Battered Sultans fall to Preuss

© East County Sports.com
LA JOLLA (2-1-08) -- Two of Santana's wounded warriors returned to the lineup
for Thursday's (Jan. 31) non-league joust at Preuss-UCSD. That helped. Yet, another key player missed the contest because of illness.

Thus, the frustration continues for Santana coach TIM BARRY and his Sultans who lost to the Tritons, 61-53. It was the third straight loss for beleaguered Santana, which has dropped five of its last six decisions.

"I hate to sound like all I do is make excuses, but two-thirds of my offense (2 of his top three scorers) were missing," said Barry, noting that sophomore point guard JESSE VARGAS (knee) is out for the season and 6-foot-3 junior forward KEVIN ENGELKE has been sick the past two days. "At one time when I looked out there today we had four guys 5-10 or shorter. My biggest guy (6-3) TYLER BLACKLEDGE, was playing the point."

Still, Santana (13-9), which trailed 45-34 entering the 4th quarter, scrambled back to within a single point of Preuss (11-9) with less than five minutes remaining.

“We did a nice job with our pressure,” Barry said. “But then we missed a couple of chippees, and they got an easy bucket off a length of the court pass. Then we had to foul and they made 8 of 12 free throws.”

Blackledge led the Sultans with 14 points – most coming on 8 of 11 free throw shooting – and 6 rebounds. BLAKE HARPER added 12 points.

“Give Preuss credit,” Barry said. “But that doesn’t make it any less frustrating for us.”

Santana scoring: Tyler Blackledge 14 (6 reb, 3 stl), Blake Harper 12, Anthony DeBarrows 8 (2 ast), Ryan Garlin 5 (2 reb, 2 ast), Carlos Vargas 5 (3 ast, 3 stl), Jerrell Patacisil 4, Chris Sodergren 3, Kyle Salzman 2 (2 ast).

© East County Sports.com
RANCHO SAN DIEGO (1-31-08) — Come Friday night (Feb. 1) the Grossmont South League championship could be decided when the challenging Steele Canyon Cougars (11-11, 4-1 GSL) host perennial power Helix (14-7, 5-0 GSL) at 7 p.m.

Helix is hoping to repeat as GSL champions, while Steele Canyon claimed league flags in 2003-04 and 2004-05.

The Cougars, who have won five straight games, drew a bye in Wednesday’s (Jan. 30) final night of the Grossmont Conference Crossover series.

HELIX 72, WEST HILLS 37 – Helix’s JOHN SINGER, the dean of the East County basketball coaches, realizes that a victory over Steele Canyon will probably hand him his 13th Grossmont League championship in 28 seasons at the Highlanders’ helm.

That’s a far cry from where Helix was hanging around three weeks ago. After the Highlanders staggered out to a 6-7 start, many suspected that Helix was not going to be a major player in the Grossmont South League race.

In fact, EastCountySports.com predicted that the Highlanders would do no better than a third-place finish.

The Highlanders have since righted their ship, posting eight straight victories, including Wednesday’s (Jan. 30) blowout of the Wolf Pack in a Grossmont Conference crossover contest at West Hills.

Singer praised the work of KAREEM ABUKAR (15 points, 9 assists) and DEMOND “Red” NARCISSE (14 points, 8 steals, 5 assists and 5 rebounds) in guiding the Highlander past the Wolf Pack.

“We are where we want to be right now,” Singer said. “Kareem and Red are really playing well.” The duo combined for 12 of 18 shooting from the field.

DERRALL CHANDLER connected on 6 of 8 shots on his way to a14-point night, while PATRICK WINSTON converted 5 of 8 attempts for 11 points.

LEVINE TOILOLO led the Highlanders with 8 rebounds and also made 4 steals.

West Hills (9-15), which made more turnovers (28) than field goals (11), had no players score in double digits.

“It was a tough night putting the ball in the hole (11 for 39),” said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG.

Bright spots for the Wolf Pack were GARRETT MIDDLETON (5 rebounds, 2 steals), LUCAS ARMSTRONG (5 rebounds, 7 assists), and RYAN BOZELLE, returning to action from illness, who had 4 assists.

Helix scoring: Kareem Abukar 15 (9 ast, 2 stl), Darrell Chandler 14 (4 ast, 2 stl), Demond Narcisse 14 (8 stl, 5 ast, 5 reb), Patrick Winston 11 (5 reb), Donald McGowan 6 (4 reb), Levine Toilolo 4 (8 reb, 4 stl, 2 ast), Anthony Diaz 2, Terrance Cole 2 (3 ast), Dimitar Topalov 2, Andray Jackson 2, Anthony Anderson (3 reb).

West Hills scoring: Kyle Navarre 8 (2 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Tim Nowlin 8 (2 reb), Chase Senter 7 (2 reb), Kyle McLaughlin 4 (2 reb), Ryan Bozelle 3 (4 ast), Lucas Armstrong 3 (5 reb, 7 ast, 2 blk), Billy McGarvey 2 (2 reb), Garrett Cabral 2, Garrett Middleton (5 reb, 2 stl).

GROSSMONT 67, VALHALLA 51 – A 7-0 start in Wednesday’s (Jan. 30) Grossmont Conference crossover action had to give host Valhalla thoughts of pulling off a major upset.

The Foothillers, however, were not on the same page. Led by RICHARD OGUNSALU’s powerful double-double of a career-high 30 points and 15 rebounds, Grossmont squashed the Norsemen’s bid.

It was the 9th straight win for Grossmont (15-6), which has won 11 of its last 12.

The Foothillers reversed the momentum by outscoring the Norsemen 23-6 in the 2nd quarter.

“In the 2nd quarter we settled down and ran our offense,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “Then we just kept steadily plugging away. Ogunsalu played well.”

Grossmont’s IAN COCHRAN realized his inside-the-paint partner had the hot hand so he sacrificed his own scoring to feed the ball to the 6-foot-5 Ogunsalu.

“Cochran was penetrating and dishing the ball to Richard for layups,” Foggiano said. “All 5 of his assists went to Richard.”

Cochran settled for 9 points and 11 rebounds, which was a pretty good day’s work as far as Foggiano was concerned.

“Cochran is doing things he hasn’t done in other years,” the coach said. “He shuts his man down, is always in help when we need him to be. He gets the key defensive rebounds we need.”

