line, notched 7 assists, made 2 steals, and, as his coach said
"played a
whale of a game."
The unsung hero in the West Hills arsenal continues to be senior
Wes Roys.
The versatile 6-3 performer delivered 9 points, 6 rebounds and
3 steals.
"Wes was playing really well, kept us in the game in the
first half,"
Armstrong said. "He went down in the third quarter, and I
thought we were
done. But the bench really picked us up."
Davis led Helix with 13 points, 3 assists and 2 steals. Stanley
Caldwell
added 12 points, while West garnered 10 points, 2 rebounds and
2 assists.
Tommy Thompson came off the bench for 8 points and 9 rebounds
for the
Highlanders, and Joe McLellan chimed in with 7 points and 5 rebounds.
Jake
Aftreth had a little bit of everything for Helix -- 7 rebounds,
3 assists, 2
steals, 2 blocks and 2 points. His brother Josh Aftreth blocked
3 shots.
"It was an ego knock on us," Singer said. "People
are always shooting for
Helix, but this loss doesn't have any effect on the power ratings.
Hopefully
we can learn something from it."
VALHALLA 48, SANTANA 46 - The lights literally went
out on the Norsemen and
the visiting Sultans with 43 seconds remaining and Valhalla sitting
on a
48-42 lead.
"We had things pretty much under control, and then some
clown in the freshman
team room turned off the lights," Valhalla coach Lenny Schlein
said. "I'm not
sure, but I think that waiting 15 minutes for the lights to come
back on
might have helped them a little. We've got the lead, we're trying
to finish
the game out and then we've got to wait around 15 minutes for
the lights to
cool down and come back on."
It's not that Santana coach Tim Barry thought the delay was
advantageous to
his team.
"We were down by 13 and we clawed our way back to within
five points, when
that freshman kid killed the lights," the Sultans' coach
said. "It broke our
momentum, stopped our run."
Nevertheless, the Sultans (4-13) had their chances to complete the comeback.
A basket by Garrett Kerns shaved the deficit to four. Santana's
Michael Bass
was fouled as he pump-faked from above the 3-point arc with 30
seconds
remaining. Bass connected on two of his three free-throw opportunities
to
pull the Sultans to within 48-46.
"We tried to give it away," Schein said. "We
missed the front end of three
one-and-ones in the fourth quarter."
The Sultans, who forced Valhalla into 24 turnovers, missed
the potentially
tying shot with 10 seconds left, and Valhalla's Danny Sheppard
got the
rebound. He was fouled in the process, but missed the front end
of a bonus
free throw situation to keep the Sultans alive.
Santana, however, missed a Hail Mary shot at the buzzer, enabling
the
Norsemen (8-10) to snap their six-game losing streak.
Aaron Wade, Blake Fowler and Sheppard shared high-point honors
for Valhalla
with 10 apiece.
"Wade stepped into our starting lineup and really played
well," Schlein said.
"He's really helped us."
Hayden Penn paced Santana with 12 points and 6 rebounds. Kerns
added 11
points, while Bass produced 7 points, 5 assists and 3 steals.
Point guard
Chris Mazzi did not have a big night offensively (6 points), but
came through
with 8 assists and 5 steals.
GRANITE HILLS 64, EL CAJON VALLEY 56 - In East County's
battle of Madison
Avenue, the Eagles overcame a 29-24 halftime deficit to dump the
Braves for
their fourth win in their last six starts.
The Eagles (4-13) struggled at the free throw line -- converting
only half of
26 shots -- but clicked on a sizzling 63 percent of shots from
the floor
(22-of-35).
Brent Genton, who scored 14 of his team-leading 26 points in
the second
quarter, was 8-for-12 from the floor and 6-for-7 from the line.
Mohammed Elhabashy led the Eagles' supporting cast with 14
points, including
a trio of 3-pointers. Genton hit four 3's and handed out 3 assists.
The Braves' Anthony "Pooh" Taylor rammed in a game-high
30 points, including
18 in the first half. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound junior center also
corralled a
game-high 14 rebounds. Taylor might have had more points, but
experienced
foul problems much of the second half.
Nate Reed contributed 16 points for the Braves (3-13).
The Eagles, who led by as many as 13 points in the final quarter,
also got 8
points and 5 rebounds from Joe Sesi. Phil Rodriguez added 7 points
and 5
rebounds.
MOUNT MIGUEL 70, GROSSMONT 64 - The Matadors were on
their way to an
apparently easy non-league victory at Grossmont when the roof
caved in during
the fourth quarter.
A three-point bucket by Grossmont's Jesse Long tied the game
at 61-61. The
Matadors moved back on top when Ernie Ballenger knocked down a
pair of free
throws, and never surrendered the lead thereafter.
Alan Aguilar sparked the Matadors' offensive assault with 25
points,
including four 3-pointers and 7-for-7 shooting from the free throw
line.
Aguilar also had 4 assists.
Dominick Foster followed with 16 points, including a pair of
3's and 6-for-9
accuracy from the charity stripe. He also had 5 rebounds and 2
steals. Sean
Gullett added 12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, while
Ballenger
finished with 10 points and 3 rebounds.
One of the unsung heroes for the Matadors was Chris Campbell,
who contributed
in seemingly every category. In addition to 5 points, he dished
out 4
assists, grabbed 4 rebounds, made 2 steals and blocked 2 shots.
For Grossmont (5-13), which defeated Mount Miguel 61-45 in
the San Diego
Christmas Classic last month, Long scored a team-high 19 points,
including
two 3's. Chris Zimmer and Fabian King chimed in with 13 points
apiece.
EL CAPITAN 79, MONTE VISTA 50 - Jarrod Boswell threw
his 6-foot-10
sophomore frame around the Monte Vista gym like he owned the place.
Boswell's numbers were as good as they've been at any point
this season -- 21
points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals.
"We were trying to get in front of him the whole game,"
Monte Vista coach
Zach Peck said of Boswell. "He had a ton of offensive rebounds.
Just killed
us on the boards. Their whole team is so big, they just wore us
down."
Yet somehow the Monarchs were trailing only 36-29 at the half.
The final two
quarters were a different story, as the Vaqueros claimed a 43-21
scoring
advantage over the final 16 minutes.
East County scoring leader Rob Keller cranked out 14 points,
4 rebounds, 2
assists and 2 steals for the Vaqueros (9-8). Matt Grant added
9 points, while
Hugo Enriquez, Mike Clark, and John Relph chipped in with 7 points
apiece.
Enriquez also had 3 steals.
Jacques Alaby led Monte Vista (4-11) with 20 points, and Thomas
Hearns added
nine.
(01-09-01)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
SANTEE - Color the West Hills Wolf Pack ready and waiting for the Helix Highlanders. The showdown between East County's hottest teams takes place Tuesday (Jan. 9) in La Mesa at 5:30 p.m.
Coach Jeff Armstrong's Pack (10-6) used a strong second half to overpower visiting Marian Catholic 69-54 in a nonleague tune-up Saturday night (Jan. 6) at West Hills.
It was the ninth win in the last 10 games for the Wolf Pack. Helix (13-3) has won eight in a row.
C.J. Zimmerlink scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half, as the Wolf Pack outscored the Crusaders 46-30. Three of Zimmerlink's four 3-pointers came in the third quarter. He also had 4 assists.
Matt Henriksen sputtered in the first half, caught fire in the second half, and finished with a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds. He netted 7-of-12 field goals and 10-of-14 free throws.
One of the Pack's unsung heroes, who's name doesn't appear
in the boxscore, is Sam Miller. The sophomore guard provided a
key defensive stop, holding Marian's Lyle Lindsay without a field
goal in the third quarter. Lindsay had 23 points in the game,
but was silenced by Miller when West Hills went on its
offensive tear. Miller took only one shot, but contributed 8 assists.
Armstrong also credited junior Adam Frye for a solid defensive job in the second half. Frye grabbed 5 rebounds (three offensive), and handed out 3 assists.
Not to be overlooked in West Hills' latest conquest was steady Wes Roys. The 6-foot-3 senior rolled a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
TORREY PINES 74, VALHALLA 40 -- The visiting Falcons flew out to a 12-0 lead and the Norsemen countered with an 8-point run of their own, but it didn't take long for Torrey Pines to establish its superiority.
"I think they'll win Division I in CIF," said Valhalla coach Lenny Schlein.
Torrey Pines was sitting on a 40-15 halftime lead, and extended that advantage to 62-28 after three periods.
Although the Norsemen (7-10) lost their sixth game in a row, it wasn't a night of all bad news. Senior Erik Rapolla made his debut at point guard after missing the first six weeks of the season with a football injury.
"For a first game, he looked OK," Schlein said. "He will definitely help us in our (Grossmont South) league season."
Adam Hodges led Valhalla with 14 points against Torrey Pines.
Blake Fowler added 12.
(01-06-01)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
SANTEE -- The Helix Highlanders did not play championship caliber basketball Friday night (Jan. 5) when they hammered Hoover 70-50 in the Cardinals' nest.
"We were a little out of focus," Helix coach John Singer said. "It was more of a pick-up type game, actually. It was sloppy and the officiating was erratic."
Nevertheless, the Highlanders (13-3) were able to extend their East County-best winning streak to nine games.
Johnny Davis led the way with 20 points, clicking on 6-of-11 shots from the floor and all eight of his attempts from the free throw line.
Tommy Thompson chipped in with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Jake Aftreth added 9 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals. Tramaine West tossed in 7 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, made 4 steals and handed out 2 assists.
Willie Relliford had 6 points for Helix, and Joe McLellan added 4 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Ray Toilolo dished out 4 assists, and Josh Aftreth blocked 3 shots and collected 3 rebounds.
Helix had twice as many points as Hoover from the free throw line, as the Highlanders canned 22-of-28 attempts.
MONTE VISTA 49, GROSSMONT 44 - Using a 12-4 third-quarter scoring edge, the Monarchs (4-10) avenged an earlier 8-point loss to the Foothillers (5-12).
"It wasn't a thing of beauty, but it was a win and we'll take it," Monte Vista coach Zach Peck said.
Thomas Hearns led the Monarchs with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Jacques Alaby added a dozen points.
The Monarchs, who have been notoriously poor free throw shooters, connected on 13-of-15 shots from the charity stripe against the Hillers. Monte Vista also shot respectively well from the field, hitting 18-of-42 (43 percent).
"That's pretty good shooting for us," Peck said. "We didn't even attempt a 3-point shot."
Noah Stevens led Grossmont with 13 points, including a pair
of 3-pointers.
Jesse Long added 10 points, and Trevor Pike popped in 9 for the
Hillers.
(01-05-01)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
SANTEE - It was an obvious difference in philosophy when the Helix Highlanders tangled with Chula Vista in Saturday's (Dec. 30) Spartan Christmas Classic.
Coach John Singer's Highlanders were clearly the aggressors, while the Spartans elected to take their shot from long distance.
"We don't live on the 3-point line, like some teams do," Singer said, after Helix clipped host Chula Vista 65-57 to bring home the championship trophy. "Our kids are going to take it to the hole."
And that means drawing fouls. Helix converted 17 of 25 free throws while maintaining superb 49 percent shooting accuracy (23-of-47) from the field.
By taking its offensive stance from above the arc, Chula Vista did not create many opportunities from the free throw line. The Spartans were amazingly only 1-for-1 from the charity stripe on the night.
The Spartans took 24 shots from 3-point range. Six were on target, resulting in 18 points. However, Chula Vista shot only 39 percent overall and lost the battle of the boards 33-23.
"Chula Vista is better than we thought, but we felt like we had control," Singer said. "Our guards are people you have to contend with."
Senior guard Johnny Davis scored 16 points, hitting four of his final five shots on his way to earning Tournament MVP honors.
"He got 12 points in the second half," Singer said. "He can get inside the defense. He's not afraid to pull up or to take it to the hole."
Helix's Tramaine West and Tommy Thompson were also named to
the All-Tournament Team. West finished with a game-high 17 points,
including 6-for-6 shooting from the free throw line. He also grabbed
eight rebounds, made four steals and dished out two assists. Thompson
delivered eight points,
three rebounds and three steals off the bench.
Stanley Caldwell hit 5-of-6 shots for 10 points while collecting six rebounds for Helix. Jake Aftreth also turned in a solid performance, garnering eight points, nine rebounds and five assists.
It was the seventh straight win for the Highlanders (12-3).
"We weren't picked in anybody's preseason Top 10," Singer noted. "Some polls didn't even have us in the "Others receiving votes" section. We've got 12 wins, and we're playing pretty well. I'm proud of these guys."
MONTGOMERY 59, WEST HILLS 48 - Matt Henriksen and C.J. Zimmerlink came up big for the Wolf Pack (9-6) in Saturday's (Dec. 30) championship game of the Aztec Holiday Invitational at Montgomery High. Both players scored 14 points in the title game, and earned berths on the All-Tournament Team.
