Cougars forge past Sundevils for Eagle tourney win

By Bill Dickens
Updated: December 11, 2015

2015-16 EAST COUNTY PREP BOYS BASKETBALL

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-10-15) — Known for its rousing fight song, the Steele Canyon Cougars proved to Mt. Carmel that “You can’t bend steel.”

The Cougars forged their way past Mt. Carmel 49-43 for their third win in five starts on Thursday (Dec. 10) in the Granite Hills Eagle Invitational.

Playing with their best player on the bench for disciplinary reasons, the Cougars still turned in a balanced attack to sideline the Sundevils.

One of the unsung heroes was sophomore football quarterback THOMAS FISHBURNE, who scored only 3 points in the Cougars’ latest victory.

“Fishburne exudes confidence,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS. “He’s still not in basketball shape even though he hit a 3-pointer. Fish is already a man among boys even though he hasn’t found his basketball legs yet. It’s hard for me to take him off the floor because he does a whole lot of everything.”

Meanwhile NICK HODGE paced the Cougars (3-2) with 14 points, and JALEN SAYLES added a dozen markers.

Steele Canyon: Nick Hodge 14, Jalen Sayles 12, Gage Sanders 7, Javon Nutter 6, Tyler Smith 4, Thomas Fishburne 3, Brody Burningham 2, Eric Villegas 1.

HELIX 64, HILLTOP 51 – In an obvious rebuilding year the Helix Highlanders finally broke into the Win column in their fifth start by knocking off the Hilltop Tournament host.

JUSTIN FLISHER turned in an overpowering game for the Highlanders with 24 points, 18 rebounds, 6 assists, 6 steals and one block – helping Helix hoist its record to 1-4.

Flisher was deadly from the free throw line, hitting 11 of 13.

JAMAR WYNN, who tallied 14 points, hit 7 of 8 from the free throw stripe.

MALIK TAMBWE finished with 11 points and 8 rebounds.

BRANDON PARKER, who nailed 5 of 7 shots from the field, finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds.

Helix: Justin Flisher 24 (18 reb, 6 ast, 6 stl, 1 blk), Jamar Wynn 14 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 charge), Melik Tambwe 11 (8 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Brandon Parker 10 (7 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Amari Green 3 (4 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Cameron Mutter 2, Marvin Roberts (2 reb).

SAN YSIDRO 65, CHRISTIAN 61 – The Christian High Patriots came close to knocking off Division 1 San Ysidro but couldn’t hold a one-point lead in the finals seconds of Thursday’s (Dec. 10) Imperial Tiger Classic.

The Patriots and Cougars were tied at the end of each period 13-33, 17-17, 17-17, with each team going on runs but responding back to even the score by the end of each quarter.

“Our guys battled all night to keep it close,” said Patriots assistant coach TIM BROWN. “They weren’t happy about not pulling this one out.”

TRAVIS BALLARD led the way with 17 points, hitting 6 of 16 from the floor and 5 of 7 free throws to go along with a dozen rebounds, but fouled out in the fourth quarter.

LAYNE LARSEN added 3 treys and finished with 13 to help the Patriot scoring.

Freshman point guard DOMANIC SAFARTA added 8 points, canning a pair of treys and 2-for-2 free throws. He also collected 6 rebounds, dished 6 assists and recorded a pair of steals.

DAVID TODD JEREMIAH handed out 8 more points and 8 rebounds for the Patriots.

Christian: Travis Ballard 17 (12 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), Layne Larsen 13 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Domanic Safarta 8 (6 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl), David Todd Jeremiah 8 (8 reb, 1 ast), Jacob Sandusky 6 (4 reb), Kyle Stowers 5 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Garret Nielsen 4 (3 reb, 1 stl), Joey Vrzich (1 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl).

SAN MARCOS 72, WEST HILLS 61 – The Wolf Pack suffered its first loss in four games in the Horsman Automotive Tournament semifinals Thursday (Dec. 10), falling to the San Marcos Knights.

“I was surprised, we went into the game with a little funk and not much energy in the third quarter,” said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG.

The Knights’ 20-9 swing propelled San Marcos into the tournament finals against Torrey Pines Saturday night (Dec. 11) at 7 p.m.

“We played a lot better defense after halftime,” Armstrong continued.

But it was too late for the Wolf Pack (3-1) to sideline San Marcos.

BRYCE PARSONS pumped in 17 points on 7 for 16 shooting from the floor and 3 free throws. He also led the team with 10 rebounds and dished 4 assists.

CAMERON BARRY dropped in 15 points, the majority coming of 5 of 7 three point shooting. He also found time to dish 4 assists and notched a team best 3 steals.

MARQUELL COOL also tallied 15 markers on 5-for-16 shooting and 6-for-6 free throw accuracy.

West Hills: Bryce Parsons 17 (10 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk), Cameron Barry 15 (3 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Marquell Cool 15 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Kyle Ruiz 4 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk), Miguel Nava 4 (1 ast), D’Ante Hill 3, Chris Moyer 2 (1 reb, 1 blk), Nelson Zoree 1, Spencer Moyer (1 reb), Cesar Curet (3 reb).

POWAY 65, GRANITE HILLS 41 – Another poor shooting night for Granite Hills (.326) put the host Eagles out of range early on against Poway Thursday (Dec. 10) in the Granite Hills Eagle Invitational in El Cajon.

It was more than just poor shooting as the Titans buried the Eagles 20-2 in the second quarter.

RYAN KELLY was the only Eagle to reach double figures with 13 points. He also grabbed 5 rebounds and blocked 2 shots.

Granite Hills was 9 for 14 at the free throw line but the game was long out of reach before then.

“The good thing, I guess, is we only had four turnovers,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. “We were much more controlled overall, but I hate to lose, yet we showed progress.”

Granite Hills: Ryan Kelly 13 (5 reb, 2 blk), Jorden Rogers 8 (4 reb), Darien Cossio 5 (2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Jacob Burton 5 (5 reb), David Setterberg 3 (3 stl, 1 blk), Cameron Spitzer 3 (1 reb, 3 ast), Erin Swinson 2 (1 reb), Dylan Garcia 2 (3 reb), Mario Meza (1 stl).