Guard MICHAEL GRAHAM chipped in with 10 points, while ROBERT SULLIVAN landed a trio of 3-pointers total 9 markers.

AUSTEN SUHAY hit 8 of 14 shots from the field – 4 of them from 3-point range – to finish with 21 points to lead Valhalla.

“He’s been a steadying influence for us,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. “He’s just been solid, and he’s not just a scorer. We have him at point guard and he’s been able to do a good job distributing the ball.”

KYLE KRIEBEL, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, against Grossmont’s veteran inside trio, hit 6 of 11 shots from the field on his way to a 15-point finish and led the Norsemen with 10 rebounds. He blocked 2 shots, as did sophomore JOSH AUSTEL.

“For being only a sophomore, Kriebel had his moments against a veteran lineup,” Jackson said. “He did a fairly good job against those guys.”

Jackson pointed to Valhalla ’s 19 turnovers as part of his team’s downfall.

Grossmont scoring: Richard Ogunsalu 30 (15 reb), Michael Graham 10 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Ian Cochran 9 (11 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Robert Sullivan 9 (2 reb, 2 ast), Khalid Waters 7 (4 ast, 2 stl, 2 reb), Billy Gange 2, Alex Leon (2 reb).

Valhalla scoring: Austen Suhay 21 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Kyle Kriebel 15 (10 reb, 2 blk), Trevor Cahoon 8 (3 reb, 2 stl), Josh Austel 4 (4 reb, 2 blk), Derek White 3, David Zetts (2 reb).

MONTE VISTA 60, EL CAPITAN 51 – The tailspin appears to be over at Monte Vista as the Monarchs turned back visiting El Capitan Wednesday (Jan. 30) for its second Grossmont Conference crossover victory in as many starts.

It marked the third time the Monarchs (9-14) have won back-to-back games this season, but the first time since they bowled over Burroughs and Ramona on successive nights in December.

GEOFF HARTMAN carried the victory torch for Monte Vista, nailing 10 of 17 shots for 25 points. Included in his totals was a pair of treys and 3 of 4 free throws. The 6-foot-4 junior also led the Spring Valley quintet with 8 rebounds, and has scored 55 points in his last two games.

Trailing 12-10 after the 1st quarter, Monte Vista turned up the heat in the second stanza. A 20-6 scoring advantage in the second 8 minutes presented the Monarchs with a 30-18 halftime edge.

“We had a great 2nd quarter,” Monta Vista coach JAMES CARROLL said. “We were sharp on offense and very strong on defense. Hartman and RYAN HOUSER dominated the inside game.”

Houser, known more for his defensive and rebounding contributions, erupted for 16 points against the Vaqueros (9-13). He was 6-for-9 from the floor.

El Capitan was plagued by foul troubles throughout the evening. Three El Capitan starters fouled out.

“That’s no excuse,” Vaqueros coach JASON CAVAZOS said. “There was a span where we gave up too many easy lay-ups. But the reason we lost was we turned the ball over 26 times.”

Senior BARRETT BRAUN paced the Vaqueros with 19 points and 6 rebounds. JON MOLZEN pitched in with 13 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. MICHAEL OVERSON added 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and a pair of assists.

“In the 2nd half it was better,” Cavazos said. “We were focused on what we were trying to do. We just couldn’t recover.”

Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 25 (8 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Ryan Houser 16 (5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Chris Jones 7 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Anthony Bell 6, Mike Watkins 5 (6 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Trent Watkins 1 (2 ast, 4 stl), Richard Whitfield (2 reb, 2 ast), Josh Gossmeyer (2 reb), Anthony Jackson (2 reb).

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 19 (6 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Jon Molzen 13 (9 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk, 7 stl), Michael Overson 10 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl), Tila Case 4 (3 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Jonathan Kulp 4, Jake Zawlacki 1, Armon Worrell (3 reb, 2 blk).

MOUNT MIGUEL 61, EL CAJON VALLEY 44 – A.J. STANFORD gets lost in the shuffle in terms of statistics sometimes, but nobody realizes the value of the 6-foot-3 sophomore guard more than Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT.

“A.J. does a lot of good things for us,” Rowlett said after the Matadors avenged an earlier 50-48 loss to El Cajon Valley by battering the Braves (10-15) in Wednesday’s (Jan. 30) Grossmont Conference crossover action.

Stanford posted a triple-double of 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists guiding Mount Miguel (14-7) to its fourth straight win.

“When El Cajon beat us that first time (Dec. 4) we just got our football players out,” Rowlett said. “We were stumbling and fumbling around. Now that we’ve been together as a team for nearly two months and weren’t doing the things that caused us to lose the first time we played these guys.”

Senior TRAVON CAPLES knocked down 28 points on 14 of 21 shooting, and also came away with 10 rebounds for Mount Miguel. Caples canned 14 markers in the first quarter as the Matadors marched in front 19-13. Mount Miguel outscored the Braves in all four quarters.

Junior wing man BRAD BARRETT added 16 points and 7 rebounds to the Matadors coffers.

“It was a quiet 16 for Barrett,” Rowlett said. “But ARTHUR HOBBS added 6 assists and 4 steals even though he did not score.”

SHIVAN SULYMAN led El Cajon Valley with 17 points, and LAROY McGEE added 11.

Mount Miguel scoring: Travon Caples 28 (10 reb, 1 blk), Brad Barrett 16 (7 reb, 2 stl), AJ Stanford 13 (11 reb, 10 ast), Devyn Moore 4 (2 reb, 2 ast), Arthur Hobbs (6 ast, 4 stl).

El Cajon Valley scoring: Shivan Sulyman 17, Laroy McGee 11, Domenic Dove 6, Lucas Stafford 6, Raylondo Ford 4.

"We were on our way to hit 100 points but we put our subs in," said Christian assistant coach TOBIN WILKINS as the visiting Patriots clobbered Crawford in Monday's (Jan. 28) Central League contest.

While Hazlett was hitting 9 of 21 shots from the field -- 7 of them coming from beyond the arc -- and 13 of 15 free throws, Eichhorst was connecting on a career-best 8 of 9 shots from the field.

"Eichhorst finished everything in the paint tonight," said Wilkins. "Hopefully he can carry that over against (Central League leading) Hoover this Friday (Feb. 1)."

The redhot Hazlett has scored 93 points in his last three outings. The East County 's best long-ball shooter has hit 19 treys over the same span.

"Hazlett continues to shoot really well," said Wilkins. "He's like a kid in a candy shop -- he's having a blast out there."