With the score tied 24-all after one half, the Pack managed a slim 28-25 lead early in the third period on consecutive buckets by Henriksen. But two quick threes - one each by Tournament Co-MVPs James Francisco and point guard Terrance Walker - put Montgomery (7-6) in the lead for good.
The Wolf Pack needed help from the bench, but received only five total points in support of the starters. The defense that the Aztecs threw at West Hills proved to be too much.
"We couldn't get in the paint against their defense," Pack coach Jeff Armstrong said. "We stopped attacking, and they fed off our passive play. We need better effort on the boards. We can't afford to give opponents 19 second-chance opportunities."
Wes Roys, who scored10 points, combined with Henriksen for 17 rebounds.
"The rest of the team tallied only six rebounds, and we also were forced into 20 turnovers," Armstrong added. "Posting those type of numbers versus quality teams, doesn't add up to favorable results."
The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak for West Hills.
LA COSTA CANYON 59, CHRISTIAN 57 - Senior defender-extraordinaire Michael Jackson met one of his biggest challenges in the Patriots' National Prep Classic finale. The 6-foot, 180-pound guard limited LCC's leading scorer, 6-5, 280-pound Joe Toledo to one point the entire game.
"If you would have told me before the game that their leading scorer was only going to go for one point, I would've said we had a good chance to win," Christian coach Curtis Hofmeister said. "Jackson really locked him up - did a good job of knocking the ball away and generally harassing him."
Of course, having 6-10 Moulaye Niang as support made Jackson's job a little bit easier. "It's nice having Niang back there to challenge shots," Hofmeister agreed.
The Patriots (9-4) trailed by eight points with 1:50 to go. Chris Carter ignited Christian's comeback bid with a 3-pointer. Jake Wohlfeil followed with a pair of free throws, and then stole the ensuing inbound pass and scored on a layup.
LCC countered with a bucket and a free throw before Niang hit a jumper to cut the Mavericks' advantage to 59-57 with 16 seconds left.
The combination of Carter passing to Niang clicked again, as the junior center hit a turn-around jumper and appeared to have tied the game. The officials, however, saw it differently. They waived off Niang's basket, saying the buzzer sounded first.
"It was a good call," Hofmeister lamented. "Niang was just a fraction too late."
Jake Wohlfeil had 13 points to lead Christian. His brother Ben Wohlfeil added nine, and Niang settled for eight points and five rebounds.
MOUNT MIGUEL 78, CRAWFORD 47 - The Matadors (6-10) finished off a successful four-day run in the Granite Hills Sportland Holiday Festival with a convincing victory over the Colts.
"We're getting in shape and developing more depth," Mount Miguel coach Jimmy Hurst said after the Matadors won their third game in four decisions. "Basically we're a team of all guards, but we're becoming more interchangeable."
One of the more versatile Matadors is Dominick Foster. The 6-foot junior scored a season-high 25 points against Crawford in a game Mount Miguel dominated from the start.
"Foster is a big key for us because he can play inside and outside," Hurst said. "We think he's as good a shooter as (Sean) Gullett and (Alan) Aguilar."
Foster was on the mark in the opening quarter, as he rolled in 12 points, helping the Matadors to a 20-13 lead.
Later, Foster and Aguilar scored eight points apiece, and Gullett
tossed in
all 10 of his total for the day, during a 31-point third quarter
that turned the game into a rout.
NORWALK 55, VALHALLA 49 (OT) - Senior Aaron Wade had a strong game for the Norsemen with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
"He did a great job," Valhalla coach Lenny Schlein said. "We were playing without Blake (Fowler) and DeShawn (Harris), who were sick. Aaron filled in nicely in their absence. He's a good role player for us."
The Norsemen (7-9) held Norwalk to one point in the third quarter,
and
maintained a four-point advantage with 28 seconds remaining in
regulation.
"We had our chances to put them away, but we missed two
free throws and a
five-footer at the buzzer that would have given us the win,"
Schlein said.
Norwalk scored the first five points in the extra period, and
went on to
secure the Spartan Christmas Classic consolation victory.
"This just goes to show, as quickly as you can win six
straight, you can lose
five in a row," said Schlein, who speaks from experience.
"We lost three of
those games by four points or so. We're not that far off. We're
looking
forward to league."
SOUTH TAHOE 65, SANTANA 49 - Sultans' coach Tim Barry has prescribed a week of R & R for his team, which silenced its critics after going 2-2 in the National Prep Classic.
"Tahoe buried us with their 3-point shooting," Barry
said. "We got down by
20, but cut it back to 10 with 312 minutes to go. We played lethargic
for
three quarters but we made a little run at them down the stretch,
even though
we were obviously tired. To come out of this tourney 2-2 is a
great
experience for these kids."
Michael Bass, Garrett Kerns and Hayden Penn had nine points
apiece to pace
the Sultans (4-12).
SWEETWATER 39, GRANITE HILLS 36 - The Eagles (3-13) shot only 30 percent (12-for-40) and committed 21 turnovers to spoil a sound defensive effort in a Granite Hills Sportland Holiday Festival consolation tilt.
Even the usually reliable Brent Genton showed signs of playing
a fifth game
in as many days. The senior guard was 4-for-17 from the floor,
as he totaled
only 12 points - more than six below his season average.
Senior Phil Rodriguez produced 10 points and 11 rebounds for Granite Hills.
EL MONTE 53, MONTE VISTA 50 - The Monarchs (3-10) fell behind early, but scrambled back to tie the Sundevil Invitational consolation game 34-34 in the third quarter.
El Monte, however, closed the period with an 8-0 scoring run.
The Monarchs
never got closer than two points the rest of the way.
"We didn't shoot the ball very well," Monte Vista
coach Zach Peck said. "We
couldn't make our free throws (hitting just 11-of-24 opportunities)."
Jacques Alaby accounted for half of Monte Vista's points with
25. Thomas
Hearns added nine.
HILLTOP 66, GROSSMONT 30 - The Foothillers (5-11) appeared
to be a weary lot, as they fell behind 16-2 after one quarter
and never recovered on the
final day of the Aztec Holiday Invitational.
"It was never close," Grossmont coach Eric Chappell
said of the tournament's
third-place game. "Our kids have played in two tournaments
during the
holidays. That's a lot of basketball."
John Sanders led Grossmont with 12 points, including 4-4 shooting
from the
free throw line.
EL CAPITAN vs. ESCONDIDO - (at Rancho Bernardo) Cancelled.
The two teams met in the first round of the National Prep Classic
and were
not interested in tangling for a second time in less than a week.
Both squads
were promised a different opponent for the fifth and final day,
but things
didn't work out that way.
The Vaqueros took the day off, and Escondido dropped a 75-67
decision in
triple overtime to El Camino.
(12-30-00)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
SANTEE - Playing in championship games is nothing new for coach John Singer and his Helix Highlanders.
Helix (11-3) upended Eastlake 47-43 in Friday's (Dec. 29) semifinal.
"We kind of have a football mentality - take care of the ball, and play defense," Singer said after his Highlanders whipped Eastlake for their fifth win in a row. "It doesn't take finesse or a whole lot of skill to be a good defensive team. It takes guts. It takes determination. And it takes desire."
Eastlake attempted to beat the Helix defense from long-distance.
The Titans took 23 shots from 3-point range and didn't connect
until the final buzzer of the third quarter. They scored only
nine points, shooting a paltry13 percent
from above the arc.
Senior guard Johnny Davis keyed Helix's offense with a game-high
25 points.
He did much of his damage from the free throw line, where he converted
13-of-15 shots. From the field Davis started slow, missing his
first seven attempts before hitting six of his last nine shots.
"Johnny took over the game in the second half," Singer said.
Tommy Thompson came off the Helix bench for 11 points and eight
rebounds.
Guard Tramaine West chipped in 10 points and grabbed five boards,
while Jake Aftreth collected eight caroms.
"Tommy doesn't like not starting, but he really gives us a boost coming off the bench," Singer said. "He probably plays two-thirds of the game. He was 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, and that was really clutch."
Eastlake (8-3), on the other hand, made only 7-of-19 free throws
in the game.
Helix finished 21-of-27 from the stripe.
SANTANA 39, RED BLUFF 36 - When the Sultans entered
the National Prep Classic, they'd won only two of 12 games. That's
why Santana coach Tim Barry couldn't curb his excitement after
the Sultans held on to defeat Red Bluff
for their second win in three tournament starts.
"To beat the competition that we have in these last two games (including Palos Verde on Thursday, Dec. 28) has put our kids on Cloud 9," Barry beamed.
A 10-2 third quarter enabled the Sultans to take a 33-24 lead into the final quarter against Red Bluff. But Santana's offense stalled during the final eight minutes, and the Spartans shaved the Sultans' lead to 37-36.
"We were trying to take time off the clock, and they started hitting some shots to get back into it," Barry said.
Chris Mazzi hit two free throws with 8 seconds remaining to
seal the victory
for Santana (4-11). Mazzi finished with 12 points, while Jonathan
Sturgill added eight.
MOUNT MIGUEL 80, CENTRAL UNION (El Centro) 48 - When Sean Gullett and Alan Aguilar are clicking, the Matadors (5-10) are hard to handle. Gullet scored 31 points, and Aguilar added 19 as Mount Miguel rolled to a Granite Hills Sportland Holiday Festival victory.
"We can score points. It's a matter of whether we can stop people," Mount Miguel coach Jimmy Hurst said. "We got up on a good night."
The Matadors led 28-7 after one quarter, and never looked back.
"We're starting to come around, starting to jell," Hurst said. "We weren't competing early on, and now we're playing hard."
Gullett and Aguilar had five assists, five rebounds and two
steals apiece.
Chris Campbell collected nine assists and seven rebounds to go
with eight points. Ernie Ballenger grabbed 13 rebounds and made
six steals, while
Dominick Foster produced nine points, eight rebounds and four
steals.
LOS ALAMITOS 53, CHRISTIAN 43 - The Patriots (9-3),
who have been packing a punch against some of high school basketball's
elite teams, couldn't shift into high gear after losing a one-point
decision in double overtime to Long
Beach Jordan on Thursday night (Dec. 28).
"Our whole team was dead-legged from that tough game last night," said Christian coach Curtis Hofmeister, who's team was back on the court at 10 a.m. the following morning in the National Prep Classic at Torrey Pines.
The Griffins from Los Alamitos charged out to a 21-6 lead early in the second quarter. "We closed it down to 37-34 as Josh Paddock had a couple of nice steals, but we just ran out of gas. We couldn't hit a shot."
Normally a team that shoots in the 50 percent range, the Patriots netted only 15-of-45 attempts, and settled for their lowest scoring total of the season.
Jake Wohlfeil was the only Patriot to finish in double figures,
with 12.
Center Moulaye Niang, playing with a deep thigh bruise suffered
in the overtime loss to LBJ, knocked down only eight points, but
collected 11
rebounds and three steals.
WEST HILLS 67, HOOVER 53 - The Wolf Pack (9-5) stretched
its winning streak to eight games, as it clipped the Cardinals
to earn a berth in Saturday's (Dec. 30) Aztec Holiday Invitational
championship game against tournament
host Montgomery.
Trailing 39-38 after three periods against Hoover, West Hills
rode the
long-range shooting of C.J. Zimmerlink to a 29-14 fourth-quarter
scoring
edge, and the victory.
Zimmerlink hit five 3-pointers in the final quarter, and tied
his own school
record with seven in the game. He finished with a game-high 21
points.
Matt Henriksen netted 15 points for the Pack, which also received
a 13-point
effort from Wes Roys. Karl Burris scored seven of his 10 points
in the fourth
quarter.
CANOGA PARK 79, EL CAPITAN 70 - The Vaqueros' Rob Keller found himself in a scoring duel with Canoga Park's Cecil Brown in the National Prep Classic game at Carmel Valley Middle School.
Keller, who totaled only 10 points in his previous game, cashed
in for 33
against the Hunters. The 6-foot-5 senior nailed five 3-pointers,
grabbed
seven rebounds and handed out two assists.
Brown finished with 38 points, including 17-of-21 shooting
from the free
throw line. He was 10-for-10 from the line in the final quarter.
Brown also
had 11 rebounds, five assists and five steals.
The Vaqueros scored 31 points in the fourth quarter, including
15 by Keller,
but they could not overcome Canoga Park's 25-5 third-quarter scoring
burst.
Jarrod Boswell contributed 10 points and seven rebounds for
El Capitan, which
also got six points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks
from Mike
Clark.
MONTGOMERY 59, GROSSMONT 38 - The Foothillers found
out that it's tough to beat the host team in its own tournament,
especially when you aren't
generating much offense. The Hillers put up only 13 points in
the opening
half, which left them 14 points behind Montgomery at intermission
in the
Aztec Holiday Invitational semifinal game.
