First Half of the 2005-06 Season

Reaching (back) for more

El Cajon Valley forward Chris Reynolds reaches back for a one-handed rebound. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva) FOR MORE PHOTOS, CLICK HERE.

A night of Photo finishes and One-on-One showdowns

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-10-06) -- It was another photo-finish for Steele Canyon, which never held a lead over the visiting Sultans until 12 seconds remained in Monday's (Jan. 9) Grossmont Conference crossover game on Cougar Lane in Rancho San Diego.

SC's freshman point guard JABARI ROBINSON was having a rough night, missing all of his first eight shots. But his final launch -- a three-pointer from 21 feet out -- proved to be the game-winner as the Cougars nipped the Sultans, 50-49.

"It was the same combination we used to win that last game (41-39 over Grossmont)," Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN said.

Only this time the roles were reversed.

Robinson took his scoring pass to beat the Sultans from sophomore guard RILEY BALIKIAN. In the last-second win over the Foothillers, Robinson dished to Balikian. So the first-year Cougars coach has to think the future looks promising.

Santana was in control 47-41 with 1:30 remaining. At that point, the Cougars dialed long distance. Guard Balikian answered the call by burying a pair of 3-pointers to tie the game with less than a minute to play.

Senior RICKY MICHELMORE responded with a basket that put Santana back in front 49-47 with 42 seconds remaining.

Michelmore, who led the Sultans with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists, had a chance to double Santana's lead but was called for charging as he collided with Balikian on a baseline drive with 26 seconds left.

"That was a huge defensive play," coach Balikian said.

Coach Balikian wasn't just bragging. His son Riley was a major key to the Cougars' latest victory.

"It's always tough to be a coach's son," the coach said. "Riley isn't a gifted athlete, but he is solid in that I trust him to be on the floor and do what I want done."

Santana coach TIM BARRY credited Balikian for his defensive stance.

"It was a charge, no doubt," Barry said. "Their kid was stationary and got the call."

Even after Robinson's game-winning basket, the Sultans still had time enough to counter.

"I looked at the clock and saw there were 11 seconds left when we brought the ball in(bounds)," Barry said. "We got a tremendous look when Michelmore dished the ball to (BRIAN) BAILEY. When the shot went up, it looked good. But it was about two inches too long. It hit the back of the rim and kicked off."

Still two seconds remained. That's when 6-foot-5 junior ANDREW TIMM stepped up and grabbed the rebound to seal the victory for the Cougars.

"We were lucky that last shot (by Bailey) didn't beat us," coach Balikian said. "I didn't realize that we gave up such a good shot until I looked at the films. Their kid was wide open about five inches above the 3-point line."

It had to be a stinging loss for coach Barry and his Sultans (8-8), who had four starters bitten by the flu bug which helped lead to the team's third straight loss. The illness made its greatest impact by limiting the play of senior southpaw JON HERNANDEZ to less than four minutes. Hernandez came in averaging 14.4 points and was unable to score a single point at Steele Canyon.

"We had four of our starters puking at some point before or during the game," Barry said. "I credit them all for trying, especially Hernandez. He wanted to stay in there, but I thought he was going to choke on his own vomit."

"I feel sad for those four guys, but at the same time I was happy that some of our other guys got playing time in the heat of the battle. I think that will help us in the long run."

TONY MINNIFIELD led Steele Canyon with 11 points and 10 rebounds. EMORY MITCHELL pitched in with 10 points and six rebounds, while LIONEL BALL dropped in nine points and bagged six boards for the Cougars.

Steele Canyon scoring: Minnifield 11, Mitchell 10, Ball 9, Balikian 9, Arlin Taylor 6, Robinson 3, Timm 2.

Santana scoring: Michelmore 19, Brooks Bass 8, Carlos Vargas 6, Jon Corbisez 5, Garrett Happ 5, Brock Bass 4, Bailey 2.

GRANITE HILLS 55, EL CAPITAN 42 -- Who would win if Kobe Bryant competed against himself? Barring a video game simulation, would it just become a one-on-one battle with eight others on the court offering minimal support?

Not inferring any selfish ball-hawking similarities occurred, yet with the apparent blessings of their respective coaches, Granite Hills guard NICK TAYLOR and El Capitan center CORY BROWN did virtually all of the scoring in Monday's (Jan. 8) Grossmont Conference crossover contest.

Brown scored all of the Vaqueros' 24 second-half points, downing 7-of-14 shots, including a 3-ball, plus adding 9-of-11 foul shots. As for Brown's teammates, they combined to go: 0-for-7 in the second half, including just a single effort in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, Taylor was almost equally as effective in serving as his team's main marksman. After a slow start in the first period with just a single bucket, the senior scored all 16 points in the second period, then added 16 more in the second half to edge out Brown's final game count, 34-to-30.

However, Granite Hills managed significantly more second-chance points and received more offensive support, as the Eagles topped El Capitan.

The victory gave the Grossmont South League its second straight sweep of North League rivals. The South took all five ballgames last Friday, and now lead the crossover series, 13-1, since the start of the new year.

Taylor received support from three teammates -- CLARK GORDON, WAYNE MARTIN and BRIAN HUMPHRIES -- who scored six points each. Meanwhile, the offensive rebounding of Taylor (3 offensive) and BRANDEN PRIDE (3 offensive) proved decisive in the second period.

"The game plan was to try and defend their big guy, and I got lots of help-side defense," said Gordon, who hopes to attend an SCIAC school next fall, preferably Occidental, Pomona-Pitzer or Cal Tech. "We had to stop Cory Brown, exclusive of whatever we did on offense."

Among the first nine shots missed at the Vaqueros basket, Granite Hills grabbed eight of them for offensive boards. Each time, the ball eventually landed in Taylor's hands for Eagles points, including three straight jump shots to expand the lead to 32-14.

Meanwhile, Gordon received assistance in defending Brown, who was limited to just six points in the first half. Gordon finished with a game-high 13 rebounds while not allowing Brown to collect any offensive boards.

"It was the kind of game we needed to have," noted Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON. "Everyone worked hard on the boards."

Now, the Eagles (10-6) look forward to the beginning of the Grossmont South League season on Friday night (Jan. 13) when they host arch-rival Valhalla. For one of the few times in Granite Hills' 48-year history, the Eagles have a legimate shot at a league title.

El Capitan, meanwhile, could contend for the Grossmont North crown of the Vaqueros can generate some consistent support for Brown.

Granite Hills scoring: Taylor 32 (8 reb.), Gordon 8, Martin 6, Humphries 6 (2 blk.), Pride 3 (6 reb.).

El Capitan scoring: Brown 30 (8 reb., 2 blk.), Zauss 7 (9 reb.), Ja. Ziegler 3, Taelor Worrell 2.

VALHALLA 68, WEST HILLS 61 -- Norsemen coach ERIC THOMAS was amazed as much as he was pleased by Valhalla's hot-handed shooting in Monday's (Jan. 9) Grossmont Conference crossover game against slumping West Hills.

Valhalla (8-8), which has won six of its last eight games heading into Friday's (Jan. 13) Grossmont South League opener at Granite Hills, canned nearly 61 percent of its 41 shots against a variety of Wolf Pack zone defenses. The Norsemen riveted in 11-of-14 shots during a 24-point second quarter that gave them a 40-24 halftime advantage.

The Norsemen extended that lead to 55-38 and behind a 23-for-33 shooting barrage (69.6 percent) after three quarters.

"If we shoot anything close to this in our league we should win some games," Thomas said. "Our shooting was outstanding. Our guys were lights out on the perimeter and we scored a lot off inside shots, too."

BRETT HANSEN, who boasts East County's best shooting percent (52-78, .667) was a put-back magician, nailing 6 of his 7 chances. The 6-foot-3 senior finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and three steals.

KEITH WILLIAMS added 14 points and six rebounds for the Norsemen who led 60-40 early in the fourth quarter before Thomas began making wholesale substitutions.

"That was a long quarter," Thomas said. "We played a lot of guys and West Hills got hot. I do think our defense did a pretty good job on defense the first three quarters."

KYLE HAMANN scored 9 of his game-high 19 points in the final period for West Hills (10-8) which was tagged with its fifth straight setback. CHRIS LIFGREN hit four 3-pointers and all four of his free throws for a 16-point finish.

Valhalla scoring: Williams 14, Hansen 14, Paul Martins 9, Jeff Sopata 9, Jeremiah Browning 6, Kevin Kriebel 6, Nasheel Raja 4, Khalil Fakhoury 4, Travis Foelsch 2.

West Hills scoring: Hamann19, Lifgren 16, Tim Nowlin 8, Blaine Hoffard 8, Miles Pivonka 5, Taylor Robbins 3, Philip Dettinger 1, Shain Stoner 1.

HELIX 73, EL CAJON VALLEY 29 -- Look for Helix to reclaim its Grossmont South dynasty when the league campaign begins Friday night (Jan. 13) at Monte Vista.

After winning eight straight league crowns, the Highlanders were forced to yield to Steele Canyon the past two seasons. Although the Scotties don't rate as an overwhelming favorite, their tradition is enough to earn them the preseason edge.

Helix coach JOHN SINGER isn't ordering any championship patches just yet.

"Let's face it, this isn't a very strong league," Singer said. "We start four juniors and one senior. We are still on a learning curve. The league (title) is winnable for us. You can say that about a couple of other teams in our league, too."

There is no clear favorite.

"It will come down to who is the most consistent," Singer said. "It could be 7-3 could win it."

Junior DAVID JEFFERSON made 11-of-14 shots on his way to a season-high 22 points for the Highlanders (12-3) who have won four straight and seven out of eight. Jefferson also had nine rebounds and three steals.

Defensive dynamo BRANDON FOUNTAIN pitched in 12 points while AARON TINSLEY added 10. Tinsley contributed four assists as did ALEX AGUIRRE, who also netted seven markers. JUSTIN JOHNSON chipped in with seven points and five rebounds in a relief role.

Senior CHRIS REYNALDS led El Cajon Valley (3-11) with 13 points.

Helix scoring: Jefferson 22, Fountain 12, Tinsley 10, Johnson 7, Aguirre 7, Lawrence Hurdle 5, Jericho Toilolo 5, Eric Forney 4, Jonathan Ghafouri 1.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Reynalds 13, Kenneth MacAraeg 6, Nate Schad 5, Marchell Mitchell 3, John Putris 2. No other information reported by the Braves.

MOUNT MIGUEL 44, GROSSMONT 30 -- Host Mount Miguel overcame a lethargic start Monday (Jan. 9) to post its fourth win in the last five starts, defeating the Foothillers for the second time this season.

Senior guard WARREN THODILE paced the Matadors (7-9) with 20 points, six rebounds and three steals. RICHARD JACKSON led the supporting cast with 11 points and eight rebounds. DONTA YOUNG also collected six caroms for Mount Miguel, which shot less than 35 percent from the field.

Mount Miguel failed to make a single field goal in the opening quarter and trailed the Foothillers (4-12) by an 8-3 counter after one period.

"I think it was 8-0 after three minutes," said Mount Miguel coach MIKE GOLOVKO. "We as coaches look at this as one of those trap games. It's finals week, league starts on Friday and we'd beaten this team 11 days ago (48-37). That can lead to a letdown and that's what happened, I think, in that first quarter."

Mount Miguel outscored the Foothillers 29-12 in the second half to secure the victory.

Looking ahead to the league race, Mount Miguel appears to be a darkhorse.

"We could go 7-3 just as easily as 2-8," Golovko said.

DOMINIC ELDER led Grossmont with 10 points against the Matadors.

As balanced as the Grossmont North League is, the Foothillers may have a shot at making some waves.

Mount Miguel scoring: Thodile 20, Jackson 11, Courtney Wrather 6, Karlin Stewart 5, Lamont Freeman 2.

Grossmont scoring: Elder 10, Trevor Thomas 7, Luis Gonzales 5, Khalid Waters 3, Justin Rutherford 3, Derrick Davenport 2.

East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (01-08-06) -- Another night of struggling on offense shrouded the West Hills Wolf Pack's non-league outing Saturday night (Jan. 7) at San Diego Southwest.

With 90 seconds left in the third quarter, the West Hills side of the scoreboard showed just 14 points. It was that kind of night for the Wolf Pack, which submitted to a 65-35 beating by the host Raiders (8-5).

Turnovers continue to hamper West Hills (10-7), which suffered its fourth straight loss.

"We had 16 second-half turnovers, 25 in the game," said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. "And nobody could put the ball in the basket. That's a bad combination. So we've got a lot of work to do."

Senior guard KYLE HAMANN hit 5 of 10 shots for a team-leading 10 points for West Hills. PETER GILSON added 8 points and 4 rebounds. MILES PIVONKA punched in 6 points and grabbed 5 rebounds.

West Hills scoring: Hamann 10, Gilson 8, Pivonka 6, Troy Nowlin 4, Tim Nowlin 3, Taylor Robbins 2, Philip Dettinger 2.

Making his move

El Cajon Valley ball-handler Dori Laramore is guarded by Mount Miguel's Courtney Wrather in Friday's Grossmont Conference crossover contest. The Matadors came out on top, 69-43. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva)

North sweeps five in Grossmont crossovers
Valhalla stuns Santana

East County Sports.com
SANTEE (1-7-06) -- Those rascals from Valhalla High continue to deliver unpredictable results. When these guys take the court, an upset is sure to happen. These Norsemen win games as underdogs and lose games as favorite. It's enough to drive Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS crazy.

"There is never a dull moment at our place," Thomas is known to say more than once.

Trailing most of the way in Friday's (Jan. 6) Grossmont Conference crossover game at Santana, the Norsemen kicked things into high gear in the final quarter to steal a victory from the Sultans, 55-48.

"We had a good fourth quarter, finally made some shots," Thomas said. "It made the coach look smarter and the kids feel good about the score."

Senior forward JEFF SOPATA scored 10 of his team-high 13 points in the fourth quarter as the Norsemen (7-8) erased a two-point deficit.

But Sopata, who is known more for his baseball prowess, made an earlier impact on the glass.

"He absolutely dominated in rebounding in the first half." Thomas said, noting that Sopata claimed all 8 of his rebounds in the opening 16 minutes."

Valhalla's victory might have missed its mark had it not been for senior PAUL MARTINS' three buckets in the final two minutes. Martins shared team high scoring honors with Sopata at 13.

Even in victory, Thomas was amazed.

"We turned the ball over a million times," Thomas said.

Thomas also noted that the Valhalla roster has been bolstered since an early season 50-39 loss to Santana.

"In our first game against Santana we didn't have BRETT HANSEN and JEREMIAH BROWNING, and it made a difference," said Thomas.

Browning added 8 points and court leadership for the Norsemen, while Hansen crashed the boards for 8 caroms and also pitched in 6 points.

"This was our most disappointing game defensively," said Santana coach TIM BARRY. "It was lost on the defensive end tonight. Their kids wanted it more.

"To me it was almost a step backwards. We just have to regroup. These kids know they're a better team than what they shot tonight.

"(RICKY) MICHELMORE and (JON) HERNANDEZ were 11-34 from the field," Barry reported. "It hurt us. We could have done a better job of shot selection. We need time for reflection and come back Monday ready to play."

Despite a bevy of misses, Michelmore finished with a game-high 18 points to go along with 6 rebounds, 32 assists and 3 steals. Hernandez settled for 11 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals.

Valhalla scoring: Sopata 13, Martins 13, Browning 8, Kevin Kriebel 7, Hansen 6, Keith Williams 4, Jonathan Murray 2, Nasheel Raja 2.

Santana scoring: Michelmore 18, Hernandez 11, Brock Bass 5, Brooks Bass 4, Garrett Happ 3, Jon Corbisez 3, Brian Bailey 2, Carlos Vargas 2.

HELIX 50, WEST HILLS 35 -- Defensive specialists like Helix junior guard BRANDON FOUNTAIN don't receive the praise they deserve. Scoring is almost an afterthought to these guys. Making steals and creating turnovers is Fountain's role for the Highlanders (11-3). He is the man coach JOHN SINGER puts on the opponents top offensive threat.

Fountain put the clamps on West Hills scoring leader KYLE HAMANN, holding the Wolf Pack senior guard to five points -- more than 12 below his season average -- as the Highlanders won their fourth straight and seventh in eight games Friday night (Jan. 6) in Santee. It was the third straight loss for West Hills (10-6).

Defense has always been the name of the game at Helix and the Highlanders are East County's best at point prevention again this year, giving up just 46.1 per contest. West Hills is the fourth team the Highlanders have held under 40 points this season.

"These teams, like West Hills, Santana (beaten by the Highlanders 43-39 on Wednesday), they know our style," Singer said. "They know what we have and what we don't have."

Helix was anything but electric offensively, but the Highlanders' defensive hustle led to dozens of scoring opportunities.

"What did they get on the offensive boards -- 20 rebounds?" West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG questioned.

Twenty-eight turnovers didn't help the Wolf Pack much, either.

Helix led wire-to-wire with juniors LAWRENCE HURDLE (19 points, 5 steals, 3 assists) and DAVID JEFFERSON (13 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocked shots) setting the pace. It was Jefferson's fifth double-double in his 10 games played.

The Highlanders enjoyed leads as large as 19 points and were never seriously challenged by the Wolf Pack.

CHRIS LIFGREN came off the West Hills bench to contribute 10 points, matching starter MILES PIVONKA for the team leadership. They each had 5 rebounds, one less than TIM NOWLIN.

Helix scoring: Hurdle 19, Jefferson 13, Aaron Tinsley 9 (7 rebs, 4 assists, 2 steals), Fountain 5 (5 rebs., 5 steals), Alex Aguirre 4 (5 rebs, 4 assists).

West Hills scoring: Lifgren 10, Pivonka 10, Hamann 5, Blaine Hoffard 4, Tim Nowlin 4, Taylor Robbins 2.

GRANITE HILLS 64, GROSSMONT 49 -- When NICK TAYLOR is on his game, the Granite Hills Eagles -- the Grossmont Conference's top scoring unit -- is difficult to deal with. Such was the case in Friday night's (Jan. 6) conference crossover meeting on the Foothillers' floor.

Taylor, the East County's top scorer with a 26.8 average coming in, sank 11 of 20 shots from the floor (4 of them from three-point range) as the Eagles dusted the Hillers with a strong second half.

"Nick had his usual good game and we got some support from some other guys on the defensive end in rebounds tonight," said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON.

"Sophomore BRIAN HUMPHRIES (10 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals) had a solid game, and WAYNE MARTIN, our other sophomore, stepped in at point guard and took care of the ball in the third quarter when BRANDEN PRIDE fouled out," added Anderson.

Martin helped lead Granite Hills' second half charge by hitting a trio of three-pointers in the Eagles' 23-point third quarter.

Anderson also praised freshman DEAN MILLER who scored all of his 7 points in the second half, won by the Eagles 37-26.

"We had a real good outing by our young guys," Anderson said.

The veteran Taylor also netted 8 of 12 free throws, notched 5 assists and recorded 4 steals. Anderson was quick to point to the senior guard's defensive effort.

"Taylor played real good defense tonight," said Anderson. "It's great when you have a guy averaging 28 points a game and he plays the tough defense that he does."

Nine players hit the scoring column, but none reached double-digits for the Foothillers (4-11).

Granite Hills scoring: Taylor 32, Martin 9, Miller 7, Clark Gordon 5, Branden Pride 4, Brian Humphries 3, Chris Timko 2, Luke Simpson 2.

Grossmont scoring: Luis Gonzales 9, Dominic Elder 8, Ian Cochran 8, Justin Rutherford 8, Derrick Davenport 4, Alex Chiappone 4, Khalid Waters 3, Jeff Waters 3, Trevor Thomas 2

Me and my shadow

Courtney Wrather(20) of Mount Miguel makes his cut to the basket while hoping to get the pass as he is shadowed by an El Cajon Valley player. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva)

MOUNT MIGUEL 69, EL CAJON VALLEY 43 -- Watch out for the Mount Miguel Matadors. They are just beginning to put things together with the opening tip off of the Grossmont South League season only a week away.

Senior guard WARREN THODILE scored a career-high 24 points and still found enough time to pass out 6 assists as the Matadors (6-9) won Friday night (Jan.6) for the third time in the last four starts.

Thodile, who was also 5-for-5 from the free throw line, balanced his scoring with 8 points in the first quarter, 7 in the second, and 9 in the third before sitting out much of the final period.

Mount Miguel coach MIKE GOLOVKO was elated by Thodile's scoring, but even more pleased by the defensive job he did on El Cajon Valley scoring leader CHRIS REYNALDS.

Reynalds, who began the week as East County's third leading scorer with a 20.2 average, was limited to 8 points by Thodile. All but two of those points came from the free throw line.

"Thodile did a good job of controlling the game at both ends," Golovko said.

Mount Miguel jumped out to an 18-6 first quarter lead, but didn't put the game away until the third quarter. The Matadors won that 8-minute session, 20-8, to lead by 22.

"We had a good third quarter, did some very good things tonight as a team," Golovko said. "We shared the ball well. It was one of our better offensive performances. We're getting more assists now. We didn't do anything out of the ordinary but we did move the ball well."

Mount Miguel senior KARLIN STEWART enjoyed his best game since returning to the court a week ago, dropping in 14 points, grabbing 7 rebounds, dishing 6 assists and making 3 steals.

LARON RUSH nabbed a team-best 8 rebounds for the Matadors.

WASOM PATROS paced the Braves (3-10) with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Reynalds also collected 10 caroms, while NATE SCHAD pitched in nine points and five assists for El Cajon Valley.

Mount Miguel scoring: Thodile 24, Stewart 14, Courtney Wrather 9, Laron Rush 7, Donta Young 7, William Duke 4, Antonio Spellman 2, Richard Jackson 2.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Patros 12, Schad 9, John Putris 9, Chris Reynalds 8, Dori Laramore 3, Marchell Mitchell 2.

MONTE VISTA 61, EL CAPITAN 38 -- Coach ZACH PECK's one-time inconsistent Monarchs (9-6) have suddenly marched to three straight wins, the latest coming in Friday night's (Jan. 6) Grossmont Conference crossover match against El Capitan in Lakeside.

This is the second time in a week that Monte Vista has dropped the injury-riddled Vaqueros (9-7). The first meeting resulted in a five-point win for Monte Vista. The rematch was far more decisive.

The Monarchs shot the ball well early and jumped up by 7 points after one quarter and led 29-13 at the break. El Capitan never made a serious run in the second half, allowing the Monarchs to breeze to the win.

Monte Vista, which was led by the 20 points and 6 steals by RYAN SLADE, did a reasonably sound defensive job on the Vaqueros' 6-foot-9 senior CORY BROWN (20 points, 16 rebounds, 8 blocks, 4 steals and 2 assists).

"Brown played very hard," Peck said. "We zoned him most of the night and always had two or three people around him. But he still had 20 points."

Roshun Wynne added 16 points, 6 assists and 6 steals for Monte Vista, while JAMAR RANSOME came up short on the scoring end, but led the Monarchs on the boards with 8.

Monte Vista scoring: Slade 20, Wynne 16, David Murgia 9, Jamar Ransome 6, Trevor Peck 3, Joey Belanger 3, Michael Watkins 2, Stanley Wells 2.

El Capitan scoring: Brown 20, Barrett Braun 7 (5 rebs), Victor Soto 5, Jason Ziegler 4, Dalton Ogden 2 (5 assists).

Out of my way

Christian center Andrius Mikutis powers in front of a yielding Imperial defender for the slam in the Patriots' blowout of the Tigers, 76-25. (Photo by Tori Mills)

CHRISTIAN 76, IMPERIAL 25 -- It would seem that the teams from the Imperial Valley would grow tired of facing off with the Christian High Patriots.

For the second time in as many outings Christian crushed the visiting Imperial Tigers in a non-league contest Friday night (Jan. 6) at the Ryan Athletic Center. Less than a month earlier, the Patriots (12-2) pasted the Imperialists 79-34 in the desert.

Christian led the latest encounter 47-20 at halftime and then rolled 26-2 in the third quarter to finish the job.

Probably the most impressive part about the Patriots' latest conquest was holding the Tigers to 12 points over the final 24 minutes.

Christian coach KEN BAILEY divvied up playing time so as none of his athletes was on the court padding stats for more than 22 minutes. The usual faces -- PAULIUS IVANAUSKAS (18 points and 8 assists), ANDRIUS MIKUTIS (15 points, 5 rebounds), VIKTOR ASACIOVAS (14 points, 3 blocks), DANIEL HAZLETT (10 points) and DEREK LARSEN (7 points, 6 assists and 4 steals) -- dominated the fray for the Patriots.

Christian made more than 65 percent of its 49 shots from the field. Ivanauskas was the main marksman, hitting 8 of 10 tries. Asaciovas was on the mark on 6 of 8 and Mikutis was 6-for-9 from the field.

Christian scoring: Ivanauskas 18, Mikutis 15, Asaciovas 14, Hazlett 10, Larsen 7, Colin McDonald 7, Jon Fuller 3, Grant Mills 2.

VENTURE CHRISTIAN 52, WARNER 46 -- The youthful Knights of Venture Christian collected their third win in the last four games Friday night (Jan. 6), surviving a sour second quarter with a strong second half at Warner Springs.

Following a disastrous 24-7 second quarter flogging, the Knights (5-7) fought back to erase a 15-point halftime deficit. Defense was the key as Venture held Warner to 11 points over the final two quarters.

"At halftime (coach BRAD) LEAF told them to keep pressing but stop reaching," said Venture Christian assistant coach JAMES McHUGH.

"FRANK SHEPPARD and R.J. NAJERA each had one rebound before the fourth quarter, then in the fourth they had a combined 11 total -- 7 offensive. Their offensive rebounds really sealed it in the fourth."

Not surprising, Najera had 7 of his 9 points in the fourth quarter, and Sheppard had all four of his points then as well.

AARON HALE drilled in four 3-pointers as he finished with 17 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 blocks.

McHugh carried the accolades a bit farther.

"DAVID CARTER controlled the tempo of the game in the fourth quarter real well," McHugh said. "He definitely stepped up to his position, and had one of his best games so far."

