Taylor headed to Rocky Mountains

East County Sports.com
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (5-3-06) -- NICK TAYLOR of Granite Hills High, the East County Boys Basketball Player of the Year, recently signed a letter of intent to play at Colorado-Colorado Springs of the NCAA Div. II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

Taylor will play for new head coach Russ Caton, hoping to turn around a program which went 5-22 (4-15 RMAC) during the 2005-06 campaign.Taylor hopes to follow a similar pattern for the Mountain Lions like he did in high school.

Following nearly five decades at a school where basketball did not reign supreme, Taylor paced the Eagles to their best record in school history at 21-9, capturing the school's first league title in 47 years topping the Grossmont South League at 9-1 and advancing to the quarterfinals of the San Diego CIF Division I playoffs.

The 6-foot-1 guard paced the East County in scoring at 27.2 points per game, which ranked second in the section. Taylor led the state with 132 three-pointers and netted a career-high 53 points. He was tabbed as the coaches' league player of the year, and then received an endorsement by the media as a first-team, all-section performer by the San Diego Hall of Champions.

The RMAC has featured several top East County players over the years, including former Santana High standout guard BARNEY HINKLE.

Granite Hills' Nick Taylor leads the fastbreak,with Eagles teammate Clark Gordon following close behind (over shoulder), at the Southern Cal Classic. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva)

East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (4-9-06) -- El Capitan High School senior standouts ALLISON DUFFY and CORY BROWN each blocked a record eight shots in their respective games Saturday (Apr. 8), leading all-star basketball teams from San Diego to a sweep of Los Angeles based stars at the Southern California Classic held at San Diego State's Peterson Gym.

Duffy, joined by East County's JERICA WILLIAMS of Mount Miguel and DIANA LEASAU of Helix, were part of a 6-player local contingent which still breezed to an easy 54-34 decision in the girls contest.

Meanwhile, Brown, joined by three players from Granite Hills -- BRANDEN PRIDE, NICK TAYLOR and Occidental bound CLARK GORDON -- also posted eight points and 13 rebounds to sink L.A., 101-74, in the boys ballgame.

Taylor also captured the 3-point shooting contest, despite being placed in the most-difficult spot in the rotation. Competing last among five different pairs of shooters, Taylor registered the best score in the prelims with 15 baskets. However, without a rest period like the shooters before him, the Eagles senior since managed 11 treys in the final to capture the event.

The competition was sponsored by Dream Vision (http://www.dreamvisionsd.com/), a Chula Vista based organization founded in 2001 to expand opportunities for success to at-risk youth and enhance life skills through a variety of youth development services and programs.

The number of players filling roster spots was limited because of an NCAA rule limiting seniors to just two all-star game appearances, plus the influx of new contests in recent years, including the inaugural CIFSDS sponsored game at Point Loma Nazarene University, the McDonald's Classic coming to San Diego, a new Riverside County-North San Diego County game at Palomar College Friday (Apr. 7), along with annual local contests, such as the East County All-Star Game which was held at Cuyamaca College.

East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (4-5-06) -- The second annual Southern California Classic -- showcasing the top senior high school boys and girls basketball in Southern California -- all-star games will be held on Saturday (Apr 8) at San Diego State's Peterson Gym. All-star girls 3-point contest is at 5:20 with the girls game beginning at 5:30. All-star boys 3-point and slam-dunk contests will be at 7:00; boys' tip-off is at 7:30.

The teams will be comprised of seniors representing Los Angeles vs. San Diego counties. The San Diego County boys team will be coached by Granite Hills boys basketball coach RANDY ANDERSON.

Halftime in the Girls game will feature Youth Outstanding Scholar/Athlete Achievements Awards presentation, Kids All-Star Exhibition and MVP award presentation. Halftime of the Boys game will present Believe & Achieve Award (Honoree: REGGIE BUSH), Youth Outstanding Scholar/Athlete Achievement Awards presentation and Kids All-Star Exhibition, along with MVP award presentation.

There will be celebrity judges and a live DJ along with giveaways and prizes.

The event was created by Dream Vision, Inc. to provide exposure opportunities for high school students from Southern California excelling in their academic and athletic accomplishments.

East County senior girls participating and playing for the San Diego All-Stars are JERICA WILLIAMS (Mount Miguel) and ALLISON DUFFY (El Capitan).

East County senior boys slatedto participate for the San Diego All-Stars are NICK TAYLOR (Granite Hills), CORY BROWN (El Capitan) and BRANDEN PRIDE (Granite Hills).

Tickets are $10 at the door. Passes are not permitted. Parking, which is strictly enforced, is $1/hour and the yellow self-serve machines take only bills (no coins). Parking is available in Structure IV near Peterson Gym. For more information, see the website www.dreamvisionsd.com.

East County Sports.com
POINT LOMA (3-25-06) -- Moments after Eastlake's Stephen Carr scored on a putback to tie Friday's (Mar. 24) San Diego Section Senior All-Star Basketball Game at 103-all with 38 seconds to play, all that NICK TAYLOR of Granite Hills could do was run back on defense and try to do something to force overtime.

"Then all of the sudden the ball popped out," said Taylor, as a half-court trap by Carr and Horizon's Raymond Williams produced a turnover with the final seconds ticking away. "It rolled right to me."

Despite some apprehension, Taylor converted his breakaway layin with 10 seconds to play, as the South survived a last-second shot by three-time CIF-San Diego Section player of the year Chase Budinger of La Costa Canyon to give the South a stunning 105-103 come-from-behind victory at Point Loma Nazarene's Golden Gymnasium.

"I was nervous the whole time," Taylor repeated more than once to reporters. "I thought they were going to block my shot, just like they just did."

A minute earlier, Taylor saw his 3-point shot rejected by Vista's Kenny Lawson, who will play for Creighton next season. So Taylor kept thinking someone might be on his back -- yet no one was there.

The North had one last chance to win, but with El Capitan center CORY BROWN defending the inbounds pass from under the South basket with 2.2 seconds to play, Brown got a piece of the ball but it deflected to the Arizona-bound Budinger. However, his shot in heavy traffic didn't have a chance to give the underdog South the victory after trailing by as many as 10 points with 10 minutes to play.

"It was a fun game and it was great to see the guys come together in the short time we have," said Brown. "That's why we still thought we had a chance to win."

Carr was tabbed the South player of the game for his game-high 22-point performance. However, the difference maker was actually Williams. The Panthers point guard passed for nine assists and scored six points in the first half alone, as the South lead by 10 points, 56-46, at the half.

By the time Williams returned, the North stormed back to take a 9-point lead -- a 19-point swing -- behind 18 points by James Givens of Carlsbad, who was the North player of the game.

Taylor finished with 14 points, Brown tallied 12, while Christian's PAUL IVANAUSKAS earned a start at small forward, although he did not score.

Budinger collected 13 for the North. He will also partcipate in next Wednesday's (Mar. 29) McDonald's All-America Classic, slated for Cox Arena.

East County Sports.com
BALBOA PARK (3-21-06) -- The San Diego Hall of Champions has released the results for the All-CIF San Diego Section basketball teams for 2005-06, headed by Santana High senior JORDAN FRANEY as the player of the year in girls basketball.

Meanwhile, on the boys side, the East County landed.just two berths, as East County player of the year NICK TAYLOR of Granite Hills gained the 10th and final first-team berth, while El Capitan center CORY BROWN was a second-team honoree.

Chase Budinger, the new career scoring leader in the CIFSDS, was the unanimous player of the year selection. He powered La Costa Canyon to the boys Division I crown and will play for Arizona next season.

The Usual Suspects

Senior All-Stars from the Grossmont North League and Christian High (above) and the Grossmont South League. (Photos by Val Bass)

East County Sports.com
RANCHO SAN DIEGO (3-19-06) -- It definitely makes sense.

The most experienced of all East County seniors earned player of the game laurels, as Christian High's PAUL IVANAUSKAS scored eights points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and one block Saturday (Mar. 18), leading the South to a 100-94 decision over the North in the annual East County All-Star basketball game, held at Cuyamaca College.

Helix' Jericho Toilolo (21) gains the inside track to a loose ball over Josh Ziegler of El Capitan during Saturday's East County Senior All-Star Game. Toilolo and the South Stars prevailed, 100-94. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva) FOR ADDITIONAL PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

Ivanauskas, one of three players from Lithuania to play for the Patriots this past season, marveled the crowd -- one of the largest in event history -- with an array of behind-the-back passes for easy layins by his teammates, helping the South build a 16-point lead.

"I sure would like to play for a Division I school," said Ivanauskas, who is being looked at (but no offers yet) by nationally-ranked Gonzaga, among other schools. "I'm also thinking about staying and becoming an American citizen, but I would also like to go home, too."

KEITH WILLIAMS of Valhalla led the South Stars with 15 points, including nine in the first half to mount a 57-48 lead at the intermission.

However, the North charged back in the final minutes to close within 98-94 with 1:04 remaining on a 3-ball by RICKY MICHELMORE of Santana, who was tabbed his team's player of the game by the media. Michelmore finished with 23 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals.

"It was a lot of fun playing with guys who were on the other team for the last 5-or-6 years," noted Michelmore, who announced he will play for Chapman University next season. "They're not enemies anymore."

Luis Gonzales of Grossmont (bottom) hits the floor to recovery the ball, while Granite Hills' Branden Pride high-steps to avoid a collision in Saturday's East County Senior All-Star Game. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva) FOR ADDITIONAL PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

Sat., Mar. 18 East County Senior All-Star Game (At Cuyamaca College) GROSSMONT SOUTH 100, GROSSMONT NORTH 94 Grossmont South All-Stars 36 21 22 21 100 Grossmont North All-Stars 25 23 19 27 94 Grossmont South scoring: Paul Ivanauskas (Chr) 8, Branden Pride (GH) 6, Clark Gordon (GH) 4, Aaron Tinsley (Hel) 11, Ryan Slade (MV) 7, Warren Thodile (MM) 3 (5 reb., 4 stl.), Keith Williams (Val) 15, Lionel Ball (SC) 7 (8 reb.), Emory Mitchell (SC) 6 (8 reb.), Paul Martins (Val) 7, Jeremiah Browning (Val) 6, Luke Simpson (GH) 3, Colin McDonald (Chr) 12, Derek Larsen (Chr) 5. Grossmont North scoring: Nate Schad (ECV) 8 (4 ast., 4 stl.), Wasam Patros (ECV) 4, Chris Reynalds (ECV) 8, Jon Hernandez (Sant) 15, Ricky Michelmore (Sant) 23, Jon Corbisez (Sant) 3, Brooks Bass 8 (Sant), Kyle Hamann (WH) 10, Jason Ziegler (EC) 5, Dominic Elder (Gro) 1, Tim Widjaja (ECV) 9.

Michelmore scored seven points over the ballgame's final six minutes. However, EMORY MITCHELL of Steele Canyon scored on a putback on the next possession to put the victory away. Michelmore nailed five 3-pointers.

Santana's JON HERNANDEZ pitched in 15 points on 7-for-7 shooting for the North, while Christian's COLIN McDONALD knocked down 12 points for the South on 7-for-8 shooting. West Hills guard KYLE HAMANN added 10 points for the North.

The North roster consisted of players from the Grossmont North League, but this year, players from Christian High were placed on the South, which was otherwise composed of Grossmont South League seniors.

However, a notable absentee was NICK TAYLOR of Granite Hills, the East County player of the year. Missing from the North was first-team, All-East County selection CORY BROWN of El Capitan. Both players of the year for their respective leagues, have prior engagements for future all-star games.

A Cougar crusher

Emory Mitchell of Steele Canyon elevates during the dunk competition. He finiished second to Paul Ivanauskas of Christian. The 3-point shooting contest champion was Branden Pride of Granite Hills, outlasting Christian's Derek Larson, 6-5, in the finale. Larson advanced to the final after nipping Wasom Patros of El Cajon Valley in a tie-breaker. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva) FOR ADDITIONAL PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

East County Sports.com
RANCHO SAN DIEGO (3-10-06) -- Cuyamaca College will host the annual East County Senior All-Star game for East County graduating seniors this Saturday (Mar. 18) at 6 p.m. A 3-point contest precedes the event at 5:45 p.m., while the dunk contest will be at halftime. Admission is $4 for adults and $2 for children.

Seniors invited to attend include:

Taylor, Anderson rewarded for historic season at Granite Hills

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (3-3-06) -- This season belonged to the Granite Hills Eagles, who captured the first Grossmont League boys basketball championship in the school's 47-year history. The Eagles also set a season record for victories (21) and advanced to the quarterfinals of the San Diego CIF Division I playoffs.

So it is not surprising that Granite Hills claimed two of East County's most coveted post-season awards.

Senior guard NICK TAYLOR was named East County Sports.com Player of the Year and the Eagles' RANDY ANDERSON was selected East County Sports.com Coach of the Year.

Taylor led the state with 132 three-pointers and averaged an East County-best 27.2 points. Eleven times he broke the 30-point barrier and topped out with a 53-point eruption against Sweetwater.

In just his second year as head coach, Anderson directed the Eagles to a 9-1 finish in the Grossmont South League, which was two wins better than their nearest challenger. Granite Hills then smashed San Diego-Southwest in the opening round of the playoffs before falling to Bonita Vista in the quarterfinals.

East County Sports.com Rookie of the Year honors went to 6-foot-4 Grossmont High sophomore IAN COCHRAN.

Only two of the 15 players chosen to the 2006 All-East County team are repeat winners. Taylor and El Capitan's 6-foot-9 center CORY BROWN -- a first-team pick this season -- were both third-team selections as juniors.

Santana High's Jon Hernandez (in blue) battles for position with Malcolm Thomas of Crawford for the rebound. The Colts pulled away late to win, 80-62. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva) FOR ADDITIONAL PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (3-1-06) -- Moments after Santana High senior RICKY MICHELMORE buried a 3-point shot from the corner to trim Crawford's lead -- which once extended to as many as 14 points -- down to four with as many minutes left to play, Sultans coach TIM BARRY witnessed something he never expected.

"What sticks in my mind was watching the Crawford coach telling his team to pull the ball out and run clock," noted Barry. "I immediately pointed it out to my assistants -- it was amazing."

Indeed, the run-and-gun, high-scoring Colts were on the edge of panic mode with the Sultans on a roll, methodically moving the ball through Crawford's half-court trap to maintain contact on the scoreboard. But at the same moment coach Terry Tucker told his team to slow down Tuesday's (Feb. 28) San Diego CIF Division III semifinal-round ballgame, all of the Colts' advantages converged at once, allowing the hosts to suddenly pull away for a misleadingly one-sided 80-62 triumph at The Corral.

"Anyone who saw the game knows the score was deceptive," said Michelmore, who scored 10 of his team-high 21 points in the fourth period to mount the comeback effort. "We wanted to move on and were not ready to go out just yet -- we did our best to get to Jenny Craig (Pavilion)."

Instead, 9th-ranked Crawford gains a rematch for the Division III crown, meeting 4th-ranked St. Augustine. The Saints, the defending champions after whipping the Colts, 74-68, last season, downed Cathedral Catholic in the other semifinal, 70-50, to earn their eighth title-game berth over the past decade.

The Sultans, who completed their deepest playoff run since Barry was a player during the school's SDCIF championship campaign back in 1988, finish their season with a 17-11 ledger.

Crawford held every little advantage entering the contest, possessing more speed, athleticism and experience, and with better shooting and rebounding ability. However, there were the Sultans with an opportunity to forge an upset, similar to when the Barry-led Sultans shocked Morse some 18 years earlier.

"They kept up with us better than most teams do," said Tyrone Shelley, the former Christian High standout, who finished with 30 points and nine rebounds. "They did all the things you need to do to keep up with us until we finally tired them out."

"But we were more worried about us -- there were people who doubted us to make it to USD."

All those elements fell together at once, as the Colts held the ball for more than 90 seconds to sqp the remaining energy from Santana.

Following Michelmore's trey, the Colts pulled the ball out, giving Santana room for optimism. Shelley was finally fouled, sinking a foul shot for a 61-56 lead, but the missed second shot was rebounded by the Colts' Malcolm Thomas, who finished with game-high 14 boards along with 21 points.

Taking their time, the Colts took a shot with just one second left on the possession timer. The shot was bounced off the rim, but Shelley cleared the board, as Crawford ran another 25 seconds off the clock.

Once again, another Santana foul, a made foul shot, then an offensive board on the missed second attempt. With 20 more seconds coming off the clock, Aaron Simpson drove the lane for a layin to cap a 94-second possession with a 64-56 advantage.

And when Thomas was fouled while scoring on a putback with 2:05 remaining, the Colts finishing writing their ticket to the final, capping the final minutes by hitting 12-of-15 foul shots.

"We got into a little foul trouble and they couldn't miss any free throws," noted Santana senior JON HERNANDEZ, who finished with 10 points, five boards and three assists before fouling out. "We wanted to be strong with the ball, but we could've done more. It was a good showing for us, but I wish we could've gone farther."

Santana senior GARRETT HAPP also went out strong, hitting 5-of-7 shots including a pair of 3's to finish with 12 points for Santana.

Santana scoring: Michelmore 21 (9 reb.), Garrett Happ 12, Hernandez 10, Brooks Bass 8, Jon Corbisez 6, Tyler Blackledge 3, Brian Bailey 2.

Patriots defender Colin McDonald (in blue) gets tangled with Horizon Christian's 7-foot center Jeff Withey. (Photo by Chris Edwards) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

HORIZON 70, CHRISTIAN 54 -- The visiting Patriots were committed to keeping a tight leash on Horizon's 7-foot sophomore center Jeff Withey.

"We collapsed around the big guy," said Christian coach KEN BAILEY said. "When you do that, you have to risk giving up something."

What the Patriots hadn't counted on was the Panthers shooting 60 percent from 3-point range.

Ten times the Panthers (21-3) connected from beyond the arc. Daniel Mead hit three of the 3-pointers, while Steve Winnick and Chris Carter and Steele Canyon transfer Raymond Williams, each hit a pair of treys.

"They shot the lights out," Bailey said. "They are an outstanding team that can beat you inside or outside. It's a case of pick your poison."

Withey still got 14 points, but it was Horizon's success from the perimeter and overall quickness that put the Patriots (19-7) on their heels.

Christian High cheerleaders attempt to energize the Patriots, but Horizon took the 70-54 CIF decision. (Photo by Chris Edwards) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

Williams used his adept ball-handling and speed to dash the Patriots' press.

"He handled our pressure very well," Bailey noted.

Christian, which received 18 points and 7 rebounds from ANDRIUS MIKUTIS, trailed 35-26 at halftime. The Panthers then ran away in the third with a 21-10 scoring advantage for a 21-point lead.

"It was over after three quarters," Bailey said.

Still, Bailey was pleased with the Patriots' performance season.

"All seven of our losses were to teams that were in the Top 10 at one time or another," Bailey said. "We've had a great season. We believe our program is headed in the right direction." Three starters return next season.

Christian scoring: Andrius Mikutis 18, Viktor Asaciovas 12, Paulius Ivanauskas 10, Derek Larsen 8, Daniel Hazlett 5, Colin McDonald 1.

Christian High School's (clockwise from upper-left) Andrius Mikutis, Paulius Ivanauskas, Viktor Asaciovas and Derek Larsen in Tuesday's CIF Division IV semifinals against Horizon Christian at Pantherdome. (Photos by Tori Mills)

Nick Taylor of Granite Hills launches his final career shot for three points, but the Eagles fell to Bonita Vista in the CIF Div. I quarterfinals. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

East County Sports.com
EL CENTRO (2-25-06) -- In a poll of East County basketball coaches, the Santana Sultans would probably rate as one of the least likely teams to reach the semifinals of the San Diego CIF playoffs.

Fact is, Santana in Division III and Christian in Division IV are the only teams still dribbling. The Sultans, who defeated Central Union 59-47 Friday night (Feb. 24) in the Imperial Valley, and Christian, which sidelined Army-Navy 76-65 at home on Friday, will advance to Tuesday's (Feb. 28) action. The Sultans will travel to Crawford and the Patriots visit top-seeded Horizon in 7 p.m. tipoffs.

SANTANA 59, EL CENTRO-CENTRAL 47 -- For the first time in 18 years, Santana (17-10) has won two post-season boys basketball games in succession.

"Our whole school is excited," said Santana coach TIM BARRY, who was the starting point guard on Santana's 1988 SDCIF Division I championship team.

RICKY MICHELMORE scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while JON HERNANDEZ added 17 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals to carry the Sultans past the Spartans (23-5).

"We had lots of good stats tonight," said an ecstatic Barry. "Coach is beside himself right now. We had 200 people travel down here and the cheerleaders went with us (on the team bus). It was like an old-time game. It was a quiet ride down, we were quietly confident. I could see the confidence in the coaching staff as well as the players. I felt very good going into this game."

The Sultans, co-champions of the Grossmont North League, maneuvered to a 24-14 halftime lead, but saw that advantage shrink to 7 with one quarter remaining.

Defense, Barry said, was the key for Santana.

Senior guard BROOKS BASS used the broom to sweep away Central scoring ace Andrew Grooms, holding the Spartan scoreless in the first half. Grooms settled for 7 points, which is about half his season average.

"Defensively Bass was tremendous -- he also had 8 assists -- and (effectively) controlled their pressure," Barry said. "We totally controlled the tempo tonight."

JON CORBISEZ contributed 8 points and 9 rebounds for Santana.

"It was really a night that the seniors stepped up," Barry said. "Two guys that were huge for us were Corbisez and (senior guard) BRIAN BAILEY. Corbisez hit two 3's in the second quarter. Bailey's lone bucket of the game came when he was double-teaming their big guy and stole the ball and went the length of the floor and made a lay-up. On this combination we took the lead 16-8."

Central chopped Santana's advantage to three points early in the third quarter. But experience won out as Michelmore sank a 3-pointer and Hernandez received a back door cut on a pass from Bass, pushing the Sultans' edge back up to 8."

Santana maintained a 10-to-14 point advantage throughout the final quarter.

Santana scoring: Michelmore 20, Hernandez 17, Corbisez 8, Brooks Bass 7, Carlos Vargas 3, Garrett Happ 2, Brian Bailey 2.

A squadron full of Patriots crash the boards to grab the rebound for Christian High, including (from left) Derek Larsen, Viktor Asaciovas and (shown in enlargement) Andrius Mikutis. (Photo by Tori Mills)

CHRISTIAN 76, ARMY-NAVY ACADEMY 65 -- ANDRIUS MIKUTIS scored a career-high 26 points to help lead Christian past Army-Navy Academy in Friday's (Feb. 24) San Diego CIF Division IV quarterfinal at Ryan Athletic Center.

"Andrius is special, he's going to bring it every night," Christian coach KEN BAILEY said. "He has to guard the best player and ends up carrying us."

PAUL IVANAUSKAS added 15 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists for the Patriots (19-6), who take on top-seeded Horizon in Tuesday's (Feb. 28) semifinals. DANIEL HAZLETT added 13 points on 4 of 7 shooting, including a trio of three-pointers.

"Daniel is an outstanding shooter, he was really big tonight," Bailey said. "We got a little nervous when our point guard, Ivanauskas picked up three first half fouls and had to sit out for awhile. He didn't foul out though. He did a good job of being our floor general and distributing the ball to our players.

DEREK LARSEN added 11 points, five rebounds and six assists for Christian, which led 60-39 after three quarters.

"Derek was a very big force on our press," Bailey said.

Bailey's praise didn't stop there.

"(COLIN) McDONALD started tonight and really played well," the coach said. "I went with a quicker, shorter lineup and we got off to an early 13-3 lead with our full court pressure. We hampered them with a tough full court press."

Christian scoring: Mikutis 26, Ivanauskas 15, Hazlett 13, Larsen 11, Viktor Asaciovas 9, Colin McDonald 2.

Branden Pride makes the switch to the left hand to avoid a Bonita Vista steal attempt. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva) FOR ADDITIONAL PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

BONITA VISTA 69, GRANITE HILLS 61 -- The Cinderella season of the Granite Hills Eagles ended a couple of hours prior to midnight as visiting Bonita Vista spoiled the party in Friday's (Feb. 24) San Diego CIF Division I quarterfinals in El Cajon.

The Eagles (21-8), who established several firsts of the basketball program, led 20-14 after the opening quarter and then watched the Barons (21-8) dominate the second quarter 15-5 to lead by four at intermission.

"They got too many second-chance shots," Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. "They had a 6-9 and a 6-6 kid that gave us trouble on the boards."

What made matters worse was the Eagles' second-leading rebounder, BRIAN HUMPHRIES, was in foul trouble in the 2nd quarter.

Bonita Vista stung the Eagles behind the long distance shooting of Mark Kiefer who had five treys -- 13 points in the third quarter -- and 26 points in the game.

"Desmaan Robinson (6-9, 300 pounds) took up so much space." Anderson said. "As hard as CLARK (GORDON) battled, it was too much weight-wise."

Gordon still hauled down 11 rebounds and scored 8 points for the Eagles, who were tied 45-all late in the third quarter.

NICK TAYLOR, who leads the state with 132 treys, hit four of his six 3's in the fourth quarter against Bonita Vista, finishing with a team-high 27 points.

"Nick should be first team All-CIF, no question," said Anderson. "He is averaging over 27 points on a team that was a fourth seed (in Division I). He was our best defensive as well as our top offensive player. He was more valuable than any other player. It would be a shame if he doesn't get (first team) after all he's done for Granite Hills."

BRANDEN PRIDE chipped in 13 points, 6 assists and 4 steals for the Grossmont South League champion Eagles.

Granite Hills scoring: Taylor 27, Pride 13, Gordon 8, Dean Miller 6, Humphries 5, Andrew Timko 2.

EL CAMINO 70, HELIX 57 -- Junior DAVID JEFFERSON played perhaps his best game of the season for the visiting Highlanders (21-7), knocking down 18 points and reeling in 17 rebounds in Friday's (Feb. 24) San Diego CIF quarterfinal match-up of last year's Division I finalists.

While the Highlanders won the section title at the Wildcats' expense a year ago, this game belonged to El Camino. Not without a fight.

Helix (21-7) took a 13-9 first-quarter lead, but could not shut off the Wildcats' hot-handed Derek Jones who scored all 14 of his points during El Camino's 22-point second quarter. Jones buried four 3-pointers during that stretch that led to a 31-23 halftime lead for El Camino (26-6).

"The guy has one hot quarter and then fouls out in the third," noted Helix coach JOHN SINGER. "But they were a little deeper and a little better team tonight. I'm not saying we couldn't have beaten them, but our main guys had to play all 32 minutes of an intense game.

"We were up in the third quarter, but just couldn't finish."

El Camino burned the Highlanders from the free throw line as senior guard Marquis Navarre led the way by hitting 11 of 12 shots. Helix was a paltry 6-for-14 from the stripe.

But the biggest story for Helix was the play of the 6-foot-3 Jefferson.

"He was a man," Singer said. "If this had been Jefferson against them one-on-one, we win the battle."

Jefferson, who enjoyed his 13th double-double in 24 games, scored 12 points in the second half as he attempted to keep the Highlanders in the game against the taller Wildcats.

"They didn't have an answer for David," Singer said.

LAWRENCE HURDLE added 15 points and 5 assists for the Highlanders.

The veteran coach, who now has a 470-193 record in 26 seasons, was pleased by his team's overall play this year.

"We never cracked the top 10 or 12 teams in the ratings," Singer said. "But I'll take 21 wins. Our kids are disappointed, but they have no reason to hang their heads."

Helix scoring: Jefferson 18, Lawrence Hurdle 15, Aaron Tinsley 11, Jericho Toilolo 7, Brandon Fountain 4, Eric Forney 2.

SAN PASQUAL 58, MONTE VISTA 31 -- A little bit of scoreboard comparison may have given the Monarchs some hope against the top-seeded and undefeated Golden Eagles, but the teams' one major difference was too much for the visitors from Spring Valley to overcome -- size underneath the basket.

Led by 13 points and 17 rebounds by senior Kevin Bowcock, San Pasqual (30-0) utilized a 23-6 advantage in the second period to end Monte Vista's season with a 58-31 decision in Friday's (Feb. 24) CIF Division II quarterfinals.

San Pasqual lost just once all season, but got the game back via a forfeit from Serra. Otherwise, the Golden Eagles were tested only one other time in a 1-point victory in the final of the Sweetwater Tournament over El Capitan -- a team the Monarchs twice defeated this season.

"I talked to ROSS (FURROW, the Vaqueros' coach), but he said the game was all about CORY (BROWN, their 6-foot-9 center)," said Monte Vista coach ZACH PECK. "And we just couldn't rebound with them."

Nor could they shoot with any kind of consistency, hitting just 12 of 48 shots. It in no way resembled the first meeting between these teams when San Pasqual took a 16-point lead and then on for a 65-56 win.

The Monarchs held a slim 14-13 lead through the first period Friday night, as DAVID MURGIA nailed a pair of 3-balls for six of his team-high nine points. And even with 12 rebounds by JAMAR RANSOME to stay close for a while, without any second-chance points, San Pasqual kept pulling away for an easy win.

"They're a very good team, so it will be interesting to see them against Scripps (Ranch), another team with size," added Peck.

Scripps Ranch, which held off Brown to post an easy 51-33 triumph over El Capitan, now must find a solution to beat Bowcock in next week's semifinals. The Falcons (20-9) will throw Mr. Kenton Walker, a 6-8, 220-pound brute at the slender Bowcock and Co.

Bowcock surprised Monte Vista with his defensive positioning, which was not under the basket.

"I usually play up at the top of our zone," said the 6-foot-5 Bowcock, a third-year varsity performer who noted he will give up basketball when he goes to college this fall, either to Notre Dame or Colorado. "Then I try to help out inside."

"We were ready to do that, then picked up our defense in the second, which led to some easy baskets."

Meanwhile, Monte Vista was limited to just six, six and five points over each of the final three periods, unable to break the 1-2-2 zone with any outside shooting.