Although the Foothillers (5-10) won't be playing in Saturday
night's (Dec.
30) championship game at Montgomery, they will have the satisfaction
of
knowing they held Aztecs sharp-shooter James Francisco to 11 points.
The
6-foot-2 Francisco, last year's Metro Conference Player of the
Year, scored
27 points the night before against San Marcos.
John Sanders accounted for 17 points and seven rebounds for
Grossmont, while
Jesse Long added 11 points. Trevor Pike pulled down seven rebounds.
CALEXICO 58, GRANITE HILLS 49 - The Eagles (3-12) were
on their way to a fourth straight victory and a significant upset
of Calexico (9-1), as Brent
Genton shot them into a 33-30 halftime lead of Thursday's (Dec.
29) Granite
Hills Sportland Holiday Festival game.
Genton scored 21 of his game-high 30 points in the opening
two quarters. But
the Bulldogs weren't about to go down without a bite.
"They went into a box-and-one on Brent in the third quarter,"
Granite Hills
assistant coach Randy Anderson said. "That really slowed
us down." Calexico
outscored Granite Hills 20-6 in the period, and that proved to
be the
difference in the game.
Genton, who is averaging more than 18 points a game, included
seven
3-pointers in his totals. Phil Rodriguez added nine points and
seven rebounds
for Granite Hills.
LA JOLLA COUNTRY DAY 43, VALHALLA 40 - Junior Brent
Molden sank four 3-pointers on his way to a season-high 14 points
for Valhalla (7-8). But the
Norsemen couldn't hold a 16-11 halftime lead, as the Torres turned
the
Spartan Christmas Classic game around with a 16-5 scoring edge
in the third
quarter.
All of the LJCD scoring was divided among three players, led
by junior Chris
Robinson's 22 points.
VISTA 64, MONTE VISTA 52 - The Panthers used a 14-7 third quarter to open up a 43-32 lead over the Monarchs (3-9), and never looked back.
Jacques Alaby led Monte Vista with 23 points, while Thomas
Hearns added nine
in the Sundevil Invitational at Mount Carmel.
(12-29-00)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
SANTEE - After submitting to a 57-point loss to El Camino less
than 24 hours
earlier, the Santana Sultans didn't figure to pack the grandstands
for
Thursday's (Dec. 28) National Prep Classic Mayor's Cup Division
game against
powerful Palos Verde.
But those who filed into the San Dieguito Academy gym and stuck
around to the
end probably couldn't believe they were watching the same Santana
team from
the day before.
"It got real quiet," beamed Santana coach Tim Barry
after his Sultans
squeezed out a 76-75 upset victory over the Raiders. "I think
everybody in
the gym was stunned that we beat that team."
Although the Sultans (3-11) led most of the game, they trailed
by nine points
with 2:30 remaining.
That's when Michael Bass took over. The senior leader hit a
3-pointer with
1:03 remaining, pulling the Sultans to within 75-71. Tommy Browning
followed
with a baseline jumper 30 seconds later, shaving the deficit to
two points.
Palos Verde had a chance to put a lock on the game, but failed
to convert at
the free throw line with 5 seconds left. Santana's Hayden Penn
pulled down
the defensive rebound and dribbled the length of the floor.
"Penn did a huge job of boxing out and getting that rebound,"
Barry said. "As
he was dribbling down the floor, I saw Bass get into the open.
It was one of
those times as a coach when you wanted to send a mental message
to the guy
with the ball to make the right choice."
We're talking mind-meld here and it worked.
As Penn approached the top of the key, he fired a pass to Bass,
and Bass sank
a game-winning 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded.
"Hayden did a great job of pulling up strong and making
a perfect pass,"
Barry said. "The whole thing was amazing. I saw Bass come
open and Penn did a
great job of kicking him the ball. It was nothing but net from
there."
Bass finished with 21 points, including four 3-pointers. Point
guard Chris
Mazzi, who missed the final three quarters of the El Camino disaster
due to
illness, appeared to be back at full strength, as he netted 19
points and
dished out four assists. Penn produced 14 points and five rebounds,
while
Jonathon Sturgill added 11 points.
"I know a lot of people won't remember this game for very
long, but to me it
was sort of a minor miracle," Barry concluded.
LONG BEACH JORDAN 79, CHRISTIAN 78 (2 OT) - If coach
Curtis Hofmeister's
Patriots aren't ranked as one of the top five teams in San Diego
County, he
should order an investigation.
The Patriots have already pulled some attention-getting upsets,
and they
narrowly missed a major conquest against Long Beach Jordan in
Thursday's
(Dec. 28) National Prep Classic American Division game.
Jordan eventually escaped with the victory when Ron Banks sank
a pair of free
throws with eight seconds left in the second overtime.
Trailing by 18 points in the third quarter against one of the
most talented
teams in Southern California, the Patriots embarked on a somewhat
improbable
comeback.
"Bucket-by-bucket and free throw-by-free throw we crawled
back in it,"
Hofmeister said.
Christian tied the game 66-all on back-to-back 3-pointers by
the unlikely duo
of Jake Wohlfeil and Michael Singleton in the final minute of
regulation. The
trey was part of Wohlfeil's 15-point total, and Singleton's first
3-pointer
of the season.
LBJ scored on its first three possessions of the initial four-minute
overtime
to lead 72-66. But the Patriots weren't finished, as 6-10 Moulaye
Niang hit a
pair of buckets, and Jake Wohlfeil tacked on two free throws to
send the game
into the second overtime.
Once again Long Beach took command, sitting on a 77-75 lead
with 30 seconds
remaining. That's when Chris Carter turned an out-of-bounds play
into his
only 3-point basket of the game, putting the Patriots on top 78-77.
Christian could not hang on as Banks, who totaled a game-high
30 points,
nailed the winning free throws in the final seconds. The Patriots
(9-2),
however, did not go out without one last gasp.
Ben Wohlfeil uncorked a 35-footer at the buzzer. It was a near-miss,
to be
sure.
"It came off the glass, rattled around the rim, and fell
off," Hofmeister
lamented.
Niang led Christian with 21 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks
before fouling
out in overtime. Michael Jackson chipped in 13 points, while Ben
Wohlfeil and
Singleton each had 10.
WEST HILLS 63, HILLTOP 60 - The Wolf Pack (8-5) reeled
off its seventh
straight win as senior Wes Roys scored a season-high 18 points
in the Aztec
Holiday Invitational at Montgomery High.
The 6-foot-3 Roys, who scored nine points in the first 312
minutes, clicked on
7-of-9 shots from the floor and 4-of-5 free throws. He also garnered
six
rebounds and handed out three assists.
The Pack continued to get quality play out of 6-4 junior Matt
Henriksen, as
he collected 14 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Guard C.J.
Zimmerlink produced 13 points, and stretched his consecutive free
throw
string to 13 with a 4-for-4 effort against Hilltop. Karl Burris
added seven
points and six rebounds for the victors.
West Hills converted 9-of-11 free throws to help hold off Hilltop
in the
final quarter.
HELIX 68, LA JOLLA 49 - The Highlanders became the first
East County boys
team to reach the 10-victory plateau as they vanquished the Vikings
to
advance to Friday's (Dec. 29) semifinals of the Spartan Christmas
Classic.
They will play Eastlake at Chula Vista at 6:45 p.m.
Tramaine West carried the torch for Helix (10-3), pouring in
18 points,
dealing six assists and making four steals. Stanley Caldwell contributed
a
career-high 15 points while grabbing seven rebounds and handing
out two
assists.
La Jolla, which was playing without 6-foot-9 center Henrik
Borgstrom (out
with the flu), resorted to 3-point shooting. It was not a good
trade for the
Vikings, who connected on only 2-of-16 attempts from 3-point range.
Although Helix was outscored 23-6 from the free throw line,
the Highlanders
shot 54 percent from the field (30-for-56), while La Jolla was
accurate on
only 27 percent of 41 shots.
Steady Tommy Thompson scored 14 points and notched five boards
for the
Highlanders, who also got seven assists from Johnny Davis, and
seven rebounds
from Jake Aftreth. Sophomore Ray Toilolo contributed four assists,
while Ryan
San Juan and Davis netted Helix's only 3-pointers of the game.
GRANITE HILLS 59, KOFA (Yuma) 57 - The Eagles won their
third straight game
in the Granite Hills Sportland Holiday Festival, but nearly had
it slip away
in the final seconds.
Granite Hills (3-11) led by six points with a minute to play,
but saw KOFA
convert two turnovers into four points.
"We played well most of the game, but we were fortunate
that we didn't let it
get away from us," Granite Hills coach Jim Gleboff said.
Granite Hills senior guard Brent Genton scored a game-high
24 points,
including 10 during the Eagles' 19-point fourth quarter. His totals
included
four 3-pointers, three assists, and 6-for-6 shooting from the
free throw line.
"Robert Davis and Genton each hit a couple of clutch free
throws for us down
the stretch," Gleboff noted.
Phil Rodriquez added 18 points and five rebounds for Granite Hills.
GROSSMONT 61, EL CENTRO SOUTHWEST 57 (OT) - The Foothillers
(5-9) rallied
from an eight-point first quarter deficit only to blow an eight-point
lead in
the final two minutes of regulation.
Ernie Goff and Sal Rubio scored eight 3-pointers for El Centro,
half of them
coming in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter. Goff, in
fact, tied the
game 51-51 on a long-range bomb with eight seconds left, but failed
to
convert a five-footer at the buzzer that would have given the
Eagles the
Aztec Holiday Invitational victory at Montgomery.
Kris Zimmer spearheaded Grossmont's 10-point overtime drive
by converting
4-of-4 free throws. John Sanders, Noah Stevens and Jesse Long
chipped in two
points apiece to secure the win.
Sanders led Grossmont with 14 points. Stevens added 13, and
Zimmer finished
with 10 points and six assists. Joey Lascurain hauled in a team-leading
12
rebounds, while freshman Tyler Vickers had five. Trevor Pike produced
seven
steals.
EL CAPITAN 67, RED BLUFF 44 - Senior Hugo Enriquez stepped
to the forefront,
equaling his season-high of 14 points as the Vaqueros (8-7) breezed
to a
National Prep Classic Mayor's Cup Division victory.
In a game where scoring ace Rob Keller was bogged down by foul
troubles, some
new faces picked up the slack.
Junior Matt Grant, who did not enter the game until the second
quarter,
ground out a career-high 11 points, dished out six assists, made
three steals
and grabbed two rebounds. Mike Clark collected a team-best nine
rebounds,
while sophomore Jarrod Boswell contributed 10 points, five rebounds
and
blocked four shots.
In perhaps his shortest playing time in any game this season,
Keller still
managed to generate 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and
four steals.
PACIFIC HILLS 54, MOUNT MIGUEL 48 - The Matadors (4-10)
used their edge in
team quickness to take a 17-7 first quarter lead over taller Pacific
Hills in
a Granite Hills Sportland Holiday Festival game.
Pacific Hills' size advantage began to take its toll on the
smaller Matadors
in the second half, however, as the visitors outscored Mount Miguel
32-20 in
the final two quarters.
Sean Gullett paced the Matadors with 16 points, five rebounds
and four
assists. Alan Aguilar added 11 points and two steals, while Chris
Campbell
chipped in with nine points, five assists and four rebounds.
CASTLE PARK 65, MONTE VISTA 62 - Senior Rodney Hearns
had a career day
knocking down 12 field goals and 3-of-4 free throws for a game-high
27 points
for the Monarchs (3-8) in a Sundevil Invitational game at Mount
Carmel.
But he didn't have much help, as Jacques Alaby was the only
other Monarch to
reach double figures, with 16 points.
Castle Park wiped out a 30-26 Monte Vista halftime lead with
a 26-point third
quarter that enabled the Trojans to take a 52-43 lead.
SUTHERLIN (B.C.) 56, VALHALLA 50 - DeShawn Harris hammered
in 16 points, but
it wasn't enough to help the Norsemen (7-7) stave off the invasion
of the
British Columbians in a Spartan Christmas Classic game at Chula
Vista.
Adam Hodges and Danny Sheppard tossed in 10 points apiece for
Valhalla, while
Blake Fowler added nine.
(12-28-00)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff
SAN DIEGO - If Christian had any hanging heads and sad faces following
Tuesday's crushing loss to Carlsbad, it was not evident in Wednesday's
(Dec.
27) opening round of the National Prep Classic, American Division
at San
Dieguito Academy.
The Patriots (9-1) pranced to first-quarter leads of 11-0 and
20-3 and
continued on to a 60-41 victory over Skyline High of Oakland.
"It was important for us to get out of the gate quickly,"
Christian coach
Curtis Hofmeister said after the Patriots dominated their taller
Bay Area
opponents.