Venture Christian scoring: Aaron Hale 17, Brandon Hale 14, Najera 9, Carter 7, Sheppard 4, Drew Windrem 1.

Drive to the basket

Helix guard Lawrence Hurdle finds some resistance from Santana's defense under the basket, but scores in the Highlanders' 32-29 Grossmont crossover triumph. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

Game-winning shot better than Young's late TD run for Texas

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (01-05-06) -- In what was a battle of two struggling teams, the visiting Steele Canyon Cougars gained the 41-39 victory in Wednesday's (Jan. 4) Grossmont Conference crossover game at Grossmont High.

This was a special victory for the team of first-year Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN, who has spent the greater part of his 25-year coaching career in the state of Texas. Naturally, Balikian was pleased by the University of Texas' 41-38 victory over USC that gave the Longhorns college football's National Championship when quarterback Vince Young ran for the winning score witrh 19 seconds to play. But there's more...

Balikan had to videotape the football game while his youthful Cougars slipped past the inexperienced Foothillers (4-10) on a late score -- just like his 'Horns.

With 10.6 seconds remaining and the score tied 39-39, Steele Canyon freshman guard JABARI ROBINSON had the ball for what could well have been the last shot of the game.

As Robinson approached the basket, he was met with resistance and passed the ball to a wide open RILEY BALIKIAN. A 6-foot sophomore guard, Balikian went in for an uncontested layup with one second remaining.

"We put everybody on the baseline for that last inbounds play," Coach Balikian said. "We isolated Jabari at the top and gave him several options."

Obviously, the young point guard made the right choice.

Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO wasn't pleased by the Cougars' final effort.

"We left the guy (Balikian) wide open and he beat us," Foggiano said.

A startling statistic was Steele Canyon was 0-for-12 from the free throw line.

"In all of my 25 years of coaching I've never see a team fail to make a free throw and still wind up winning the game," Balikian said. "But on the other side, I'd have to say this was one of our best defensive games of the season."

Steele Canyon's LIONEL BALL bounced in a team high 13 points while gathering seven rebounds and delivering four assists.

ANDREW TIMM added 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while EMORY MITCHELL collected 6 rebounds and blocked five shots for the winners.

JUSTIN RUTHERFORD led Grossmont with 12 points and four rebounds. LUIS GONZALES added eight points and eight rebounds.

The two teams combined for 47 turnovers.

"It wasn't a classic, but we will take the 'W'," Balikian said.

Several days earlier, Steele Canyon was dealt a post-Christmas blow when returning senior starter WES DAVIS decided to leave the team to rehab his shoulder and focus his attention on preparing for next football season at Boston College.

Steele Canyon scoring: Ball 13, Timm 10, Mitchell 6, Balikian 5, Robinson 5, Arlin Taylor 2.

Grossmont scoring: Rutherford 12, Dominic Elder 9, Gonzales 8, Khalid Waters 6, Jeff Waters 3, Trevor Thomas 1.

MONTE VISTA 43, WEST HILLS 41 -- For the first time all season, the Monarchs (8-6) posted back-to-back wins Wednesday (Jan. 4) as they staved off a late comeback bid by host West Hills in the final minute of this Grossmont Conference crossover battle.

This contest offered plenty of twists and turns, which is the mainstay of a conference with an equal balance in talent.

The final couple of minutes were like a couple boxers swapping blows. A 3-pointer by TREVOR PECK gave the Monarchs a 36-33 advantage. KYLE HAMANN countered with a 3-shot that knotted the tilt at 36-all.

Consecutive baskets by RYAN SLADE and Peck pushed Monte Vista in front 40-36. PETER GILSON hit one to cut the Wolf Pack's deficit in half.

Then it was Slade's turn for a deuce, which was swiftly answered by Hamann's second 3-pointer of the period. That left Monte Vista with a 42-41 advantage with 26 seconds unplayed.

West Hills was still in trouble as the Pack had only four team fouls. They'd have to give three before Monte Vista would be forced to the line.

Fortunately for West Hills (10-5), Monarchs junior JAMAR RANSOME was fouled as he missed a shot from the field. Ransome missed the first and hit the second in his two free throw attempts, leaving Monte Vista with a two-point lead and 20 seconds left.

"We got the ball to the guy we wanted to have it, and he worked his way past three defenders, but by the time he got off the shot, time had expired," West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG said.

Hamann led all scorers with 18 points. Slade led Monte Vista with 11 points, seven rebounds and five steals. Peck pitched in 11 points, JOEY BELANGER grabbed six rebounds and ROSHUN WYNNE had five steals for the Monarchs.

Monte Vista scoring: Peck 11, Slade 11, Wynne 9, Ransome 5, Belanger 3, Michael Watkins 2, David Murgia 2.

West Hills scoring: Hamann 18, Gilson 8, Chris Lifgren 4, Miles Pivonka 4, Shain Stoner 2, Taylor Robbins 2, Philip Dettinger 2, Tim Nowlin 1.

HELIX 43, SANTANA 39 -- Defense remains the strong suite at Helix as the Highlanders are allowing only 47.5 points per game. But the Highlanders' veteran head coach JOHN SINGER has to be concerned by his club's offensive firepower. Helix is scoring slightly less than 60 points per game.

"Too many of our kids don't realize that year after year people are going to be after us," Singer said. "We are still on a learning curve with this group."

Singer recognizes Santana (8-6) as one of the top teams in the Grossmont North League.

"I knew this would be a tough game because I saw Santana play in one of the Christmas tournament games," Singer said. "We were up by 14 points in the third quarter and then started missing free throws and failed to block out."

But Santana, which had won five straight games coming in, still had a chance as they trailed the Highlanders by four with 25 seconds left.

Sultan senior JON HERNANDEZ came down and took his man off the dribble, shot the ball and it hit the basket and rimmed out. That took the air out of the Sultans comeback bid.

"Both teams played pretty solid defense throughout the game," observed Santana coach TIM BARRY. "I was real pleased with how hard we played. From the floor we were 1-10 in the first quarter. There were some eight-foot jumpers rimming out. Against good teams like Helix you can't do that."

Helix had its problems, missing nine of 11 free throw tries. The Highlanders shot a mediocre 42 percent from the field (20-for-51).

DAVID JEFFERSON missed all five of his free throw attempts, but still led the Highlanders with a dozen points on 6-for-15 shooting. The 6-4 junior Jefferson had nine rebounds, two less than 6-3 junior ALEX AGUIRRE, who also tallied nine points and two assists.

LAWRENCE HURDLE added eight points, five assists and four steals to the Helix account.

Offense aside, Singer heaped accolades upon BRANDON FOUNTAIN whom he credited with holding Santana senior RICKY MICHELMORE to 12 points -- more than five below his season average.

Michelmore did retrieve 12 rebounds, while Hernandez chipped in with 12 points and eight rebounds for the Sultans.

Helix scoring: Jefferson 12, Aguirre 9, Hurdle 8, Aaron Tinsley 8, Brandon Fountain 4, Jonathan Ghafouri 2.

Santana scoring: Michelmore 12, Hernandez 12, Garrett Happ 6, Brooks Bass 5, Jon Corbisez 3, Carlos Vargas 1.

EL CAPITAN 49, VALHALLA 38 -- There is seemingly no stopping 6-foot-9 senior CORY BROWN. And that is good news for the El Capitan Vaqueros (9-6), who rolled to a surprisingly easy romp over visiting Valhalla (6-8) in Wednesday's (Jan. 4) Grossmont Conference crossover action.

Brown was a triple-threat as usual, scoring 23 points, pulling in a dozen rebounds and swatting away nine Norsemen shot attempts.

Sophomore BARRETT BRAUN led the Vaqueros' supporting cast with a career-high 13 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks.

TAELOR WORRELL made the most of eight minutes, scoring 6 points and 5 rebounds.

PAUL MARTINS and BRETT HANSEN paced Valhalla with 9 points and 4 rebounds. The Norsemen hit just 34 percent of 47 shots from the floor.

El Capitan scoring: Brown 23, Barrett Braun 13, Worrell 6 Jeramie Carr 3, Tyrel Zauss 2, Jason Ziegler 2.

Valhalla scoring: Martins 9, Hansen 9, Keith Williams 6, Jeff Sopata 5, Kevin Kriebel 4, Raja Nasheel 3, Jeremiah Browning 2.

Skying

A pair of San Ysidro High defenders look on in disbelief as Christian guard Derek Larsen skies inside for an eas ybasket in a 73-35 wipeout.. (Photo by Tori Allen)

CHRISTIAN 73, SAN YSIDRO 35 -- The Patriots (11-2) had little difficulty taming the Cougars (0-12) in Wednesday's (Jan. 4) non-league game at the Ryan Athletic Center.

Substituting freely, the Patriots welcomed 10 players into the scoring column led by the 19 markers of ANDRIUS MIKUTIS who made 9 of 12 shots from the field. PAULIUS IVANAUSKAS added 13 points, 8 assists and 6 steals for Christian.

COLIN McDONALD pitched in 11 points, while DEREK LARSEN handed out 7 assists and made 4 steals. VIKTOR ASACIOVAS made his presence felt with game highs of 9 rebounds and 7 blocked shots.

Christian scoring: Mikutis 19, Ivanauskas 13, McDonald 11, Asaciovas 8, Daniel Hazlett 7, Larsen 6, Lawrence Walker 3, Grant Mills 2, Brad Sandusky 2, Jon Fuller 2.

'We love short-shorts'

Evansville forward Brad Leaf, circa 1982-83, started on the Purple Aces' NCAA playoff team. He now coaches his son at Venture Christian High School. (Evansville courtesy file photo)

Leaf following
familiar blueprint

East County Sports.com
ESCONDIDO (1-4-06) -- When it comes to coaching basketball, BRAD LEAF is all too familiar with starting from scratch.

Leaf turned Steele Canyon High into a state playoff participant over the past two seasons, then suddenly switched schools so he could coach his son, junior guard TRENT, at the start-up program at Venture Christian High. And he knows the direction the Knights need to take.

"That's one of the reasons we played in the Granite Hills (Sportland) Tournament last week," noted Leaf. "We got into that tournament to play higher-level teams, so things would be easier when we went back to playing teams at our own level."

Despite not winning an on-court game (one team failed to arrive, resulting in a forfeit) at the 16-team event, the Knights translated the experience into a victory.

Collecting 22 steals in the first half, Venture Christian pressured Escondido Charter into turnover after turnover Tuesday (Jan. 3), garnering an 80-52 non-league victory at Valley High School.

Freshman BRANDON HALE scored a game-high 26 points, while his brother, sophomore AARON, fell one rebound short of a triple-double, recording 23 points, 10 steals and nine boards to powering the Knights to a 35-point explosion in the second period.

"We have progressed -- every game, we're getting better," said Aaron Hale, who plays at small forward. "And it's probably because of our defense. We're getting more aggressive, more steals, more rebounds -- more everything."

After his younger brother stroked home 20 points in the first half for a 51-20 advantage, Aaron Hale drained four of his six 3-balls in the third to push the margin to 36 points.

"We're now ready for league," he added about the Knights (5-7), who will play in the Citrus South League in their inaugural campaign. "We've worked hard to be a competitive program."

Which is something Leaf learned as a player.

A devastating airplane crash took the lives of the entire University of Evansville basketball team in 1977, the school's first season in Division I following five small-college championship seasons. Leaf was among the first recruits to re-stock the program.

In his four seasons in central Indiana, the Purple Aces overcame the tragedy and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

"We were something like the eighth seed," recalled Leaf. "But we lost to a Marquette team which featured Doc Rivers."

Leaf was one of the stars on Evansville's first Division I tournament team, and was honored for the feat after recently being named among the 15 players named to the Purple Aces' All-time team. Leaf was unable to attend the ceremonies due to his coaching responsibilities locally.

A monument and a memorial plaza to remember Coach Bobby Watson and his lost players was erected on the Evansville campus for $134,000, yet more than $300,000 was raised for its construction.

Venture Christian hopes to construct its own plaza in the near future, raising funds for a gymnasium. The Knights currently play many of their home games at the Joan Kroc Center, located on University Avenue just west of Helix High School.

Venture Christian scoring: Brandon Hale 26 (4 stl.), Aaron Hale 23 (10 stl., 6 ast., 9 reb.), Alain Plascencia 12, David Carter 10 (6 stl., 6 ast., 5 reb.), R.J. Najera 4, Drew Windrem 4, Zach Shipley 1 (4 ast.).

Matadors end holidays with loss

East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (1-3-06) -- Bonita Vista High proved to be a measuring stick for Mount Miguel. After the Barons defeated Helix by 19 points in the Chula Vista Tournament last week, the Matadors took away, if nothing else, the impression they can compete for the Grossmont South League basketball title after falling to the Barons by a smaller margin, 46-34, in Monday's (Jan. 2) lone contest on the East County basketball schedule.

"We just got everyone back, yet we've only had one practice together," said Matadors head coach MIKE GOLOVKO. "So I told the team to don't worry about this loss -- everything starts for real next week."

The Matadors (5-9) were respectable defending the bigger Barons, despite giving up at least four inches per position along the front line, keeping Bonita Vista to one of its lowest point totals of the season. However, the team re-discovered their one flaw -- putting the ball into the basket.

Poor shooting was especially noticeable in the fourth period by both teams, which scored four points each, as neither could either put a dent to a lead or expand a lead. Despite a series of continuous open looks thanks to solid passing by the Matadors guards, Mount Miguel mustered just a single basket on 12 shots along with a pair of foul shots over the final eight minutes.

"Bonita is so big and well-schooled, but we stayed with their big guys defensively," added Golovko. "It was good to be physical with a team as big as they are."

"So if shooting is the last of our worries, we should be in good shape."

After getting whipped by 11th-ranked Eastlake in the final of the Spartan Classic last Friday, Bonita Vista (11-3) saw six different players score in the first period to get an 18-9 jump on the Matadors. However, Mount Miguel stayed even with the Barons the rest of the way, holding 6-foot-8 senior center Desmann Robinson to just 11 points.

The Matadors received balanced scoring, led by seven points by LARON RUSH, while three others scored six points each.

"Since we got our players back, we've played four games, but only had one practice because of tournaments," added the coach. "But after a good week of practice, this will be a much better team by the time league starts."

Mount Miguel scoring: Laron Rush 7 (4 reb.), Karlin Stewart 6, Courtney Wrather 6 (3 stl.), Donta Young 6, Richard Jackson 5 (5 reb.), Warren Thodile 4.

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-31-05) -- The Helix Highlanders found somebody their own size to pick on. After an extremely tall Bonita Vista team knocked off the Scotties in the semifinals of Chula Vista High's 18th annual Spartan Classic one day earlier, Helix bounced back to rattle a more diminutive Ramona hurdle, 68-49, to claim the third-place trophy.

LAWRENCE HURDLE landed a berth on the all-tournament team by scoring a game-high 28 points, then brought others into the offense with seven assists, plus several other key passes which led to easy buckets. He also took a charge on defense to force a Bulldogs turnover.

"Lawrence had a good game tonight after our whole team didn't have such a good game against Bonita," said Helix coach JOHN SINGER, who welcomed the good showing in the event despite the absence of a key performer.

Hurdle made sure there would be no comeback by the Bulldogs early in the second half by taking control of the ballgame.

Following a steal by SEAN SCARBER on Ramona's opening possession, Hurdle took the ball and drove the lane for a layin while being fouled for a 3-point play. The junior guard followed with a 3-point shot on the next trip down the court, propelling the Highlanders to a 41-25 advantage.

In the fourth period, Hurdle again started hot. In the first 30 seconds, he hit the final of his three treys, then stole the ball for a breakaway basket and a 55-37 cushion.

BRANDON FOUNTAIN added 16 points for Helix (9-3), while AARON TINSLEY added five points, yet was especially effective on defense with 10 rebounds -- all on the Highlanders' glass.

Singer heralded the defensive work of Fountain who limited Ramona's Danny Meaney to just two field goals and 7 points.

"Meaney likes to shoot it every time he gets it," Singer said. "So what Brandon was able to do is really something."

Helix (9-3) has posted 3-1 records in all three tournaments this season.

Helix scoring: Hurdle 28, Fountain 16, Jonathan Ghafouri 9,

Alex Aguirre 6, Tinsley 5, Adrian Gaffney 2, Sean Scarber 2.

MOUNT MIGUEL 48, GROSSMONT 37 -- Coach MIKE GOLOVKO likes the look to his second-year Matadors.

"We are learning how to play with a lead," Golovko said Friday (Dec.30) after the Matadors beat conference rival Grossmont to capture the consolation championship of the Spartan Classic.

A strong showing in the second half helped the Matadors (5-8) break open a close game.

"We came out and played very well at the beginning of the third quarter and got it to 38-22 in our favor," Golovko said.

Grossmont (4-9) scrambled back to make it a six-point game in the fourth quarter. But the Foothillers did not score over the final three minutes.

"After four days in a row, people start to get worn down," Golovko said. "This was a good win for us. Grossmont was coming off two (consecutive) wins."

Senior guard WARREN THODILE, who was named to the all-tournament team, lead the Matadors with 13 points, four rebounds and two assists to lead the Matadors. DONTA YOUNG had a team best seven rebounds.

JUSTIN RUTHERFORD tallied 13 points and snagged 6 rebounds to pace Grossmont. The Foothillers' KHALID WATERS was chosen to the all-tourney team.

Mount Miguel scoring: Thodile 13, Courtney Wrather 10, Karlin Stewart 9, Young 6, Richard Jackson 6, Laron Rush 2, Devyn Moore 2.

Grossmont scoring: Rutherford 13, Jeff Waters 7, Khalid Waters 6, Dominic Elder 5, Derrick Davenport 4, Ian Cochrane 2.

MONTE VISTA 49, EL CAPITAN 44 -- The Monarchs used a 32-21 scoring advantage in the middle two quarters to whip the Vaqueros in Friday's (Dec. 30) 11th-place game of the Mt. Carmel Tournament.

Senior guard RYAN SLADE spun in 15 points, collected seven rebounds and dished two assists for the Monarchs (7-6). JAMAR RANSOME chimed in with 12 points and 6 rebounds. TREVOR PECK narrowly missed a double-double, finishing with nine points and nine rebounds.

El Capitan senior center CORY BROWN led all scorers with 21 points and 14 rebounds.

Monte Vista led 40-29 entering the final quarter, but went 0-for-6 from the free throw stripe giving the Vaqueros a shot at a comeback. El Capitan could not overcome its 25 turnovers.

Monte Vista scoring: Slade 15, Ransome 12, Peck 9, Roshun Wynne 8 (4 steals), Joey Belanger 3, Michael Watkins 2 (4 steals).

El Capitan scoring: Brown 21, Taelor Worrell 6 (5 rebounds), Brandon Braun 6, Josh Ziegler 5, Jeramie Carr 3, Jason Ziegler 3.

Guarding the ball

Helix' Alex Aguirre (left) and Lawrence Hurdle are the ball-side defenders for the Highlanders defense. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva)

Eagles take third
in own tournament

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-30-05) -- With NICK TAYLOR off on his shooting touch, it took the Granite Hills Eagles (8-6) more than a quarter to make the needed adjustments Thursday (Dec. 29), yet they rallied in time to top the Chieftains 50-42 to claim third place in the Granite Hills-Sportland Holiday Tournament.

After posting just three points in the entire second quarter as a team, BRIAN HUMPHRIES propelled the Eagles by scoring nine of his 11 points in the final period.

"Brian came up with some real big shots down the stretch for us," noted Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. "Nick's shots weren't falling, so Brian stepped up and hit a couple of big threes, including one with about three minutes to go for the lead, then another with 1:30 left."

Clairemont led 21-17 at the half, as senior Gabe Mejia scored six of his team-high 10 points. However, poor outside shooting hampered the Chieftains (5-5), allowing the Eagles to gain some easy rebounds to start their transition game. At the top of that list were 13 rebounds by CLARK GORDON, who also paced Granite Hills with 17 points.

Point guard BRANDEN PRIDE added seven points, seven assists and five steals for the Eagles.

Granite Hills scoring: Gordon 17, Taylor 11, Humphries 11, Pride 7, CHRIS TIMKO 2, LUKE SIMPSON 2.

SANTANA 63, MID-PACIFIC INSTITUTE (Honolulu, Hawai'i) 46 -- Talk about a working vacation . . . the Sultans made it a clean sweep of their two non-league contests Thursday (Dec.29) and now plan to make like tourists the next couple of days in paradise.

RICKY MICHELMORE was the offensive leader in Santana's latest conquest, driving in 21 points and gathering 13 rebounds. The senior standout was 8-for-8 from the free throw stripe and 14-for-14 from the foul line in Hawai'i.

Santana (8-5), which has won five in a row, shot 50 percent from the field against Mid-Pac.

"We were 24-for-48 from the field -- that's pretty good," said Santana coach TIM BARRY. "Ricky had a nice day. Coach is smiling, he's a happy man in Hawaii. I have nine players here who have been with me for five years. It's a great way to spend our break."

Michelmore is on the verge of breaking some free-throw shooting records at Santana.

"My brother Jeff, who set Santana's all-time free throw record of 84.3 percent in 1985, is holding his breath," Barry laughed. "I call him the Bob Griese of high school basketball."

Santana scoring: Michelmore 21, Jon Hernandez 12, Jon Corbisez 8, Brooks Bass 8, Garrett Happ 7, Brian Bailey 4, Dan Pajimula 3.

MOUNT MIGUEL 52, CHULA VISTA 45 -- With a little luck the Matadors could be standing at the .500 mark today. A mere three points cost Mount Miguel losses to Montgomery and Ramona.

But after the Matadors (4-8) pegged host Chula Vista (5-6) in Thursday's (Dec. 29) Spartan Classic, coach MIKE GOLOVKO is pleased by what he sees in the future at Mount Miguel.

Golovko was elated with the Matadors board work against Chula Vista.

"We actually rebounded pretty well tonight," he said, pointing out the eight rebounds apiece by DONTA YOUNG and RICHARD JACKSON. KARLIN STEWART controlled seven caroms and senior point guard WARREN THODILE pulled down six.

COURTNEY WRATHER cranked in 16 points and Thodile added 13 -- nine coming on threes -- for the Matadors. Stewart contributed four assists and a trio of blocks.

Mount Miguel scoring: Wrather 16, Thodile 13, Young 8, Stewart 6, Devyn Moore 5, Laron Rush 2, Richard Jackson 2.

GROSSMONT 44, POINT LOMA 38 -- A balanced scoring attack and a strong second half helped the Foothillers muzzle the Pointers in Thursday's (Dec.29) Spartan Classic in Chula Vista.

With 19 seconds left and Grossmont up by 41-38, the Pointers had the ball and missed a shot. DERRICK DAVENPORT gobbled up the rebound and was fouled. Davenport then sank both shots to ice the Hillers' fourth win in 12 starts.

Davenport finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, while JUSTIN RUTHERFORD matched that 10 points and cleared six rebounds.

"We didn't play very intense in the first half," said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO, whose Hillers trailed 27-16 at intermission. "We played with a lot more intensity in the second half -- probably because of the coaches' inspirational talk at halftime."

Grossmont scoring: Rutherford 10, Davenport 10, Dominic Elder 9, Khalid Waters 8, Jeff Waters 4, Trevor Thomas 3.

EL CAJON VALLEY 67, KELOWNA (B.C., Canada) 58 -- For the first time this season the Braves put together back-to-back victories Thursday (Dec. 29) as they rode the hot-handed shooting of junior JOHN PUTRIS to a Granite Hills-Sportland Holiday Tournament win over the Canadian crew.

Putris scored nine of his career-high 20 points in the final quarter.

"He had a nice game," said Braves coach NATE REED, noting that the 6-1 Putris also had 10 rebounds.

Steady CHRIS REYNALDS also had a big night with 16 points and a game-high 18 rebounds. NATE SCHAD handed out 11 assists, tossed in 10 points and made four steals for the Braves (3-9).

El Cajon Valley scoring: Putris 20, Reynolds 16, Schad 10, Wisam Patros 10 (8 rebounds), Christian Franco 7, Marchell Mitchell 4.

VALHALLA 46, KEARNY 43 -- The Norsemen made it four out of five wins when they rallied to clip the Komets in Thursday's (Dec.29) final day of the Granite Hills-Sportland Holiday Tournament.

JEFF SOPATA drilled in a team-leading 14 points for Valhalla (6-7).

"Jeff had a great second and third quarter," said Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS. "We went down by 10-2 early then had a good run in the second quarter to tie it. The last quarter was a defensive struggle. We got a couple of fortunate calls and made 5-of-7 free throws."

With eight seconds left, Kearny had the ball with a chance to tie it but failed to connect.

PAUL MARTINS added 12 points and seven rebounds. JEREMIAH BROWNING also had six rebounds, while NASHEEL RAJA had six assists.

Valhalla scoring: Sopata 14, Martins 12, Kevin Kriebel 7, Brett Hansen 6, Nasheel Raja 3, Daniel Butcher 2, Jeremiah Browning 2.

BONITA VISTA 77, HELIX 58 -- The Barons of Bonita Vista made the Highlanders feel small as they dominated the second half of Thursday's (Dec. 29) Spartan Classic at Chula Vista High.

"We hung with them for a half, but they're just too big. We played five guys in the post position and didn't get a single point," said Helix coach JOHN SINGER. "Their three inside people were their high scorers. They annihilated us on the inside glass."

"We got only two defensive rebounds from the guys who played in the post," Singer added. "Our perimeter kids -- (LAWRENCE) HURDLE, (BRANDON) FOUNTAIN, (AARON) TINSLEY and (JERICHO) TOILOLO -- did OK, they competed."

Tinsley scored a team-leading 20 points, nearly half coming on a trio of 3-pointers. Hurdle added 15 points, eight assists and five steals. BRANDON FOUNTAIN, known more for his defensive prowess, canned 7-of-11 shots from the field for 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Helix scoring: Tinsley 20, Hurdle 15, Fountain 14, Jericho Toilolo 9.

