Highlanders, Knights
advance to CIF Final Four

© East County Sports.com
LA MESA (2-25-07) — The Helix Highlanders, who are only two points away from being undefeated, are living up to their No. 1 ranking.

Helix center David Jefferson (left) scores inside to help defeat Otay Ranch, 71-50. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

After eliminating Otay Ranch 71-50 in Saturday’s (Feb. 24) San Diego CIF Division I quarterfinal, the Highlanders will find out if they are suited for the gold ring.

Helix (27-1), which has not lost a game since December 5th – a 56-54 loss to Rancho Buena Vista, a team that has since been eliminated – will take on the giants of San Diego High in Wednesday’s (Feb. 28) Division I semifinals in La Mesa.

The Highlanders, who will give away a decisive height advantage to the Cavers (22-5), always seem to find a way to win, no matter what the odds.

Facing a San Diego lineup that includes 6-foot-10 freshman Jeremy Tyler, 6-8 Jamelle Horne and 6-6 Enrique Vazquez, the Highlanders – who’s tallest starter is 6-5 senior DAVID JEFFERSON – will be completely overmatched on paper.

Fortunately for the Highlanders, the games are played on hardwood and don’t involve rocks, paper or scissors.

Helix coach JOHN SINGER, who celebrated his 497th coaching win at Otay Ranch’s expense, said he wanted to relish this win rather than dwell on the Cavers.

After a slow start the Highlanders put the vise grips on the Mustangs’ free-wheeling offense to lead 36-29 at intermission.

A 19-7 third quarter scoring squeeze vaulted Helix into a 55-36 advantage.

LAWRENCE HURDLE led the Highlanders with 20 points, 5 assists and 5 steals as Helix made 27 of 51 shots from the field (53 percent).

BRANDON FOUNTAIN, the centerpiece of Helix’s gnarly defense, had one of his better offensive nights with 15 points.

Although the Highlanders’ offensive numbers were nothing spectacular, the fact that they had six players score 8 points or more proved that they are a balanced team that is tough to defend.

Even though Hurdle was at the scoring pinnacle for Helix, he was more pleased by his defensive play.

“Coach Singer keeps pushing us to play harder defense,” said Hurdle. “He tells us all the time that offense will come if we play defense.”

Jefferson did not have a big numbers night against the taller Mustangs (17-8), but he scored 5 of his 9 points in the pivotal third quarter. For the night, Jefferson blocked 3 shots, grabbed 8 rebounds, dished 4 assists and made 3 steals. That is further proof that at Helix, quality play is not measured by high point totals.

After Otay Ranch sprinted to an early 14-6 lead, the Highlanders dug in. Back-to-back 3-point buckets by DORIAN STATON and a three-point play by BRANDON FOUNTAIN gave Helix an 15-14 advantage after one quarter.

The Mustangs would only lead one time after that as the Highlanders’ grinding defense eventually knocked Otay Ranch off its offensive track.

Anthony Cosentino topped Otay Ranch scorers with 17 points – 12 of them coming in the first quarter – and 8 rebounds.

Helix scoring: Lawrence Hurdle 20, Brandon Fountain 15, David Jefferson 9, Donnie McGowan 9, Dorian Staton 8, Kareem Abukar 8, Eric Forney 2.

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 95, SD JEWISH ACADEMY 47 – Following a two-week hiatus between games, the Knights' shooting was more than just rusty, missing their first nine shots from the floor.

So when head coach BRAD LEAF inserted senior DAVID CARTER into the lineup just two minutes into Friday's (Feb. 24) San Diego CIF Division V quarterfinals, the anticipated rout was again on.

In the best outing of his career, Carter immediately stole an inbounds pass and scored Foothills' initial basket, springboarding the Knights to their first-ever postseason victory.

Carter was at the center of the team's postgame ceremony honoring the ballclub's lone player to graduate this school year.

"It was a special night for David. We honored him after the game and coach Leaf had some great things to say about him," noted assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. "To top it all off, David played the best game of his career."

The 8th-seeded Lions stayed close to Foothills throughout the first period, only trailing 22-19. But when KALOB HATCHER drained consecutive 3-point shots in the second period, the Knights raced to a 51-29 halftime cushion.

Freshman guard TROY LEAF launched three straight treys in the third period, part of his game-high 33 points, including a pair of bombs with defenders in his face to get the crowd into the contest. And when Leaf garnered a steal for a breakaway capped by a slam dunk, Knights fans starting looking forward to Wednesday's (Feb. 28) semifinals.

Foothills (22-5) will host Vincent Memorial of Calexico in a 7 p.m. tipoff at Granite Hills. The fourth-seeded Scots (12-7) advanced by nipping Tri-City Christian, 55-51.

Along with key steals by Carter and Leaf, Hatcher topped them both with a game-best 10 steals, moving into the third place on the all-time San Diego Section single-season list with 169.

AARON HALE added 13 points and 14 rebounds for Foothills, while Leaf also registered a double-double by grabbing 16 boards. Meanwhile, Hatcher recoded a triple-double with 29 points, 11 assists and 10 steals.

Foothills scoring: Troy Leaf 33 (16 reb.), Kalob Hatcher 29 (11 ast., 10 stl.), Aaron Hale 13 (14 reb.), Zach Kaul 8, David Carter 7 (5 stl.), Ronnie Richards 3, Nick Duenez 2.

Top: Roshunn Wynne of Monte Vista; Bottom: Hoover guard Todd Doxey. (Photos by Adolfo Villanueva)

HOOVER 65, MONTE VISTA 56 – Playing at Hoover is always a tall order these days, but the visiting Monte Vista Monarchs went toe-to-toe with the third-seeded Cardinals in Saturday’s (Feb. 24) San Diego CIF Division II quarterfinal.

Guided by senior JAMAR RANSOME’s ability to hit his first six shots from the field, the Monarchs held a 29-27 edge with a minute to go before intermission.

But Hoover (17-13) got the tying basket to make it 29-29 at the break, and then outscored the Monarchs 15-5 in the third period to take control.

Once again Monte Vista (18-11) stormed back into contention, chopping the Hoover advantage to a single point in the fourth quarter.

Although he fouled out with 4 minutes left, Monte Vista’s RYAN HOUSER made 6 fourth-quarter points.

“When we made the run in the fourth quarter, Houser was the spark,” Monte Vista coach KEVIN MAHADY said. “After we lost Houser, (long-ball shooter) Mike Watkins cramped up and we had to play people out of position.”

Those complications, plus the fact that Hoover outscored the Monarchs 21-3 on three-pointers, was too much to overcome. Five different Hoover players hit treys.

Ransome turned in a powerful game with 23 points, 13 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 blocks.

Senior floor leader ROSHUN WYNNE added 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.

“Ransome and Wynne are very fine players and will be hard to replace,” said Mahady.

Houser, a junior, finished with 9 points and 6 rebounds.

Commenting on his first year as the Monarchs head coach, Mahady said “It was a great run. I’m disappointed we didn’t win tonight, I really thought we were going to win. But I couldn’t be happier with the group of kids we had, they are all good people. We only lose four seniors, two of them starters.”

Monte Vista scoring: Jamar Ransome 23, Roshun Wynne 17, Ryan Houser 9, Mike Watkins 5, Alex Robinson 2.

ARMY-NAVY 57, CHRISTIAN 55 – The visiting Christian High Patriots let this one get away. When leading scorer ANDRIUS MIKUTIS fouled out with 2:45 remaining, the Patriots were in charge of a 6-point lead in Saturday night’s (Feb. 24) San Diego CIF Division IV quarterfinal against Army-Navy in Carlsbad .

The Warriors’ Marcus Williams stole a pass with 25 seconds to go and then beat the Patriots on transition for the winning basket.

“It should have never come down to that,” said Christian coach KEN BAILEY. “We had many opportunities to put the game away in the final minutes.”

Christian (13-13) missed the front end of four one-and-one free throw opportunities in the last two minutes, as well as turning the ball over three times, during that costly span.

Mikutis finished the final game of his two-year Christian career with 20 points, 8 rebounds and four assists.

The 6-foot-7 VIKTOR ASACIOVAS was powerful inside against a tall Army-Navy lineup, totaling 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Junior guard DANIEL HAZLETT added 16 points, most of them coming on his 55th, 56th and 57th three-pointers. But Hazlett, East County ’s leading free throw shooter, converted only 1 of 4 chances from the charity stripe.

“We had the game in our hands until late,” said Bailey. “But hey, we don’t want to take anything away from Army-Navy, so hats off to them.”

At 6-foot-7, Orlan Jackman led the Warriors with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Army-Navy (17-8) advances to the SDCIF semifinals for the first time in 22 years.

Christian scoring: Andrius Mikutis 20, Viktor Asaciovas 17, Daniel Hazlett 16, Brad Johnston 2.

LA JOLLA 74, MOUNT MIGUEL 49 – It wasn’t the way coach JAY ROWLETT and his Matadors wanted to see the season end – a San Diego CIF Division III quarterfinal loss Saturday night (Feb. 24) at La Jolla .

On the up side, however, the Matadors – who finished 17-13 – had to be pleased by the marked improvement over last year’s 7-20 squad.

In Saturday’s season-ender COURTNEY WRATHER scored 18 points despite missing much of the second quarter with his third foul.

No. 3 seeded La Jolla (15-13), which led 32-20 at the half, went on a 12-0 run to break the game open in the third quarter. The Vikings led by 20 points with 3 minutes left in that period.

Mount Miguel’s troubles began early when junior TRAVON CAPLES sprained an ankle in the first quarter and missed most of the first half. Caples totaled 13 points, as did LARON RUSH, who also twisted an ankle in the third quarter and subsequently missed the whole fourth quarter.

No statistics were supplied by Coach Rowlett.

Mount Miguel scoring: Courtney Wrather 18, Laron Rush 13, Travon Caples 13, OC Basey 4, Devyn Moore 1.

© East County Sports.com
EL CENTRO (2-22-07) — The Monte Vista Monarchs’ trek to the desert certainly did not heat up their shooting, as they connected on just a smidgeon better than 27 percent of 59 shots from the floor.

In spite of their unusually low-shooting accuracy, Monte Vista (18-10) eked out a narrow 46-44 victory over the Imperial Valley League champions in Wednesday’s (Feb. 21) San Diego CIF Division II opener.

The Monarchs scored only 5 points in the first quarter and trailed 22-18 by intermission.

“We were ice cold in the first quarter and down by 11 in the second,” said Monte Vista coach KEVIN MAHADY.

Scotties Block Party

Helix center David Jefferson moves into position (top) to reject this Chula Vista shot (middle), then moments later it's Donald McGowan's turn to say no to the Spartans. (Photos by Chris Edwards)

But an 11-4 run to close the opening half put Monte Vista back in contention.

“We just couldn’t stop their big guy,” said Mahady, speaking of Southwest’s Gabriel Castro, who scored 16 of his game-high 24 points in the first half. “He’s a real bull.”

Monte Vista adjusted its defensive strategy, assigning RYAN HOUSER to defend Castro. It proved to be a wise move, as Castro no longer dominated the game.

“Of all the things we did, putting Houser on Castro was probably the key to our victory,” Mahady noted.

Despite having an off-shooting night, senior guard ROSHUN WYNNE led the Monarchs with 21 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals and 1 block.

His senior sidekick JAMAR RANSOME struggled even more with his shooting but managed to connect on 7 of 9 free throws for 13 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and a pair of blocks.

“To shoot this poorly and still win says a lot about the character of this team,” Mahady said. “We picked up the tempo in the third quarter, but we still couldn’t shake them.”

A key offensive moment for Monte Vista was a 3-point play executed by GEOFF HARTMAN that gave the Monarchs a 7-point advantage with less than 4 minutes to play.

“It was a turning point in the game, but was one of those things that you wouldn’t see reflected in the box score,” said Mahady.

Mahady was pleased by the school’s support, those students and fans who traveled to the Imperial Valley to root for the Monarchs.

“I was surprised by the number of our people that came down here,” the coach said. “Our people made as much noise as the home team fans did. I know that gave our kids added energy.”

In a sort of a payback, Mahady and his staff took the Monarchs to the El Centro Sonic Burger following the game.

“That’s all our kids could talk about – a chance to eat at Sonic Burger,” Mahady said. “I told them before the game if we won, we would eat at Sonic Burger.”

And so they did.

Monte Vista scoring: Roshun Wynne 21, Jamar Ransome 13, Mike Watkins 6, Geoff Hartman 3, Alex Robinson 2, Ryan Houser 1.

HELIX 74, CHULA VISTA 31 – Those who question whether the Helix Highlanders are worthy of their No. 1 San Diego CIF ranking should take note of the manner in which the Grossmont South League champions destroyed visiting Chula Vista (15-11) in Wednesday’s (Feb. 21) San Diego CIF Division I playoff opener.

“Our guys were so focused after we challenged them to step up to the challenge of the playoffs,” said Helix assistant coach ANDY MERIDETH.

The Highlanders (26-1) took a 39-13 halftime lead on their way to their 24th consecutive victory against a Chula Vista team they beat 63-44 earlier in the season.

Even though there is a contingent of doubters of Helix’s validity, the Highlanders made believers of the Spartans (15-11), denying Chula Vista even a single field goal in the first quarter and limiting the Spartans to only two buckets in the opening half.

“Our kids were just relentless, just amazing on defense,” said Merideth. “Our defensive rotation was the best I’ve ever seen it.”

Chula Vista’s focus was on controlling senior center DAVID JEFFERSON. The Spartans made their point, as Jefferson tallied just 7 points and 10 rebounds while missing much of the action due to foul problems.