"They had excellent size, but they weren't as quick as
I'd thought they'd be.
From a mental aspect, this was really critical for us to bounce
back after
getting flogged the night before. This should help erase the Carlsbad
memory."
Credit Christian senior Michael Jackson for setting the tone.
The 6-foot
guard scored 13 of his season-high 21 points in the opening quarter,
as the
Patriots pushed in front 20-3. Jackson connected on 10-of-11 shots
from the
field while handing out two assists and recording four steals.
"Michael was all over the place," Hofmeister said.
"He scored a couple of
times off the break, hit a couple of jumpers, threw in a three,
and scored
off a follow."
Chris Carter contributed 18 points, half of which came on 3-point
shots. John
Wai contributed eight points off the bench, while Josh Paddock
pulled down
seven rebounds in a reserve role.
It was not the best of days for 6-foot-10 center Moulaye Niang,
who scored
only two buckets, collected six rebounds and four steals in 12
minutes before
fouling out. Point guard Ben Wohlfeil didn't break into the scoring
column
but contributed four assists, four rebounds, and two steals.
Christian's celebration could be short-lived, as the Patriots
will face Long
Beach Jordan at San Dieguito Academy Thursday (Dec. 28) at 5:30
p.m.
HELIX 61, MORSE 44 - The Highlanders (9-3) survived
31 turnovers to topple the Tigers in Wednesday's (Dec. 27) first-
round game of the Spartan
Christmas Classic in Chula Vista.
"We're pretty young so we're gonna make some mistakes,"
Helix coach John
Singer said. "At the beginning of the year I thought we might
be a .500 team,
but the young kids are playing well."
Junior Tramaine West paced the Highlanders with 15 points,
six assists and
three rebounds, while Tommy Thompson racked up 12 points and eight
rebounds.
Jake Aftreth collected nine points and nine rebounds despite missing more than a quarter of the second half after sustaining a gash in his forehead.
"Jake plays with such commitment, has a great passion for the game," Singer said. "He took a shot in the head in the third quarter, and asked to go back into the game in the fourth."
Helix dominated the boards 38-20 and shot 54 percent (25-of-46) from the field. Morse, meanwhile, connected on only 34 percent of 47 shots, including 3-for-18 accuracy from 3-point range.
Guard Johnny Davis added eight points, five rebounds and four assists for the Highlanders, while Ray Toilolo tossed in eight points and dished out four assists.
GROSSMONT 53, SAN MARCOS 51 - The Foothillers' Jesse Long took matters into his own hands in the final seconds of Grossmont's opening game of the 18th Annual Aztec Holiday Invitational at Montgomery High.
The senior guard converted two free throws with 20 seconds left, giving Grossmont (4-9) a 52-51 lead. Nine seconds later Long hit a third free throw to hand the Hillers a two point cushion.
After San Marcos missed a chance to tie, Grossmont's Joe Lascurain grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 0:01 remaining. He missed the first free throw, and Grossmont coach Eric Chappell called timeout.
"I told him to go ahead and miss the second shot because I knew the clock would run out," the coach said.
Grossmont, which trailed 18-6 after the first quarter and 45-33 in the third period, did not enjoy a lead until the final three minutes of the game.
"Our press got us back into the game," Chappell said. "It wore them down, caused some panic and they started turning the ball over."
Long led Grossmont with 20 points and five steals. Fabian King grabbed nine rebounds for the Hillers, who also got eight points from Trevor Pike.
WEST HILLS 85, DESERT VIEW (Tucson, Ariz.) 51 - The Wolf Pack (7-5) jumped out to an early lead as CJ Zimmerlink scored eight of his season-high 28 points in the opening quarter of the Aztec Holiday Invitational at Montgomery High.
Zimmerlink clicked on 11-of-17 shots from the field and converted all four of his free throws. He also had five assists and three steals, despite playing only the first three quarters.
Junior Matt Henriksen turned in another brilliant performance, scoring 20 points on 8-of-10 field goal shooting while hauling down a season-high 16 rebounds (five on the offensive end).
First-year varsity player Bruce Bailey scored a season-high seven points (on 3-of-4 shooting) while corralling five rebounds. Ryan Hamman was perfect from the field, hitting all three of his shots, including a pair of treys, to finish with a personal-best eight points. Wes Roys added four points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
EL CAPITAN 73, USDHS 58 - A dozen Vaqueros contributed to the scoring column, as El Capitan defeated the Dons for the second time this month in a first-round game of the National Prep Classic Mayor's Cup Division.
Rob Keller set the pace for El Capitan (7-7) with 20 points,
six assists, four rebounds and four steals. Scott Deen launched
a season-high 14 points while pulling down five rebounds. Jarrod
Boswell produced eight points, while
Thomas Sutton chipped in with eight rebounds, five points and
five assists.
Hugo Enriquez added five points, four rebounds and four assists.
The foul-filled game featured shoddy free throw shooting - El Cap converted 13-of-30, while USDHS netted 15-of-36. The teams committed 53 turnovers between them.
It could have easily been more one-sided had El Capitan coach Ross Furrow left his starters in the game. The Vaqueros led 64-41 after three quarters, when Furrow flooded the floor with reserves in the final period.
GRANITE HILLS 72, CRAWFORD 55 - After suffering 11 consecutive
losses to begin the season, the Eagles produced their second straight
victory while
avenging an earlier three-point loss to Crawford in the first
round of the Granite Hills Sportland Holiday Festival on Wednesday
(Dec. 27).
Senior guard Brent Genton scored a game-high 21 points for
the Eagles, who
also received 20 points and seven rebounds from Phil Rodriguez.
Robert Davis
chipped in with 10 points and five rebounds, while Joe Sesi added
seven
points and five boards.
"We're starting to have a good time now," said Granite
Hills coach Jim
Gleboff. "The main thing is the kids have stayed really positive."
MOUNT MIGUEL 64, SWEETWATER 53 - The Matadors used a 24-13 second quarter to gain the upper hand in the 8 a.m. opening game of the Granite Hills Sportland Holiday Festival.
Guard Alan Aguilar, who nailed a quartet of 3-pointers, ignited the Mount Miguel rally by pouring in 16 of his team-high 23 points in the second period.
Sean Gullett canned 17 points, grabbed seven rebounds and made
five steals to
lead the supporting cast for Mount Miguel (4-9). Dominic Foster
did not make
a bang with his scoring, but came through with nine rebounds and
six assists,
while Chris Campbell contributed eight points and five assists.
EL CAMINO 90, SANTANA 38 - Senior point guard Chris
Mazzi was battling the flu and that took much of the fight out
of the Sultans (2-11) as the Wildcats registered the rout in the
first round of the National Prep Classic Mayor's
Cup Division game.
"It's amazing to see how much one player can be missed,"
Santana coach Tim
Barry said. "Mazzi played the first quarter and we led 15-11
until El Camino
hit a three(-pointer) and then turned a steal into a layup in
the final
minute to take a 17-14 lead."
Mazzi participated only six minutes of the remainder of the
game as El Camino
won going away.
TORRANCE 64, MONTE VISTA 37 - The Monarchs (3-7) were
no match for the visiting Tartars from Torrance, as they suffered
the lopsided loss in the
opening round of the Sundevil Invitational at Mount Carmel. The
Tartars built
a 37-17 halftime bulge and never looked back.
Rodney Hearns, who played little more than half the game, led Monte Vista with nine points. Jake Barno and Jacques Alaby added six points apiece, while sophomore Aaron Roberts ripped off a team-high seven rebounds.
SAN PASQUAL 60, VALHALLA 23 - The Norsemen (7-6) came
out flat and never could inflate their offense as they succumbed
to the Golden Eagles in the
opening round of the Spartan Christmas Classic at Chula Vista.
Blake Fowler
and Adam Hodges led the meager Valhalla attack with six points
apiece.
(12-27-00)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
SAN DIEGO - The El Capitan Vaqueros lost a long-range shooting contest to the Escondido Cougars 69-63 Tuesday night (Dec. 26) at Torrey Pines High.
The Cougars canned nine 3-pointers, including six by Chris Nelson, while El Capitan (6-7) was limited to a single trey. Nevertheless, the Vaqueros didn't fall out of contention until the final seconds.
"We kept coming back," El Capitan coach Ross Furrow said. "It was still a 4-point game, with five seconds to go."
Rob Keller paced El Capitan with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and
four assists.
Thomas Sutton added 10 points and nine rebounds, while 6-foot-10
Jarrod
Boswell collected 10 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks.
"We beat the teams we're supposed to beat," Furrow
said. "But we've lost to
some teams that we can beat."
El Capitan has struggled without point guard Danny Furrow in
the lineup most
of the season. The 5-foot-7 senior suffered a broken right hand
four weeks
before the start of the season. He returned to the lineup for
the first time
on Dec. 22 at Valhalla, but played sparingly.
"Danny fell in the game against Valhalla, and hurt his
left wrist," Coach
Furrow said. "And then he sprained it again tonight. He's
a little sore, but
I think he's going to be alright."
CARLSBAD 70, CHRISTIAN 46 - The unbeaten Patriots started
fast, springing out to a 17-7 lead over the defending SD-CIF Division
I champions from
Carlsbad. But it didn't take the Lancers (10-1) long to establish
supremacy.
"Carlsbad is the best team we've played, by far,"
Christian coach Curtis
Hofmeister said after seeing his Patriots lose for the first time
in nine
starts this season. "We came out and took our best punch
at them, but they
are so resilient that they just came right back."
Carlsbad outscored Christian 43-16 in the middle two quarters
to win going
away.
"They put a real premium on guarding the basket,"
Hofmeister said of the
Lancers. "They were much more active than we were. They made
their own breaks
and caused some of our guys to try to take the game into their
own hands.
This is not a team you want to try to go one-on-one against. They
are quick
to the ball, and do a great job of playing "help" defense."
Christian did not have a player finish in double scoring digits.
Guard Ben
Wohlfeil led the way with nine points, Chris Carter had eight,
and 6-foot-10
Moulaye Niang added eight points (all in the first half), 12 rebounds
and two
blocks. Clint Gerlek chipped in with seven points, and Michael
Jackson
contributed six.
Carlsbad sharp-shooting guard Derek Stockalper scored 17 of
his game-high 19
points in the middle two quarters.
(12-26-00)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
SANTEE - When the Grossmont Conference coaches were drawing up their preseason prospectus, Helix and Santana were at the opposite ends of the spectrum. The Highlanders were among the elite, while the Sultans, under new coach Tim Barry, were plotting some upsets.
Credit Santana for a near-miss Friday night (Dec. 22), when the Highlanders paid their annual visit to Santee.
"We almost pulled off the big upset," said Barry after Helix escaped with a 68-65 victory. "I don't think I have ever used the term 'moral victory,' but it's amazing to go into the locker room where kids who are 2-10 are pumped up. Not bad to be where we are now, compared to where we started. We just need to win one or two games and we could really put some confidence in ourselves going into league play.
"It's important that we not only play good, sound, fundamental basketball, but that we also learn how to win.
Helix coach John Singer credited Santana senior Chris Mazzi for keeping the Sultans in the game.
"We couldn't stop Mazzi from going to the hole," Singer said. "He's a savvy kid, a three-year starter. He tore us up. We tried to stop him with three different kids, but he kept getting inside. He got great penetration."
Mazzi, a 5-9 senior, totaled 16 points and seven assists for
the Sultans.
Michael Bass banged in 17, while Hayden Penn produced 12 points,
all in the second quarter, and Garrett Kerns cashed in 11.
"Penn flat took it to the rack, fighting for rebounds," Barry said of the 6-foot-3 junior. "I believe we hurt Helix with pressure. Johnny Davis did a wonderful job of calming his team down, but when the ball wasn't in his hands, it really worked to our advantage."
Senior Jake Aftreth led Helix with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Aftreth was only 3-for-6 from the free throw line on Friday, but has made 33 of his last 37 over the last six games.
"The kid's been sick all week, has a sore toe, and he still goes out and plays hard," Singer said.
Tramaine West tossed in 15 points, handed out six assists,
grabbed five rebounds, and made four steals for Helix (8-3). Tommy
Thompson chipped in 12
points and seven rebounds, while Johnny Davis notched nine points,
four rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Helix shot 43 percent from the field (25-for-58), but made only one of a dozen three-point tries. Bass buried a trio of 3-pointers for Santana, which shot 52 percent overall (22-for-42).
"We missed the front end of a couple of one-and-ones in the first quarter," Barry lamented. "Actually free throws hurt both sides, but overall this is a big confidence builder for my kids. We played them pretty straight up, did a good job of not panicking. Sometimes when you get behind, there is a sense of 'duck and chuck.' But we fought back from 11 down in the fourth quarter.
"Even if we don't have a tremendous season, we are setting the tone for the future."