Christian broke the game open with a 31-12 scoring burst in the 2nd quarter that handed the Patriots a 50-23 halftime lead.

Christian scoring: Daniel Hazlett 37 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Vander Joaquim 22 (10 reb, 3 ast, 5 blk, 3 stl), Taylor Eichhorst 16 (3 reb, 3 ast), Bradley Johnston 5 (2 ast, 2 stl), Manny Walker 4 (5 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Trent Brookshire 3 (4 reb), Lawrence Walker 2 (2 reb, 2 ast), Andrew Sexton 2, Aaron Whitten 2, Andrew Whitten 1.

STEELE CANYON 75, EL CAJON VALLEY 55 -- DEREK STEPHENS and his Steele Canyon Cougars won't come right out and say it, but their focus is on Friday night (Feb.1). That's when the Cougars will host Helix in a game that will decide the Grossmont South League championship.

Credit the Cougars (11-11) for taking care of the business at hand before honing in on the Highlanders. Case in point was Monday's (Jan. 28) Grossmont Conference crossover victory at El Cajon Valley.

The Cougars used a 24-6 scoring run in the 2nd quarter to take command and then breeze past the Braves (10-14). It was the 5th straight victory for Steele Canyon and its 8th win in the last 10 starts.

"We played real well in the 1st half," said Stephens. "We came out and played really good defense in the 2nd quarter and got some good transition baskets."

ELIJAH CARTER paced the Cougars with 18 points, including 8 of 9 free throw shooting.

JEBARI ROBINSON added 16 points, more than half of which came on a trio of 3-pointers.

You might say the Cougars stubbed their toes in the 3rd quarter as the Braves claimed an 18-10 scoring advantage.

"Carter and Robinson played really well -- they were pushing the ball and getting assists," said Stephens. "JOSIAH SMITH played well inside for us, and RILEY BALIKIAN did a good job on the boards tonight. He led us in rebounds."

Senior LAROY McGEE led the Braves with 22 points and SHIVAN SULYMAN got 15 points.

"I wasn't too pleased with our defensive effort in the 2nd half," said Stephens. "They zoned us in the 2nd half. El Cajon Valley made it close in the 2nd half, played really well. We had a bad 3rd quarter."

Steele Canyon scoring: Elijah Carter 18, Jebari Robinson 16, Riley Balikian 9, Josiah Smith 8, Jake Ransom 8, Nick Stathas 7, Eric Gilbert 4, Jeff Reid 3, Cameron Moss 2.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Laroy McGee 22, Shivan Sulyman 15, Raylondo Ford 7, Anthony Ussery 7, Lucas Stafford 4.

HELIX 62, SANTANA 35 -- Neither coach was overly pleased by the performance of the visiting Sultans and host Highlanders in Monday's (Jan. 28) Grossmont Conference crossover contest in La Mesa.

"It's just a 'W' and not much else," said Helix coach JOHN SINGER, whose Grossmont South League-leading Highlanders (13-7) have rolled to 7 straight wins. "I guess the best thing about it is we gave a lot of guys some decent amount of playing time."

Senior DONALD McGOWAN paced Helix with 16 points, hitting 8 of 14 shots from the field. He also yanked down 7 rebounds and blocked 2 shots.

DEMOND "Red" NARCISSE made the most of his court time, nailing 10 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. He also logged 3 steals, while 6-foot-8 junior LEVINE TOILOLO was a force in the paint with 11 rebounds and 6 blocks.

It was another long night for the battered and bruised Sultans (13-8), who were operating without injured starters JESSE VARGAS, CARLOS VARGAS and KYLE SALZMAN.

"The thing that's disheartening is I scheduled specifically for this week," said Santana coach TIM BARRY, whose Sultans face Steele Canyon on Wednesday (Jan. 30), Preuss on Thursday (Jan. 31) and Foothills Christian on Saturday (Feb. 2). "But then I was counting on us being at full strength.

TYLER BLACKLEDGE, who has been battling injuries throughout the season, turned in a strong effort against the Highlanders with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals. KEVIN ENGLEKE pitched in with 11 points and 5 rebounds.

One stinging malady for Santana was its poor effort from the free throw line. Usually one of East County's top charity shooting squads, the Sultans were a dismal 6 of 20 from the foul line at Helix.

Helix scoring: Donald McGowan 16, Demond Narcisse 10, Darrell Chandler 9, Kareem Abukar 8, Levine Toilolo 4, Dimitar Topalov 3, Joubert Ballard 2, Andray Jackson 2, Anthony Anderson 2, Bryant Johnson 2, Hartwell Jones 2, Anthony Diaz 1, Terrance Cole 1.

Santana scoring: Tyler Blackledge 16 (6 reb, 2 stl), Kevin Engelke 11 (5 reb), Jerrell Patacsil 2 (3 reb), Blake Harper 2, Chris Sodergren 2, Sean Doyle 2, Ryan Garlin (3 reb).

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EL CAJON (1-27-08) — Perhaps the Foothills Christian Knights should change their nickname to the “Nomads.” Only 2 of their 23 games have been played at “home,” including Saturday’s (Jan. 26) 87-53 thrashing of Tri-City Christian at Granite Hills.

Foothills' other home game was on Dec. 1st against St. Augustine at Granite Hills. So, for the record, Foothills Christian (15-8) had gone 19 straight road games.

“Thus, in a way, this was like a road game too,” said Knights coach BRAD LEAF.

One could hardly tell, as the Knights grounded the Eagles in the early going, taking a 28-15 first quarter lead. Eleven days earlier Foothills Christian beat TCC 85-52 in North County.

His game was not only about shooting because the 6-foot-2 Leaf also grabbed 9 rebounds, blocked 2 shots, made 6 steals and dished 5 assists. He turned the ball over only twice.

“We started shooting hot tonight and controlled the game from there,” said Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGH.

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"Sure we missed Zach, but he should be back by next week,” Troy Leaf said. “We won this game because of our defense, which led to our transition game."

Sophomore guard KALOB HATCHER hammered in 29 points, much of which came on 5 of 7 long-distance shooting. As a team Foothills hit 13 threes in 24 attempts. Hatcher also had 10 steals, 9 assists and 7 rebounds. He, too, had only a pair of turnovers.

“A lot of guys cycled through and whoever stepped up stayed in the game,” said McHugh. “We rebounded the ball well tonight and some of the guys who did not have amazing statistical games played well.”

