Niskey is Hillers’ highlight as playoff frustration boils

By Bill Dickens
Updated: March 4, 2016

2015-16 PREP BOYS BASKETBALL – SDCIF PLAYOFFS

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com

POWAY (3-4-16) — Grossmont High lost more than a basketball game in Thursday night’s (Mar. 3) San Diego CIF Open Division consolation contest in the Poway gym.

A 24-10 burst by the Titans (24-8) staked Poway to a 34-20 halftime lead and the Titans were not seriously threatened thereafter, finishing with a 68-53 victory over the Foothillers.

JACOB NISKEY scored a career high 24 points – more than half of them coming on 4 triples – to pace the Foothillers (22-7).

Grossmont brings the ball up Thursday night against Poway.

MATT MURRAY, who – in the absence of injured 6-foot-9 superstar TOMMY RUTHERFORD – attracted Poway’s defense like a magnet, finishing with 13 points and 8 rebounds.

Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO had a verbal confrontation with the officials, one youthful one in particular.

“I’ve been coaching this game for 40 years and this guy didn’t even know the rules,” Foggiano said. This particular arbiter seemed to take excessive notice of the Foothillers’ coach.

Foggiano was slapped with a technical foul on a jump ball.

“That was really upsetting because I was sitting down,” he said. “They called it against the bench, for some reason I’ll never know. The same guy that T-d our bench, later decided it would go against me.”

The second technical, which eliminated Foggiano from the game, came during a Grossmont timeout.

“This was totally ridiculous,” Foggiano said. “I just stared at him in disbelief, and he T-d me again – for staring.”

There is some question whether he will be able to coach the Foothillers in the first round of the State Playoffs on Wednesday (Mar. 9. That is yet to be determined.

Grossmont: Jacob Niskey 24 (7 reb), Matt Murray 13 (8 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Dayveion Crawford 8 (1 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Alex Lilliard 4 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Hunter Gaines 3 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Hunter Mulder 2 (1 reb).