CERRITOS 60, EL CAPITAN 48 -- Slow starts in each half adding up to a 41-22 deficit spelled defeat for El Capitan (8-5) in Thursday's (Dec. 29) Mt. Carmel Tournament action.

The Dons (8-6) utilized a strong press to rattle the Vaqueros, who once again relied on 6-9 center CORY BROWN (26 points, nine rebounds, 14 blocks, three steals) to remain in the game.

El Capitan could not overcome 27 turnovers, however.

El Capitan scoring: Cory Brown 26, Jason Ziegler 8 (5 steals), Tyrel Zauss 6 (4 assists), Josh Ziegler 2 (4 assists), Taelor Worrell 2, Dalton Ogden 2, Barrett Braun 2.

MISSION HILLS 53, WEST HILLS 33 -- The Wolf Pack (10-4) received 17 points from KYLE HAMANN but little else Thursday (Dec. 29) as they lost to coach CURTIS HOFMEISTER's Grizzlies in the third place game of the Montgomery Tournament.

Hamann hit a pair of threes and clicked on 7 of 10 free throws. He also had 3 assists and as many rebounds. TIM NOWLIN hauled down a team-high 7 rebounds for the Wolf Pack.

Chipping in four points and five rebounds, MILES PIVONKA, a virtual unknown, was named to the all-tournament team for grabbing game headlines with his two game-winning baskets.

"Mike's had a very good three tournament games for us," said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG.

West Hills scoring: Hamann 17, Peter Gilson 4, Pivonka 4, Tim Nowlin 3, Chris Lifgren 3, Taylor Robbins 2.

CATHEDRAL 80, STEELE CANYON 48 -- Twenty-nine turnovers added to Steele Canyon's woes in Thursday's (Dec. 29) lopsided loss to Cathedral in the final day of the Torrey Pines Tournament at Cathedral Catholic.

"We're pretty inexperienced and we're pretty thin -- have got a lot of guys out on vacation," commented Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN. "We have been pooping out in the fourth quarter."

Cathedral hit six of its first eight shots in the fourth quarter, which produced 30 points and a misleading final score.

EMORY MITCHELL punched in 16 points and shared team-high rebounding honors with ANDREW TIMM and RILEY BALIKIAN at 6 apiece. LIONEL BALL sank 5-of-10 shots from the field and 5-of-8 free throws to match Mitchell's 16 points.

Steele Canyon scoring: Ball 16, Mitchell 16, Timm 7, Balikian 5, Arlin Taylor 4.

SONORA 77, MONTE VISTA 43 -- Following a 13-6 first quarter start in Thursday's (Dec. 29) Mt. Carmel Tournament consolation contest, the Monarchs (6-6) hit the skids.

"Obviously it got handed to us in the third quarter," said Monte Vista coach ZACH PECK.

Sonora turned the game into a rout with that 28-7 rush in the third stanza.

Monte Vista scoring: Trevor Peck 12, Ryan Slade 12, Jamar Ransome 9 (6 rebounds), David Murgia 4, Roshun Wynne 2 (4 assists), Jeff Aldridge 2, Nicholas Garcia 2.

CALEXICO 58, VENTURE CHRISTIAN 50 -- Sophomore AARON HALE turned in an impressive performance spearheaded by a career-high 28 points Thursday (Dec. 29) as the Knights (4-7) closed out the Granite Hills-Sportland Holiday Tournament with a positive effort.

Hale, who included a pair of threes in his totals, also blocked 8 shots, plucked 5 rebounds and made 3 steals.

"Calexico led the whole way, but we need to balance our scoring a little more," said Venture Christian assistant coach JAMES McHUGH.

Junior ZACH SHIPLEY handed out a team-leading 5 assists for the Knights.

Venture Christian scoring: Aaron Hale 28, Brandon Hale 14, Drew Windrem 4, Frank Sheppard 4.

VENTURE CHRISTIAN 2, KELOWNA (B.C., Canada) 0 -- A forfeit win at the Granite Hills-Sportland Holiday Tourney.

East County Sports.com
HONOLULU, Oahu, Hawai'i (12-29-05) -- Traveling to the Hawaiian Islands for the first time has delivered several lessons and countless budding memories for Santana basketball coach TIM BARRY.

"I was watching the weather report for the next couple of days and it was predicting 17-to-20 foot waves on the North shore," noted Barry, who said he'd watch the water works from a cliff in the distance.

Barry was also caught off guard on the basketball court when his Sultans took a 2-0 lead over host McKinley (7-5) and then applied intense defensive pressure only to discover that the state of Hawaii does not utilize a shot clock.

"That was kind of shocking," Barry admitted after his Sultans stuffed the host Tigers, 54-42 in the first of a two-game series against Hawaiian competition. "There we were working up a sweat with pressure all over the floor."

Perhaps a bit haggard by their defensive intensity, the Sultans (7-5) reeled in a bit of their aggression in the second half and made winning look easy.

RICKY MICHELMORE paced the Sultans with 26 points (6-for-6 free throws) and seven rebounds. GARRETT HAPP added nine points, five rebounds and three steals. JON HERNANDEZ did not have his usual high point effort, but managed six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Santana scoring: Michelmore 26, Happ 9, Hernandez 8, Brooks Bass 5, Brock Bass 3, Jon Corbisez 2, Dan Pajimula 1.

VALHALLA 73, EL CENTRO-CENTRAL 61 -- The unpredictable Norsemen played their best game of the year against a fast-breaking, free-wheeling Central Union squad in Wednesday's (Dec. 28) Granite Hills-Sportland Holiday Tourney at Granite Hills.

"This is easily our best game of the year," Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS said. "We had only 15 turnovers, which is really special since we probably average 25 a game. Most of our shots were inside which made us much improved offensively."

Thomas also pointed to the work of senior guard JEREMIAH BROWNING, who put together one of his best games consisting of 15 points and four steals.

"Jeremiah was the key to our breaking their press," Thomas said. "He can take the ball and elevate over the big guys. I know in this game he had to be at least eight inches over the rim."

Senior scoring leader PAUL MARTINS popped in a game high 23 points. Martins did his greatest damage in the second quarter (9 points) and fourth period (11 points).

BRETT HANSEN added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Norsemen, while KEVIN KRIEBEL tossed in eight points and 10 rebounds.

Valhalla scoring: Martins 23, Browning 15, Brett Hansen 14, Kevin Kriebel 8, Nasheel Raja 7, Jeff Sopata 4, Khalil Fakhoury 2.

WEST HILLS 51, EL CENTRO SOUTHWEST 49 -- They should call West Hills the halls of close calls. At least when it comes to boys basketball.

Coach JEFF ARMSTRONG's cagers survived another acrobatic strut on the high wire in Wednesday's (Dec. 28) Montgomery Tournament contest against the Eagles.

And in similar fashion from the night before, senior MILES PIVONKA plunged the proverbial winning dagger, providing West Hills with a narrow escape and its 10th win in 13 decisions.

"Miles turned in another very good effort," Armstrong said. "He's played very well all three (tournament) games. He had another shot at the end to win it for us again. He was really pounding the offensive boards and got a putback to score what turned out to be the winning basket for us."

Pivonka's score gave West Hills a 50-47 advantage, but the Eagles still had seconds to stage a comeback.

"They missed a three and TAYLOR ROBBINS got the rebound," Armstrong said. "(The Eagles) stole the ball and made a layup to cut the score to 50-49. With 2 seconds left they fouled KYLE HAMANN. He made the first, missed the second, and they made a desperation shot that didn't go in."

Hamann topped the West Hills scoring column with 17 points.

Armstrong noted, "We got good mileage out of Robbins in the fourth quarter."

West Hills could easily have folded, considering Southwest marched to a 23-13 first quarter lead.

"Teams are feasting on us in the first quarter," Armstrong said. "But we manage to somehow settle down and keep whittling away at it in the second half."

West Hills scoring: Hamann 17, Pivonka 8, Robbins 7, Peter Gilson 6, Troy Nowlin 6, Blaine Hoffard 5, Tim Nowlin 2.

HELIX 56, SOUTHWEST (SD) 32 -- Senior guard LAWRENCE HURDLE had a breakout game for the Highlanders, who shipwrecked the Raiders of Southwest in Wednesday's (Dec. 28) Chula Vista Spartan Classic.

Hurdle hit 10-of-1 shots from the floor, dished off eight assists, made four steals and grabbed 10 rebounds as Helix (8-2) advanced to the tournament semifinals.

"Hurdle had a nice floor game," said Helix coach JOHN SINGER, who improved his 26-year record at the Helix helm to 457-188.

Singer sprinkled praise throughout the lineup, noting in particular the defensive work of BRANDON FOUNTAIN and JERICHO TOILOLO on Southwest scoring ace DeQuonta Webster.

"I know the box score will show Webster got 13 points, but Fountain and Jericho held him to seven points before I subbed them out in the final minute," Singer said. "They did a great job."

AARON TINSLEY added nine points and seven assists for the Highlanders, who need one more win to reach the Spartan Classic finals for the fifth straight season.

Helix scoring: Hurdle 21, Tinsley 9, Fountain 8, Sean Scarber 6, Justin Johnson 4, Jonathan Ghafouri 4, Brandon Williams 2, Eric Forney 2.

EL CAPITAN 56, G.P. VANIER (B.C., Canada) 53 -- Despite a rash of injuries and illnesses by the majority of his El Capitan teammates, 6-foot-9 senior center CORY BROWN continues to produce for the Vaqueros.

Brown banged in 30 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked 4 shots as the Vaqueros edged Georges P. Vanier High of Courtenay, British Columbia, in Wednesday's (Dec. 28) Mt. Carmel Tournament action.

It was not the best of shooting nights for Brown, who has scored 68 points in the first two games of this tournament. The big guy, who came into this contest shooting better than 58 percent from the field was only 11-for-25 from the floor against the Canadians.

Brown's teammates were a combined 11-for-20 from the floor, which helped the Vaqueros improve to 8-4. TYREL ZAUSS added 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists for El Capitan.

El Capitan scoring: Brown 30, Zauss 10, Taelor Worrell 6, Jason Ziegler 6, Josh Ziegler 4.

GROSSMONT 55, MAR VISTA 38 -- Six-foot-6 junior JUSTIN RUTHERFORD guided Grossmont with a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds as the Foothillers snapped a four-game losing streak in Wednesday's (Dec. 28) Chula Vista Spartan Classic.

"This particular team had nobody big inside to challenge him, so Rutherford was a little stronger than he was yesterday," Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO.

DERRICK DAVENPORT enjoyed one of his bigger scoring nights with 13 points and six rebounds. Sophomore IAN COCHRAN matched Davenport's totals for Grossmont (3-8).

"Cochran is coming along," Foggiano said. "We just hope he continues to make progress."

Grossmont scoring: Rutherford 16, Cochrane 13, Davenport 13, Khalid Waters 8, Jeff Waters 5.

EL CAJON VALLEY 61, SWEETWATER 51 -- Although the Braves celebrated just their second win in 11 games in Wednesday's (Dec. 28) Granite Hills-Sportland Holiday Tournament game at Valhalla, coach NATE REED wasn't ready to hand out any medals.

"We started out great," Reed said of the Braves' 26-11 first-quarter lead over the Red Devils. "Then, we just sorta took things for granted. And the officials didn't help us. We're playing mostly guards right now, and its going to be that way until Jan. 13 when we get four key players back."

For the moment, though, CHRIS REYNOLDS continues to shoulder the offensive load with 31 points, including three 3-pointers and 4-of-6 free throws. Reynolds, a 5-foot-10 senior, also snagged 11 rebounds. He accounted for 13 points in the opening quarter.

Football standout NATE SCHAD reeled off a triple-double of 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for El Cajon Valley. Schad, a 6-foot guard, also had four steals. WASOM PATROS pitched in 12 points and six assists for the Braves.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Reynolds 31, Schad 10, Christian Franco 7, John Putris 6, Patros 5, Tim Widjaja 2.

SAN PEDRO 68, GRANITE HILLS 65 -- Bouncing back from a possible concussion the night before, senior guard NICK TAYLOR cast in 23 points and 6-foot-8 rebounding monster CLARK GORDON added 22 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks as host Granite Hills came up short in Wednesday's (Dec. 28) semifinals of the Granite Hills-Sportland Holiday Tournament.

In spite of a slow start in the first half, Taylor canned five of 10 shots from 3-point distance but missed five of his seven free throw attempts.

"Nick wasn't himself in the first half," Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON said. "He was a bit slow. But his adrenalin started flowing in the second half and that picked up our whole team."

Anderson continued to sing the praises of Gordon -- his man in the middle.

"Clark really worked hard in the off-season, hitting the weights and adding on about 19 pounds. He's still rather slim, but doesn't give up on a single rebound. He wants them all."

In the past two days, Gordon has garnered 44 rebounds while connecting on 17-of-21 shots from the field.

Senior point guard BRANDEN PRIDE continues to deal scoring passes at a record pace, finishing with 12 in the narrow loss to the 10-3 Pirates from San Pedro.

Granite Hills scoring: Taylor 23, Gordon 22, Pride 9, Wayne Martin 6, Brian Humphries 3, Chris Timko2.

MONTE VISTA 60, LIBERTY (B.C., Canada) 48 -- Junior ROSHUN WYNNE enjoyed a banner outing of 24 points, 10 steals and five assists for the Monarchs who KO'd the visitors from British Columbia in Wednesday's (Dec. 28) Mt. Carmel Tournament action.

JAMAR RANSOME pitched in 17 points and bagged 5 rebounds for Monte Vista, which pushed its season mark above .500 at 6-5.

Other numbers of note included 10 points and six steals by RYAN SLADE and a team-high eight rebounds by TREVOR PECK.

Monte Vista scoring: Wynne 24, Ransome 17, Slade 10, Peck 5, Michael Watkins 4.

EASTLAKE 51, MOUNT MIGUEL 39 -- The defense was there, but the offense was sporadic as the Matadors (3-8) put up a tough battle only to fall short to San Diego County power Eastlake in Wednesday's (Dec. 28) second round of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic.

"Eastlake only lost to an L.A. team (Ontario Colony) in the finals of the Eastlake tournament by four points," Mount Miguel coach MIKE GOLOVKO. "I believe they are among the Top 5 teams in the county."

That's why a hard-fought loss such as this means so much to Golvoko and his Matadors.

"We defended pretty well, and I feel pretty good to hold them to 51 points," the Matadors second-year head coach said. "Our effort was great. We were really physical."

"We've taken a lot of steps in the right direction. We are improving slowly but surely. We couldn't have competed like this four weeks ago."

WARREN THODILE paced Mount Miguel with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.

Injuries continue to hamper the Matadors.

"RICHARD JACKSON got hit in the ribs at the end of the first half - a muscle thing, we think - and we played without him the whole second half," Golovko said.

The Titans (9-1) commanded a 32-17 first half advantage and staved off the Matadors during the final 16 minutes.

"We got (returning point guard) KARLIN STEWART back (from ankle injury suffered in football, followed by a tweak to his other ankle in basketball)," Golovko said. "That should help us."

Mount Miguel scoring: Thodile 13, Courtney Wrather 13, Richard Jackson 6, Devyn Moore 3, Laron Rush 2, Donta Young 2.

RANCHO BUENA VISTA 63, STEELE CANYON 45 -- The Cougars had Rancho Buena Vista by the horns for the better part of one half of Wednesday's (Dec. 28) Torrey Pines Tournament contest at Cathedral Catholic, leading 22-21 at the break.

"We had them going for awhile, then lost gas," said Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN. "We played pretty hard for awhile, but we're not in good shape. We had a couple of defensive breakdowns and they didn't miss anything."

The Longhorns (4-6) scored 21 points in each of the final two quarters to gain the victory nod.

LIONEL BALL paced Steele Canyon (3-9) with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, which included a pair of treys. He also handed out 3 assists. EMORY MITCHELL chipped in with eight points and seven rebounds. RILEY BALIKIAN also corralled seven caroms.

Steele Canyon scoring: Ball 16, Mitchell 8, Arlin Taylor 6, Andrew Timm 6, Balikian 3, Wes Davis 3, Kevin Shipley 3.

VANCOUVER COLLEGE PREP 48, VENTURE CHRISTIAN 25 -- Things started out on the right foot for the Knights (3-6), who led the Canadians 11-10 after one quarter of Wednesday's (Dec. 28) Granite Hills-Sportland Holiday Tournament at Valhalla. After that, the game belonged to the team from north of the border.

"Defensively, it was probably the best game we've played all year, we just didn't score," said Venture Christian assistant coach JAMES McHUGH.

One area where the Knights came up short was on the foul line.

"The free throws made the difference," McHugh said. "We were 7-for-23 on free throws; they were 13-for-18."

Venture Christian scoring: Brandon Hale 13, Aaron Hale 7 (6 rebounds, 3 steals), Drew Windrem 3 (6 rebounds, 2 steals), David Carter 2.

East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (12-28-05) -- West Hills is not a team laden with a star-studded cast. But the Wolf Pack (9-3), faceless as they may seem, still appeared geared to defend their Grossmont North League title.

In their latest outing West Hills added a bit of suspense to its attack as MILES PIVONKA buried a game-winning basket in the Wolf Pack's 49-48 nod over the San Dieguito Academy in Tuesday's (Dec. 27) Montgomery Holiday Tournament at Montgomery High.

Pivonka, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound post, finished with a team-best 13 points.

"It was very exciting," West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG said. "Miles has been playing much improved basketball, carried over his quality play these last two games. He's finally starting to get his basketball legs."

San Diego was leading 48-47 with eight seconds left.

The Wolf Pack countered with the game-winning formula as BLAINE HOFFARD threw Pivonka the ball at the high elbow, Pivonka turned and shot it right at the buzzer.

"The kids showed very good composure in the second half," Armstrong said. "We did not play very well in the first and second quarters (and trailed 30-21 at intermission) but did do well in the third (closing the gap to one point)."

"We were bouncing back and forth between defenses then finally settled down in the third quarter. We did a good job on the post position, had good interior passing. We had an advantage inside."

West Hills scoring: Pivonka 13, Kyle Hamann 10, Hoffard 6, Troy Nowlin 6, Peter Gilson 6, Tim Nowlin 4, Shain Stoner 2, Taylor Robbins 2.

GRANITE HILLS 81, SOUTH BAY LUTHERAN 47 -- Granite Hills lost its one-man scoring machine NICK TAYLOR late in the first half of Tuesday's (Dec. 27) Granite Hills-Sportland Holiday Tournament. The Eagles' sharp-shooting guard hit his head during action at the end of the second quarter and left the game with a suspected concussion.

"We hope to have him back by today (Wednesday), but it's really a day-to-day thing," Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON said of Taylor who has scored 149 points in his last 13 quarters.

Meanwhile, 6-foot-8 CLARK GORDON pulled down a Granite Hills record 29 rebounds -- 14 offensive -- to go with 23 points. Gordon's carom count is sixth on the all-time East County books. Helix's BILL WALTON set the milestone of 34 rebounds in 1969, ironically enough, against Granite Hills. Walton also had games of 32 (twice) and Monte Vista's JOE McNAULL twice had 32 rebounds against Granite Hills in 1990.

Gordon's shooting was on the mark, too, as he missed only 3-of-13 field goal attempts. He was 3-for-4 from the foul line.

WAYNE MARTIN hit three of his four 3s in the fourth quarter for the Eagles (7-5), finishing with 12 points. As a team, Granite Hills netted 10 treys.

"Freshman DEAN MILLER scored 11 points (four assists, three rebounds) and did a good job off the bench for us tonight," Anderson added.

BRANDEN PRIDE has his pinpoint passing on target, as he totaled 8 assists.

Granite Hills scoring: Gordon 23, Taylor 14, Martin 12, Miller 11, Pride 7, Brian Humphries 6, Tyler Winters 5, Jacob Leance 2, Nick Spilger 1.

HELIX 81, MAR VISTA 45 -- The Highlanders unleashed a sort of secret weapon in Tuesday's (Dec. 27) first round of the Spartan Classic at Chula Vista High.

BRANDON WILLIAMS, a junior transfer from Monte Vista (as is his sister BRITTNEY, a member of the Helix girls basketball team), scored a career-high 20 points in the Highlanders (7-2) win over the outmanned Mariners.

Williams clicked on 10 of 11 shots and hustled to collect 7 rebounds in his first extensive playing time in the Helix green.

"Brandon came off the bench and played well," said Helix coach JOHN SINGER. "He did a lot of stuff well inside. He's learning how to play what we need him to play for us. I was happy (about it) because DAVID JEFFERSON, our No. 1 post kid, was out of town. We played well to compensate for his not being here."

AARON TINSLEY pumped in 15 points and LAWRENCE HURDLE pitched in 14 points, pilfered 4 passes and dished 6 assists.

Helix scoring: Williams 20, Tinsley 15, Hurdle 14, Eric Forney 7, Alex Aguirre 7, Brandon Fountain 6, Jericho Toilolo 5, Sean Scarber 5, Justin Johnson 2.

SAN PASQUAL 65, MONTE VISTA 56 -- One thing about the Monte Vista Monarchs is they are consistently inconsistent. No two-game winning streaks. No back-to-back losses. Fifty-fifty, as in 5-5.

After falling behind the Golden Eagles (10-1) in the first half, 35-19 the Monarchs clawed back to make it a contest in the final period of Tuesday's (Dec. 27) Mt. Carmel Tournament opener in North County.

ROSHUN WYNNE paced the Monarchs with 18 points, seven assists and four steals, while JAMAR RANSOME pitched in with 17 points and six rebounds. Senior TREVOR PECK packed in a nifty double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds (plus three assists) for Monte Vista.

"The game wasn't quite as ugly as it looks on paper," commented Monte Vista coach ZACH PECK. "We had multiple blown opportunities. We're still growing up -- hopefully we will do so before the end of the season."

Monte Vista scoring: Wynne 18, Ransome 17, Peck 13, Michael Watkins 4, David Murgia 2, Ryan Slade 2.

LA MIRADA 63, EL CAPITAN 59 -- The battered, bruised and short-handed Vaqueros nearly pulled off an upset victory in Tuesday's (Dec. 27) opening round of the Mt. Carmel Tournament.

Six-foot-9 center CORY BROWN scored 38 points, grabbed 20 rebounds and blocked six shots for El Capitan (7-4) before fouling out in the third quarter. The Vaqueros were down by only three points when Brown departed.

VICTOR SOTO attempted to fill the void, scoring all of his five points in the final stanza. The remainder of the Vaqueros contributed only three points in the last quarter allowing the Pirates (7-4) to post the victory. Soto also had four steals.

Injuries and illness have plagued El Capitan, which began the game missing two starters and lost two more via fouls in the third period. JOSH ZIEGLER is out of commission due to illness, while his brother JASON ZIEGLER rolled an ankle in the final quarter. TAELOR WORRELL fouled out, and NICK MURICO is sidelined with a broken hand until mid-January.

"We're a little thin right now," El Capitan coach ROSS FURROW said.

El Capitan scoring: Brown 38, Worrell 5, Soto 5, Jason Ziegler 3, Jeramie Carr 2, Dalton Ogden 2, Barrett Braun 2, Tyrel Zauss 2.

RAMONA 62, MOUNT MIGUEL 61 -- A last-second bucket in the final seconds by the Bulldogs spoiled an otherwise sparkling performance in Tuesday's (Dec. 27) opening round of the Spartan Classic at Chula Vista High.

First-year senior RICHARD JACKSON paced the Matadors (3-7) with 20 points and eight rebounds. COURTNEY WRATHER pitched in 14 points, while WARREN THODILE muscled in 11 points, six rebounds and passed out five assists. DONTA YOUNG contributed nine points and 10 rebounds.

"We've played good for three quarters in our last two games," said Mount Miguel coach MIKE GOLOVKO. "Today we played three quality quarters. I'm pretty pleased with how we are playing. We are playing hard and making improvements. We should have everyone healthy next week against the Grossmont (Conference) teams."

Mount Miguel scoring: Jackson 20, Wrather 14, Thodile 11, Young 9, Laron Rush 4, Devyn Moore 3.

BINGHAM (Utah) 56, STEELE CANYON 47 -- It seems the Cougars of Steele Canyon can't catch a break in the Torrey Pines Tournament. Round two pitted them against the 8-2 Miners from South Jordan -- ranked No. 5 in the state in the large school division by Deseret News.com.

"(Bingham) is one of the best shooting teams we've seen," Cougars coach BERNIE BALIKIAN said. "They are from the (perennially) No. 1 ranked program in Utah."

Steele Canyon (3-8) shot only 34 percent from the floor, including 5-of-16 from 3-point range. LIONEL BALL was 4-for-9 from beyond the arc on his way to a 19-point night.

"Lionel shot the ball well," said Balikian. "But we just keep shooting ourselves in the foot with turnovers (20 tonight)."

Steele Canyon's WES DAVIS turned in his second straight big night, rolling out 10 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

EMORY MITCHELL chipped in with 9 points and 8 rebounds for the Cougars.

Steele Canyon scoring: Ball 19, Davis 10, Mitchell 9, Riley Balikian 7, Andrew Timm 2.

SAN DIEGO 60, VALHALLA 49 -- Except for the third quarter, Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS didn't think his Norsemen played too bad. It was that one 8-minute stretch that disturbed him and eventually cost Valhalla Tuesday's (Dec. 27) Granite Hills-Sportland Holiday Tournament decision at Granite Hills.

The Cavers (7-6) used a 20-7 scoring burst to nail the Norsemen (4-7), who were led by PAUL MARTINS' 18 points.

"In the third quarter we turned over the ball too much and took too many bad shots, didn't play any defense," Thomas said. "We just kinda reverted back to the bad form."

Valhalla scoring: Martins 18, Brett Hansen 8, Nasheel Raja 6, Jeff Sopata 6, David Frank 3, Kevin Kriebel 2, Jeremiah Browning 2, Travis Foelsch 2, Khalil Fakhoury 2.

SOUTHWEST (SD) 55, GROSSMONT 45 -- Sophomore IAN COCHRANE scored a season-high 18 points for the Foothillers (2-8), who lost a tight one in Tuesday's (Dec. 27) opening round of the Spartan Classic in Chula Vista.