Enter Helix’s depth.

Senior guard LAWRENCE HURDLE hammered down a team-best 19 points, snagged 5 rebounds, dished 3 assists and made 3 steals.

Not to be overlooked was the double-double of defensive specialist BRANDON FOUNTAIN, who connected on 5 of 7 floor shots for 10 points and hauled in 10 rebounds.

“We’re not going to beat you with one guy,” Helix head coach JOHN SINGER said. “That’s the great thing about this team. We’re probably eight or nine deep.”

Nine Highlanders contributed to the Helix scoring.

“We jumped them right away,” said Singer of the Highlanders who hustled to a 22-5 first quarter lead.

Senior DORIAN STATON enjoyed one of his finest outings on the court, punching in 12 points on 5 of 8 shooting while logging 6 assists and 4 steals.

Brandon Fountain of Helix skies above a trio of Chula Vista defenders in the Scotties' blowout victory, 74-31, at Caledonia Gym. (Photo by Chris Edwards)

“Staton got us some early points to get us going,” Singer said.

“I was very impressed how we approached this game,” Singer said. “Our three rocks – Jefferson, Fountain and Hurdle – know their purpose. But now our other kids are learning their roles, which makes us a stronger team.”

Senior ERIC FORNEY bounced off the Helix bench to hit 5 of 8 shots from the floor for 10 points while garnering 6 rebounds.

DONNIE McGOWAN pitched in with 7 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and one steal for Helix.

“People think that if they take Jefferson out of his game that we we’re in trouble,” said Merideth. “But they need to know that we have a lot of guys that know their roles and how to contribute.”

Next test for Helix comes Saturday night (Feb. 24) when Otay Ranch visits the Helix campus for a 7 p.m. quarterfinal contest.

Helix scoring: Lawrence Hurdle 19, Dorian Staton 12, Brandon Fountain 10, Eric Forney 10, Donnie McGowan 7, David Jefferson 7, Andray Jackson 4, Kareem Abukar 3, Demond “Red” Narcisse 2.

MOUNT MIGUEL 63, SAN MARCOS 49 – Senior guard COURTNEY WRATHER scored 29 points to lead Mount Miguel past San Marcos in Wednesday’s (Feb. 21) opening round of the San Diego CIF Division III playoffs.

It was the third time that Wrather has scored 29 or more points in a game this season. The senior guard connected on half of his 18 shots – including 3 triples – from the floor. He was accurate on 8 of 11 free throws.

It was Wrather’s 10 points that sparked Mount Miguel (17-12) to a 19-12 opening quarter lead.

“Wrather would probably have had even more points had he not cramped up and missed most of the third quarter,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT.

Mount Miguel led 43-26 after three quarters.

“This was a key win for us because TRAVON CAPLES and ARTHUR HOBBS were both sick. Because of that we got tired at the end,” said Rowlett.

Caples finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Senior LARON RUSH also turned a double-double of 10 points, 10 rebounds and 7 blocks.

“Rush played like we envisioned him playing all year,” Rowlett noted. “He was the anchor of our defense, which was outstanding in the first half.”

San Marcos (10-15) scored 23 points in the fourth quarter, after the fact.

Mount Miguel scoring: Courtney Wrather 29 (5 reb., 4 ast.), Travon Caples 11, Laron Rush 10, Devyn Moore 6 (3 ast., 3 stl.), A.J. Stanford 4, Matt Miles 3.

CHRISTIAN 70, CANYON CREST ACADEMY 47 – VIKTOR ASACIOVAS and DANIEL HAZLETT had the host Christian Patriots seeing 20-20 during Wednesday’s (Feb. 21) San Diego CIF Division IV romp over Canyon Crest Academy (7-19) at the Ryan Athletic Center.

That is, Asaciovas and Hazlett each scored 20 points to send Christian (13-12) into Saturday’s (Feb. 24) quarterfinals at No. 4 seed Army-Navy in Carlsbad.

“This was Viktor’s best game of the season,” said Christian assistant coach ADAM COPP, who was in command of the Patriots during the absence of head coach KEN BAILEY.

“Our objective was to pound the ball inside and we were able to do that with success. They had no answer for Viktor. I don’t have the exact stats, but we had to shoot at least 50 percent as a team.”

Hazlett helped open up the Patriots’ inside game by hitting a trio of triples.

Christian claimed a 21-10 first quarter lead as Hazlett scored 7 points and Asaciovas scored 6 to pave the way.

The Patriots led 40-22 at the half and then broke the game open with a 23-10 scoring spree in the third quarter.

ANDRIUS MIKUTIS turned in another powerful performance of 18 points and 18 rebounds.

“Andrius really turned it on at the end,” Copp said.

The Patriots pressed the Ravens early.

“It wasn’t like we were causing a lot of turnovers, but we made them force some shots,” Copp said. “Canyon Crest lives and dies by the 3. When they missed we got a lot of rebounds and fast breaks.”

Not one to brag, Copp was pleased to note that “At least I can say I’m undefeated as a playoff coach.”

Christian scoring: Viktor Asaciovas 20, Daniel Hazlett 20, Andrius Mikutis 18, Danny Mitchell 4, Michael Stowers 2, Brad Johnston 2, Jordan Graves 2, Brad Sandusky 2.

ESCONDIDO 93, GRANITE HILLS 66 – There are those who believe that the Escondido Cougars (24-4) are the best team in the San Diego Section. Based on Wednesday’s (Feb. 21) Division I opening round romp over visiting Granite Hills, that opinion has some validity.

The second-seeded Cougars pounced on the Eagles in the opening quarter to lead 27-9, and then extended that advantage to 52-28 by halftime.

Granite Hills claimed an early 4-2 lead before Darrell Catchings helped sway the momentum Escondido’s way, leading the Cougars to a 15-point advantage four minutes into the contest.

Escondido coach Paul Baldwin credited Catchings for helping the Cougars’ offense catch fire.

Ironically, Catchings was only one of the two Cougars who did not reach double figures. All five of the Escondido starters scored 14 points or more to carry the Cougars to a school record 17 straight victories.

Despite a slow start, the Granite Hills put together a 10-2 run to slice Escondido ’s advantage to 31-19 in the second quarter. But that was the only sign of dominance exhibited by the Eagles.

The Cougars led by as many as 31 points in the fourth quarter settling on the final margin.

BRIAN HUMPHRIES was Granite Hills top weapon, finishing with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

“Humphries played a great game on both ends of the floor tonight,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. “He was our true leader.”

Sophomore DEAN MILLER added 20 points and 9 rebounds for the Eagles, while DERICK EDWARDS cleared 12 rebounds and tallied 9 points.

Turnovers killed the short-handed Eagles, who were missing two starters. Granite Hills turned the ball over 20 times in the first half and 29 in the game.

Granite Hills netted 8 three-pointers, including 3 by Humphries. Miller was 6 for 6 from the free throw line, as the Eagles finished 12 for 13 as a team.

“ Escondido shot really well,” said Anderson, noting that the Cougars canned 10 three-pointers. “They are a good team. We had too many turnovers. Their zone press really hurt us.”

Granite Hills scoring: Brian Humphries 21, Dean Miller 20, Derick Edwards 9, Wayne Martin 9 (4 ast.), Ian Birmingham 7.

MT. CARMEL 66, GROSSMONT 58 – Veteran coach FRANK FOGGIANO was not pleased with the officiating in Wednesday night’s (Feb. 21) San Diego CIF Division II playoff opener at Mt. Carmel. But the coach of the Foothillers blamed himself for not making second-half defensive adjustments earlier than he did.

Trailing 48-31 after three quarters, Foggiano’s Foothillers left their traditional zone and applied full court pressure on the Sundevils (15-12). The switch was effective, as the Sundevils turned over the ball and Grossmont’s transition produced 27 fourth quarter points.

“I should have made the change sooner,” said Foggiano.

Foggiano pointed to the free throw line, where Mt. Carmel made 19 of 29 chances compared with Grossmont’s 9 of 13 connections from the charity stripe.

“We did not attempt a free throw in the first half,” said Foggiano, whose Foothillers trailed Mt. Carmel 29-21 at the break. “It was five minutes into the third quarter before we attempted our first free throw shot. There’s something wrong with that.”

The scrappy Foothillers might have pulled this one out had they been afforded a fifth quarter.

“We had them on the run, had control of the game,” said Foggiano.

But Grossmont (16-11) could not keep Mt. Carmel ’s point guard Tyler Fricke off the free throw line. Fricke made 9 of 13 free throws in the final quarter on his way to scoring a game-high 23 points.

Mt. Carmel also landed 7 three-pointers, which included three by Fricke and another three by Josh Hall.

“Based on our scouting reports, we decided to try to take away the inside, which we were able to do,” Foggiano said. “But then they hurt us from the outside and from the free throw line.”

Junior IAN COCHRAN led Grossmont with a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds. Guard MICHAEL GRAHAM punched in 14 points, while RICHARD OGUNSALU contributed 13 points and 8 boards.

“Four of my main players return next year,” Foggiano said. “This was a good game for them because they got a lot of good experience.”

Grossmont scoring: Ian Cochran 16, Michael Graham 14 (3 stl.), Richard Ogunsalu 13, Khalid Waters 6 (3 stl.), Alex Chiappone 6 (4 reb.), Justin Rutherford 3.

Santana's Tyler Blackledge (in purple) pulls up in front of Cathedral Catholic's Rob Erickson. (Photo by Adolfo Villanueva)

Steele Canyon forward Andrew Timm (right) scores on a short jumper against Hilltop. (Photo by Abbe Beckner, iCrew Digital) More Photos at Hilltop High School WEBSITE

Santana (11-17) made the playoff grade, but found itself trailing host Cathedral Catholic (10-17) in Wednesday’s (Feb. 21) first round, 24-2, after the opening eight minutes.

“We showed our age in the first quarter,” said Barry. “We had a lot of nerves out there tonight and Cathedral took full advantage of it.”

Santana actually outscored the Dons 46-44 over the final three quarters. A moral victory for sure, but too little, too late.

In spite of their lackluster start, the Sultans scrambled back to within 54-41 with 5:50 remaining.

Sophomore KEVIN ENGELKE scored a career-high 19 points, which included 6 for 6 free throw shooting. He also topped the Sultans in rebounding with 8.

“Engelke played a great game tonight,” Barry noted. “He was our floor leader.”

Santana scoring: Kevin Engelke 19, Tyler Blackledge 12 (7 reb., 3 ast.), Kyle Salzman 4, Jesse Vargas 4 (2 ast., 3 stl.), Brett Romero 3, Anthony DeBarrows 2, Ryan Garlin 2 (6 reb., 2 ast.), Chris Sodergren 2.

HILLTOP 53, STEELE CANYON 39 – Steele Canyon’s turbulent season came to an end in Wednesday’s (Feb. 21) San Diego CIF Division II playoff opener against No. 4 ranked Lancers (20-6) at Hilltop.

Although the visiting Cougars (11-16) were outscored in each of the first three quarters, the game was still up for grabs entering the final period.

“We are a good enough team to beat those guys, but we just didn’t have enough people step up offensively,” said Cougars coach BERNIE BALIKIAN.

The Lancers sealed Steele Canyon ’s fate with a 12-3 scoring advantage in the final quarter.

“We missed sooo many lay-ups,” said Balikian of his Cougars, who connected on only 27 percent of their floor shots, including 2 of 17 shooting from above the arc. To make matters worse, the Cougars converted only 7 of 15 free throw attempts.

Senior TONY MINNIFIELD paced the Cougars with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals.

RILEY BALIKIAN, who netted the Cougars’ only 2 triples, finished with 10 points and 3 assists.

Hilltop couldn’t find the mark from the free throw line either, as the Lancers canned only 5 of 19 attempts from the charity stripe.

Where Hilltop really cleaned Steele Canyon ’s clock was on the boards, as the taller Lancers took home a 45-29 advantage.

“We gave up too many offensive rebounds off missed free throws,” said Balikian.

Steele Canyon scoring: Tony Minnifield 14, Riley Balikian 10, Elijah Carter 5, Jebari Robinson 4, Josiah Smith 4 (5 reb.), Andrew Timm 2.

WESTVIEW 52, WEST HILLS 24 – It wasn’t exactly a storybook ending for the Grossmont North League champion Wolf Pack Wednesday night (Feb. 21) in the opening round of the San Diego CIF Division II playoffs.

The Pack, in fact, scored a season low. Only in the second quarter did West Hills score as many as 8 points.

“There was lid on the basket at our end,” mused Wolf Pack coach JEFF ARMSTRONG, who saw his team shoot only 25 percent from the floor. “It seemed like nothing would fall.”

This tale of woe for West Hills (17-11) can best be measured by the fate of senior PETER GILSON, who was limited to a career-worst one point.

“Westview had a guy in front of Peter and another behind him,” Armstrong said. “They did a good job of keep the ball out of Peter’s hands.”

Gilson, who was averaging close to 18 points per game, was 0 for 5 from the floor and 1 for 3 from the free throw line.

Westview (13-15) dictated the lethargic tempo.

“They were very deliberate, for sure,” said Armstrong. “They worked the clock, which caused us to extend our defense. I don’t know how many times they shot with two or three seconds left.”

The visiting Wolverines led only 22-13 at halftime before breaking the game open with a 17-6 run in the third quarter.

“Westview had a good transition game and we didn’t execute in our halfcourt set,” Armstrong said.

TIM NOWLIN led the Wolf Pack in points with 5 and rebounds with 4.

