BOYS: Eagles take control in Valley

By Ramon Scott
Updated: January 25, 2020

Santana's Ethan Wolchko drives against Granite Hills' John Vrzich on Friday. / photo by Ken Todd

Granite Hills’ McKay Roberts shoots against Santana’s Alden Rasmussen on Friday. / photo by Ken Todd

2020 EAST COUNTY PREP BOYS BASKETBALL

EastCountySports.com staff report

SANTEE – The Granite Hills Eagles asserted themselves as the team to beat in the Grossmont Valley League as they went on the road to defeat the Santana Sultans, 68-48, in a Grossmont Valley League game on Friday night.

The game was just a four-point game at halftime but the Eagles got stronger as the race got longer.

Santana’s Alden Rasmussen against Granite Hills on Friday. / photo by Ken Todd

John Vrzich scored 22 points, including a pair of three-pointers in the third quarter.

Vrzich scored 12 points in the third quarter as the Eagles opened up a double-digit lead on the Sultans after leading just 26-22 at halftime.

Deon Spear scored 11 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter. He had a pair of treys in the contest.

Granite outscored the Sultans, 20-10, in the decisive third quarter.

John Yakou added 15 points for the Eagles.

McKay Roberts also knocked down a pair of triples for Granite Hills (10-9)

Junior Ethan Wolchko scored 17 points for Santana, including a pair of three-pointers.

Junior Carson Burton made a trio of three-pointers for Santana.

Senior Nick DePhillipis made a pair of three-pointers for the Sultans.

The Eagles remained unbeaten so far in the Grossmont Valley League at 3-0.

The loss was the first in league play Santana (8-14), as the Sultans fell to 3-1.

HELIX 77, MOUNT MIGUEL 30 – The Highlanders, which looked like an NBA team by scoring 33 points in the first quarter, improved to 4-0 in the Grossmont Hills League as four Highlanders scored in double figures in the contest.

Keishon Trice led the way for Helix (16-6) with 13 points.

Sammy Stewart and Maurice Holmes both scored 12 points for the Highlanders.

Senior Isaiah Velasco finished with 11 points, including a pair of treys, for the Scotties.

Helix was on fire from the outset, as Holmes scored eight points in the opening period and Isaiah Robinson made a pair of three-pointers in the first quarter.

“That is exactly what we needed to do, come out strong and not let up,” Holmes said. “We have been trying to win the first and second quarters because this year we have lost a lot of first halves. Keishon was great tonight, always plays the hardest on both ends and gets in transition. We need these last four wins, then it’s ring season.”

The Highlanders led 33-5 after the first eight minutes.

Shawn Parks led Mount Miguel with 12 points, knocking down two threes in the process.

Chili Hernandez also had a pair of three-pointers for Mount Miguel, while Elijah Castro also added a three.

GROSSMONT 54, WEST HILLS 48 – Grossmont pulled away from the host Wolf Pack in the final minutes to win the Grossmont Hills League game in Santee on Friday.

Grossmont led 10-9 at the end fo the first quarter but West Hills led 22-20 at halftime.

The Foothillers led by seven midway through the third quarter and carried a 37-33 lead into the fourth quarter as the game came down to the wire.

Elijah Williams scored 10 points in the second half for Grossmont.

Mykol Rodriguez had nine points in the second half for the Hillers.

Noah Velasco had a trio of three-pointers in the game for the Foothillers.

Noah O’Clancy and Charles Sotelo both knocked down a three in the second half for GHS.

“I thought it was a good game but Grossmont shot the three just a little better then we did,” West Hills head coach Tim Barry said. “Grossmont clamped down defensively and took the game down the stretch.”

Senior Ayden McClure led West Hills with his best game of the year, tallying 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor.

McClure was especially hot from the outset, scoring eight points in the first half.

“I surprised myself with how well I was doing,” McClure said. “I saw openings and my shots just fell. My team was a huge part of this game. I was able to score because they created gaps. I tried stepping up because I knew we needed to win to get a chance at winning league, but unfortunately, we still fell short. Next time, we’ll be more prepared.”

Kyle Dobyns scored 13 points for the Wolf Pack.

Brenden Greene and Ashton Avestro both made a three-pointer for West Hills in the contest.

Grossmont (11-8) improved to 2-1 in the Grossmont Hills League.

West Hills (9-11) fell to 2-2 in the GHL.

MONTE VISTA 65, EL CAJON VALLEY 55 – Monte Vista’s Ivan Maynard scored 20 points, including a pair of three-pointers in the fourth quarter.

Maynard’s three-pointers came after the Braves had rallied to tie the game at 50-all.

El Cajon Valley is a very good team,” Maynard said. We just came out and played hard. We have amazing guards that help set up big shots for us. We gave everything we had tonight and finished with great results.

Maynard had four three-pointers total on the night. He had 10 points in the critical fourth quarter. He also finished with six rebounds.

The Monarchs led 18-7 after the first period and 32-23 at halftime en route to the Grossmont Valley League win over the Braves.

Cameron McKan added 11 points for Monte Vista, including a three-pointer in the second quarter.

Brandon Tully also knocked down a three in the second period. Tully grabbed five boards.

The Monarchs led 47-39 entering the fourth quarter.

Marco Bahlin had four assists for Monte Vista.

Monte Vista improved to 2-1 in the Grossmont Valley League and 13-9 overall.

“Anyone has the chance to win league,” Maynard said. “Just all on who wants it more. We will compete and continue to play hard.”

VALHALLA 63, STEELE CANYON 50 – The game was tied 24-all at halftime, but junior Joe Avalos had a pair of three-pointers in the second half for the Norsemen. He led the Norsemen with 22 points.

Josue Amaya scored 11 points in the second half for Valhalla. He finished with 14 points for the contest.

Justin Razooky added 12 points for Valhalla, which controlled the third quarter to take a 45-31 lead into the fourth.

Arthur Simpson scored 16 points in the second half for Steele Canyon.

T-Max Nyumah had 11 points in the first half for the Cougars.

Josh Tendvahl had a pair of field goals in the second half for SCHS.

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