BOYS: Eagles’ Spear hits game-winner

By Ramon Scott
Updated: January 3, 2020

2019 EAST COUNTY PREP BOYS BASKETBALL

EastCountySports.com staff report

SANTEE – It figured to be only a matter of time before Granite Hills’ Deon Spear would make an impact that would lead the Eagles to victory.

On Thursday against Central Union High, Spear won the game with a runner in the lane late, as the Eagles grabbed a 45-43 win at the Santana New Year’s Classic.

Spear had 14 points and six rebounds as Granite Hills overcame a poor shooting night to win for the fourth time this season to improve to 4-8.

“When the game was on the line my teammates trusted me with the ball and I took it all the way,” Spear said. “It felt good to get us another win. Hopefully, this game will be the start to turn our season around.”

John Yakou had 18 points to lead the Eagles. He canned four three-pointers in the victory and also grabbed 14 rebounds and had three steals.

“John Yakou is a talented veteran varsity basketball player and he kept us close in the game tonight,” Spear added.

John Vrzich added seven points and 12 rebounds for the Eagles.

“I have confidence in all my guys as well as myself,” Spear said. “We’re slowly figuring it out. We still have to figure out our roles as a team and learn how everyone plays for the most part but we shouldn’t have a problem when playoff time gets here.”

Caleb Erickson had three points and eight rebounds for the Eagles.

“John Yakou had a great all-around game,” Granite Hills head coach Dan Duffy said. “We shot poorly as a team.”

CHRISTIAN 73, RANCHO BUENA VISTA 45 – The Longhorns had no answers against a stout defensive effort led by Jake Tawhiao and the Patriots, who won their ninth-straight game.

Tawhiao finished with 17 points, six rebounds, and four steals while teammate Kobe Sanders led all scorers with 21 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.

“We played good as a team,” Tawhiao said. “We moved the ball well and tried to find the open man. We attacked the rim well and played an up-tempo game and our defense was good and aggressive.”

Vincent Warren added 12 points for the Patriots, who improved their record to 12-2 and face a physical Vista team on Friday evening at 5.

HOOVER 67, MONTE VISTA 50 – Down 37-21 at halftime, the Monarchs cut the lead to six in the fourth but ran out of gas.

“We did not have good practices and that was the difference,” Monte Vista head coach Mike Tully said.

Lavante Jenkins had 14 points and four rebounds for the Monarchs, while Brandon Tully made his season debut and had 13 points, including a pair of three-pointers.

“I thought we played hard today but we played too fast at times,” said Brandon Tully. “We turned over the ball a lot and didn’t get back on fast breaks, giving Hoover too many layups. We learned today that we need to play together.”

Niamiah Alston had 10 points for Monte Vista, which fell to 9-5.

PACIFIC RIDGE 58, WEST HILLS 53 – The Firebird trailed by two at halftime to the Wolf Pack but essentially won the game with a 15-11 advantage in the fourth in a Santana New Year’s Classic contest.

“Pacific Ridge played really scrappy and truly looked like they enjoy playing the game of basketball,” West Hills head coach Tim Barry said. “I tip my cap to their players and coach for a great effort.”

Kyle Dobyns had 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Wolf Pack.

West Hills Ashton Avestro added nine points, while teammate Jayden Moreno finished with seven points and six rebounds.

“We struggled shooting free throws in the second half and missed three front ends of one-and-ones down the stretch which opened the door,” Barry said. “We have to bounce back against a team from Nevada (Coral Academy of Science) on Friday.”

West Hills fell to 6-6 overall and will play the Falcons at 3 p.m.

ADELANTO 77, VALHALLA 48 – The Saints improved to 13-2 by winning at the Santana New Year’s Classic.

Valhalla fell to 4-9 overall.

EastCountySports.com