One of the highlights for West Hills was the defensive coverage against the Wolverines’ outside shooters. They limited Chase Fraser and Ian Larsson to three points apiece.

“We knew from our scouting reports we had to defense those two guys,” Armstrong said. “And we did that.”

Despite the resounding season-ending loss, Armstrong emphasized the positive. For instance the Wolf Pack captured its fourth GNL title in five years.

“I told the kids it’s real easy to have tunnel vision and focus on just this last game,” he said. “Hey, we had a great year, and for me as the coach, it was the most enjoyable group of kids in my 27 years. This was a classy group of young men. If I had a group like this every year, I could coach for a real long time.”

West Hills scoring: Tim Nowlin 5, Blaine Hoffard 4, Troy Nowlin 4, Chase Senter 3, Taylor Robbins 3, Garrett Cabral 2, Tony Lynn 2, Peter Gilson 1.

West Hills' Tim Nowlin goes up with this unorthodox shot. but gets the field goal, helping the Wolf Pack nip El Cap in overtime. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

© East County Sports.com
LA MESA (2-17-07) — The celebration for winning the Grossmont South League championship won't even last through the Presidents' Day weekend after the Helix Highlanders completed a 10-0 romp through the GSL by yielding a mere 10 first-half points to visiting Steele Canyon in a 56-34 victory in Friday's (Feb. 16) regular-season finale at Helix’s Caledonia Gym.

"We'll be back at practice Monday at 10 a.m. ready to work hard and get ready for Wednesday's (Feb. 21) game," said Helix center DAVID JEFFERSON, who scored only 10 points, but dominated on the boards (15 rebounds) and on defense for the top-ranked Scotties (25-1).

"For the weekend, it feels great to win league and we're real happy about it, but we still know we have to play in the playoffs. So we'll have to come in Monday and work hard on the little things we've been messing up on lately -- rebounding, boxing out, and getting into the lane."

The league title was the 10th in the last 13 seasons for coach JOHN SINGER’s Highlanders, who figure to earn the No. 1 seed in the hotly-contested SDCIF Division I playoffs.

"We might be the favorites, but our coaches told us that the arrows are pointing right at us, and that teams are saying we're not that good and we can be beat," added Jefferson.

There were coaches scouting Friday’s regular season finale that were of that opinion. “They’ll be out by the second round,” opined one coach, who wished to remain anonymous.

Inside the Helix locker room were a pair of players who participated on the school's football team, which lost the championship to Oceanside. Sharing that experience may allow the basketball team to avoid a similar fate.

"And this basketball team has guys who've won it and who've lost it," added Jefferson. "We know how it feels both ways, so it's up to me and LAWRENCE (HURDLE) and BRANDON (FOUNTAIN) -- the leaders on this team -- to let the younger guys know how it feels so we can come back and be fundamentally sound."

Consistent scoring throughout the game by Hurdle allowed Helix to continually stretch the lead throughout. Hurdle finished with 24 points, while KAREEM ABUKAR added 15 points.

"We have to work hard to go all the way, but that's what our plans are," noted Hurdle. "We have to improve a whole lot if we want to take CIF."

This was Helix’s 23rd win in a row. The Highlanders, in fact, are only two points shy of being undefeated.

“I’m very happy to win the league,” said Singer. “I don’t think we had a game closer than 14 points in league ( Valhalla coming closest). That’s a credit to the kids. We didn’t lose a game in the Grossmont Conference and we won three tournaments – Red Bluff, Hilltop and the Spartan.”

“Now we have another goal — to win our playoff game on Wednesday. That is the immediate goal – and four more after that. But we’ve got to win the first to get to the second.”

Senior TONY MINNIFIELD led Steele Canyon (11-15, 5-5 GSL) by posting a double-double of 10 points and 11 boards.

“We did a nice job in the third quarter – hit two 3s in that quarter,” said Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN. “We got some good shots and made plays. I feel a lot better about our game plan offensively. We got some shots, just didn’t finish. Helix is the best defensive team we played all year.”

Steele Canyon scoring: Tony Minnifield 10 (11 reb.), Arlin Taylor 8, Riley Balikian 5, Josiah Smith 4, Jebari Robinson 3, Elijah Carter 3, Andrew Timm 1.

Helix scoring: Lawrence Hurdle 24 (3 stls, 3 asts), Kareem Abukar 15, David Jefferson 10 (15 reb., 5 stls., 3 blk.), Brandon Fountain 3 (10 reb.), Donald McGowan 2, Eric Forney 2.

WEST HILLS 61, EL CAPITAN 59 (OT) – The Wolf Pack was determined to wrap up its fourth Grossmont North League championship in five years with an unblemished slate in Friday night’s (Feb. 16) regular season finale at El Capitan.

The Vaqueros (3-23, 2-6 GNL), on the other hand, were looking for a season-ending upset. They came oh-so-close to winning in regulation.

El Capitan had a chance to lock up the victory but a missed free throw left the door open for the Wolf Pack with five seconds remaining in regulation.

PETER GILSON rebounded the Vaqueros’ miss and dribbled the length of the court before passing the ball to CHRIS LIFGREN on the right baseline. Lifgren hit the jumper to force overtime.

“In the fourth quarter the fans were screaming for both sides,” West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG recalled. “When Lifgren hit his shot, you could have heard a pin drop. Then it was all our side screaming.”

In the 4 minute overtime period, West Hills gained a 5-3 edge as TONY LYNN hit a 3-pointer and Gilson also connected for a deuce. El Capitan countered with JERAMIE CARR’s third triple of the game, but could generate no more offense.

“I was really proud of our boys,” said El Capitan coach ROSS FURROW. “We didn’t have much to play for except our pride. I asked the boys to go out and play hard and they did. It was a good way to end the season. We are losing only Carr (to graduation); all the rest are coming back. This year was enjoyable for me, this was a nice group of kids. It was a good year.”

TIM NOWLIN was a stalwart for West Hills, hitting 8 of 11 floor shots and 3 free throws for a game-best 19 points.

Gilson finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while TROY NOWLIN pitched in with 10 points and 9 boards for the Wolf Pack. Lynn totaled 8 assists.

“These last couple of games have been pretty exciting, they were hard fought games,” said ARMSTRONG of the Wolf Pack which won its previous game by a 2-point margin over El Cajon Valley. “We opened up two pretty big leads in the first and third quarters tonight.”

West Hills led 17-6 after the first quarter, but saw that advantage shrink to 27-22 by intermission.

El Capitan put together its highest scoring quarter of 27 points during the final 8 minutes to force overtime.

BARRETT BRAUN paced the Vaqueros with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Carr finished with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

Sophomore JON MOLZEN contributed 14 points, 7 rebounds, 6 steals and 4 assists for the Vaqueros. ROBERT VICALDO led El Cap with 7 steals.

“Our perimeter defense wasn’t very good,” Armstrong said. “We gave up five 3s in the fourth quarter – Molzen hit one, Carr hit two, Braun hit one and Vicaldo hit one. We were actually lucky to get out of this one with a victory. I tip my hat to the kids for the win. It was just a little bit too close for comfort.”

West Hills scoring: Tim Nowlin 19, Peter Gilson 11, Troy Nowlin 10, Tony Lynn 7, Chris Lifgren 5, Garrett Cabral 4, Chase Senter 3, Taylor Robbins 2.

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 18, Jeramie Carr 15, Jon Molzen 14, Robert Vicaldo 9, Brooks Noble 2, Jake Zawlacki 1.

MONTE VISTA 74, GRANITE HILLS 54 – The short-handed Granite Hills Eagles gave it their best shot, but playing without 40 percent of their starting line-up against the aggressive Monte Vista Monarchs proved to be insurmountable odds to overcome.

JAMAR RANSOME put together one of his finest nights for the Monarchs (17-10, 7-3 GSL) with 29 points and 20 rebounds.

“Ransome got every other rebound all night,” said Monte Vista coach KEVIN MAHADY. “It was his best game of the year. He has a lot of heart. I’m pretty demanding of him, but I couldn’t be happier with him tonight.”

Senior guard ROSHUN WYNNE chipped in 18 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals for the Monarchs, who edged the Eagles only 56-52 in the first round meeting.

“Roshun Wynne did what Roshun Wynne does – played a typical Roshun game,” Mahady said.

Granite Hills was missing two starters, 6-foot-5 senior ANDREW JOSLYN, who suffered a broken collarbone against Helix, and point guard WAYNE MARTIN, who was ill.

“We had 17 turnovers in the first half and gave up way too many rebounds,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON, whose Eagles trailed 44-29 at the break.

Monte Vista was basically without one of its starting players, junior 3-point specialist MIKE WATKINS, who was on the floor for only 20 seconds due to a previous ankle sprain.

But the Monarchs got plenty of help from their bench.

“(ANTHONY) BELL and (ALEX) ROBINSON rotated in in Watkins’ place. It gives us something to build on for the playoffs. Watkins should be good to go by Wednesday (when the playoffs begin),” Mahady said.

Bell scored a career-high 11 points, most of which came on 3 triples. Robinson chipped in 9 points.

“We played really well,” said Mahady. “We really got after it and pressed a lot.”

As EastCountySports.com predicted, Monte Vista captured second place in the Grossmont South League. Two of the Monarchs three losses came to top-ranked Helix.

“Finishing in second place behind Helix isn’t too bad,” Mahady observed, noting that the Monarchs have won 13 of their last 16 games.

Despite playing with a clipped wing, the Eagles played hard.

Junior BRIAN HUMPHRIES set the pace with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

Steady DEAN MILLER added 13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks

Two surprise contributors to the Granite Hills cause were freshman KYLE SNYDER with 10 points, and junior IAN BIRMINGHAM with a career-best 13 rebounds to go along with 7 points.

Monte Vista scoring: Jamar Ransome 29, Roshun Wynne 18, Anthony Bell 11, Alex Robinson 9, Geoff Hartman 3 (5 reb.), Cameron Mason 2, Dale Thomas 2.

Granite Hills scoring: Brian Humphries 18, Dean Miller 13, Kyle Snyder 10, Ian Birmingham 7, Derick Edwards 6.

MOUNT MIGUEL 59, VALHALLA 45 – As goes COURTNEY WRATHER, so goes the Mount Miguel Matadors.

Mired in a three-game scoring slump, Wrather, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, broke loose for 29 points – his second highest total of the year – to lift host Mount Miguel to the regular season ending Grossmont South League win Friday night (Feb. 16).

Wrather, who had been held to single digits in his previous three outings, nailed 12 field goals – 3 of them triples – and went 2 for 2 from the free throw line. The Matadors’ ringleader also dished 3 assists and grabbed 3 rebounds.

“COURTNEY WRATHER had a quiet 29 points,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT. “Everybody contributed tonight. ARTHUR HOBBS, OC BASEY and TRAVON CAPLES played well defensively.”

Mount Miguel (16-12, 3-7 GSL) was in severe need of a victory to enhance its fading San Diego CIF Division III hopes for a first-round playoff home game.

It was Mount Miguel ’s third win in as many games as Valhalla (10-18, 1-9 GSL).

“It’s tough to beat a team three times in a season, which we did,” said Rowlett. “We only had seven players tonight, A.J. STANFORD was away on a family emergency.”

TRAVIS FOELSCH paced the Norsemen with 22 points.

“Travis Foelsch did a good job on the boards,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON.

Despite numerous close games during Jackson ’s first season as head coach, the Norsemen are a long shot to qualify for the CIF Division II playoffs.

“We’ve come a long way this year,” he said.

Mount Miguel scoring: Courtney Wrather 29, Arthur Hobbs 10 (4 stl), Travon Caples 8 (9 reb.), OC Basey 4 (5 ast.), Devyn Moore 3, Laron Rush 3 (5 reb., 4 blk.), Matt Miles 2 (4 stl).

Valhalla scoring: Travis Foelsch 22, Austin Suhay 10, Daniel Butcher 4, Kevin Kriebel 4, Aahron Mims 2, Garret Giles 2, Jorge Serna 1.

CHRISTIAN 75, MADISON 56 – ANDRIUS MIKUTIS snapped out of a mild slump with 28 points and 12 rebounds for the visiting Patriots, while VIKTOR ASACIOVAS also coined a double-double with 20 rebounds, 14 points and 6 blocks as Christian clobbered Madison in Friday’s (Feb. 16) Central League finale.

“Victor had possibly his best game of the season,” said Patriots assistant coach ADAM COPP.

Mikutis scored 13 points in the first quarter, propelling Christian (12-12, 6-4 CNT) to a 24-11 lead and were never headed. Mikutis had a great shooting night, connecting on 9 of 14 shots from the field and 10 of 12 free throws.

Eight of Asaciovas’ 20 rebounds came off the offensive glass as the Patriots scored 18 second chance points.

Six-foot-one junior DANIEL HAZLETT tallied 19 points, connected on a pair of triples and hit 5 of 6 free throws to maintain his East County lead.

“Everyone played well and we were able to take control of the game early,” said Copp. “Andrius got us started early with 13 in the first quarter as we began to set the pace of the game at an up-tempo speed. Everyone was involved and all but one player that played managed to score.”

Christian scoring: Andrius Mikutis 28, Daniel Hazlett 19, Viktor Asaciovas 14, Brad Johnston 4, Danny Mitchell 2, Andrew Sexton 2, Taylor Eichhorst 2, Brad Sandusky 2, Kurt Metcalfe 1, Michael Stowers 1.