Pat Eveland and Nick Cardona scored 11 points each for San Pasqual, while three others tallied seven each.

For the Monarchs, ROSHUN WYNNE scored five, with three teammates hitting two buckets each for four points.

Monte Vista scoring: Murgia 9, Wynne 5, Ryan Slade 4, Trevor Peck 4, Ransome 4 (12 reb.), Nicholas Garcia 2, Michael Watkins 2, Sean Joyce 1.

Vaqueros center Cory Brown (left) rejects a Scripps Ranch shot, while teammate Tyrel Zauss gives some weak-side help on defense. (Photo by Lisa Craig)

SCRIPPS RANCH 51, EL CAPITAN 33 -- Scoring shortfalls dogged the El Capitan Vaqueros all year. Three such lapses helped spell the end of the season for El Capitan in Friday's (Feb. 24) San Diego CIF Division II quarterfinal at Scripps Ranch.

After taking a 7-2 lead early on, the Vaqueros (17-12) went into an eight-minute slumber. The Falcons (20-9) took advantage of that lull to outscore El Capitan 24-6 for a 26-13 lead.

Things never really clicked for the Vaqueros, who closed to within 33-27 on a TYREL ZAUSS scoring drive with 3:02 left in the third.

El Capitan's Josh Ziegler (left) gets into a brief tug-o'war over the ball against Scripps Ranch. (Photo by Lisa Craig)

"Our defense was sound, but the bottom line is we can't score," El Capitan coach ROSS FURROW said.

As usual, 6-foot-9 senior CORY BROWN was the heart of a sputtering El Capitan offense. He totaled 15 points, 17 rebounds and 9 blocks. Zauss added 8 points off the bench, but no other Vaquero scored more than four.

El Capitan went more than six minutes without scoring between the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth. The Vaqueros scored only six points over the final 11-plus minutes.

"Our objective coming into this game was to play without fear," Furrow said. "I think we did that. Overall, we had a good year. We overachieved."

El Capitan scoring: Brown 15, Zauss 8, Josh Ziegler 4, Jason Ziegler 4, Taelor Worrell 2.

Monarchs guard Roshun Wynne (12) releases a shot in front of West Hills defender Taylor Robbins (22). (Photo by Chris Edwards) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (2-22-06) -- Seeking to gain as many one-on-one matchups as possible, Monte Vista didn't actually take the air out of the ball, yet were extremely selective before the Monarchs finally made a move -- any move -- to the basket.

The rule was simple: either score a transition layin or pull the ball out. Way out.

"It allowed us to penetrate to hit enough shots," explained Monte Vista coach ZACH PECK. "Then we hit some free throws, too."

Shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor and 80 percent from the foul line, Monte Vista took an early lead and slowly expanded it throughout Tuesday's (Feb. 21) San Diego CIF Division II first-round 66-54 playoff victory over West Hills.

After allowing three late baskets in the final 90 seconds of the first half to see its 8-point lead trimmed to 30-27, Monte Vista shot 53 percent from the floor after the intermission, many coming on easy transition baskets after stealing the ball on simple enter passes by West Hills.

"They simply out-played us and got into the passing lanes and beat us to the ball," said Wolf Pack coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. "You can't pinpoint it to just one player, everyone was doing it."

Which resulted in a balanced scoring attack by the Monarchs, paced by 21 points from RYAN SLADE.

And the lead continued to expand, despite just two shot attempts by their leading scorers -- TREVOR PECK and JAMAR RANSOME -- in the fourth period. Peck sank one of his two efforts to finish with 13 points, while Ransome fouled out early to finish with 11, including eight in the third period to push the advantage to 45-40.

ROSHUN WYNNE, who scored 15 points, added a pair of nice passes to Slade and JOEY BELANGER for consecutive fastbreak layins. Monte Vista then closed out the triumph with success at the foul line, hitting eight straight over the final 1:28 of play.

Kyle Hamann (in blue) of West Hills drives the baseline around Monte Vista defender Ryan Slade. (Photo by Chris Edwards) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

KYLE HAMANN led the Wolf Pack with 13 points, TIM NOWLIN added nine, and three others scored eight, but the team allowed too many second-chance opportunities on the boards in the first half, then couldn't get their offense into gear with poor passing in the second half.

"We gave up way too many offensive boards -- something like nine of them --in the first half," said Armstrong. "They just beat us t the ball all night long."

Slade led the way on the boards by grabbing five of his seven offensive rebounds over the first two periods. Slade was also responsible for interferring with the Wolf Pack's offense in the second half with four of his five steals in another one of his quiet yet stellar performances. He also added three assists and blocked a shot.

The Monarchs (15-13) will travel to Escondido to meet top-seeded San Pasqual in Friday's (Feb. 24) quarterfinals at 7 p.m. The Golden Eagles are now undefeated at 29-0 after their lone setback of the season was forfeited back by Serra and they routed Oceanside 83-62 in the first round of the playoffs.

Still Monte Vista could be competitive and an upset isn't out of the question.

Among San Pasqual's victories was a last-second one-point victory over El Capitan in the final of the Sweetwater Tournament in December. The Monarchs beat El Capitan twice by a combined 28-point margin.

West Hills finished the season at 13-15.

Monte Vista scoring: Slade 21, Wynne 15, Peck 13, Ransome 11, Michael Watkins 2, David Murgia 2, Joey Belanger 2.

West Hills scoring: Hamann 13, Tim Nowlin 9, O.J. Ortiz 8, Taylor Robbins 8, Chris Lifgren 8, Shain Stoner 2, Miles Pivonka 2, Peter Gilson 2.

Cory Brown (52) of El Capitan pump-fakes the ball before going up for a shot, scoring late in overtime to lift the Vaqueros past University City qt Foster Gymnasium. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

EL CAPITAN 61, UNIVERSITY CITY 60 (OT) -- Things started out OK for the Vaqueros (17-11) as they took a 2-0 lead in the opening seconds of Tuesday's (Feb. 21) San Diego CIF Division II playoff opener in Lakeside.

After that early breakout, the Vaqueros took a backseat to the Centurions (10-17) who maintained the lead until the final seconds of regulation.

Senior JOSH ZIEGLER kept El Capitan's season alive as he drove to the bucket to complete a game-tying layup with 22 seconds left.

For a split-second, it appeared that JASON ZIEGLER, Josh's twin, turned a steal with 3 seconds left into a game-winning basket. The crowd went wild, thinking El Capitan had won. But the officials determined that the buzzer beat Ziegler's shot and the game continued into overtime.

NICK MURICO gave El Capitan the early lead in overtime with a bucket. Six-foot-9 CORY BROWN took over from there, knocking down two baskets and netting a pair of free throws to secure the Vaqueros first playoff win since 2002.

El Capitan reserve Tyrel Zauss hits this mid-range jumper to help ignite the comeback by the Vaqueros, eventually winning in overtime over University City. (Photo by Lisa Craig)

"These kids just keep finding ways to win," said El Capitan coach ROSS FURROW. "We were down by seven late in the fourth quarter and still pulled this thing out."

Brown, who played all 36 minutes, finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds, 6 blocks and 4 steals to lead El Capitan to its fourth straight win.

"Cory makes the difference because the other team has to account for his whereabouts," Furrow said. "Even when it seems like he's not scoring all that much, like it felt to me tonight, he comes up with a bunch of silent points."

JERAMIE CARR had a career night for the Vaqueros, swishing a trio of 3-pointers on his way to an 11-point total. Carr also grabbed 5 rebounds and made 2 steals.

Each of the Ziegler brothers logged five steals and totaled 15 points between them.

El Capitan continues its playoff action with a tall second round challenge at Scripps Ranch on Friday (Feb. 24).

El Capitan scoring: Brown 24, Carr 11, Josh Ziegler 8, Jason Ziegler 7, Nick Murico 6, Barrett Braun 3, Taelor Worrell 2.

Santana's Joe Hernandez (5) gets fouled while sinking this fast-break shot to help the Sultans upend visiting Valley Center in a CIF Division III first-round contest. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

SANTANA 58, VALLEY CENTER 56 -- Senior guard BROOKS BASS made only two baskets in Tuesday's (Feb. 21) opening round of the San Diego CIF Division III playoffs.

One was the game winner for the Sultans (16-10).

"At the end of the game with 5 or 6 seconds left JON HERNANDEZ penetrated and was triple-teamed," Santana coach TIM BARRY said. "He saw Brooks on a back door cut for a layup as time ran out."

Game over, right?

Nope.

The officials put 3 seconds back on the clock. But Santana's defense denied the Jaguars (8-20) a look at a last-second shot.

"Valley Center set up a play and we denied them the inbounds pass to secure the game," Barry said.

RICKY MICHELMORE led Santana with 24 points, half coming on four 3-pointers. JON HERNANDEZ added 13 points and 6 steals.

"It was a lot closer that I would have liked," said Barry. "We were in tremendous foul trouble all night. I had to sit Brooks, Michelmore and Hernandez (part of the game) due to foul trouble.

"With two minutes left in the first half and Santana leading 30-18, we went into a total brain cramp. We missed 3 straight front ends of one-and-ones and gave up 9 straight points."

Santana had its own unsung heroes.

"JON CORBISEZ had a big block for us in the third quarter that led to a transition basket and swung the momentum our way," Barry said.

Santana advances to the second round with a lengthy road trip that calls for a bout against Central Union in El Centro on Friday (Feb.24) at 7 p.m.

Santana scoring: Michelmore 24, Hernandez 13, Corbisez 9, Carlos Vargas 6, Brooks Bass 4, Brian Bailey 2.

HELIX 63, TORREY PINES 38 -- The Highlanders opened the season with a four-point win over the Falcons in the Hilltop Tournament in the early part of December.

End of the season progress report: Helix has made giant strides of improvement.

The Highlanders (21-6) jumped on top from the opening tip in the San Diego CIF Division I rematch and built a 34-16 halftime lead. The Falcons (16-13) never challenged thereafter.

This game belonged to Helix forward BRANDON FOUNTAIN. Not only did Fountain slapped a muzzle on Torrey Pines' high-scoring guard James Rahon, limiting him to 2 free throws, the Highlanders junior erupted for 14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.

"It's all about survive and advance at this point," Helix coach JOHN SINGER said. "I liked the way we played against Torrey Pines tonight. We defended well. And when we do that, it gives an opportunity to win."

Helix's DAVID JEFFERSON added 10 points and dozen rebounds against the taller Falcons. LAWRENCE HURDLE chipped in with 13 points and six assists, while AARON TINSLEY added 10 points and 4 boards.

Now Helix must face top-seeded El Camino (25-6) on the Wildcats' home court in Friday's (Feb. 24) second round.

Helix scoring: Fountain 14, Hurdle 13, Tinsley 10, Jefferson 10, Jericho Toilolo 7, Eric Forney 4, Sean Scarber 2, Alex Aguirre 2, Tyonte Hosley 1.

GRANITE HILLS 66, SD-SOUTHWEST 56 (Revised) -- NICK TAYLOR scored 31 points and CLARK GORDON added 13 points and 14 rebounds as Granite Hills defeated the visiting Raiders in Tuesday's (Feb.21) opening round of the San Diego CIF Division I playoffs.

It was only the third playoff win in Granite Hills' history and the Eagles 14th win in the last 15 games this season. On top of that, it stretched the Granite Hills mark for victories in a season to 21 and earned the Eagles their third quarterfinal date -- Friday (Feb. 24) against Bonita Vista -- in the 47-year history of the boys' basketball program.

The Eagles and Raiders (17-11) matched up in almost every department except one -- free throws. Granite Hills gained a major edge there, clicking on 21-of-26 charity shots compared to just 6-of-10 for Southwest.

"We weren't very good from the perimeter tonight," said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON, whose Eagles were only 5-for 15 from beyond the arc. "Overall, we weren't real fluid getting into our offense except for the first three of four minutes."

Granite Hills took an 8-0 lead and the Raiders took little time tying things up at 10-all.

From there, it was anybody's game.

But the Eagles held on to the lead and overcame a 38 percent shooting night.

Sophomore BRIAN HUMPHRIES scored only four points, but contributed five steals, seven rebounds, blocked a pair of shots and took two charges.

From a historical point of view, the Eagles made a miraculous recovery from a 21-0 deficit against Morse in the 1989 SDCIF Division I playoffs. The Eagles went on to tame the Tigers, 74-59, and then lost a hard-fought 92-85 decision to Poway.

A year earlier, the Eagles slaughtered San Diego Southwest, 74-37, before falling to Santana, 59-49.

Granite Hills scoring: Nick Taylor 31, Clark Gordon 13, Branden Pride 9, Wayne Martin 5, Brian Humphries 4, Dean Miller 4.

Valhalla's Paul Martins boxes out a player from Ramona to catch an inbounds pass. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva) FOR ADDITIONAL PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

RAMONA 87, VALHALLA 78 -- The host Norseman matched their season scoring high and still came up short in Tuesday's (Feb. 21) opening round of the San Diego CIF Division III playoffs against visiting Ramona.

"You should be able to win the game if you score 78 points," Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS lamented. "Every time we got close we gave up a bucket. It was unfortunate that we got down right off the bat."

Thomas was talking about Ramona's 42-28 first-half lead that was sparked by the Bulldogs (12-16) ability to convert 16 of 22 free throws. Valhalla (15-13), which committed 18 first-half fouls, was only 4 of 7 from the free throw stripe in the first two quarters.

Valhalla also hurt its own cause by committing 27 turnovers. Yet, the Norsemen still had a chance to pull out a victory. They scored 32 points in the final quarter, but gave up 28 to Ramona over the same stretch.

"Ramona hit five 3s -- they shot very well," Thomas said. "We just couldn't stop them defensively -- couldn't overcome the second half. You can't leave people open."

Despite their last-quarter scoring spree, the Norsemen were only 7 of 18 from the free throw line over the final eight minutes.

"We could blame the officials for hurting us so badly in the first half," Thomas said. "But we had a chance in the fourth quarter, but shot very poorly from the line."

The high note for Valhalla was the work of 6-foot-3 senior BRETT HANSEN, who scored a career-best 26 points and gobbled up 18 rebounds -- 9 off the offensive glass.

PAUL MARTINS added 18 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists for Valhalla.

Valhalla scoring: Hansen 26, Martins 18, Kevin Kriebel 11, Keith Williams 10, Jeremiah Browning 6, Jeff Sopata 3, Daniel Butcher 2, Nasheel Raja 2.

WESTVIEW 50, STEELE CANYON 43 -- The visiting Cougars had upset on their minds in Tuesday's (Feb. 21) San Diego CIF Division II playoff game in North County.

The Cougars, who began the season 3-10, were coming on strong as they held a 32-27 lead after three quarters at Westview.

"We missed too many opportunities to put the game away," Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN said. "Our inexperience showed in that fourth quarter."

Steele Canyon shot 36 percent from the floor (16-of-44), while the Wolverines (16-13) were hitting on only 27 percent of 48 shots. Westview was on the mark from the free throw line, hitting 19 of 22 chances. SC was only 9 of 15 from the charity stripe.

EMORY MITCHELL led the Cougars with one of the best double-doubles of his career, scoring 15 points, nailing 12 rebounds and blocking tgwo shots.

Steele Canyon's LIONEL BALL had a fine shooting night, hitting 5 of 7 shots from the field and all 4 free throws for 14 points. Ball, a senior, also grabbed 8 rebounds and dished 2 assists.

"One of our goals was to make the playoffs," Balikian said. "We did that. Overall, I feel good about the progress we've made over the course of the season."

Steele Canyon scoring: Mitchell 15, Ball 14, Jabari Robinson 9, Riley Balikian 3, Arlin Taylor 2.

Helix forward Aaron Tinsley skies for the layin to help the Highlanders bounce Steele Canyon. (Photo by Chris Edwards) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

Playoff season could be short one

East County Sports.com
LINDA VISTA (2-19-06) -- It might be a quick trip in and out of CIF-San Diego Section playoffs for East County boys basketball this season, as only two schools were among the top four seeds in any of the five divisions. They include a pair of No. 4 seeds in Granite Hills in Div. I and Christian in Div. IV.

The Eagles, despite a 20-win season and their first-ever league title, were overshadowed by traditional powers among the seedings announced following a meeting of coaching representatives from throughout the section. Thus, El Camino was awarded the No. 3 berth over Granite Hills. Nevertheless, the Eagles, if they keep winning, could land two or even three homes games, starting with Tuesday (Feb. 21) encounter with San Diego-Southwest.

Meanwhile, Christian's Patriots gained a first-round bye, hosting the winner between The Preuss School and Army-Navy Academy. The quarterfinal-round contest is slated for Sat., Feb. 26, as San Diego Christian College will be on the road at Fresno Pacific that day, avoiding any scheduling conflict at the Ryan Center.

Grossmont North League co-champion El Capitan was placed fifth in Div. II, hosting University City in the first round, while Santana, the other GNL co-champ, is seeded sixth in Division III, earning a home contest with pesky Valley Center.

Also gaining a sixth seed was Helix in Division I, as the defending large-school champions receive a difficult assignment against Torrey Pines in its opening playoff affair. Meanwhile, Valhalla is seventh in Div. II to barely collect a homecourt contest, hosting Ramona,

In an 8-9 matchup, West Hills travels south to Grossmont Conference rival Monte Vista, while Steele Canyon, the 2-time defending Div. II titlist, opens with a road contest at No. 6 Westview.

Failing to makes the postseason were El Cajon Valley, Grossmont, Mount Miguel and Venture Christian, as the Knights were forced to forfeit 10 contests (five to Citrus South League schools) for use of an ineligible player.

Recently, Morse and Serra also took a huge penalty with forfeits, as Morse accepted the penalty and did not petition to gain a postseason berth. However, Serra appealed and requested entry, as its league accepted their reasoning, then the CIF approved, but the coaches committee drew a line in the sand and didn't vote the Conquistadors onto the tournament brackets.

Granite Hills point guard Branden Pride (in white) gets closely guarded by Monte Vista defender Roshun Wynne in the final minutes of the Eagles' slim 59-53 victory. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva) FOR ADDITIONAL PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-18-06) -- With the San Diego CIF playoffs slated to tip off on Tuesday (Feb. 21), thoughts of earning a post-season berth were dancing in the heads of the majority of East County basketball teams during Friday's (Feb. 17) regular-season finales.

Playoffs aside, there were issues still to be decided. El Capitan defeated West Hills, 59-54, to earn a share of the Grossmont North League championship with Santana, while Granite Hills posted a school-record 20th win to stamp an exclamation mark on the Eagles' first boys basketball title in 47 years.

El Capitan's Jason Ziegler (in black) get crushed by a host of West Hills players, including Shain Stoner (3). (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

EL CAPITAN 59, WEST HILLS 54 -- Few times this season have the Vaqueros placed three players in double scoring digits. One of those nights was Friday (Feb.17), as El Capitan (16-11, 6-2 GNL) came from behind to dump host West Hills to gain a co-Grossmont North League championship with idle Santana.

It was the Vaqueros' first league title of any kind since 2002. Santana (15-10, 6-2 GNL), which padded its overall record with a forfeit win from Serra this week, last won a league title in 1988.

CORY BROWN, the Vaqueros' 6-foot-9 senior scoring machine, posted a triple double of 27 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocked shots, to lead El Capitan. He had some co-stars in the scoring department on this night as TAELOR WORRELL canned 12 points and JASON ZIEGLER added 11.

West Hills (13-14, 3-5 GNL) built a 32-25 advantage by the close of the first half. The key to that success was the Wolf Pack's ability to hold Brown to two field goals and 8 points.

"We did a nice job defending Brown in those first two quarters," West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG said. "We forced him to take a lot of bad shots."

Brown found his mark in the second half, pouring in 10 points in the third quarter and nine more in the final period.

"We couldn't stop him in the second half," Armstrong said. "I think we were a little slow getting that guy (defender) out on him like we did in the first half."

When Brown fouled out with 38 seconds remaining, El Capitan was enjoying a 9-point lead.

A pair of 3-pointers by KYLE HAMANN pulled the Pack back into contention 57-54.

But Jason Ziegler sank a pair of free throws with 19 seconds left to seal the victory for El Capitan. Those were clutch shots, considering Ziegler had missed seven of his previous 10 attempts.

Hamann led West Hills with 17 points, all but two coming on his five 3-pointers. The senior guard also had six rebounds and a pair of assists. PETER GILSON added 10 points, while TIM NOWLIN had eight points and seven rebounds.

NICK MURICO notched eight rebounds and three assists for El Capitan, while Worrell added 5 rebounds and 4 steals to his totals.

El Capitan scoring: Brown 27, Worrell 12, Jason Ziegler 11, Josh Ziegler 5, Murico 2, Tyrel Zauss 2.

West Hills scoring: Hamann 17, Gilson 10, Tim Nowlin 8, Taylor Robbins 7, O.J. Ortiz 6, Miles Pivonka 2, Chris Lifgren 2, Blaine Hoffard 2.

GRANITE HILLS 59, MONTE VISTA 53 -- As if there was any doubt, Granite Hills senior guard NICK TAYLOR cemented himself in as Grossmont South League Player of the Year Friday night (Feb. 17).

After a slow start and some foul troubles in the second quarter, the 6-foot-2 Taylor caught fire for 13 of his game-high 34 points in the third quarter as Granite Hills (20-7, 9-1 GSL) dodged an upset bid by the visiting Monarchs.

Taylor connected on 10 of 26 shots from the field, including 6 of 16 from three-point range, as the Eagles won for the 13th time in their last 14 starts. It was the 10th time Taylor has scored 30 or more points, which includes a career-high 53 against Sweetwater.

The first half closed with Taylor nailing a 3-pointer at the buzzer that cut the visiting Monarchs' advantage to 26-25 at the break.

"We didn't come out like we wanted to," Taylor said. "We came out soft, probably because we were too confident after the Helix game (a 53-50 win on Tuesday). I think we thought we could just look past these guys. But they are dangerous. They beat Helix, so I don't know what we were thinking."

Granite Hills took a 33-32 lead for keeps on a CLARK GORDON basket two minutes into the third quarter. Taylor followed with a trio of treys helping the Eagles extended their margin to 42-34. A Taylor deuce early in the 4th period gave Granite Hills a 51-38 lead with six minutes remaining.

Monte Vista (14-13, 4-6 GSL) battled back to tie the game 53-all on the strength of two TREVOR PECK 3-pointers, four RYAN SLADE free throws, 3 points from JAMAR RANSOME and 2 from ROSHUN WYNNE.

The Monarchs had chances to land the game-winner but failed to connect. Taylor hit two free throws to give Granite Hills a 55-53 edge with 1:07 left. BRANDEN PRIDE hit both ends of a one-and-one and Taylor tagged on a pair of free throws to give Granite Hills its final margin.

Granite Hills scoring: Taylor 34, Gordon 13, Pride 5, Dean Miller 4, Wayne Martin 2, Brian Humphries 1.

Monte Vista scoring: Peck 17, Wynne 14, Slade 10, Ransome 10, David Murgia 2.

HELIX 68, STEELE CANYON 33 -- Considering Steele Canyon had won five of its previous six Grossmont South League games, Friday's (Feb. 17) battle for second place showdown at Steele Canyon seemed imminent.

It turned out to be no contest as the Highlanders (20-6, 7-3 GSL) stormed out to a 20-4 lead and ballooned the bulge to 65-25 after three quarters. A running clock over the final eight minutes kept it from being a bigger disaster for Steele Canyon (12-15, 4-6 GSL).

"They did everything right and everything went wrong for us," lamented Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN. "It's only one loss, so we're just going to try to move on. They shot really well. They had some tough shots, but just got better and better. We didn't know (AARON) TINSLEY could shoot that good -- we didn't have that in our scouting report."

Tinsley scored a season-high 23 points as the Highlanders shot a surprisingly high 62 percent (25 of 41) from the floor. A senior guard, Tinsley connected on 8 of 13 floor shots and all three free throws.

"All of our scoring came off our defense," Helix coach JOHN SINGER said. "We got a lot of breakouts, a lot of easy buckets."

LAWRENCE HURDLE added 13 points, 9 assists and 5 steals for the Highlanders, who also received from BRANDON FOUNTAIN 12 points -- on 6 of 9 shooting -- 5 rebounds and 2 steals.

No Steele Canyon player scored more than 7 points.

"We missed layups and free throws, and were 0 for 9 on threes," Balikian said. "We let them out the gate so quickly that we couldn't shut the gates from the flood."

Helix scoring: Tinsley 23, Hurdle 13, Fountain 12, David Jefferson 4, Sean Scarber 4, Justin Johnson 3, Eric Forney 3, Brandon Williams 1, Alex Aguirre 1.

Steele Canyon scoring: Adam Bendas 7, Lionel Ball 6, Andrew Timm 6, Jabari Robinson 6, Emory Mitchell 4, Arlin Taylor 2, Riley Balikian 2.

GROSSMONT 55, EL CAJON VALLEY 49 -- Sophomore IAN COCHRAN scored a career high 20 points Friday (Feb.17) as host Grossmont concluded the season with a Grossmont North League nod over the Braves.

Cochran scored 14 of Grossmont's 17 points in the 4th quarter as the Hillers (7-19, 2-6 GNL) protected a three-point lead.

"It was Senior Night and we played the seniors in the 1st and 3rd quarters," said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. "Then we used the younger kids in the 2nd and 4th quarters and outscored (El Cajon Valley) 33-18 in those two quarters."

Cochran is Grossmont's hope for the future. He concluded his final seven games with a 14.6 scoring average.

"We happened to match up OK against them, and some of the things we do offensively bothered them more than they do the other teams we played," Foggiano said.

For the Braves, NATE SCHAD scored 9 of his 24 game-high points in the 4th quarter.

Grossmont scoring: Cochran 20, Luis Gonzales 9, Dominic Elder 9, Justin Rutherford 7, Derrick Davenport 4, Alex Chiappone 3, Trevor Thomas 2, Khalid Waters 1.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Schad 24, Chris Reynalds 12, Dori Laramore 6, Tim Widjaja 3, Wasom Patros 2, Shannon 2.

VALHALLA 49, MOUNT MIGUEL 41 -- Senior guard PAUL MARTINS scored 10 of his 12 points in the final quarter Friday (Feb. 17) as host Valhalla staved off the Matadors in the Grossmont South League finale for both teams.

Martins added 7 rebounds and 4 assists to his account. BRETT HANSEN added 9 points and 7 boards, while NASHEEL RAJA pitched in 7 points and 6 rebounds.

The Norsemen looked as if they would win in a runaway, leading 10-2 after the opening quarter.

"We took a big lead and then let them back in," Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS said. "Even when we had that 10-2 lead I felt like it should have been 20-2."

The Matadors (7-20, 0-10 GSL) concluded the season with 11 consecutive losses. Six of those setbacks came by less than 10 points. Never the less, Mount Miguel won't be going to the playoffs.

Senior guard WARREN THODILE cast in a game high 16 points, including a 3-pointer that helped Mount Miguel attempt to erase an 8-point deficit in the final 2:10.

"It was kinda the same things we've been through all year," said Mount Miguel coach MIKE GOLOVKO. "There's one quarter that we struggle in. We got within three points in the third quarter, and then the remainder of the game it was 3-5 points to the end. We just can't seem to get over the top -- we just need to get those two or three buckets."

Valhalla scoring: Martins 12, Hansen 9, Raja 7, Kevin Kriebel 6, Keith Williams 4, Jeremiah Browning 4, Jeff Sopata 4, Khalid Waters 3.

Mount Miguel scoring: Thodile 16, Richard Jackson 8, Donta Young 6, Courtney Wrather 5, Karlin Stewart 3, Laron Rush 2, Lamont Freeman 1.

Christian High guard Paulius Ivanauskas pulls the ball away from a Crawford defender in Friday's Central League finale. The Colts won, 70-56. (Photo by Tori Mills)

HOOVER 70, CHRISTIAN 56 -- Following a trip to Nebraska for the prestigious Omaha Shootout last weekend, Hoover 's 6-foot-8, 250-pound center Ryon White came down with the flu, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the Cardinals line-up.

And when standout guard JayLee Luster collected three fast fouls just 1:21 into the second half to give him four for the contest, Christian High found all the ingredients needed to post a Central League upset.

However, the Patriots failed to break the press of the quicker Cardinals, falling 70-56 in the regular-season finale at Ryan Center.

"We didn't have a big man, and then JayDee got his fouls, but we all stepped it up and crashed the boards," said Hoover forward Norvell Arnold, who scored a game-high 35 points, including 14 in the decisive third quarter.

Entering the ballgame, Christian already had a height and rebounding advantage, then when the news of White's absence was discovered, the Patriots had to believe they were in position to knock off the 8th-ranked Cardinals.

"We weren't about to let that happen," added Corey Trisby, who scored five of his nine points during a 19-7 run to open the second half. "We wanted to show that we controlled everything and could win even though we missed some players."

After Luster was tagged for a pair of slaps and a push while playing press defense to earn a ticket to the bench, Arnold took the ball three straight times into the lane for short scoop shots for baskets.

"Norvell won us this game," said Hoover coach Ollie Goulston. "He just stepped up for us when JayDee got into foul trouble."

Luster finished with 10 points, including just four in the second half, all coming on free throws in the game’s final 21 seconds.

The Patriots received 21 points and eight rebounds from 6-foot-4 junior ANDRIUS MIKUTIS, while senior point guard PAULIUS IVANAUSKAS added eight points, nine boards and five assists.

However, the guard play often failed to beat the quicker Cardinals on the press, as DEREK LARSEN was the leader in the Christian backcourt with 11 points.

Christian scoring: Mikutis 21, Larsen 11, Ivanauskas 8, Daniel Hazlett 7, Viktor Asaciovas 4, Colin McDonald 3, Cameron Johnson 2.

East County Sports.com
LA MESA (2-15-06) -- For the third time in four years, there is a new champion in the Grossmont South League. Not Helix, which last won the league laurels in 2003. Nor is it Steele Canyon, which had won the last two league titles.