"The sophomore played well," said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO.

Grossmont scoring: Cochrane 18, Dominic Elder 9, Trevor Thomas 8, Khalid Waters 4, Justin Rutherford 4, Derrick Davenport 2.

MADISON 68, EL CAJON VALLEY 60 -- No report from the Braves coaching staff from the Granite Hills-Sportland Holiday Tournament.

Taking the charge

Sweetwater's Abraham Alem drives towards the basket, but Granite Hills defender holds his ground to take the charge to force a turnover. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

Workhorse Taylor-made, and made and made
Eagles guard scores
53 points on Sweetwater

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-27-05; REVISED 12-28-05) -- He's known as one of the hardest workers on the team, but for Granite Hills sharpshooter NICK TAYLOR, life was simply too easy.

While visiting Sweetwater sat back in a zone and rarely challenged any of his shots, Taylor placed his name high on several records charts after sinking a dozen 3-point goals to finish with a school-record 53 points in pacesetting the Eagles to a 98-36 wipeout of the visiting Red Devils in Monday's (Dec. 26) opening round of the Granite Hills Sportland Holiday Classic.

With point Granite Hills senior guard BRANDEN PRIDE directing traffic with the basketball by posting a school-record 15 assists, Taylor found open looks all contest to post the sixth-highest scoring figure in Grossmont Conference history.

"Branden kept finding the open man, and I was open and kept putting them down," said Taylor, who has scored a composite 95 points in his last two outings (134 in last three contests). "I was in some kind of zone and couldn't miss."

Taylor's 53 points ties former Santana standout TODD HARPER's mark in a 1978 contest against the Eagles, and fell six short of the Grossmont Conference standard of 59 set by El Cajon Valley's KEMMY BURGESS (now a senior at Alaska-Anchorage) against Francis Parker in 1998.

The East County record was set by TONY CLARK (now with the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team). Playing for Christian High, Clark scored 64 points against La Jolla Country Day in 1990 -- also a CIF-San Diego Section record which stood for 15 years until two weeks ago when Crawford's Tyrone Shelley -- a former Christian hoopster before transferring -- drilled 76 on Canada's Burlington Central in a 138-29 triumph on Dec. 14.

"Nick was on -- he was our go-to guy, but he wasn't the only one," noted Pride. "WAYNE (MARTIN) and CLARK (GORDON) also scored for me. They all had an all-around good game. I just had to get the ball to the open man."

Martin finished with 12 points, all on three-pointers, while Gordon scored six and added nine rebounds.

Taylor's 12 goals from beyond the arc is, technically, a San Diego County record, equaling the mark set by Valhalla's MARK DILLION against West Hills in 1991. The San Diego Section mark was established when Brad Goff went bonkers for El Centro-Southwest, hitting 15 treys against Palo Verde in 2002 -- the fourth-highest total in state history.

In an East County connection, the top two 3-point shooting efforts in California prep history were 21 and 20, both by CHAD BICKLEY of Valley Christian in Santa Maria in 1994. Bickley later became an All-American at Christian Heritage College (now San Diego Christian College), located just two blocks east of Taylor's performance.

Talk about full circle!

"Nick's a very unselfish player who had worked hard on his game -- I'm proud of the work he's done to improve," said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. "His motor is always running on the floor."

Meanwhile, Pride finished with 15 points to match his 15 assists. He also registered six steals against the toothless Red Devils (0-11).

"Sweetwater just stayed in their 2-3 zone, although they did switch to a 1-3-1 for a while there," added Anderson. "I know they couldn't match-up with us man-to-man, but at least they could've gone to a box-and-one or tried something."

Which was fine with Taylor.

"If I were them, I would've tried something to stop me, so I finally told coach to take me out," admitted Taylor. "Sure, I could've scored more, but we won the game already, and it let some other guys play who deserve to be out there, too."

As a team, Granite Hills drained 20 balls from 3-point-land -- equaling the second-best effort in CIFSDS history with La Jolla Country Day (2000 vs. Julian). The record is 21 by Mountain Empire against Borrego Springs in 2002.

Granite Hills scoring: Nick Taylor 53 (4 stl.), Branden Pride 15 (15 ast., 6 stl.), Wayne Martin 12, Clark Gordon 6 (9 reb.), Tyler Winters 5, Dean Miller 4 (8 reb.), Luke Simpson 2, Nick Spilger 1.

VALHALLA 69, PALMER (Alaska) 67 (OT) -- Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS, now in his fifth season as the head coach, admitted he hasn't seen as wild a finish as this Monday (Dec. 26) Granite Hills-Sportland Holiday Tournament provided.

No wonder. Valhalla trailed by 10 points with one minute remaining in regulation.

"I've seen a lot of strange things, but this was pretty amazing," Thomas said.

The ringleader of the Valhalla comeback was senior PAUL MARTINS, who scored a career-high 29 points in the Norsemen's fourth win in 10 starts.

Martins started the Valhalla last-minute regulation surge with a bucket and then ended it with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer off an assist from KEVIN KRIEBEL that sent the game into the extra session at 56-56.

"(Martins) was literally as deep in the corner as he could be when he let that shot go just as the buzzer sounded," Thomas said. "I mean the bell literally sounded as the ball left his hand."

Martins was Valhalla's main man in overtime, too, scoring seven of the Norsemen's 13 points. Martins struck first with a bucket in the extra session, then broke a 58-58 deadlock with a trey before snapping a 66-66 tie with a layup with 8 seconds left.

JEREMIAH BROWNING appeared to have sealed the Valhalla victory by sinking two free throws with three seconds left for a 70-67 edge. However, Browning was whistled for crossing the foul line too early and thus had his second shot nullified, leaving the Norsemen clinging to a two-point edge as previously undefeated Palmer brought the ball in bounds.

The Alaskan quintet, which connected for eight 3-pointers, could not capitalize this time.

"We didn't play a horrible game nor did we play a great game," Thomas said. "We played just well enough to win."

Kriebel made a strong account of himself with 13 points, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. NASHEEL RAJA snagged a team-high 8 rebounds, while Martins and Hansen each plucked 6 ricochets off the glass.

Valhalla scoring: Paul Martins 29, Kevin Kriebel 13, Khalil Fakhoury 8, Brett Hansen 7, Jeff Sopata 5, Nasheel Raja 4, Jeremiah Browning 3.

TORREY PINES 45, STEELE CANYON 35 -- The Cougars welcomed WES DAVIS -- the lone returning starter -- back to the lineup in Monday's (Dec. 26) opener of the Torrey Pines Tournament against the host Falcons (7-3).

Davis, a senior safety headed to Boston College on a football scholarship, hit 5-of-10 shots from the floor and 1-of-2 free throws to share Steele Canyon high-point honors with LIONEL BALL at 11 points apiece.

The Cougars (3-7) overcame an early 10-point deficit to make it 21-all at intermission. Steele Canyon crept in front 30-29 by the close of the third quarter only to have the roof cave in in the final 8 minutes.

The Falcons hit three 3-pointers en route to a 16-5 scoring spread in the final period to claim the victory.

EMORY MITCHELL added nine points and eight rebounds to the Steele Canyon totals. Ball also had seven rebounds, while Mitchell blocked three shots.

Steele Canyon scoring: Lionel Ball 11, Wes Davis 11, Emory Mitchell 9, Arlin Taylor 2, Andrew Timm 2.

OCEANSIDE 66, WEST HILLS 44 -- The Pirates (4-4) of North County landed four 3-pointers in the first quarter en route to a 29-6 lead and then held off the Wolf Pack (8-3) in Monday's (Dec. 26) opening round of the Montgomery Tournament.

"We had our hands tied after that first quarter because we dug ourselves into a pretty deep hole," said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. "We finished well, played well for three quarters, but that first quarter kinda did us in."

Eleven turnovers in the first quarter started the Pack on its downward slide. "That and we couldn't put the ball in the basket," noted Armstrong. "We couldn't defend on the perimeter."

KYLE HAMANN led the Wolf Pack with 9 points, which is less than half his season average.

To make matters worse, West Hills was playing without the services of CHRIS LIFGREN and TROY NOWLIN, out with the flu.

West Hills scoring: Kyle Hamann 9, Miles Pivonka 8, Tim Nowlin 8, Taylor Robbins 6, Philip Dettinger 5, Blaine Hoffard 5, Peter Gilson 3.

SAN PEDRO 77, EL CAJON VALLEY 49 -- Carlin Ocean scored 14 of his game-high 16 points in the first half, helping San Pedro's Pirates capsize the Braves in Monday's (Dec. 26) first round of the Granite Hills-Sportland Holiday Tournament,

Ocean and teammate Justin Johnson each hit a pair of 3-point goals in the first period for a 20-13 lead, then Ocean went inside for his next eight points, including six during a 16-3 run to push the lead to 18 points.

Poor foul-shooting (13-for-28) also hampered the diluted El Cajon Valley roster -- only eight of 14 players were suited. Of the Braves in attendance, NATE SCHAD and CHRIS REYNALDS paced the team with 13 points each, while JOHN PUTRIS added 10.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Nate Schad 13 (8 reb.), Chris Reynalds 13 (11 reb.), John Putris 10, Marchell Mitchell 8, Tim Wadjaja 5 (9 reb.).

CENTRAL UNION 79, VENTURE CHRISTIAN 29 -- The HALE brothers -- sophomore AARON and freshman BRANDON -- combined for 22 points but it wasn't near enough as the Knights (3-5) were crushed by desert power Central Union in Monday's (Dec. 26) first round of the Granite Hills-Sportland Holiday Tournament.

The Knights were hurt by 33 turnovers against the Spartans (8-3) who could have caused many more miscues had they continued to apply the pressure after the third quarter.

Aaron Hale rolled a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds for Venture Christian, which fell behind 31-9 after one quarter and trailed 49-16 at the break.

Venture Christian scoring: Aaron Hale 12, Brandon Hale 10, Drew Windrem 3, Trent Leaf 2, Andrew Atia 2 (8 rebounds).

East County Sports.com
NATIONAL CITY (12-24-05) -- Leading for all except a short, 12-second interval of the first period, El Capitan High saw a 13-point advantage disappear in a doubly-frustrating manner.

San Pasqual guard Matt Vitkus drove the lane and scooped in a 5-footer with three seconds remaining in Thursday's (Dec. 23) championship game of the Sweetwater Holiday Classic, giving the Golden Eagles (9-1) only their second lead all night. But when the referees ignored at least four Vaqueros signaling for a timeout, the clock's final seconds ticked away in a heart-breaking 54-53 decision at Sweetwater High.

El Capitan center CORY BROWN earned an all-tournament berth after collecting 31 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks. However, Vitkus decided to charge the basket and challenge the 6-foot-9 center on a set piece.

"Their big guy is a good player and forced us to change a lot of shots," said Vitkus, one of four San Pasqual seniors with three years experience playing together (a fifth one injured). "I just had to throw something up there and it went in."

Vitkus finished with 11 points to gain an all-tournament berth.

"They run a lot of dribble penetration – it's their whole offense," said Vaqueros coach ROSS FURROW. "But they have some good players to run it, while we struggled with our offense in the second half."

Following a 12-0 run to build a 20-8 lead, Brown was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field in the second period to push the Vaqueros' advantage to 25-12 with 3:23 left before halftime. But others were contributing to El Capitan's (7-3) cause as well.

JASON ZIEGLER drained a pair of 3-balls in the second period; JOSH ZIEGLER registered five of his six assists in the same quarter, then took a charge for an Eagles offensive foul in the third.

However, when San Pasqual decided to force the issue by pressuring Vaqueros' ball-handlers on defense, then drive towards the basket on offense, the deficit began to shrink.

Pat Eveland scored eight of his 12 points in the fourth after making just 2-of-14 shots in the first three periods. Viktus scored seven of his nine points in the fourth, while Nick Cardona had a team-high 17 points and seven boards.

Vitkus finally tied the game for San Pasqual at 50-all with 2:47 left on a short jumper, but El Cap’s TYREL ZAUSS took a nice feed from Jason Ziegler for a layin and the foul to reclaim a 3-point lead with 1:10 to go.

However, Eveland sank both ends of a one-and-one with 32.1 seconds remaining, then he teamed with Vitkus to force a held-ball call in the backcourt for a turnover on the possession arrow to set the stage for the game-winning shot.

El Capitan scoring: Brown 31 (15 reb., 6 blk.), Ja. Ziegler 6 (6 reb., 4 ast.), Jo. Ziegler 4 (6 ast., 5 reb.), Zauss 4 (4 reb.), Worrell 4 (5 reb.), Carr 2.

WEST HILLS 62, COACHELLA 45 -- The Wolf Pack's victory in Friday's (Dec. 23) third place game was actually a double bonus. That's because a one point win over La Quinta earlier in the day led tournament officials to award West Hills (8-2) with the silver medal -- second place trophy.

KYLE HAMMAN popped in 15 points, and eight of his teammates added to the Wolf Pack scoring total as West Hills clobbered Coachella (3-8).

West Hills scoring: Shain Stoner 5, Tim Nowlin 4, Troy Nowlin 2, Kyle Hamann 15, Blaine Hoffard 9, Taylor Robbins 8, Peter Gilson 6, Miles Pivonka 9, Philip Dettinger 4.

WEST HILLS 44, LA QUINTA 43 -- After falling behind the Blackhawks 17-4 in the first quarter and 39-22 after the third period, West Hills turned on the afterburners in the final eight minutes to pull out the Central Desert Shootout victory.

West Hills scoring: Kyle Hamann 14, Miles Pivonka 10, Peter Gilson 8, Chris Lifgren 7, T.Nowlin 2, Philip Dettinger 2, Blaine Hoffard 1.

East County Sports.com
NATIONAL CITY (12-23-05) -- Despite an "off" shooting night and 22 turnovers, the El Capitan Vaqueros dribbled past Kearny's Komets, 49-45, in Thursday's (Dec. 22) semifinals of the Sweetwater Holiday Prep Classic. That victory -- El Capitan's fourth straight -- pits the Vaqueros (7-2) against San Pasqual in Friday's (Dec. 23) tournament championship game at 7.

Once again, it was the CORY BROWN Show for the Vaqueros. The 6-foot-9 senior pivot did not have his best shooting night of the season, but he did make an impact. Brown racked up 31 points on 12-of-26 shooting, yet recovered his misses in the form of 23 rebounds. Brown also blocked 6 shots.

The Vaqueros built a 38-25 lead after three quarters, then had to hold off a late charge by the Komets (6-2) to claim victory.

JOSH ZIEGLER added 7 points and 3 assists for the Vaqueros. JERAMIE CARR contributed 6 points and 4 rebounds. TYREL ZAUSS also had 7 rebounds for El Capitan.

El Capitan scoring: Brown 31, Josh Ziegler 7, Carr 6, Jason Ziegler 2, Tyrel Zauss 2, Dalton Ogden 1.

WEST HILLS 71, SAN YSIDRO 30 -- TIM NOWLIN and KYLE HAMANN scored 12 points apiece and CHRIS LIFGREN added 10 as the Wolf Pack won its opening game in Thursday's (Dec. 22) Central Desert Shootout.

West Hills broke the game open with a 23-8 scoring spread in the second quarter.

West Hills scoring: Tim Nowlin 12, Hamann 12, Lifgren 10, Miles Pivonka 8, Philip Dettinger 6, Taylor Robbins 6, Peter Gilson 5, Blaine Hoffard 4, Shaine Stoner 4, Troy Nowlin 4.

EL CENTRO-CENTRAL 69, WEST HILLS 60 -- Senior guard KYLE HAMANN hurled in 22 points and MILES PIVONKA added 12, but it wasn't enough to salvage a victory for the Wolf Pack (6-2) in Thursday's (Dec. 22) nightcap of the Central Desert Shootout against the host team.

West Hills scoring: Hamann 22, Peter Gilson 11, Pivonka 12, Tim Nowlin 6, Chris Lifgren 5, Blaine Hoffard 4.

Drive the lane

Santana senior Jon Hernandez drives the lane for the basket, lifting the Sultans to a 49-37 decision over Mount Miguel. (Photo by Chris Edwards)

Block this

A Sweetwater High player stands helpless to stop El Capitan center Cory Brown from scoring in the Vaqueros' easy 70-21 triumph. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva)

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-22-05) -- In a game that promised little more than bling to the winner, Santana's Sultans came from behind to defeat Mount Miguel, 49-37, Wednesday night (Dec. 21) in a battle of Grossmont Conference teams in the Grossmont Winter Classic consolation championship game.

JON HERNANDEZ and RICKY MICHELMORE paced the Sultans (6-5), scoring 41 points between them.

Trailing 20-10 with 4:40 left in the second quarter, the Sultans closed the first half with a 15-2 run to lead by three at intermission.

Mount Miguel (3-6) put up a brief challenge, tying the game 27-all with 5:48 left in the third period, but the Sultans refused to give up the lead. And they never did.

Hernandez, a 6-foot-3 senior, came up with the key baskets for Santana. He scored the final 7 points of the first half that allowed the Sultans to leave the floor with a 25-22 edge at the break. His go-ahead bucket was a thing of beauty, as the southpaw lofted a one-handed shot that landed just a split-second before the shot clock buzzer sounded.

"I thought the shot clock was right at zero so I knew I had to let the ball go," said Hernandez, who was 8-for-16 from the floor and 3 of 4 from the charity stripe. "I just threw up a prayer."

That desperation shot made the mark as did his following shot seconds later.

"All night I knew I could take my man off the dribble," Hernandez said.

Although this game meant little on paper, Hernandez declared that beating the Matadors was a key win for Santana.

"Winning a consolation championship is still a championship," he said. "This also puts us over the .500 mark and that was a goal we had coming into this tournament."

Michelmore chipped in a solid 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

"I thought our defense was beautiful," said Santana coach TIM BARRY. "Our goal going into every game is to hold our opponent under 40 points."

This is the fourth time Santana has met that goal.

Courtney's wrath

Mount Miguel's Courtney Wrather splits defenders in this drive to the basket for a bucket vs. Santana. (Photo by Chris Edwards)

"I thought we played as poorly as we have the whole year in that first half," Barry said. "But overall, this was a good solid tournament for us. I'm pleased to be where we are right now."

Not that Mount Miguel coach MIKE GOLOVKO is in panic mode.

"We played a good first half," Golovko said. "But we just couldn't make any shots in the second half."

Mount Miguel shot 30 percent from the field and made only half of 10 free throws.

RICHARD JACKSON led the Matadors with 10 points – all in the first half. WARREN THODILE added 9 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists for Mount Miguel.

Santana scoring: Hernandez 21, Michelmore 20, Jon Corbisez 4, Garrett Happ 2, Brooks Bass 2.

Mount Miguel scoring: Jackson 10, Thodile 9, Courtney Wrather 9, Laron Rush 6, Donta Young 3.

3-fingered effort

Christian forward Colin McDonald leaps high for the rebound against Jamal White of Mission Bay, who tries the 3-finger approach. (Photo by Tori Mills)

MISSION BAY 63, CHRISTIAN 58 -- The easy explanation was playing a seventh game over a 6-day period. But a lot of teams could use that excuse. However, for the tiring Christian Patriots, not executing the offense in the second half allowed Mission Bay to open its running game Wednesday (Dec. 21), as the Buccaneers rallied from a 10-point, first-half deficit to capture the championship of the Otay Ranch Tournament.

The first half turned into a track meet, as the Patriots were running and gunning to the tune of 53 percent shooting from the floor to mount a 42-35 lead, as DEREK LARSEN sank a series of jumpers to score 15 of his team-high 19 points.

But when Christian returned from the locker room, the team had no legs, thus were forced to heave a series of 3-point shots -- not making any of nine attempts.

"We wanted to attack the rim to prevent Mission Bay from running its transition game on us," said Patriots coach KEN BAILEY. "We didn't execute our offense, so they took advantage and ran the ball past us."

While Christian flip-flopped from the floor and netted just 4-of-29 shots, the undefeated Buccaneers (4-0) were keyed by tournament MVP James Hancock in the rally. The 6-foot-5 junior scored six quick points in the third period en route to a game-high 20-point effort, and grabbed 17 rebounds to power the comeback.

"He's playing our system, yet can take over a game," said Bucs coach Dennis Kane.

PAULIUS IVANAUSKAS passed for seven assists, including a transition layin off a steal by ANDRIUS MIKUTIS, leading to a layin to open the second half for a 44-35 lead. Little did the Patriots realize they would score just three more baskets over the remaining 15-plus minutes, as the Bucs controlled the game with a 47-29 rebounding edge.

DANIEL HAZLETT scored 11 points -- all in the first half -- for Christian (10-2), while Ivanauskas added eight. Mikutis was tabbed to the all-tournament team for the Patriots.

Christian scoring: Derek Larsen 19 (4 ast., 4 stl), Andrius Mikutis 11 (7 reb.), Daniel Hazlett 11, Paulius Ivanauskas 8 (7 ast., 5 reb.), Viktor Asaciovas 6 (4 reb.), Grant Mills 2, Colin McDonald 1.

PONDEROSA 86, GRANITE HILLS 83 (3-OT) -- While the Eagles are surely dismayed by their latest loss in Wednesday's (Dec. 21) Matador Shootout encounter at Bullhead City, Ariz., they have to be pleased by their subtle progress.

After losing by 27 points to Ponderosa (Colo.) a day earlier, the Eagles rebounded to make the rematch a game. A game they should have won, perhaps.

Granite Hills senior guard NICK TAYLOR scored a career high 42 points, including six treys. His scoring was just two points off the tournament record of 44. Furthermore, Taylor scored 81 points in his last two games of the tournament.

None the less, Taylor was only 1-for-9 from the free throw line down the stretch.

But his misses were only part of the story.

"We were 29-48 on free throws tonight," lamented Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. "And some of them were front ends, so it was even worse."

Granite Hills (5-5) was only five seconds short of securing a win over the Mustangs but gave up a late bucket to produce overtime.

The Eagles thought they had a victory in hand after the first extra stanza until Ponderosa made 1-of-2 free throws on a questionable call to send it into a second OT.

In the third overtime, the Eagles were drawing blanks in their shooting from the field and from the foul line.

Another bright spot for Granite Hills were CLARK GORDON's school-record 23 rebounds. BRENDEN PRIDE made 7 steals.

Granite Hills scoring: Taylor 42, Gordon 18, Brian Humphries 12, Pride 9, Chris Timko 2.

EL CAPITAN 70, SWEETWATER 21 -- This game ended with a running clock during the fourth quarter as visiting El Capitan (6-2) rolled to an easy victory and into Thursday's (Dec. 22) semifinals of the Sweetwater Holiday Prep Classic against Kearny at 6 p.m.

CORY BROWN pitched in 18 points and DALTON OGDEN nabbed a team-high 6 rebounds as El Capitan made wholesale substitutions in its easiest win of the year. Eleven Vaqueros chipped in to the season high scoring total.

El Capitan scoring: Cory Brown 18, Jeramie Carr 9, Tyrel Zauss 8, Jason Ziegler 8, Brandon Braun 6,Dalton Ogden 5, Ben Noy 4, Matt Reagan 4, Josh Ziegler 3, Victor Soto 3, Paul Chastang 2.

SAN MARCOS 65, EL CAJON VALLEY 45 -- Down by as many as 10 points to the Knights in the consolation final of the Otay Ranch Tournament, a pair of outside jumpers by CHRIS REYNOLDS to close the third period moved El Cajon Valley within two points and in position to take the lead.

However, San Marcos guard Preston Rawlings took over the ballgame. The junior drilled a 3-ball, then drove the lane twice to gain a trip to the foul line and a layin to collect six quick points in the first 1:12 of the fourth period to put away the Braves.

Ryan DiPinto then followed with the next six points to cap a 12-0 run by the Knights to push the advantage back to 53-39. Meanwhile, El Cajon Valley missed all 11 shots from the field in the period, scoring all six points on free throws.

For the Braves, NATE SCHAD led the team with 17 points, including three treys in the second period to start the comeback from a 19-9 deficit. Reynolds added 15 points, but for the second straight outing, the team lost its legs down the stretch.

"We're still not where we're supposed to be," said head coach NATE REED, who may not get his football-turned-basketball players into game conditioning until the opening of Grossmont North League action.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Schad 17, Reynolds 15, Dori Laramore 7, Wisam Patros 4, Marchell Mitchell 2.

VALHALLA 78, BELMONT (Canada) 51 -- Eleven Norsemen hit the scoring column as Valhalla snapped its second three-game losing streak of the season at the expense of the Canadians in Wednesday's (Dec. 21) final day of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

KEITH WILLIAMS popped in 12 points and copped four steals to pace Valhalla (3-6). JEFF SOPATA added 12 points and KHALIL FAKHOURY punched in a career best 10 points.

Valhalla scoring: Williams 12, Sopata 12, Fakhoury 10, Paul Martins 9, Travis Foelsch 8, Jeremiah Browning 7, Nasheel Raja 6, Daniel Butcher 4, David Frank 4, Kevin Kriebel 4, Michael Espinoza 2.

MONTE VISTA 85, SAN DIEGUITO ACADEMY 36 -- Sparked by a balanced attack, the Monarchs concluded the Grossmont Winter Classic Wednesday (Dec. 21) with a lopsided consolation round victory over the outmanned Mustangs.

RYAN SLADE and JAMAR RANSOME scored 14 points apiece, while ROSHUN WYNNE added 12 points, 6 assists and 3 steals.

Monte Vista scoring: Slade 14, Ransome 14, Wynne 12, Joey Belanger 11, Michael Watkins 7, Jeff Aldredge 7, Trevor Peck 6 (7 rebounds, 3 steals), Stanley Wells 5, Sean Joyce 4, David Murgia 3, Nicholas Garcia 2.

BURROUGHS 58, GROSSMONT 38 -- The struggling Foothillers (2-7) fell behind 17-8 in the opening quarter of Wednesday's (Dec. 21) Grossmont Winter Classic consolation contest and never recovered. against the team from Ridgecrest.