GROSSMONT 72, EL CAJON VALLEY 41 – Grossmont used its ever-improving 1-2 inside punch to knock out the host El Cajon Valley Braves in Friday’s (Feb. 16) Grossmont North League finale.

RICHARD OGUNSALU, who rang up a career-high 25 points and gobbled up 16 rebounds, paved the way for the second-place Foothillers (16-10, 6-2 GNL). It was the fifth straight game that the 6-5 Ogunsalu, a junior, registered a double-double.

IAN COCHRAN, another Grossmont junior who stands in at 6-6, spun a double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds.

The Foothillers jumped out to leads of 19-7 and 37-15 to put the game away.

The Hillers also had some unsung heroes. One of those was senior ALEX CHIAPPONE, who hauled down 8 rebounds, made 2 steals and scored 4 points.

“Alex Chiappone played very well,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “He played solid defense, was very aggressive.”

ROBERT SULLIVAN accounted for Grossmont’s only 3-pointer of the evening.

Grossmont scoring: Richard Ogunsalu 25, Ian Cochran 21, Khalid Waters 8 (5 ast., 3 stl.), Robert Sullivan 6, Michael Graham 4, Alex Chiappone 4, Alex Leon 4 (4 reb.).

El Cajon Valley scoring: Chris Franco 13, Lucas Stafford 9, Dejon Joy 5, Andrew Johnson 4, Benton 4, A.J. Ussery 3, Neiko Alexis 3.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-14-06) — West Hills wrapped up its fourth Grossmont North League championship in five years Tuesday night (Feb. 13) at El Cajon Valley, but it wasn’t easy.

Senior guard BLAINE HOFFARD, who had missed the past couple of games with an injury, scored the game-winning bucket in overtime for the Wolf Pack (16-10, 7-0 GNL), which held off the upset-minded Braves, 71-69.

“You could really feel Blaine’s leadership out there tonight,” said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. “When he grabbed the basketball with the game tied there in overtime, he made a strong move to the baseline and went to the rack.”

Hoffard scored on that drive in the final 20 seconds. It was only his second basket of the game, but the one that gave West Hills the victory.

El Cajon Valley (5-21, 0-7 GNL) had one last chance to spoil the party for West Hills, but A.J. USSERY’s 3-point shot – with 1.7 seconds to play – missed by inches.

“I thought we had them,” said El Cajon Valley coach NATE REED. “But it rimmed in and spun out. We had that game. We led them all the way, but just couldn’t get it done.”

Armstrong said the Pack was fortunate to have escaped with a victory.

“After we’d made the first basket, we were losing the entire game until 1:40 was left in regulation,” Armstrong said.

El Cajon Valley led 22-14 after one quarter and 35-27 at intermission.

PETER GILSON – the odds-on favorite to be named Grossmont North League Player of the Year – scored a season-high 31 points and collected 13 rebounds to lead West Hills. The 6-foot-2 senior made 13 of 18 free throws and hit 9 of 19 shots from the floor despite heavy defensive coverage from the Braves.

The Wolf Pack, which was playing without the late-season strength of TAYLOR ROBBINS, who missed the game due to illness, received a strong effort from senior guard TONY LYNN (8 points, 11 assists).

The NOWLIN brothers, TROY and TIM, combined for 14 points and 13 rebounds.

“Knowing that this was a big game for us, I would have thought we would have had more energy at the beginning,” said Armstrong. “But we did fight back. Troy Nowlin fought like a warrior on the offensive boards. And Tony Lynn had a big second half and overtime for us.”

This was a foul-fest as each team was charged with 24 personals.

The Wolf Pack connected on 24 of 35 free throws, while the Braves made only 11 of 40 chances.

LUCAS STAFFORD led El Cajon Valley scorers with 19 points, but could have had more had he not missed 9 of 11 free throws.

DEJON JOY, the Braves’ season scoring leader, was limited to 7 points but surprisingly missed 17 of 20 free throw chances.

LAROY McGEE picked up much of the slack for the Braves by tossing in 16 points.

“As you can see just by the free throw shooting, we were lucky to get out of here with a win,” Armstrong said.

El Cajon Valley made 6 three-pointers – 2 each by CHRIS FRANCO and Ussery – compared to just 3 by the Wolf Pack, which received 2 from Lynn.

West Hills scoring: Peter Gilson 31, Troy Nowlin 8, Tony Lynn 8, Tim Nowlin 6, Garrett Cabral 6, Blaine Hoffard 4, Chris Lifgren 4, Lucas Armstrong 4,

El Cajon Valley scoring: Lucas Stafford 19, Laray McGee 16, Chris Franco 8, A.J. Ussery 8, Dejon Joy 7, Andrew Johnson 6, Benton 5.

MONTE VISTA 59, MOUNT MIGUEL 45 – Top-rated Helix High long ago wrapped up the Grossmont South League crown.

However, five other ballclubs were battling for second place, and with it an improved seeding and upwards of two postseason home games in the San Diego Section CIF playoffs. And the race for the runner-up spot was decided Tuesday (Feb. 13) night by Monte Vista, as the Monarchs led for all but 12 seconds in a 59-45 pasting of visiting Mount Miguel.

Only Steele Canyon has a mathematical chance to catch Monte Vista, but the Cougars will need to both upset Helix and have Granite Hills upend the Monarchs.

"If we can get past Granite Hills on Friday, I would think we would get the 6-or-7 (seed) at minimum," said Monte Vista coach KEVIN MAHADY. "I think we'll be upper tier and get a home game."

JAMAR RANSOME dominated the contest, slashing his way to the basket en route to a solid effort of 21 points and 14 rebounds. As well as the forward did on offense, Ransome was equally as impressive on defense, limited Mount Miguel's LARON RUSH to just a single basket in their 1-on-1 match-up.

"I was just playing hard defense by staying in front of Laron in the post and not playing behind him," noted Ransome. "I'm just trying to play strong and keep my hands up."

And it was more than just Ransome. Utilizing a slightly altered man defense, Monte Vista forced 19 turnovers, while limiting Mount Miguel to 31 percent shooting (17-for-55). Included was knocking Matadors center TRAVON CAPLES out of the East County field goal percentage shooting lead following a 4-for-16 effort.

"We were playing a lot of '22-man' -- we're pressuring the ball with a lot of up-tempo defense, so we got a lot of steals and a lot of blocked shots," added Ransome. "It was a lot of great defense."

The only bright spot for Mount Miguel was COURTNEY WRATHER's game-high 23 points. However, most of his points came late in each quarter, as Monte Vista expanded its lead in the early minutes, leaving the Matadors scrambling all night playing catch-up.

"The whole team played pretty sound defensively," added Mahady. "We didn't push it as well as I'd like -- I thought we could've even ran more. That's something we can work on."

Mount Miguel's only lead came late in the first period at 9-8, when Wrather stole the ball and sent Caples away with a lead pass for a breakaway layin. However, Monte Vista answered with an 11-2 scoring run, ignited by a Ransome block for a fastbreak basket when RYAN HOUSER took a ROSHUN WYNNE pass for a layin.

Wynne finished an all-around performance with 11 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. GSL coaches will have an interesting discussion on selecting Wynne or Helix's LAWRENCE HURDLE for all-league honors at point guard.

ALEX ROBINSON later added a 3-point shot for the Monarchs to expand the lead to 39-23 in the third period.

Mount Miguel made a run to trim the deficit to 47-41 with 6:07 remaining, so the Monarchs again forced the issue by taking the ball straight to the basket, including a 3-point play by Wynne to cap the triumph.

Robinson scored 11 points, going 3-for-4 at the foul line in the closing minutes.

Caples was held to 8 points, but helped in other areas, gaining 11 boards and six steals.

Mount Miguel scoring: Courtney Wrather 23, Travon Caples 8 (11 reb., 6 stl.), Devyn Moore 4 (4 ast.), Matt Miles 3, OC Basey 3, A.J. Stanford 2, Laron Rush 2.

Monte Vista scoring: Jamar Ransome 21 (14 reb.), Alex Robinson 11, Roshun Wynne 11 (10 reb., 7 ast.), Anthony Bell 5, Geoff Hartman 4, Ryan Houser 4, Trent Watkins 3.

HELIX 66, GRANITE HILLS 50 – Things started out business as usual for Grossmont South League champion Helix, which stormed out to early leads of 19-4 and 30-11 in Tuesday’s (Feb. 13) action at Granite Hills. But the Eagles (16-9, 4-5 GSL) refused to fold in this physical battle which led to one separated shoulder, one sprained ankle and one jammed finger.

The Eagles used a 13-4 second quarter run to cut Helix’s seemingly insurmountable lead to 34-24 with 1:30 left in the opening half.

A putback by KYLE SAN NICOLAS with 2:30 left in the third quarter kept Granite Hills in contention at 45-37.

“We could almost expect that all of the second-round games in our league will be closer than the first time,” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER, whose team has won 22 games in a row. “And that has panned out for the most part. It seems like teams that we beat the first time are more intense in the rematch.”

“You know when you play at Granite Hills it’s gonna be physical. And this floor they have here is a real slip-and-slide. So you never know what’s gonna happen for sure.”

When the game was on the line Helix’s DAVID JEFFERSON took command. The 6-foot-5 senior center – who should be a lock for Grossmont South League Player of the Year – scored 17 points in the second half, including 8 for 8 shooting from the floor.

“We were struggling there for awhile, too lackadaisical on defense,” said Jefferson. “I knew I had to make plays and do what I could do.”

And so he did.

“When we pulled to within eight, Jefferson just killed us down the stretch,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. “We had no answer to him. That’s why he’s the best player in our league.”

Jefferson finished with 25 points, most coming on 11 of 14 shooting from the floor. He also gobbled up 12 rebounds, made 5 steals and blocked 2 shots.

Hard-nosed senior defender BRANDON FOUNTAIN added 13 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds for the Highlanders. Singer focused his praise on Fountain’s ability to limit Granite Hills’ season scoring leader BRIAN HUMPHRIES to just 6 points.

“People don’t know how valuable Brandon is for us,” Singer said. “He always gets the other team’s best offensive guy and never fails to shut him down.”

Sophomore DEAN MILLER nearly doubled his season scoring average, leading Granite Hills with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

“When Dean is aggressive and takes the ball to the basket, he’s one of the best in our league,” said Anderson. “And even though Humphries did not score a lot, he did block 5 shots and kept his composure, proving that he is a team player.”

WAYNE MARTIN, who is a two-guard by nature but has been forced into the point position of late, held up well against Helix’s pressure. Martin scored 13 points, including a pair of treys.

Helix scoring: David Jefferson 25, Brandon Fountain 13, Lawrence Hurdle 7, Kareem Abukar 6 (5 ast.), Dorian Staton 5 (5 ast., 3 stl.), Donnie McGowan 4, Eric Forney 4, Tyonte Hosley 2.

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 25, Wayne Martin 13, Brian Humphries 6 (4 reb.), Derick Edwards 2, Andrew Joslyn 2 (5 reb.), Kyle San Nicolas 2.

VALHALLA 53, STEELE CANYON 51 – Even though the record doesn’t show it, first year head coach KEITH JACKSON and his Norsemen have been in contention for the majority of their 27 games.

On Tuesday night (Feb. 13) the visiting Norsemen (10-17, 1-8 GSL) finally won a Grossmont South League game by upsetting Steele Canyon (11-14, 5-4 GSL).

“This win was huge for us tonight,” said a happy Jackson. “We haven’t won since January 4.”

Even though Valhalla jumped out to a 10-2 lead on Steele Canyon ’s Senior Night, the Norsemen nearly saw their shot at victory evaporate in the final seconds.

ARLIN TAYLOR scored his only 3 points of the game on a triple to give the Cougars a 51-49 advantage – Steele Canyon ’s first lead of the night – with 90 seconds to play.

The Norsemen tied the game on an AAHRON MIMS bucket with less than a minute to play.

DANIEL BUTCHER, who was fouled with 4.4 seconds remaining, netted a pair of free throws to give the Norsemen the nod.

“No play has been bigger for us this year than those two free throws of his at the end of the game,” Jackson said.

Butcher finished with 6 points and 6 assists.

“He leads the team in assists. He works hard and is a team guy first,” added Jackson.

TRAVIS FOELSCH scored a game-high 19 points for Valhalla.

“At least 6 of his points were second chance shots,” said Jackson.

Jackson’s praise baton was passed on to KEVIN KRIEBEL, who shared team-high rebounding honors of 7 with AUSTIN SUHAY. That duo accounted for 11 points.

“I’ve talked to our guys about finishing at the end of the game. I’m just glad that we were able to finish well tonight,” said Jackson.

JEBARI ROBINSON paced Steele Canyon with 13 points and 4 assists.

TONY MINNIFIELD added 10 points, 11 rebounds and 4 steals for the Cougars.

“I’m not just saying it, but I thought the better team won tonight,” said Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN. “ Valhalla played hard and well and that’s a credit to Keith Jackson for keeping his team together even though they were losing.”

Balikian was not down on his own team, which rallied from a 9-point fourth quarter deficit to tie the game.

“I have to give our guys credit for fighting back,” Balikian said. “We didn’t shoot very well (18 for 55).”

The Cougars shot only 21 percent from above the arc, hitting just 6 of 28 chances.

Valhalla scoring: Travis Foelsch 19, Austin Suhay 7, Aahron Mims 6, Daniel Butcher 6, Rod Fakhoury 5, Kevin Kriebel 4, Jorge Serna 4, Garret Giles 2.