Bass' three-point shot with 1:48 in the first put Santana up 12-11, but baskets by Thompson and Patine Otah, helped the visitors 16-12 advantage at the end of the quarter.
Bass hit another trey with 1:03 left in the second to give the hosts a 27-26 edge, but two free throws by Thompson, and a steal and layup by West, put Helix up 30-27 at the half.
Helix opened the second half with a 22-13 run.
"We worked really hard tonight," said Aftreth. "It
was a great team effort to come in here and get a win. Santana
played hard, but we need to focus more on our defense. We didn't
play defensively as well as we should have."
MONTE VISTA 77, EL CAJON VALLEY 76 (OT) - The visiting
Braves were seconds away from spoiling Monte Vista's home opener
after sophomore Nate Reed hit a 3-point bomb with 0:06 left in
overtime to give El Cajon Valley a 76-75 lead.
But Monte Vista's Jacques Alaby drove the length of the court
only to miss a layup. Fortunately for Alaby and the Monarchs (3-6),
Rodney Hearns was there for the offensive rebound and a game-winning
putback as the buzzer sounded.
It was obviously the most important of Hearns' game-high 17 rebounds.
"It was a classic spectator game - back-and-forth all night," said Monte Vista coach Zach Peck. "Reed and (Jarrod) Lott shot some pretty incredible 3's and hit some of the longest shots I've ever seen. I thought they had us when Reed launched that last 3-pointer with 6 seconds to go (in overtime)."
El Cajon Valley totaled nine 3-pointers in the game. Reed had four treys on his way to a 25-point night, while Lott had five as part of his 19 points.
Scott Crabtree scored a game-high and career-best 27 points, while grabbing 10 rebounds for Monte Vista. Alaby finished with 21 points, while Hearns served up 16.
The Braves (4-11), who overcame an 18-10 first-quarter deficit to lead through much of the second half, looked as if they were going to win the four-minute overtime battle. El Cajon scored the first five points in the extra stanza, but couldn't maintain the momentum.
Reed scored eight points in the overtime, while Crabtree led Monte Vista with six in the OT, Alaby chipped in five points, and Hearns had four.
Perhaps the key ingredient to Monte Vista's win was the fact that the Monarchs were a combined 11-for-11 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and overtime.
WEST HILLS 68, MOUNT MIGUEL 64 - Baskets by Matt Henriksen and C.J. Zimmerlink in the final 10 seconds secured the victory for the visiting Wolf Pack (6-5). Henriksen scored off a pass from Wes Roys, and Zimmerlink sealed the win on a pass from Ricky Zizzo at the buzzer.
Zimmerlink paced the Pack with 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting. The 6-1 senior guard also had six assists and two steals, while Henriksen, a 6-5 junior, netted 13 points on 6-for-12 accuracy. Henriksen also had eight rebounds, five steals, and three assists.
Roys, who was 5-for-9 from the floor, collected 14 points, three rebounds, and three assists.
Mount Miguel (3-9) was led by Sean Gullett's 28 points, 13 rebounds, and five steals. He also drilled in a trio of 3-pointers. Alan Aguilar was 5-for-5 from the free throw line and finished with nine points.
Dominick Foster scored eight points and hauled down eight rebounds for the Matadors.
"Mount Miguel had 25 offensive boards, and out-rebounded us 2-1," West Hills coach Jeff Armstrong said. "We had a hard time matching up against Gullett, who kept slashing through our defense. It was a great ballgame - a nice one to win."
GRANITE HILLS 55, GROSSMONT 43 - The Eagles snapped an 11-game losing streak with their first win of the season, as Brent Genton led the way with 20 points. The senior guard included a trio of 3-pointers and six assists in his totals.
Six-foot-4 senior Phil Rodriguez corralled 12 rebounds and tossed in seven points, while Joe Sesi chipped in 11 points and five rebounds for Granite Hills. Junior guard Robert Davis, making a rare start, spearheaded the Eagles' defense with four steals.
"We went with a smaller, quicker lineup, and it made our defense a little more effective than it has been," said Granite Hills assistant coach Randy Anderson.
It was a long night for the Foothillers (3-9), who connected on only 11-of-46 shots (24 percent) from the field. Granite Hills, meanwhile, made twice as many field goals (22-for-53), shooting 42 percent from the floor.
Trevor Pike and Johnny Sanders led Grossmont with 11 points apiece.
EL CAPITAN 65, VALHALLA 41 - Apparently the visiting Vaqueros weren't impressed with Valhalla's six-game winning streak.
El Capitan (6-6) jumped out to an 18-6 first-quarter lead,
enjoyed a 31-17 halftime edge, and broke the game open when Rob
Keller scored the first eight
points of the third period.
Keller, who is averaging 20 points per game, finished with a game-high 22 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals against the Norsemen. He was definitely the driving force, scoring 10 of his points in the opening quarter.
Sophomore Jarrod Boswell chipped in nine points, six rebounds
and three blocks, while junior John Relph added a season-high
nine points for El Cap.
Josh Fisher contributed seven points, seven rebounds and three
steals.
No one reached double scoring digits for Valhalla (7-5), but
Deshawn Harris collected nine rebounds, blocked five shots, and
made three steals for the Norsemen. Adam Hodges grabbed 10 rebounds
and shared team-high scoring honors of seven points with Blake
Fowler.
(12-22-00)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
CORONADO - El Cajon Valley's second-year head coach Mike Raney admits that his Braves are an improved basketball team this season.
But one of the team mottos is "Close is not good enough."
"We're a pretty good come-from-behind team, but we need
to play a more complete game," Raney said Thursday night
(Dec. 21) after the visiting Braves
dropped a 62-55 non-league game to the Islanders at Coronado.
Sophomore Nate Reed scored 19 of his team-high 21 points in
the final two quarters, as the Braves attempted to overcome a
32-24 halftime deficit.
Junior guard Alex Bates scored all seven of his points in the
fourth quarter, as El Cajon outscored Coronado in the final eight
minutes.
Meanwhile, Anthony Taylor scored 10 of his 12 points in the
opening half.
Jarrod Lott contributed 11 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.
Reed nailed a team-best four treys.
"With a little luck, we could be 9-5 instead of 4-10,"
Raney said. "Of our 14 games, we've been in nine of them
until the end. We took our lumps against teams like Helix, Rancho
Bernardo, Christian, and Rancho Buena Vista."
(12-21-00)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
EL CAJON - Valhalla coach Lenny Schlein has never had one of his teams reel off six consecutive victories - until this week.
Valhalla (7-4) is one of only two of the 10 Grossmont Conference teams that can brag about having a winning record this season.
"The thing about our kids is they've become real comfortable
playing in close games," said Schlein, the Norsemen's third-year
head coach. "We kind of blew
it at the end of the game against El Cajon, but give our kids
credit for regrouping in the overtime. They found a way to win."
Indeed. After squandering a nine-point lead in the final 3:30 of regulation, the Norsemen used a baseline jumper by Brian Tarpy and 8-for-12 shooting from the free throw line during the four-minute overtime to claim a 64-58 victory.
After Tarpy's basket gave the Norsemen the lead in the opening minute of the extra stanza, Blake Fowler hit 4-of-6 free throws, Danny Sheppard went 2-for-2, and Aaron Wade and Tommy Hanna each went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe.
"We're going to have a lot of close games this year," El Cajon Valley coach Mike Raney said. "We've just got to get used to winning them."
El Cajon Valley (4-8) forced overtime by scoring the final 10 points of the fourth quarter. Alex Bates capped the Braves' dramatic rally with a game-tying layup with 13 seconds to play.
Fowler was a triple threat for Valhalla with 15 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. Sheppard added 12 points for the Norsemen, who are only one victory short of last year's total of eight in 25 decisions. Hanna and Adam Hodges contributed nine points apiece for Valhalla.
Jarrod Lott led El Cajon Valley with 21 points, including a quartet of 3-pointers. Nate Reed, who converted three free throws in the final second of the third quarter, totaled 18 points, including a trio of 3's for the night.
The Braves' Anthony Taylor, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound center fondly known to his teammates as "the chairman of the boards," grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds.
Mount Miguel 57, Santana 55 - Mount Miguel junior Dominic Foster was a nonentity in the first half, going scoreless as Santana led 30-26 at intermission.
In the second half, however, Foster was the key ingredient to the Matadors' victory. After tying the game on a layup, Foster netted two free throws with 20 seconds left to give Mount Miguel (3-8) the win.
Foster finished with a team-high 14 points, including a pair
of 3-pointers.
Sean Gullett rang up 13 points, 10 of them coming in the second
quarter. Alan Aguilar also hit a pair of 3's en route to an eight-point
night for Mount Miguel.
"It's hard to be happy after a loss," Santana coach Tim Barry said. "But we're still trying to learn how to win the close game."
Barry's Sultans had plenty of opportunities against Mount Miguel. With 42 seconds left, Santana had a chance to add to a two-point lead, but missed a double bonus from the free throw line. Then Foster tied it with his layup.
"We got the ball and spread out the floor for a last shot," Barry said of Santana's strategy. "Then one of our guys shoots a 15-footer and misses with 25 seconds to go."
After Mount Miguel came away with the rebound, Foster eventually gave the Matadors the winning margin with his clutch free throws.
"We still had a chance," Barry lamented. "We got the ball inside, but missed a 4-footer It's disappointing in that we played so well most of the game.
"We came out and showed no fear, took a 6-0 lead, and pressured them into 20 turnovers," Barry said. "We played them tough and we cut off the penetration, but they did such a good job of kicking it back outside."
Mount Miguel produced four 3-pointers in the third quarter to take a 48-44 lead.
Chris Mazzi scored a game-high 18 points (12 in the second half) and corralled six rebounds to lead the Sultans (2-9). Garrett Kerns cashed in 11 points, and senior Michael Bass contributed eight points, eight assists, and three steals.
West Hills 71, Granite Hills 41 - West Hills coach Jeff Armstrong could see that sophomore Sam Miller had a fine shooting form. What the veteran mentor couldn't understand was why Miller's shooting percentage wasn't among the best on the team.
Suddenly Miller found the range, hitting eight of 11 shots in his last two games. "He just got contact lenses, and it sure has made a difference," Armstrong noted. "Sam is going to be a real good one. He's very aggressive with the ball and provides us with great leadership."
Miller, who finished with seven points, was no solo act against the Eagles (0-11). Junior Matt Henriksen converted 9-of-14 shots and 3-of-4 free throws for 21 points.
A surprise contributor to West Hills' latest success was Karl Burris. The 6-foot-2 senior, who joined the starting lineup tonight, clicked on 4-of-7 shots from the floor, including two dunks off steals. In addition to the eight points, Burris also had five rebounds, two assists and three steals.
Senior guard C.J. Zimmerlink put the clamps on Granite Hills sharp-shooter Brent Genton, limiting him to three 3-pointers and a total of 10 points.
Phil Rodriguez led the Eagles with 11 points, but Granite Hills was never in the game due to 25 turnovers.
The Wolf Pack (5-5) meanwhile, shot 47 percent from the floor (30-for-64) and 85 percent from the free throw line (11-for-13).
Helix 69, El Capitan 52 - Tramaine West scored the first eight points of the third quarter to help the visiting Highlanders (7-3) erase a 28-25 halftime deficit. West, who finished with 15 points in the game, also handed out five assists.
"West and (Johnny) Davis were doing a nice job of dishing the ball off the dribble," said Helix assistant coach Pat Kelly.
Senior Jake Aftreth was one who benefited most by the pinpoint passing, finishing with a career-high 20 points. Tommy Thompson rolled in 13 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Davis finished with 11 points, five rebounds, and six assists as Helix outscored El Capitan (5-6) 44-24 in the second half. The third quarter was the most pivotal, as the Highlanders outscored El Cap 25-14 on the strength of West's 13 points.
Aftreth was 7-for-7 from the free throw line, and has converted 27 of his last 28 charity shots over the past four games.
Rob Keller led El Capitan with a game-high 25 points. Josh Fisher added nine points and seven rebounds, while Jarrod Boswell had eight points, five rebounds, and three blocks.
Grossmont 55, Monte Vista 47 - The Foothillers (3-8) made a simple defensive adjustment to swing things in their favor against the visiting Monarchs (2-6).
"We tried to press them early, and they got some easy transition baskets," Grossmont coach Eric Chappell said. "So we got out of our man defense and went into a zone. We pulled into the lead after Noah Stevens and Jesse Long each hit a couple of 3's to help us pull away (in a 19-6 second quarter)."
Junior John Sanders paced Grossmont with 18 points and 12 rebounds,
while freshman Tyler Vickers chipped in with 11 points, and Joey
Lascurain notched
eight.
Monte Vista (2-6), which will play its first home game of the
season when it hosts El Cajon Valley on Friday (Dec. 22), was
led by Jacques Alaby's 16 points and four assists. Rodney Hearns
added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Monarchs.