AARON HALE chipped in 14 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals for the Knights.

“Aaron Hale really controlled the lane for the better part of the first half and when he didn't rebound he was clearing the way for Troy or others,” said McHugh. “We're looking at a lot of injuries so it’s good to have games like this where we can get a lot of guys rolling.”

Freshman guard MIKE WNEK, broke both thumbs this week in practice. Yes, both thumbs. He jammed his thumb at practice and said it was hurting but he thought it was just a normal jam. Later it began to hurt more and more and he had jammed the other one a little bit too. Come to find out that he has two fractured thumbs and both in soft casts.

“Our team's real focus right now is on the (San Diego CIF Division V) playoffs,” said Troy Leaf. “There’s not much more to play for in the regular season, since this was probably the last important Division V opponent we’ll face.”

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 35, (9 reb, 2 blk, 6 stl, 5 ast), Kalob Hatcher 26 (7 reb, 10 stl, 9 ast), Brandon Hale 14 (3 reb), Aaron Hale 8 (8 reb, 3 stl, 4 ast), Andrew Atia 2, Braxton Swainston 2 (2 reb), George Travis (2 reb).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-25-08) -- All indications pointed to overtime, but Helix forward DEMOND “Red” NARCISSE prevented host Granite Hills from completing its comeback attempt. Narcisse registered a pair of steals -- one for an insurance layin -- in the final 12 seconds, sealing the Highlanders' dramatic 59-56 decision over the host Eagles.

"I was told just to stay on the wide side and look for the pass," said Narcisse, who led both teams with four steals. "And when Granite overthrew the pass, I was there."

The Eagles led 12-3 early, but Helix quickly turned Friday's (Jan. 25) contest to claim its own 9-point advantage. However, Granite Hills chipped away in the fourth period, finally getting even at 56-all on a pair of AARON HARRIS foul shots with 1:21 remaining.

"Say what you want about (DEAN) MILLER and (WAYNE) MARTIN, but it was Harris who just killed us," noted Helix coach JOHN SINGER. "But we made the stops when we needed to."

Harris scored 15 of his team-best 17 points in the second half to help the Eagles overcome a 48-39 fourth-quarter deficit. However, the guard hit a pair of foul shots, then drained a turnaround jumper while being fouled for a 3-point play to setup a dramatic finish.

However, KAREEM ABUKAR, who matched Narcisse with 11 points, overcame a poor shooting effort by making 1 of 2 foul shots with 1:13 left to break the tie. Granite Hills gained five possessions in the final minute, but Narcisse stole a long inbounds pass and went to the basket for a layin with 9 seconds to go.

Granite Hills called a timeout to setup a 3-point shot to force overtime, but Narcisse intercepted another pass at midcourt to complete Helix' undefeated run through the first round of GSL play.

"We didn't play our best and made a lot of mistakes, but we learned a great deal on how to become a winning ballclub," said Helix coach JOHN SINGER. "You learn a lot more from games like this than in a 20-point blowout."

LEVINE TOILOLO paced the Scotties with 14 points and 8 rebounds. Abukar made up for his off-shooting night with 8 assists.

Martin (10 points) connected on a pair of early treys for a quick 9-point lead, but he shot 1-for-9 the rest of the way. Miller was held in check, too, scoring just 8 points through three quarters, but drained four jumpers for 10 points in the final minutes to fuel the rally. He finished with a game-best 18 points.

Helix scoring: Levine Toilolo 14 (8 reb), Demond Narcisse 11 (4 stl), Kareem Abukar 11 (8 ast), Derrall Chandler10, Donald McGowan 7 (10 reb), Patrick Winston 4, Joubert Ballard 2.

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 18 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk), Aaron Harris 17 (8 reb, 2 ast), Wayne Martin 10 (2 reb, 1 blk), Vicente Stafford 7 (3 reb), Ian Birmingham 2 (4 reb), Clint Davis 2, Kyle San Nicolas (6 reb, 2 ast).

MOUNT MIGUEL 65, MONTE VISTA 55 – With its flickering Grossmont South League title hopes hanging in the balance, the visiting Matadors overcame an 11-point deficit in the 4th quarter with a 25-4 run to topple host Monte Vista Friday night (Jan. 25).

Trailing 51-40 entering the final period the Matadors (13-7, 3-2 GSL) scored 11 points in 4½ minutes to tie the score.

Monte Vista regained the lead 53-51 as ANTHONY BELL hit both ends of a bonus free throw situation, but the Matadors were relentless.

Mount Miguel ’s TRAVON CAPLES, who scored 8 of his game-high 24 points in the final quarter, tied the game 53-53 on a bucket with 2:28 remaining.

BRAD BARRETT took control from there. The 6-foot-3 junior guard converted two free throws and followed with a steal and a basket to stake the Matadors to a 57-53 lead.

J.J. NORTON helped the Matadors secure the victory as he converted four free throws in as many attempts in the final 44 seconds.

Barrett, who has scored 91 points in his last three games, knocked down a trio of three-pointers to finish with 22 points. The junior sharpshooter nailed 7 of 9 free throws and made 6 steals – it was key in the Mount Miguel victory.

“We knew we had to get this win if we want to win league,” Barrett said. “We had to play defense, get on the boards, dive on the floor and do what we had to to win.”

Barrett has buried 18 three-pointers in his last three games, including three against Monte Vista.

A.J. STANFORD was the director on offense and a ballhawk on defense for the Matadors. He finished with 7 points and 5 assists.

“In that last quarter we picked up the tempo and crashed the boards,” said Stanford. “We played hard ‘D,’ kept people in front of us. It was all about playing hard, sliding our feet and doing what we need to do. We made plays when we needed to make plays. We had to get this win under our belts so we can keep our chance to win league alive.”

Slumping Monte Vista (7-14, 1-9 GSL) suffered its 9th loss in 10 games.

“Like I’ve said before our Achilles Heel is not having a true point guard,” Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL said. “For some reason we tried to dribble through their press and it resulted in more turnovers than anything else. We didn’t take good shots.”

MIKE WATKINS paced the Monarchs with 18 points and 7 rebounds, while GEOFF HARTMAN added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

The Monarchs committed 23 turnovers, while Mount Miguel created 14 steals – 8 in the 4th quarter.