Steele Canyon scoring: Jebari Robinson 13, Tony Minnifield 10, Riley Balikian 9 (6 reb.), Andrew Timm 8, Nick Stathas 4 (4 stl.), Arlin Taylor 3, Elijah Carter 3, Josiah Smith 1.

SANTANA 59, EL CAPITAN 47 – The Sultans have completed their regular season and are hoping to land a berth in the San Diego CIF Division III playoffs.

Santana (11-16, 4-4 GNL) appears to be battling Valley Center (6-20) of the Valley League for the final spot in the 12-team Division III bracket.

Coach TIM BARRY and the Sultans will find out their fate in Saturday’s (Feb. 17) playoff seeding meeting.

As for the regular season finale, Barry had to be pleased with the play of freshman point guard JESSE VARGAS, who paced Santana with 15 points, including 7 of 7 free throw shooting.

“We were up 22 points and really blew it open in the middle two quarters,” said Barry.

Santana’s mid-game surge was led by 6-foot-4 junior KYLE SALZMAN, who scored all of his 14 points during that period. His totals included a pair of 3-balls.

“Salzman played his best game of the year,” Barry said. “He fouled out in the fourth quarter but went 6-7 from the floor before he did.”

For El Capitan (3-22, 2-5 GNL)l, JON MOLZEN put together perhaps his finest game of the season, leading the team with 19 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and notching 4 steals.

BARRETT BRAUN added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Vaqueros.

Santana scoring: Jesse Vargas 15 (5 reb., 3 ast., 3 stl.), Kyle Salzman 14 (4 reb., 3 stl.), Tyler Blackledge 10 (5 reb.), John Vasquez 7, Blake Harper 5, Kevin Engelke 4, Chris Sodergren 2 (6 reb.), Brett Romero 2.

El Capitan scoring: Jon Molzen 19, Barrett Braun 16 (3 stl.), Michael Overson 6 (5 stl.), Armon Worrell 3, Brooks Noble 2, Jeramie Carr 1 (5 ast.).

CHRISTIAN 45, CLAIREMONT 37 – For the first time all season, the Christian High Patriots failed to make a 3-pointer in Tuesday’s (Feb. 13) Central League game at Clairemont. On top of that, team scoring leader ANDRIUS MIKUTIS was held to half of his season scoring average.

Despite all the short-comings, the Patriots (11-12, 5-4 CNT) edged the Chieftains to secure third place in the Central League.

“We attempted to press but our press lacked intensity for most of the night,” said Christian assistant coach ADAM COPP. “We managed to keep the ball on the outside and defended the post pretty well in the half court set, but were unable to force the turnovers we were wanting.”

Ironically, Christian managed to outscore Clairemont (11-16, 3-6 CNT) in each of the four quarters.

Junior guard DANIEL HAZLETT paced the Patriots with 17 points, which included 5 of 6 free throw shooting.

VIKTOR ASACIOVAS added 14 points for Christian.

“Offensively we did not get the ball inside quite enough and just flat out did not shoot well,” said Copp. “Tonight was Andrius worst shooting game at Christian, but I guess after this much time he is allowed to have an off night. Daniel and Viktor did okay to pick up the slack.”

Christian could be seeded as high as sixth in the 16-team San Diego CIF Division IV playoffs.

Christian scoring: Daniel Hazlett 17, Viktor Asaciovas 14, Andrius Mikutis 12, Jordan Graves 2.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-10-07) — Foothills Christian played its final boys basketball game as a member of the Citrus South League Saturday night (Feb. 10) at Granite Hills. That is probably a blessing for all concerned.

All five Foothills starters reached double figures as the Knights (21-5, 10-0 CSL) crushed Calvary Christian Academy of Chula Vista, 101-15.

TROY LEAF led the way for Foothills with 24 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals in a little more than two quarters of action. Junior AARON HALE had a big night for Foothills, knocking down 23 points while grabbing 10 rebounds and making 4 steals.

ZACH KAUL popped in 16 points – more than half of which came on 3 triples. The sophomore guard leads East County with 95 three-pointers. Leaf is second with 50.

Freshman guard KALOB HATCHER added 16 assists to his record-breaking totals while dumping in 10 points and making a team-best 7 steals. BRANDON HALE added 10 points and 5 rebounds for the winners.

NICK DUENEZ delivered 8 points off the bench.

The Knights will have the next 10 days off but will undoubtedly be the No. 1 seed in the San Diego CIF Division V playoffs. Seeding for the playoffs will be Saturday (Feb. 17) with opening round games slated for Tuesday (Feb. 20).

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 24, Aaron Hale 23, Zach Kaul 16, Brandon Hale 10, Kalob Hatcher 10, Nick Duenez 8, David Carter 6, Andrew Atia 2, Justin Esselstrom 2.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-10-07) — As anticipated for weeks, Helix’s 63-49 victory over Valhalla officially clinched the Grossmont South League championship for the top-ranked Highlanders for the first time in four seasons.

Derick Edwards of Granite Hills (in white) goes baseline while Laron Rush of Mount Miguel goes for the block, but was called for the foul. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

Helix center DAVID JEFFERSON finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds in the Highlanders wire-to-wire triumph Friday (Feb. 9) to spoil Senior Night at host Valhalla.

BRANDON FOUNTAIN, East County’s top defensive specialist, rolled a rare double-double of 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for the Highlanders.

Outside of DONNIE McGOWAN’s 14 points and 4 rebounds, it was not a big offensive night for Helix.

Nevertheless, the Highlanders (23-1, 8-0 GSL) were in control throughout as they marched to their 21st straight victory.

The defense of Helix keyed a quick 14-2 lead, including the game's first eight points, with four of the seven baskets coming in transition courtesy of four of the team's 18 steals. The leader among the ball hogs was LAWRENCE HURDLE, who swiped five of his seven steals in the first period.

And when Valhalla forward KEVIN KRIEBEL fell out of bounds trying to save a loose ball, his hustle swipe of the ball landed in the hands of Jefferson for an uncontested layin and an 8-0 lead.

However, such efforts by the Norsemen were finally rewarded in the second half against the Highlanders, who carried a 34-14 lead into the intermission.

"Valhalla (9-17, 0-8 GSL) out-worked us and were hustling and out-boarded us on the glass,” noted Helix coach JOHN SINGER, who saw his team out-scored 23-14 to open the second half.

Included were a pair of 3-point shots by sophomore AUSTIN SUHAY, while DANIEL BUTCHER scored 13 of his team-high 15 points after the break. Kriebel also hauled in 16 rebounds.

After trailing by as many as 22 points, Butcher exploded coming out of the locker room by hitting three shots, including a triple, for seven quick points. And by working the glass, Valhalla eventually crept to within 44-34 on an AAHRON MIMS layin off a Suhay pass.

"Our guys needed something positive to happen," said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. "What they did in the second half is something to be proud of and something we can build on."

But Helix woke up in time by pushing the ball inside to get to the foul line, sinking 8-of-9 shots in the fourth quarter. Otherwise, it was a forgettable shooting night on offense for Helix, sinking just 22-of-61 shots (36 percent) from the floor, including an array of layins.

Helix scoring: David Jefferson 24 (5 stl., 4 blk.), Donnie McGowan 14, Brandon Fountain 12, Lawrence Hurdle 8 (8 stl., 3 blk.), Kareem Abukar 5.

Valhalla scoring: Daniel Butcher 15 (5 ast.), Kevin Kreibel 11 (16 reb.), Travis Foelsch 6 (7 reb.), Austin Suhay 6, Mike Espinoza 5, Aahron Mims 4, Ruffy Bacong 2.

STEELE CANYON 61, MONTE VISTA 57 (OT) – To say Steele Canyon has had to overcome adversity is putting it mildly. But coach BERNIE BALIKIAN’s Cougars continually find a way to land on their feet, as they did in Friday night’s (Feb. 9) Grossmont South League overtime victory against visiting Monte Vista.

This was a tasty victory for the Cougars (11-13, 5-3 GSL), who dealt the Monarchs (15-10, 5-3 GSL) just their third loss in the last 14 games.

After the Cougars let a 42-33 lead slip away in the final quarter, ARLIN TAYLOR still had a chance to win it in regulation for Steele Canyon. However, his shot missed the mark, putting the game into overtime.

Taylor had a chance to redeem himself in the extra period as he nailed what proved to be the winning bucket with 59 seconds remaining in OT. Taylor ’s connection gave the Cougars a 59-54 advantage they would not lose.

“Taylor ’s shot broke their back,” said Balikian. “I felt so good for him that he was the one to make it after he missed his chance to win it in regulation.”

For the second game in a row, JEBARI ROBINSON scored a career-high – this time hitting 21 points – to pace the Cougars. Robinson’s totals included connecting on 4 of 8 shots from above the arc and 5 of 6 free throws.

ANDREW TIMM missed only one shot from the floor and tacked on a pair of free throws to finish with 12 points and 7 rebounds for the Cougars. TONY MINNIFIELD also scored 12 points and corralled a team-high 11 caroms, most of it coming in the second half.

“We put together two straight solid games,” said Balikian. “I’ve always taken pride as a coach that my teams play their best basketball down the stretch. We played a very good team tonight and I think this one had playoff implications.”

The Monarchs used a 15-6 scoring run to force overtime, although Monte Vista coach KEVIN MAHADY believes his club should have won in regulation.

“We missed 11 free throws in the 4th quarter and 10 lay-ups in the first half,” Mahady said, “That’s 31 points. It’s hard to overcome that. We didn’t deserve to win.”

JAMAR RANSOME paced Monte Vista with 19 points, a dozen rebounds and 3 steals. While the senior did connect on 8 of 14 shots from the floor, he missed 7 of 10 free throws.

Senior guard ROSHUN WYNNE added 17 points, 11 rebounds, 7 steals and 5 assists for the Monarchs, but also struggled from the free throw line, where he made only 7 of 12 attempts.

For the second game in a row junior guard ALEX ROBINSON had some high points for the Monarchs, finishing with 9 points.

On the downside for Monte Vista, junior guard MIKE WATKINS was unable to make his usual contributions and he sprained an ankle in the middle of the second quarter and sat out the remainder of the game.

“Steele Canyon played very well,” said Mahady. “They are well-coached, play well as a team.”

Steele Canyon scoring: Jebari Robinson 21, Andrew Timm 12, Tony Minnifield 12, Arlin Taylor 8, Elijah Carter 6, Riley Balikian 2.

Monte Vista scoring: Jamar Ransome 19, Roshun Wynne 17, Alex Robinson 9, Geoff Hartman 8, Ryan Houser 4.

GRANITE HILLS 49, MOUNT MIGUEL 48 – It was not championship night at Granite Hills when Mount Miguel arrived for Friday’s (Feb. 9) Grossmont South League contest.

For the majority of the evening this one belonged to the Eagles (16-8, 4-4 GSL), who opened up a 24-8 lead midway through the second quarter, but ended up hanging on by their talons in the final seconds.

“I’d like to think that for the first three quarters we did a good defensive job on them,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON.

The focal point of Anderson ’s praise was upon senior DERICK EDWARDS, who slapped the clamps on Mount Miguel scoring leader COURTNEY WRATHER.

“Derick had a hand right up on him the whole time,” said Anderson of Edwards, who blanked Wrather over the first three quarters. “Derick has played hard for us all season but he’s been peaking in the last couple of games.”

Edwards played a complete game for the Eagles, hitting 6 of 8 shots from the floor and one free throw for 13 points to go along with 10 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 assists.

But Edwards’ key contributions were on defense as Wrather managed only 3 connections in 21 shots from the floor. All 8 of Wrather’s points – less than half his season average – came in the 4th quarter.

Granite Hills’ BRIAN HUMPHRIES, a 6-foot-4 stealthy junior, always managed to rank at the top of the scoring column, as he did on this night, with 16 points. But the flashy part of his game is his ability to block shots. The East County blocked-shots leader rejected 6 Mount Miguel scoring attempts, which proved critical in the end.

“It’s timing, just knowing when,” said Humphries of his uncanny ability to hone in on approaching shots. “I make some mistakes, but I just gamble most of the time.”

Humphries has blocked 77 enemy projectiles thus far this season.

On the offensive end Humphries put together an 8-point scoring burst in the 3rd quarter to give Granite Hills a 35-19 lead.

For some reason after that burst, the Eagles seemed to lose their grip on the game, thus opening the door for Mount Miguel, which connected on only 7 of 25 shots from the floor and was on the short end of rebounding (21-13) and turnovers (11-7) in the opening two quarters.

Sophomore DEAN MILLER added 15 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists for Granite Hills.

Mount Miguel (15-11, 2-6 GSL) made a belated charge in the final quarter, outscoring the Eagles 20-8, but still came up short.

“Granite Hills did a good job of spreading their offense and getting good looks in their flex offense,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT. “We got in foul trouble and basically we just spotted them too much in the first half.”

LARON RUSH, who has been mired in a slump of late, helped the Matadors with 13 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Among the starters, however, TRAVON CAPLES was basically the lone scoring threat with 15 points and 9 rebounds.

Mount Miguel’s final three scoring plays were all 3-pointers, one by Wrather and 2 by MATT MILES.

“I could replay this one a hundred times, and that’s the frustrating part about it,” said Rowlett.

Granite Hills scoring: Brian Humphries 16, Dean Miller 15, Derick Edwards 13, Andrew Joslyn 3, Wayne Martin 2.

Mount Miguel scoring: Travon Caples 15, Laron Rush 13, Courtney Wrather 8, Matt Miles 6, OC Basey 4, Devyn Moore 2.