(12-20-00)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
LAKESIDE - Six-foot-10 sophomore center Jarrod Boswell had perhaps his finest game of the season for the El Capitan Vaqueros (5-5), as he scored 16 points, hauled down 14 rebounds, blocked six shots, and recorded two steals in an 86-72 Grossmont Conference crossover victory over Mount Miguel Monday (Dec. 18).
Senior Rob Keller was on sound footing as well, as he pumped in a game-high 29 points, snared nine rebounds, and handed out six assists for El Capitan. Josh Fisher (17 points) and Scott Deen (12 points) also reached double figures in the scoring column. Fisher included two 3's in his totals, while Keller hit one shot from above the arc. Deen also came down with eight rebounds, while Mike Clark blocked three shots.
After an indirect technical gave El Capitan a 1-0 lead to start the game, the Matadors answered back with 10 consecutive points to lead 10-1 three minutes into the game.
Keller rallied the Vaqueros by scoring 15 points in the second quarter as El Capitan moved on top 41-39 by intermission.
Although Keller got into quick foul trouble early in the third quarter, Boswell stepped up to score eight points in that period as El Cap took a 66-58 advantage. Josh Fisher tossed in a pair of 3-pointers to support Boswell's surge.
Mount Miguel (2-8) seemed to enjoy the fast pace, but faltered on the defensive end. Offensively, though, Sean Gullett led the Matadors with 17 points, while sophomore point guard Courtland Camper scored a career-high 16.
Chris Campbell contributed 12 points for Mount Miguel in the losing cause.
VALHALLA 65, GROSSMONT 44 - Watch out for the Valhalla Norsemen. It would have been easy to write off the Norsemen after they opened the season with four straight losses.
But now that Valhalla has won five games in succession, coach Lenny Schlein's crew has raised a few eyebrows.
Defense was the Norsemen's ticket to victory at Grossmont. The Foothillers had won two games in the Sultan Tipoff Classic, but were out-classed by the visiting Norsemen in the Grossmont Conference crossover opener.
Blake Fowler cranked in 23 points, grabbed eight rebounds, handed out six assists, and made two steals to lead the way for the Norsemen.
"We got four layups late in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter, which put the game away," Schlein said. "And then we did a great job of holding them to only two field goals in the last quarter."
On the offensive side, 10 Valhalla players contributed to the scoring.
Jesse Long and Kris Zimmer had 11 points apiece to lead Grossmont.
SANTANA 69, GRANITE HILLS 66 - Two of East County's hungriest teams engaged in an offensive shoot-out, won by the Sultans in Santee.
The Sultans (2-8) survived foul difficulties and a 3-point shooting onslaught by the Eagles (0-10).
Granite Hills was leading by 11 points with four minutes to play, when the Sultans turned the game around.
"We play an aggressive, pressing style of defense, and that hurt us because they called us for 16 fouls in the first half," Santana coach Tim Barry said. "We had three of our starters on the bench for the final six minutes of the first half. We haven,t grasped the concept of our press. We're running over people and doing too much reaching."
Not surprisingly, the Eagles led 30-28 at intermission. The Eagles extended their advantage to 51-46 after three quarters, and got off to a quick start in the final period in hopes of breaking into the win column.
"We started hurting them with our press," said Barry, noting that Granite Hills turned the ball over 28 times. Chris Mazzi and Jonathon Sturgill notched six steals apiece for Santana.
Mazzi converted many of his steals into buckets, as he finished with a team-leading 19 points. Michael Bass added 12 points, and Sturgill had 11. Garrett Kerns tossed in 10 points.
Granite Hills, which connected for 10 3-pointers, was once again paced by Brent Genton, who dropped in six 3's. The senior guard totaled 24 points, while Mohammed Elhabashy added 10 points.
WEST HILLS 60, MONTE VISTA 29 - The Wolf Pack (4-5) turned in the finest defensive effort in school history, as they held the Monarchs (2-5) to a record low 29 points, including 16 through the first three quarters.
"We put a new five in every four minutes," West Hills coach Jeff Armstrong said. "It seemed to work out pretty well.
Sophomore Sam Miller led a balanced West Hills offense with 11 points. Wes Roys and C.J. Zimmerlink added eight points apiece, while Karl Burris chipped in with seven.
Rodney Hearns paced Monte Vista with eight points.
The previous low watermark for West Hills defensive effort was 36 against El Cajon Valley three years ago.
HELIX 90, EL CAJON VALLEY 59 - After losing two out of three at the Red Bluff Invitational over the weekend, the Highlanders (5-3) came out on the dead run at El Cajon Valley.
Seemingly venting their frustrations for the lost weekend, the Highlanders scored 54 points in the first half, and never looked back.
Ten Highlanders contributed to the scoring parade led by Tramaine West,s career-high 20 points. Guard Johnny Davis dumped in 14 points, while Tommy Thompson chipped in with 12 points and seven rebounds.
The Aftreth brothers, twins Josh and Jake, responded with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Jarrod Lott and Anthony Taylor led El Cajon Valley (4-7) with
16 and 15 points, respectively. Lott and Taylor included two 3-pointers
each in their scoring totals.
(12-18-00)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
ECS.com staff report
SAN DIEGO - No matter how many giants they slay, and victories
they accumulate, Christian High's achievements seem to always
undergo an
extraordinary amount of scrutiny.
"There's always going to be people who think since we're
a small school (of 330 students), that we really couldn't be that
good," Christian coach Curtis
Hofmeister said. "Well, we've played some playoff-caliber
teams and I think we've done alright. We're playing some of the
best people, and our kids have shown that they can - and love
to - compete."
Christian scaled one of its tallest mountains in Saturday's (Dec. 16) championship game of the 54th annual Kiwanis Tournament at USD's Jenny Craig Pavillion.
Sure, the Patriots had beaten several of the North County elite, but this was talent-laden San Diego they were lining up against for the Kiwanis crown.
Tell the trophy engraver to spell champion C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N, as the Patriots polished off the favored Cavers 57-53 for their eighth victory without a loss.
"We got up on them 8-2 early, and that got the crowd into it a little bit," Hofmeister said. "We put a stamp on it, showing them (the Cavers) that we didn't come here to pick up the second-place trophy."
Christian led 18-9 after one quarter, and 44-30 after three periods.
"We broke their press pretty well and we hit our shots,"
Hofmeister said. "(Guard Chris) Carter hit four 3's in the
first half, and (point guard Ben) Wohlfeil scored nine points
from the outside in the first half, and that
forced them to extend a little bit."
Wohlfeil, who finished with a season-high 14 points, also used his 5-foot-11 frame to grab a dozen rebounds amongst a field of giants.
"Without a doubt, that was Ben's best game," said
Hofmeister. "He did a great job on the point. He knew when
to run, and he knew when to turn it down. He
did a terrific job, and deserved to be named to the all-tournament
team."
Wohlfeil was one of three Christian players to earn all-tournament
berths.
Six-foot-10 center Moulaye Niang, who earned an all-tournament
spot, was dogged by foul trouble in the championship tilt, and
was limited to six
points and six rebounds in 19 minutes of play.
Carter, who canned a team-leading 15 points, was also named to the all-tournament team.
As pleased as he was with his starting five, Hofmeister was quick to praise his reserves. "Our bench was terrific. I'm talking about John Wai (eight points), and Clint Gerlek, who did a great job on the defensive end.
Christian will take the holidays off until it faces off against top-ranked Carlsbad on Tuesday, Dec. 26 at Torrey Pines.
VALHALLA 57, MADISON 54 - The Norsemen won the mythical Kiwanis Tournament championship of the round robin bracket with their fourth victory in as many outings.
"I don't know if it's a championship or not, but we're going to count it that way," Valhalla coach Lenny Schlein said.
Madison broke a 50-50 tie on a 3-pointer by Maurice Mason with
50 seconds remaining. Valhalla countered with a bucket by Danny
Sheppard. The Norsemen
then stole the inbounds pass, and that led to a DeShawn Harris
layup, putting Valhalla in the lead by one. Harris then sealed
the victory with a pair of free thrown in the waning seconds.
Blake Fowler, who was named to the All-Kiwanis Tournament Team,
produced 13 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists. Sheppard led
Valhalla (5-4) with 16
points and seven rebounds, while Harris finished with 11 points.
USDHS 80, MOUNT MIGUEL 77 - Anthony Stabile continued his bid for the county scoring lead, nailing seven 3-pointers and totaling 30 points for the night, as the Dons nipped the Matadors.
"That guy was shooting from way outside," Mount Miguel
coach Jimmy Hurst said. "And he hit four of those 3's in
the fourth quarter (as the Dons
outscored the Matadors 27-21)."
Four Matadors finished in double-scoring digits. Sean Gullett had 21 points and six rebounds, Alan Aguilar added 16 points, Anthony Cox collected 12 points, four assists, and two steals, while Chris Campbell contributed 11 points, six rebounds, and three steals.
"We pressed and trapped all over the place, and that got our kids to play hard," Hurst said. "Why not gamble and speed the process up? We were more aggressive by getting the ball to the hole and drawing more fouls (making 12-of-21 free throws)."
EL CAPITAN 70, POWAY 57 - The Vaqueros (4-5) saved their best performance in the San Diego Christmas Classic to defeat one of the county's elite teams.
Rob Keller turned in a solid effort for El Capitan with 18 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Mike Clark and Jarrod Boswell dominated inside, pulling down a dozen rebounds apiece. The 6-foot-10 Boswell also blocked five shots and scored eight points.
Hugo Enriquez canned a trio of 3's for nine points, and handed out four assists. Josh Fisher had seven points, five assists, and two steals for El Capitan.
WEST HILLS 59, BRAWLEY 55 - The Wolf Pack jumped out to an 18-9 lead over Brawley's Wildcats, and then held on for the Kiwanis Tournament consolation victory.
Matt Henriksen had 15 points and eight rebounds to pace the
Pack (3-5), while Wes Roys chipped in 13 points and seven rebounds.
C.J. Zimmerlink tossed in
nine points, and Sam Miller dished out five assists and scored
eight points.
"We're happy to get two wins in a row," West Hills coach Jeff Armstrong said. "We have a lot of kids who can contribute. It's just a matter of finding the right combination."
HELIX 61, ENTERPRISE (Redding) 54 - The Highlanders
salvaged one victory during the three-day Red Bluff Invitational
as they collected the seventh
place trophy by defeating Enterprise High.
Johnny Davis paved the way for Helix (5-3) with 19 points. Jake Aftreth added 13, and Tramaine West contributed seven.
LA JOLLA 53, GROSSMONT 33 - After winning two in a row,
the Foothillers (2-7) stumbled out of the gate and fell behind
La Jolla 18-4 after one
quarter in the San Diego Christmas Classic consolation championship
game.
Grossmont shaved the deficit by five points in the second quarter, but the Vikings broke it open with a 21-8 scoring burst in the third period.
Noah Stevens was the only Grossmont player to reach double figures, with 13 points.
CRAWFORD 72, GRANITE HILLS 68 - The Eagles (0-9) flew out to one of their best starts of the season with a 23-13 first quarter lead over Crawford in a Kiwanis Tournament consolation game. But the Colts climbed back into the saddle in the second quarter to take a 42-36 halftime advantage.
The Eagles scrambled back to lead 53-52 after three periods, only to wilt down the stretch. Brett Genton knocked down a game-high 23 points for Granite Hills.
CASTLE PARK 59, SANTANA 54 - Michael Bass scored 15
points, including a trio of 3-pointers, but the Sultans couldn't
maintain a 31-28 halftime lead. Chris Mazzi added 11 points for
Santana (1-8) in the final round of the San Diego Christmas Classic.
(12-16-00)
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SANTEE - The undefeated Christian High Patriots will face their biggest challenge of the season to date when they engage the San Diego High Cavers for the Kiwanis Tournament championship Saturday (Dec. 16) at the University of San Diego's Jenny Craig Pavillion at 8 p.m.
"San Diego (6-1) has as talented 10 guys as anybody in town," Christian coach Curtis Hofmeister said. "They are so quick, and they have a tremendous shot blocker (Shamire Shire). We have to bring our "A" game to stand any chance of beating those guys."
Christian (7-0) warmed up for the title bout by dismantling San Pasqual 69-49 Friday night.
Despite turning the ball over 13 times, the Patriots led 22-17
at halftime.
"When you consider how many turnovers we made, and note that
we missed six layups, it's hard to believe that we were leading
at the half," Hofmeister said.
Six-foot-10 Moulaye Niang and guard Chris Carter combined for 19 points in the third quarter, as Christian took a commanding 47-31 lead. Carter canned three 3-pointers, and Niang netted 10 points during that 8-minute stretch.