Mount Miguel scoring: Travon Caples 24 (8 reb), Brad Barrett 22 (7 reb, 2 ast, 6 stl, 1 blk), JJ Norton 8 (2 reb), AJ Stanford 7 (4 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Devyn Moore 2 (4 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Matt Miles 2.

Monte Vista scoring: Mike Watkins 18 (7 reb), Geoff Hartman 15 (10 reb, 2 blk), Anthony Bell 9, Chris Jones 8 (3 reb, 4 ast), Ryan Houser 3 (3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Trent Watkins 2 (9 reb).

EL CAPITAN 57, SANTANA 53 – First year El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS is starting to believe that his Vaqueros thrive playing in front of capacity crowds – home or away.

The visiting Vaqueros (8-12, 3-1 GNL) disappointed a boisterous Santee home crowd in Friday’s (Jan. 25) Grossmont North League game to secure second place in the league.

El Capitan earned a 23-12 halftime lead and extended that advantage to 15 points by the middle of the 3rd quarter. Suddenly the Vaqueros began to sputter and the momentum swung to Santana, 50-49 in the waning minutes of the game.

“We really turned it on. Our fans were out of their minds at that point,” said Santana coach TIM BARRY. “Even though we were down three starters, this was the most exciting game we’ve had all year.”

And one of the most disappointing, as the Sultans (13-7, 1-3 GNL) find themselves all but eliminated from the GNL race.

Santana had the lead in the last 30 seconds, 52-51, before MICHAEL OVERSON hit a 12-footer to give El Capitan the edge for keeps.

With 25 seconds left, El Capitan led by one point.

“On the inbounds play we threw the ball the length of the floor and ended up turning the ball over – twice,” Barry recalled.

Senior BARRETT BRAUN registered 17 of his game-high 21 points in the 2nd half to help the Vaqueros turn back the Sultans.

“Santana played a box-and-one against Barrett in the 1st half but we were still able to execute our stuff,” Cavazos said. “Even though we had the lead going into the 2nd half, we let up like a young team does. We gave up the lead down the stretch and even though the Santana crowd was roaring, we didn’t fold at the end.”

“We boxed-and-one Braun in the 1st half and held him to 4 points,” said Barry. “Then in the 2nd half we switched coverage on him and he got 17 points.”

Overson, the sophomore stealth member of the El Capitan arsenal, had 12 points, 4 steals, 3 assists and 3 rebounds. He also hit 6 of 8 free throws, but his offense is not what impressed Cavazos the most.

“He hit some big free throws at the end,” Cavazos said. “But defensively he and TILA CASE shut down Santana shooters when the game was on the line. I put Overson on the other team’s best player the whole game. He’s an animal out there.”

No question Santana suffered without the leadership of sophomore point guard JESSE VARGAS.

“We’re just really lost without Jesse,” said Barry of Vargas who is sidelined with a knee injury.

Senior BLAKE HARPER hit 9 of 11 shots from the field, including a trey, as he finished with a Santana high 18 points.

“Blake had the game of his life,” said Barry. “He said to me before the game ‘My mom told me to get 18 points for my 18th birthday (on Saturday, Jan. 26).’ And that’s what he did.”

The Sultans TYLER BLACKLEDGE played all 32 minutes, finishing with 15 points and 5 rebounds.

“He’s playing out of position at point guard and he’s doing a good job,” said Barry.

The fact that El Capitan is only one game behind front-running Grossmont at the midpoint of the GNL season is a boost to Cavazos’ confidence.

“Nobody expected us to go 3-1 in the first round,” he said. “We’re playing hard and getting better.”

The difference in the game was at the free throw line. El Capitan was 14 for 21, Santana was 10 for 19. In the 4th quarter Santana shot 2 for 7 on free throws.

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 21 (8 reb, 1 blk), Michael Overson 12 (3 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Jon Molzen 9 (9 reb, 4 ast), Tila Case 6 (2 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Matt Hobby 4 (2 reb), Jake Zawlacki 3 (2 blk), Armon Worrell 2.

Santana scoring: Blake Harper 18, Tyler Blackledge 15 (5 reb, 2 ast), Anthony DeBarrows 7, Kevin Engelke 6 (3 reb), Chris Sodergren 4 (10 reb), Brett Romero 3.

WEST HILLS 48, EL CAJON VALLEY 47 – The visiting Wolf Pack overcame a 10-point deficit in the final 7:04 minutes to upend the Braves in Friday’s (Jan. 25) Grossmont North League encounter.

Pinpoint passes from junior guard LUCAS ARMSTRONG led to back-to-back 3-point buckets by junior sharpshooter CHASE SENTER to bite into the Braves’ lead. That shifted momentum into West Hills favor, but the Braves were not about to fold.

With a minute to go El Cajon Valley ’s RAYLONDO FORD hit his only field goal – a 3-pointer to put the Braves up 46-45. On the next possession TIM NOWLIN got the offensive rebound off GARRETT CABRAL’s missed attempt and scored to put the Pack up 47-46.

With 32 seconds left in the game, the Braves’ LAROY McGEE was fouled on a drive to the basket. He made the first shot to tie it at 47-all, but missed the second free throw attempt.

Braves player LUCAS STAFFORD fouled Cabral with 9.8 seconds remaining. Cabral made his first of two free throws to put the Pack up 48-47.

El Cajon Valley had a chance to take the lead with 1.8 seconds on the clock, but ANTHONY USSERY missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw and Nowlin collected his 21st rebound and was fouled.

The Wolf Pack senior missed the free throw but it didn’t matter.

“Tim was phenomenal tonight,” said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. “Every rebound was his as he controlled the boards.”

Playing in arguably his best game this season, Nowlin finished with a double-double of 17 points and just one rebound short of Al Enriquez’ West Hills record established in the 1996-97 season.

“ASHUR GELYANA and KYLE NAVARRE were big parts of this win tonight,” Coach Armstrong said. “Ashur made a couple of nice passes and had some big steals. Kyle was tough out there, he had 5 rebounds and defended well – he’s a scrappy kid.”

West Hills scoring: Tim Nowlin 17 (reb 21, 2 ast, 5 stl), Garrett Cabral 15 (3 reb, 2 blk), Chase Senter 2, Lucas Armstrong 2 (4 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk), Kyle Navarre (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Ashur Gelyana (2 ast, 2 stl).

El Cajon Valley scoring: Laroy McGee 20, Shivan Sulyman 9, Domenic Dove 6, Lucas Stafford 5, Raylondo Ford 3, Anthony Ussery 4.