The spotlight is shining on coach RANDY ANDERSON and his Granite Hills Eagles, who used a last-second 3-pointer by NICK TAYLOR to edge the Highlanders 53-50 in Tuesday's (Feb. 14) Grossmont South showdown at Helix.

That win carried double value for Granite Hills (19-7, 8-1 GSL), which not only clinched the first league title in boys basketball in the school's 47-year history but broke the mark for victories in a season with 19.

"It was kinda fitting how the game ended," Helix coach JOHN SINGER said. "The (Grossmont South League) Player of the Year hit the winning shot."

Taylor hit five 3-pointers against the Highlanders (19-6, 6-3 GSL), the game-winner coming from five feet beyond the arc.

"It was a bomb," Anderson said of Taylor's winning shot that came with 3 seconds remaining. "We called a clear out play for Nick. They were playing ‘man' on him with help. Just as a second (Helix) guy came over to double, Nick pulled up and shot."

Taylor scored a game-high 29 points for the Eagles, who have won 12 of their last 13 decisions.

"No question the guy is the best player in our league," Singer said of Taylor, who is averaging an East County best 26.9 with 700 points in 26 games. "I'm not going to contest it at our all-league meeting. He's the guy."

Taylor's 116 treys are unequalled in the San Diego CIF this season. The senior marksman also handed out 4 assists, three coming in the final quarter when the Eagles overcame a 38-33 Helix lead.

Sophomore BRIAN HUMPHRIES put together one of his best games for the Eagles, scoring 10 points, blocking 2 shots and sharing team-high rebounding honors with 6-8 CLARK GORDON. BRANDEN PRIDE pitched in 6 assists for Granite Hills.

LAWRENCE HURDLE posted a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds for Helix, which also received 15 points and 17 rebounds from DAVID JEFFERSON. Six-foot junior ERIC FORNEY grabbed 9 rebounds for the Highlanders.

"We did a lot of things well," Singer said. "But congratulate them -- they deserve to be champions. They won the game, we didn't lose it."

Granite Hills scoring: Hurdle 22, Jefferson 15, Forney 6, Aaron Tinsley 4, Jericho Toilolo 3.

Helix scoring: Taylor 29, Humphries 10, Gordon 9, Dean Miller 3, Pride 2.

STEELE CANYON 51, VALHALLA 49 -- For a rebuilding year, first-year coach BERNIE BALIKIAN and his Cougars have done rather well. Steele Canyon, the darling of East County basketball the past three years, posted its fifth win in six games Tuesday (Feb. 14) as they held off host Valhalla in a tight Grossmont South League contest.

Valhalla (14-12, 5-4 GSL) led 24-14 after one half and was hanging onto a 41-40 edge early in the fourth quarter. The Cougars then tacked up eight unanswered points -- six on free throws -- to take a 48-41 lead.

"We kept doing dumb things," observed Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS. "Steele Canyon outplayed us by a bundle in the second half. We had a bad stretch where we kept missing and fouling and they'd make their free throws."

Down but not out, the Norsemen made a belated rally on the strength of a pair of KEITH WILLIAMS 3-pointers in the final 19 seconds. Too little, too late for Valhalla.

It was a bitter defeat for Valhalla, which suffered its second straight loss after winning five in a row.

LIONEL BALL banged in 15 points -- giving him 45 in his last two starts -- to pace Steele Canyon (11-15, 4-5 GSL). EMORY MITCHELL was a force for the Cougars, pitching in 11 points, nine rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 assists and 2 steals, while sophomore RILEY BALIKIAN hit a career high 10 points -- with no turnovers -- and grabbed 5 rebounds.

Steele Canyon was directed by assistant coach DEREK STEPHENS, who notched his first career win as a coach.

"He did a great job in a difficult situation," said head coach Balikian, who was ejected in the previous game and had to sit this one out. "I was pretty pleased that we could go on the road and win. It has major playoff implications for us."

Steele Canyon scoring: Ball 15, Mitchell 11, Balikian 10, Arlin Taylor 8, Jabari Robinson 5, Andrew Timm 2.

Valhalla scoring: Willliams 14, Paul Martins 11, Nasheel Raja 4, Kevin Kriebel 4, Jeremiah Browning 4, Jeff Sopata 4, Khalil Fakhoury 4, Brett Hansen 4.

MONTE VISTA 47, MOUNT MIGUEL 46 -- A putback at the buzzer by RYAN SLADE gave visiting Monte Vista a much needed victory over the Matadors and enhanced the Monarchs chances for a post-season San Diego CIF Division II playoff berth.

With Mount Miguel on the cusp of a mild upset, Monte Vista's DAVID MURGIA took the original knockout shot. Murgia missed the mark, but the 5-foot-11 Slade was there to turn Murgia's miss into the decisive basket.

Playing without one of their key players -- JAMAR RANSOME (ejected in the previous game) -- the Monarchs (14-12, 4-5 GSL) were on the verge of getting blown out by the victory-starved Matadors in the first half.

Mount Miguel (7-19, 0-8 GSL), which has lost 10 in a row, led 26-21 at intermission.

Monte Vista coach ZACH PECK credited sophomore MICHAEL WATKINS for scoring six points in the first half to keep the Monarchs within striking range.

The Monarchs came out with pumped up intensity in the third quarter, gaining a 17-5 scoring edge over that eight-minute stretch.

Still, the 38-31 Monte Vista cushion was deflated as the Matadors made a belated challenge to regain the lead only to lose as the buzzer rang in their ears.

Senior TREVOR PECK scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half for Monte Vista. Peck, ROSHUN WYNNE and Slade accounted for all but 2 of Monte Vista's 26 second half points.

Down by 3, Wynne set Peck up for a layup. Peck got a steal at half court off the press on the ensuing play and laid it up giving Monte Vista a 45-44 lead.

Mount Miguel's COURTNEY WRATHER got a steal and a basket with 24 seconds to go to give the Matadors the lead.

But Slade foiled the Matadors bid for their first league win.

Mount Miguel's WARREN THODILE banged in 14 points and dished 4 assists. LARON RUSH and Wrather added 11 points apiece for the Matadors, who also received 8 rebounds from RICHARD JACKSON.

Monte Vista scoring: Peck 14, Wynne 13, Slade 12, Murgia 2, Watkins 6.

Mount Miguel scoring: Thodile 14, Rush 11, Wrather 11, Jackson 6, Donta Young 2, Karlin Stewart 2.

EL CAPITAN 61, SANTANA 54 -- Senior CORY BROWN was determined to keep El Capitan's chances for a share of the Grossmont North League title alive in Tuesday's (Feb.14) face-off in Lakeside.

The 6-foot-9 Brown scored 33 points, collected 17 rebounds and 6 blocks to leave the Vaqueros (15-11, 5-2 GNL) just one win short of earning a share of the league title. Standing in the Vaqueros' way is West Hills, which would love to deny El Capitan a piece of the league crown with a victory in Friday's (Feb. 17) regular season finale in Santee.

"Brown was dominating," admitted Santana coach TIM BARRY. "He is as complete a player as I've seen at El Capitan. He makes nice moves. It's not like we poorly defended him. He just knows what it takes to put the ball in the basket."

Defensive-minded Santana was burned by one of El Capitan's finest shooting nights of the season. The Vaqueros connected on 58 percent of 38 shots from the field and 15 of 22 free throws as they equaled their second-highest scoring effort of the season.

"That's hard for me to believe," said Barry, who realizes his Sultans (14-11, 6-2 GNL) may have to share the Grossmont North crown -- Santana's first league title in 18 years. "We've held the majority of our league opponents below 50 points. And El Cap got us for 37 in the first half."

Santana trailed the majority of the contest, but made it a one possession game when RICKY MICHELMORE plowed between three El Capitan defenders to complete a three-point play. That left the Vaqueros nursing a precarious 54-53 edge with 1:20 to play.

A basket by Brown and four JASON ZIEGLER free throws sealed the victory for El Capitan, which edged Santana 45-41 in the first round of league play.

"I don't know how many points he had tonight, but Cory is definitely the MVP of our league," El Capitan coach ROSS FURROW said. "He made a key drive and basket on the baseline (giving El Cap a 53-49 edge), and stepped outside to hit a couple of big threes. One was on a set call and the other was on his own."

Furrow was quick to finger the defensive work of Jason Ziegler on Santana scoring leader Michelmore, who was in a physical battle all night as he earned all of his 13 points.

Michelmore also grabbed 13 rebounds to complete a double-double. JON HERNANDEZ added 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals for the Sultans before fouling out with 3:24 remaining.

El Capitan scoring: Brown 33, Taelor Worrell 6, Josh Ziegler 6, Jason Ziegler 6, Tyrel Zauss 6, Jeramie Carr 2, Nick Murico 2.

Santana scoring: Jon Hernandez 14, Ricky Michelmore 13, Carlos Vargas 9, Brooks Bass 8, Garrett Happ 4, Jon Corbisez 4, Tyler Blackledge 2.

WEST HILLS 73, EL CAJON VALLEY 55 -- Two unsung guns -- PETER GILSON (20 points) and CHRIS LIFGREN (17) -- burst to scoring forefront Tuesday (Feb.14) as the Wolf Pack buried the Braves in a Grossmont North League encounter.

"We were excited to win but we'd have rather beaten them with their best player," said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. "We didn't beat them at full strength. We prepared all week against NATE SCHAD, and he wasn't there."

Schad, who scored a season-high 34 points in an earlier 74-64 win over the Wolf Pack, attended the NFL Pro Bowl with his family Sunday (Feb. 12) in Honolulu, Hawaii.

None the less, the victory kept West Hills' playoff fires burning. Should the Pack beat El Capitan in Friday's (Feb.17) regular-season finale, West Hills would surely qualify for its 10th straight playoff berth.

The Wolf Pack (13-13, 3-4 GNL) used a 23-11 scoring rush in the final period to snub any comeback hopes of the Braves (6-17, 3-4 GNL).

"We had a great fourth quarter," Armstrong noted. "Lifgren had 11 of his 17 points in that quarter, and Gilson gave us a much better effort tonight, with 20 points and hitting 10-of-13 free throws."

Another plus for West Hills was SHAIN STONER, who scored a career-high nine points in a starting role.

"We had more post presence tonight and that complemented our perimeter game," Armstrong said. "TIM NOWLIN and Gilson played well in the post. And we got good mileage out of Shain tonight."

CHRIS REYNALDS led El Cajon Valley with 18 points, half of those markers coming from beyond the 3-point marker. TIM WIDJAJA added 11 points for the Braves.

West Hills scoring: Gilson 20, Lifgren 17, Stoner 9, Tim Nowlin 9, Kyle Hamann 8, Troy Nowlin 6, O.J. Ortiz 2, Miles Pivonka 2.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Chris Reynalds 18, Tim Widjaja 11, Dori Laramore 7, Dejon Joy 7, John Putris 3, Christian Franco 3, Wasom Patros 2, Kenneth MacAraeg 2, Shannon 2.

CHRISTIAN 70, CORONADO 38 -- PAULIUS IVANAUSKAS (16), DEREK LARSEN (15), and DANIEL HAZLETT (11) led a balanced attack to carry Christian (18-5, 6-3 CNL) past Coronado in Tuesday 's (Feb. 14) Central League action.

It was the fourth win in five starts for the Patriots, who built a 42-13 hafltime lead and then breezed to victory.

Christian scoring: Ivanauskas 16, Larsen 15, Hazlett 11, Andrius Mikutis 8, Colin McDonald 8, Viktor Asaciovas 5, Jon Fuller 4, Cameron Johnson 3.

Valhalla senior Keith Williams (right) drives on Helix's Eric Forney, with the burst captured under the special effects eye by one of East County Sports' award-winning photographers. (Photo by Travis Downs)

League races still
up for grabs

East County Sports.com
LA MESA (2-11-06) -- Following a two-week lull which nearly knocked them out of the county rankings and contention for the Grossmont South League crown, the Helix Highlanders seem to be quickly reclaiming the form which once saw the Scotties capture 10 of 11 contests during midseason.

Behind a stellar 14-point, 21-rebound performance by junior DAVID JEFFERSON, Helix started its stretch drive by building an early 16-point lead, then staved off a late Valhalla rally to stop the Norsemen, 55-44, at Caledonia Gymnasium.

"Coach (JOHN SINGER) challenged us -- he didn't think we had it in us," noted Jefferson, who grabbed six boards over the final three minutes to halt the Norsemen comeback effort. "We showed we still got some winning to do."

The victory sets the stage for a first-place showdown between the Highlanders (19-5, 6-2 GSL) and Granite Hills (18-7, 7-1 GSL) Tuesday (Feb. 14) at 6 p.m. The Eagles took the initial encounter, 68-59, which placed the Scotties into their recent funk.

"Granite Hills has been talking a lot since they beat us," added Jefferson. "But this one will be in our house -- they better be ready to play."

Helix forward David Jefferson (35) scores with the right hand while getting fouled on the left arm by Valhalla's Kevin Kriebel, leading to a 3-point play. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva) FOR ADDITIONAL PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

Valhalla (14-11, 5-3 GSL), which saw its five-game win streak end, stayed even with Helix throughout much of the first period, but when the Norsemen switched out of their man and tried to sit back in a zone, Helix found inroads to the basket.

Leading 16-14 midway through the second period, senior AARON TINSLEY drained his third 3-ball of the game to spark a string of 14 straight Helix points which included contributions from all five players on the court.

ERIC FORNEY followed by slipping through the zone to grab an offensive rebound and scoring on the outback, then LAWRENCE HURDLE stole the ball and raced in on a breakaway, hitting two foul shots after getting fouled from behind.

The stretch continued when JERICHO TOILOLO, one of five Helix seniors honored prior to the contest, scored on a layin from a nice Jefferson pass, then Hurdle got another of his six steals for another layin.

Valhalla was advancing toward a third straight overtime as KEITH WILLIAMS and PAUL MARTINS led an assault to trim the margin to 44-40 with 5:12 remaining. JEREMIAH BROWNING also scored eight of his 11 points during the run.

Martins provided the offense with nine of his 16 points in the second half, while Williams quickly became a playmaker with all of his three assists coming over the final 10 minutes. However, a barrage of second-chance opportunities could not be converted, as the Norsemen shot just 5-for-16 (31 percent) in the fourth period.

That's when Jefferson took control on the boards with his season-high total, taking advantage of the match-ups under the glass.

"Jefferson was great -- he played like a man tonight," said Singer. "And he did the little things which made a difference for us."

For example, during a 2-minute run early in the third period, Jefferson recorded a steal to start a fastbreak, took a charge to force a turnover, scored on a layin, then leaped to block a shot to further frustrate Valhalla.

"Coach always says it's small stuff like that which makes you a winner," Jefferson added. "And they carry over to get it done on the scoreboard."

"Jefferson absolutely dominated," echoed Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS.

The Highlanders also hit nine of their last 12 foul shots to maintain their advantage, including a 4-for-4 effort by BRANDON FOUNTAIN. Fountain was 6-for-6 in the game as Helix claimed an 18-6 scoring advantage from the foul line.

"We might have put a little fear into them, but I don't think the game was ever in doubt in their minds," Thomas said. "That second quarter killed us. We played a little scared (and were outscored 20-11) and much of that is a credit to Helix's defense."

Browning led the Norsemen with 12 rebounds, while KHALIL FAKHOURY grabbed eight in a reserve role.

Prior to the contest, the 1980 undefeated SDCIF champion Helix girls basketball team (28-0) was honored, with many of the former players honored on the court along with Singer, who coached both genders during the era.

Helix scoring: Tinsley 15, Jefferson 14, Hurdle 10, Fountain 6, Forney 6, Toilolo 3, Sean Scarber 1.

Valhalla scoring: Martins 16, Williams 11, Browning 11, Fakhoury 5, Jeff Sopata 1.

SANTANA 60, WEST HILLS 47 -- The Sultans assured themselves of no less than a share of the Grossmont North League title Friday (Feb. 10) when they slammed their Santee rivals at Santana.

"We got part of the (league) championship tonight and we want to take it all on Tuesday," said Santana coach TIM BARRY, who was a starting guard the last time Santana claimed the league laurels in 1988.

"It was an enormous (raucous) atmosphere tonight ­-- fans pouring onto the floor after the game to congratulate us."

Santana (14-10, 6-1 GNL) closes the regular season against second-place El Capitan Tuesday (Feb. 14) in Lakeside at 6 p.m. A victory over the Vaqueros gives the Sultans their first league crown in 18 years outright.

A quick start and fast finish salvaged Santana's win over West Hills (12-13, 2-4, GNL).

Senior BROOKS BASS had a career high scoring game with 16 points to lead the Sultans. Brooks, known mostly for his play-making and defensive abilities, canned 5 of 9 shots from the field and 5 of 6 free throws. He also handed out 3 assists.

"He defends the best players, runs the show. And tonight he led us in a new way by leading us in scoring. He handled the ball well," said his coach.

JON HERNANDEZ added 13 points, 7 rebounds, 7 steals and 4 assists for Santana, which led 16-8 after one quarter, but needed a 22-12 scoring binge in the fourth period to secure the victory.

RICKY MICHELMORE joined the Sultans' winning effort with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.

West Hills senior KYLE HAMANN drilled in 17 points -- more than half coming on three 3-pointers -- to pace the Wolf Pack, which has lost 10 of its last 12. CHRIS LIFGREN pitched in 16 points for the Pack.

Santana scoring: Brooks Bass 16, Hernandez 13, Michelmore 13, Jon Corbisez 9, Carlos Vargas 5, Garrett Happ 2, Tyler Blackledge 2.

West Hills scoring: Hamann 17, Lifgren 16, Miles Pivonka 4, Shain Stoner 2, Blaine Hoffard 2, Taylor Robbins 2, Troy Nowlin 2, Peter Gilson 2.

Nick Murico of El Capitan (in white) releases this shot over Grossmont defender Justin Rutherford. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

EL CAPITAN 41, GROSSMONT 31 --
In one of the lowest scoring games of the season, the Vaqueros came from two points down in the final quarter to upend the visiting Foothillers and keep their Grossmont North League title hopes alive.

El Capitan (14-11, 4-2 GNL), which needs to sweep its final two regular season games, including Tuesday's (Feb. 14) duel with first place Santana, limited Grossmont to 7 points in the second half.

"Our defense has been pretty solid all year," El Capitan coach ROSS FURROW said. "We played Grossmont in a match-up zone and their kids don't move real well against a zone."

With senior CORY BROWN dogged by foul problems, El Capitan had to turn to its defense to pull this one out. The 6-9 Brown, who averages 24 points per game, was on the court for only 16 of the 32 minutes, finishing with a season-low 5 points (9 rebounds and 3 blocks).

Brown had three fouls in the first half, a quick fourth personal in the third period before fouling out with 6:24 remaining.

Seconds before Brown exited, JERAMIE CARR canned a 3-pointer to give El Capitan a 29-26 advantage it wouldn't lose.

It was the second rugged outing Brown has had against Grossmont (6-19, 1-6 GNL), which has limited East County's tallest player to 13 points in two games.

Grossmont applies a physical double-team when defending Brown.

"They put one guy in front and a second guy behind," Furrow said. "It's hard to score against two guys."

Furrow seemed puzzled that more teams don't follow Grossmont's defensive philosophy.

Despite Brown's struggles against the Hillers, El Capitan has beaten Grossmont in each of its two league meetings.

JOSH ZIEGLER keyed El Capitan's 17-5 scoring edge with 6 points. He shared game-high scoring honors with NICK MURICO.

"After Cory fouled out, Nick did a great job of denying the ball in the middle," Furrow said.

LUIS GONZALES (10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists) and JUSTIN RUTHERFORD (10 points, 7 rebounds) led the Foothillers, who have lost four in a row and 11 of 13.

El Capitan scoring: Josh Ziegler 9, Murico 9, Jason Ziegler 8, Brown 5, Taelor Worrell 4 (6 rebs), Carr 3, Tyrel Zauss 2, Brandon Braun 1.

Grossmont scoring: Gonzales 10, Rutherford 10, Ian Cochran 5 (8 rebs), Dominic Elder 3, Khalid Waters 3.

Granite Hills point guard Brandon Pride goes up for the breakaway layin against host Mount Miguel. (Photo by Chris Edwards) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

GRANITE HILLS 52, MOUNT MIGUEL 43 -- Senior guard NICK TAYLOR scored 22 points and 6-8 center CLARK GORDON rolled a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds Friday (Feb.14) as the visiting Eagles rallied to beat Mount Miguel in a Grossmont South League game.

It was a landmark victory for the Grossmont South leading Eagles (18-7, 7-1 GSL), who tied the school record for wins set by the 2000 Granite Hills squad that finished 18-10.

"Coach (JIM) GLEBOFF's team was the No. 1 defense in the county in 2000," said current head coach and former Gleboff assistant coach RANDY ANDERSON. "We do things a little bit differently, but we like to think we are on the right path."

Granite Hills can break the school victory standard and win the Eagles' first league title in the 47-year history of the program by hanging Helix in Tuesday's (Feb. 14) Grossmont South showdown in La Mesa.

Grossmont South League cellar-dweller Mount Miguel showed that the winless Matadors (7-18, 0-8 GSL) haven't given up as they took a 15-6 first quarter lead.

The Eagles gained control in the second quarter, outscoring Mount Miguel 20-8 to lead by three at halftime.

Taylor scored 9 and Gordon piled on 8 in the pivotal third period. The Eagles gradually added to their lead in the second half and then began focusing on Helix and a possible first league championship in boys basketball.

Mount Miguel coach MIKE GOLOVKO did not miss a chance to celebrate in consolation.

"I think we did a good job on Taylor tonight," Golovko said. "He had to work pretty hard to get his shots.

"In the last 2½ to 3 minutes we tied the score, but…," said Golovko. "In the last seven games we've either been ahead by halftime or were within about 2-3 possessions and just couldn't get over the hump. When the referees compliment your kids on how hard they play and their behavior on the court, that says a lot to me. That's nice. We'll try to take baby steps and try to get more "W's." This group continues to compete."

Meanwhile, Granite Hills continues to hone in on that first championship.

"You can't win a championship with just a couple of players," said Anderson, whose Eagles have finished on top in 11 of their last 12 flights.

Anderson pointed to the youthful support of sophomore BRIAN HUMPHRIES (9 points, 7 rebounds) and freshman DEAN MILLER (3 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists).

"You need to get efforts like what Humphries gave us in the 4th quarter -- a 3-pointer and a couple of free throws," Anderson said.

LARON RUSH had his best double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds to lead Mount Miguel.

Granite Hills scoring: Taylor 22, Gordon 14, Humphries 9, Branden Pride 4 (4 assists, 4 steals), Miller 3.

Mount Miguel scoring: Rush 12, Warren Thodile 11, Courtney Wrather 10, Donta Young 6, Karlin Stewart 2, Lamont Freeman 2.

STEELE CANYON 65, MONTE VISTA 49 -- Senior LIONEL BALL scored a career high 30 points and registered 16 rebounds to carry the visiting Cougars past Monte Vista in Friday's (Feb. 10) Grossmont South League action in Spring Valley.

"It was his night," said Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN. "He hit a running 3-point shot at the buzzer (ending the first half), and it was about five feet short of halfcourt. Lionel also pursued the boards well."

Ball, whose previous high was 19 points, nailed nine field goals (2 of them threes) and 10 of 14 free throws as Steele Canyon (10-15, 3-5 GSL) posted its fourth win in five starts.

"We couldn't stop him," Monte Vista coach ZACH PECK said.

Nor could the two teams avoid the piercing whistle of the officials.

The game was bogged down by 44 fouls, six technicals and two ejections -- one coach and one player.

"One of our smart kids sitting in the stands figured we were on course for 65 fouls after the first quarter (when the two teams picked up 16)," Peck said. "I know we were hurt because we couldn't press because fouls were called so quickly."

ARLIN TAYLOR added 11 points for the Cougars, including 8-for-8 free throw shooting. JABARI ROBINSON pitched in nine points, most coming on a pair of three-spots. EMORY MITCHELL snagged 10 rebounds.

Senior TREVOR PECK paced Monte Vista (13-12,3-5 GSL) with 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting, including a pair of threes. The 6-foot-3 Peck also grabbed 8 rebounds and made 3 steals. ROSHUN WYNNE slipped in 6 assists and 5 rebounds, but only 4 points.

The Monarchs' cause was damaged when junior middle man JAMAR RANSOME was hampered by fouls and eventually fouled out. Ransome was 3-for-3 from the field and 2-for-5 from the before his premature departure.

Steele Canyon scoring: Ball 30, Taylor 11, Robinson 9, Riley Balikian 8, Mitchell 4, Andrew Timm 3.

Monte Vista scoring: Peck 18, Ryan Slade 8, Ransome 8, Joey Belanger 7, Wynne 4, Michael Watkins 4 (6 rebs).

CRAWFORD 71, CHRISTIAN 69 -- Junior ANDRIUS MIKUTIS scored a season-best 22 points on 10-for-14 shooting, but the Patriots of Christian High fell short despite a furious fourth quarter 23-14 rally in Friday's (Feb.10) Central League game at Crawford.

It was the second time in as many meetings against the Colts (17-9, 7-1 CNL) that Christian (17-5, 5-3 CNL) had come out second-best in a last-second charge, losing the first-round battle 76-72.

"We played awesome tonight," said Christian High assistant coach ADAM COPP. " We got down 16 in the fourth and took the lead with two minutes to go despite the lack of calls (by the officials). But in the last 2 minutes there were three questionable calls that killed us."

Former Christian standout Tyrone Shelly connected for 26 points and 9 rebounds to lead Crawford. Helix transfer Malcom Thomas added 15 points for the Ponies.

DANIEL HAZLETT led Christian's supporting cast with 12 points, one more than DEREK LARSEN, who also delivered 5 assists.

Christian's COLIN McDONALD collected a game high 10 rebounds, while PAULIUS IVANAUSKAS contributed 11 points and 7 assists.

Christian scoring: Mikutis 22, Hazlett 12, Larsen 11, Ivanauskas 11, McDonald 7, Viktor Asaciovas 6.

David Murgia (20) of Monte Vista drives to the basket and flips this shot past a pair of Valhalla defenders. The Norsemen won in double overtime. (Photo by Chris Edwards) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

Eagles dodge upset; Norsemen continue to defy experts

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-8-06) -- The night of upsets throughout the East County laid its eyes on the Granite Hills Eagles, who trailed most of Tuesday (Feb. 7) evening before finding a sliver of light by clinging to a 44-43 lead through three periods.

At that point, they looked to East County scoring leader NICK TAYLOR to provide the save.

The senior guard poured in 13 of his game-high 27 points in the final period, while the Eagles again equaled the CIF-San Diego Section record with a perfect performance (14-for-14) at the foul line to upend the visiting Cougars, 65-55.

"Nick just took over in the fourth quarter," noted Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. "And we handled the press and were able to extend the lead to 12 points."

Such a prognosis wasn't probable in the first half, when the entire Steele Canyon roster was shooting the 3-point shot, making five to post an early lead.

"We know ARLIN TAYLOR is shooting well, so we were prepared for him," added Anderson. "But when everyone else was shooting them, too, it took us awhile to adjust."

For the ballgame, Taylor drained four of the Cougars' eight treys for a team-best 16 points, while ANDREW TIMM and EMORY MITCHELL added nine points each.

However, the sharp-shooting Taylor and CLARK GORDON (23 points, 10 rebounds) proved to be too much. The 6-8 Gordon was 8-for-10 from the floor and a perfect 7-of-7 from the foul line to equal his season scoring high.

Sophomore BRIAN HUMPHRIES added five points, six boards and three steals for Granite Hills (17-7, 6-1 GSL). The Eagles, who are closing in on the school record for victories in a season, hold a one-game lead over second-place challengers Helix and Valhalla. Granite Hills has won 10 of its last 11 contests in its quest for the school's first league boys basketball championship in history.

"Their big three -- Taylor, BRANDEN PRIDE and Gordon -- are the best three players on one team in our league," said Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN. "They just complement each other so well. I know Taylor gets a lot of credit but Pride directs and stabilizes them. He's tough to rattle. He's as good a point guard as there is in the league. And Gordon gives them a great inside presence. They have a lot of different weapons."

Still, it took Granite Hills until the 4th quarter to prove those weapons to be effective.

"Even though Nick Taylor had a lot of shots (10-for-23), our game plan was to make him put the ball on the floor and we did," Balikian said. "We went down by 16 the first time we played them at our place, so this shows some kind of improvement."

LIONEL BALL chipped in 8 assists and 4 steals for the Cougars (9-15, 2-5 GSL).

Granite Hills scoring -- N. Taylor 27, Gordon 23, Humphries 5, Pride 4, Dean Miller 4, Luke Simpson 2.

Steele Canyon scoring -- A. Taylor 16, Timm 9, Emory Mitchell 9 (6 reb., 2 blocks, 2 steals), Adam Bendas 4, Riley Balikian 6, Jon Douglas 3, Ball 3, Jabari Robinson 5.

EL CAJON VALLEY 55, EL CAPITAN 49 -- If the El Capitan Vaqueros don't win the Grossmont North League championship, they can thank the El Cajon Valley Braves.

The Vaqueros (13-11, 3-2 GNL), who have fallen 1½ games behind first-place Santana, have lost to only one league rival -- El Cajon Valley (6-16, 3-3 GNL) both times

This game at El Cajon Valley was tied 26-26 at halftime and again at 40-40 at end of the third quarter.

It was a unique victory in that the Braves were only 1-for-3 on free throws. People usually don't get fouled where these guys were shooting from -- above the arc. El Cajon Valley clicked on 12 of 31 three-pointers (39 percent) -- and held a 34-33 edge in rebounding over the taller Vaqueros.

CHRIS REYNALDS paced the Braves with 15 points -- all of his points coming on 5 of 12 shooting from long distance. Reynalds also rustled up 4 rebounds and 3 steals.

Senior DORI LARAMORE stepped up big for one of his best offensive games for El Cajon Valley, knocking down 13 points -- 9 coming from three-point range. Laramore also had 7 rebounds and 3 assists, while steady senior point guard NATE SCHAD chipped in 11 points and 8 assists.