"They were more athletic than us; they were a pretty solid team," said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. "But we are going to gradually get better. I think we will be ready by the start of league (Grossmont North) play."

Grossmont scoring: Ian Cochran 10, Justin Rutherford 6, Derrick Davenport 6, Trevor Thomas 5, Luis Gonzales 5, Dominic Elder 4, Khalid Waters 2.

East County Sports.com
NATIONAL CITY (12-21-05) -- El Capitan coach ROSS FURROW has been coaching too long to get overly excited about a 5-2 start. Yet, the veteran mentor is pleased by what he sees from his Vaqueros, who are driven by senior center CORY BROWN.

Brown scored 19 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked five shots as the Vaqueros came from behind to submarine Mt. Carmel, 61-54, in Tuesday's (Dec. 20) Sweetwater Holiday Prep Classic encounter at Sweetwater High.

"Cory is a legit player," Furrow said of Brown, who his coach says is close to 6-foot-9. "He is the quickest big man I've ever coached. He runs the court well, can shoot the ball and is a good defender. Cory is the anchor to our pressure defense. He is a much better shot blocker than (7-footer JARROD) BOSWELL (now at Wyoming)."

Four-year colleges have taken interest in Brown. Among those paying closest attention are Pacific, USD and Rider (N.J.) University.

The Vaqueros used a 24-10 fourth quarter rush to erase a 7-point deficit to the Sundevils. TYREL ZAUSS scored 12 of his 14 points in that winning surge by El Capitan.

The Vaqueros defense held Mt. Carmel's Jay Scheinok to nine points and no threes. The last time El Capitan played the Sundevils -- a 55-47 setback on Dec. 10th -- Scheinok scored 19 points, including three treys.

El Capitan scoring: Cory Brown19, Tyrel Zauss 14, Jason Ziegler 7, Brandon Braun 7, Josh Ziegler 6, Jeramie Carr 6, Dalton Ogden 2.

EL CAJON VALLEY 70, SAN YSIDRO 65 -- Slowly, as NATE REED welcomes back members of the football team to his basketball haven, the Braves are beginning to show what they can do. Although several football standouts have enhanced Reed's roster, more (including four off the ineligibility list in January) are still to come.

For now, though, the Braves are a much stronger unit than they were at the outset of the season. The addition of seniors NATE SCHAD and CHRIS REYNOLDS has bolstered the offensive firepower.

In his first two games on the court since the end of football season, Schad, a 6-foot guard, has been a scoring machine. He drilled in a career-high 27 points in Tuesday's (Dec. 20) conquest of the Cougars after ringing up 22 points in his first against Mission Bay a day earlier in the Otay Ranch Holiday Tournament

Reynolds, a 5-foot-10 guard, has been onboard for four games. He's produced 85 points -- a 21.3 average -- during that stretch.

"Schad and Reynolds put a spark into things," Reed said. "Those who wonder how good we're going to be ought to come out and see. We aren't as big as we were a year ago, but we are a lot faster. Way faster."

El Cajon Valley scoring: Schad 27, Reynolds 21, John Putris 10, Dori Laramore 7, Tim Widjaja 4, Marchell Mitchell 1.

SANTANA 69, MONTE VISTA 42 -- The sizzling Sultans shot better than 58 percent from the field as they destroyed Monte Vista in Tuesday's (Dec. 20) Grossmont Winter Classic action.

"It wasn't just a matter of having a hot game," Santana coach TIM BARRY said. "It was a team game where we had 21 assists. We really worked on offense, involved everybody."

RICKY MICHELMORE paced the Sultans (5-5) with 20 points and 4 rebounds, while JON HERNANDEZ -- who missed about a quarter due to a bloody nose -- finished with 15 points, plus three each in rebounds, assist and steals.

"We thought Hernandez broke his nose," Santana coach TIM BARRY said. "We had to take him out for what was the equivalent of a quarter. In past years, we would have fallen apart had we lost a big scorer like Jon. But this group continued on and helped pull us away."

ROSHUN WYNNE was 8-for-8 from the foul line on his way to a team-best 15 points for Monte Vista. TREVOR PECK punched in 10 points -- all in the first half.

Santana scoring: Michelmore 20, Hernandez 15, Jon Corbisez 9, Brian Bailey 8, Carlos Vargas 5, Garrett Happ 5, Tyler Blackledge 4, Brooks Bass 3.

Monte Vista scoring: Wynne 15, Peck 10, Jamar Ransome 8, Ryan Slade 6, Joey Belanger 3.

The Popcorn Machine

A pair of Otay Ranch defenders go for the ball fake by Chrisitan center Paulius Ivanauskas -- putting them "into the Popcorn Machine," as late L.A. Lakers announcer Chick Hearn coined -- to lead the Patriots past the tournament hosts, 57-45. (Photo by Tori Mills)

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CHRISTIAN 57, OTAY RANCH 45 -- The Patriots (10-1) qualified for Wednesday's (Dec. 21) championship game in the Otay Ranch Holiday Tournament by dispatching the home team in Tuesday's semifinals.

Sophomore DANIEL HAZLETT, a junior varsity point guard a year ago, hurled in a team-high 16 points on 5-for-9 shooting. That includes 4-of-8 accuracy from above the arc.

"Daniel is an outstanding 3-pointer shooter who is smooth and doesn't get rattled," Christian coach KEN BAILEY said.

Senior PAULIUS IVANAUSKUS added 15 points, seven rebounds and eight assists to the Christian totals. ANDRIUS MIKUTIS contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Patriots.

Christian scoring: Hazlett 16, Ivanauskus 15, Mikutis 10, Viktor Asaciovas 8, Derek Larsen 6, Colin McDonald 2.

MOUNT MIGUEL 62, SAN DIEGUITO ACADEMY 31 -- Not that anybody on the Mount Miguel staff is ready to throw a party, but the Matadors (3-5) are pleased they have posted back-to-back victories and earned a spot opposite Santana in the consolation championship game of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

COURTNEY WRATHER cashed in a team-high 18 points to pace the Matadors, while RICHARD JACKSON reeled in 13 points and gathered six rebounds. LARON RUSH chimed in with 11 points, nine rebounds and three steals.

"We have some size with 6-6 Jackson and 6-4 Rush, and overall we have a good group this year," said Mount Miguel coach MIKE GOLOVKO. "We have a tough schedule, which I think will help us in the long run. I like the kids we have and they are doing exactly what I want them to do."

Mount Miguel scoring: Wrather 18, Jackson 13, Rush 11, Donta Young 8, Warren Thodile 6, Antonio Spellman 4, Brandon Gettridge 2.

RAMONA 72, VALHALLA 66 -- JEFF SOPATA (17 points) and PAUL MARTINS (16) combined for 33 points but it wasn't enough as the Norsemen fell to Ramona in Tuesday's (Dec. 20) Grossmont Winter Classic contest.

"Jeff had good free throw shooting with 11 of 14, that's pretty nice," said Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS, who saw his 2-6 Norsemen relinquish a 16-12 first quarter lead.

Martins added 6 rebounds to his 16-point outing, while NASHEEL RAJA tossed in 11 points. KEVIN KRIEBEL grabbed a team-high 8 rebounds.

Valhalla scoring: Jeff Sopata 17, Paul Martins 16, Nasheel Raja 11, Kevin Kriebel 6, Keith Williams 6, Khalil Fakhoury 4, Jeremiah Browning 4, Travis Foelsch 2.

ST. AUGUSTINE 59, GROSSMONT 39 -- The Saints demonstrated why they will be one of the teams to contend with for the San Diego CIF Division III title after scoring 20 points in each of the first two periods to rout the Foothillers in Tuesday's (Dec. 20) Grossmont Holiday Classic.

Saints guard Robert Hayes tallied 13 of his game-high 17 points in the first half to mount a 40-17 advantage, while the defense took-the-charge three times on Grossmont to consistently force turnovers.

KHALID WATERS tried to keep the Hillers close, scoring three early baskets in the opening minutes, but when the Saints adjusted their defense, no one else could pick-up the slack. DOMINIC ELDER finished as the leading scorer for the hosts with 16 points, including a pair of 3-point baskets. Waters finished with nine points.

Grossmont scoring: Dominic Elder 16, Khalid Waters 9, Derrick Davenport 4, Trevor Thomas 2, Ian Cochran 2, Luis Gonzales 2, Jeff Waters 2, Justin Rutherford 2.

PONDEROSA (Colo.) 69, GRANITE HILLS 42 -- The Eagles shot a paltry 28 percent from the field Tuesday (Dec. 20) afternoon as they fell to the Mustangs in the second round of the Matador Shootout in Bullhead City, Ariz.

Nobody on the Granite Hills side scored in double digits, although the Eagles did crawl to within six points of Ponderosa in the third quarter. At that point, the Mustangs kicked up their hooves and ran away, causing Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON to empty his bench early in the final quarter.

Granite Hills scoring: Nick Taylor 7, Luke Simpson 6, Brian Humphries 6, Wayne Martin 5, Nick Spilger 5, Clark Gordon 4 (7 rebs), Chris Timko 4, Branden Pride 2, Andrew Joslyn 2, Dean Miller 1.

DOBSON (Mesa, Ariz.) 72, GRANITE HILLS 66 -- Despite a career-high 39 points by senior guard NICK TAYLOR, the Eagles came up short in Tuesday (Dec. 20) night's third round of the 18th annual Matador Shootout at Bullhead City, Ariz.

Taylor's marksmanship was about as good as it's ever been. He canned 7-of-11 from 3-point range and was collectively 13-of-25 from the floor. He also hauled down eight rebounds and managed four assists.

CLARK GORDON was a warrior on the boards for Granite Hills (5-4) with 21 rebounds to go with eight points.

Granite Hills scoring: Taylor 39, Brian Humphries 8 (6 rebs.), Gordon 8, Branden Pride 7 (5 assists), Chris Timko 4.

Good Knight, now

San Marcos guard Anthony Hackworth (23) gets the double whammy. Not only is his shot soundly rejected by Chrisitan center Paulius Ivanauskas, Patriots guard Grant Mills (42) also takes the charge to gain the offensive foul call in a 78-62 romp over the Knights at the Otay Ranch Tournament. (Photo by Tori Mills)

From Luthuania with Love

East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (12-20-05) -- The immediate turnaround in the Christian High basketball program can easily be attributed to a trio of exchange students from Lithuania: senior PAULIUS IVANAUSKAS, and juniors VIKTOR ASACIOVAS and ANDRIUS MIKUTIS.

The trio were the Patriots' three scoring leaders in Monday's (Dec. 19) romp over San Marcos, building a 26-point lead before the reserves took over in a 78-62 decision in the opening round of the Otay Ranch Tournament. Christian will meet the host Mustangs in Tuesday's semifinals at 7:30 p.m.

The Lithuanians brings the best of the European version of basketball, crediting Patriots coach KEN BAILEY with combining the American game with their own strengths.

"In Europe, we try to play more of a team game, while here, you look to one player and he just goes," noted Asaciovas, who scored a game-high 16 points to batter the Knights. "But this team plays more like a Europe team. We play good defense and a team game on offense."

Case-in-point was the American one-on-one game played by San Marcos (1-10). By the time Ryan DiPinto, one of the Knights' scoring leaders, finally registered his first basket in the second quarter after missing five shots, the Patriots already commanded a 32-11 advantage.

Much of the 21-point bulge was courtesy of 12 turnovers over the first 10 minutes, igniting the one segment of the Patriots' game which the American visitors liked.

"In Europe, we don't run as much -- it's a much slower game," noted Mikutis. "Running is the best part of the game here, so we get the best of both."

Ivanauskas scored seven of his 12 points in the first period, then was the key to the transition game by passing for 10 assists. Meanwhile, Mikutis posted 14 points, while adding five rebounds and four steals to start a variety of fast breaks.

Among the locals playing for Christian, DEREK LARSEN, in his first action after missing the last three contests, and DANIEL HAZLETT each chipped in with 11 points, while COLIN McDONALD added eight in the balanced attack.

Christian scoring: Viktor Asaciovas 16, Andrius Mikutis 14 (5 reb., 4 stl.), Daniel Hazlett 11 (6 ast.), Derek Larsen 11 (4 ast., 4 stl.), Colin McDonald 8 (5 reb.), Paulius Ivanauskas 12 (10 ast., 6 reb.), Grant Mills 4 (4 reb.), Lawrence Walker 2.

EL CAPITAN 55, MILL VALLEY-TAMALPAIS 43 -- Vaqueros center CORY BROWN registered a season-high 34 points, including all of his team's 14 points in the second period, helping El Capitan turned aside the Red-tailed Hawks from Northern California in the opening pool-play contest of the Sweetwater Tournament Monday (Dec. 19).

However, it was the effort on defense by El Capitan (4-2) which impressed head coach ROSS FURROW even more.

"It was a good win, but just look at that scoreboard," noted Furrow. "Just 43 points -- that's something to write about."

Tamalpais was limited to just 15 first-half points, even without an array of blocks by the 6-foot-7 Brown. He only rejected one shot in the half, although he forced variations on several others.

Meanwhile, the Hawks tried switching between pressing the Vaqueros or applying a trap, and although El Cap wasn't smooth in clearing the defenders, once they did get a passing lane, the ball went inside to Brown for a series of easy, close-range shots, including a developing baseline hook shot.

Brown finished with nine rebounds and four blocks, while JOSH ZIEGLER passed for five assists. Brown also surprised Tamalpais with an open-court steal midway through the third period, filling the lane and taking a pass from JASON ZIEGLER for a layin and a 10-point lead at 34-24.

El Capitan scoring: Brown 34 (9 reb., 3 blk.), Brandon Braun 6 (3 ast), Taelor Worrell 4, Jeramie Carr 3, Dalton Ogden 2, Josh Ziegler 2 (5 ast.), Jason Ziegler 2 (4 ast.).

MOUNT MIGUEL 62, SAN JOSE ACADEMY 49 -- Six-foot-six senior RICHARD JACKSON, playing his first year ever of organized basketball at Mount Miguel, was a sudden power in Monday's (Dec. 19) Grossmont Winter Classic.

Jackson was unstoppable, drilling in a game high 31 points while yanking down 16 rebounds as the Matadors improved to 2-5. Jackson buried 12 baskets and sank 7 of 11 free throws.

Mount Miguel coach MIKE GOLOVKO obviously praised Jackson's work along with that of senior WARREN THODILE, who cleared 13 rebounds, dished 4 assists and pitched in 5 points.

"Warren is playing the point guard this year, trying to do everything we ask. He's doing a nice job for us," Golovko said. "KARLIN STEWART is a returning starter, but he hurt his ankle in football and tweaked the other one in basketball. After much consultation I've determined we will give him time off to heal till January. As tough as our schedule is the only varsity player we have now is Thodile, but the attitudes on the team are terrific. We're just waiting to get everyone healthy."

Mount Miguel jumped on top 16-11 in the first period and led 30-20 at intermission.

"(San Jose Academy) was very quick, kept shooting 3's," Golovko said. "To hold them to 49 point made us pretty happy."

Mount Miguel scoring: Jackson 31, Courtney Wrather 12, Donta Young 8, Lamont Freeman 6, Thodile 5.

GRANITE HILLS 58, ST. FRANCIS (CANADA) 54 -- Senior guard NICK TAYLOR rammed in 29 points -- a dozen coming on 3-pointers -- as the Eagles (5-2) opened Monday's (Dec.19) Matador Shootout in Bullhead City, Ariz., with a victory over the Phoenix Flash from St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.

Taylor was the kingpin of a Granite Hills offense that converted 48 percent (21-44) shots from the field and 10 of 13 from the charity stripe.

"We were real patient on offense," Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON said. "We handled the ball well and got good movement."

CLARK GORDON added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Eagles, who also received 7 assists, 5 steals and 4 points from speedy point guard BRANDEN PRIDE. BRIAN HUMPHRIES and Taylor also had 7 rebounds apiece.

Granite Hills scoring: Taylor 29, Gordon 10, Wayne Martin 9, Humphries 4, Branden Pride 4, Dean Miller 2.

MONTE VISTA 75, RAMONA 52 -- Senior guard RYAN SLADE scored a career high 23 points to lead the Monarchs (4-3) past Ramona in Monday's (Dec.19) Grossmont Winter Classic contest.

The Monarchs scored 20 points in each of the first two periods and added 21 in the third to win going away.

It wasn't all about scoring for Monte Vista, however, as the Monarchs benefited from ROSHUN WYNNE's 10 steals and 9 points. JAMAR RANSOME chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds, while TREVOR PECK contributed seven points and seven rebounds. DAVID MURGIA posted a game-high seven assists and six steals.

Monte Vista scoring: Slade 23, Ransome 10, Wynne 9, Peck 7, Joey Belanger 6, Michael Watkins 5, Nicholas Garcia 5, Jeff Aldredge 4, Murgia 4, Eric Schnaubelt 2.

SANTANA 50, VALHALLA 39 -- This game was a bit on an oddity. It started when Santana senior standout RICKY MICHELMORE sprained an ankle in the first quarter and sat out most of the first half of Monday's Grossmont Winter Classic contest.

Michelmore, regained his footing in the second half and finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds as Santana improved to 4-5.

JON HERNANDEZ paced the Sultans with 17 points and added 6 rebounds. JON CORBISEZ chipped in 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting.

"Our goal, as a defense, was to stop (PAUL) MARTINS," Santana coach TIM BARRY said. The Sultans were successful in their quest, holding Martins to 4 points.

It was Valhalla senior KEITH WILLIAMS who paced the Norsemen (2-5) with 20 points.

"We tried our one-on-five offense and it didn't work, obviously," Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS said.

Santana scoring: Hernandez 17, Michelmore 14, Corbisez 11, Brooks Bass 6, Garrett Happ 2.

Valhalla scoring: Williams 20, Kevin Kriebel 6, Jeff Sopata 6, Martins 4, Nasheel Raja 3.

CLAIREMONT 41, GROSSMONT 39 -- The host Foothillers (2-5) missed a couple of scoring chances in the final minute of Monday's (Dec.19) Grossmont Winter Classic.

Grossmont's DOMINIC ELDER buried a trio of 3-point buckets on his way to a 14-point finish to pace Grossmont. But the Hillers, trailing by a single point, missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 15 seconds left. Clairemont cleared the rebound, got fouled and made one of two free throws to double its lead. The Hillers uncorked a desperation shot after that, but failed to connect.

Grossmont scoring: Dominic Elder 14, Luis Gonzales 9, Justin Rutherford 6, Derrick Davenport 6, Khalid Waters 3, Trevor Thomas 1.

MISSION BAY 67, EL CAJON VALLEY 53 -- Braves head coach NATE REED welcomed members of the school football team to their first basketball outing in Monday's (Dec. 19) Otay Ranch Tournament. And they played well -- but for only one half.

With three football-turned-basketball players demonstrating their lack of basketball conditioning, the tiring Braves saw a 35-34 halftime lead slip away in falling to Mission Bay in a first-round contest.

Defensive back NATE SCHAD bombed home a series of four 3-point shots in scoring 14 of his game-high 22 points in the first half, while CHRIS REYNALDS tallied nine of his 15 points in the opening two quarters.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Schad 22, Reynalds 15, Tim Wadjaja 7, Wisam Patros 4, Dori Laramore 3, Marchell Mitchell 2.

Taskai!

Christian's Andrius Mikutis sinks this baseline jumper, helping the Patriots capture the Imperial Tournament. (Photo by Tori Mills)

Untested Patriots claim desert crown

East County Sports.com
IMPERIAL -- No East County team has more wins than Christian High's Patriots who blew through the Imperial Tournament like a desert storm. The Patriots' four-game sweep pushed the Patriots' season record to 8-1. Granted, Christian's lineup of opponents is hardly impressive. But the best days of this squad are ahead.

CHRISTIAN 79, IMPERIAL 34 -- Given the early season performance of these Patriots, one has to wonder why these guys are playing in such a low intensity tournament. For a championship game, this encounter left a lot to be desired.

Tournament MVP ANDRIUS MIKUTIS scored a game high 17 points in the so-called championship game. He could easily have scored more if Christian coach KEN BAILEY had elected to run up the score.

"We came out in a press again and we did it because none of the teams out here proved they could handle it," said Bailey. "We got rid of the press to start the second half. We handled the ball well and shot it better than we've shot all year."

DANIEL HAZLETT in both games was a combined 12-12 (on 2's) and 4-4 (on 3's) and was named to the All-Tournament team.

Christian scoring: Mikutis 17, Hazlett 14, Derek Larsen 13, Paulius Ivanauskas 10, Viktor Asaciovas 10, Colin McDonald 6, Grant Mills 5, Jonathan Fuller 4.

CHRISTIAN 79, HOLTVILLE 18 -- The Patriots led 35-0 before the Vikings scored their first bucket 10 ½ minutes into Saturday's (Dec. 17) semifinals of the Imperial Tournament.

"We came out in a press and it took them out of their game early," said Christian coach KEN BAILEY. "They couldn't handle it. We pulled the press off from the second quarter on and spent the rest of the game resting our players."

Christian scoring: Daniel Hazlett 18, Derek Larsen 16, Paulius Ivanauskas 9, Colin McDonald 8, Grant Mills 8, Viktor Asaciovas 6, Andrius Mikutis 6, Lawrence Walker 6, Jonathan Fuller 2.

HELIX 53, RED BLUFF 45 -- All-Tournament pick DAVID JEFFERSON nailed down 17 points, 10 rebounds and blocked 2 shots to help the Highlanders (6-2) defeat the host team and claim the third place medal in Saturday's (Dec. 17) final round of the Red Bluff Holiday Classic.

"We are happy to get out of here with two wins," said Helix assistant coach ANDY MERIDETH. "This is one of those games where we just had to grind it out. The majority of our points in the first half were on layups. And that's not good since we really haven't shown much offense."

Trailing 21-20 at the half, the Highlanders' trademark defense locked on in the third quarter, creating enough scoring opportunities to allow Helix to take a 39-32 advantage by the close of the third.

"We are still looking for leadership on the court," Merideth said. “And it doesn't have to be the guy who scores the most points."

Helix scoring: Jefferson 17, Aaron Tinsley 12, Lawrence Hurdle 6, Jonathan Ghafouri 6, Brandon Williams 6, Brandon Fountain 4, Sean Scarber 2.

PALO VERDE (Nev.) 69, SANTANA 48 -- By the time Santana coach TIM BARRY got settled in his seat, the visiting Palo Verde Panthers (7-0) -- the No. 1-ranked team in Nevada -- led 7-0 just 21 seconds into Saturday's (Dec. 17) Grossmont Winter Classic game.

Palo Verde extended its early lead to 22-2 before closing out the opening quarter with a 30-13 advantage.

"That's the best team I've ever coached against," Barry said. "We just got blitzed at the start. They have three Division I (college) players, one of whom has already signed with Iowa State."

"For us to stay within 20 points of them is huge. We were down by 12 with 3:40 to go in the third quarter. That says a lot about my kids. They didn't quit."

JON HERNANDEZ played a strong game for Santana, finishing with 24 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. RICKY MICHELMORE added 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and a pair of assists.

Santana scoring: Hernandez 24, Michelmore 11, Garrett Happ 4, Jon Corbesez 4, Carlos Vargas 2, Dan Pajimula 2, Brooks Bass 1.

STEELE CANYON 67, BRAWLEY 32 -- Sparked by TONY MINNIFIELD's career high 23 points on 10-for-16 shooting along with 6 rebounds, the Cougars (3-6) won their second straight in the final round of consolation play in the Kiwanis Tournament Saturday (Dec. 17) at Mission Bay.

For one of the few times this season Steele Canyon charged in front 24-7 in the first quarter and extended that advantage to 39-18 by intermission. The Cougars led 63-24 after three periods.

"We are starting to put things together," Cougars coach BERNIE BALIKIAN said. "The big thing is our kids played hard even when the game got out of hand."

Ten Cougars contributed to the scoring total, including JONATHAN DOUGLASS and LIONEL BALL who had 8 points apiece.

ANDREW TIMM led Steele Canyon on the boards, collecting 11 caroms. ARLIN TAYLOR pitched in with 5 assists.

Steele Canyon scoring: Minnifield 23, Douglass 8, Ball 8, Timm 7, Emory Mitchell 7, Riley Balikian 4, Jabari Robinson 4, Taylor 3, David Evans 2, Adam Bendas 1.

ST. AUGUSTINE 61, MOUNT MIGUEL 39 -- Undefeated St. Augustine (7-0) stormed to a 24-9 first-quarter lead over the outmanned Matadors (1-5) and never looked back in Saturday's (Dec. 17) Grossmont Winter Classic contest.

"They are so deep, so experienced," Mount Miguel coach MIKE GOLOVKO said of the Saints who reached the state finals a year ago. "Their backcourt is as good as there is in the state."

Golovko was speaking of Saints guards A.J. Manalo (25 points) and Robert Hayes (9 points).

"They just took us apart," Golovko said.

WARREN THODILE paced Mount Miguel with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. RICHARD JACKSON added 9 points and 5 rebounds.

Mount Miguel scoring: Thodile 10, Courtney Wrather 9, Jackson 9, Laron Rush 4, Donta Young 4, William Duke 3.

SAN DIEGO 68, MONTE VISTA 59 -- Junior JAMAR RANSOME rang up a career high 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Monarchs, but it wasn't enough to offset a slow first quarter start in Saturday's (Dec. 17) Grossmont Winter Classic.

The Cavers (4-4) raced to a 26-7 first-quarter lead and never were headed.

"They jumped on us," said Monte Vista coach ZACH PECK. "We played decently from about six minutes into the game on. Free throws hurt us in the second half. We were 5 for 12, missing the front end of two one-and-ones when we might have cut the lead to 5. Not a bad effort."

RYAN SLADE added 16 points and 3 assists for Monte Vista (3-3), which also received 14 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists from senior TREVOR PECK.

Monte Vista scoring: Ransome 24, Ryan Slade 16, Trevor Peck 14, David Murgia 3, Michael Watkins 2.