CHRISTIAN 60, CORONADO 42 – It was a crucial victory for the Central League title-conscious Patriots Friday night (Jan. 25), as they used their 1-2 inside-out punch to deck host Coronado.

Six-foot-8 junior pivot VANDER JOAQUIM turned in a dominating triple double of 19 points, 15 rebounds and 10 blocks plus 5 assists and 5 steals.

“It was a block party for Vander,” said Christian assistant coach TOBIN WILKINS. “He was a force all over the court.”

So was Christian High senior guard DANIEL HAZLETT, who netted 29 points on 9 of 20 shooting. Hazlett has scored 66 points in his last two games, and nailed a dozen treys to take over the East County 3-point shooting lead with 64.

“If Daniel plays like he did these past two games, we have a shot at beating Hoover,” said Wilkins, noting that a win over the league-leading Cardinals on Feb. 1 could create a Central circuit co-championship. “He carried us this week.”

Christian (14-6, 3-1 CNT) sprinted out to a 17-11 first quarter lead and extended its advantage to 37-21 by intermission at Coronado (9-6, 2-2 CNT). The strength of the Patriots’ thrust was 7-for-14 shooting from above the arc – 5 from Hazlett – in the opening two periods.

Despite the offensive fireworks, defense remains the Patriots’ strong suite.

“LAWRENCE and MANNY WALKER bring a lot of energy to the table defensively,” Wilkins said. “Basically they don’t like to lose, and they play that way.”

Overall Christian hit 22 of 47 shots from the field for 47 percent, while Coronado hit less than 27 percent of 52 shots from the field.

Christian scoring: Daniel Hazlett 29 (2 reb), Vander Joaquim 19 (15 reb, 10 blk, 5 ast, 4 stl), Andrew Sexton 5, Bradley Johnston 3 (3 ast), Manny Walker 2 (5 reb, 2 stl), Taylor Eichhorst 2, Lawrence Walker (2 ast).

STEELE CANYON 70, VALHALLA 56 – Believing that it has the ability to knock off front-running Helix, Steele Canyon overpowered visiting Valhalla Friday night (Jan. 25) in a Grossmont South League contest for its 4th straight win and 7th victory in 9 starts.

“We shot the ball really well,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS of his latest conquest.

Indeed the Cougars did, taking a 45-24 halftime lead.

“Give credit to Steele Canyon , they couldn’t miss a shot at the start of the game and they hurt us with their press,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON.

Junior guard JEBARI ROBINSON was once again the sparkplug for the Cougars (10-11, 4-1 GSL), knocking down 24 points, including 5 threes.

“Jebari is the ace of probably the best group of guards in our league,” Jackson said.

Steele Canyon led by as much as 25 points at one time, but the Norsemen (10-10, 1-4 GSL) got as close as 10 points in the 2nd half.

“We did a pretty good job of staying with them in the 1st half, hitting 11 of 21 shots from the field,” Jackson said. “But we turned the ball over 14 times in the 1st half and 21 times overall against their pressure. We just were not getting enough good looks.”

All of Valhalla’s starters against Steele Canyon were underclassmen.

Senior guard RUFFY BACONG paced the Norsemen with 12 points – half coming on a pair of treys.

Junior TREVOR CAHOON added 10 points and 8 rebounds.

“We’ve gone through the first round of league play so there is no more talking about how young we are, the learning curve is over,” Jackson said.

Valhalla scoring: Ruffy Bacong 12 (3 reb, 2 stl), Trevor Cahoon 10 (8 reb), Austen Suhay 8 (2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Damaine Bradshaw 7 (2 ast), David Zetts 6 (2 reb), Kyle Kriebel 6 (6 reb, 2 blk), Derek White 4 (3 reb), EV Alcantar 3 (3 reb).

Steele Canyon: Jebari Robinson 24, Elijah Carter 10, Nick Stathas 6, Jake Ransom 6, Zane Keith 5, Riley Balikian 4, Cameron Moss 4, Casey Gayton 3, Josiah Smith 3, Eric Gilbert 3, Jeff Reid 2.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-24-08) — Christian High senior guard DANIEL HAZLETT is back in the race for the East County three-point shooting championship. That’s not only good news for him, but for coach KELVIN STARR’s Patriots as well.

The 6-foot Hazlett landed 6 treys to help the Patriots whip visiting Madison 56-48 in Wednesday’s (Jan. 23) Central League action at the Ryan Athletic Center.

Hazlett hit 6 of 10 shots from the field and 8 of 14 overall. He now has 58 treys, leaving him one behind East County leader WAYNE MARTIN of Granite Hills.

Hazlett, East County’s No. 2 free throw shooter, missed only one of six chances against the Warhawks (9-9, 1-2 CNT). He’s now shooting at a .771 clip and trails only Mount Miguel’s BRAD BARRETT.

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Six-foot-8 VANDER JOAQUIM was plagued by foul problems but still registered a noteworthy performance of 14 points, 15 rebounds, 4 blocks and 4 steals. He made half of his 10 shots from the floor and all 4 free throw attempts before fouling out.

Christian (13-6, 2-1 CTL) dominated the 1st half and led 25-14 at the break.

“We made too many turnovers (21),” Starr said. “We got only 12 shots in the 2nd half. We played our usual great defense, but we just don’t know how to put teams away.”

Christian shot 46 percent (19 of 41) compared to Madison ’s 32 percent (17 of 53).

Christian scoring: Daniel Hazlett 27 (2 ast), Vander Joaquim 14 (15 reb, 4 blk, 4 stl), Manny Walker 7, Lawrence Walker 4 (2 ast), Taylor Eichhorst 2, Andrew Whitten 2, Bradley Johnston (3 ast).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-23-08) — Although most pundits do not expect Grossmont to receive a serious challenge in the run for the Grossmont North League title, the visiting El Capitan Vaqueros (7-12, 2-1 GNL) found themselves in a position to take the league lead in Tuesday’s (Jan. 22) GNL action.

Playing without the services of senior point guard KHALID WATERS, who is participating in the Navy-Marine Senior All-Star football game in Fullerton this weekend, MICHAEL GRAHAM stepped into the leadership role and helped the Foothillers (14-6, 4-0 GNL) post their 8th straight victory, a 54-40 nod over the Vaqueros, while taking command of the GNL lead.