TIM WIDJAJA, a 6-foot senior post, battled El Capitan's 6-9 center CORY BROWN inside and came down with a dozen rebounds.

Brown rolled his usual double-double of 18 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Vaqueros. He also blocked 4 shots, but took only 9 shots from the field. The Braves, not known for their defense, did a superb job of denying Brown the ball.

JOSH ZIEGLER added 8 points and 6 assists for El Capitan.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Reynalds 15, Laramore 13, Schad 11, Wasom Patros 7, Widjaja 7, Dejon Joy 2.

El Capitan scoring: Brown 18, Josh Ziegler 8, Brandon Braun 8, Taelor Worrell 4, Tyrel Zauss 4, Nick Murico 4, Jason Ziegler 3.

VALHALLA 67, MONTE VISTA 64 (2 OT) -- This was a game for spectators and a nightmare for perfectionist coaches Tuesday night (Feb. 7) in Spring Valley.

Admitting that "there is no such thing as an ugly win," Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS pointed out numerous errors in the Norsemen's double-overtime victory that eliminated the Monarchs from the Grossmont South League title chase.

"I wasn't happy with our intensity," Thomas said. "I was afraid of that, coming off our (71-69 OT) win over Granite Hills last Friday. Our energy was spent."

Not completely, as KEITH WILLIAMS (16 points), PAUL MARTINS (15), JEREMIAH BROWNING (10) and KEVIN KRIEBEL (10) all reached double figures.

NASHEEL RAJA, who is more of a passer than a shooter, pulled the trigger on 4 points in the second overtime that allowed the Norsemen (14-10, 5-2 GSL) to erase a 64-63 Monte Vista lead in the final minute.

Another intangible to Valhalla's surge to a fifth straight win was Williams, who made the scoring feed to Raja for what proved to be the winning basket with 0:27 left in the second OT.

The Williams assist -- which came off his third steal of the night -- did not surprise Thomas.

"We are not a team that gets a lot of steals," said Thomas, who did not realize that the Norsemen had only five thefts all night at Monte Vista. "I bet we don't average 3 a game."

But Williams, who made two of his picks in the last seconds of the second OT, was smooth in his game-winning pass to Raja.

"It was a nice dish by Keith," Thomas said. "With Keith, if he does penetrate, he will give it up to a teammate who has a better shot."

Williams' timing was impeccable for the Norsemen who have won five in a row and now have a shot at a league title.

Martins added 15 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists before fouling out. Browning pitched in with a double-double for 10 points and as many rebounds. BRETT HANSEN, East County's top shooter from the field, was burdened by foul trouble and took only three shots (hitting 2) for four points, He also snagged 13 rebounds.

ROSHUN WYNNE led the Monarchs (13-11, 3-4) and proved he is worthy of all-league first team consideration. The junior backcourt ace scored 21 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, made 5 steals and handed out 4 assists.

Despite foul trouble, JAMAR RANSOME was strong inside for Monte Vista, hitting 7 of 12 shots for 15 points to go along with 13 rebounds. Ransome, like the majority of his teammates, however, struggled from the free throw line, hitting just one of eight tries.

As a team, Monte Vista was a dismal 16 of 34 from the foul line. That, plus 25 turnovers, and Valhalla's 59-40 rebounding advantage, was too much to overcome.

Valhalla scoring: Williams 16, Martins 15, Browning 10, Kriebel 10, Raja 9, Hansen 4, Jeff Sopata 3.

Monte Vista scoring: Wynne 21, Ryan Slade 17, Ransome 15, David Murgia 6, Trevor Peck 5 (11 rebounds).

Derek Larson of Christian scoops the ball up and in for a basket in the Patriots' rout of Clairemont. (Photo by Tori Allen)

CHRISTIAN 61, CLAIREMONT 36 -- Forgotten but not out of the Central League race, the Patriots (17-4, 5-2), in an attempt to build some momentum for the Central League stretch run, jumped out to a 12-0 lead over host Clairemont Tuesday (Feb. 7) and then breezed to an easy victory.

Christian led 24-5 after one period and 40-13 by halftime.

"We shot great (22 of 44) and held Clairemont to one tough shot," said Christian assistant coach ADAM COPP. "They did not get one offensive rebound in the first half." The Chieftains (9-12, 2-5 CNL) finished with 5 offensive boards in the game as Christian gained an overall 37-18 advantage on the glass.

Despite playing less than 23 minutes, ANDRIUS MIKUTIS led the Patriots with 17 points (hitting 5 of 9 from the floor and all 6 free throws). PAULIUS IVANAUSKAS pitched in with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

Christian faces its biggest tests of the regular season when the Patriots travel to Crawford on Friday (Feb.10) and host Hoover in the regular season finale on Feb. 17.

Christian scoring: Mikutis 17, Ivanauskas 12, Viktor Asaciovas 9, Derek Larsen 8, Colin McDonald 6, Daniel Hazlett 5, Cameron Johnson 2, Brad Sandusky 1, Grant Mills 1.

HELIX 54, MOUNT MIGUEL 40 -- Helix coach JOHN SINGER is wanting for a little more size around the basket, but can't argue with the Highlanders' overall record of 18-5.

Yet, Helix, which has lost only three of its last 16 games, is a sure bet to make the San Diego CIF playoff lineup. The Highlanders, however, still have eyes for winning the Grossmont South League championship. And they'll have a chance as they close the regular season by hosting contenders Valhalla (Feb.10) and Granite Hills (Feb. 14) before closing the campaign against defending champion Steele Canyon (Feb. 17) in Rancho San Diego.

Trailing host Mount Miguel 25-23 at halftime in Tuesday's (Feb. 7) Grossmont South League encounter, the Highlanders pulled away with a 20-6 scoring binge in the third quarter.

Junior guard LAWRENCE HURDLE sparked Helix's pivotal 3rd period, scoring 8 of his 15 points in that frame. Hurdle also had 7 assists, 4 steals and 4 rebounds. AARON TINSLEY added 13 points, one more than DAVID JEFFERSON, who grabbed a game high 16 rebounds.

Still, offense continues to be Helix's Achilles Heel. The Highlanders, averaging 58 points per outing, shot 38 percent from the field against the Matadors (7-17, 0-7 GSL).

"We held them to two sub-10 quarters (6 points in the third and 9 in the fourth)," Singer noted. "But we are still in a funk offensively. I don't like where we are mentally."

DONTA YOUNG had a double-double for Mount Miguel, contributing 12 points and 11 rebounds. COURTNEY WRATHER was the Matadors' top offensive power, hitting a trio of 3-pointers on his way to a 13-point night.

WARREN THODILE added 8 points and 5 assists for Mount Miguel, which has lost 8 in a row.

"We played well for the first half but we got worn down in the second half by their pressure," said Mount Miguel coach MIKE GOLOVKO. "It was a tough match-up for us."

Helix scoring: Hurdle 15, Tinsley 13, Jefferson 12, Jericho Toilolo 9, Brandon Fountain 5.

Mount Miguel scoring: Wrather 13, Young 12, Thodile 8, Lamont Freeman 3, Laron Rush 2, Richard Jackson 2.

SANTANA 61, GROSSMONT 45 -- Santana put the squeeze on the visiting Foothillers almost from the opening tip of Tuesday's (Feb. 7) Grossmont North League game in Santee.

In search of their first league title in 18 years, the Sultans (13-10, 5-1 GNL) posted their 4th win in five starts by flattening the Foothillers. For Grossmont (6-18, 1-5 GNL), it was a 10th loss in the last 12 games.

Sophomore CARLOS VARGAS scored a career high 15 points to support the work of seniors JON HERNANDEZ (21 points, 5 steals, 3 assists) and RICKY MICHELMORE (18 points, 11 rebounds) in the Santana landslide.

"It was a good night from the 3-point line for us," Santana coach TIM BARRY said, noting that his Sultans sank 8 threes (4 by Michelmore). "I think it was a big night for our sophomores. Carlos Vargas scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half, and three were 3-pointers."

Sophomore IAN COCHRAN continued to have a hot hand for Grossmont, ringing up 15 points including 8 of 11 shooting from the foul line. TREVOR THOMAS tossed in a trio of treys for the Foothillers.

Santana scoring: Hernandez 21, Michelmore 18, Vegas 15, Tyler Blackledge 3, Dan Pajimula 2, Brooks Bass 2.

Grossmont scoring: Cochran 15, Trevor Thomas 9, Dominic Elder 7, Justin Rutherford 7, Luis Gonzales 4, Alex Chiappone 2, Jeff Waters 1.

Valhalla's Paul Martins uses the defense for a boost for this layin, despite the efforts of Brian Humphries to take the charge or the effort to block the shot from behind by Nick Taylor. Valhalla sent the Eagles to their first GSL loss, winning 71-67 in overtime. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

Valhalla's Game of the Year shocks first-place Eagles
Monarchs stun Helix, as both South leaders fall in overtime

East County Sports.com
RANCHO SAN DIEGO (2-4-06) -- As noted on a popular cable channel, list this contest as a Top Game nominee for East County Game of the Year after Granite Hills High stormed back from a 20-point deficit to eventually force overtime Friday (Feb. 3), only to fall to archrival Valhalla, 71-69, resulting in the Eagles' initial Grossmont South League setback of the season.

"Both teams had a chance to win," said Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS. "It was another Valhalla-Granite Hills barn burner."

NICK TAYLOR finally got his game and shooting stroke in gear to score 29 points for Granite Hills, the same total he collected in the first meeting. However, the Norsemen found additional points from forward PAUL MARTINS, who scored 10 of his career-high 36 points in the extra session, putting to rest published preseason predictions for a last-place finish by Valhalla.

"I've been playing against Nick ever since 6th grade, and there was no way I was going to lose to him in my last game against him in my senior year," noted Martins, who also grabbed 10 rebounds. "I just tried to keep up with Nick and kept shooting 3's."

After leading by 20 points early in the second quarter, Valhalla treaded water the rest of the way. However, Granite Hills (16-7, 5-1 GSL) never could fully climb the wall, racing back into the ballgame yet only able to tie the score three times. However, when the overtime commenced, the Norsemen (13-10, 4-2 GSL) resembled the crew that took a 23-5 lead in the first quarter.

"That was the classical us this year," said KEVIN KRIEBEL, who added seven points, fourblocks and sixboards. "We'd play good for a half, then let it all go. But it was my job to energize us."

Kriebel provided such a spark to open the overtime.

After JEREMIAH BROWNING blocked a last-second shot to keep the teams tied at the end of regulation time, Martins opened the overtime by quickly draining a 3-ball after taking a feed from Kriebel, who collected two of his four assists in the extra four-minute period.

One possession later, Kriebel was able to reach over Granite Hills rebound machine CLARK GORDON -- the runaway East County leader on the boards (16.5 average), who hauled in 18 caroms -- for a dramatic tip-in and the Norsemen were up 64-59 with the home audience roaring.

"It was a different team out there," Kriebel noted about the Norsemen. "We always seem to play better on the road, but all of our fans -- I think the whole school came out tonight -- were loud and really got us going."

Taylor, who scored eight points in overtime, answered with a 3-ball. However, Martins went back to the game-opening strategy with a drive down the lane for a basket, then sank his sixth trey of the night. Martins later clinched the upset victory with a pair of foul shots in the one-and-one situation for a 71-67 lead with 12 seconds remaining.

Norsemen senior Keith Williams (22) powers into the lane, but Granite Hills center Clark Gordon leaps high on an attempt to block the shot during Friday's exciting GSL contest between the East County;s hottest current rivalry. Valhalla won in overtime. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

The Norsemen took the basketball and kept driving to the basket in one-on-one match-ups into the Granite Hills defense to open the contest. And with the Eagles missing their shots, Valhalla suddenly and surprisingly mounted a 26-6 advantage, making prospects for an overtime slim.

Martins scored nine points in the first, while KEITH WILLIAMS connected on his first four shots for 10 of his 12 points in the opening quarter.

Granite Hills rallied back slowly, as Taylor downed four of his seven treys in the second period, then BRANDEN PRIDE scored 12 points in the third to close the gap to 47-46 entering the final quarter. The point guard finished with a season-high 21 points and 7 assists.

The Norsemen expanded the margin again to 59-48 with 3:52 remaining, but the Eagles scored the final 11 points of regulation, the last nine coming on 3-balls by Pride, Taylor, then Pride, who pulled up and hit a jumper following his steal in the backcourt with 1:13 to play.

Taylor had a chance to win it for Granite Hills with 21 seconds left, but his 3-point attempt spun in-and-out of the basket. The Eagles got the offensive rebound, but a shot at the buzzer was rejected by Browning, as Valhalla blocked 10 shots for the contest.

Valhalla scoring: Martins 36, Browning 12, Williams 12, Kriebel 7, Williams 4.

Granite Hills scoring: Taylor 29, Pride 21, Gordon 13, Humphries 4, Timko 2.

Monte Vista's Ryan Slade (right) keeps the ball away from the pressure defense of a Helix defender. The Monarchs moved back into the Grossmont South League race by rallying for a 50-43 overtime victory at Caledonia Gymnasiim. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

MONTE VISTA 50, HELIX 43 (OT) -- Junior guard ROSHUN WYNNE scored eight of his 14 points in overtime to lift the visiting Monarchs (13-10, 3-3 GSL) to the victory over the seemingly invincible Highlanders Friday night (Feb. 3) in La Mesa.

More than that, though, it was a Wynne free throw in the final four seconds that sent the Grossmont South League game into overtime and helped tighten the GSL standings. Only two games separate the top four teams with four games remaining in league season.

Thanks to Wynne's latest shooting spree, the Monarchs must be rated contenders.

"Wynne was the player of the game, in my opinion," said Helix coach JOHN SINGER. "He was there for them when the game was on the line."
But it was RYAN SLADE, who tossed in a team-best 18 points for Monte Vista, which lost to the Highlanders 66-54 last month in Spring Valley.

"Obviously Wynne and Slade had big games," said Monte Vista coach ZACH PECK. "I thought the biggest factor was in the third quarter we came out and competed and rebounded with them. We outscored them by 9 and tied it, and it was back and forth after that.

"Guys without big numbers contributed a lot. DAVID MURGIA doesn't score, yet he had two assists and six steals. JOEY BELANGER has only three points, but he hits it to cut Helix's lead to one with less than a minute to play."

Senior TREVOR PECK didn't score much for the Monarchs, but did come down with 12 rebounds. Wynne had 9 boards and JAMAR RANSOME collected 8 caroms.

Singer would not single out any standouts on his side even though it looked like business as usual for Helix (17-5, 4-2 GSL), which led 27-18 at halftime. Not so in the second half. The Highlanders must have set some kind of team record when they scored just 9 points during the final two periods of regulation.

"They had more intensity than we did," said Singer. "We can definitely play with a little more desire, but Monte Vista had it tonight and we didn't."

Senior AARON TINSLEY led Helix with 19 points, one shy of his season high. DAVID JEFFERSON grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked 6 shots, but continued his scoring drought with 2 points.

Monte Vista scoring: Slade 18, Wynne 14, Ransome 8, Peck 5, Belanger 3, Michael Watkins 2.

Helix scoring: Tinsley 19, Lawrence Hurdle 7, Brandon Fountain 7, Eric Forney 3, Sean Scarber 3, Jericho Toilolo 2, Jefferson 2.

Jon Hernandez (5) of Santana beats Tim Wadjaja for this fast-break basket, helping the host Sultans hold off a late Braves comeback attempt, 51-45. (Photo by Chris Edwards) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

SANTANA 51,
EL CAJON VALLEY 45 -- Santana coach TIM BARRY believes his Sultans "played a perfect first half," in Friday's (Feb.3) Grossmont North League encounter against the visiting Braves (5-16,2-3 GNL).

"I told my guys at halftime that I didn't have anything bad to say," Barry said.

Santana (12-10, 4-1 GNL) was leading 27-11 at the midway point.

All was not so well in the second half as El Cajon Valley stormed back into contention. The Sultans appeared to have matters in hand midway through the third quarter, leading by 15 points. Barry had a change of mind when El Cajon Valley hit consecutive threes by NATE SCHAD, DORI LARAMORE and TIM WIDJAJA.

The Braves continued their surge and trailed by only four points after CHRIS REYNALDS converted a layup with 22 seconds left.

BROOKS BASS, who held El Cajon Valley scoring ace Schad scoreless until the second half, canned 4 free throws in the final 15 seconds to seal the victory for the Sultans.

JON HERNANDEZ topped the Sultans with 19 points and 9 rebounds. RICKY MICHELMORE added 10 points and 14 rebounds for Santana.

"We had eight days to prepare for this game and I thought what we did in the first half was close to flawless," Barry said. "The second half wasn't exactly what we wanted, but we came out with a win. We know that if we can get these next three games we'll be league champions (for the first time since1988)."

El Cajon Valley was led by Reynalds' 15 points. Schad scored all of his 12 points in the final two quarters, most of which came off a trio of 3-pointers.

Santana scoring: Hernandez 19, Michelmore 10, Brooks Bass 9, Carlos Vargas 4, Garrett Happ 4, Jon Corbisez 3, Dan Pajimula 2.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Reynalds 15, Schad 12, Wasom Patros 6, Tim Widjaja 5, Dejon Joy 4, Dori Laramore 3.

WEST HILLS 53, GROSSMONT 49 -- The three-time defending Grossmont North League-champion Wolf Pack have lost 10 of their last 12 games. They should thank the Foothillers for keeping that downward spiral from diving lower.

West Hills (12-12, 2-4 GNL) completed a two-game sweep of the Foothillers (6-17, 1-4 GNL) on the strength of a 16-11 fourth quarter rush in Friday's (Feb. 3) action in Santee.

"The fourth quarter was unbelievable," said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. "Grossmont only missed three free throws in the first three quarters, then missed seven of them in the fourth quarter alone." That left the Hillers 15-for-25 in the game.

West Hills was on the mark to make 7 of 8 free throws in the final period, finishing 11-of-15 for the night. That, according to Armstrong, "proved to be the difference in the game."

Grossmont might beg to differ since KHALID WATERS scored 12 of the Foothillers' 13 points for a four-point lead in the opening quarter. Waters did not play after that, leaving the game because he was apparently feeling ill.

KYLE HAMANN (16 points), TIM NOWLIN (11 points) and MILES PIVONKA (11 points) paced a balanced West Hills offense. Nowlin and Pivonka gathered 9 rebounds apiece.

"Miles turned in his second straight quality effort -- his best effort of the season," Armstrong said. "Nowlin played one of his better games of late."

The game remained up for grabs with less than a minute to play. O.J. ORTIZ hit a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left for his only score of the game, then got his 4th steal and passed to Pivonka who was fouled.

"O.J., playing his fifth varsity game, could not find the basket – going 0-for-8 from the field," Armstrong said. "Then, with 30 seconds left, he hit his only 3-pointer which proved to be the game-winner."

With 14 seconds remaining, Pivonka hit both his free throws to move West Hills up 53-48.

The Pack then fouled Grossmont's JUSTIN RUTHERFORD, who made one of his two free throws.

West Hills then killed the clock.

"PHILIP DETTINGER gave us some big minutes," Armstrong said. "Coming off the bench his presence inside was big tonight. Hamann played well, shot the ball much better tonight. We got some great minutes from him."

"It's nice to get back into the win column," Armstrong noted. "These kids have persevered. I'm proud of them. We need another win just to make things interesting."

Grossmont sophomore IAN COCHRAN continued his steady scoring pace with a team high 15 points, giving him 94 points in his last six games..

West Hills scoring: Hamann 16, Tim Nowlin 11, Pivonka 11, Peter Gilson 4, Chris Lifgren 4, Dettinger 4, Ortiz 3.

Grossmont scoring: Cochran 15, Khalid Waters 12, Rutherford 7, Dominic Elder 4, Trevor Thomas 3, Jeff Waters 3, Luis Gonzales 3, Derrick Davenport 2.

STEELE CANYON 45, MOUNT MIGUEL 41 -- Sharp shooting was neither team's strength in Friday night's (Feb. 3) Grossmont South League game won by the visiting Cougars.

Steele Canyon shooters went to the line 37 times, but found the bottom of the net only 19 times. It could have been worse if not for ARLIN TAYLOR's ability to hit 9 of 10 freebies.

Mount Miguel (7-16, 0-6 GSL), which suffered its seventh straight loss, made only 4 of 12 free throws.

Taylor totaled 12 points, one less than team leader LIONEL BALL, who also had 10 rebounds as did EMORY MITCHELL, who completed a double-double with 10 points.

Steele Canyon also claimed a 41-30 edge on the boards. Freshman guard JABARI ROBINSON contributed 7 boards to that advantage.

"They really came after us, played as hard as anybody we've played all year," Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN said.

It was the third straight win for Steele Canyon (9-14, 2-4 GSL), which is driving for a berth in the SDCIF Division III playoffs.
Steele Canyon scoring: Ball 13, Taylor 12, Mitchell 10, Robinson 6, Riley Balikian 3, Andrew Timm 1.

Mount Miguel scoring: Donta Young 9 (5 rebounds), Richard Jackson 9 (8 rebounds), Courtney Wrather 8, Warren Thodile 7, Laron Rush 4, Karlin Stewart 2, Lamont Freeman 2.

CHRISTIAN 73, MADISON 43 -- Although the Patriots (16-4, 4-2) won this Central League battle with last-place Madison by 30 points, it was hardly a stellar performance. The Patriots put up 72 shots, but were on target less than 38 percent of the time in Friday's (Feb. 3) Central League battle against the visiting Warhawks (6-14,0-5).

Sans fireworks, the Patriots pushed to a 69-30 advantage after three quarters and then coasted home for the win.

Once again, the main ingredient for Christian was balance. Seven Patriots scored 8 or more points, with 14 points in just 18:19 minutes of activity.

Newcomer CAMERON JOHNSON pitched in with 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in just over 10 minutes of action for Christian.

Reserve GRANT MILLS was one of the Patriots to garner 5 rebounds, with McDonald and DEREK LARSEN being the other two. Larsen also notched a team best 4 steals.

Christian scoring: McDonald 14, Viktor Asaciovas 10, Daniel Hazlett 10, Paulius Ivanauskas 9, Andrius Mikutis 9 (4 blocks), Johnson 9, Larsen 8, Marc Mayo 2, Lawrence Walker 2.

East County Sports.com
LINDA VISTA (2-3-06) -- The CIF-San Diego Section has announced the dates and times for the final in each of its five girls basketball divisions, all to be held at Jenny Craig Pavilion on the campus of the University of San Diego:

Fri., Mar, 3
Session I -- Division IV, 2 p.m.; Division II, 6 p.m.

Sat., Mar. 4
Session II -- Division V, 11:45 a.m.; Division III, 2:45 p.m.
Session III -- Division I, 8 p.m.

El Capitan guard Josh Ziegler twice gets piled on by Mount Miguel player in persuit of the basketball. On top, Richard Johnson hits the floor hard with Ziegler, then it was the turn of Martrell Upton in the bottom photo. (Photos by Lisa Craig)

East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (2-2-06) -- While the El Capitan Vaqueros have dribbled their way to four victories in their last five starts, the main course of the season may still be to come.

Trailing throughout the first half of Wednesday's (Feb. 1) Grossmont Conference crossover 40-32 victory over Mount Miguel, the Vaqueros finally got the ball where they wanted it -- into the hands of 6-foot-9 senior CORY BROWN. The big fella came through with 13 of his game-high 20 points in the second half as El Capitan chalked up the win and geared itself for a run for the Grossmont North League title.

"I think we've kinda figured out how to win games now," El Capitan coach ROSS FURROW said. "I think we have as good a chance as anybody in the second round."

Furrow's crew certainly has a solid shot at the Grossmont North laurels, as El Capitan -- tied with Santana for the top spot at 3-1 -- hosts Grossmont and the Sultans and tackles El Cajon Valley and West Hills on the road to conclude the regular season.

"All the games we play from here on out are up for grabs," Furrow said. "I think we might have an edge in that we have a go-to guy in Cory. None of the other teams in our league have that advantage."

The Vaqueros exchanged shooting touch for a touch of magic as they did not make a field goal until TYREL ZAUSS scored three minutes into the second quarter against Mount Miguel (7-15). The Matadors, who were handed their sixth straight loss, did hold a 17-13 halftime lead.

Brown engineered the second half charge for El Capitan and totaled 17 rebounds and 5 blocked shots for the game.

"El Capitan does a good job of funneling the ball to the big kid in the middle," said Mount Miguel coach MIKE GOLOVKO. Brown hit 5-of-11 shots from the field and 10-of-12 free throws.

Furrow fingered the Vaqueros' defense as their key to victory.

"Cory defends the basket so well," Furrow said. "JASON ZIEGLER has been assigned to the other team's best player and has done a great job of shadowing and denying."

El Capitan boldly switched from zone to man-to-man against the Matadors early on.

"They hit some quick shots against our zone, so we went ‘man' and caused quite a few turnovers," Furrow said.

Mount Miguel's shooting never locked in as the Matadors hit just 27 percent of their 48 shots.

On the defensive side, Golovko was pleased.

"Defensively we were absolutely fabulous," Golovko said. "But we go through these spurts where we can't make a basket. I'm pleased with our shot selection. We get shots but we missed some easy putbacks. If you make a basket in a key spot it changes the whole complexion of the game.

"We have played in so many games with single digit losses," said Golovko said. "We're right there every time. The kids are doing everything we ask."

Except finish.

El Capitan scoring: Brown 20, Taelor Worrell 6, Brandon Braun 5, Josh Ziegler 4, Jason Ziegler 3, Zauss 2.

Mount Miguel scoring: Warren Thodile 9 (3 steals), Esquire Duke 7, Laron Rush 6 (8 rebounds, 3 blocks), Donta Young 6 (9 rebounds), Courtney Wrather 2 (4 assists), Richard Jackson 2 (10 rebounds, 4 blocks).

STEELE CANYON 58, WEST HILLS 47 -- Senior EMORY MITCHELL turned in the finest game of his high school career Wednesday (Feb.1) to steer Steele Canyon to a Grossmont Conference crossover conquest of visiting West Hills (11-12), which lost for the ninth time in 10 starts.

Mitchell, a 6-foot-6 senior, hit 10 of 17 shots from the field and 3 of 4 free throws for 23 points, but still found time to gather 14 rebounds and block 5 shots for the Cougars (8-14) who took command in the opening quarter.

"Emory has been open all year, but we haven't done a good job of getting him the ball," Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN said. "He's been our best inside threat from the start and tonight we gave him the ball and a chance to prove it."

Steele Canyon pounded the boards to a 42-32 advantage, as 5-foot-10 ARLIN TAYLOR collected 8 caroms and 6-5 LIONEL BALL bagged 7 rebounds.

"We allowed them to convert a lot of second-chances," West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG said. "We need to have more intense minutes."

To make matters worse for the Wolf Pack, West Hills failed to make a single 3-point shot despite 11 attempts.

"I'd like to credit our defense for that," Balikian said.

Steele Canyon was 5-for-17, as RILEY BALIKIAN made two shots above the arc and Taylor hit three.

After losing six of their first seven starts this season, the Cougars have regrouped and played near .500 ball the past month.

"We are a factor (in the Grossmont South)," Balikian said. "We've come a long ways since that first day. We are not going to be anybody's easy game on the schedule."

MILES PIVONKA (14 points) and KYLE HAMANN (13 points) paced the pack against Steele Canyon.'

Slumping West Hills hasn't given up on the playoffs, but winning a fourth straight Grossmont North League championship appears out of the question.

"We are the spoilers in our league," Armstrong said. "Our focus is to put together a few wins so we can make the playoffs."

Steele Canyon scoring: Mitchell 23, Taylor 12, Balikian 8, Jabari Robinson 6, Lionel Ball 5, Andrew Timm 2, Adam Bendas 2.

West Hills scoring: Pivonka 14, Hamann 13, Peter Gilson 7, Tim Nowlin 6, Shain Stoner 2, Taylor Robbins 2, Chris Lifgren 2, Philip Dettinger 1.

Braves senior Clifton Thomas (in blue) goes up for the shot, but Monarchs center Trevor Peck leaps high and will block the field goal attempt. El Cajon Valley came through with the road victory, 56-52, in crossover play. (Photo by Chris Edwards) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

MONTE VISTA 68, EL CAJON VALLEY 65 -- Monte Vista senior TREVOR PECK, who only two years ago was a point guard, is now the Monarchs' 6-foot-3 post player.

Peck delivered from the inside and the outside Wednesday (Feb. 1) as the Monarchs (12-10) came from behind to edge visiting El Cajon Valley (5-15) in a Grossmont Conference crossover contest.

Peck pinged in four 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 22 points. He also muscled his way to 13 rebounds and picked up 3 steals.

RYAN SLADE chipped in with 17 points and a pair of steals. JAMAR RANSOME added 11 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists while ROSHUN WYNNE compiled a double-double (10 points, 10 assists plus 4 rebounds) for Monte Vista, which faces Helix Friday night (Feb. 4) in La Mesa in a key Grossmont South League game.

"This (El Cajon) game was important to us because we are both Division II (San Diego CIF) teams," said Monte Vista coach ZACH PECK, hinting that if El Cajon Valley were to win the Grossmont North League title, this victory on Wednesday would that much more valuable.

Beating the Braves was no simple matter. After three quarters, El Cajon Valley was holding a precarious 55-54 lead.

"We were leading by 7 or 8 points a couple times in the third quarter," Peck said. "But we kept letting them back in."

El Cajon Valley landed ten 3-pointers, four of them coming off the hands of senior guard NATE SCHAD, who finished with 22 points.

"That Patros kid, No. 2 (WASOM PATROS) took only three shots and I think they were all threes," Peck said.

The trey that scared Peck most was a late long ranger by CHRIS REYNALDS that cut Monte Vista's lead to three points with 37 seconds remaining.