GROSSMONT 62, SAN DIEGUITO ACADEMY 46 -- Senior DOMINIC ELDER scored 12 of his team high 14 points in the second quarter helping Grossmont open up a 32-21 halftime lead in Saturday's (Dec.17) Grossmont Winter Classic opener won by the Foothillers (2-4).

TREVOR THOMAS knocked down a pair of 3-pointers as the Foothillers stretched their advantage to 49-26 in the third quarter.

"Our pressure was fairly effective and we played pretty good position defense," Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO said.

Grossmont scoring: Elder 14, Justin Rutherford 13, Luis Gonzales 12, Derrick Davenport 8, Thomas 6, Khalid Waters 5, Ian Cochran 4.

BURROUGHS 78, VALHALLA 53 -- The Norsemen (2-4) made a respectable showing in the second half of Saturday's (Dec. 17) Grossmont Winter Classic contest, but the Burros (7-5) from Ridgecrest buried Valhalla 40-17 in the first half and that decided the issue.

The biggest shortcoming for the Norsemen was their inability to connect from the free throw line where they were a paltry 18-for-35.

If not for JEFF SOPATA's 8-for-9 free throw shooting, the Norsemen would have been a paltry 10-for-26 from the charity stripe.

Valhalla scoring: Paul Martins 15, Brett Hansen 15, Jeff Sopata 10, Keith Williams 4, Jeremiah Browning 4, Nasheel Raja 2, Kevin Kriebel 2, Khalil Fakhoury 1.

East County Sports.com
PACIFIC BEACH (12-17-05) -- Steele Canyon lost key personnel from its CIF-San Diego championship teams from the past two seasons. And the Cougars are not playing at full strength while waiting for the possibility of some football players to join the roster.

But the biggest challenge facing coach BERNIE BALAKIAN's squad is the target on their collective backs after serving as one of East County's top ballclubs the past three seasons.

"Right now, we're just trying to get ready for league and get our stuff together," said junior center ANDREW TIMM. "We're all just trying to work hard and mesh together as a team."

The Cougars (2-6) showed more signs of improvement in the consolation round of the 59th annual Kiwanis Tournament. On Friday (Dec. 16), they scored an easy 72-38 decision over Archbishop Carney Regional Secondary School, a private school located in Port Coquitlam, B.C., Canada, 32 kilometers (20 miles) east of Vancouver.

LIONELL BALL paced Steele Canyon with 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Timm added 12 points. Ball scored 10 of his points in the first period, while Timm collected eight, as the Cougars built a 24-8 lead through the opening eight minutes.

"We have a lot of young guys who are just trying to make an accounting of themselves," noted Ball, a 6-foot-5 forward. "And (all-county football player and returning basketball starter) WES DAVIS will help when he returns and adds some discipline to some of these guys."

Despite this on-the-court mismatch, Steele Canyon took a few more steps in order to play a full 32 minutes, without silly mistakes or sloppy turnovers,

"This is just another learning experience for us to get us ready for league," added Ball.

Steele Canyon received some spark from several players.

ARLIN TAYLOR hit a series of 3-balls for all of his 12 points along with a team-best four assists, JABARI ROBINSON added 10 points, while TONY MINNIFIELD sparked the start of the second half with a conventional 3-point play as part of his five points.

"We're really getting better as a team," added Minnifield, the team's second-leading rebounder with seven. "It just takes time."

Carney's Stars (1-3) received 11 points from forward Stuart Andrews.

Steele Canyon scoring: Ball 19, Taylor 12, Timm 12, Robinson 10, Riley Balikian 6, Minnifield 5 (7 reb.), Adam Bendas 4, David Evans 3, Jonathan Douglass 2.

CHRISTIAN 69, MARIAN CATHOLIC 41 -- The Patriots (5-1) made it look easy as they clubbed the Crusaders in the matinee second round of Friday's (Dec. 16) Imperial Tournament.

Christian claimed a 21-9 first quarter advantage and gradually pulled away for the victory.

ANDRIUS MIKUTIS clicked on 9-of-11 floor shots to pace the Pats with 18 points. DANIEL HAZLETT hit a trio of threes on his way to a 13-point finish. Hazlett also chipped in with four steals and four assists, while DEREK LARSEN passed out a game-high eight assists and made six steals.

PAULIUS IVANAUSKUS added 10 points and seven rebounds for Christian, which got a game-high eight rebounds plus eight points from VIKTOR ASACIOVAS.

Christian scoring: Mikutis 18, Hazlett 13, Ivanauskus 10, Asaciovas 8, Larsen 8, Colin McDonald 7, Marc Mayo 3, Grant Mills 2.

CHRISTIAN 72, CALIPATRIA 60 -- Excellent team scoring balance by the Patriots Friday night (Dec. 16) left coach KEN BAILEY's team in need of one more win to reach the finals of the Imperial Tournament.

ANDRIUS MIKUTIS landed 7-of-14 shots from the field en route to a team-high 17 points to go along with 16 rebounds to pace the Patriots (6-1).

DANIEL HAZLETT and PAULIUS IVANAUSKUS led the supporting cast with 15 points apiece. Ivanauskus also posted nine assists. VIKTOR ASACIOVAS had a nice outing of 11 points and seven rebounds.

Christian scoring: Mikutis 17, Hazlett 15, Ivanauskus 15, Asaciovas 11, Colin McDonald 6, Grant Mills 5, Derek Larsen 3.

CHICO-PLEASANT VALLEY 54, HELIX 47 -- Unlike an old vinyl recording, 'Pleasant Valley Sunday' recorded by The Monkees in the late 1960s, the Helix Highlanders did not spend a 'Pleasant Valley Friday' in Friday's (Dec. 16) second round of the Red Bluff Holiday Classic.

The pivotal quarter was a 17-10 scoring edge registered by the Vikings in the second quarter which enabled Chico's Pleasant Valley (8-1) to drop the Highlanders into Saturdayâ's (Dec. 17) third place game.

"To be in it and have a chance to win -- well, we're a young team and we make young mistakes," said ANDY MERIDETH, Helix assistant coach. "We don't have any inside help for DAVID (JEFFERSON). We run a revolving door for our center, just call it 'center by committee.' We ask David to guard the 4 or 5 position, score, and not foul out. We need somebody inside to help him."

Jefferson rolled off a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. But it was AARON TINSLEY who racked up a team-leading 18 points, while dealing four assists. LAWRENCE HURDLE added 9 points and 4 assists.

"Lawrence played another pretty good game -- pressured the ball real well," said Merideth. "He did a good job with on-ball pressure. Yesterday we were real focused -- not today. We weren't ready to play."

Helix scoring: Tinsley 18, Jefferson 10, Hurdle 9, Jericho Toilolo 4, Brandon Fountain 2, Justin Johnson 2, Sean Scarber 2.

Do you know the way to...
Tehama County? Helix does!

East County Sports.com
RED BLUFF (12-16-05) --Traveling to this tiny Northern California community has proven beneficial to the Helix Highlanders for years. Opening night in the Red Bluff Daily News Holiday Classic Thursday night (Dec. 15) was more of the same for coach JOHN SINGER's squad on the team's return to the county seat in Tehama County.

DAVID JEFFERSON slammed in 16 points (on 8-for-10) and logged eight rebounds as the Highlanders (5-1) bopped the Paradise Bobcats (4-3) by a 63-44 count in the first round of the 16th annual tournament.

Guard LAWRENCE HURDLE added 15 points, nabbed 8 rebounds and logged 6 steals as the Highlanders broke the game open with a 19-9 scoring streak in the second quarter.

"Lawrence did a great job of tempo-ing the game," said Helix assistant ANDY MERIDETH said. "He had three steals early in the game for layups. He's stepping out of the shadow of his brother (Lance, now at UC Santa Barbara). The athletic director of the tournament said Lawrence is one of the best on-ball defenders he's seen, and that was last year. This was a good break-out game for him."

Helix outscored the Bobcats in every quarter.

"We played a football game, a real physical game," Merideth said. "We took Paradise out of their game with our physical play."

Helix's biggest defensive stop against the giants from Paradise was on 6-8 Welsh Keaton.

"We did a good job of boxing out that 6-8 guy, even though our guys looked like midgets against him (and his 6-11 teammate)," Merideth said.

This is Helix' seventh consecutive trip to the Red Bluff Invitational.

"They're treating our kids like kings here," Merideth said.

The Highlanders take on Pleasant Valley at 5:30 on Friday (Dec. 16). The game will be webcast live from the Red Bluff website: CLICK HERE or HERE.

Those who know Helix coach Singer might want to check out a program highlight (click) on the same web site.

Helix scoring: David Jefferson 16, Lawrence Hurdle 15, Aaron Tinsley 11, Justin Johnson 9, Jericho Toilolo 4, Brandon Fountain 2, Sean Scarber 2, Alex Aguirre 2, Jonathan Ghafouri 2.

VALLEY CENTER 63, STEELE CANYON 46 -- EMORY MITCHELL was the only Steele Canyon player to reach double figures in Thursday's (Dec. 15) Kiwanis Tournament game at Serra.

The 6-foot-6 Mitchell knocked down 5 of 9 shots from the floor and 3 of 4 free throws for 13 points.

Although the Cougars (1-6) trailed only 13-12 after one period, they never gained the upper hand over the final three stanzas.

It was another subpar shooting night for Steele Canyon, which connected on only 21-of-55 shots from the field (38.2 percent).

"They beat us up on the offensive boards -- had 14 offensive rebounds,"said Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN. "We didn't shoot well – again, and had too many turnovers -- again."

The Cougars gave the ball away 25 times.

Valley Center's lineup was bolstered by the return of a handful of football players from the Jaguars' SDCIF Division IV championship football team.

"They were a lot bigger and stronger than us," Balikian said.

Steele Canyon scoring: Emory Mitchell 13, Lionel Ball 8, Jonathan Douglass 7, Tony Minnifield 7, Jabari Robinson 4, David Evans 3, Riley Balikian 2, Arlin Taylor 2.

1 on 5 -- Score!

Eagles guard Nick Taylor (30) drives into a full pack -- all 5 West Hills defenders surround the Granite Hills' guard -- yet he scores in Wednesday's North-South crossover game. (Photo by Chris Edwards) CLICK on picture to see.

East County Sports.com
SANTEE (12-15-05) -- Two of the Grossmont Conference's top two teams faced off in an interesting crossover contest Wednesday night (Dec. 14) at West Hills. Although both squads have aspirations of cracking the Top 10, neither has been able to do so since West Hills was No.10 in a preseason poll last year.

Considering the Eagles have a couple of impressive wins in the early stages of this season, Granite Hills might be considered the favorite in this match-up. Looks like the Wolf Pack was not impressed.

Senior guard KYLE HAMANN knocked down a game-high 31 points, including 14-for-17 free throw shooting, to lead the Wolf Pack to a surprisingly easy 64-52 victory over the visiting Eagles.

"Kyle attacked the basket well tonight and earned his keep from the free throw line, too," said Wolf Pack coach JEFF ARMSTRONG.

Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON was impressed by Hamann's moves.

"The guy is scoring threat from anywhere on the court,"Anderson said.

West Hills junior guard BLAINE HOFFARD was a defensive dynamo against Granite Hills long ranger NICK TAYLOR, who was a paltry 5-for-23 from the field for 14 points -- about half his season average.

"Blaine played a great game defending Taylor," Armstrong said. "CHRIS LIFGREN (16 points) contributed on both ends of the floor as he helped defend Taylor too."

Armstrong also credited 6-foot-4 sophomore post player, TIM NOWLIN, for keeping Granite Hills' 6-foot-8 senior center CLARK GORDON in check. Gordon did manage 17 rebounds and blocked 4 shots, but scored only 8 points.

"Tim had a battle on his hands, but the sophomore did well," Armstrong said.

The Pack led only 27-26 at the half, but gradually pulled away in the third period and secured the victory with a 22-15 scoring spree in the final quarter.

BRIAN HUMPHRIES added 9 points and 7 rebounds for Granite Hills (4-2), which also received 8 points, 8 steals and 5 assists from senior guard BRANDEN PRIDE.

West Hills scoring: Hamann 31, Lifgren 16, Hoffard 5, Peter Gilson 5, Tim Nowlin 4, Taylor Robbins 2, Miles Pivonka 1.

Granite Hills scoring: Taylor 14, Humphries 9, Chris Timko 9, Gordon 8, Pride 8, Nick Spilger 3, Dean Miller 1.

SERRA 69, STEELE CANYON 38 -- It was another rough night for the rebuilding Cougars of Steele Canyon. A San Diego Section super-power the past two seasons, the Cougars have struggled through the early going this season.

Perennial power Serra (5-1) sprinted to a 17-6 first-quarter lead and then ran away and hid from the visiting Cougars (1-5) in Wednesday's (Dec. 14) Kiwanis Tournament action.

TONY MINNIFIELD led the Cougars with 11 points and 6 rebounds. Nobody else reached double scoring digits as Steele Canyon turned the ball over 34 times and shot just 31 percent from the field.

"It's all still about turnovers," said Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN. "Serra had a great team -- they went after us very hard. They're the best team we've played."

Steele Canyon scoring: Tony Minnifield 11, Emory Mitchell 9 (5 blocks, 4 rebounds), Lionel Ball 5 (5 rebs., 3 assists), Andrew Timm 4, Jabari Robinson 3, Arlin Taylor 2, Jake Ransom 2, Jonathan Douglass 2.

East County Sports.com
SANTEE (12-14-05) -- Senior southpaw JON HERNANDEZ hurled in a season-high 29 points, while senior RICKY MICHELMORE rolled off a double-double of 10 points and 10 assists Tuesday (Dec. 13) as host Santana stung Mountain Empire, 101-37.

The Sultans (3-4) streaked to a 33-9 first-quarter lead and never looked back.

While Hernandez was netting 13 of 18 shots from the field, BROOKS BASS was enjoying a career night with 17 points on 8-for-10 shooting. Michelmore and GARRETT HAPP grabbed 8 rebounds apiece. Michelmore also logged 4 steals while BRIAN BAILEY handed out 5 assists.

"We really actually got a lot accomplished tonight," said Santana coach TIM BARRY. "I'm happy that everyone who played was able to score. Ricky Michelmore did a great job tonight. He scored 10 points but could have scored a lot more. He did a marvelous job of setting up his teammates for baskets."

Santana scoring: Jon Hernandez 29, Brooks Bass 17, Tyler Blackledge 13, Garrett Happ 12, Ricky Michelmore 10, Brock Bass 7, Brian Bailey 5, Jon Corbisez 6, Dan Pajimula 2.

VENTURE CHRISTIAN-WARNER -- No report from the Knights.

Golden Brown

El Capitan center Cory Brown rejects Mt. Carmel's short baseline shot (top), then Brown muscles inside for a layin. (Photos by Greg Eichelberger)

East County Sports.com
LA JOLLA (12-11-05) -- Returning to a full contingent of players and coaches Saturday (Dec. 10) night, Christian bounced back from their lone setback of the season to blow past Windward High of Los Angeles, 68-52, at the San Diego Small Schools Invitational, held at the Fleet Center at The Bishop's School.

Windward attempted to utilize various presses and traps on Christian, but after DEREK LARSEN endured the hard rush of Francis Parker while punting in Friday's CIF Division V championship football game (including a pair of 40-yarders), handling the opponent's defense in basketball proved to be no problem.

"I'm happy with all of my kids," said head coach KEN BAILEY. "We took all the pressure they could give us and without all their runs. The guys put forth a great effort."

Larsen distributed the ball well to the Christian front line, as Andrius Mikutis paced both teams with highs of 19 points and 16 rebounds. Larsen added 14 points, while Daniel Hazlett scored 12.

Christian scoring: Andrius Mikutis 19, Derek Larsen 14, Daniel Haslet 12, Paulius Ivanauskas 9, Viktor Asaciovas 7, Colin McDonald 5, Jonathan Fuller 1, Danny Mitchell 1.

ST. AUGUSTINE 86, WEST HILLS 39 -- The undefeated Wolf Pack received an unplanned upset after streaking to five wins without stumbling. The visiting Saints of St. Augustine (5-0) tattooed the Pack 86-39 in a Horsman-Wolf Pack Tournament encounter Saturday night (Dec.10).

It was plain and simple a case of taking one on the chin for the Wolf Pack (4-1), which trailed 73-28 after three quarters. A surprising mismatch considering the records of the teams involved.

"The Saints shot the lights out as they hit 10 threes and put the game away early," noted West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG said. "I did not have a solid game plan tonight. You can pin this one on me."

"We didn't contain their perimeter game and this might be the best backcourt in San Diego," Armstrong added. "It was a character builder tonight for all of us."

West Hills scoring: Chris Lifgren 14, Kyle Hamann 9, Blaine Hoffard 6, Tim Nowlin 4, Shain Stoner 4, Troy Nowlin 2.

MT. CARMEL 55, EL CAPITAN 47 -- Junior CORY BROWN scored a season-high 30 points, but his El Capitan teammates did little more than watch Saturday (Dec.10) as the Vaqueros succumbed to the visiting Sun Devils.

Brown buried 12-of-16 free throws along with netting nine field goals and bagging 10 rebounds.

El Capitan scoring: Brown 30 (4 blk.), Tyrel Zauss 6, Barrett Braun 6, Paul Chastang 3, Josh Ziegler 2.

FONTANA-A.B. MILLER 67, MOUNT MIGUEL 50 -- COURTNEY WRATHER scored a season high 20 points but the Matadors (1-3) still fell short in Saturday-s (Dec.10) Eastlake Tournament contest.

"Our overall lack of varsity experience seems to plague us at the wrong times," Mount Miguel coach MIKE GOLOVKO said. "(WARREN) THODILE is our only player with any varsity experience."

Mount Miguel scoring: Wrather 20, Richard Jackson 10, Warren Thodile 7, Laron Rush 6, Antonio Spellman 3, Donta Young 2, Devyn Moore 2.

PALM DESERT 50, GROSSMONT 41 -- The Foothillers (1-4) folded in the second half of Saturday's (Dec. 10) Eastlake Tournament encounter.

Grossmont (1-4) jumped out to a 20-10 lead and then went into a slumber, permitting Palm Desert to close the first half with an 11-0 run and a one point lead. Missing seven free throws in the second quarter added to Grossmont's woes.

The Hillers hit just 6 of 16 charity shots in the game.

Grossmont scoring: Dominic Elder 11, Justin Rutherford 10, Luis Gonzales 9, Ian Cochran 8, Jeff Waters 3.

EL CENTRO-SOUTHWEST 55, STEELE CANYON 53 -- The Cougars received super balanced scoring as LIONEL BALL (17 points, 8 rebounds), JABARI ROBINSON (14 points, 11 4 assists), and EMORY MITCHELL (13 points, 11 rebounds), but still fell a hoop short in Saturday's (Dec. 10) Horsman Wolf Pack Tournament contest.

The Cougars fell into a 16-0 hole, which was the score after the first eight minutes. But a strong finish, in which Steele Canyon outscored the visiting Eagles 23-14, barely fell short in what would have been a major come from behind victory.

Another new face stepped up to help the Cougars (1-4).

"Robinson is a 9th grader who came off the bench and did well for us," Cougars coach BERNIE BALAKIAN said. "We were missing two of our starters with illness/injury, and that didn't help."

Steele Canyon scoring: Ball 17, Robinson 14, Mitchell 13, Arlin Taylor 4, Andrew Timm 3, Jake Ransom 2.

SERRA 58, SANTANA 52 -- JON HERNANDEZ netted 7-of-14 shots from the field on his way to an 18-point, 8-rebound effort as the Sultans made a respectable showing against the Conquistadors in Saturday's (Dec. 10) Horsman-Wolf Pack Invitational.

RICKY MICHELMORE added 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Santana (2-4).

Santana scoring: Hernandez 18, Michelmore 11, Jon Corbisez 9, Garrett Happ 4, Brooks Bass 4, Brian Bailey 2, Brock Bass 2, Tyler Blackledge 2.

East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (12-10-05) -- Helix High stayed within range of host Hilltop throughout Friday's (Dec. 9) championship contest of the Hilltop Dakine Tournament. But when the opportunity to take the lead came within sight in the final moments, the Scotties couldn't come through with the big shot.

Trailing 62-61 with 10 seconds remaining, Helix missed a pair of go-ahead foul shots, as Hilltop answered by dropping two free throws on the other end to win their own tournament title following its 64-61 decision.

DAVID JEFFERSON paced Helix with 18 points and 13 rebounds, while AARON TINSLEY added 17 points for the Highlanders (4-1).

LAWRENCE HURDLE added 7 assists and BRANDON FOUNTAIN made 5 steals for Helix.

Jefferson and Tinsley were all-tournament selections. Hilltop (5-0) received a game-high 24 points from senior guard Gabe Wessel, who was named the event's MVP.

Helix scoring: Jefferson 18, Tinsley 17, Jonathan Ghafouri 7, Justin Johnson 6, Hurdle 5, Sean Scarber 4, Fountain 2, Alex Aguirre 2.

MONTE VISTA 66, UNIVERSITY CITY 42 -- In a consolation contest of the Hilltop Tournament, Monarchs senior guard RYAN SLADE (12 points, 6 steals) was named to the all-tournament team after scoring 12 points in a cruise-control triumph over the Centurions.

Monte Vista utilized a 28-10 advantage in the third period to break open a game tied at 22-all at the intermission.

ROSHUN WYNNE led the Monarchs (3-2) with 18 points (5 for 8 free throws and 7 assists), while JAMAR RANSOME tossed in 14 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.

Monte Vista scoring: Wynne 18, Slade 12, Ransome 15, Trevor Peck 8 (6 rebs), Aldredge 5, Watkins 4, Garcia 2, Murguia 2.

MOUNT MIGUEL 67, CASTLE PARK 43 -- Following a short warm-up period, the Matadors played with reckless abandon over the middle two quarters, rumbling past the Trojans by a 33-10 count to capture the Titan Tip-Off Tournament contest at Eastlake.

"We did a terrific job in the second and third quarters," noted Mount Miguel coach MIKE GOLOVKO. "WARREN THODILE is really learning how to play the point guard spot -- he really distributed the ball well."

Thodile just missed collecting a triple-double, finishing with 10 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Meanwhile, teammate RICHARD JACKSON posted a double-double with game-highs of 20 points and 13 boards.

Golovko believes the Matadors' slow starts are explainable.

"Playing early games has been difficult for us," he noted. "It took us until the second quarter to get our game legs."

JAVON RUSH added 18 points on 7-for-15 shooting for Mount Miguel (1-2) in securing the team's first victory in three starts. However, the Matadors will receive another early wake-up call Saturday, meeting A.B. Miller of Fontana at 11 a.m.

Mount Miguel scoring: Jackson 20, Rush 18 (8 reb.), Thodile 10 (2 blk.), Antonio Spellman 6 (9 reb.), Donta Young 5, William Duke 4, Michael Moore 4 (2 stl.).

MISSION HILLS 67, GROSSMONT 43 -- In the other Eastlake Tournament contest involving an East County school, Grossmont was waxed by Mission Hills, 67-43. The Grizzlies tossed a shutout at the Foothillers in the opening period, mounting a 19-0 lead.

Grossmont scoring: Justin Rutherford 14, Dominic Elder 14, Luis Gonzalez 4, Trevor Thomas 2, Ian Cochrane 2.

EL CAPITAN 38, MURRIETA VALLEY 21 -- First, the lights went out on the Vaqueros girls basketball program. Now the boys are in the dark -- literally.

A power failure ended Friday's Eagle-Vaquero Tournament game, with El Cap taking the decision with 4:22 remaining in the third period.

CORY BROWN paced the Vaqueros (3-1) with 18 points and 8 rebounds, as the Hawks were unable to contain the 6-foot-7 center.

El Capitan scoring: Brown 18, Worrell Taelor 8, Nick Murico 6, Josh.Ziegler 3, Ba.Braun 2, Jason Ziegler 1.

MT. CARMEL 71, EL CAJON VALLEY 31 -- The Braves continue to hurt without key players who still involved in the football team which is bidding for the San Diego CIF Division II championship on Tuesday (Dec. 13).

One bright spot for the Braves continues to be the scoring of CHRIS REYNOLDS, who netted 17.

El Cajon scoring: Reynolds 17, Tim Widjaja 9, Wisam Patros 3, John Putris 2.

LA COSTA CANYON 85, GRANITE HILLS 70 -- Six-foot-8 center CLARK GORDON turned in a mammoth game for Granite Hills (4-1), which suffered its first loss in Friday's (Dec. 9) Vaquero-Eagle Classic contest against the visiting Mavericks.

Gordon executed a nifty double-double of 17 points and 17 rebounds to go along with 7 blocked shots.

NICK TAYLOR reeled off a team-high 28 points, more than half coming on five 3-pointers. BRANDEN PRIDE popped in 8 points, dished 7 assists and logged 4 steals. BRIAN HUMPHRIES made 5 steals.

Two days earlier, La Costa Canyon officials reported star forward Chase Budinger scored a record point total Wednesday at a different tournament, but officials with the St. Louis Shootout in Missouri stated in an email that the claim was unfounded.

Granite Hills scoring: Taylor 28, Gordon 17, Wayne Martin 13, Chris Timko 4.

VALHALLA 62, SOUTHWEST (SD) 53 -- The Norsemen jumped to a quick 10-point lead, then held off the Raiders in a wild fourth-period scoring spree to claim the non-league affair.

Paul Martins scored 12 of his game-best 20 points in the first period, staking Valhalla (2-3) to an 18-8 advantage. The low-scoring contest saw the Norse still leading 38-31 through three periods, but the defenses decided to stay on the bench over the final eight minutes, but Valhalla held the upper hand with a 24-22 fourth-quarter shootout for the victory.

"There was no flow to the game," said Norsemen coach ERIC THOMAS. "But our bench players were very strong."

Martins also added nine rebounds, while BRETT HANSEN posted 13 points and 10 boards.

Valhalla scoring: Martins 20, Hansen 13, Williams 11, Kevin Kriebel 6, Fakhoury 4, Frank 3, Jeff Sopata 3, Nasheel Raja 2.