"We shot pretty darn well in the second half," Hofmeister said of his Patriots, who clicked on 73 percent of 26 shots in the final two quarters.
Justin Vanderwerff scored a season-high 16 points - eight in the second quarter - and corralled five rebounds. Carter also cashed in 16 points.
SANTANA 73, CALVIN CHRISTIAN 67 - The Santana Sultans challenged visiting Calvin Christian to a track meet in Friday's (Dec. 15) San Diego Christmas Classic. And, for the first time this season, the Sultans were the first team to the tape.
"We pushed the ball, and pressured the whole game," Santana coach Tim Barry said after the Sultans won their first game in eight decisions. "I wouldn't say we played good defense, but we played a lot more inspired. Playing a wide open style is more conducive to our kids. It allows them to use their athleticism."
Junior guard Jonathon Sturgill scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Santana. He scored 14 of his points in the first half, but the Sultans still found themselves on the short end of a 39-37 score at intermission.
The Sultans eventually wore down the Crusaders in the final quarter, claiming a 20-14 scoring edge.
"They shot real well from the outside," Barry said. "But we had an obvious height advantage, and capitalized on that on the inside."
Michael Bass and Chris Mazzi led the supporting cast for Sturgill with 12 points apiece. Garrett Kerns chimed in with 11 points for the Sultans.
VALHALLA 47, HOOVER 31 - The Norsemen balanced their season ledger at 4-4 with their third straight Kiwanis Tournament victory. The focal point of Valhalla's latest success was 16 steals.
After falling behind 10-1 in the opening minutes, and 15-10 after one quarter, the Norsemen defense turned things around. The Cardinals scored only seven points in the middle two quarters combined, as Valhalla assumed a 38-22 lead.
Nine Norsemen contributed to the scoring, with Dan Sheppard leading the way with 10. He also had six rebounds, while Adam Hodges had 10 rebounds to go with six points. Blake Fowler added nine points to the mix.
WEST HILLS 78, GRANITE HILLS 65 - C.J. Zimmerlink canned a school-record seven 3-pointers en route to a 24-point scoring spree, as the Wolf Pack dumped the Eagles in a Kiwanis Tournament game at Mira Mesa Friday (Dec. 15).
Matt Henriksen added 18 points, Jesse Doubek netted 11, and Wes Roys chipped in with 10, as West Hills won for only the second time in seven games.
Zimmerlink scored 15 of his points during West Hills' 28-point second quarter.
Brett Genton scored a game-high 25 points for Granite Hills (0-8).
GROSSMONT 61, MOUNT MIGUEL 45 - The Foothillers (2-6) clicked on 19-of-23 free throws as they won their second straight San Diego Christmas Classic game. Junior John Sanders was the driving force with 20 points, giving him 46 in his last two games.
Cody Long led Grossmont's supporting cast with 13 points.
Mount Miguel (2-6) also shot well from the free throw line, connecting on 13-of-17 chances. But Alan Aguilar was the only Matador to reach double digits with 10 points. Anthony Campbell added nine points.
VISTA 62, EL CAPITAN 41 - Vaqueros coach Ross Furrow probably can't remember the last time one of his El Capitan teams scored two points in a quarter, let alone 11 in one half.
That's what happened in Friday's San Diego Christmas Classic contest, as Vista cruised to a 27-11 halftime lead on the strength of Chris Nickolei's 12 points. The 6-foot-7 junior dominated inside, forcing the Vaqueros to take up their shooting stance farther away from the basket than they would have liked.
El Capitan's scoring phenom Rob Keller was blanked in the first half, but came back to score a dozen points in the final two quarters to pace the Vaqueros (3-5). Keller also had eight rebounds, one less than 6-foot-10 team leader Jarrod Boswell, who also contributed 10 points.
Nickolei finished with a game-high 20 for Vista.
HANFORD (Fresno) 74, HELIX 52 - Although the Highlanders (4-3) suffered their second loss in as many starts at the Red Bluff Invitational, Jake Aftreth was the third Helix player to reach a career-best scoring high, as he tossed in 19 points.
Josh Aftreth - Jake's twin brother - established his career high of 18 points in the first-round loss. Tramaine West, who had a career-best 19 points in the opening round, came back with 10 against Hanford.
Turnovers plagued the Highlanders, as they gave away the ball 32 times.
MADISON 58, EL CAJON VALLEY 48 - Anthony Taylor scored 16 points, including four 3-pointers, but it wasn't enough for the Braves (4-5) in a Kiwanis Tournament consolation game.
Nate Reed added nine points, while Starr Sadik and Al Tooks
chipped in with seven apiece.
(12-15-00)
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SANTEE - Josh Paddock wasn't in the starting lineup when Thursday's (Dec. 14) Kiwanis Tournament tipped off, but the Christian junior guard made an impact coming off the bench.
A talented wide receiver in football, Paddock proved his versatility as he scored nine points, snagged seven rebounds, made six steals, and dished out five assists in a reserve role as the undefeated Patriots (6-0) mauled Mira Mesa 63-41.
"Josh provides a lot of intensity coming off the bench, as do the other football players - Michael Singleton and Clint Gerlek," Christian coach Curtis Hofmeister said.
Singleton scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while point guard Ben Wohlfeil scored a season-high 10 points.
Christian made it look easy as it used a 17-2 run at the start of the third quarter to lead 53-15.
"All 11 guys played, and 10 of them got double figures and minutes played," said Hofmeister of the Patriots, who were led by 6-foot-10 center Moulaye Niang's 21 points and six rebounds."
VALHALLA 60, EL CAJON VALLEY 58 - The El Cajon Valley Braves had the Valhalla Norsemen on the ropes after scoring the first six points of the third quarter to lead the Kiwanis Tournament 37-23.
But the Norsemen (3-4) rebounded with a 9-2 run in the third quarter to gain the momentum. Valhalla tied the game 52-all on a Blake Fowler layup, and took the lead on a Danny Sheppard bucket.
The Norsemen secured the victory by sinking 6-of-7 free throws in the final two minutes. Fowler, who finished with 14 points, canned four of the clutch free throws, while Adam Hodges, who totaled 12 points, hit a pair of charity shots in the stretch run.
Sheppard, however, led the Norsemen scoring parade with 15 points.
Jarrod Lott scored a game-high 20 points, including five 3-pointers, for the Braves (4-4). Anthony Taylor contributed 15 points, including a trio of treys, while Nate Reed added 11 points.
GROSSMONT 76, CASTLE PARK 52 - Junior forward John Sanders scored a career-high 26 points and reeled in a dozen rebounds to lead the Foothillers to their first victory of the season in Thursday's San Diego Christmas Classic game.
Freshman center Tyler Vickers led the supporting cast with 14 points, six rebounds and three assists, while Jesse Long added 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Foothillers, who had lost the previous six games to Top 20 teams, led 49-22 at halftime.
Grossmont will host conference rival Mount Miguel Friday (Dec. 15) at 5:30 p.m. in a tournament consolation game.
HANDSWORTH (Vancouver) 54, WEST HILLS 53 - The Royals from Canada edged the Wolf Pack by a finger in a game that Handsworth led almost from start to finish. West Hills (1-5) came oh-so-close to pulling out a victory.
Jesse Doubek hit a 3-pointer with 0:04 seconds left to pull the Pack to within a single point, but the Royals were able to run out the clock.
"We were down by one and had the ball with two minutes to go, and couldn't overtake them," West Hills coach Jeff Armstrong said. "They had a 6-8 kid (Steve Sonaski) who really hurt us on the boards (collecting 19 caroms to go with 12 points)."
West Hills' shooting was off the mark too, as the Pack connected on only 20-of-65 shots (30.8 percent). That included 2-for-9 accuracy from 3-point range.
Where the Wolf Pack did excel was on the defensive end, with 13 steals. C.J. Zimmerlink had four steals, while Karl Burris and Matt Hutchings pilfered two passes apiece.
Doubek and Matt Henriksen led West Hills' scorers with 11 and 10 points respectively. Sam Miller contributed eight points, five rebounds, and four assists.
PLEASANT VALLEY 82, HELIX 79 - It wasn't exactly a Pleasant Valley Sunday for the Highlanders, who won the consolation championship at the Red Bluff Invitational last year, but lost in the first round in their return to Northern California Thursday.
One thing Helix did have clicking was its offense. Four Highlanders finished in double-scoring digits. Tramaine West scored a career-high 19 points, and Josh Aftreth added a career-high 18 points for the Highlanders (1-2).
Tommy Thompson tossed in 15 points, and Johnny Davis added 13 for Helix, which faces Hanford in Friday's (Dec. 15) consolation semifinals.
TORREY PINES 60, EL CAPITAN 41 - The Vaqueros (3-4) trailed only 26-24 at the half, but lost their shooting touch and suffered several key turnovers in the second half of the San Diego Christmas Classic contest.
Rob Keller was the only El Capitan player to score more than six points, as he finished with 21.
LA JOLLA 71, SANTANA 50 - The smaller Sultans kept fighting back and trailed by only eight points with 4:30 remaining in the San Diego Christmas Classic game. That's when they ran out of gas and the taller Vikings prevailed.
Chris Mazzi scored a team-high 14 points for Santana (0-7).
Garret Kerns added 13 points, and Michael Ball put in nine.
(12-14-00)
PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
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SANTEE - Although they are off to only a 3-3 start, the El Capitan Vaqueros figure to be one of the top three boys basketball teams in East County this year.
El Capitan enjoyed a rare breather in Wednesday night's (Dec. 13) San Diego Christmas Classic, cutting down youthful USDHS, 83-59.
The Vaqueros' Rob Keller scored a team-high 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds, despite sitting out most of the second half after El Capitan built up a 30-point lead.
Hugo Enriquez, who did not play in the fourth quarter, finished with 14 points and three steals, while 6-foot-7 senior Mike Clark collected a game-high 13 rebounds. Josh Fisher chipped in with nine points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
Jarrod Boswell put in 10 points and reeled in seven rebounds. Matt Grant canned 10 points for El Capitan, which had 12 players contribute to the scoring total.
Anthony Stabile scored a game-high 30 points for USDHS, which has 18 sophomores playing at the varsity and JV levels. Stabile hit eight 3-pointers, snagged seven rebounds, handed out three assists, and made three steals for the Dons.
SAN PASQUAL 64, WEST HILLS 61 - Like many of the Grossmont Conference basketball teams, West Hills (1-4) has had a series of near-misses. None were any more frustrating than Wednesday's (Dec. 13) San Diego Christmas Classic loss to San Pasqual.
"We were down by three points with 16 seconds left, and we got three wide open looks to tie the game," West Hills coach Jeff Armstrong said. "We just couldn,' get it to fall. But San Pasqual is a big, physical team and I thought our kids held up well against them.
One of West Hills, trademarks has been the ability to rank among the county leaders in 3-point shooting, but the Pack connected on only 4-of-20 long-range shots against San Pasqual.
C.J. Zimmerlink led West Hills with 16 points and four assists. Matt Henriksen canned 7-of-12 shots for 14 points to go with six assists and four rebounds. Wesley Roys connected on 5-of-6 shots for 11 points, while grabbing five rebounds and dishing off three assists.
HORIZON 66, GROSSMONT 58 - Despite giving away an average of three inches per man, the Foothillers fought the visiting Panthers to a 40-40 draw after three quarters of a San Diego Christmas Classic contest.
"We pushed the pace to get back into it, but in the end, wound up giving up too many transition baskets," Grossmont coach Eric Chappell said. "Horizon has so many big kids that we had to collapse inside. Then they hit a couple of outside shots, and we were playing catch-up the rest of the way.
Trevor Pike popped in 19 points, including five 3-pointers, for the Foothillers (0-6). Jesse Long added 13 points.
Nate Carter knocked down 18 points for Horizon, including 11 in the fourth quarter.
"I swear we have to be the best 0-6 team you'll ever see,"
said Chappell after seeing his team lose to Ramona, Eastlake,
University City, Southwest, Lincoln, and Horizon.
POWAY 67, MOUNT MIGUEL 49 - The Matadors, inconsistent
play continued against the Poway Titans in the San Diego Christmas
Classic.
After falling behind 15-5 in the first quarter, Mount Miguel (1-5) scrambled back and closed the deficit to three points early in the third quarter.
"We just missed too many layups," Mount Miguel coach Jimmy Hurst said. "We just don't have any leadership, and we're not doing a very good job of defending.
Sean Gullett led the Matadors with 13 points. Alan Aguilar and Ernie Ballenger added eight points apiece.
SAN BERNARDINO PACIFIC 78, SANTANA 37 - The struggling Sultans were missing two starters and had only eight players in uniform Wednesday's (Dec. 13) second round of the San Diego Christmas Classic.
Trailing 17-16 after the first quarter, the Sultans, lack of depth became more glaring as the game continued. Pacific led 40-29 at halftime, but completely dominated the second half as the Sultans (0-6) scored only eight points in the final 16 minutes.