El Cajon Valley's Nate Schad (1) drives the lane then pulls up for this 14-footer, sinking the jumper to power the Braves past Monte Vista. (Photo by Chris Edwards) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

El Cajon Valley had three fouls to give as the Monarchs attempted to run out the clock. The Monarchs finally set to the free throw line with 15 seconds left and missed the front end of a 1-and-1.

The Braves did manage a final bid for a game tying-shot but it was well off the mark.

Monte Vista scoring: Peck 22, Slade 17, Wynne 10, Ransome 11, Michael Watkins 5, David Murgia 3.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Schad 22, Reynalds 14, Patros 9, Dejon Joy 9, Tim Widjaja 4, Dori Laramore 3.

VALHALLA 65, GROSSMONT 54 -- The Norsemen of Valhalla have to be feeling good about themselves, having won three straight and six of their last eight. Not bad for a team picked to finish last in the Grossmont South League.

The Norsemen (12-10), who took a large lead and then held off a last quarter charge by the Foothillers (6-16), will begin the second round of league place in third place with a 3-2 mark.

"They never stopped playing hard," said Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS said of the Foothillers. "They got it down to 11 points in the fourth quarter. They could have easily given up but they didn't.

"I was a happy that we weren't overlooking Grossmont."

BRETT HANSEN paced Valhalla with 12 points, 10 rebounds and a pair of blocks. Hansen and JEREMIAH BROWNING (12 points on 6-for-7 shooting) each scored 8 points in the first quarter as Valhalla took a 21-9 lead.

"We got off to a good start because we worked on pushing the ball upcourt, getting our running game going rather than have to face (Grossmont's) halfcourt defense," Thomas said. "We were able to get some points before they could get their defense set. We did a good job running fast breaks."

The Norsemen led 54-33 after three quarters.

At the top of the Valhalla scoring charts was senior KEITH WILLIAMS with 15. He also handed out 3 assists. PAUL MARTINS added 11 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists for the Norsemen.

IAN COCHRAN turned in another strong game for Grossmont with 17 points, giving the 6-foot-4 sophomore 79 points in his last five games.

Valhalla scoring: Williams 15, Browning 12, Hansen 12, Martins 11, Nasheel Raja 6, Travis Foelsch 4, Jeff Sopato 2, Khalil Fakhoury 2, Kevin Kriebel 1.

Grossmont scoring: Cochran 17, Justin Rutherford 15, Derrick Davenport 9, Dominic Elder 9, Jeff Waters 2, Alex Chiappone 2.

A pair of hustle plays helped Christian High outlast host Coronado. Andrius Mikutis (50, top) splits a pair of Islanders to get to a loose ball, then (bottom) Colin McDonald steals the ball to start a fastbreak for a Christian High basket. The Pats won, 62-55. (Photos by Tori Mills)

Patriots avoid getting
marooned on the Island

East County Sports.com
CORONADO (2-01-06) -- Victories are hard to come by in the Central (formerly Harbor) League this year. The visiting Christian High Patriots, who were coming off a 27-point loss to Hoover, found that out Tuesday night (Jan. 31) on the peninsula.

Although the Christian coaches were less than enamored by the team's play, the Patriots did place four players in double scoring digits as Christian clipped Coronado, 62-55.

The Patriots (15-4, 3-2 CL) trailed by a point after one quarter, pushed to a 3-point halftime edge before pulling away to a 51-41 advantage after three periods. But the Islanders (11-8, 1-4) would not go down easily as they remained in contention until the final minutes.

Junior ANDRIUS MIKUTIS paced the Pats with 15 points, canning 6-of-10 shots from the field and three free throws. He also claimed a team-best eight rebounds playing all 32 minutes.

DANIEL HAZLETT added 12 points, while COLIN MCDONALD chipped in 11 points, six rebounds and foursteals in less than 15 minutes coming off the bench.

Christian begins the second round of Central League play by hosting Madison on Friday (Feb. 3) at 7:30 p.m.

Christian scoring: Mikutis 15, Hazlett 12, McDonald 11, Viktor Asaciovas 10, Derek Larsen 8, Paulius Ivanauskas 6,

Taelor Worrell of El Capitan sends this baseline jumper over Chris Lifgren of West Hills. (Photo by Lisa Craig)

It wasn't textbook,
yet rising Hillers slide
past Monte Vista

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-31-06) -- This was surely a game the Monte Vista Monarchs planned to tuck away in the win column a couple of weeks ago. But the Grossmont Foothillers, who just a week ago figured to be out of the running, have suddenly come to life. Thus these two teams battled to a one-point decision in Monday's (Jan. 30) Grossmont Conference crossover contest on the Foothillers' floor.

A 14-point lead -- gone. Second-half shooting: a dismal 7-for-21 (33 percent), with no signs of getting better.

However, every other element of the game that the Hillers could muster were all favorable over the final, frantic seconds, allowing Grossmont to escape with a narrow 50-49 verdict over Monte Vista.

"There was pressure, but I felt confident," noted Hillers senior DERRICK DAVENPORT, who hit the tie-breaking foul shot with 19.5 seconds remaining for the decisive point. "I was able to stay relaxed and make my free throw."

Then an ordinary ballgame jumped in its excitement level.

Davenport missed his second foul shot, but the rebound bounced long, landing back in the shooter's hands. He drove the lane for a chance at a backward 3-point play, but missed.

"I guess I was a little excited," he noted. "I couldn't believe I got the ball."

The Monarchs (11-10), who were badly beaten on the boards, 37-27, then received their biggest break of the night. After missing a potential go-ahead shot, a wild scramble for the ball found a tie-up with bodies dispersed on the floor with 8.1 seconds left.

Possession arrow: Monte Vista, to gain just its fifth offensive board of the ballgame, and another chance to pull out a victory.

However, following a timeout to setup the final play, a baseline jumper bounced off the rim, as Grossmont's JUSTIN RUTHERFORD went to the floor to cover the rebound like a fumble in football as the buzzer sounded.

"They're not as big as us, so it wasn't hard to keep them off the boards," said sophomore IAN COCHRAN, who paced Grossmont with seven rebounds. "Then we had time to run our offense against their zone, running our spread offense or our high-low."

The Monarchs tried pressing early, but the Hillers (6-15) broke it and built a 30-16 lead late in the second quarter. However, when the shots stopped falling for the hosts, Monte Vista went on a 20-5 run to take the lead in the final seconds of the third period.

The Monarchs' streak started on a foul shot by RYAN SLADE, who then stole the ball and raced for an uncontested layin. And when TREVOR PECK scored on a putback in the final seconds, the momentum had swung and Grossmont's lead was trimmed to 30-21 at the half.

Slade scored seven of his game-high 17 points during that run, which continued into the third quarter. JAMAR RANSOME kept it going with a pair of baskets before Slade fed Peck for a baseline jumper to allow the Monarchs to take the lead 36-35.

Grossmont eventually regained the lead 49-45 in the waning moments when TREVOR THOMAS nailed a 3-point shot off an assist by KHALID WATERS.

However, Monte Vista, despite losing two players to fouls in the final minutes, still was able to tie the game. ERIC SCHNAUBELT drove the lane and flipped home a 6-footer, then Slade grabbed a rare offensive rebound and scored on the follow with 24 seconds to go.

The difference for the Monarchs may have been their foul shooting, making just 3-of-11 attempts, which nullified a sparkling low total of just nine turnovers. The Hillers were only a touch better from the charity stripe at 8-for-15, but in a 1-point game, it was decisive factor.

Grossmont scoring: Cochran 13 (7 reb.), Luis Gonzales 8 (6 reb., 3 stl.)), Davenport 7, Thomas 6 (4 ast.), K.Waters 6, Elder 5, Rutherford 5 (4 ast.).

Monte Vista scoring: Slade 17, (6 stl.), Ransome 12 (8 reb.), Wynne 7, Peck 7 (8 reb.), Belanger 3, Murgia 3.

El Capitan center Cory Brown (in white) gets his shot blocked from behind by an unidentified player from Helix. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

HELIX 49, EL CAPITAN 44 -- Senior guard AARON TINSLEY launched a long-range 3-pointer to snap a 42-42 tie in the final minute of Monday's (Jan. 30) Grossmont Conference crossover game in Lakeside.

Just when it appeared that El Capitan (12-10, 3-1 GNL) might spring a major East County upset, the visiting Highlanders (17-4, 4-1 GSL) got a major boost from Tinsley, who chose a prime time to nail his only trey with 49 seconds left in the night.

Helix play-maker LAWRENCE HURDLE, who did not have a great shooting night from the field hitting just 5 of 17 chances, was deadly from the free throw line in the final minute. Hurdle's first two free throws extended Helix's slim lead to 47-42.

But El Capitan wasn't finished. TAELOR WORRELL made a steal and nearly lost the ball, but recovered when teammate NICK MURICO pushed back his way. The result was a Worrell layup, chipping the Helix advantage back to 47-44 with 12 seconds remaining.

El Capitan was forced to foul and Hurdle made them pay by hitting both foul shots to clinch the Highlanders' 9th win in their last 10 starts.

"We are just trying to find ways to win," Helix coach JOHN SINGER said. "We aren't any great shakes. We know who we are, that we aren't going to blow people out. We know we are going to have to grunt it out."

El Capitan's 6-foot-9 senior CORY BROWN knew he was more or less auditioning for UC Santa Barbara, which had a coaching representative in attendance. Brown played a strong game, too, sinking 10 of 21 field goals (2 of them threes) and a pair of free throws for 24 points. Brown also bagged 16 rebounds and blocked 5 shots.

"They had two guys on Cory the whole game and he still did a good job," said El Capitan coach ROSS FURROW.

Said Singer: "We can't match up with that guy (Brown). He looked like Shaq to us, a total monster."

El Capitan threw in a zone defense against the Highlanders, and Helix responded by hitting just 33 percent of 57 shots. None of the Highlanders had a big shooting night, although part-timer ERIC FORNEY canned 4 of 11 chances for 8 points. Hurdle had a team best of 16 points, while Tinsley added 12.

Helix junior post man DAVID JEFFERSON grabbed 9 rebounds, but was only 3 for 9 shooting.

Despite the tough loss, El Capitan remains tied for the Grossmont North League lead.

"We're in the running for a league title and we are happy about that," Furrow said.

Helix scoring: Hurdle 16, Tinsley 12, Forney 8, Jefferson 6, Jericho Toilolo 3, Sean Scarber 2, Justin Johnson 2.

El Capitan scoring: Brown 24, Worrell 10, Murico 4, Josh Ziegler 4, Jason Ziegler 2.

STEELE CANYON 64, EL CAJON VALLEY 50 -- A 16-2 fourth quarter scoring spree helped the visiting Cougars halt a four-game losing streak Monday (Jan. 30) in a Grossmont Conference crossover game at El Cajon Valley.

"I think their legs gave out, think they got tired in the fourth quarter," said Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN.

LIONEL BALL came up big for Steele Canyon with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Freshman guard JABARI ROBINSON registered a career-high 14 points, dished 5 assists and lugged down 5 rebounds. ARLIN TAYLOR tossed in a dozen points and 2 steals, while EMORY MITCHELL pitched in 11 points, 6 rebounds and blocked a pair.

"This is the first time we've gotten four people in double figures scoring," Balikian said. "We have been looking for this balance all year, looking for our motion offense to give us balanced scoring. Tonight we moved the ball well, and played together well. We looked for the open man a lot. I was pretty pleased with that."

Both teams favored the 3-point shot. Steele Canyon shot 37 percent (7 for 19) from beyond the arc, while El Cajon Valley connected 8 of 27 treys (29.6 percent).

El Cajon Valley eased to an early lead 5-2 to start the game, opening the contest in zone coverage. Steele Canyon nailed four 3-pointers during an 18-5 run and the Braves shifted to man-to-man defense.

"It slowed us down a little," Balikian said.

Braves senior guard NATE SCHAD swished 4 three-pointers on his way to a game best 20 points. He did the bulk of his scoring in the early going.

"He was shooting them from away out," Balikian said. "That's what kept them in the game. We just kept building a big lead and they would hit a couple of threes to come back. We just couldn't sustain anything."

The game was tied at 48-all after three periods before the Cougars took command over the final eight minutes.

El Cajon Valley coach NATE REED could not be reached for comment.

Steele Canyon scoring: Ball 15, Robinson 14, Taylor 12, Mitchell 11, Riley Balikian 7, Andrew Timm 5.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Schad 20, Dori Laramore 9, Chris Reynalds 6, Tim Widjaja 5, Kenneth MacAraeg 3, Stephon Stafford 3, Wasom Patros 2, Dejon Joy 2.

Branden Pride of Granite Hills dribbles past Monte Vista's Ryan Slade to escape a trap, helping the Eagles slide past the Monarchs. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva) FOR ADDITIONAL PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

Playing decoy,
Taylor eventually
tallies 22 points in
Eagles' subterfuge
Foothillers hit jackpot
with 75 points vs. ECV

East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (1-28-06) -- Plans for the ambush were fully prepared; Monte Vista thought they envisioned a workable strategy to limit East County scoring leader NICK TAYLOR of Granite Hills.

Only one thing -- the Eagles already conceived a counterattack just in case the Monarchs attempted some sort of gimmick defense.

So Taylor waited. And waited. And waited some more, not even giving the hint he would attempt a shot. By the time he did more than five minutes into the contest, Granite Hills ran three backdoor picks for wide-open layins by other players to jump to a quick lead, going on to run past the Monarchs, 66-49, in Grossmont South League action.

It was the ninth straight win for the Eagles (16-6, 5-0 GSL) who are flying at the top of the South standings.

Taylor netted just one shot over each of the first three periods, yet still finished with a game-high 22 points. However, it was the play of BRANDEN PRIDE and CLARK GORDON which spelled the difference while Taylor played decoy.

Pride scored half of his 16 points in the opening period, while also dishing off for five assists. Meanwhile, Gordon controlled the boards with an astounding 24 rebounds. He also scored 16 points, including a 3-point play in the opening minutes when the Monarchs were looking to defend the outside.

"We knew we'd have advantages in the match-ups with Monte Vista," noted Gordon. "And we executed well - our offense was clearly there tonight, while our defense was a little below what we wanted."

Throw in some foul trouble on the Monarchs' side on mystery touch calls, leaving 6-foot-3 center TREVOR PECK -- Monte Vista's only inside threat to counter the 6-8 Gordon -- on the bench just 67 seconds into the ballgame. Monte Vista's DAVID MURGIA received three fouls -- two of the extreme minor variety -- in the first half.

"We practiced where if they set a screen for Taylor, someone would jump out to double-team him," said Monarchs coach ZACH PECK. "You have to give Granite Hills credit for being ready,"

Monte Vista guard Roshun Wynne carries the ball over midcourt while being picked up by Granite Hills defender Dean Miller. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva) FOR ADDITIONAL PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

The Eagles again threw a change-up.

Instead of players running along the baseline off the back-screens, now they went over the top for layins to start the second period, as Pride stopped shooting and kept feeding his teammates for open looks in the paint.

"We just try to read the defense and exploit whatever they give us," added Gordon. "It worked well for us throughout the game."

And when Gordon's rebounding numbers started to climb deep into double digits, Monte Vista gained few second-chance opportunities and the lead grew and grew.

And with Peck on the bench, the Granite Hills forwards got into the act, as DEAN MILLER scored 9 points, while BRIAN HUMPHRIES grabbed 8 boards, as the Eagles held a 49-31 rebounding advantage, offsetting a mere seven turnovers by the Monarchs.

"Dean did a real good job for us, and Nick and Branden did their usual thing," added Gordon.

Peck finished with 13 points and 14 boards, while JAMAR RANSOME was the Monte Vista scoring leader at 14 points plus six rebounds.

Granite Hills scoring: Taylor 22, Pride 15 (5 ast.), Gordon 13 (3 blk.), Miller 9, Humphries 4 (8 reb.), Wayne Martin 2.

Monte Vista scoring: Ransome 14, Peck 13, Ryan Slade 9, Roshun Wynne 8, Joey Belanger 3, Murgia 2.

GROSSMONT 75, EL CAJON VALLEY 48 -- The Foothillers (5-15, 1-3) snapped a seven-game losing streak Friday (Jan. 27) and suddenly find themselves in contention for the Grossmont North League title.

"I told our kids we should get three wins for scoring this many points," said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO of East County's lowest scoring team in a post-game badinage.

The 75 points is the high water mark for the Hillers, who have scored more than 50 points only five times in 20 games.

Grossmont sophomore IAN COCHRAN turned in the finest game of his career against the Braves, who, with a win, could have moved into a three-way tie with co-leaders El Capitan and Santana in the Grossmont North.

Cochran scored 17 points and grabbed a career-high 21 rebounds.

"Ian was unbelievable tonight," Foggiano said. "He's played well his last two games. He has started to understand our system and it allows him to play hard."

DOMINIC ELDER knocked down 12 points and 6-6 JUSTIN RUTHERFORD crashed the boards for 15 caroms and also scored 9 points.

"Rutherford hit the boards hard and blocked out well," Foggiano said.

El Cajon Valley (5-13, 2-2 GNL) hit five threes in the opening quarter to lead 19-18, but Grossmont came back for a 22-7 scoring rush in the second.

Foggiano credited his defensive-minded club for cutting off the Braves' penetration. The coach singled out the WATERS brothers -- JEFF and KHALID -- for sealing off the lanes.

"We also had great weakside help," Foggiano added.

All 10 Grossmont players scored in the win. LUIS GONZALES collected 8 rebounds to go with his 9 points.

Senior guard NATE SCHAD led the Braves with 17 points, which included a trio of 3-pointers. El Cajon Valley hit eight 3-pointers, but only seven 2-pointers.

Grossmont scoring: Cochran 17, Elder 12, Khalid Waters 9, Gonzales 9, Rutherford 9, Trevor Thomas 8, Derrick Davenport 4, Jeff Waters 3, Alex Chiappone 2, Chris Chaverin 2.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Schad 17, Chris Reynalds 10, Wasom Patros 9, Dori Laramore 6, Dejon Joy 4, Tim Widjaja 2.

HELIX 43, STEELE CANYON 32 -- In a sloppy Grossmont South League contest Friday night (Jan. 27) in La Mesa, the Highlanders outlasted Steele Canyon in a game that might indicate great defense, but was more a case of poor shooting.

In a game one might rate Helix as a heavy favorite, the Highlanders trailed 12-11 after one quarter, led 23-21 at the half and 35-30 after three quarters.

"I was worried about the residue off Tuesday (a 68-59 loss at Granite Hills)," Helix coach JOHN SINGER said. "Our kids aren't used to losing. I could see it in our practices. Then, when I watched (Steele Canyon) warming up, I thought our not having any size, were in trouble."

Both the Highlanders (16-4, 4-1 GSL) and Cougars (6-14, 1-4 GSL) shot 33 percent from the field -- the only difference was Helix made 15 of 45 and Steele Canyon 11 of 33.

"Not having any size at the 5 spot is killing us," Singer said. "All we are is a bunch of guards and wings trying to make do."

Helix is hardly in dire straits. The Highlanders are in second place one game behind Granite Hills halfway through the league season.

Helix junior LAWRENCE HURDLE scored a game-best 16 points, despite hitting only 5 of 18 shots from the field. AARON TINSLEY tossed in 13 points and DAVID JEFFERSON managed 9 points despite taking only 2 shots from the floor. Hurdle and 5-foot-9 ERIC FORNEY shared Helix's rebounding lead with 6 apiece.

LIONEL BALL led Steele Canyon with 11 points and 8 rebounds. ANDREW TIMM pitched in 6 points and 6 boards, while RILEY BALIKIAN added 6 points and EMORY MITCHELL snagged 7 boards and blocked 3 shots.

The bottom line is Steele Canyon turned the ball over 23 times compared to just 10 for the Highlanders.

Helix scoring: Hurdle 16, Tinsley 13, Jefferson 9, Sean Scarber 4, Alex Aguirre 1.

Steele Canyon scoring: Ball 11, Timm 6, Balikian 6, Arlin Taylor 5, Mitchell 2, Jabari Robinson 2.

Taelor Worrell of El Capitan (left) faces defensive pressure from a West Hills player in Friday's game. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

EL CAPITAN 48, WEST HILLS 37 -- The Vaqueros played what those close to the team would rate their best quarter of the season, taking an 18-2 advantage in the opening 8 minutes of Friday's (Jan. 27) Grossmont North League game in Lakeside.

Six-foot-9 senior CORY BROWN scored 11 of his game-high 27 points in the opening period that El Capitan (12-9, 3-1 GNL) used as a springboard to its third straight win.

Brown hit 14 consecutive free throws before missing his final two. The big guy also blocked 10 shots and grabbed 7 rebounds.

TAELOR WORRELL added nine points and four rebounds for the Vaqueros, while JOSH ZIEGLER chipped in seven points, eight rebounds and five steals.

Newcomer O.J. ORTIZ, playing in his just his second game since coming up from the JV, paced West Hills with 12 points and five steals.

"O.J. played well defensively," West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG SAID. "And he also connected on a couple of 3s."

"TROY NOWLIN turned in his best effort of the season as he played Cory Brown tough," Armstrong added. "Troy had three steals, three boards and four points."

The West Santee team just couldn't find the hole, shooting 28 percent from the field (16-of-57).

"I was pleased with the kids' defensive effort, but shooting 28 percent won't win many ball games," Armstrong said.

El Capitan scoring: Brown 27, Worrell 9, Josh Ziegler 7, Nick Murico 2, Jason Ziegler 2, Dalton Ogden 1.

West Hills scoring: Ortiz 12, Kyle Hamann 8, Chris Lifgren 5, Troy Nowlin 4, Miles Pivonka 4, Peter Gilson 2, Blaine Hoffard 2.

VALHALLA 54, MOUNT MIGUEL 46 -- Obviously angered by being picked to finish in the Grossmont South League cellar, the Norsemen (11-10, 3-2 GSL) have mounted a sort of ground swell with victories in seven of their last 10 starts.

Thanks to an 18-point, 12-rebound effort by 6-foot-3 senior BRETT HANSEN Valhalla was able to end the first half of the league season in third place, two games behind unbeaten Granite Hills.

"Brett totally dominated in the first quarter," recalled Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS. "He scored 10 of his 18 points and got 3 offensive rebounds in that quarter. He also had 2 steals in the first half and made 2 clutch free throws at the start of the fourth quarter -- and it was his 18th birthday. He had a monster birthday game."

Valhalla jumped on top 20-9 after one quarter, but the Matadors (7-14, 0-5 GSL) made It was a close encounter.

"The game was tied at 43-43 and they made a couple of nice plays at the end." Mount Miguel coach MIKE GOLOVKO said. "We got some good looks but the ball just wouldn't go in. We're trying to get the ball into the right guys' hands. (Valhalla) out-rebounded us 30-19 and they got 17 points off second-chance points."

Those statistics were enough to give Valhalla the edge.

"Ultimately, giving up 20 points in the first quarter is what killed us," Golovko said.

With the scored tied at 43-all, Valhalla's NASHEEL RAJA hit a basket for a 45-43 Norsemen lead. Then Hansen fed JEREMIAH BROWNING for another bucket, and KEITH WILLIAMS hit a deuce to give Valhalla a lead it would not lose.

For good measure, with 1:20 left, Williams hit a free throw to move it to 50-46. After a Matadors timeout, Williams penetrated and dished off to Browning, who hit another two, expanding the Valhalla lead to 52-46.

Senior guard WARREN THODILE topped the Mount Miguel scoring column with 22. COURTNEY WRATHER added 10 points and DANTA YOUNG collected 7 rebounds.

Valhalla scoring: Hansen 18, Williams 14, Daniel Butcher 3, Nasheel Raja 6, Jeremiah Browning 6, Kevin Kriebel 5, Paul Martins 2.

Mount Miguel scoring: Thodile 22, Courtney Wrather 10, Donta Young 6, Lamont Freeman 3, Richard Jackson 3.

HOOVER 77, CHRISTIAN 50 -- Too much team speed and an overdose of Hoover point guard JayDee Luster Friday night (Jan. 27) lead to a Central League disaster for the visiting Patriots.

Luster, who was coming off a foot injury two weeks ago, raced circles around the Patriots (14-4, 2-2 Central) in a game that was never close.

Hoover's pressure defense kept the Patriots off-stride all night. Christian turned the ball over 25 times and rarely received a shot at second-chance points.

All the numbers went against Christian, which was outscored 29-8 off turnovers and 23-4 among players coming off the bench.

"We didn't execute our press offense at all," Christian coach KEN BAILEY said. "They took us out of everything we wanted to do. We got into early foul trouble and were never really in it."

Luster scored 26 points, dished 9 assists and made 9 steals to spearhead the lopsided victory for the Cardinals (16-5, 3-1) who trail Central League-leading Crawford by one game.

The Patriots were totally mismatched on the outside by the faster Cardinals, although the Christian inside duo of ANDRIUS MIKUTIS (14 points, 14 rebounds) and VIKTOR ASACIOVAS (10 points, 7 rebounds) managed decent numbers in the losing effort.

Christian scoring: Mikutis 14, Asaciovas 10, Derek Larsen 8, Paulius Ivanauskas 8, Daniel Hazlett 6, Marc Mayo 3, Grant Mills 1.

East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (1-27-06) -- Venture Christian High School is nearly halfway toward its first league crown in boys basketball. And its latest win came over a team with a name similar to the Knights' position in their league schedule.

Behind a career-high 36 points by BRANDON HALE, Venture disposed of Midway Baptist, 75-36, in Thursday's (Jan. 26) Citrus South League contest at the Kroc Center.

Hale poured is 16 of his points in the first period for a quick 20-4 lead, but after a sluggish second period, head coach BRAD LEAF credited ZACH SHIPLEY for supplying a lift in the second half.

"I just tried to play my best," said Shipley, who helped reorganize the ballclub by passing for five assists, then igniting the break with five steals. "Coach gave us a talk at halftime, so we all came out ready for the second half."

It seemed like one of Midway's goals was to win any single quarter, and the Patriots were in position to claim the second period before Venture hit a couple of late shots to outscore the visitors by a 10-7 margin to push the lead to 30-11. Then it was Shipley's turn.

"Let's just say we didn't play well in the second quarter," he added. "But it was a good second half."

DREW WINDREM failed to score, but he didn't need to. One of just two seniors on the ballclub, Windrem registered 10 rebounds and 10 steals to key the defense, then he smartly allowed the underclassman to do all the running on the Knights' transition game,

Hale also added eight boards, while brother AARON HALE scored 14 points and added six boards, four assists and blocked a pair of shots. In addition, DAVID CARTER came off the bench to record a season-high nine assists.

Venture Christian (10-8 overall) is now 4-0 in Citrus South competition, holding a half-game advantage over Mountain Empire (9-10, 4-1), the only other contender for the league crown.

Venture Christian scoring: Brandon Hale 36, Aaron Hale 14, R. J. Najera 9, Andrew Atia 5, David Carter 4, Shipley 4, Frank Sheppard 3.

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-26-06) -- Senior guard NATE SCHAD had to be disappointed that he missed a hefty chunk of El Cajon Valley's drive to the San Diego CIF Division II football championship game at Qualcomm Stadium.

Schad, who suffered a midseason knee injury, refused to feel sorry for himself. The Braves safety-receiver received clearance to participate in the football finals against Oceanside and was equally pleased that he was able join the El Cajon Valley basketball team in time for the opening tip-off.

The 6-foot, 150-pound Schad delivered a career-record 34 points in Wednesday's (Jan. 25) Grossmont North League game as the Braves stunned visiting West Hills 74-64.

El Cajon Valley's victory left the Braves tied with El Capitan, one-half game behind league-leading Santana. West Hills (11-10, 1-2) fell into fourth place 1½ games behind the Sultans.

Schad canned 12-of-22 shots from the field, including four 3-pointers, nine rebounds, six assists and threesteals.

"I've never had a game like this before," Schad said. "Winning this game means we are back in the race."

Despite their slow start -- nine losses in their first 10 games -- the Braves are very much alive, gunning for their first league boys basketball title in the school's 48-year history.

Schad was the master of the big play against the three-time defending league champion Wolf Pack. Following a West Hills technical foul, Schad sank a free throw and then ended the 1st quarter by hitting a buzzer beating 3-pointer from 40 feet out, handing El Cajon Valley (5-12, 2-1) a 21-11 lead after one quarter.

West Hills made a strong second quarter surge to tie the game at 30-30 only to have WASOM PATROS score the final three points to give the Braves a 33-30 advantage.

The second half was a scoring free-for-all. A 3-pointer by sophomore O.J. ORTIZ gave the Pack a 42-37 edge midway through the third period. But El Cajon Valley eventually regained the lead 44-43 on a putback by KENNETH MacARAEG.

El Cajon Valley was on a roll after that go-ahead bucket. CLIFTON THOMAS drained a deuce and Schad followed suit. CHRIS REYNALDS, who was blanked in the first half (missing much of the action due to foul problems), scored all of his 13 points after intermission. That included a 3-pointer that extended the Braves advantage to 51-43.

"Reynalds is a scoring machine," Schad said. "Fouls kept him off the court much of the first half, but he came out big in the second half."

Reynalds also grabbed sevenrebounds as did TIM WIDJAJA and newcomer DEJON JOY.

El Cajon Valley extended its lead to 60-45 on a Schad 3-pointer with 7:23 left in the game. The Wolf Pack made a belated run but never got closer than 68-62 with 1:28 remaining.

"We put three different people on him and still couldn't stop him," West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG said of Schad. "We made that kid an all-league first-team player tonight."

Schad closed out the game with 11 points in the final quarter.

"We are a really small team so we have to beat people with our speed," Schad said. "I think we have the best team speed in our league and we have to capitalize on that. I think we did tonight."

Schad picked up the scoring slack by punching in 15 points in the first period and 19 in the first half.

"I'm like the second option on the team, so I feel when (Reynalds) is out, I have to take over," Schad said.