WEST HILLS 59, SANTANA 40 – It had to be sweet for the hosting Wolf Pack of West Hills Friday night (Feb. 9), clinching at least a share of its fourth Grossmont North League title in five seasons at the expense of crosstown rival Santana.

The Pack powered in front 19-6 after one quarter, but needed a solid second half to subdue the Sultans.

Despite the victory, West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG was not ready to hoist up any championship banners just yet. The Wolf Pack (15-10, 6-0 GNL) needs one win in its final two games to lock up the crown.

Meanwhile, Armstrong focused on his team’s latest performance, which produced an 8th victory in the last 10 outings.

TAYLOR ROBBINS continued to be a major contributor for West Hills, ripping off a team-best 12 points – half of which came on 3-balls. The 6-foot-2 senior also chipped in with 5 rebounds and 3 assists.

“Robbins played outstanding,” noted Armstrong. “He did a little bit of everything for us.

TIM NOWLIN pitched in 10 points and 4 rebounds, while CHRIS LIFGREN’s 4-for-4 shooting brought the Wolf Pack 8 more points.

“Lifgren played very well in the second half,” said Armstrong. “And Tim Nowlin played well.”

TONY LYNN, the Grossmont North’s assist leader, was on top of his game, dealing 9 scoring passes, hitting a pair of triples and turning a team-best 3 steals.

“ Lynn continues to play well, he really controls the game, made a lot of nice passes tonight, added Armstrong.”

In spite of the frustrating setback, Santana coach TIM BARRY was able to deliver a positive spin.

“I thought it was a very competitive game – we were 8 points apart at halftime,” noted Barry. “We made some nice runs in the middle two quarters.

One thing that Santana has done that no other Grossmont North League team has been able to achieve is to keep the shackles on West Hills senior PETER GILSON.

On this night Gilson was limited to 8 points – all but 2 coming from the free throw line.

Barry has devised a defense that has handcuffed Gilson – a 17.7 scorer overall. Using a box-and-one defense the Sultans also limited Gilson to 8 points in the first-round meeting of these teams.

Fortunately for West Hills, eight of Gilson’s teammates contributed to the scoring in the latest go-round.

TYLER BLACKLEDGE paced Santana (10-16, 3-4 GNL) with 10 points and 6 rebounds.

“The most amazing stat in this game to me was KYLE SALZMAN had 12 rebounds – 6 offensive – but did not score,” Barry said. “Most of our rebounds came from him. He did some serious crashing of the boards but didn’t have a lot of opportunities for putbacks.”

West Hills scoring: Taylor Robbins 12, Tim Nowlin 10, Peter Gilson 8 (8 reb.), Chris Lifgren 8, Tony Lynn 6, Troy Nowlin 6, Blaine Hoffard 4, Lucas Armstrong 3, Garrett Cabral 2.

Santana scoring: Tyler Blackledge 10, Chris Sodergren 8, Jesse Vargas 7, John Vasquez 4, Anthony DeBarrows 4, Blake Harper 3, Kevin Engelke 2, Ryan Garlin 2.

GROSSMONT 64, EL CAPITAN 48 – Grossmont rolled a pair of doubles as the Foothillers romped past visiting El Capitan in Friday’s (Feb. 9) Grossmont North League action.

Junior forward IAN COCHRAN, who has been a bit inconsistent in recent weeks, was on top of his game with 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Foothillers (15-10, 5-2 GNL).

Meanwhile, junior RICHARD OGUNSALU posted his fourth straight double-double with 17 points and a game-high 16 rebounds for Grossmont.

“Ogunsalu is becoming more consistent,” Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO said.

Foggiano was most pleased by the work of junior guard KHALID WATERS, who contributed 16 points – half coming on 8-for-8 free throw shooting – 6 assists and 4 steals.

Grossmont guard MICHAEL GRAHAM pilfered 6 Vaqueros passes as the Foothillers collected 15 steals as a team.

The Foothillers won the scoring battle in all four quarters and led 35-24 at halftime.

JON MOLZEN and BARRETT BRAUN shared high-point honors with 14 for El Capitan (3-21, 2-4 GNL). Braun topped the club with 6 rebounds, while Molzen led in steals with 6.

Guard ROBERT VICALDO handed out 7 assists and recorded 4 steals for the Vaqueros.

Grossmont scoring: Ian Cochran 25, Richard Ogunsalu 17, Khalid Waters 16, Justin Rutherford 4, Alex Chiappone 2.

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 14, Jon Molzen 14, Michael Overson 8, Jeramie Carr 4, Robert Vicaldo 4, Armon Worrell 2, Brooks Noble 2.

HOOVER 82, CHRISTIAN 70 – Things started out well for the Christian High Patriots, who rolled to a 15-4 lead in the early going of Friday’s (Feb. 9)

Central League contest at Hoover.

The Patriots (10-12, 4-4 CNT) led 17-13 after the opening quarter, but Hoover (13-13, 6-2 CNT) – keeping its flickering title hopes alive – crushed Christian 29-10 in the second quarter.

Down 42-27 at halftime, the Patriots claimed a 43-40 scoring edge in a wild second half.

“Overall if you take out the second quarter we looked pretty good, but we just can't put together a complete game,” said Christian assistant coach ADAM COPP.

ANDRIUS MIKUTIS, who was knocked unconscious in Tuesday’s loss to Crawford, was very alert against the Cardinals, scoring 29 points to pace the Patriots. A 6-foot-4 senior, Mikutis connected on 9 of 12 shots from the floor and 10 of 12 free throws, completing a double-double with 14 rebounds.

“Andrius came back from his concussion on Tuesday with an outstanding game,” Copp stated. “We had to use him at the point in order to break the press for a lot of the game and it took a lot out of him. In the end it just wasn't enough to get the victory.”

Junior guard DANIEL HAZLETT didn’t have a great shooting night, but contributed 16 points and 3 steals for the Patriots.

VIKTOR ASACIOVAS was powerful inside, putting down 6 of 9 shots for 13 points, snagging 9 rebounds and blocking 5 shots.

Senior DANNY MITCHELL, not known for his scoring punch, shot 50 percent from the floor – including a pair of triples – on his way to a 10-point night.

As a team the Patriots sank 51 percent of 51 shots from the floor, but committed 19 turnovers, which cost them over the long haul.

“It was encouraging for our guys to see us win three quarters and hopefully that will help us in the playoffs,” said Copp.

Hoover placed four players in double figures, led by the 22 points of Keith Turner.

Christian scoring: Andrius Mikutis 29, Daniel Hazlett 16, Viktor Asaciovas 13, Danny Mitchell 10, Jordan Graves 2.

© East County Sports.com
LA MESA (2-7-07) — The visiting Mount Miguel Matadors raised a little Cain in the opening five minutes of Tuesday’s (Feb. 6) Grossmont South League contest against No. 1 ranked Helix. The Matadors (15-10 2-5 GSL), had the host Highlanders on their heels, leading 17-4 at that point.

“You know me, I don’t call timeouts early in the game very often,” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER, who called one at this juncture. “But we weren’t defending very well, and everything they threw up seemed to go in.”

It didn’t take long for Singer’s crew to regain its posture, as Helix came back to win in its usual convincing style, 63-41.

The Highlanders scored 10 of the final 12 points in the first quarter then mauled the Matadors 39-12 in the middle two quarters to gain control.

“It’s pretty impressive to come back when you get down early,” said Singer. “We were missing one starter, and that hurt us. But depth and balance are our strengths, and that was the case again.”

DAVID JEFFERSON was a stalwart in the middle for the Highlanders with 18 points, 17 rebounds and 3 steals.

LAWRENCE HURDLE added 17 points, 7 steals and 3 assists for Helix (22-1, 7-0 GSL).

“Everybody expects us to beat every team we play by 30 points,” said Singer, whose team has won 20 straight. “It’s hard to keep our game at that level.”

“It’s so hard for us to keep these kids fresh,” concurred Helix assistant coach ANDY MERIDETH. “It’s not like they’re tired, but at 22-1 its hard to keep them focused on every game.”

Mount Miguel’s TRAVON CAPLES scored 8 of his 12 points in the opening quarter to help the Matadors off to their fast start.

“Caples had some putbacks and got his points in the first three minutes of the game when we didn’t have our wits about us,” said Merideth. “He’s a good player.”

Caples was the only Matador to finish in double scoring figures. He shared team rebounding highs of 6 with OC BASEY and LARON RUSH.

“We started off strong then we got in foul trouble,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT. “Caples sat the whole 2nd quarter with three fouls.”

Not surprisingly, Helix senior BRANDON FOUNTAN – perhaps the top defensive player in East County – made it a long night for Mount Miguel scoring leader COURTNEY WRATHER.

“Guys today think that it’s important to be scoring, but that’s hard to do without guys like Brandon Fountain playing defensively,” said Rowlett. “He takes away everybody’s best player. He’s an all-leaguer in my book.”

Wrather was limited to 9 points – slightly more than his season average.

“Helix took us out of a lot of stuff defensively, and we couldn’t get into our offense,” said Rowlett. “Lawrence Hurdle played good'D'tonight. It’s good to see when a team commits to playing defense.”

For Mount Miguel, Rush blocked 6 shots.

Freshman A.J. STANFORD chipped in with 8 points and 5 assists.

“My guys played hard tonight,” said Rowlett. “My first year (as coach of the Matadors) I’m looking for effort. It’s not all about'I' –- we’ve got eight guys that care about the team.”

Helix shot 39 percent from the field (26 of 69) but dominated the boards (49-24).

Helix scoring: David Jefferson 18, Lawrence Hurdle 17, Eric Forney 9, Brandon Fountain 7, Dorian Staton 6, Donnie McGowan 4, Alex Aguirre 2.

Mount Miguel scoring: Travon Caples 12, Courtney Wrather 9, A.J. Stanford 8, Laron Rush 6, OC Basey 2, Devyn Moore 2, Arthur Hobbs 2.

GROSSMONT 71, SANTANA 40 -- Expectations for a league championship grew after the Grossmont Foothillers posted a winning record in Grossmont Conference crossover play. But the road block from West Hills detoured the Hillers’ title plans by handing them a pair of defeats.

And each time, Grossmont (14-10, 4-2 GNL) took its frustrations out on Santana, this time dunking the Sultans in Tuesday's (Feb. 6) Grossmont North League encounter.

The Hillers scored the final 15 points of the opening period for a 17-3 lead and were never headed.

"We took it out on Santana after losing to West Hills," said junior forward RICHARD OGUNSALU, who rang up his third straight double-double with a game-high 18 points and 11 rebounds. "We just kept pumping the ball inside."

The Sultans were forced into 25 turnovers, including 10 in the opening period when the game was decided.

"Our guards -- KHALID WATERS and MICHAEL GRAHAM -- are really fast," added Ogunsalu. "They're always looking for the ball and made some great plays."

Included were three steals in the opening minutes by Waters, who later closed the period by converting a breakaway layin on a theft by Graham. Later, Graham collected four assists in the third period, when Grossmont held a 20-7 advantage to blow the contest open.

"We just jammed the ball and went to the basket," added Graham. "We worked hard to get the ball and get the play going."

IAN COCHRAN matched Ogunsalu with his own double-double -- 13 points, 15 rebounds -- while Waters scored 10 and ALEX LEON totaled 10 points and 5 rebounds from off the bench.

TYLER BLACKLEDGE was the lone Sultan to find success by constantly driving the lane for buckets, drawing fouls, or on three occasions, both. Blackledge paced his side with 13 points, seven boards and he took a charge on defense to force a turnover.

Things got so bad for Santana (10-15, 3-3 GNL) that a second-quarter, 3-point basket by guard ANTHONY DeBARROWS (10 points) was wiped out when the ball went through a hole in the netting, but neither game official saw the ball go through the ring -- they thought it was an air ball.

Grossmont scoring: Richard Ogunsalu 18, Ian Cochran 13, Khalid Waters 12, Alex Leon 10, Robert Sullivan 7, Justin Rutherford 6 (7 rebs, 7 asts), Alex Chiappone 3 (5 rebs), Colter Rios 2.

Santana scoring: Tyler Blackledge 13, Anthony DeBarrows 10, Ryan Garlin 5, Jesse Vargas 4, Stephen Gaines 2, John Vasquez 2, Kevin Engelke 1, Blake Harper 1, Jarrel Patacsil 1, Chris Sodergren 1. Kyle Salzman (7 rebs)

STEELE CANYON 53, GRANITE HILLS 46 – Steele Canyon coach BERNIE BALIKIAN was excited about the intensity his Cougars displayed in attacking visiting Granite Hills in Tuesday’s (Feb. 6) Grossmont South League action.

“This is going to help us, bring us together as a team,” Balikian said. “We had a really good practice on Monday. Our guys are going about their business of trying to get into the playoffs.”

“Bottom line is, we really looked good in this game,” he added.

JEBARI ROBINSON scored a season-high 20 points to lead the Cougars (10-13, 4-3 GSL).

“Granite Hills played great halfcourt defense and we struggled against it,” Balikian said. “But Jebari provided us with some solid one-on-one and helped break their defense.”

Robinson connected on 7 of 12 shots from the floor, including a trio of triples.

ANDREW TIMM, the tallest of the Cougars at 6-foot-6, scored only 4 points but was a force inside the defensive paint with 8 rebounds, 4 blocks and 4 steals.

“Timm played his most inspired game of the year,” Balikian said. “He was active all night.”

Steele Canyon raced out to a 15-6 first quarter lead, but owned just a 19-14 halftime lead.