RICHARD OGUNSALU was the difference in this game, as the Foothillers’ senior destroyed the Vaqueros inside the paint, totaling 26 points and 14 rebounds. He was deadly from the free throw line where he missed only 2 of 16 shots.

“We were just methodical, we kept pounding the ball inside and they were fouling Ogunsalu,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “Luckily, Richard was making his free throws. It was close each quarter. They were doing a very good job trying to take (IAN) COCHRAN out of the game so Ogunsalu picked up the pace inside.”

Cochran finished with 9 points and 10 rebounds.

BARRETT BRAUN paced the Vaqueros with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while TILA CASE added 10 points and 3 assists.

“They kicked our butts on the boards really bad,” said El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS. “Cochran is a hard worker and he’s relentless. Every time they missed a shot they got the offensive rebound. We’ve got to do a better job of crashing the glass. We have no excuses, they flat out beat us.”

As far as Cavazos is concerned, the absence of Waters didn’t hurt the Foothillers.

“Graham is just as quick as Tila, and he bothered him a little bit,” Cavazos noted. “They are a good defensive team and put a little pressure on us. I thought the scheme we had going in would be successful. They got 2nd, 3rd and 4th chance opportunities all night on us. We are young, only have two seniors and Grossmont is all seniors.”

Grossmont scoring: Richard Ogunsalu 26 (14 reb), Ian Cochran 9 (10 reb), Robert Sullivan 8 (3 reb), Michael Graham 5 (7 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Alex Leon 3 (4 reb), Billy Gange 3 (2 reb), Aaron Griffin (1 reb).

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 15 (10 reb, 2 ast), Tila Case 10 (4 reb, 3 ast), Michael Overson 5 (2 reb, 4 stl), Michael Landis 5 (2 reb), Jon Molzen 4 (2 reb), Armon Worrell 1 (2 reb, 1 blk), Jake Zawlacki (1 blk), Matt Hobby 2 reb.

MOUNT MIGUEL 58, GRANITE HILLS 53 – Basketball at Mount Miguel these days centers around the shooting of junior guard BRAD BARRETT.

The 6-foot-2 Barrett paced the Matadors with 28 points – more than half of which came on his 5 buckets from above the arc – as the visiting Matadors (12-7, 2-2 GSL) dumped the Eagles on Tuesday (Jan. 22).

Barrett has scored 69 points in his last two games, hitting 15 treys in the process. His short game was pretty good too, against Granite Hills, as he netted 7 of 9 free throws.

“Barrett is an all-around player who can score inside or outside,” said Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT. “One of the big things about his recent spree is that his teammates have done a good job of getting him the ball. They recognize who has the hot hand.”

ARTHUR HOBBS delivered 4 assists to Barrett while chalking up 6 rebounds and 6 steals for the Matadors.

TRAVON CAPLES rolled a supporting double-double of 13 points and a dozen rebounds for Mount Miguel , which has won 6 of its last 9 games.

Mount Miguel marched to a 20-8 lead early in the 2nd quarter, but the Eagles (12-8, 1-3 GSL) closed the deficit to 29-23 by halftime.

Early momentum belonged to Granite Hills in the 3rd quarter as the Eagles scored 10 of the first 12 points in the quarter to take a 33-31 lead.

“Just as fast as we got back into our game we lost the flow,” said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON. “We shot well overall (18 of 41) but hit just one of 10 three-point attempts.”

“Our shooting would have been adequate had we not turned the ball over 20 times. We made too many stupid passes.”

Barrett cast the swing vote in the 2nd half as he landed 4 three-point bulls-eyes.

DEAN MILLER paced Granite Hills with 19 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks, while WAYNE MARTIN added 17 points – was 6 for 6 at the free throw line – and 4 assists.

Hard-nosed Granite Hills junior AARON HARRIS won the battle of the boards with 15 rebounds – 7 on the offensive side.

“I don’t know what to say, other than we didn’t get it done defensively,” Anderson said.

Mount Miguel scoring: Brad Barrett 28 (7 reb), Travon Caples 13 (12 reb, 2 stl), AJ Stanford 4 (3 reb), JJ Norton 4 (2 stl, 2 ast), Arthur Hobbs 4 (6 reb, 6 st, 4 ast), Devyn Moore 3 (2 stl), Charles Graves 2 (2 stl).

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 19 (13 reb, 3 blk), Wayne Martin 17 (4 ast), Clint Davis 7, Aaron Harris 5 (15 reb), Vicente Stafford 3, Ian Birmingham 2 (9 reb).

STEELE CANYON 85, MONTE VISTA 56 – One of the things the Steele Canyon Cougars have driving them to the finish line is that the Grossmont South League race isn’t over.

The Cougars (9-11, 3-1 GSL), who have won three in a row and six of their last eight, need a victory over Valhalla on Friday (Jan. 25) to set up a probable GSL title-bearing showdown against Helix on Friday (Feb. 1) in Rancho San Diego.

Steele Canyon scored a season high in dispatching visiting Monte Vista in Tuesday’s (Jan. 22) GSL match up. The Cougars pounced on the Monarchs 23-14 in the first quarter and led 48-24 by intermission.

“We hit 6 threes in the first half and basically shot lights out,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS. “They tried to play us zone and got out of that pretty quick. Then they tried to press and our guards were able to break that.”

A dozen Cougars contributed to the season-high scoring gusher. Junior guard JEBARI ROBINSON was parade marshal with 15 points, the majority coming on a quartet of treys.

Senior NICK STATHAS added 12 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and a steal for Steele Canyon , while ELIJAH CARTER pitched in 10 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

“We were moving the ball around really well, got a lot of kids involved,” Stephens said. “We unloaded our bench early. It was fun to see our starters sitting there acting like cheerleaders for their teammates.”

For Monte Vista (7-13, 1-3 GSL) it was total frustration. The Monarchs, who have lost eight of their last nine, were never in contention.

“It was over at halftime,” Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL said. “Our biggest opponent is ourselves. We were missing shots and they kept getting the rebounds. We played selfish basketball. The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same things over and over again.”

Junior guard CHRIS JONES and GEOFF HARTMAN shared the scoring high for Monte Vista with 13 points apiece.

“CHRIS JONES and ALEX ROBINSON both started tonight and both played pretty well,” Carroll added. “Their play was a bright spot.”

Monte Vista was a paltry 1-for-10 shooting threes.