KYLE HAMANN gunned in 21 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished four assists for West Hills. PETER GILSON came up big with 14 points, hitting 6-of-9 shots, clearing eight rebounds and dealing five assists. TIM NOWLIN grabbed nine rebounds to pace the Pack.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Schad 34, Reynalds 13, Patros 5, Widjaja 5, Thomas 5, Dori Laramore 4, MacAraeg 4, Joy 4.

West Hills scoring: Hamann 21, Gilson 14, Tim Nowlin 7, Chris Lifgren 6, Ortiz 6, Taylor Robbins 4, Shain Stoner 4, Blaine Hoffard 2.

Lawrence Hurdle of Helix (center) splits a pair of Granite Hills players for the score, but the Eagles rallied to down the Scotties to take the Grossmont South League lead. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-25-06) -- The walls inside the Granite Hills High gymnasium don't need much space to display championship honors-for-the Eagles' basketball teams.

Championship trophies and league titles are non-existent-for-the Granite Hills boys basketeers.

Given that the Eagles' 68-59 victory over Helix on Tuesday night (Jan. 24) is the real thing and not a fluke, the Eagles (15-6, 4-0 GSL) may be on their way to the first league in the 46-year history of the program.

Senior guard NICK TAYLOR scored 25 of his game high 32 points in the second half as the Eagles overcame a nine-point first-half deficit to lead by as many as 15 points before settling on a 68-59 win over the visiting Highlanders.

"That kid is the most prolific shooter we've faced all season," Helix coach JOHN SINGER said. "We gave him too much room -- allowed him to catch the ball, square up and shoot. You can't let a kid with that kind of talent that kind of time to set up."

Taylor canned 10-of-23 shots, including seven treys. It was due to a quick burst by Taylor to open the third quarter that Granite Hills was able to erase a 35-26 Helix halftime lead.

The East County leader with 97 treys, Taylor connected on 7-of-14 shots from above the arc against Helix (15-4, 3-1 GSL).

While Singer was quick to tip his cap to Taylor, he also noted the smooth ball-handling of Granite Hills senior guard BRANDEN PRIDE and the dominance of 6-foot-8 senior center CLARK GORDON.

"We aren't going to be satisfied just by beating Helix; we want to win league," Pride said. "We are on top now and proved that we are an elite team. People don't think of us as being a top team because we've been down so long. But we are-for-real. Last year we were kind of in the starting blocks at 13-13 (before losing to El Camino in the playoffs) and we came back this year determined to go farther."

The Eagles were further motivated by Singer's remarks on EastCountySports.com last week declaring that Valhalla had the "second-best" talent in the league.

Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON posted Singer's quotes in the Eagles' locker room.

"We were determined to prove (Singer) wrong," Taylor said. "Clark and Branden had a great game."

Gordon rolled a double-double of 16 points and 19 rebounds, while Pride pitched in 9 points and 8 assists.

What irked Singer as much as allowing 68 points to the Eagles was Helix converted only 15-of-30 free throws and shot just 39 percent from the field.

"You can't win a game with numbers like that," he said. "But give Granite credit. They deserved to win this game."

Anderson impressed upon his Eagles to take this victory -- Granite Hills' first over Helix since 1997 ---for-what it is. He noted that the Eagles handed nationally-ranked Steele Canyon one of its two losses a year ago only to be massacred in the rematch,

"Obviously Taylor's second-half shooting and Pride's explosiveness kept us in the game the whole way were key," Anderson said. "Branden has really been a spark-for-us the last couple of weeks.

"But we had guys like LUKE SIMPSON come off the bench and provide us with some tough defense and rebounding. Basically, all of our role players filled their roles."

LAWRENCE HURDLE hit half of his 20 shots on his way to a 27-point scoring binge to lead the Highlanders. He also had 8 steals.

DAVID JEFFERSON was tough inside with 19 points, 10 rebounds and four steals-for-the Highlanders, who scored 19 points off Granite Hills turnovers.

But all of that was not enough to neutralize Taylor.

Granite Hills scoring: Taylor 32, Gordon 16, Pride 9, Wayne Martin 5, Dean Miller 4, Simpson 2.

Helix scoring: Hurdle 27, Jefferson 19, Aaron Tinsley 9, Justin Johnson 2, Alex Aguirre 2.

EL CAPITAN 45, SANTANA 41 -- Just when coach TIM BARRY believed his Santana Sultans were in position to pull away in the Grossmont North League race, up popped the El Capitan Vaqueros to foil the plans on Tuesday (Jan. 24) in Santee.

"I was tremendously disappointed but, like I told my team, I'm not upset with them just disappointed in the loss," said Barry after Santana (11-10) suffered its first setback in four league starts. "We had so many baskets go in and rim out or bounce off the rim."

Santana unleashed 65 shots. Only 16 found mark, resulting in a 25 percent shooting night. The Sultans were afforded only 7 free throws and they made 4.

El Capitan (11-9, 2-1 GNL) jumped out to a 16-8 first quarter lead. Santana cut the deficit to 22-20 by intermission.

"We played catch-up the whole way, but we did take the lead a few times in the third and fourth quarters," Barry said. "Everything was fine as far as how we played. We had 21 steals and 18 offensive rebounds, but we shot so poorly from the field. I don't think we've taken 65 shots all year. (The Vaqueros) played a zone and left us open but we didn't penetrate -- the ball just didn't fall."

CORY BROWN, El Capitan's 6-foot-8 senior scoring machine, returned to form with 28 points after suffering a knee sprain a week ago. Brown, who also collected 14 rebounds and blocked 3 shots, was 10-for-13 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line.

Clinging to a 38-36 lead with less than a minute remaining, the Vaqueros added to their margin when Brown sank a pair of free throws with 32 seconds left.

A key rebound and long outlet pass by TAELOR WORRELL led to a layup-for-JASON ZIEGLER and a six-point El Capitan advantage with 22 seconds remaining.

A tip-in by Santana's GARRETT HAPP closed the margin to four points with 10 seconds left.

The scoring continued when Brown sank two more free throws-for-El Capitan and CARLOS VARGAS hit a 3-pointer-for-Santana with 4 seconds left. NICK MURICO scored the final points-for-El Cap with :0.01 left.

Santana's JON HERNANDEZ scored 13 points and grabbed 9 rebounds before fouling out with a minute left in the game.

The Sultans' scoring ace, RICKY MICHELMORE, was burdened with foul problems and fouled out late in the fourth quarter with a season low total of 3 points. Michelmore, who made only 1-of-10 shots from the field, became inactive after drawing 3 fouls with five minutes to go in the second quarter.

El Capitan scoring: Brown 28, Josh Ziegler 5, Jason Ziegler 4, Worrell 4, Victor Soto 3, Murico 1.

Santana scoring: Hernandez 15, Vargas 10, Job Corbisez 5, Michelmore 3, Anthony DeBarrows 3, Garrett Happ 2, Tyler Blackledge 2, Brooks Bass 1.

Steele Canyon's Lionel Ball (in white) battled Valhalla's Keith Williams (22) all night long. Ball won this battle to score the bucket, but the Norsemen won the ballgame, 57-52. (Photo by Chris Edwards) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

VALHALLA 57, STEELE CANYON 52 -- The Norsemen (10-10, 2-2 GSL) kept themselves in contention-for-the Grossmont South League championship Tuesday (Jan. 24) as they survived a sub-par shooting night to clip host Steele Canyon in an "anybody-can-win-this" type game.

Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS credited KEVIN KREBEL-for-hitting a decisive bucket with 38 seconds left that allowed Valhalla to take a 55-50 lead and secure the victory. It was Kriebel's only basket in the game.

"It was a huge play because it gave us some breathing room," Thomas said.

Overall, the Norsemen were shooting in the dark. They hit just 8-of-27 chances in the second half (29.6 percent) and were a forgettable 18-of-53 overall (34 percent).

"We missed at least 10 lay-ups and were only 15-for-25 from the line," Thomas said.

On the bright side, Thomas praised KHALIL FAKHOURY-for-"playing tough defense" on the Cougars' EMORY MITCHELL, who totaled just 6 points-for-his efforts.

"Khalil also had five offensive rebounds and that's always good," Thomas added.

KEITH WILLIAMS hits 5-of-11 shots on his way to a team-leading 17 points. He could have had more, but converted only 7-of-13 free throws.

PAUL MARTINS added 14 points and 5 rebounds, while BRETT HANSEN snagged 8 rebounds and JEREMIAH BROWNING pitched in with 8 points and 6 boards.

"That No. 32 (Martins) is a solid player," Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN said. "And Williams does a nice job taking the ball to the basket."

"We did just enough to win," Thomas said.

LIONEL BALL knocked down 19 points, bagged 11 boards and dished 3 assists to lead Steele Canyon (6-13, 1-3 GSL). ARLIN TAYLOR scored a career high 17 points, most coming on his 5-for-7 three-point shooting.

Balikian pointed to the Cougars' 21 turnovers.

"We are a inexperienced team that is getting better," Balikian said. "But until we cut down on our turnovers, we are not going to be rewarded."

Valhalla scoring: Williams 17, Martins 14, Browning 8, Fakhoury 6, Hansen 5, Kriebel 4, Nasheel Raja 3.

Steele Canyon scoring: Ball 19, Taylor 17, Jabari Robinson 8, Emory Mitchell 6 (5 rebounds, 4 blocks), Andrew Timm 2 (8 rebounds).

MONTE VISTA 49, MOUNT MIGUEL 35 -- The Monarchs are one of those teams nobody wants to play. At times, they play so upbeat. On other nights, they are an easy mark.

The Monarchs (11-8, 2-2 GSL) outscored visiting Mount Miguel 31-15 in the middle two quarters to keep themselves in what shapes up as a tight race in the Grossmont South League.

ROSHUN WYNNE led a balanced Monte Vista attack with 14 points, 3 assists and 4 rebounds. JAMAR RANSOME added 12 points, while RYAN SLADE contributed 11 points, 4 steals, 4 rebounds and 3 assists-for-the Monarchs.

TREVOR PECK rounded out Monte Vista's balanced attack with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.

"Mount Miguel slows it down pretty well, packs in the zone," said Monte Vista coach ZACH PECK. "I thought our kids played hard on defense."

A major flaw in the Monarchs game was 3-for-16 shooting from 3-point range. Two of the bull's-eyes belonged to Wynne.

COURTNEY WRATHER led Mount Miguel with 14 points and WARREN THODILE punched in 13 markers. Both players connected on a pair of 3-pointers. DONTA YOUNG added 7 rebounds, one more than LARON RUSH, who also logged 3 steals.

"We are struggling," admitted Mount Miguel MIKE GOLOVKO, who saw his Matadors (7-13, 0-4 GSL) drop their fourth straight. "We played well again, held them under 50 points. We went into that offensive funk we've been in lately."

Monte Vista led 41-35 with three minutes remaining, but the Matadors were unable to make a challenging move.

"We might have run out of gas there at the end," Golovko admitted.

Monte Vista scoring: Wynne 14, Ransome 12, Slade 11, Peck 9, Michael Watkins 3.

Mount Miguel scoring: Wrather 14, Thodile 13, Rush 4, Devyn Moore 2, Lamont Freeman 1, Richard Jackson 1.

Christian High's Viktor Asaciovas scores an easy layin to help the Patriots paste visiting Clairemont, 52-28, at Ryan Center. (Photo by Tori Mills)

CHRISTIAN 52, CLAIREMONT 38 -- After a free-wheeling, high-scoring four-point loss to Crawford in its previous Central League game, the Patriots (14-3, 2-1) got caught up in a change of pace game against visiting Clairemont in Tuesday's (Jan. 24) league encounter at the Ryan Athletic Center.

The slower gait suggested by the Chieftains (8-9, 1-2) dampened the Patriots' personal statistics, but did not keep Christian from claiming victory.

"They played us really slow, took about 25-to-30 seconds each possession," Christian assistant coach ADAM COPP said. "We were frustrated but managed to pull it out."

Christian's ANDRIUS MIKUTIS nailed 7-of-9 shots -- two of them threes -- and 4-of-5 free throws-for-a game-best 20 points. The 6-foot-4 junior also bagged nine rebounds and blocked 32 shots.

The Patriots' 6-foot-6 VIKTOR ASACIOVAS blocked seven shots, tallied 10 points and grabbed six rebounds, while DEREK LARSEN added 10 points and PAULIUS IVANAUSKAS added seven assists and seven points.

Christian can count on an uptempo game when the Patriots travel to Hoover (15-5, 2-1) on Friday (Jan. 27) at 7:30 p.m.

Christian scoring: Mikutis 20, Asaciovas 10 , Larsen 10, Ivanauskas 7, Daniel Hazlett 5,

VENTURE CHRISTIAN 64, LUTHERAN 27 -- The Knights of Venture Christian extended their Citrus South League lead to 3-0 with a romp over Lutheran Tuesday night (Jan. 24) at the Joan Kroc Center in La Mesa.

The knockout blow came in the form of a 23-8 scoring burst in the second quarter as coach BRAD LEAF's Knights (9-8, 3-0) locked up a 41-13 halftime lead.

DAVID CARTER, the starting junior point guard-for-Venture Christian, struggled early but came back strong in the second (6 assists) and third quarters (2 assists) to finish with 9 assists and 5 steals on the night. He also netted 9 points.

Once again, the HALE brothers -- sophomore AARON (23 points, 4 blocks) and freshman BRANDON (15 points) -- carried the Venture Christian offense. R.J. NAJERA grabbed a team-best 11 rebounds in his first outing after missing a game with the flu..

As a team, Venture Christian registered a school-record 24 steals. The leading pirates in that total were Carter and FRANK SHEPPARD with 5 apiece.

Venture Christian scoring: Aaron Hale 23, Brandon Hale 15, Carter 9, Najera 4, Sheppard 3, Andrew Atia 3, Trent Leaf 2, Zach Shipley 2, Alain Plascencia 2, Drew Windrem 1.

WEST HILLS at EL CAJON VALLEY -- This game was postponed 24 hours due a confusion in the schedule. No officials showed up.

East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (1-22-06) -- One could hardly blame the Granite Hills Eagles if they were looking ahead to Tuesday's (Jan. 24) Grossmont South League showdown against Helix when they arrived at Patrick Henry for Saturday's (Jan. 21) non-league contest.

The Eagles (14-6) fell behind early, were tied at 29-all by halftime and then erupted for 30 points in the third quarter to propel themselves to a 71-65 victory.

"It was a very physical game," Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON said, noting that the Eagles went to the free throw line 38 times, converting 26 of those chances.

NICK TAYLOR set the scoring tone for Granite Hills with 24 points, hitting 9-of-22 shots including two 3-pointers. The senior guard also added 4 free throws to his totals.

CLARK GORDON, the Eagles' 6-foot-8 senior center, posted another double-double of 18 points and 19 rebounds. He also blocked four shots and made two steals.

Floor leader BRANDEN PRIDE continued his recent scoring spree with 17 points, nine of which came in the key third quarter. Taylor tallied eight points in that period, while Gordon knocked down seven.

"It was really a 15-to-16 point game for us," Anderson said. "We pulled some starters out at the end and Henry hit a couple of threes to shrink our lead. But I never felt we were in danger of losing."

Granite Hills scoring: Taylor 24, Gordon 18, Pride 17, Dean Miller 6 (5 rebs), Chris Timko 3, Brian Humphries 3.

Sultans senior Ricky Mickelmore grits his teeth and storms through traffic to score the layin against the Wolf Pack. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

East County Sports.com
SANTEE (1-21-06) -- Santana's Sultans took a major step toward winning their first league championship in 18 years Friday (Jan. 20) by knocking off a hosting West Hills squad that has captured the Grossmont North League laurels three years running. Outscoring the Wolf Pack in each quarter, the Sultans (11-9, 3-0 GNL) surged to a 53-40 victory.

The Sultans lead the league by 1½ games, while West Hills (11-9, 1-1 GNL) fell into a three-way tie for second place.

"It feels good to be in the 3-0 position," said Santana coach TIM BARRY. "Especially since the games were all on the road."

West Hills suffered its sixth loss in the last seven games, yet remains in contention for a possible fourth league crown in a row.

Senior RICKY MICHELMORE was the Sultans' kingpin once again. He poured in a game-high 19 points, the majority coming off four 3-pointers. Michelmore also had 8 rebounds and 3 steals.

Michelmore scored 11 of his points in the third quarter, and 3 of his 4 threes in that period as the Sultans turned a six-point halftime lead into a 39-28 advantage.

"Defensively we missed some assignments, especially defending Michelmore," West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG said. "He had too many looks."

Santana led by 15 points with 2½ minutes remaining before West Hills' KYLE HAMANN hit a pair of 3-pointers to close the gap. But it was far too little, too late for the Pack.

"Up until that point BROOKS BASS did a very nice job containing him, held him to three points through the first three quarters," Barry said. "Brooks had such a complete game. Our whole goal was to cover Hamann, and Brooks did what a true point guard should do to lead a team."

Bass sank 4-of-6 shots for eight points, bagged five rebounds and dished three assists.

Hamann finished with 11 points, but had a rough night shooting, hitting just 4-of-17 shots. And so goes Hamann, so pretty much goes West Hills.

"Kyle couldn't hit -- had good looks but it wouldn't go tonight," Armstrong said. "The team had a lack of intensity to play a game of this magnitude -- we didn't shoot the ball well, offense was out of sync and we missed a lot of free throws."

The Wolf Pack was 15-for-46 from the floor and 5-for-13 from the free throw stripe.

On the bright side for West Hills, 6-4 sophomore post TIM NOWLIN nailed 4-of-5 shots from the floor and finished with 10 points. He also garnered a team-best eight rebounds, logged three steals, blocked a shot and took a charge.

Santana scoring: Michelmore 19, Jon Hernandez 11 (5 rebs,), Brooks Bass 8, Carlos Vargas 6 (6 rebs, 3 assists), Garrett Happ 4, Jon Corbisez 3 (6 reb.), Tyler Blackledge 2.

West Hills scoring: Hamann 11, Tim Nowlin 10, Chris Lifgren 6 (5 reb.), Peter Gilson 6 (5 rebs), Taylor Robbins 5, Philip Dettinger 2.

Monarchs forward Jamar Ransome (30) lets loose with a baseline jump shot over Jabari Robinson (34) of Steele Canyon. (Photo by Chris Edwards) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

MONTE VISTA 61, STEELE CANYON 52 -- The Monarchs survived a wild scramble over the Cougars in a match-up where both teams attempted to press, trap and create mistakes. Not by coincidence, the final turnover count --- Steele Canyon 28, Monte Vista 19 ---- also proved to be the difference on the scoreboard.

"It's almost unfair to bring a college coach into this league against us little guys," mused Monarchs coach ZACH PECK on first-year Cougars coach BERNIE BALIKIAN. "They were running plays with their cuts we've never seen before out here."

The system of screens and cuts challenged both defenses once situated in a half-court set, but the experience of the Monte Vista backcourt finally proved to be the difference.

"Everything we did badly was because of them," noted Balikian. "We didn't have any open looks all night."

And the wear-and-tear showed in the final period, as Steele Canyon hit just 3-of-11 shots from the floor, as Monte Vista expanded a slight 3-point advantage into a relatively comfortable victory after making 5-of-9 shots and registering five steals over the final six minutes.

Included were a pair of thefts by Monarchs guard ROSHUN WYNNE, who finished with a game-high seven steals and a team-best 10 rebounds.

Meanwhile, JAMAR RANSOME registered a career-high 26 points. He and RYAN SLADE (13 points) shoved home five points each over the final six minutes to pull away.

"Jamar had been in a shell the last few games, but came out hard for us," added Peck. "And DAVID MURGIA handled the ball well under pressure."

Down early at 6-0 and 9-4, Monte Vista went ahead at 13-11 when Ransome stole the ball and passed to Slade for a layin with 1:26 left in the opening period. Although Steele Canyon tied the game at 28-all, it would never reclaim the lead, as the Monarchs scored two baskets in the final five seconds of the half, then kept the margin between 2-to-6 points before finally expanding the lead over the final six minutes.

The Cougars stayed close behind the rebounding of LIONEL BALL (13 boards) and EMORY MITCHELL (11), but few resulted in conversions on the other end, as the hosts drained just 17-of-47 shots (36 percent). Meanwhile, Monte Vista shot a similar percentage, but took 13 additional shots thanks to its plus-9 turnover advantage.

TREVOR PECK recorded 11 points and five boards for the Monarchs (10-8 overall, 1-2 GSL), while Wynne scored nine.

ARLIN TAYLOR paced the Cougars with a career-high 14 points and five assists, while Ball scored 10 points. In addition, Steele Canyon stayed close in the opening minutes of the final period by taking-the-charge three times, including a pair by JABARI ROBINSON, who also matched teammate RILEY BALIKIAN with 7 points.

Monte Vista scoring: Ransome 26 (8 reb.), Slade 13 (5 stl.), Peck 11, Wynne 9, Murgia 1 (6 reb.), Michael Watkins 1.

Steele Canyon scoring: Taylor 14, Ball 10, Robinson 7, Balikian 7, Andrew Timm 6, Mitchell 4, Jonathan Douglass 4.

Steele Canyon guard Arlin Taylor (in white) and a trio of players from Monte Vista go airborne after Taylor penetrates the lane to shoot the ball in frist-half action. Monte Vista won, 61-52. (Photo by Chris Edwards) FOR ADDITIONAL PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

EL CAPITAN 52, GROSSMONT 51 (OT) -- With 6-foot-9 senior CORY BROWN hobbled with a banged-up knee, the visiting Vaqueros still found a way to pull off a Grossmont North League victory Friday night (Jan. 20).

JOSH ZIEGLER hit a 3-pointer in overtime, giving El Capitan (10-9, 1-1 GNL) the narrow victory over the struggling Foothillers (4-15, 0-3 GNL). It was only the third win in the last 10 starts for El Capitan. Grossmont suffered its seventh straight setback.

"This was a nice win for us considering we won without Cory doing all of the scoring for us," El Capitan coach ROSS FURROW said.

Brown, who is being recruited by Nebraska, Colorado State, Colorado, Rider (N.J.) University, USF, Pacific and USD, injured a knee in the waning moments of Tuesday's game against El Cajon Valley. He played against the Foothillers but had limited movement, finishing with a season low eight points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.

"I don't think there is any structural damage," Furrow said of Brown's wounded knee. "But it is stiff and sore. Cory can hardly bend it. He's only about 60-to-70 percent right now."

The Ziegler Brothers, who average only nine points between them on the season, broke loose for 21 points against Grossmont. Josh Ziegler grabbed nine rebounds as did TYREL ZAUSS.

After El Capitan began the game with a 13-6 first-quarter sprint, the Foothillers -- led by sophomore IAN COCHRAN's 11-point burst in the second frame -- tallied 23 points to lead 29-21 at the half. Cochran nailed three 3-pointers in that period and finished with a game-high 17 points.

Grossmont led El Capitan by five points midway through the fourth quarter and appeared to have victory in hand. The Hillers offense stalled and NICK MURICO hit a free throw with 13 seconds left in regulation -- sending the game into overtime.

KHALID WATERS hit Grossmont's only basket in the extra session, but Ziegler spoiled the Hillers party plans by sinking the game-winner with less than a minute to play.

Grossmont's defense was clearly focused on stopping Brown, who came into the game averaging more than 25 points per start. LUIS GONZALES, a sturdy 6-3 senior, guarded Brown before fouling out at the beginning of the fourth quarter, then teammate DERRICK DAVENPORT took over.

El Capitan scoring: Josh Ziegler 11, Jason Ziegler 10, Brown 8, Taelor Worrell 6, Brandon Braun 6, Murico 7, Tyrel Zauss 4.

Grossmont scoring: Cochran 17, Dominic Elder 14, Khalid Waters 8, Davenport 5, Gonzales 4, Justin Rutherford 3.

Derek Larsen completes his baseline drive for the easy layin in first-half action against Crawford. (Photo by Tori Mills)

CRAWFORD 76, CHRISTIAN 72 -- For the first time in 16 starts, the Christian High Patriots faced off against one of the San Diego Section's elite in Friday's (Jan. 20) Central League game at Ryan Athletic Center.

Christian (13-3, 1-1 Central) bounced out to a 25-14 lead in the second quarter only to have the high-flying Colts (12-8, 2-0 Central) tie the game at 27-all late in the same period.

This was a physical battle that featured 12 lead changes and eight times when the score was tied.

Turnovers (24) and foul woes cost the Patriots in the end as Crawford rolled into a Tuesday (Jan.24) showdown against Hoover for the Central League lead.

"We didn't handle their pressure very well," Christian coach KEN BAILEY said, referring to the Patriots' 27 turnovers (compared to Crawford's 14).

The Patriots' primary problem was 6-5 point guard PAULIUS IVANAUSKAS was nailed for three fouls -- two offensive -- during the first 11 minutes which forced Bailey to banish his ace ball-handler and floor general to the bench.

Ivanauskas' absence was even more obvious when he returned to the court in the third quarter. Despite playing less than 24 minutes, Ivanauskas contributed 11 points and seven assists.

VIKTOR ASACIOVAS banged in 10-of-12 shots from the floor for 20 points and also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds for the Patriots. ANDRIUS MIKUTIS muscled in 16 points and cleared nine caroms. DANIEL HAZLETT connected on 4-of-6 three-point shots and totaled 15 points for the Pats.

Christian's defensive game plan was simple -- keep the ball away from 6-foot-7 Tyrone Shelley. That strategy worked for the most part as Shelley (28.3 ppg) was held to 21. That included missing 12-of-22 shots in the paint.

"We tried to take the ball out of Tyrone's hands and shut him down," Bailey said. "We tried to control him and you have to give something up to take something away."

For Crawford, the ˜X' factor was Jorge Tapia, who after going scoreless in brief activity off the bench in the first half, exploded for 18 points in the second half.

"No. 13 (Tapia) hit some big shots and that was a crucial difference in the game."

Following a controversial block by Crawford guard Aaron Simpson with the score standing at 70-all, the Colts took the lead on a 7-foot jumper inside the key by Shelley and a pair of layups by Simpson to secure the win.

Not to be overlooked was the blue-collar work of DEREK LARSEN, who contributed eight assists, four steals, eight points and four rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

Christian scoring: Asaciovas 20, Mikutis 16, Hazlett 15, Ivanauskas 11, Larsen 8, Colin McDonald 2.

HELIX 71, VALHALLA 56 -- Helix coach JOHN SINGER was truly impressed by what he saw from the host Valhalla Norsemen in Friday's (Jan. 20) Grossmont South League encounter.

"I think they easily have the best talent -- next to us -- in our league," Singer said of the Norsemen (9-10, 1-2 GSL). "I was really impressed."

Maybe so, but the Highlanders (15-3, 3-0 GSL) hustled their way to their seventh straight win and 10th in the last 11 starts.

PAUL MARTINS (14 points, 4 assists) and KEITH WILLIAMS (12) were the Valhalla players that caught Singer's eyes. They each landed a pair of 3-pointers.

None of that really mattered, though, as Helix methodically pulled away after taking a one-point edge in the opening quarter.

Most startling in the Helix offensive assault was their hitting 8-of-14 from above the arc. AARON TINSLEY, who returned to the lineup after rolling an ankle last week, buried four treys. LAWRENCE HURDLE knocked down three more en route to a game-high 24-point finish.

"I don't want to live on the perimeter, but everybody wants to play us zone," Singer said. "If we have an open shot (from 3-point range) we're going to take it."

Helix put the Norsemen away in the third quarter by ringing up a 24-12 scoring advantage to extend a halftime lead to 58-40.

"The last bit of the third quarter, they hit two 3s and a bucket," said Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS. "We only made one basket. In the third quarter they made everything. They beat us on rebounding, on shooting, and hustle play. We competed for two quarters and then just couldn't stay with them."

Helix's DAVID JEFFERSON did not have a major scoring night, but did come down with a dozen rebounds. JERICHO TOILOLO chipped in nine points, seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. BRANDON FOUNTAIN added nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Helix scoring: Hurdle 24 (6 ast., 5 stl.), Tinsley 15, Fountain 9, Toilolo 9, Jefferson 8, Alex Aguirre 4, Eric Forney 2.

Valhalla scoring: Martins 14, Williams 12, Jeff Sopata 7, Nasheel Raja 6, Brett Hansen 5 (7 reb.), Jeremiah Browning 4, Daniel Butcher 3, Khalil Fakhoury 3, Kevin Kreibel 2.

GRANITE HILLS 49, MOUNT MIGUEL 40 -- After losing their first two Grossmont South League games by an average of 30 points, the Mount Miguel Matadors regained solid footing Friday (Jan. 20) and made life miserable for host Granite Hills.

A solid defensive effort by the Matadors' LAMONT FREEMAN kept East County scoring leader NICK TAYLOR in check. Taylor, who was dogged by early foul problems as well, was only 6-for-19 from the field as he finished with 12 points. His scoring totals did not include a single 3-pointer.

"What a great job!" exclaimed Mount Miguel coach MIKE GOLOVKO. "And Freeman got seven rebounds -- he did a really terrific job defensively tonight."

Granite Hills senior guard BRANDEN PRIDE scored a career-best 18 points to pace the Eagles. He sank a pair of 3-pointers and was 6-for-6 from the free throw line, while notching eight steals and dishing three assists.

"Branden really picked us up," said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON, whose Eagles will host Helix in a battle of Grossmont South League front-runners Tuesday (Jan. 24) at 6 p.m. "You never know what kids are thinking, but I wouldn't be surprised if we were looking ahead to Helix."

CLARK GORDON rolled in a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds (nine in the second half).

WARREN THODILE was Mount Miguel's top gun with 14 points, most coming on his three 3-pointers. RICHARD JACKSON grabbed nine rebounds and popped in eight points for the Matadors.

Realizing that Christian High's Derek Larsen (in white) would block his shot, Crawford guard Tyler Tucker (red) makes the behind-the-back pass to a trailing teammate to help the Colts rally past the Patriots. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

The Matadors (7-12, 0-3 GSL) led 22-21 at intermission over the Eagles (13-6, 3-0 GSL), who are averaging more than 67 points per game.