The Cougars extended their advantage to 15 points in the 4th quarter, and then had to hold off a flurry of 3-pointers by the Eagles (15-8, 3-4 GSL) in the final period.

“TONY MINNIFIELD carried us inside on his shoulders at the end,” Balikian said of the 6-3 senior, who hit 5 of 9 shots for 10 points.

ELIJAH CARTER added 8 points and 5 rebounds for the Cougars.

JOSIAH SMITH also nailed down 8 boards, while Minnifield claimed 5 rebounds.

BRIAN HUMPHRIES paced Granite Hills with 16 points, 8 rebounds and blocked 5 shots.

DERICK EDWARDS added 12 points (on 6 of 7 shooting). DEAN MILLER also had 12 points for the Eagles, who were stone cold over the first three quarters, hitting just 6 of 36 attempts from the floor.

“We couldn’t find the basket in the first three quarters,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON.

Miller scored all but two of his 12 points in the 4th quarter as Granite Hills outscored Steele Canyon 26-19.

“They hit some 3-pointers from as far out as 30 feet,” Balikian said of the Eagles.

However, Granite Hills wound up shooting 32 percent overall due to its 10 field goals in the 4th quarter.

Steele Canyon scoring: Jebari Robinson 20, Tony Minnifield 10, Elijah Carter 8, Riley Balikian 6, Andrew Timm 4, Arlin Taylor 3, Josiah Smith 2.

Granite Hills scoring: Brian Humphries 16, Derick Edwards 12, Dean Miller 12, Andrew Joslyn 6.

MONTE VISTA 68, VALHALLA 56 – Visiting Monte Vista relied on its one-two punch of JAMAR RANSOME and ROSHUN WYNNE to knock out upset-minded Valhalla in Tuesday’s (Feb. 6) Grossmont South League battle.

Ransome, who has been in a mild slump of late, broke loose for a game-high 28 points and 8 rebounds, sparking the Monarchs (15-9, 5-2 GSL) to their 11th win in their last 13 starts.

Ransome was 11 of 18 from the floor and 6 of 9 from the free throw stripe.

Wynne settled for 14 points – converting all 8 of his free throw attempts – 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals.

MIKE WATKINS continues to be an outside scoring threat for Monte Vista, punching in 14 points, including a pair of triples.

A bonus contributor for the Monarchs was junior ALEX ROBINSON, who was 5 for 5 from the floor for 10 points.

“Alex Robinson was on fire tonight,” said Monte Vista coach KEVIN MAHADY. “He came in and hit three quick baskets in the 1st quarter and got a nice putbacks.”

Robinson’s efforts helped the Monarchs take a 16-4 lead after the opening 8 minutes.

The way Mahady saw it, the key play of the game belonged to Monarchs junior RYAN HOUSER. With four minutes left in the game and Monte Vista up by four points, Houser came across the key and made what his coach referred to as “the biggest block of the game.” Monte Vista grabbed the rebound, went downcourt and scored.

“It was a 4-point swing on that block,” Mahady said. “We made a lot of free throws down the stretch. Ransome made 4 of his last 5 free throws and Roshun hit 8 of 8 free throws in the game.”

It was another frustrating loss for Valhalla (9-16, 0-7 GSL), which trailed only 42-39 entering the final quarter.

“We had our chances but we left too many points out there on the floor,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. “In a close game like this, the combination of Wynne and Ransome is tough to beat.”

TRAVIS FOELSCH led Valhalla with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

AUSTIN SUHAY submitted 11 points to the Norsemen’s totals, while AAHRON MIMS muscled in 10 points and bagged 8 boards.

The Norsmen’s balanced attack also included 10 rebounds and 9 points from KEVIN KRIEBEL.

Guard DANIEL BUTCHER pitched in 7 points and 6 assists.

“Valhalla is a very improved team. They are a lot better than they were a month ago,” said Mahady.

Despite the loss, Jackson offered special praise for Kriebel.

“Kevin wanted to cover Wynne and he did a good job and kept Wynne from penetrating the paint,” said the Valhalla coach. “It’s good to have him back at full strength again.”

Monte Vista scoring: Jamar Ransome 28, Roshun Wynne 14, Mike Watkins 14, Alex Robinson 10, Ryan Houser 2.

Valhalla scoring: Travis Foelsch 12, Aahron Mims 12, Austin Suhay 11, Kevin Kriebel 9, Daniel Butcher 7, Mike Espinoza 5, Ruffy Bacong 2.

EL CAPITAN 65, EL CAJON VALLEY 57 – Junior BARRETT BRAUN scored 32 points to lead El Capitan past El Cajon Valley in Tuesday’s (Feb. 6) Grossmont North League action in Lakeside.

Braun scored 25 of his points in the second half for the Vaqueros (3-20, 2-3 GNL). Braun, who included 4 triples in his totals, also led the Vaqueros with 10 rebounds.

ROBERT VICALDO added 12 points, 8 steals, 5 rebounds and 4 assists for El Capitan, which pulled off the victory with a 19-10 scoring edge in the final quarter.

Sophomore JON MOLZEN added 9 points and 4 steals, while MICHAEL OVERSON pitched in with 6 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 32, Robert Vicaldo 12, Jon Molzen 9, Michael Overson 6, Jeramie Carr 4, Armon Worrell 2.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Laroy McGee 20, Dejon Joy 15, Lucas Stafford 13, Dewayne Alexander 7, Benton 2.

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 88, MOUNTAIN EMPIRE 47 – KALOB HATCHER completed a triple-double by halftime, while supplanting Tony Gwynn, Jr., and former Chicago Bulls forward/IVA pro beach volleyball standout Jud Buechler on the CIF-San Diego Section single-season steals list, powering Foothills Christian past host Mountain Empire, 88-47, in Tuesday's (Feb. 6) Citrus South League contest.

With the victory, the Knights (20-5) became the first team to achieve 20 wins among Division V schools in the section this season.

In building a 61-25 halftime advantage over the Red Hawks, Hatcher collected 12 points, 11 assists and 11 steals. Playing sparingly in the second half, he finished by adding four more assists and four more steals to his totals.

Hatcher's 152 steals now ranks 7th in CIFSDS history, placing him within reach of No. 2 Rico Tucker of USDHS (167 in 2004). The section mark is 187 by Lincoln's Joe Temple in 1989.

Meanwhile, a high point for any underclassman is one’s first career slam dunk, an achievement finally obtained by TROY LEAF, the game leader with 28 points and 10 rebounds.

AARON HALE also grabbed 10 boards, while adding 18 points, while ZACH KAUL matched Hatcher’s 12 points.

Chris Tucker had 14 points for Mountain Empire and Andrew Gilbert had 11. Gilbert had 4 buckets and went 3-5 from the line. Tucker had 5 baskets and was 4-4 from the line. Mountain Empire was 20-25 from the line as a team.

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 28 (10 reb.), Aaron Hale 18 (10 reb.), Zach Kaul 12, Kalob Hatcher 12 (15 ast., 15 stl.), Brandon Hale 8, Ronnie Richards 6, Nick Duenez 2, David Carter 2.

CRAWFORD 89, CHRISTIAN 61 – Visiting Crawford scored 50 points in the middle two quarters of Tuesday’s (Feb. 6) Central League action at the Ryan Athletic Center to roll over the Patriots and clinch at least a share of the league laurels.

“We were pretty horrible tonight,” said Christian assistant coach ADAM COPP. “We did not handle the press well and continued to just hand Crawford the ball.”

Christian got down 16-3 early before cutting it to 18-14 after one quarter. The Colts (16-6, 7-0 CNT) then galloped away 68-48 after three periods.

Tyrone Shelley led Crawford with 33 points, 10 steals, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. He scored almost half of his points in the final six minutes after Christian’s ANDRIUS MIKUTIS left the game with an eye injury.

“Andrius did a good job on Shelley again until he was hit with an elbow by him with six minutes to go,” said Copp.

Mikutis, who led the Patriots with 23 points, was done for the night and Shelley went on to score 15 more points after that. The lead ballooned up after Mikutis

left but the game was not in Christian’s hands at that point anyway.

Christian guard DANIEL HAZLETT added 20 points, nearly half coming on a trio of triples.

“DANIEL HAZLETT had a nice shooting night but we as a team again just didn’t get to take enough shots,” Copp said.

Christian scoring: Andrius Mikutis 23, Daniel Hazlett 20, Viktor Asaciovas 11, Jordan Graves 4, Danny Mitchell 2, Kurt Metcalfe 1.

© East County Sports.com
NATIONAL CITY (2-4-07) -- A year after watching its first league title taken away due to eligibility issues, the Foothills Christian Knights made sure the dots and dashes were all properly aligned, clinching the Citrus South League title after pasting host San Diego Academy, 92-31.

"I couldn't be prouder of this team," said head coach BRAD LEAF. "They've managed to keep up their intensity over the past few weeks. I reminded them the playoffs are in just two weeks -- that's when the real fun begins."

The Cavaliers fell to Foothills by 41 points in the teams' first meeting back on Jan. 23 -- the closest losing margin by any CSL ballclub to Foothills all season. However, the Knights had that total covered by halftime in Saturday's (Feb. 3) meeting, taking quarter leads of 24-4 and 58-12.

ZACH KAUL and TROY LEAF paced the Knights (19-5 overall, 8-0 CSL) with 20 points each, while KALOB HATCHER fell just short of a triple-double with 18 points, 11 assists and seven steals.

"Kalob and Troy have continued to be consistent for us through all of these games and that is huge," added the coach. "And AARON HALE has really stepped up for us on defense in the middle. He is going to be a huge impact player in the playoffs."

Foothills Christian scoring: Zach Kaul 20, Troy Leaf 20, Kalob Hatcher 18, Aaron Hale 12, Brandon Hale 9, David Carter 6, Ronnie Richards 4, Nick Duenez 3.

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (2-3-07) — There is nothing clandestine on how the Helix Highlanders reached the top of several CIF-San Diego Section polls.

"They're the best defensive team in town -- there's no secret about it," said Monte Vista coach KEVIN MAHADY. "They gave us a rough time."

The Foothillers' Richard Ogunsalu goes over Taylor Robbins of West Hills for the bucket. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)

Effectively taking the Monarchs' top players out of their offense in the first half of Friday (Feb. 2) night’s game, the Scotties raced to an 11-0 lead en route to a comfortable 72-49 victory. The triumph all-but-mathematically gives Helix its first Grossmont South League crown since 2004.

Senior center DAVID JEFFERSON placed a powerful punctuation on the victory, following up on a teammate's miss with a dramatic fourth-quarter slam to push the lead to 29 points.

Jefferson finished with game-highs of 26 points and 14 rebounds. Included were 8 points in the first period to mount leads of 11-0, 17-2 and 21-4. However, he was quick to note several key defensive matchups which led to a dynamic transition game.

"Coach (JOHN SINGER) told us we had to play defense to win," noted Jefferson. "And we rebounded -- we got the job done."

Jefferson also noted how teammate BRANDON FOUNTAIN was able to shut down Monte Vista scoring leader ROSHUN WYNNE, while DORIAN STATON limited JAMAR RANSOME to single-digit scoring for the first time this season.

"And you can throw DONNIE McGOWAN into the rotation, too," added Singer. "We threw a whole rotation of guys at them."

But everything seem centered around Jefferson, who scored eight of his points in the opening period, while everyone on Helix' offense prospered behind a game-best 10 assists by point guard KAREEM ABUKAR. Half of the junior guard's assists came in a half-court set, while the others came on the transition, including a pair of length-of-the-court passes for breakaway layins.

Meanwhile, the Helix defense combined to reject 14 shots, including six by Jefferson.

"We kept them out of the paint," added Jefferson. "It was just solid defense and rebounding."

Monte Vista did receive several looks inside the paint early, but the hounding Highlanders’ defense forced several poor shots, as the Monarchs -- except for one jump shot -- could only score on putbacks until there were only three minutes left in the half.

"We had several good looks but just didn't finish," added Mahady. "Helix did a great job defensively, but we hurt ourselves when we did have the shot."

LAWRENCE HURDLE added 16 points, 5 steals and 4 assists for Helix, while Fountain reached double figures with 12 points.

Wynne paced the Monarchs with 16 points, with 10 coming in the second half, while garnering just four assists. MIKE WATKINS tallied 10 of his 15 points after the intermission, including a trio of 3-point shots, while Ransome grabbed 14 boards.

Helix scoring: David Jefferson 26 (14 reb., 6 blk.), Lawrence Hurdle 16 (5 stl., 4 ast.), Brandon Fountain 12, Kareem Abukar 8 (10 ast.), Donald McGowan 4, Eric Forney 3, Dorian Staton 3.

Monte Vista scoring: Roshun Wynne 16 (6 reb.), Mike Watkins 15, Jamar Ransome 6 (2 blk.), Alex Robinson 4, Anthony Bell 3, Trent Watkins 2, Geoff Hartman 2, Ryan Houser 1.

WEST HILLS 63, GROSSMONT 44 – There’s something about the Grossmont North League that brings out the best in the West Hills Wolf Pack. On Monday (Jan. 29) four Wolf Pack players went down with injuries. One of them is still sidelined, another has been limited to just a handful of minutes.

But those in the Wolf Pack uniforms were not in sheeps’ clothing, as they proved to host Grossmont on Friday night (Feb. 2) in a game which most likely decided the Grossmont North League title.

Despite falling behind 14-9 early in the second quarter, West Hills (14-10, 5-0 GNL) came on to knock off preseason favorite Grossmont (13-10, 3-2 GNL) for the second time this season.