WEST HILLS 69, EL CENTRO-SOUTHWEST 48 -- The Wolf Pack played the San Diego Section's other Southwest high school -- the one from El Centro -- sweeping past the Eagles in a Horsman Tournament matchup.

A balanced scoring attack saw PETER GILSON pace the Pack with 12 points, while CHRIS LIFGREN and TIM NOWLIN added 10 points each.

West Hills scoring: Gilson 12, Lifgren 10, Ti. Nowlin 10, Tr. Nowlin 5, Pivonk 5, Stoner 4, Hoffard 2.

THE BISHOP'S 68, CHRISTIAN 48 -- Without their head coach available to administrative duties with the school's football program, the Patriots (3-1) fell for the first time this season in a setback to the undefeated Knights (3-0).

Christian held an early lead even without coach KEN BAILEY or guard DEREK LARSEN, the football team's kicker, but adjustments by The Bishop's quickly turned the tables.

"We came out early and hit our shots," said assistant coach ADAM COPP, who served as the interim skipper. "They Bishop's tightened up their defense and took us out of our game."

"Plus, it hurt not having Derek out there -- he is our most complete player."

The Patriots built an early 18-10 advantage, but the Knights rallied to take a 50-37 lead after three periods.

Christian scoring: Viktor Asaciovas 17, Andrius Mikutis 11, Daniel Hazlett 10, Paulus Ivanauskus 10.

On to the finals

Helix guard Aaron Tinsley dribbles against Torrey Pines in a Hilltop Tournament contest (Hilltop High Journalism Dept. photo)

Highlanders advance
to Hilltop finale

East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (12-9-05) -- It may be too early to tell if defending SDCIF Division II champion Helix can contend for another section basketball title, but the Highlanders are off to another strong start.

Helix ran its record to a perfect 4-0 with Thursday's (Dec. 8) 75-24 wipeout of Sweetwater, winning its pool and advancing to Friday's (Dec. 9) Hilltop Tournament championship game. The Scotties will tangle with the unbeaten host Lancers at 8:15 p.m.

Junior guard LAWRENCE HURDLE has seamlessly stepped in for his since-graduated older brother -- UC Santa Barbara freshman LANCE HURDLE -- and has the offense running in surprisingly peak form so early into the season.

"We've been playing unselfishly and picking up the intensity," said Hurdle, who scored a game-high 15 points to subdue the Red Devils. "Everyone is passing the ball and getting everyone involved in the scoring."

Even as Helix develops good looks at the basket from close-range, another quick pass turns short jumpers into layins. Included were assists from nine different players -- an incredibly high total -- to prepare for Hilltop in the team's first major test of the season.

"It'll come down to defense and rebounding," added guard AARON TINSLEY, who scored 14 points. "Today, defense was the key."

Helix collected 18 offensive rebounds in the first half alone against an uncompetitive Sweetwater team which is averaging just 21.0 points per contest in four starts. Thus, the triumph was little more than a glorified scrimmage as the Highlanders play their fifth game in as many days in the finale.

Meanwhile, many are comparing Hurdle to his older brother, who may be a touch ahead in his skill level for his age.

"I'd like to think I'm a little bit better," noted the junior. "I out-number him a little bit (when comparing statistics), so it would be good to live up to his game."

Helix built leads of 23-3, 48-10 and 65-16 through each quarter before playing the final period with a running clock.

Helix scoring: Hurdle 15 (9 reb. 5 stl.), Tinsley 14 (5 stl.), Brandon Fountain 11, Sean Scarber 7 (7 reb.), Alex Aguirre 6 (8 reb.), Justin Johnson 6, Brandon Williams 5, Jerome Swain 5, David Jefferson 4, Jonathan Ghafouri 2.

CHULA VISTA 46, MONTE VISTA 43 -- The Spartans opened the fourth period with a 10-3 scoring run to break open a close contest, racing past Monte Vista at the Hilltop Tournament. Both teams concluded pool play with 2-2 marks.

RYAN SLADE paced the Monarchs with 15 points, but the team sank just 5-of-14 shots in the final period, despite getting strong position inside the paint. However, while fouls weren't called on one end of the court, Chula Vista consistently went to the line down the stretch, hitting 8-of-13 foul shots to push the lead to 42-34 with 4:48 left.

Slade later tipped a Spartans pass for a steal, as ROSHUN WYNNE collected the loose ball and fed Slade for a layin to trim the lead to 45-43 with 42 seconds left. Monte VIsta had two chances to tie the game in the final 14 seconds, but both 3-point shots bounced off the rim.

The contest featured 11 lead changes through the first three periods, until a 3-ball by Chula Vista guard Joshua Godilla gave the Spartans the lead for keeps at 32-29 with 1:24 left in the third.

TREVOR PECK added 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds for the Monarchs.

Monte Vista scoring: Slade 15 (5 stl.), Peck 10 (9 reb.), Jeff Aldredge 8 (6 reb.), Roshun Wynne 6 (4 ast.), Jamar Ransome 2, Joey Belanger 2, David Murgia 0 (4 ast.).

EL CENTRO-CENTRAL 68, SANTANA 56 -- Santana coach TIM BARRY is trying to find a way to make his Sultans more aggressive inside the paint. The project was still in its infant stages Thursday (Dec. 8) night, as the Sultans lost to swift Central Union in a Horsman Wolf Pack Tournament tilt at Santana.

"We're getting just no productivity in the paint," Barry said. "I'm very pleased with the effort we are getting. In this game it seemed like we were always a click behind."

Missed opportunities from the free throw line killed Santana's chance against the sprinting Spartans. Central put Santana in the bonus with one minute left in the opening period. Yet, the Sultans (2-3) were only 7 for 17 from the charity stripe in the first half and just 11 of 23 in the game.

RICKY MICHELMORE knocked down 17 points to pace the Sultans.

Santana scoring: Michelmore 17, Jon Hernandez 12, Brooks Bass 9, Garrett Happ 6, Jon Corbisez 4, Dan Pajimula 3, Brian Bailey 2, Carlos Vargas 2, Tyler Blackledge 1.

CHRISTIAN 53, ST. MARGARET'S 45 -- VIKTOR ASACIOVAS poured in 18 points to help lead Christian to its third straight win in Thursday’s (Dec. 8) second round of the La Jolla Small Schools Tournament.

The Patriots, who were pushed around the past couple of seasons, look prepared to make a serious challenge for a seat at the post-season awards table. Christian plays in the talent-laden Harbor League that includes powerful Hoover and Crawford.

Christian scoring: Asaciovas 18, Andrius Mikutis 9, Paulius Ivanauskas 8, Colin McDonald 8, Daniel Hazlett 7, Derek Larsen 3.

HOOVER 77, VALHALLA 39 -- The feet-footed Cardinals sprinted past Valhalla in Thursday's (Dec. 8) Vaquero-Eagle Classic contest on the Norsemen court.

KEVIN KRIEBEL was the lone Norseman to reach double scoring digits with 10 points. He also had 6 rebounds, one less than team leader PAUL MARTINS.

Thirty turnovers spelled doom for Valhalla (1-3), which was blown out by the Cardinals' 30-8 scoring bonanza in the third period.

"Most of their scoring came off steals," Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS said. "They are a lot faster than we will ever dream to be."

Valhalla scoring: Kriebel 10, Brett Hansen 6 ( 4 rebs), Jeff Sopata 6, Fakhouri 5, Forlsch 4, Paul Martins 4 7 rebs. 3 assists), Nasheel Raja 2, Daniel Butcher 2.

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-8-05) -- A pair of the county's top scoring threats battled evenly throughout Wednesday's (Dec. 7) Eagle-Vaquero Tournament. However, it was a defensive play between them that was the difference in favor of host Granite Hills.

After sitting most of the second quarter due to foul troubles, Eagles senior NICK TAYLOR scored 28 of his 34 points in the second half. El Camino senior Marquis Navarre did even better, pouring in a game-best 36 points while establishing a CIF-San Diego foul-shooting record. But when Taylor rejected a final Navarre effort in the closing seconds, Granite Hills was able to cinch a dramatic 78-74 triumph over the second-ranked Wildcats.

"Navarre made some big 3's down the stretch, but Nick came up with a big play," said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON, who saw his team run its record to 4-0, clinching a berth in Monday's (Dec. 12) tournament championship contest.

The Eagles built an 11-point lead only to see Navarre sink a series of three consecutive 3-balls to trim the deficit to 76-74. But when Navarre attempted another trey for the lead with 20 seconds left, Taylor not only rejected the shot, he recovered the loose ball and then was fouled by Navarre for his fifth foul.

Taylor sank both shots for the final margin of victory.

"That was some sequence," added Anderson. "We couldn't stop Navarre all night until that play."

Navarre, the seemingly unstoppable point guard, was fouled all contest. Yet he calmly stepped to the foul line, where he finished a perfect 19-for-19 at the foul line to demolish the CIF-San Diego Section record. The old mark was 14-for-14, set in 1971 by current Santana High girls basketball coach WADE VICKERY. Playing for El Capitan as a youngster, Vickery set the 34-year old standard against Monte Vista.

Meanwhile, Eagles forward CLARK GORDON balanced Taylor's efforts on the court with 17 points and a career-high 21 rebounds. Taylor also led the team with five assists.

Granite Hills will next host La Costa Canyon in the final game of pool play at 7 p.m. Friday. The Mavericks will come in following an overnight flight from the Midwest, where they participated in the Silver Anniversary of the St. Louis Shootout at the Savvis Center, as LCC defeated Lee's Summit North (Mo.), 73-70, in overtime on Wednesday (Dec. 7).

Mavericks standout Chase Budinger scored 45 points, which LCC coaches reported to the local media as tying the tournament record. However, the website for the prestigious event lists the mark as 48, set by Kent Williams of Mount Vernon (Ill.) in 1998. Williams went on to become the all-time leading scorer at Southern Illinois, and is now an off-court assistant with Purdue.

Budinger, also recognized as the best prep volleyball player in the nation, has already signed a basketball scholarship with Arizona.

No matter the result of Friday's ballgame, Granite Hills clinched a berth in the tournament final, slated for Monday night at 7.

Granite Hills scoring: Taylor 34 (5 ast.), Gordon 17 (21 reb., 3 blk.), Wayne Martin 12, Luke Simpson 6, Chris Timko 5, Brian Humphries 4, Branden Pride 0.

CHRISTIAN 93, SAN PASQUAL ACADEMY 62 -- Behind the strong play of PAULIUS IVANAUSKAS, one of three exchange students from Lithuania playing for the Patriots this season, Christian (2-0) made a big defensive stand in the second half to claim its opener in the La Jolla Country Day Small Schools Tournament held at Santa Fe Christian.

"Paulius definitely led the team tonight," said Christian coach KEN BAILEY. "After we came out flat in the first half, we made some adjustments to make our press work, and Paulius was one of the key reasons."

Christian scoring: Ivanauskas 24, Derek Larsen 17, Viktor Asaciovas 14, Colin McDonald 9, Jonathan Fuller 5, Brad Sandusky 2, Bradley Johnson 1.

EL CAPITAN 58, SAN MARCOS 24 -- ROSS FURROW had to be pleased with El Capitan's defensive play against the visiting Knights, who never reached double scoring digits in any of the four quarters of Wednesday's (Dec. 7) Eagle-Vaquero Classic contest.

Junior CORY BROWN scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half, playing only two minutes of the third quarter before calling it a night. Brown also snagged 5 rebounds and blocked 3 shots.

Twelve Vaqueros contributed to the scoring column for the Vaqueros (2-1). NICK MURICO plucked 7 caroms off the glass and handed out 3 assists, while VICTOR SOTO and DALTON OGDEN notched 4 steals apiece. JASON ZIEGLER had a team-high five assists.

El Capitan scoring: Brown 20, Tyrel Zauss 6, Soto 5, Jason Ziegler 4, Paul Chastang 4, Ogden 4, Murico 4, Jeramie Carr 3, Taelor Worrell 2, Josh Ziegler 2, Matt Reagan 2, Barrett Braun 2.

WEST HILLS 74, CALEXICO 44 -- Another wave of balanced scoring and plenty of depth helped the host Wolf Pack run its record to 3-0 in Wednesday's (Dec. 7) Horsman Wolf Pack Tournament romp over the outmanned Bulldogs.

"We got our running game going in the second half and got a lot of layups off transition," West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG said.

Senior guard KYLE HAMANN set the pace with 16 points, while PETER GILSON added 13 and sophomore TIM NOWLIN netted 12.

West Hills scoring: Hamann 16, Gilson 13, Tim Nowlin 12, Miles Pivonka 9, Chris Lifgren 8, Taylor Robbins 7, Troy Nowlin 5, Philip Dettinger 2, Blaine Hoffard 2.

SAN PASQUAL 52, SANTANA 38 -- JON HERNANDEZ tossed in 12 points, grabbed seven rebounds and made three steals, but it wasn't near enough to deny visiting San Pasqual in Wednesday's (Dec. 7) Horsman-Wolf Pack Tournament clash.

Santana buzzed out to a 15-8 lead in the opening six minutes and then hit a 10-minute cold spell in which the Sultans managed but two points. Despite being stuck in the deep freeze for a lengthy spell, the Sultans (2-2) thawed out long enough to trail only 32-25 late in the third quarter.

The Sultans never got closer, as their 25 turnovers and 29 percent shooting from the field (13-for-44) made for an overall chilly night.

San Pasqual put a muzzle on Santana shooting star RICKY MICHELMORE, who was limited to 7 points. Michelmore did gather a team-best 11 rebounds, however.

Santana scoring: Hernandez 12, Jon Corbisez 7, Michelmore 7, Brooks Bass 4, Garrett Happ 3, Dan Pajimula 3, Brian Bailey 2.

MIRA MESA 45, GROSSMONT 32 -- Teams averaging one point per minute have to play airtight defense to come out on top. Although Grossmont's defense was respectable, the Foothillers (1-2) couldn't keep up on the offensive end as they fell to Mira Mesa (2-1) in Wednesday's (Dec. 7) 5th Annual Eastlake Tournament contest in South Bay.

"Mira Mesa did a good job switching defenses, and we did not do a good job recognizing it," said Foothiller coach FRANK FOGGIANO.

Grossmont scoring: Luis Gonzales 10, Dominic Elder 9, Justin Rutherford 7, Khalid Waters 5, Ian Cochran 1.

HIGH TECH HIGH 54, VENTURE CHRISTIAN 39 -- Visiting Venture Christian was dominating in the middle two quarters of Wednesday's (Dec. 7) non-league game at Alliant University. The Knights claimed a 29-20 scoring edge during those 16 minutes. It was the slow start and fast finish by San Diego's High Tech High that made the difference.

High Tech led 15-3 after one period, but was clinging to a 35-32 advantage after three quarters. A 19-7 spurt during the final eight minutes by High Tech dropped the Knights' record to 2-4.

"We were tied with 6 or 7 minutes left, then DREW WINDREM and AARON HALE fouled out," said Venture Christian coach BRAD LEAF. "And we didn't have anything left after that. They just physically beat us up -- I was really surprised and impressed with High Tech's athleticism."

Venture Christian statistics: Aaron Hale 16, Brandon Hale 10 (4 steals), Windrem 4, Frank Sheppard 4, Zach Shipley 3, R.J. Najera 2, Alain Plascencia (5 assists).

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-7-05) -- Wide-open shots come with patience and trusting your teammates -- an attribute the offense for Grossmont High demonstrated throughout Tuesday's (Dec. 6) easy 73-42 pasting of Castle Park in pool play action of the Eastlake Tournament.

And when an offense runs smoothly -- like the Foothillers did -- amazing results can happen.

"You're kidding? It was that high?" exclaimed junior center JUSTIN RUTHERFORD, who dominated inside all night to the tune of 24 points and 20 rebounds. "I didn't realize we were doing so well."

Grossmont shot 53 percent from the floor in the first half, hitting 8-of-15 shots in each of the first two quarters to mount a 39-29 halftime lead. And when forward LUIS GONZALES added eight (4-for-4 shooting) of his 19 points in the third period, including a pair of buckets off Rutherford assists, the Foothillers were on their way, leveling their record to 1-1 overall.

"We played some tight defense, but we really executed on offense," added Rutherford. "Everyone was passing the ball -- it's always going to come down to that."

TREVOR THOMAS and IAN COCHRAN kept the Grossmont offense in gear, each passing for five assists, consistently moving the ball inside to the front line.

"We saw each other real well," added Hillers coach FRANK FOGGIANO. "It was very good inside passing with our post men."

Meanwhile, on defense, JEFF WATERS registered three steals in the fourth to prevent a comeback by the Trojans (0-3).

Grossmont scoring: Rutherford 24 (20 reb.), Gonzales 19 (8 reb.), Dominic Elder 8, Khalid Waters 7, Derrick Davenport 4, Cochran 4 (7 reb., 5 ast.), Alex Chiappone 4, J. Waters 2 (3 stl.), Thomas 1 (5 ast.).

HELIX 50, CHULA VISTA 41 -- Coach JOHN SINGER has his Highlanders on their usual winning track. Three starts equal three wins for Singer's club, which posted its latest win on Tuesday (Dec. 6) in the Hilltop Tournament.

Yet, Singer, whose teams have posted a 452-186 record during his 26 seasons at the helm, isn't sold on the idea that his team is running on all cylinders.

"People are playing us zone and we're having a tough time adjusting," Singer said.

The Highlanders shot only 30 percent from the floor (18-for-60), but did claim a decisive 45-27 rebounding edge.

AARON TINSLEY rang up 16 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists to lead Helix. BRANDON FOUNTAIN snagged 11 rebounds for the Highlanders.

Helix scoring: Tinsley 16, Lawrence Hurdle 9 (4 assists), Sean Scarber 8 (7 rebs.), David Jefferson 7 (8 rebs), Fountain 6, Justin Johnson 4.

MONTE VISTA 66, RANCHO BUENA VISTA 48 -- RYAN SLADE paced a balanced Monte Vista offense as the Monarchs ripped Rancho Buena Vista in Tuesday's (Dec. 6) Hilltop Tournament.

Slade scored 17 points, TREVOR PECK punched in 14 markers and ROSHUN WYNNE, JAMAR RANSOME and JEFF ALDREDGE each had 10 for Monte Vista (2-1). Ransome grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds, while Peck pulled down 8 caroms. Wynne chipped in with 6 rebounds and 6 assists.

Rancho Buena Vista sat two starters for disciplinary reasons, Monte Vista coach ZACH PECK said. But the coach also credited his team for "playing very hard the first half (to lead 40-27)."

Monte Vista scoring: Slade 17, Peck 14, Wynne 10, Ransome 10, Aldredge 10, David Murgia 3, Michael Watkins 2.

SANTANA 85, CALEXICO 45 -- RICKY MICHELMORE continued his torrid shooting Tuesday (Dec. 6), pouring in 27 points while grabbing 4 rebounds and handing out 4 assists in the Horsman-Wolf Pack Tournament victory over the Bulldogs.

Michelmore canned 10 of 19 shots from the field, and 4 of 4 from the free throw line. He has made of 18 of 36 shots from the floor in his last two games.

"One of his (three 3-pointers) was from 26 feet," Santana coach TIM BARRY said. "I suggested that he might take another dribble closer, but it was a perfect shot. That's hard to argue with."

JON HERNANDEZ added 12 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals, while sophomore TYLER BLACKLEDGE popped in 10 points and GARRETT HAPP hauled in 7 rebounds. BROOKS BASS added 9 points, 4 steals and 3 assists for the predominantly senior Sultans (2-1).

Santana scoring: Michelmore 27, Hernandez 12, Blackledge 10, Brooks Bass 9, Happ 8, Carlos Vargas 7, Dan Pajimula 5, Jon Corbisez 3, Brian Bailey 2, Brock Bass 2.

EL CENTRO-CENTRAL 64, STEELE CANYON 58 -- The Cougars trailed from the outset in Tuesday's (Dec. 6) Horsman Wolf Pack Tournament game at Santana.

"Central Union used their quickness on us the whole game," said Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN. "They constantly beat us up and down the floor. We had too many turnovers (23) and it kept us from setting up our offense."

TONY MINNIFIELD tallied a Steele Canyon-high 18 points while LIONEL BALL (12 points, 11 rebounds) and ANDREW TIMM (10 points, 10 rebounds) rolled off double-doubles.

Steele Canyon scoring: Minnifield 18, Ball 12, Timm 10, Arlin Taylor 4, Jake Ransom 4, Jabari Robinson 3, Jonathan Douglas 3, Emory Mitchell 2, Riley Balikian 1, Adam Bendas 1.

POWAY 73, MOUNT MIGUEL 44 -- RICHARD JACKSON and WARREN THODILE scored 13 points apiece, but the Matadors couldn't overcome the Titans' 25-11 third-quarter binge.

Mount Miguel scoring: Richard Jackson 13, Warren Thodile 13, Courtney Wrather 7, Lamont Freeman 4, Karlin Stewart 2, Donta Young 2, Antonio Spellman 2, William Duke 1.

The Block House

TOP: Granite Hills' Clark Gordon (in white) extends his arm over El Cajon Valley's Chris Franco for a big-time shot rejection in Monday's 79-52 triumph in action from the Eagle-Vaquero Classic. -- BOTTOM: Brian Humphries (4) provides a two-handed facial on the Braves' John Putris, who still somehow manages to get the shot away. (Photos by Greg Eichelberger)

Santana experience fosters first victory

East County Sports.com
SANTEE (12-6-05) -- Featuring eight seniors on his 10-man roster, Santana High head coach TIM BARRY wasn't afraid to upgrade his team's schedule with contenders from leagues throughout the county.

After playing solid defense in their season-opening loss to defending Western League champion Scripps Ranch last week, the Sultans kept up the defensive intensity while plugging some holes on offense to down Citrus West League runner-up San Pasqual Academy, 71-50, in Monday's (Dec. 5) non-league affair.

"We have a pretty good team with a lot of returning players that are experienced," said senior center RICKY MICHELMORE, who scored a game-high 22 points, including 10 in the first period to mount a quick 17-6 advantage. "We learned a lot after playing together all last year."

Michelmore and the other forwards consistently received easy looks at the basket. Meanwhile, the defense limited the scoring chances for Dragons seniors Josue Ledesma and Jasper Collazo, their top two scorers from a year ago.

"Our guards have some speed," added Michelmore, who grabbed 9 rebounds. "Then they picked us up man, so we got lots of layups and a ton of unguarded shots."

Michelmore nailed 8-of-17 shots from the floor and 6-of-8 from the foul line.

The balanced Sultans attack saw JON HERNANDEZ post nine points, while three others -- TYLER BLACKLEDGE, CARLOS VARGAS and JON CORBISEZ -- added seven points each.

Santana scoring: Michelmore 22, Hernandez 9 (7 rebounds, 4 steals), Vargas 7, Corbisez 7 (7 rebounds), Blackledge 7, Brooks Bass 5 (5 assists), Dan Pajimula 4. Garrett Happ 4, Brock Bass 3, Brian Bailey 3.

GRANITE HILLS 79, EL CAJON VALLEY 52 -- In the battle of Madison Avenue rivals, the host Eagles dialed long distance to batter the Braves in a Monday night (Dec. 5) Eagle-Vaquero Classic contest.

These Eagles are the San Diego Section's premier 3-point shooting unit. Granite Hills' marksmanship was on line in this game, as the Eagles cast in 13 of 28 shots from above the arc. NICK TAYLOR nailed 5 treys, while WAYNE MARTIN pitched in four. BRIAN HUMPHRIES and BRANDEN PRIDE dropped in two 3-pointers each as Granite Hills (3-0) overshadowed a 32-point scoring spree by El Cajon Valley's CHRIS REYNOLDS.

Taylor paced the Eagles with 23 points, connecting on 9 of 15 shots from the field. Martin finished with 16 points, while Pride posted a nifty double-double of a school-record 14 assists and 13 points coupled with 4 steals.

CLARK GORDON was powerful underneath with 10 points, 18 rebounds and 7 blocks for Granite Hills, which is due to host El Camino on Wednesday (Dec. 7) and La Costa Canyon on Friday (Dec. 9). Both games are slated to tip off at 7.

Granite Hills scoring: Taylor 23, Martin 16, Pride 13, Gordon 10, Brian Humphries 6, Andrew Joslyn 3, Luke Simpson 2, Chris Timko 2, Dean Miller 2, Nick Spilger 2.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Reynolds 32, John Putris 7, Tim Widjaja 6, Christian Franco 4, Wisam Patros 3.

STEELE CANYON 68, SAN MARCOS 53 -- Steele Canyon broke into the win column for the first time in three starts under head coach BERNIE BALIKIAN in Monday's (Dec. 5) Horsman Wolf Pack Tournament.

"The guys were really happy in the locker room, getting that first win."

LIONELL BALL led Steele Canyon with 15 points. The Cougars followed the bouncing Ball's lead and crashed into the win column.

"I was able to play my bench the whole 4th quarter," said Balkian said. "They zoned us all 32 minutes -- it did us some good to get some work on the zone offense. I thought we handled the ball well. And we were able to cut down our turnovers tonight. We were able to control the ball on both ends of the floor. That helped us to get our offense in motion."

Balikian was generous in recognition of his players.

"EMERY MITCHELL, Ball, ANDREW TIMM and JABARI ROBINSON were dominating for us, and ARLIN TAYLOR -- our 6-5 post player -- was dominating inside," noted Balikian.

Steele Canyon scoring: Ball 15, Andrew Timm 12, Emery Mitchell 12, Jabari Robinson 11, Tony Minnifield 9, Arlin Taylor 7, Jake Ransom 2.

Feelin' Rejected

West Hills forward Chris Lifgren leaps high to reject this late San Marcos shot attempt, lifting the Wolf Pack to a 57-55 Horsman Tournament victory. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

Wolf Pack rallies in final seconds

East County Sports.com
SANTEE (12-04-05) -- West Hills wiped out a five-point deficit in the final 40 seconds to deal the visiting San Marcos Knights a 57-55 Horsman-Wolf Pack Tournament loss on Saturday (Dec. 3) night.

Trailing by five, the Pack's KYLE HAMANN turned a pair of steals into a basket and a scoring assist to BLAINE HOFFARD on the right wing for a 3 -- his only points -- to tie.