"We actually played a very good game, had good looks, but just didn't make the baskets or free throws we needed." Golovko said. "But we did hold Granite Hills to, I believe, 20 points under their average.

"Still, it is tough to start league play with three road games."

Granite Hills scoring: Pride 18, Gordon 14, Taylor 12, Brian Humphries 3, Dean Miller 2.

Mount Miguel scoring: Thodile 14, Jackson 8, Courtney Wrather 8, Laron Rush 6, Donta Young 2, Devyn Moore 2.

East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (1-20-06) -- Less than 24 hours after giving away a potential victory, Venture Christian High responded with their best performance during a grueling stretch of three games in as many days.

BRANDON HALE poured home a game-high 29 points, while brother AARON HALE produced 25 points and fell just shy of a triple-double, giving the Knights a 78-36 triumph over winless San Diego Academy in Thursday's (Jan. 19) Citrus South League contest at Kroc Center.

Brandon Hale drained three 3-balls and passed for three assists, off-setting a poor fourth-quarter performane one day earlier against Escondido Charter.

"Escondido Charter knew to try and take me and my brother out of the ballgame," noted the freshman guard. "But coach (BRAD LEAF) told me to just shoot the ball -- and they were going in."

Meanwhle, older brother Aaron nearly completed a triple-double. In addition to his 25 points, he grabbed nine rebounds and registered nine steals, part of a total of 35 thefts by Venture (8-8 overall, 2-0 CSL) against a Cavaliers (0-5, 0-2) program even younger than the Knights.

Brandon Hale scored eight of his points in the first period to jump-start VCHS to a 20-6 lead, as the Knights pulled away late with a 48-24 second-half advantage.

"Even though I'm the youngest guy on the teams, it's nice that the guys still look to me to lead the team," he noted. "That made it easier to prepare and step up after the loss."

Fortunately for the Knights, who went 2-1 during its series of games over a 50-hour period, the lone loss was a none-league contest, going to 2-0 in the Citrus South to grab the early league lead.

DAVID CARTER added 10 points, seven assists and six steals, while FRANK SHEPPARD added eight points from off the bench, making up for the absence of R.J. NAJERA (flu).

Venture Christian scoring: B.Hale 29 (5 reb., 4 stl.), A.Hale 25 (9 reb., 9 stl.), Carter 10 (7 ast., 6 stl.), Sheppard 8, Windrem, 4 (6 stl., 6 stl., 5 blk.), Atia 2 (7 stl., 5 ast.).

East County Sports.com
ESCONDIDO (1-19-06) -- The White Tigers clawed from behind to edge Venture Christian, 58-52, Wednesday (Jan. 18) in a non-league game. It was a frustrating defeat for the Knights (7-8), who held the lead most of the night before Escondido Charter (2-6) claimed a 16-9 scoring advantage in the final quarter.

"Even though we were leading 80 percent of the time it never felt like we were winning a basketball game," said VC assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. "We weren't shooting the ball well."

Venture Christian hit just 32 percent of 59 shots from the field.

BRANDON HALE put in 17 points to pace the Knights, who also received 12 points and 6 rebounds from R.J. NAJERA. AARON HALE scored only nine points, but dished five assists, snagged seven rebounds, made two steals and blocked a pair.

The irony for the Knights was Garret Boyer, who led the White Tigers with 26 points, 19 rebounds and seven blocks, was scoreless in the decisive fourth quarter.

Venture Christian scoring: Brandon Hale 17, R.J. Najera 12, Aaron Hale 9, David Carter 5, Alain Plascencia 4, Zach Shipley 3, Drew Windrem 2.

Lawrence Walker of Christian (left) blocks this Madison shot, one of almost a dozen rejections by the Patriots to open Central League actions with a victory. (Photo by Tori Mills)

Braves tackle Vaqueros
El Cap loses center late

East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (1-18-06) -- Doing their best to discomfit El Capitan center CORY BROWN with a variety of double- and triple-teams, the El Cajon Valley Braves fought hard to gain the lead after trailing by as many as eight points. So when Brown was forced to the sidelines after tweaking a knee with 4:34 remaining in a toss-up contest, the Braves no longer took precaution with their preludes into the paint.

With the intimidation factor of the 6-foot-9 Brown's presence unavailable, the mien of the Braves became apparent -- they knew their offense would work more effectively. And with the Vaqueros unable to do anything but exchange baskets, El Cajon Valley took another step forward to become contenders for the Grossmont North League title by escaping Cook Gymnasium with a 38-36 decision on Tuesday night (Jan. 17).

"We played our game, slowed it down, and did everything we could to stop Cory Brown the whole time," said Braves guard NATE SCHAD, who registered three keys steals in the fourth period to maintain the lead. "El Cap's big guy is tough, but we executed our game plan."

While El Cajon Valley allowed almost anyone to score except Brown, the strategy on offense was simple, too. Drive the line, draw the defense, then dish to a guard for an open look. Although the plan didn't work early, when the Vaqueros (9-9, 0-1 GNL) took leads of 7-0 and 14-6, the Braves (4-12, 1-1 GNL) settled on their defensive rotation and were able to chip away to move in front.

"We played much better defense in the second half," added WASAM PATROS, who stood out on defense with 7 steals and 12 rebounds. "And when we were able to slow it down, we knew we could take Brown out of their offense."

Brown still paced both teams with 16 points and 13 boards, but chances of a Vaqueros rally were hindered when Brown fell to the floor on a simple flash from the weak side to the low block. Adding insult to the injury, El Capitan pulled the ball out to allow a timeout to attend the fallen player, yet the referee instead ruled a 3-second violation.

El Capitan officials believed Brown just strained the knee and should be fine for Friday's (Jan. 20) contest at Grossmont.

"It's too bad, because the kid is a monster," said Braves coach NATE REED. "But by then we already had the lead because we executed well and stayed patient."

El Cajon Valley took the lead for keeps just 1:49 into the second half when CHRIS REYNALDS scored on a putback after grabbing an offensive rebound.

CLIFTON THOMAS, who recently joined the basketball team after an All-County performance for the Braves football team, took the ball and drove into the paint, passing to KENNETH MacAREAG for a wide-open jumper after four players collapsed on Thomas.

"Having Clifton on the court is a real boost for us," Schad added. "He's a senior who brings a ton of physicality and leadership out there for us."

Over the remaining 14-plus minutes, the teams would exchange baskets (El Cap once hit two free throws), as the lead went from 4-to-2-to-4 without exception.

The Vaqueros created one last chance to force overtime, as a pile-up under the El Cap basket -- six players went for a rebound -- as the tie-up saw the hosts gain the ball on the alternate possession with 29 seconds left.

The frantic final seconds saw Patros get credit for a steal after a tie-up for the Braves, only to see TAELOR WORRELL re-steal the ball and drive the lane. However, his 5-footer in traffic bounced away with seven seconds left, as Schad grabbed the rebound.

Reynalds paced the Braves 13 points, 7 boards and 4 assists. Patros added 9 points, while Schad added 5. After shooting just 23 percent (7-for-31) in the first half, ECV took care of the ball with just five second-half turnovers.

NICK MURICO scored three points for El Capitan, but his main contribution came on the boards with 10 caroms while also taking a charge

El Cajon Valley scoring: Reynalds 13, Patros 9, Ken MacAreag 6, Nate Schad 5, Tim Widjaja 3, John Putris 2.

El Capitan scoring: Brown 16 (13 reb., 3 blk.), Josh Ziegler 6, Taelor Worrell 5, Barrett Braun 4, Nick Murico 3 (10 reb.), Jason Ziegler 2.

GRANITE HILLS 63, STEELE CANYON 47 -- There is no such thing as an ‘off night' when it comes to the shooting of Granite Hills senior guard NICK TAYLOR.

Taylor punched in 33 points in Tuesday's (Jan. 17) Grossmont South League victory over the Cougars (6-11, 1-1 GSL) -- 15 in the first quarter.

"I have been a college coach for 20 years and I have seen some great shooters," said Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN. "And I haven't seen any better than Nick Taylor. He was just unconscious. I give their coach a lot of credit that he gives Taylor free rein to shoot and allows a great player to be a great player."

The majority of Taylor's points came on his nine 3-pointers. He now has a San Diego CIF-leading 88 treys, averaging nearly five long rangers a game.

Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON pointed to the Eagles' defense for helping his squad build a 33-17 halftime lead.

Six-foot-8 senior center CLARK GORDON turned in another nifty double-double of 17 points and 18 rebounds for Granite Hills. He also blocked 4 shots.

Granite Hills (12-6,2-0 GSL), which shares the Grossmont South lead with Helix, led by as much as 21 points in the fourth quarter. The Cougars fought back, cutting the deficit to 50-41 with 5:30 remaining.

"We had the ball and a chance to close it to 7, and we missed a lay-up on an out-of-bounds play," Balikian said. "Then on their next possession Taylor hit a 3 and broke our backs."

EMORY MITCHELL paced Steele Canyon with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks. Freshman JABARI ROBINSON added 11 points and LIONEL BALL tossed in 10 points, had 7 boards and blocked 2 shots for the Cougars.

"I don't feel that awful losing to them because they are a good team that played well on this night," Balikian said. "We look forward to playing them again and see if we can come up with a better plan."

Balikian praised the floor leadership of Granite Hills guard BRANDEN PRIDE.

"We put full court pressure on them for 30 of 32 minutes and they only had 9 turnovers," he said.

Steele Canyon turned the ball over only 15 times.

"That's good for us," Balikian said. "That tells me we're making some progress."

Granite Hills scoring: Taylor 33, Gordon 17, Chris Timko 4, Pride 3, Dean Miller 2, Wayne Martin 2, Luke Simpson 2.

Steele Canyon scoring: Mitchell 14, Robinson 11, Ball 10, Tony Minnifield 8, Arlin Taylor 2, Riley Balikian 2.

VALHALLA 57, MONTE VISTA 49 -- For a team picked to finish last in the Grossmont South League, the Valhalla Norsemen are certainly making a lot of noise early in the race.

On the strength of 13 offensive rebounds and a balanced scoring attack, the Norsemen (9-9, 1-1 GSL) sent the Monarchs (9-8, 0-2 GSL) reeling in a game played Tuesday (Jan.17) at Valhalla.

"We got off to a really good start," said Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS, referring to a 31-18 first half lead. "Then in the third quarter we missed 4 lay-ups in a row. They outscored us by 8 points in that quarter."

DAVID MURGIA drilled in a pair of 3-pointers and a free throw to pace the Monarchs' 20-point third. RYAN SLADE hit 3 baskets and JAMAR RANSOME chipped in a couple of buckets in that period.

Suddenly, it was a game again as Monte Vista trailed only 43-38 with eight to play.

With two minutes left in the game and Valhalla hanging on to a 51-48 advantage, BRETT HANSEN scored on a putback, JEREMIAH BROWNING made a basket off a feed from KEITH WILLIAMS, and NASHEEL RAJA and Williams each hit a free throw to seal the win for Valhalla.

Hansen led the Norsemen with 13 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks. Browning had 12 points, 5 boards and a pair of steals. PAUL MARTINS pitched in 9 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

"We did a good job of rebounding," Thomas said. "In the first half we were 13 of 24 shooting, including 3-pointers. That's better than 50 percent. We were getting putbacks and inside shots."

It made the difference.

Slade topped the Monte Vista scoring column with 12 points, one more than ROSHUN WYNNE.

Valhalla scoring: Hansen 13, Browning 12, Martins 9, Jeff Sopata 8, Keith Williams 8, Nasheel Raja 5, Kevin Kreibel 2.

Monte Vista scoring: Slade 12, Wynne 11, Murgia 10, Ransome 8, Joey Belanger 5, Trevor Peck 3.

SANTANA 53, GROSSMONT 40 -- The Sultans, who have been struggling to find their offense since returning from the Hawaiian Islands last month, erupted for 23 points in the second quarter Tuesday (Jan. 17) to wipe out an early Grossmont lead in a battle of Grossmont North League teams.

The victory kept Santana (10-9, 2-0 GNL) atop the Grossmont North heading into Friday's (Jan. 20) showdown against second place West Hills in the Wolf Pack den.

"(Grossmont coach) FRANK (FOGGIANO) had them well prepared tonight," said Santana coach TIM BARRY. "They jumped out to an 8-0 lead. They did some nice things at the beginning of the first quarter."

Santana quickly restored order.

"BROCK BASS, CARLOS VARGAS and BRIAN BAILEY were the momentum swingers in the game for us," said Barry. "We subbed early because we had questionable or very poor shot selection in the first quarter."

Trailing 10-5 after one quarter, Bailey hit a 3-pointer off a Vargas assist and Brock Bass followed with another 3. Vargas then scored on a layup and was fouled and made the free throw to put Santana on top.

"Vargas, in his second start in a row, came up huge for us tonight," Barry said. "Both of his assists were penetration and kicks for 3-pointers."

Vargas penetrated and dished it to Bailey, who hit his second 3 of the second quarter to give Santana a 9-point lead as the first half ended. Vargas ended up with 5 points and 7 rebounds.

Santana's RICKY MICHELMORE scored 9 of his 16 points in the second quarter. JON HERNANDEZ pitched in with 11 points and 7 rebounds for the Sultans.

Sophomore IAN COCHRAN (15 points) and junior JUSTIN RUTHERFORD (12) paced Grossmont (4-14, 0-2), which suffered its sixth straight loss.

Santana scoring: Michelmore 16, Hernandez 11, Bailey 6, Brock Bass 6, Brooks Bass 5, Vargas 5, Jon Corbisez 2 (7 rebs), Tyler Blackledge 2.

Grossmont scoring: Cochran 15, Rutherford 12, Dominic Elder 6, Trevor Thomas 5, Luis Gonzales 2.

HELIX 72, MOUNT MIGUEL 31 -- In days gone by this matchup between Grossmont South League rivals has usually resulted in a nail-bitter finish.

That was hardly the case in Tuesday's (Jan.17) meeting as the hosting Highlanders (14-3, 2-0 GSL) mauled the Matadors (7-11, 0-2) for their 6th straight win and their 9th in 10 starts.

DAVID JEFFERSON jammed in 8 of 11 shots from the field on his way to a 20-point finish. The 6-4 junior also grabbed 10 rebounds and recorded 3 steals.

LAWRENCE HURDLE added 13 points, 6 assists and 4 steals for the Highlanders while BRANDON FOUNTAIN pitched in 10 points, 4 assists and 4 steals.

The Highlanders led 42-14 by halftime and never looked back.

No one reached double figures for the Matadors (7-11, 0-2).

Mount Miguel scoring: Cory Wrather 7, Laron Rush 8, Donta Young 3, Richard Jackson 6, Warren Thodile 7,

Helix scoring: Hurdle 13, Jefferson 20, Justin Johnson 5, Jerome Swain 2, Jericho Toilolo 8, Eric Forney 2, Adrian Gaffney 6, Brandon Fountain 10, Sean Scarber 3, Alex Aguirre 3.

VENTURE CHRISTIAN 67, MTN. EMPIRE 49 -- For the Venture Christian Knights it was Hale, Hale the brothers are in gear for Tuesday's (Jan.17) Citrus South League opener.

AARON HALE hammered in 30 points and his brother BRANDON HALE hurled in 24 points as the Knights (7-7, 1-0) conquered the Redhawks.

"This was definitely Aaron 's night," said Venture Christian assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. "He had 10 points in the first quarter, 6 in the second, 10 in the third and 4 in the fourth. He was 11 for 20 overall from the field. He shot well."

"Brandon Hale was 9 of 17 from the field," McHugh added. "And R.J. NAJERA played well. We played good defense and made our shots. We pretty much controlled it from start to finish."

Venture Christian scoring: Aaron Hale 30, Brandon Hale 24, R.J. Najera 8, Zach Shipley 2, Frank Sheppard 2, David Carter 1.

CHRISTIAN 69, MADISON 31 -- The Patriots (13-2, 1-0) proved they are prepared for the start of Central League play Tuesday night (Jan. 17) as they destroyed host Madison (6-10, 0-1).

The game was over after one quarter as the Patriots had built a 28-3 lead and sailed their way into victory lane.

ANDRIUS MIKUTAS (16 points, 10 rebounds), PAULIUS IVANAUSKAS (14 points, 10 assists), VIKTOR ASACIOVAS (13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks) paced a balanced attack as the Patriots prepare for a Friday night (Jan. 20) showdown against high-scoring Crawford at the Ryan Athletic Center at 7:30 p.m.

Christian scoring: Mikutas 16, Ivanauskas 14, Asaciovas 13, Daniel Hazlett 8, Derek Larsen 8, Colin McDonald 6, Grant Mills 4.

Santana's Carlos Vargas drives against a player from Mission Bay, but reaches around in an attempt to steal the ball (See enlargement). (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva)

Brian Bailey of Santana attempts to move past Mission Bay's Marquis Parham (left).. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

MLK contest turns
D-3 playoff race

East County Sports.com
CLAIREMONT (1-15-06) -- Santana coach TIM BARRY was optimistic going into Saturday's (Jan.14) Martin Luther King Shootout encounter against undefeated Mission Bay at Horizon High. Both teams are bidding for positions in Division III of the San Diego CIF playoffs.

It turned out to be no contest, as the unbeaten Buccaneers (10-0) breezed to a 59-43 victory.

"I felt that if we could get a win here it would help us immeasurably down the road at the seeding meeting," Barry said. "But it's like I told our kids afterwards, the game was won and lost in the first quarter."

Mission Bay sank 8 of its first 13 shots and Santana missed 12 of its first 15, resulting in a 20-9 Buccaneers lead. The Sultans closed the gap to 26-20 on a pair of RICKY MICHELMORE free throws with 2:55 left in the second quarter, but never seriously challenged for the lead.

"I think we are a good team and at times I felt we outplayed these guys," Barry said. "Bottom line is we needed to make baskets. Right now that's what separates us from being a very good team."

Shooting has been a problem for the Sultans (9-9) all week (three games). And so it was against Mission Bay (10-0). Santana made only 11-of-49 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter by sophomore ANTHONY DeBARROWS who was making his varsity debut.

JON HERNANDEZ accounted for four of Santana's baskets and hit 7-of-11 free throws while grabbing eightrebounds. Michelmore was limited to seven points, but managed seven rebounds, three assists and took two charges. GARRETT HAPP added seven points and six rebounds off the bench.

Santana scoring: Hernandez 15, Michelmore 7, Happ 7, DeBarrows 6, Brooks Bass 2, Carlos Vargas 2, Brian Bailey 2, Tyler Blackledge 2.

Steele Canyon guard Arlin Taylor (left) goes nose-to-nose with Devyn Moore of Mount Miguel in the Cougars' surprising 62-43 win. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-14-06) -- Trailing by four points entering the final period, Granite Hills went to its sharp-shooting guard for a pair of 3-point goals to turn the game around. And it wasn't East County scoring leader NICK TAYLOR.

Reserve guard WAYNE MARTIN opened the period with a long 3-ball from the corner, then nailed another shot from beyond the arc at the top of the key to complete a 12-0 run to open the fourth quarter, helping the Eagles topple visiting Valhalla, 59-55, in Friday's (Jan. 13) Grossmont South League opener for both schools.

Between both of Martin's outside blasts, Taylor added a pair of his own 3-point bombs -- part of his game-high 29 points. However, the momentum swing was obvious when the sophomore Martin took a BRANDEN PRIDE pass and was wide open after the Norsemen attempted double-coverage on Taylor.

"That's my job -- shoot open threes and do some damage from the outside," said Martin, who finished with 13 points, including nine in the final eight minutes. "But I wouldn't be here without Branden."

Pride quickly recognized Valhalla's change in scheme defensively when Taylor got doubled. Pride recorded assists on the first three Eagles baskets of the period to mount a 50-42 lead, finishing with six helpers and 12 points.

"The way it was going, it was tough to play well," Pride noted of the defensive intensity of both rival teams. "But Wayne did it in the clutch, while CLARK (GORDON) rebounded well."

Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS had his own thoughts on how the Norsemen relinquished a 42-38 lead they held after three quarters.

"In the first 3½ minutes of the fourth quarter we proceeded to take every bad shot we could, forced our shots, rushed our offense," he said.

All that occurred while Granite Hills was embarking on its 12-point, unanswered rush.

The Norsemen (8-9, 0-1 GSL) came back to close the margin to 52-51 and 55-53 including a layin with 33 seconds remaining by JEREMIAH BROWNING, as KEVIN KRIEBEL pulled down an offensive rebound and made a nice pass to Browning. Kriebel also registered a key put-back in the final seconds.

However, Pride twice sank a pair of foul shots over the final 16 seconds to seal the victory, including two clutch shots with 3.3 seconds left.

Taylor had 18 of Granite Hills 25 points at halftime -- and all 12 of the Eagles' points in the first quarter. With his five treys, the senior now owns 79 bombs this season to set a single-season school record.

Browning was responsible for guarding Taylor most of the contest. Points did not come easy, as Taylor needed 35 shots for his 10 baskets.

"You can't stop a kid who can pull up and let it go so quickly," Thomas said.

Gordon defended the glass with a game-high 13 rebounds, while also rejecting five Norsemen shots. His efforts were key as the Eagles (11-6, 1-0 GSL) played without sophomore starter BRIAN HUMPHRIES (ankle).

KEITH WILLIAMS powered Valhalla with 18 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Williams accounted for 11 of Valhalla's 16 points in the third quarter.

PAUL MARTINS totaled 14 points for the Norsemen, while Browning added 10. BRETT HANSEN cleared a dozen rebounds for Valhalla.

"It was our standard Valhalla-Granite Hills thriller," said Thomas. "Every game but one has been down to the wire -- real barn-burners."

Granite Hills scoring: Taylor 29 (5 reb.), Martin 13, Pride 12, Gordon 3, Miller 2.

Valhalla scoring: Williams 18, Martins 14 (4 reb., 3 ast.), Browning 10 (4 blk.), Kriebel 9 (5 reb.), Hansen 4.

SANTANA 52, EL CAJON VALLEY 47 -- The return to the court of senior letterman ABRAHAM MUHEIZE provided host El Cajon Valley with an emotional and physical lift in Friday's (Jan. 13) Grossmont North League opener.

Muheize, the San Diego CIF Offensive Player of the Year and an All-State pick in football, came off the bench for 11 points for the Braves (3-12, 0-1 GNL). He missed the first 14 games with a thumb injury.

"What a great kid," said Santana coach TIM BARRY, whose Sultans staged a fourth-quarter rally to spoil Muheize's Homecoming. "Not to take anything away from their other kids, but Abe makes them a much better team."

Santana (9-8, 1-0), the preseason pick to win its first league title since 1988, raced out to a 12-3 lead in the opening quarter. And then, the Sultans hit the skids.

"We missed 22 shots inside five feet," Barry said. "That was incredibly disappointing for us. Part of the reason for that was El Cajon challenged every shot."

The Braves, who missed gaining a share of the league title by a single point a year ago, held a 43-38 lead early in the fourth after NATE SCHAD sank a 3-pointer.

"I'll admit I was getting worried," said Barry, who also expressed disappointment in that "we created only two steals as a team."

Credit Santana's 1-2 senior scoring punch for leading the Sultans out of the doldrums with a 23-point fourth quarter. JON HERNANDEZ, who has been sick for two weeks and didn't start, scored 11 of his 17 points in the final quarter. RICKY MICHELMORE scored seven of his game-best 18, five of them coming in the final two minutes.

Michelmore also had 14 rebounds, five assists and took three charges.

"I'm really pleased with Michelmore for willing us to win," Barry said.

Schad posted 12 points to pace the Braves.

Santana scoring: Michelmore 18, Hernandez 17 (5 rebs), Corbisez 7 (4 assists), Brooks Bass 6, Carlos Vargas 4.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Schad 12, Muheize 11, Dori Laramore 6, Chris Reynalds 5, Wasom Patros 5, John Putris 4, Tim Widjaja 4.

STEELE CANYON 62, MOUNT MIGUEL 43 -- Given the margin of victory, this one could be classified as an upset. The Cougars (6-10, 1-0) had won their previous two games by a combined three points. No close call this time.

The Cougars, the two-time defending Grossmont South League champions, barged out of the gate for a 23-8 first quarter lead in Friday's (Jan. 13) league opener.

"We are starting to put things together," said Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN. "Defensively we played pretty well. We forced 27 turnovers. We're still having too many turnovers ourselves (21 for the Cougars), but we got a lot of lay-ups. I liked our offense."

Three Cougars reached double scoring figures with LIONEL BALL's 14 points leading the way. ANDREW TIMM hit 6-of-7 shots from the field for 12 points and freshman point guard JABARI ROBINSON added 11. The majority of Robinson's points came on three 3-pointers.

TONY MINNIFIELD chipped in 10 rebounds and 8 points, while Ball hauled down nine boards, dished five assists and made four steals. ARLIN TAYLOR pitched in sixassists and 3 steals, RILEY BALIKIAN logged a team high five steals, four assists, and five rebounds.

"I think we're going to surprise a lot of teams," coach Balikian said. "We're not a typical team in the way we play. I think we can take teams out of their game, out of their rhythm. I think we're going to be tough to play against."

Mount Miguel (7-10, 0-1 GSL) might tend to agree.

It was a Friday-the-13th type night for the Matadors, who had won four of five entering Friday's league lid-lifter. Mount Miguel lost the services of KARLIN STEWART, who re-injured an ankle in the first quarter. His return to the team is questionable.

"We spent 16 games getting ready for this game, and we played as if this were our first game," fumed Mount Miguel coach MIKE GOLOVKO. "We had some guys forget everything we've taught. But we have some different options that we can use to get back to where we were before this game -- to play like we've been playing the last two weeks."

COURTNEY WRATHER (13 points), WARREN THODILE (12 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals) and RICHARD JACKSON (12 points, five rebounds) were Mount Miguel's leaders in defeat.

"There will be some changes," Golovko said. "I'm confident it'll turn around for us. I never saw this kind of performance coming like I saw tonight."

Steele Canyon scoring: Ball 14, Timm 12, Robinson 11, Minnifield 8, Taylor 6, Emory Mitchell 5, Balikian 2, Tim Orange 2, Adam Bendas 2.

Mount Miguel scoring: Wrather 13, Jackson 12, Thodile 12, Stewart 2, Laron Rush 2, Donta Young 1, Lamont Freeman 1.

HELIX 66, MONTE VISTA 54 -- Even when the Highlanders (13-3, 1-0 GSL) are playing short-handed, they seem to find a way to win. They proved that once again in Friday's (Jan. 13) Grossmont South League-opening win at Monte Vista, picking up their eighth triumph in nine starts.

With senior guard AARON TINSLEY seated on the bench, wearing a boot to protect an ankle he sprained a day earlier in practice, the Highlanders received a scoring binge from the trio of junior guard LAWRENCE HURDLE (23 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists), junior center DAVID JEFFERSON (22 points, 14 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks) and BRANDON FOUNTAIN (12 points, 11 rebounds, 4 steals, 4 assists).

Helix head coach JOHN SINGER heralded the relief work of reserves JUSTIN JOHNSON and JERICHO TOILOLO, who did not ring up impressive stats but helped fill the void of the missing Tinsley.

"Not having Tinsley I was really fretting who I would go with, and those guys came through," Singer said.

Hurdle shredded the Monte Vista defense whether it was in trapping formation or playing man-to-man. Eight of his 14 shots from the floor made the mark.

"Lawrence just took over the game in the fourth quarter," said Helix assistant coach ANDY MERIDITH. "Offensively, he ran the show. And his on-the-ball defense was great."

Hurdle scored 17 of his points in the second half, including 10 in the fourth quarter

Clinging to a 27-25 halftime lead was less than satisfactory for Singer, who said "I probably went off a little heavy at halftime."

Singer said he felt his team "gave up a lot of easy buckets early. We got back-cut too many times in the first half."

That didn't happen in the second half as the Monarchs (9-7, 0-1 GSL) were forced to attempt the majority of their shots from the perimeter.

JAMAR RANSOME overcame foul troubles to lead Monte Vista with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 7 free throws. The 6-3 junior also collected 10 rebounds.

TREVOR PECK punched in 10 points and garnered eight rebounds for the Monarchs who also received 11 points from point guard ROSHUN WYNNE before he fouled out in the fourth period. DAVID MURGIA contributed seven assists and a pair of 3-pointers for Monte Vista, which saw its 3-game winning streak end.

Helix scoring: Hurdle 23, Jefferson 22, Fountain 12, Johnson 4, Toilolo 3, Alex Aguirre 2.

Monte Vista scoring: Ransome 17, Wynne 11, Peck 10, Joey Belanger 8, David Murgia 6, Ryan Slade 2.

West Hills defender Taylor Robbins blocks this shot attempt by Luis Gonzales of the Foothillers. The Wolf Pack won, 49-39. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

WEST HILLS 49,
GROSSMONT 39 -- The familiarity of life inside the Grossmont North League was just what the doctor ordered for the struggling defending league champions from West Hills. The visiting Wolf Pack (11-8, 1-0 GNL), winners of three straight league pennants, opened the latest league campaign on Friday (Jan. 13) with a victory over the Foothillers (4-13, 0-1) at Grossmont.

That victory snapped a five-game West Hills losing streak and extended Grossmont's downward spiral to five.

Except for the third quarter, West Hills won the scoring advantage in each period. Senior guard KYLE HAMANN paced a balanced Pack attack with 15 points,

"TAYLOR ROBBINS played very well in the fourth quarter -- had seven of his 11 points," said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. "And with three seconds left he hit a three-pointer -- our ‘comfort bucket.' It gave us the confidence that we needed to finish the game off."

PETER GILSON scored all of his 5 points in the fourth quarter to help West Hills gain a 20-13 advantage.

"It was a good game defensively for us," Armstrong said. "We were able to stay in full court pressure most of the game. But Grossmont wouldn't go away. There were a couple of times they could have folded up their tent but their kids hung tough and played hard."

DOMINIC ELDER was the only Foothiller to reach double figures, finishing with 11.

"Our kids held their composure and took good care of the basketball," Armstrong said.