While the Foothillers used a Diamond-and-one defense to puzzle West Hills leader of the Pack PETER GILSON for the better part of three quarters, they were unable to control the other members of the Santee quintet.

Six-foot-5 junior TIM NOWLIN scored only 6 points for West Hills, but came through with some key rebounding and defensive play to sway the outcome the Wolf Pack’s way. Nowlin made a major block and rebound of what appeared to be a certain Grossmont layup and turned it into a 3-point play delivered by Gilson in the third quarter that gave the Pack a 32-26 advantage.

Later in the same quarter Nowlin took a charge that erased a Grossmont basket.

“We wanted to win the championship outright, we didn’t want to share it,” said Nowlin. “This is our year and we wanted it all for ourselves.”

Nowlin pounded the boards for 10 rebounds, blocked 2 shots and was a major menace in the middle of the Pack’s defense.

“My job was to keep their big guys off the glass, contain them and not let them have a big game,” Nowlin said.

Gilson scored 12 of his team-leading 17 points in the final quarter after Grossmont abandoned its Diamond-and-one alignment and reverted back to its usual man-to-man defense. That allowed Gilson room to move.

For the game Gilson was economic – made the most of his shots – hitting 4 of 7 from the floor and 9 of 10 from the free throw line.

Senior guard TONY LYNN, one of the more stealth players in the league, had a big night with 8 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds and a pair of steals.

“In my opinion, Tony is the best point guard in the league,” said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. “Even though you don’t see it in the box score, this kid is masterful out there every night. He makes you look good as a coach. Not only does he distribute the ball well, he takes care of the ball – no cheap turnovers.”

West Hills turned the ball over only 4 times all night.

The Wolf Pack’s CHRIS LIFGREN ran the floor well, contributing 12 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals.

TAYLOR ROBBINS, a sort of unsung hero, was a nugget on defense and also delivered 9 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists.

Sophomore guard LUCAS ARMSTRONG contributed a quiet 6 points, but made a huge momentum shot on an assist from Lynn to beat the buzzer with his 2nd three-pointer to allow West Hills to close the third quarter with a 40-31 lead.

RICHARD OGUNSALU was a force for Grossmont, pounding in 19 points while grabbing 18 rebounds.

IAN COCHRAN struggled on the offensive end, clicking on only 4 of 19 shots from the floor and 2 of 3 free throws for 11 points. Cochran did garner 12 rebounds but left his Foothillers anemic on the offensive end.

“They played better than we did so they deserve to be the champions,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “They are a physical team and we don’t play well against physical teams.”

West Hills scoring: Peter Gilson 17, Chris Lifgren 12, Taylor Robbins 9, Tony Lynn 8, Tim Nowlin 6, Lucas Armstrong 6, Garret Cabral 5.

Grossmont scoring: Richard Ogunsalu 19, Ian Cochran 11, Michael Graham 9, Justin Rutherford 5.

GRANITE HILLS 45, VALHALLA 40 – DERICK EDWARDS hit two free throws with 34 seconds remaining to break a 40-40 tie and point the Eagles toward a key Grossmont South League win Friday night (Feb. 2) over visiting Valhalla.

After Edwards’ clutch connections, DEAN MILLER made 3 of 4 free throws in the stretch run to secure the victory for the Eagles (15-7, 3-3 GSL).

“We did a good job coming through on the line,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON of his Eagles, who made 11 of 13 free throws in the 4th quarter. “We have lost a couple of games from the free throw line. Tonight we won it at the line, along with our defense.”

Granite Hills jumped on top 15-8 in the first quarter, but Valhalla (9-15, 0-6 GSL) fought back to trail only 28-27 after three periods.

Miller paced the Eagles with 15 points, the majority coming on 8 of 11 free throw shooting. Eleven of his points came in the second half.

“Edwards played great defense down the stretch – it was a real gutsy performance,” Anderson said. “Miller was real aggressive in the second half.”

ANDREW JOSLYN turned in his second noteworthy game with 13 points and 7 rebounds for the Eagles.

“Joslyn had a real solid game,” said Anderson. “He made 5 field goals in a row.”

Valhalla led 30-28 early in the 4th quarter but Miller made a 3-point play to put Granite Hills back in the lead.

The Norsemen, who have won more close games than coach KEITH JACKSON would like to recall, watched as the Eagles converted 5 free throws in the final 34 seconds to snap a 40-40 tie.

“Our guys played as hard as I’ve ever seen them play,” Jackson said. “We held Granite to three 3s and a total of 11 field goals in the game. But our telltale stat was shooting percentage (27 percent from the floor). We had 9 offensive boards but did not convert them.”

DANIEL BUTCHER led the Norsemen with 12 points despite suffering a sprained ankle in the first half.

“Butcher sprained his ankle in the first half, but came back in the second half with a taped ankle and scored 5 of 9 from the field.”

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 15 (6 reb.), Andrew Joslyn 13 (7 reb.), Brian Humphries 6 (8 reb., 4 blk), Wayne Martin 5, Derick Edwards 4, Kyle San Nicolas 1, Kyle Snyder 1.

Valhalla scoring: Daniel Butcher 12 (5 reb., 3 ast.), Travis Foelsch 7 (6 reb.), Austin Suhay 6 (8 reb.), Mike Espinoza 6, Ruffy Bacong 3, Aahron Mims 2 (3 reb.), Jorge Serna 2, Kevin Kriebel 2 (3 reb.).

MOUNT MIGUEL 68, STEELE CANYON 44 – COURTNEY WRATHER popped in 27 points and TRAVON CAPLES manufactured a double-double of 19 points and 15 rebounds as the visiting Matadors (15-9, 2-4 GSL) stormed past Steele Canyon in Friday’s (Feb. 2) Grossmont South League action.

“Wrather put the ball in the basket tonight,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT.

Four of Wrather’s 10 field goals were triples. The senior guard also had 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

Caples, a 6-foot-2 junior, continues to impress around the basket.

“Caples is our unsung hero,” said Rowlett. “We don’t run any plays for him but he gets us 2nd chances.”

Steele Canyon (9-13, 3-3 GSL) was playing short-handed.

“We benched 8 players for missing yesterday's practice,” said Cougars coach BERNIE BALIKIAN. “But that should not diminish the great game that Mount Miguel played. Caples and Wrather were fantastic and their team was much improved from the first time we played them.”

The Cougars lineup included only two starters – RILEY BALIKIAN and ARLIN TAYLOR. Balikian scored a team-best 12 points, hitting 3 of 5 shots from the floor and 5 of 6 free throws. The junior guard also had 5 assists and 4 rebounds.

Coach Balikian wasn’t sure he would even have Taylor in uniform.

“Senior Arlin is my hero,” said coach Balikian. “Yesterday, he had to go to the emergency room for a bad skin condition, and I wasn't expecting him to play tonight. When he showed up minutes before our game, all wrapped up, but ready to play, I just wanted to hug him.”

Taylor contributed 7 points and 4 assists while logging the majority of the 32-minute contest.

“He showed tremendous courage playing 30 minutes, out of position, and was a great model to the kids in our basketball program of what a true athlete is,” coach Balikian praised.

CASEY GAYTON, who has not seen a whole lot of court time this season, played the most minutes he has in any game all year. It was not wasted time, as Gayton scored 11 points – the majority coming on a trio of triples.

Sophomore JOSIAH SMITH led the Cougars with 11 rebounds.

TIM ORANGE, a senior who has played sparingly, saw extensive playing time and converted 4 of 7 shots for 8 points and also grabbed 4 rebounds.

“Gayton and Smith had excellent games in a pressure situation,” said coach Balikian.

Talk about your weekend at Bernie’s…

Mount Miguel scoring: Courtney Wrather 27, Travon Caples 19, A.J. Stanford 9 (3 ast.), OC Basey 6 (6 reb.), Laron Rush 4, Devyn Moore 3 (3 ast.).

Steele Canyon scoring: Riley Balikian 12, Casey Gayton 11, Tim Orange 8, Arlin Taylor 7, Josiah Smith 4, Jeff Reid 2.

Andrius Mikutis with one of his three slams against Coronado. (Photo by Tori Mills)

DANIEL HAZLETT and ANDRIUS MIKUTIS paced the Patriots with 18 points apiece.

“ Coronado came out tonight double teaming our two bigs (6-foot-6 VIKTOR ASACIOVAS and 6-4 Mikutis),” said Christian assistant coach ADAM COPP.

“JORDAN GRAVES decided to step up and attack (the Islanders’) defense. He created shots for others and himself early.”

Graves scored 8 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, dished 3 assists and made 6 steals for arguably his best game of the season. That caused Coronado (13-9, 2-4) to give up on its double team.

“Graves’ stats are pretty good, but they don’t tell the whole story,” said Copp. “Our team played with intensity all night and pressured them full court pretty much all game.”

Christian never abandoned its top strength of pounding the ball inside. But with the Islanders bent on defending that part of the game, the Patriots were able to adapt.

“We wanted to get the ball inside and Victor especially did a fantastic job of passing out of the post. His 5 assists were very impressive.”

Mikutis connected on 7 of 11 shots from the floor and 4 of 5 free throws.

“Andrius had his usual unselfish outstanding game,” added Copp. “They were gunning for him all night and he took what was best for the team, only taking 11 shots. He also guarded their best player and held him to 5-14 shooting. Overall another solid win for us.”

Hazlett hit 5 of 10 shots from the floor – 2 of them triples – and swished 6 of 8 free throws.

DANNY MITCHELL hit 4 of 8 shots from the floor – one of them a 3, while Asaciovas hauled in a team-high 12 rebounds, dished 5 assists and blocked 2 shots.

Christian scoring: Andrius Mikutis 18, Daniel Hazlett 18, Danny Mitchell 9, Viktor Asaciovas 9, Jordan Graves 8, Brad Johnston 4.

SANTANA 62, EL CAJON VALLEY 47 – Although a Grossmont North League championship would appear to be out of reach, the Santana Sultans (10-14, 3-2 GNL) continue to build some momentum in their bid for a berth in the San Diego CIF Division III playoffs.

Victories on three consecutive nights stretched Santana’s winning streak to four games.

“It was nice to start the second round of league play with a win,” Santana coach TIM BARRY said. “We really executed our offense well tonight”

Freshman guard JESSE VARGAS led the Sultans with 17 points, which included a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line. He also had three steals. TYLER BLACKLEDGE added 9 points and 7 rebounds, while ANTHONY DeBARROWS pitched in 9 points and hit 4 of 5 free throws.

CHRIS SODERGREN had 8 points and 5 rebounds. Junior guard RYAN GARLIN contributed 6 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

“Garlin did a great job at the point,” Barry said. “I was really pleased with the way he played.”

Santana, which made 25 of 31 free throws, led 30-21 at halftime and never looked back.

Santana scoring: Jesse Vargas 17, Anthony DeBarrows 9, Tyler Blackledge 9, Chris Sodergren 8, Kyle Salzman 7, Ryan Garlin 6, Kevin Engelke 2, Brett Romero 2, John Vasquez 2.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Dejon Joy 19, Lucas Stafford 9, Laroy McGee 8, Shivan Sulyman 3, Chris Franco 3, Dewayne Alexander 3, Benton 2.

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 95, CALVARY CHRISTIAN (Chula Vista) 20 – Another huge outburst in the first period gave the Knights another easy Citrus South League victory. After scoring 40 points against Midway Baptist three days ago, Foothills outscored Calvary's Knights by a 31-4 margin Friday (Feb. 2) to run its league record to 7-0.

The Foothills defense then took over in the second half, blanking Calvary, 34-0, in the third period.

KALOB HATCHER was credited with a school-record 18 assists, with many of the passes going to TROY LEAF (26 points) and ZACH KAUL (22) for easy buckets. Leaf also collected seven assists and seven steals, while RYAN SMITH came off the bench to grab seven rebounds.

“Ryan Smith had 7 rebounds (4 offensive) and he played great on the boards when he was in,” said Foothills assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. “JUSTIN ESSELSTROM had two great assists in his time. That kid plays with heart and he always has such a passion to get something done when he steps on the court.”

Foothills Christian (18-5) returns to the South Bay on Saturday (Feb. 3), meeting San Diego Academy of National City in another CSL affair.

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 26, Zach Kaul 22, Kalob Hatcher 13, Aaron Hale 8, Brandon Hale 7, Ronnie Richards 6, Nick Duenez 6, David Carter 4, Andrew Atia 4.

© East County Sports.com
LA JOLLA (2-2-07) — For the second time in 24 hours, junior TYLER BLACKLEDGE came up big for the Santana Sultans. The 6-foot-2 Blackledge powered in 16 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished 3 assists Thursday (Feb. 1) night to spark Santana to a 53-46 win over Preuss Academy at UCSD.

“Blackledge has been playing very well for us, giving us a consistent presence inside,” said Santana coach TIM BARRY.

ANTHONY DeBARROWS matched Blacklege’s 16 points against Preuss (9-10) with the majority of his points coming on 3 triples. DeBarrows also clicked on 7 of 8 free throws.

“We’ve got some momentum going now, heading back into our league,” said Barry, whose Sultans travel to El Cajon Valley on Friday (Feb. 2).

Although Santana split its first four Grossmont North League games, Barry believes there is a chance his Sultans can still grab a share of a league title. He is hoping Santana can win the majority of its final four regular league games.

Santana scoring: Anthony DeBarrows 16, Tyler Blackledge 16, Kevin Engelke 5, John Vasquez 5, Kyle Salzman 4, Brett Romero 3, Jesse Vargas 2, Chris Sodergren 2.