Michael Bass and Garrett Kerns paced Santana with 13 and 10
points, respectively.
(12-13-00)
TUESDAY'S GAME
MONTE VISTA 53, HOOVER 48 - The visiting Monarchs overcame a 29-16 halftime deficit to snap a four-game losing streak.
Monte Vista (2-4) outscored the Cardinals 37-19 in the final
two quarters for the win. Rodney Hearns led the Monarchs with
19 points. Jacques Alaby added
12 points, and Scott Crabtree chipped in 11 for the winners.
(12-12-00)
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SANTEE - Anyone who doubted that Christian High is a Top 10 caliber boys basketball team didn't see the Horsman/Wolf Pack Tournament.
Coach Curtis Hofmeister's Patriots completed a four-game sweep as they captured the tournament championship.
"We haven't hit any kind of rhythm offensively, but we,ve shown that we can guard people," he said Saturday (Dec. 9) after the Patriots edged previously undefeated Scripps Ranch 56-53 in the title tilt. "We're far ahead defensively, and we're only going to get better on the offensive end.
"The main thing is, everybody is buying in to what we're trying to do.
Christian's conquests in this season-opening tournament included three victories over Top 20 teams. Scripps Ranch was ranked No. 7 in the preseason, while Rancho Bernardo and Rancho Buena Vista are expected to be two of North County's top teams.
"It's not like we're playing a bunch of patsies," Hofmeister said.
A near-capacity crowd at West Hills watched the Patriots take a 27-25 halftime lead over Scripps Ranch. It was still a two-point advantage for Christian heading into the final quarter.
All-Tournament pick Chris Carter scored eight of his 16 points in the final period, and 6-foot-10 center Moulaye Niang the tournament MVP chipped in with six of his team-leading 17 to secure the victory for Christian (4-0).
"Carter hit four of his last five shots in the game (scoring three of his four 3-pointers)," Hofmeister noted.
But it was defense that sealed the deal. The Falcons shot only 30 percent (14-for-46) from the field, but managed to stay close by converting 20-of-29 free throws.
"Three of the four teams we've played have shot 33 percent or less from the field," Hofmeister said. "You have to be pleased with that.
Guard Ben Wohlfeil added eight points and five assists for Christian. Niang nabbed eight rebounds.
Christian opens play in the Kiwanis Tournament against Granite Hills Wednesday (Dec. 13) at Hoover at 4:45 p.m.
In Saturday's other Horsman/Wolf Pack Tournament games:
Rancho Buena Vista 70, West Hills 61 - C.J. Zimmerlink scored 20 points, and Matt Henriksen hammered in 16, but the Wolf Pack could not overcome an 18-point first-half deficit in the fifth-place game.
Henriksen, a 6-foot-5 junior, was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Poway 93, El Cajon Valley 61 - The Titans scored 56 points in the middle two quarters as they battered the Braves in the tournament's seventh-place game.
Anthony Taylor, an All-Tournament selection, tossed in 19 points to lead the Braves. Jarrod Lott added 17 points, and Nate Reed had 10.
Eagle-Vaquero Tournament
San Diego 65, El Capitan 48 - The visiting Cavers jumped out to a 19-10 first-quarter lead and never looked back as they dumped the Vaqueros (2-3) in Lakeside.
Josh Fisher knocked down 17 points to lead El Capitan. Vaquero senior Rob Keller was held to 11 points, which is 10 below his season average.
Kearny 86, Mount Miguel 48 - The Matadors continued to get solid offensive play out of guards Sean Gullett and Alan Aguilar, but not much help from anyone else. Gullett scored 20 points, and Aguilar added a dozen.
Kearny's Matt Evans led all scorers with 26.
Murrieta Valley 72, Granite Hills 52 - Frank Rodriguez
rang up 18 points, Kenneth Key added 13, and Brent Genton netted
11 in a losing cause Granite Hills.
(12-09-00)
GAMES OF FRIDAY, DEC. 8:
Torrey Pines 38, Helix 37 - The ninth-ranked Falcons sprinted out to a 25-15 halftime lead as they knocked off previously undefeated Helix in the championship game of the Hilltop Tournament.
All-Tournament guard Johnny Davis was the only player to reach double figures, scoring 10 points for the Highlanders (4-1). Helix's Jake Aftreth was also named to the All-Tournament Team.
One high note for Helix was that the Highlanders held Tournament MVP Jordon Feramisco to a season-low eight points. Unfortunately for Helix, J.J. Brull picked up the slack with a game-high 18 points for the Falcons (5-0).
La Jolla 57, Monte Vista 39 - In another Hilltop Tournament game, the Vikings vanquished the Monarchs despite 16 points by Rodney Hearns.
Santana Tipoff Classic
Lincoln 78, Grossmont 70 (OT) - After falling behind 22-7 after one quarter, the Foothillers caught fire in the third period, outscoring the visiting Hornets 27-13.
Lincoln, which was playing without key players involved in the CIF football playoffs, regained the momentum to claim a 16-8 scoring advantage in the four-minute overtime.
This was a battle of long-range shooters. Lincoln tallied 13 3-pointers, while the Foothillers netted six.
Shawn Davis scored a game-high 36 for Lincoln, while Raymond Webster canned 28, including eight 3-pointers.
Grossmont enjoyed its finest offensive showing of the season. Trevor Pike set the pace with 16 points, including four 3-pointers. Kris Zimmer added 13 points for the Foothillers.
University City 67, Santana 46 - Senior guard Chris Mazzi produced a season-best 20 points, but the Sultans could not follow his lead as they succumbed to the Centurions.
Southwest 66, Valhalla 50 - The visiting Raiders raced
to a 23-13 lead and survived a five-point second quarter to defeat
the Norsemen. DeShawn Harris scored a season-high 16 points for
Valhalla.
(12-08-00)
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SANTEE - For a pair of undefeated teams, Christian and Rancho Bernardo reminded their coaches that it's still early in the season during Thursday's (Dec. 7) semifinal game in the Horsman/Wolf Pack Tournament.
The Patriots, known for their 3-point shooting accuracy, were 0-for-9 from long distance. They also gave up 21 offensive rebounds to the Broncos.
Nevertheless, Christian (3-0) overcame those shortcomings to defeat the Broncos 58-52 to advance to Saturday (Dec. 9) night's tournament finals against No. 6 ranked Scripps Ranch. The 8 p.m. game will be played at West Hills.
"We gave up 11 offensive rebounds in the first quarter alone," Christian coach Curtis Hofmeister said. "And then when we couldn't hit anything from 3-point range, it's pretty amazing that we were able to get out of there with a win."
After falling behind 15-8 after the first quarter, Christian fought back to tie it at 25-all by intermission.
"We shifted to a 1-3-1 trap and that caused them to get
out of sync,"
Hofmeister said. "We challenged some shots - slowed the game
down and forced them to pass the ball more than they wanted to."
While Christian was connecting on 47 percent of its 49 shots from the floor, and 12-of-15 free throws, the Broncos (2-1) were off the mark from both fronts.
Rancho Bernardo shot a paltry 31 percent from the field (16-for-51), and netted just 14-of-29 free throws.
Christian's 6-foot-10 junior center Moulaye Niang was the driving force for the Patriots, pouring in 17 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and blocking six shots. He was the only player in double scoring figures for the Patriots.
Chris Carter, one of the county's premier 3-point shooters, was limited to a pair of 2-point buckets and four free throws.
What the Patriots lacked in scoring punch, they made up for with defense and aggressive play on the boards. Senior Michael Jackson scored six points and grabbed seven rebounds, while sophomore John Wai hauled down eight rebounds and tossed in five points. Point guard Ben Wohlfeil logged four assists and four points.
El Capitan 74, Montgomery 59 - The Vaqueros caught fire in the second half, outscoring the visiting Aztecs 44-27 to even their season record at 2-2 in the Granite Hills/El Capitan Classic.
Rob Keller paved the way for the Vaqueros with 20 points, four rebounds, and three assists. It was actually a typical performance for Keller, who is averaging 21 points per game.
Senior guard Josh Fisher added 10 points and team-highs of nine rebounds and seven assists. Six-foot-10 sophomore center Jarrod Boswell muscled in nine points, grabbed seven rebounds, blocked two shots, and logged two steals.
Senior Mike Clark collected eight rebounds and six points for El Cap, while senior Hugo Enriquez contributed eight points, and sophomore Thomas Sutton added seven.
Helix 71, Hilltop 60 - The Highlanders (4-0) hustled past their hosts to earn a date in Friday's (Dec. 8) Hilltop Tournament championship game opposite Torrey Pines at 8:15 p.m.
Senior guard Johnny Davis knocked down 29 points, giving up 43 in his last two games. Jake Aftreth added a season-high 18 points.
Tramaine West, Stanley Caldwell, and Joe McLellan had eight points apiece for the Highlanders.
West Hills 56, Poway 52 - Matt Henriksen hammered in a game-high 23 points, and Wesley Roys added 11 as West Hills stunned Poway in the Horsman/Wolf Pack Tournament.
Chula Vista 64, Monte Vista 42 - The Monarchs fell behind the Spartans 20-4 after one quarter, and never recovered in a Hilltop Tournament game. Rodney Hearns paced the Monarchs with 13 points. Jacques Alaby added 10 points, Scott Crabtree chipped in with nine, and Chris White netted seven.
The biggest difference between the teams was 3-point shooting, as Chula Vista hit nine from above the arc, while the Monarchs were blanked from long distance.
Vista 63, Mount Miguel 48 - Sean Gullett canned 23 points,
and Alan Aguilar added 13 as the Matadors fell prey to the Panthers
in a Granite Hills/El Capitan Classic contest.
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SANTEE - The Helix Highlanders streaked to their third straight Hilltop Tournament victory Tuesday (Dec. 5) night, knocking off Sweetwater 68-54. The Highlanders built a 39-21 halftime lead and never looked back.
Senior guard Johnny Davis paced the Highlanders with 24 points. Tommy Thompson added 10 more.
El Capitan 70, El Camino 59 - The Vaqueros used a balanced scoring attack as they came from Hills/El Capitan Classic.
Rob Keller and Josh Fisher had 17 points apiece for El Capitan. Six-foot-10 sophomore center Jarrod Boswell chimed in with 14 points. The pivotal quarter was the third, as El Capitan outscored El Camino 24-15 during that eight-minute segment.
Point Loma 55, Monte Vista 47 - Rodney Hearns scored 17 points and Scott Crabtree added 16, but it wasn't enough for the Monarchs, who succumbed to the Pointers despite a 24-point fourth quarter.
Scripps Ranch 73, West Hills 54 - The Wolf Pack edged the Falcons in 3-point scoring 15-12, but it didn't matter, as Scripps Ranch outscored West Hills 43-21 in the middle quarters of the Horsman-Wolf Pack Tournament.
Chris Zizzo and C.J. Zimmerlink paced West Hills with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Valley Center 79, Mount Miguel 70 (2 OT) - The Matadors claimed a 26-6 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter over the visiting Jaguars after falling behind 21-7 in the opening period. But after matching Valley Center 10-10 in the first four-minute overtime, the Matadors went flat.
Alan Aguilar, who averaged less than six points per game a year ago, had the hot hand for the Matadors with 22 points in the losing effort. Chris Foster added 21 points, while Sean Gullett contributed 14. That trio accounted for 10 3-point buckets in the Granite Hills/El Capitan Classic.
Kearny 66, Granite Hills 42 - Brent Genton scored a
game-high 23 points, including five 3-pointers, but the Eagles
couldn't keep up with the visiting Komets in the Granite Hills/El
Capitan Classic.
(12-05-00)
GAMES OF MONDAY, DEC. 4
Christian 80, El Cajon Valley 41 - Senior guard Chris Carter popped in 18 points, including four 3-pointers as the Patriots (2-0) pounded the visiting Braves (3-2) in the Horsman/Wolf Pack Tournament. Six-foot-10 center Moulaye Niang contributed 12 points, as did sophomore Wai John Wai for Christian.
Anthony Taylor tallied 14 points to lead the Braves.
Eastlake 58, Santana 41 - Michael Bass notched 14 points,
and Jonathan Sturgill had 13, but the remainder of the Sultans
failed to follow suit as Eastlake won the Sultan Tipoff Classic
contest.
Ramona 75, Valhalla 61 - Blake Fowler tossed in 20 points for the Norsemen, who fell behind the visiting Bulldogs 20-10 after one quarter and never recovered in the Sultan Tipoff Classic.
University City 68, Grossmont 51 - The visiting Centurions
took a 21-8 lead in the first quarter, and the Foothillers could
not catch up. Tommy Sanders poured in 20 points for Grossmont
in the Sultan Tipoff Classic.
(12-04-00)