West Hills scoring: Hamman 15, Robbins 11, Chris Lifgren 10, Gilson 5, Miles Pivonka 4, Tim Nowlin 2, Blaine Hoffard 2.

Grossmont scoring: Elder 11, Luis Gonzales 9, Justin Rutherford 8, Derrick Davenport 5, Trevor Thomas 4, Ian Cochran 2.

East County Sports.com
LA MESA (1-13-06) -- Following 12 victories in 13 Grossmont Conference crossover contests, it is clear the Grossmont South League holds a superiority edge over the North League, but which single team holds an advantage over the others may be easier than most observers believe.

So while the North may go down to not only the last game, but perhaps the last shot to decide a champion, there seems to be more clarity in the South.

Grossmont South League
1. HELIX (12-3) -- A streak of eight seasons on top was halted when Steele Canyon raced to back-to-back league titles the past two seasons. However, the Highlanders hold single pieces which may key the match-up advantage against several of their opponents.

LAWRENCE HURDLE may be the top point guard in the circuit, possessing the ball-handling skills to race past most of the opposition. Plus, his shooting touch may be enough to counter or off-set the scoring ability of other sharp-shooters.

Throw in forward DAVID JEFFERSON, who may be the single top talent in the league with his consistency on defense, rebounding and offense, and the Scotties may hold the 1-2 combination to return to the top. Ranking first in scoring defense doesn't hurt either.

2. GRANITE HILLS (10-6) -- Hurdle will need to slow down East County scoring leader NICK TAYLOR, who cracked into the Grossmont Conference Top 10 with a 53-point scoring effort earlier this season. But the burning issue is, can the sharpshooter get off enough open shots to spell the difference between a title and a runner-up finish.

At least Taylor (27.1 points per contest) will not be alone, gaining assistance from forward CLARK GORDON (12.5 pts.), the region's top rebounder at 16.3 per outing. Throw-in guard BRANDEN PRIDE, who is a half-step behind Hurdle, and the race for first will be between the Eagles -- the East County's top offense -- and the Scotties.

3. MONTE VISTA (9-6) -- Head coach ZACH PECK does more with less almost every year, which is why his Monarchs may be the best of the rest in the South League. After alternating wins and losses all December, Monte Vista enters league play with three straight wins, which may be the momentum needed when they meet Helix in Friday's (Jan. 13) league opener at home.

JAMAR RANSOME (12.3 ppg), ROSHUN WYNNE (11.6), and TREVOR PECK (9.2) give Monte VIsta balanced scoring, making them hard to defend, too -- there is no single weapon you can elect to shut down.

4. MOUNT MIGUEL (7-9) -- The Matadors are just getting to full strength as more players get healthy and eligible. Plus, they enter league play with four wins in five contests, with the loss being a strong showing against Bonita Vista over the holidays.

The team just needs to put the ball into the basket more consistently.

RICHARD JACKSON leads the Matadors at 11.2 points per outing, including a 31-point effort, while COURTNEY WRATHER and WARREN THODILE are also over 10 points per contest. If these players can reach such numbers every night instead of once per week, then Mount Miguel can advance among the GSL ranks.

5. STEELE CANYON (5-10) -- The rebuilding Cougars currently have more losses than the last two GSL champion teams from the school had combined. However, new head coach BERNIE BALIKIAN is slowly putting the remaining crumbs from those teams back together.

LIONEL BALL is the team scoring leader at 12.7 points each game, and despite their record, the team's scoring margin is only at minus-5.00 -- not too bad, considering being five games under .500. If Steele Canyon keeps up the pace and develops its younger talent, third place is not out of the question.

6. VALHALLA (8-8) -- Prior to the holidays, the Norsemen were the easy pick for the cellar. That may change come league time following their recent victory over Santana.

PAUL MARTINS paces the Norse at 13.7 points per outing, while BRETT HANSEN is the East County's top percentage shooter, making exactly two-thirds of his shots.

Grossmont South League
1. SANTANA (8-8) -- Among all the teams in the Grossmont North, the Sultans can do more things with more players, matching style-wise with the competition better than the others.

This team can run a little or play the slow-down game, they can press well enough without getting burned on the other end too many times, or sit in a zone or play man -- and they will need to do a little of each to stay on top.

The offense centers around RICKY MICHELMORE (16.9 pts, 9.4 reb.), but more will be needed from the guards so Michelmore doesn't need to come outside to help operate the offense. This team has holes, but fewer than the others.

2. WEST HILLS (10-8) -- After a wonderful start with six victories in their first seven starts, the Wolf Pack are now riding a 5-game losing streak entering league play, including setbacks to Monte Vista and Valhalla -- games the coaching staff thought they should've won.

Guard KYLE HAMANN is the top 3-point shooter in this end of town, while also getting to the foul line often when driving to the basket. West Hills needs to get the ball to its other shooters, including MILES PIVONKA (a .500 shooter) and PETER GILSON to balance the attack and advance.

3. EL CAPITAN (9-8) -- The Vaqueros are noted for 6-foot-8 center CORY BROWN and four guys trying to get the ball to the center. When they do, El Capitan wins; when they don't, the team struggles for offense.

JOSH ZIEGLER recently registered an outing with seven assists, yet the team still lost.

4. EL CAJON VALLEY (3-11) -- Don't let the record fool you. In past years, Helix and Monte Vista needed to wait weeks for its football players to complete the playoffs before joining the basketball team, and now the Braves are in this rare – for them – situation. Thus, even at this late date, additional players are expected to bolster the ballclub.

Among the players currently on the roster, CHRIS REYNALDS is the key to the offense, scoring 19.1 points per game by shooting nearly 60 percent from the floor. He is also second in the league in rebounding, while point guard NATE SCHAD (6.3 assists per game to lead the GNL) runs the offense either on the break on in the half-court set.

5. GROSSMONT (4-12) -- Junior center JUSTIN RUTHERFORD might get looked at by some smaller colleges, but the rest of the team is athletic, yet without much basketball experience. Similar to El Capitan, if Rutherford gets the ball in scoring position, the Foothillers could move up. Otherwise, a long season could become longer.

Central League
3. CHRISTIAN (12-2) -- Top talent as Hoover and Crawford makes the Patriots a "best of the rest" candidate in the competitive Central League. However, a host of imports from Lithuania -- senior forward PAULIUS IVANAUSKAS, junior center VIKTOR ASACIOVAS and junior swing man ANDRIUS MIKUTIS -- will assist returning starters DEREK LARSEN, GRANT MILLS in their bid to knock off their top two opponents.

No matter where the team finishes in league, they will once again be in contention for the CIF Division IV title.

Citrus South League
1. VENTURE CHRISTIAN (6-7) -- Following a pair of championship seasons at Steele Canyon, head coach BRAD LEAF takes the reins of the first-year Knights program -- and could win a third straight title.

And, at this level, the Knight could be solid for years to come, starting just one senior in football team quarterback DREW WINDREM. The HALE brothers -- sophomore AARON and freshman BRANDON --- are 1-2 in team scoring, and 5-6 among all East County scorers, while R.J. NAJERA is steady as a starter or the sixth man.

Others receiving votes: Santa Fe Christian (6), Bonita Vista (2).
*received forfeit win from Serra.

Monte Vista guard Roshun Wynne collected 15 points and four assists to power the Monarchs past West Hills in Div. II action. (Photo by Chris Edwards) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

QUARTERFINALS
Fri., Feb. 24
Division I
Bonita Vista 69, Granite Hills 61
El Camino 70, Helix 57
Division II
San Pasqual 58, Monte Vista 31
Scripps Ranch 51, El Capitan 33
Division III
Santana 59, El Centro-Central 47
Division IV
Christian 76, Army-Navy Academy 65

It's 6-foot-9 vs. 6-foot-8 -- El Capitan center Cory Brown lifts a nice left-handed hook shot over Scripps Ranch's Kenton Walker. (Photo by Lisa Craig)

SEMIFINALS
Tue., Feb., 28
Division III
Crawford 80, Santana 62
St. Augustine 70, Cathedral Catholic 50
Division IV
Horizon Christian 70, Christian 54
Francis Parker 56, The Bishop's 49

Santana's Carlos Vargas drives around a Crawford defender in Tuesday's semifinals of the CIF Div. II tournament at The Corral. (Photo by Chris Edwards) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

Veteran referee Terry McIntyre tosses the ball for the opening tipoff between Granite Hills' Clark Gordon (24) & Jamar Ransome of Monte Vista (30) in Friday's GSL contest. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva) FOR ADDITIONAL PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

El Capitan center Cory Brown (left) goes over the top on West Hills' Philip Dettinger. (Photo by Lisa Craig)

Fri., Feb. 17
Grossmont North League
El Capitan 59, West Hills 54
Grossmont 55, El Cajon Valley 48
Grossmont South League
Helix 68, Steele Canyon 33
Granite Hills 59, Monte Vista 53
Valhalla 49, Mount Miguel 41
Central League
Hoover 70, Christian 56
Crawford 85, Madison 47
Clairemont 53, Coronado 42
Citrus South League
Venture Christian 53, Calvary Chr. Aca. 34

Thurs., Feb. 16
Citrus South League
Midway Baptist 66, San Diego Academy 40

Christian High's Paulius Ivanauskas dribbles past a Coronado defender. (Photo by Tori Mills)

Tue., Feb. 14
Grossmont North League
El Capitan 61, Santana 54
West Hills 73, El Cajon Valley 55
Grossmont South League
Granite Hills 53, Helix 50
Monte VIsta 47, Mount Miguel 46
Steele Canyon 51, Valhalla 49
Central League
Christian 70, Coronado 38
Hoover 85, Madison 41
Crawford 63, Clairemont 48
Citrus South League
Lutheran 34, Calvary Chr. Aca. 30
Mountain Empire 81, San Diego Academy 47
Venture Christian 46, Midway Baptist 33

Fri., Feb. 10
Grossmont North League
Santana 60, West Hills 47
El Capitan 41, Grossmont 31
Grossmont South League
Granite Hills 52, Mount Miguel 43
Helix 55, Valhalla 44
Steele Canyon 65, Monte Vista 49
Central League
Crawford 71, Christian 69
Clairmeont 42, Madison 38
Citrus South League
Mountain Empire 64, Midway Baptist 56

Thurs., Feb. 9
Citrus South League
Venture Chriistian 54, Lutheran 49
San Diego Academy 46, Calvary Chr. Aca. (CV) 27
Central League
Hoover 80, Coronado 57

Wed., Feb. 8
Non-League
Venture Christian 64, Julian 53

Valhalla's Keith Williams (22) works inside for this score, despite the efforts of the Monarchs' Roshun Wynne. (Photo by Chris Edwards) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

Tue., Feb. 7
Grossmont North League
El Cajon Valley 55, El Capitan 49
Santana 61, Grossmont 45
Grossmont South League
Granite Hills 65, Steele Canyon 55
Helix 64, Mount Miguel 40
Valhalla 67, Monte Vista 64 (2-OT)
Central League
Christian 61, Clairemont 36
Hoover 69, Crawford 57
Coronado 60, Madison 55
Citrus South League
Venture Christian 50, San Diego Academy 37

Monte Vista post player Trevor Peck (rght) makes his move, but Helix' Jericho Toilolo extends an arm to maintain control. The Monarchs rallied late to win in overtime. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva) FOR ADDITIONAL PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

Monte Vista High basketball cocah Zach Peck (holding plaque) is honored prior to Friday's (Feb. 3) Grossmont South League game at Caledonia Gymnasium. The fired-up Monarchs then went out and upset the Highlanders, 50-43, in overtime. Peck was honored for his contributions to athletics and basketball in the East County. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva) FOR ADDITIONAL PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

Fri., Feb. 3
Grossmont South League
Valhalla 71, Granite Hills 69 (OT)
Monte Vista 50, Helix 43 (OT)
Steele Canyon 45, Mount Miguel 41
Grossmont North League
Santana 51, El Cajon Valley 45
West Hills 53, Grossmont 49
Central League
Christian 73, Madison 43
Crawford 53, Coronado 52
Hoover 52, Clairmeont 36

Thurs., Feb. 2
Citrus South League
Mountain Empire 67, Venture Christian 46
Lutheran 60, San Diego Academy 54

Wed., Feb. 1

Cory Brown of El Capitan (left) battles Mount Miguel's Warren Thodile for the rebound in Wednesday's Grossmont Conference game. The host Vaqueros claimed a 40-32 triumph at historic Foster Gymnasium in Lakeside. (Photo by Lisa Craig)

Grossmont Conference
Steele Canyon 58, West Hills 47
Monte Vista 68, El Cajon Valley 65
El Capitan 40, Mount Miguel 32
Valhalla 65, Grossmont 54

Tue., Jan. 31
Central League
Christian 62, Coronado 55
Hoover 96, Madison 34
Crawford 69, Clairemont 63
Citrus South League
Venture Christian 89, Calvary Chr. Aca. 36

Mon., Jan. 30
Grossmont Conference
Helix 49, El Capitan 44
Steele Canyon 64, El Cajon Valley 50
Grossmont 50, Monte Vista 49
Citrus South League
Mountain Empire 82, Lutheran 68

Fri., Jan. 27

Tim Nowlin of West Hills (in blue) challenges El Capitan center Cory Brown with this drive to the basket in Friday's North League game. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

Grossmont North League
El Capitan 48, West Hills 37
Grossmont 75, El Cajon Valley 48
Grossmont South League
Valhalla 54, Mount Miguel 46
Helix 43, Steele Canyon 32
Granite Hills 66, Monte Vista 49
Central League
Hoover 77, Christian 50
Crawford 98, Madison 51
Clairemont 48, Coronado 42
Citrus South League
Lutheran 56, CCA-CV 40

West Hills' Philip Dettinger (left) and El Cap's Cory Brown wait for the ball to come down in Friday's Grossmont North League contest. (Photo by Lisa Craig)

Thurs., Jan. 26
Citrus South League
Venture Christian 75, Midway Baptist 36
Mountain Empire df. San Diego Academy, score not reported

Wed., Jan. 25
Grossmont North Leauge
El Cajon Valley 74, West Hills 64 (make-up from Jan. 24)

Tue., Jan. 24

Granite Hills' Nick Taylor skies over the floor for two points to help the Eagles upend the Highlanders, 68-59,Tuesday to take over first place in the South League. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

Grossmont North League
El Capitan 45, Santana 41
West Hills at El Cajon Valley, ppd., no referees (re-scheduled for Wed., Jan. 25)
Grossmont South League
Granite Hills 68, Helix 59
Valhalla 57, Steele Canyon 52
Monte Vista 49, Mount Miguel 35
Central League
Christian 52, Clairemont 38
Crawford 69, Hoover 66
Coronado 58, Madison 54
Citrus South League
Venture Christian 64, Lutheran 27
Mountain Empire 71, Midway Baptist 51
San Diego Academy-CCA-CV, no report

Sat., Jan. 21
Non-League
Granite Hills 71, Patrick Henry 65

Fri., Jan. 20

Santana guard Jon Hernandez drives to the basket despite being surrounded by three West Hills defenders. Santana won, 53-40. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

Grossmont North League
Santana 53, West Hills 40
El Capitan 52, Grossmont 51 (OT)
Grossmont South League
Granite Hills 49, Mount Miguel 40
Helix 71, Valhalla 56
Monte Vista 61, Steele Canyon 52
Central League
Crawford 76, Christian 72
Hoover 56, Coronado 49
Clairemont 77, Madison 25
Citrus South League
Mountain Empire 63, Calvary Chr. Aca. 35
Lutheran 54, Midway Baptist 44

Thurs., Jan. 19
Citrus South League
Venture Christian 78, San Diego Academy 36

Wed., Jan. 18
Non-League
Escondido Charter 58, Venture Christian 52

Tue., Jan. 17

Christian's Andrius Mikutis (50) tells this Madison player to "talk to the hand" with a major-league rejection of this shot. (Photo by Tori Mills)

Grossmont North League
El Cajon Valley 38, El Capitan 36
Santana 53, Grossmont 40
Grossmont South League
Helix 72, Mount Miguel 31
Valhalla 57, Monte Vista 49
Granite Hills 63, Steele Canyon 47
Central League
Christian 69, Madison 31
Hoover 43, Clairemont 36
Crawford 74, Coronado 30
Citrus South League
Venture Christian 67, Mtn. Empire 49
Lutheran 64, San Diego Academy 40
Midway Baptist 58, Calvary Chr. Aca. 31

Sat., Jan. 14
MLK Shootout, at Horizon Christian
Mission Bay 59, Santana 43

Fri., Jan. 13
Grossmont North League
Santana 52, El Cajon Valley 47
West Hills 49, Grossmont 39
Grossmont South League
Steele Canyon 62, Mount Miguel 43
Helix 66, Monte Vista 54
Granite Hills 59, Valhalla 55

Thurs., Jan. 12
Citrus South League
Mountain Empire 70, Lutheran 55

Mon., Jan. 9
Grossmont Conference
Helix 73, El Cajon Valley 29
Mount Miguel 44, Grossmont 30
Granite Hills 55, El Capitan 42
Steele Canyon 50, Santana 49
Valhalla 68, West Hills 61

Sat., Jan. 7
Non-League
Southwest (SD) 65, West Hills 35

El Capitan's Cory Brown (right) wants to go up for the shot, but Jamar Ransome (30) of Monte Vista has other ideas. (Photo by Chris Edwards) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

Fri., Jan. 6

Laron Rush of Mount Miguel stuffs the shot of an El Cajon Valley in the Matadors' win. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE

Grossmont Conference
Helix 50, West Hills 35
Mount Miguel 69, El Cajon Valley 43
Granite Hills 64, Grossmont 49
Monte Vista 61, El Capitan 38
Valhalla 55, Santana 48
Non-League
Venture Christian 52, Warner 46
Christian 76, Imperial 25

Wed., Jan. 4

Helix' Alex Aguirre is contested by a player from Santana, but grabs the rebound. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

Grossmont Conference
Helix 43, Santana 39
Steele Canyon 41, Grossmont 39
Monte Vista 43, West Hills 41
El Capitan 49, Valhalla 38
Non-League
Christian 73, San Ysidro 35

Mon., Jan. 2
Non-League
Bonita Vista 46, Mount Miguel 34

Tue., Jan. 3
Non-League
Venture Christian 80, Escondido Charter 52

Fri., Dec. 30

Helix head coach John Singer instructs his troops during a timeout at the Spartan Classic in Chula Vista. The Highlanders defeated Ramona to finish in third place. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva)

Chula Vista Classic
Consolation championship: Mount Miguel 48, Grossmont 37
Third: Helix 68, Ramona 49
Mt. Carmel Tournament
Monte Vista 49, El Capitan 44

Thurs., Dec. 29

Helix defender Sean Scarber (left) denies the high post to one of the big men from Bonita Vista in Spartan Classic action at Chula Vista High on Thursday. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva)

Granite Hills-Sportland Holiday Tourney
Third: Granite Hills 50, Clairemont 42
Valhalla 46, Kearny 43
El Cajon Valley 67, Kelowna, B.C. 58
Venture Christian 2, Kelowna, B.C. 0 (forfeit)
Calexico 58, Venture Christian 50
Chula Vista Classic
Mount Miguel 52, Chula Vista 45
Grossmont 44, Point Loma 38
Bonita Vista 77, Helix 58
Montgomery Tournament
Third: Mission Hills 53, West Hills 33
Mt. Carmel Tournament
Cerritos 60, El Capitan 48
Sonora 77, Monte Vista 43
Torrey Pines Tournament
Cathedral 80, Steele Canyon 48
Non-League
Santana 63, Mid Pacific Institute (Honolulu, Hawai'i) 46

Wed., Dec. 28
Montgomery Tournament
West Hills 51, El Centro-Southwest 49
Chula Vista Classic
Grossmont 55, Mar Vista 38
Eastlake 51, Mount Miguel 39
Helix 56, Southwest (SD) 32
Granite Hills-Sportland Holiday Tourney
Vancouver College Prep (B.C., Canada) 48, Venture Christian 25
El Cajon Valley 61, Sweetwater 51
Valhalla 73, El Centro-Central 61
Semifinal: San Pedro 68, Granite Hills 65
Mt. Carmel Tournament
Monte Vista 60, Liberty (B.C., Canada) 48
El Capitan 56, G.P. Vanier (B.C., Canada) 53
Torrey Pines Tournament
Rancho Buena Vista 63, Steele Canyon 45
Non-League
Santana 54, McKinley (Honolulu, Hawai'i) 42

Tue., Dec. 27
Montgomery Tournament
West Hills 49, San Dieguito Academy 48
Mt. Carmel Tournament
San Pasqual 65, Monte Vista 56
La Mirada 63, El Capitan 59
Chula Vista Classic
Ramona 62, Mount Miguel 61
Southwest (SD) 55, Grossmont 45
Helix 81, Mar Vista 45
Granite Hills-Sportland Holiday Tourney
Championship Round, at Granite Hills
Granite Hills 81, South Bay Lutheran 47
San Diego 60, Valhalla 49
Consolation Bracket, at Valhalla
Madison 72, El Cajon Valley 59
Torrey Pines Tournament
Bingham (Utah) 56, Steele Canyon 47

Mon., Dec. 26
Granite Hills-Sportland Holiday Tourney
El Centro-Central, 79, Venture Christian 29
Valhalla 69, Palmer (Alaska) 67 (OT)
Granite Hills 98, Sweetwater 36
San Pedro 77, El Cajon Valley 49
Torrey Pines Tournament
Torrey Pines 45, Steele Canyon 35
Montgomery Tournament
Oceanside 66, West Hills 44

Fri., Dec. 23
Sweetwater Holiday Prep Classic
Championship: San Pasqual 54, El Capitan 53
El Centro-Central Desert Shootout
West Hills 44, La Quinta 43
Third: West Hills 62, Coachella Valley 45

Thurs., Dec. 22
Sweetwater Holiday Prep Classic
Semifinals: El Capitan 49, Kearny 45
El Centro-Central Desert Shootout
West Hills 71, San Ysidro 30
El Centro-Central 69, West Hills 60

Wed., Dec. 21
Otay Ranch Holiday Tournament
Fifth: San Marcos 65, El Cajon Valley 45
Championship: Mission Bay 63, Christian 58
Grossmont Winter Classic
Valhalla 78, Belmont 51
Ridgecrest-Burroughs 58, Grossmont 38
Monte Vista 85, San Dieguito Academy 36
Consolation Championship: Santana 49, Mount Miguel 37
Championship: Palo Verde (Nev.) 67, Francis Parker 58
Matador Shootout, at Bullhead City, AZ
Ponderosa (Colo.) 86, Granite Hills 83 (3 OT)
Sweetwater Holiday Prep Classic
El Capitan 70, Sweetwater 21

Tue., Dec. 20
Otay Ranch Holiday Tournament
El Cajon Valley 70, San Ysidro 65
Christian 57, Otay Ranch 45
Grossmont Winter Classic
Santana 69, Monte Vista 42
Ramona 72, Valhalla 66
Mount Miguel 62, San Dieguito Academy 31
St. Augustine 59, Grossmont 39
Matador Shootout, at Bullhead City, AZ
Ponderosa (CO) 69, Granite Hills 42
Dobson (AZ) 72, Granite Hills 66
Sweetwater Holiday Prep Classic
El Capitan 61, Mt. Carmel 54

Mon., Dec. 19
Otay Ranch Holiday Tournament
Mission Bay 67, El Cajon Valley 53
Christian 78, San Marcos 62
Grossmont Winter Classic
Monte Vista 75, Ramona 52
Santana 50, Valhalla 39
Mount Miguel 62, San Jose Academy 49
Clairemont 41, Grossmont 39
Matador Shootout, at Bullhead City, AZ
Granite Hills 58, St. Francis (Ontario) 54
Sweetwater Holiday Prep Classic
El Capitan 55, Mill Valley-Tamalpais 43

Sat., Dec. 17
Grossmont Winter Classic
San Diego 68, Monte Vista 59
Palo Verde (Nev.) 69, Santana 48
Ridgecrest-Burroughs 78, Valhalla 53
St. Augustine 61, Mount Miguel 39
Grossmont 62, San Dieguito Academy 46
Imperial Tournament
Christian 79, Holtville 18
Christian 79, Imperial 34
Kiwanis Tournament, at Mission Bay
Steele Canyon 67, Brawley 32
Red Bluff Holiday Classic
Third Place: Helix 53, Red Bluff 45

Fri., Dec. 16
Imperial Tournament
Christian 69, Marian Catholic 41
Christian 72, Calipatria 60
Kiwanis Tournament
Steele Canyon 72, Archbishop Carney (B.C.) 38
Red Bluff Holiday Classic
Chico-Pleasant Valley 54, Helix 47

Thurs., Dec. 15
Kiwanis Tournament, at Serra
Valley Center 63, Steele Canyon 46
Red Bluff Holiday Classic
Helix 63, Paradise 44

Wed., Dec. 14
Non-League
West Hills 64, Granite Hills 52
Kiwanis Tournament
Serra 67, Steele Canyon 38

Tue., Dec. 13
Non-League
Santana 101, Mountain Empire 37
Venture Christian 64, Warner 41

Mon., Dec. 12
Eagle-Vaquero Classic, at Granite Hills
Championship: La Costa Canyon 86, El Camino 83 (OT)
Horsman Wolf Pack Tournament
Championship: St. Augustine 46, Scripps Ranch 44

Sat., Dec. 10
Eastlake Tournament
Fontana-A. B. Miller 67, Mount Miguel 50
Championship: Palm Desert 50, Grossmont 41
Horsman Wolf Pack Tournament at West Hills
El Centro-Southwest 55, Steele Canyon 53
Serra 58, Santana 52
St. Augustine 86, West Hills 39
La Jolla Small Schools Tournament
Christian 68, L.A. Windward 52
Eagle-Vaquero Classic
Mt. Carmel 55, El Capitan 47

Fri., Dec. 9
Eastlake Tournament -- Semifinals
Mount Miguel 67, Castle Park 43
Mission Hills 71, Grossmont 36
Eagle-Vaquero Classic
El Capitan 38, Murrieta Valley 21 (final; game called with 4:2 left in third period, power failure)
Mt. Carmel 71, El Cajon Valley 31
La Costa Canyon 85, Granite Hills 70
Horsman Wolf Pack Tournament at West Hills
West Hills 69, El Centro-Southwest 48
Hilltop Tournament
Monte Vista 66, University City 42
Hilltop 64, Helix 61 (final)
La Jolla Small Schools Tournament
The Bishop's, 68, Christian 48
Non-League
Valhalla 62, Southwest (SD) 53

Thurs., Dec. 8
Eagle-Vaquero Classic
Hoover 77, Valhalla 39
Horsman Wolf Pack Tournament
El Centro-Central 68, Santana 56
Hilltop Tournament
Chula Vista 46, Monte Vista 43
Helix 75, Sweetwater 24
La Jolla Small Schools Tournament
Christian 53, St. Margaret's 45

Wed., Dec. 7
Eastlake Tournament
Mira Mesa 45, Grossmont 32
Eagle-Vaquero Classic
Granite Hills 78, El Camino 74
El Capitan 58, San Marcos 24
Horsman Wolf Pack Tournament at West Hills
West Hills 74, Calexico 44
San Pasqual 52, Santana 38
Non-League
High Tech High 54, Venture Christian 39
La Jolla Small Schools Tournament
Christian 93, San Pasqual Academy 61

Tue., Dec. 6
Hilltop Tournament
Helix 50, Chula Vista 41
Monte Vista 66, Rancho Buena Vista 48
Eastlake Tournament
Poway 73, Mount Miguel 44
Grossmont 73, Castle Park 42
Horsman Wolf Pack Tournament
Santana 85, Calexico 45
El Centro-Central 64, Steele Canyon 58

Mon., Dec. 5
Eagle-Vaquero Classic
Granite Hills 79, El Cajon Valley 52
Horsman Wolf Pack Tournament at West Hills
Steele Canyon 68, San Marcos 53
Non-League
Santana 71, San Pasqual Academy 50

Sat., Dec. 3
Hilltop Tournament
Torrey Pines 69, Monte Vista 59
Helix 53, Rancho Buena Vista 50
Eagle-Vaquero Classic
Hoover 90, El Cajon Valley 30
Murietta Valley 77, Valhalla 69
Horsman-Wolf Pack Tournament at West Hills
Scripps Ranch 45, Santana 31
St. Augustine 71, Steele Canyon 52
West Hills 57, San Marcos 55
Ram Desert Classic, Borrego Springs
Venture Christian 46, Julian 40
Eastlake Tournament
Eastlake 56, Grossmont 37
Montgomery 50, Mount Miguel 48

Fri., Dec. 2
Hilltop Tournament
Monte Vista 67, Sweetwater 18
Helix 50, Torrey Pines 46
Non-League
Christian 72, Army-Navy Academy 45
Eastlake Tournament
Mission Hills 64, Mount Miguel 35
Horsman-Wolf Pack Tournament at West Hills
West Hills 59, Otay Ranch 40
Eagle-Vaquero Classic
Granite Hills 81, San Marcos 42
La Costa Canyon 90, Valhalla 58
El Capitan 48, Southwest (SD) 32
Ram Desert Classic, Borrego Springs
Venture Christian 54, Julian 34

Thurs., Dec. 1
Horsman-Wolf Pack Tournament at West Hills
Otay Ranch 61, Steele Canyon 46
Ram Desert Classic at Borrego Springs
Mountain Empire 64, Venture Christian 55
Julian 49, Venture Christian 37

Wed., Nov. 30
Ram Desert Classic, Borrego Springs
Borrego Springs 63, Venture Christian 55
Eagles-Vaqueros Tournament
Granite Hills 70, Mt. Carmel 57
El Camino 81, El Capitan 47
Southwest (SD) 77, El Cajon Valley 39

Tue., Nov. 29
Eagles-Vaqueros Classic
Valhalla 62, San Marcos 49

Mon., Nov. 28
Eagles-Vaqueros Classic
La Costa Canyon 77, El Cajon Valley 29