A defensive rebound, MILES PIVONKA put the Pack up by two. Hamann then hit two free throws to secure the victory.

"Miles Pivonka played well off the bench," commented West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG.

The Pack looked sluggish, playing its second game in two nights.

"We didn't have the same zip in our step as last night, but found a way to win," said Armstrong. "An ugly 'W' is better than a pretty 'L'."

West Hills scoring: Pivonka 12, Hamann 11, Chris Lifgren 11, Tim Nowlin 7, Peter Gilson 7, Blaine Hoffard 3, Taylor Robbins 2, Troy Nowlin 2, Shain Stoner 2.

HELIX 53, RANCHO BUENA VISTA 50 -- The Highlanders were sloppy with the ball, yet moved into a commanding position to claim a finals berth at the Hilltop Tournament after whipping the Longhorns.

"We didn't play anywhere near as well as we played in our opener," noted head coach JOHN SINGER, who saw his troops sink just 6-of-16 foul shots and committed 19 turnovers. "And we had trouble handling the ball -- our turnovers in the fourth quarter kept them in the game in the fourth quarter."

AARON TINSLEY paced the Scotties (2-0) with 15 points, while LAWRENCE HURDLE and DAVID JEFFERSON added 12 each.

Helix scoring: Tinsley 15, Jefferson 12, Hurdle 12, Fountain 8, Sean Scarber 6.

MONTGOMERY 50, MOUNT MIGUEL 48 -- The Matadors missed an open-look, 15-footer with seven seconds remaining, allowing the Aztecs to escape with a nip-and-tuck Hilltop Dakine Tournament victory on Saturday (Dec.3).

The teams exchanged leads throughout, as LARON RUSH scored 17 points and SAMUEL JACKSON added 15 to keep Mount Miguel (0-2) close.

"I'm happy with my team's effort," said head coach MIKE GOLOVKO. "We played real hard, and we learned an awful lot that we can take to practice on Monday."

Mount Miguel scoring: Rush 17, Jackson 15, Warren Thodile 9, Spellman 5, Moore 2.

MURRIETA VALLEY 77, VALHALLA 69 -- The see-saw contest finally found the teams even at 57-all midway through the fourth period, but too many unwanted fouls led to a parade of Hawks free throws to claim this Eagle-Vaquero Classic contest. Both teams are now 1-2 overall.

The Norsemen jumped to a quick 10-2 lead, but Murrieta Valley answered with a 20-5 run before Valhalla came back to claim a 37-31 halftime lead. However, foul trouble allowed the Hawks free access to the foul line in the second half.

"We consistently let them back in the game," noted Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS. "We got into the double-bonus too early and gave them too many free throws in the fourth quarter."

BRETT HANSEN paced Valhalla with 19 points, KEVIN KRIEBEL added 17, while KEITH WILLIAMS had 16. On defense, Hansen and PAUL MARTINS each posted 10 rebounds.

Valhalla scoring: Hansen 19 (10 reb.), Kriebel 17, Williams 16, Martins 10 (10 reb.), Jeff Sopata 4, Nasheel Raja 3.

SCRIPPS RANCH 45, SANTANA 31 -- On most outings, the defensive effort by the Sultans in their season opener would be good enough to win. But after shooting a mere 21 percent from the field, at least Santana knows where it needs to improve to have a chance in the Wolf Pack Horsman Classic.

"I was pleased with our defensive effort, but we need to shoot better," said Sultans coach TIM BARRY. "It was a tight game."

The Falcons led by just four points heading into the game's final two minutes, but a 10-0 run -- all on foul shots -- gave Scripps Ranch (3-0) its double-digit margin despite a game-high 17 points by RICKY MICHELMORE of Santana (0-1).

Santana scoring: Michelmore 17, Blackledge 4, Hernandez 4, Varacis 2, Bass 2, Corbisez 2.

ST. AUGUSTINE 71, STEELE CANYON 52 -- LIONEL BALL scored 13 points and ANDREW TIMM popped in 11 points and grabbed 8 rebounds Saturday (Dec. 3) as the rebuilding Cougars dropped their second sraight start in the Horsman Wolf Pack Tournament.

The key to this contest was turnovers -- Steele Canyon gave it away 24 times to just four times for the Saints.

"We are still struggling with our turnovers, we have to cut them down," said Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN. "We are a very young team with not much varsity experience. We have already lost as many games as Steele Canyon lost all last season. But I think we have a chance to be decent -- that will come with experience."

Steele Canyon scoring: Lionel Ball 13, Andrew Timm 11, Tony Minnifield 8, Jonathan Douglas 7, Emery Mitchell 6, Riley Balikian 5, Arlin Taylor 2.

TORREY PINES 69, MONTE VISTA 59 -- The Monarchs never recovered from a 25-12 first quarter deficit in Saturday's (Dec.3) second round of the Hilltop Dakine Tournament's second round.

Three of the Falcons four field goals were 3s, and four of Torrey Pines' 9 field goals in the opening quarter were treys. They had three in the last three quarters. The Monarchs (1-1) were playing catch-up thereafter.

JAMAR RANSOME paced Monte Vista with 18 points and 4 rebounds.

Monte Vista scoring: Ransome 18, Ryan Slade 15, Roshun Wynne 10, Trevor Peck 9, Joey Belanger 7.

EASTLAKE 56, GROSSMONT 37 -- The Foothillers are buried in inexperience and that was obvious in Saturday's (Dec. 3) first round of the Eastlake Tournament.

"We have a lot of new faces," Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO said. "And that showed when Eastlake pressed us with their experienced guards."

JUSTIN RUTHERFORD landed 10 points to pace Grossmont, which hosts Castle Park on Tuesday (Dec. 6) at 7 and Mira Mesa on Wednesday (Dec. 7) at 5:30 p.m.

Grossmont scoring: Rutherford 10, Dominic Elder 8, Luis Gonzales 6, Trevor Thomas 5, Khalid Waters 3, Jeff Waters 2, Derrick Davenport 2, Alex Chiappone 1.

VENTURE CHRISTIAN 46, JULIAN 40 -- The Knights captured third place at the Ram Desert Classic at Borrego after downing the Eagles in the teams' third meeting in as many days. BRANDON HALE scored a game-high 17 points and passed for four assists, giving Venture a 2-1 advantage in the series.

"The defense played well and we only committed 12 turnovers," said Knights coach BRAD LEAF. "We showed great improvement and they just ran down with only six players."

AARON HALE also aided the cause with 12 points, eight rebounds and blocking four shots for Venture Christian (2-3). The Knights next meet Hi Tech High on Wednesday at Alliant Int'l. University. Julian (1-4) will play Venture at least one more time this season.

Venture Christian scoring: B. Hale 17, A. Hale 12, Alain Plascencia 5, Drew Windrem 2.

HOOVER 90, EL CAJON VALLEY 30 -- If you were sitting in the shoes of El Cajon Valley coach Saturday night (Dec. 3), you might have though about getting up and walking out of the gym. It was THAT bad.

But El Cajon Valley's second-year coach NATE REED realized what he was up against. That is, his youngsters on the varsity try to hold the fort while the majority of the starters continue preparing for the CIF-San Diego Section Division II championship football game Tuesday (Dec. 13) against perennial power Oceanside at Qualcomm Stadium.

High-flying Hoover led 68-23 at halftime and then limited the host Braves to 7 points over the final two quarters to complete the rout.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Not reported.

East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (12-3-05) -- Word is boys basketball in this neck of the woods is on the downward side this season. Apparently, the Helix Highlanders haven't heard of such nonsense. The Highlanders toppled Torrey Pines 50-46 in Friday's (Dec. 2) season-opening win of the Hilltop Tournament.

HELIX 50, TORREY PINES 46 -- The Highlanders surprised head coach JOHN SINGER with a strong second-half effort, rallying from six points down to whip the Falcons in their season opener.

DAVID JEFFERSON paced the Scotties with 17 points and 8 rebounds, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line in the fourth period to maintain a narrow lead, while AARON TINSLEY scored 11.

"I had no idea what to expect going into the game, but our defensive effort was first rate all game," noted Singer. "BRANDON FOUNTAIN was solid in covering J.J. Anderson, who is going to Brown University next year."

Tinsley also nabbed eight rebounds for the defending San Diego Section Division I champion Highlanders, who also received nine points and eight assists from JUSTIN JOHNSON.

Helix scoring: Jefferson 17, Tinsley 11, Johnson 9, Jon Ghafouri 4, Fountain 4, Jericho Toilolo 3, Lawrence Hurdle 2.

GRANITE HILLS 81, SAN MARCOS 42 -- After heaving 31 shots in the season opener, Eagles sharpshooter NICK TAYLOR was more selective in his next outing, and with better results.

Taylor drained 8-of-16 shots, including 6-for-11 from beyond the arc en route to 24 points and an easy Eagles triumph over the winless Knights (0-4) in the Eagle-Vaquero Classic Friday night (Dec. 2).

Despite trailing 9-0 out of the gate in the first 90 seconds, Granite Hills (2-0) quickly reclaimed control, as CLARK GORDON controlled the boards to prevent second-chance opportunities for the Knights.

"Clark dominated the boards -- he cleaned up a lot of our mistakes," noted head coach RANDY ANDERSON of his 6-foot-8 senior. "Then we came out strong in the third quarter and took them out of their game."

Gordon finished with a double-double with 12 points and 16 boards, while guard BRANDEN PRIDE established career highs with 10 assists and seven steals.

Granite Hills scoring: Taylor 24, Martin Wayne 14, Brian Humphries 13 (8 reb.), Gordon 12, Pride 6, Dean Miller 4, Jacob Leance 2, Luke Simpson 2, Nick Spilger 1.

MONTE VISTA 67, SWEETWATER 18 -- Veteran coach ZACH PECK wasn't ready to throw a party after his Monarchs won Friday's season opener in blow out fashion in the first round of the Hilltop Tournament.

"This was one of those wait-n-see deals," Peck said. "Both teams are young, so you don't know for sure what's going to happen."

Junior JAMAR RANSOME scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed 4 rebounds as the Monarchs won going away. Senior RYAN SLADE added 17 points and 6 steals as Monte Vista opened up a 47-8 halftime lead.

Monte Vista scoring: Ransome 18, Slade 17, Jeff Aldredge 8, Trevor Peck 7, Roshun Wynne 6, Joey Belanger 6, Michael Watkins 3, David Murgia 2.

EL CAPITAN 48, SOUTHWEST (SD) 32 -- Six-foot-7 junior CORY BROWN scored 12 of his game-high 26 points in the first quarter of Friday's Vaquero-Eagles Classic contest leading El Capitan to a lopsided victory.

Brown also blocked 8 shots and collected 7 rebounds for the Vaqueros who balanced their season ledger at 1-1.

El Capitan scoring: Brown 26, Josh Ziegler 7, Taelor Worrell 4, Victor Soto 4, Jeramie Carr 3, Paul Chastang 2, Brandon Braun 2.

WEST HILLS 59, OTAY RANCH 40 -- The Wolf Pack is laden with new faces, but that hardly dictates a shortage of talent as West Hills proved in a season-opening Horsman Wolf Pack Tournament rout of Otay Ranch on Friday.

West Hills blanked the visiting Mustangs 15-0 in the second quarter which gave the Pack a 32-13 at the break.

Senior guard KYLE HAMANN scored a career-high 27 points to pace the Pack. The bulk of his point production came off five 3-pointers.

Yet, defense was what was foremost on the mind of West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG.

The veteran coach praised the work of first-year basket-teer SHAIN STONER for limiting the Mustangs Anthony Cosentino to 2 points (both coming on free throws).

"Shain never gave the Cosentino kid a look," Armstrong said.

Stoner's defensive effort was prominent in that West Hills blanked the Mustangs for 10 minutes in the first half.

West Hills scoring: Hamann 27, Peter Gilson 12, Chris Lifgren 6, Tim Nowlin 4, Stoner 4, Troy Nowlin 2, Taylor Robbins 2, Philip Dettinger 1, Blaine Hoffard 1.

CHRISTIAN 72, ARMY-NAVY 45 -- Make no mistake, the Christian Patriots are back in the winner's circle. For keeps.

That's a good thing since the Patriots play in the Harbor League, which is could be labeled among the San Diego CIF Section's toughest leagues.

DANIEL HAZLETT's paced the Patriots with 16 points, while VIKTOR ASACIAZAS added 14 points and 9 rebounds, PAULIUS IVANAUSKAS added 13 points and 7 assists and DEREK LARSEN launched 11 points before joining the football team only two hours later.

"We pressed in the beginning and our press caused them many problems with their ball handling," said Christian coach KEN BAILEY. "We came out strong early and ready to play in the first quarter. I was pleased with our performance -- we had a strong overall effort."

Christian scoring: Hazlett 16, Asaciazas 14, Ivanauskas 13, Larsen 11, Colin McDonald 8, Andrius Mikutis 8, Brad Sandusky 2.

MISSION HILLS 64, MOUNT MIGUEL 35 -- A 17-2 third quarter deficit spelled doom for the Matadors in Friday's at Eastlake.

"We were down 28-22 and I thought we were ready to give a good effort, but we didn't, and I don't know why," said Mount Miguel coach MIKE GOLOVKO. "(LARON) RUSH fouled out midway through the third quarter, and not having him for the final 12 minutes hurt us."

Versatile WARREN THODILE netted 15 points to pace the Matadors.

Mount Miguel scoring: Thodile 15, Jackson 7, Wrather 7, Young 4, Rush 2.

LA COSTA CANYON 90, VALHALLA 58 -- The sharp-shooting Mavericks hit 11 three-pointers as they breezed to an easy Eagle-Vaquero Classic win over the Norsemen.

"They're not the No. 1 ranked team in the county for nothing," said Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS of the Mavericks.

"At one time we led 12-11 but by the end of the first quarter they hit four 3s. They shot unbelievable against us,â" said Thomas. "Chase (Buddinger) had 22 points -- 10 in the first quarter and 5 in the second quarter. We were playing man-to-man, didn't try to slow it down. We did a good job on Chase but the rest of their kids killed us."

Valhalla scoring: Sopata 16, Paul Martins 13, Kevin Kriebel 9, Keith Williams 8, Nasheel Raja 4, Frank 4, Daniel Butcher 2, Mike Espinoza 2.

VENTURE CHRISTIAN 54, JULIAN 34 -- The unscheduled, 3-game series between the Knights and Eagles saw Venture Christian gain a split of the first two contests following Friday's victory in the Ram Desert Classic at Borrego.

Because a school dropped out of the tournament, the schools were forced to play twice in pool play. However, because of the split, the pair get a third meeting in Saturday's third-place game, slated for noon.

"We learned quite a bit about them from (Thursday) night's game," noted Venture Christian assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. "So we were able to get them out of their press, while we attacked them and got them back on their heels."

McHugh also noted strong ball control for East County's newest entry to the high school sports ranks. The Knights registered 14 steals and turned the ball over just 17 times to stop Julian (1-2).

BRANDON HALE powered Venture Christian (1-3) with 24 points, including four 3-balls, while brother AARON HALE posted 18 points, nine rebounds, seven blocks and five steals in the team's initial victory of the season.

Venture Christian scoring: B. Hale 24, A. Hale 18, Trent Leaf 3, Drew Windrem 3 (7 reb.), Frank Sheppard 2, R.J. Najera 2, David Carter 2.

East County Sports.com
SANTEE (12-2-05) -- In the high school equivalent of the North Carolina Tar Heels, the Steele Canyon basketball team in no way resembles last year's star-studded line-up.

The Tar Heels lost their top seven scorers from last season's NCAA championship ballclub, and the Cougars are barely in better shape. Missing from last season's CIF state playoff participants is the Cougars' head coach, and the majority of their top scorers and best defenders.

The ace among the handful of Cougar returnees from last year's 30-2 team, WES DAVIS, is on the shelf with a shoulder injury and may not return to the line-up until the start of the Grossmont South League schedule. He has an MRI scheduled for early next week

"Things are definitely different this year," noted returning forward EMORY MITCHELL. "With a new coach (BERNIE BALIKIAN) coming in means a new system. He's teaching and we're learning, and we're all hustling to adjust to everyone's new play as quick as we can."

And with change comes a few bumps in the road.

After hitting nearly 50 percent of its shots in the first half, Otay Ranch switched to a half-court trap to stifle Steele Canyon's offense, as the Mustangs rallied from a 21-13 deficit in the second quarter to claim Thursday's (Dec. 1) Horsman-Wolf Pack Tournament opener, 61-46, at West Hills.

Domenic Cosentino paced Otay Ranch with 16 points, including 10 in the first half to keep the Mustangs close. The guard then dished off five second-half assists, mostly to teammate Dexter McDuffie, who scored all of his 11 points in the fourth period.

"We have to learn to capitalize and finish off plays," added Mitchell, as Steele Canyon generated plenty of good looks at the basket, only to watch Otay Ranch reject (nine blocks) or get a hand in front of the shooter. "We hustled on defense and stole the ball or made deflections, but we need to work on our offense."

Mitchell paced the defense with six steals, including three off inbounds passes, all leading directly to baskets. But once the Cougars got into their offensive flow, the shooting touch wasn't the same quality as RICHIE WILLIAMS, the San Diego State freshman who led Steele Canyon in scoring last season.

"We're pretty much starting from scratch," admitted Mitchell.

JAKE RANSOM led the Cougars with 13 points and six rebounds, TROY MINNIFIELD added 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Mitchell registered nine points and seven boards.

Steele Canyon scoring: Ransom 13, Minnifield 10, Mitchell 9, Lionel Ball 7, Jabari Robinson 3, Arlin Taylor 2, Andrew Timm 2.

MOUNTAIN EMPIRE 64, VENTURE CHRISTIAN 55 -- Once again, the HALE brothers, BRANDON and AARON, came up big for the fledgling Knights, this time combining for 35 points in the first of two Ram Desert Classic contests Thursday at Borrego.

The Red Hawks of Mountain Empire, however, used a 25-11 second quarter scoring binge and then held on to deal the Knights their second loss in as many starts.

"We had lots of turnovers," said Venture Christian assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. “We weren't ready to play, and when we were, it was too late."

Venture Christian scoring: Aaron Hale 23, Brandon Hale 12, Drew Windrem 8, David Carter 5, Trent Leaf 3, Alain Plascencia 2, Frank Sheppard 2.

JULIAN 49, VENTURE CHRISTIAN 37 -- The Knights bolted to a 15-7 first-quarter lead and then ran out gas in the second period, permitting the Eagles to gain a 17-2 scoring edge and command of the game.

"We didn't handle the ball very well, did some poor shooting," said Venture Christian assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. "We knew at halftime we were going to have to cut the turnovers down to get us back in the ballgame."

Poor shooting continues to plague the youthful Knights (0-3), who netted just 13 of 61 tries from the field (21 percent). BRANDON HALE paced Venture with 20 points, while AARON HALE added 9 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.

Venture Christian scoring: Brandon Hale 20, Aaron Hale 9, R.J. Najera 4, David Carter 2, Trent Leaf 2.

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-1-05) -- There seems to be no shot that Granite Hills guard NICK TAYLOR doesn't like. Among the 60 shots taken by the Eagles in Wednesday's (Nov. 30) season opener, Taylor pulled the trigger on just over half of them en route to a career-high 33 points.

However, this wasn't a one-man show -- most of Taylor's shot came within the offense thanks to guard BRANDEN PRIDE. The Granite Hills playmaker kept finding Taylor for open looks at the basket to the tune of 10 assists, plus several other plays which led directly to free throws, as the Eagles led visiting Mt. Carmel for all but a few seconds in a 70-57 decision to open the Eagle-Vaquero Classic.

"I know Nick's going to be there -- I have confidence in him," noted Pride, one of four seniors starting for Granite Hills. "And I know I can get the ball to the post to (CLARK) GORDON -- he'll finish for us, too."

Gordon collected 11 points and controlled the boards with 16 rebounds. He also blocked three shots, including a pair early in the fourth quarter to halt any Sundevils hopes for a comeback.

"It was a good start for us," added Pride, who also posted nine points and five steals. "Even though we didn't start that well, we were not down on ourselves."

Granite Hills started fast with a 10-2 advantage, as a pair of Pride steals led to his own layin, then a long pass to Taylor for another layin. Mt. Carmel (1-1) rallied to take the lead briefly at 33-32 moments into the second half, but BRIAN HUMPHRIES answered with a pair of 3-balls -- part of his 13 points -- as the Eagles stretched the lead to as many as 15 points.

Forward Victor Guzman paced the Sundevils with 15 points after hitting his first six shots from the floor, while guard Jon Navarro added 11 points, including a trio of 3-balls.

Granite Hills scoring: Taylor 33 (6 3-balls, 4 steals), Humphries 13, Gordon 11, Pride 9, Luke Simpson 2, Chris Timko 2.

In other Eagle-Vaquero Classic games:
EL CAMINO 81, EL CAPITAN 47 -- Perennial Division I power El Camino rampaged to a 42-14 first-half lead Wednesday (Nov. 30) and continued on to rout host El Capitan.

The lone bright spot for the Vaqueros was 6-foot-7 junior, 190-pound CORY BROWN, who led his team with 21 points. He accounted for half of El Capitan's 14 buckets and was perfect from the free throw line in seven attempts.

However, all but five of Brown's points came in the second half. Brown, who blocked 2 shots, also topped the Vaqueros with 7 rebounds.

El Capitan shot well from the line, netting 19 of 24 chances.

El Camino guard Marquis Navarre hit five 3-pointers on his way to a game-best 27 points.

El Capitan scoring: Brown 21, Tyrel Zauss 7, Taelor Worrell 4, Josh Ziegler 4, Jason Ziegler 4, Jeramie Carr 5, Barrett Braun 2,

SOUTHWEST (SD) 77, EL CAJON VALLEY 39 -- Head coach NATE REED is teaching his players the virtue of patience in the early going of the basketball season. With many of his key players still involved in the CIF-San Diego Section football playoffs, he's had to rely youth and inexperience in the Braves' first two games.

The Raiders riddled the Braves from the free throw line, hitting 21 of 39 chances. El Cajon Valley was 6 for 9 from the stripe.

For the second game in a row, TIM WIDJAJA turned in a strong game for the Braves, putting in 17 points, blocking 8 shots and clearing 7 rebounds.

"I know we have a lot of our basketball players in football and I want to see them go all the way to Qualcomm Stadium (for the Dec. 13 Division II finals)," Reed said. "We'll try to hold the fort out here on the court until they get back out with us."

El Cajon Valley scoring: Widjaja 17, Christian Franco 9, Wasum Patros 6 (9 rebs.), John Putris 3, Mike Tiscan 2, Ralph Mejia 2.

BORREGO SPRINGS 63, VENTURE CHRISTIAN 55 -- The HALE brothers, freshman BRANDON and sophomore AARON, combined for 41 points in Venture Christian's opening game of the Ram Desert Classic at Borrego Springs.

Brandon Hale nailed five 3-pointers on his way to a 26-point effort, while Aaron Hale hit a pair of 3-pointers as he finished with 15 points. TRENT LEAF added 9 points for the Knights, who are beginning their first full varsity basketball season as members of the Citrus South League.

The loss to Borrego Springs featured 59 fouls, but neither team took full advantage. The Knights hit 18 of 38 from the foul line, while Borrego Springs hit 18 of 45.S

Venture Christian scoring: Brandon Hale 26, Aaron Hale 15, Trent Leaf 9, Andrew Atia 2, David Carter 1, Zach Shipley 1, Drew Windrem 1.

East County Sports.com
SAN MARCOS (11-30-05) --The senior-laden Valhalla Norsemen tipped off the season Tuesday night (Nov. 29) with a 62-49 victory at San Marcos in an Eagle-Vaqueros Classic contest.

BRETT HANSEN paved the way by pouring in 19 points and reeling in 13 rebounds for the Norsemen. Seven of Hansen's rebound collections came off the offensive glass.

Valhalla offered a balanced attack, as KEITH WILLIAMS (12 points), JEFF SOPATA (11 points, 7 rebounds) and PAUL MARTINS (10 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists) also reached double digits.

Sopata gave the Norsemen the early jumpstart, scoring 8 points as Valhalla raced in front 20-9 in the opening six minutes.

"Our fast-break was working well and Sopata got three nice transition buckets," Valhalla coach ERIC THOMAS said.

Valhalla's lead swelled to 16 points in the third quarter.

Thomas was pleased by the play of guard NASHEEL RAJA.

"He played incredible defense, switching on people, helping," Thomas said. "It was a good night for him."

Valhalla scoring: Hansen 19, Williams 12, Sopata 11, Martins 10, KEVIN KRIEBEL 7 (7 rebs), Raja 2, JORDAN MAITILASSO 1.

East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (11-29-05) -- With half of its roster still in pads for the football playoffs, the short-handed El Cajon Valley Braves had no solution for preseason All-State selection Chase Budinger of La Costa Canyon. The 6-foot-6, University of Arizona bound forward scored 12 of his game-high 23 points in the first period, as the Mavericks raced to a 77-29 victory in the opener for both teams.

Budinger, who is rated the fourth-best small forward prospect in the nation by one scouting service, also added six rebounds and four assists in just 14 minutes of playing time.

As a junior, Budinger was the county player of the year, edging out Helix's LANCE HURDLE (UC Santa Barbara) and Steele Canyon's RICHIE WILLIAMS (San Diego State), after averaging 27.9 points and 11.1 rebounds per contest.

El Cajon Valley, which suited only six players, received team-highs of 10 points each from TIM WIDJAJA and MIKE TAISARAN.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Widjaja 10 (4 reb. 3 blk.), Taisaran 10 (9 reb.), Wilson Patros 5 (7 rebs.), Ralph Mejia 2, Rodney Jones 2 (7 rebs).

Then on Monday, the boys kickoff with a slate of games, including the feature matchup pitting preseason All-State selection CHASE BUDINGER and his La Costa Canyon Mavericks making their lone scheduled East County appearance when they play at El Cajon Valley, 7 p.m. Monday.