Steele Canyon scoring: Jebari Robinson 15 (3 ast, 3 stl), Nick Stathas 12 (5 ast, 5 reb), Elijah Carter 10 (5 ast, 6 reb), Riley Balikian 9 (2 ast, 5 reb), Josiah Smith 9 (5 reb), Casey Gayton 6, Cameron Moss 6 (2 ast, 2 reb), Eric Gilbert 5 (3 reb), Brandon Brown 4 (5 reb), Jeff Reid 4 (3 reb), Zane Keith 4 (4 ast, 4 reb, 2 blk), Cameron Hubbard 1.

Monte Vista scoring: Chris Jones 13 (3 stl), Geoff Hartman 13 (7 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Mike Watkins 11 (5 reb), Alex Robinson 8 (3 reb), Anthony Bell 4, Ryan Houser (2 reb), Tony Jackson 2 (2 reb), Brian Williams 1, Jordan Lipparelli 1.

HELIX 68, VALHALLA 46 – Defense has always been in the Helix playbook and this year is no exception. Only one time has Helix allowed as many as 60 points in a game, and it took Mater Dei three overtimes in a losing effort to register 63 markers.

On the flip side Helix has held 11 of its 18 foes to 48 points or less. But of late Helix has put together a fairly good offense. The Highlanders (11-7, 4-0 GSL) have won five in a row and have averaged 70 points per outing in the last four starts.

A 26-9 scoring burst in the 3rd quarter of Tuesday’s (Jan. 22) Grossmont South League game at Valhalla decided the issue and left the Highlanders one game ahead of second place Steele Canyon in the GSL race.

“You know me, I think of defense first,” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER. “And except for the (17-point) 2nd quarter I thought we stayed with our game. I can’t deny that I’m pleased with our offense. When I think back to where we were a couple of weeks ago, we’ve come a long way.”

DONALD McGOWAN scored a career-high 23 points for the Highlanders, hitting 9 of 16 shots from the field. He was 2 for 3 from 3-point range and 3 for 3 on free throws. He also gobbled up 9 rebounds – 2 fewer than team leader LEVINE TOILOLO, who also tallied 16 points.

“McGowan only played about 18 minutes,” Singer said. “I had to take him out of there because all he was thinking about was scoring, and you know what I think about defense.”

Toilolo netted 6 of 11 shots from the floor and was 4 for 4 from the free throw line. He also blocked 4 shots.

“I guess he’s just starting to find his basketball legs,” Singer said.

DEMOND “Red” NARCISSE kicked in with 15 points on 7 of 13 shooting. Although senior point guard KAREEM ABUKAR scored only 2 points, he delivered a career-high 10 assists, 3 steals and 5 rebounds.

For Valhalla (10-9, 1-3 GSL), AUSTEN SUHAY continues to be the Norsemen’s shining light. The 5-foot-11 junior rang up 18 points, giving him 82 points in his last five games.

“That kid can play a little,” Singer praised.

KYLE KRIEBEL added 9 points, 5 rebounds and 5 blocks for the Norsemen.

“I don’t think we were playing our game in the 1st quarter,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON, as Helix led 16-8. “Going into the half we were starting to pick things up. Then in the 3rd quarter they picked up the intensity. They killed our morale. We had trouble getting in a groove. We’re a better free throw shooting team than we were tonight. We have just got to play with more confidence.”

Sophomore guard DAVID ZETTS added 9 points and 2 rebounds for Valhalla .

“Zetts came in and gave us some quality minutes,” Jackson added. “I can’t say enough good things about Suhay.”

Helix scoring: Donald McGowan 23 (9 reb, 2 stl), Levine Toilolo 16 (11 reb, 4 blk), Demond Narcisse 15 (8 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl,), Darrell Chandler 6 (5 ast), Kareem Abukar 2 (10 ast, 5 reb, 3 stl), Joubert Ballard 2 (3 reb, 2 stl), Patrick Winston 2 (4 reb, 2 blk), Anthony Anderson 2 (2 blk).

Valhalla scoring: Austen Suhay 18 (3 reb, 4 ast), David Zetts 9 (2 reb), Kyle Kriebel 9 (5 reb, 5 blk), Steven Kleist 6 (4 reb, 2 stl), Rod Fakhoury 2 (3 reb), AJ Dobransky 1 (2 reb), Derek White 1.

SANTANA 54, WEST HILLS 42 – Only one player per team in this Grossmont North League battle of Santee rivals on Tuesday (Jan. 22) reached double scoring digits.

KEVIN ENGELKE, a 6-foot-3 junior overcame a separated shoulder during the contest to punch in a game-high 15 points to carry the Sultans (13-6, 1-2 GNL) to the victory over host West Hills.

Engelke’s shoulder popped out of joint for the second time this year in the first quarter. Such an injury might force an average athlete to the sidelines for the remainder of the game.

Not Engelke.

“He put it back in himself and at the end of the 2nd quarter he came to me and asked to go back in,” Santana coach TIM BARRY said. “The doctor said it wouldn’t get any worse, it needs surgery but if he can take the pain he can play. Kevin scored 7 of his 15 points in the 2nd half. He finished the game strong.”

Although Santana finished on top, it did not come without a price.

“(Six-foot-4 senior) KYLE SALZMAN started the game out with a steal, went the length of the floor and slammed a dunk,” Barry said. “He scored 4 points in the first three minutes of the game, then towards the end of the 1st quarter came down wrong on his leg with a possible break.”

The injuries come only days after Santana lost point guard JESSE VARGAS to a knee malady.

Santana advanced to a 27-14 halftime lead and then held off the Wolf Pack (8-13, 0-3 GNL), which sustained its fifth straight setback.

“BLAKE HARPER and ANTHONY DeBARROWS were key to our offense,” Barry. “Harper scored 6 points in the 2nd quarter after Engelke went out, and DeBarrows hit 2 key 3s in the 1st half.”

Although the Sultans registered their second highest total in six games, West Hills continued to struggle on the offensive end.

GARRETT CABRAL was the only West Hills player to reach double digits, finishing with 14 points despite an unspectacular shooting night.

TIM NOWLIN had an off-night shooting, garnering 7 points but did top the Pack with 9 rebounds and added 3 steals.

LUCAS ARMSTRONG pitched in 7 points, 6 assists and 4 steals before fouling out.

“Our shooting woes continue as we put up 14 points at the half,” said Wolf Pack coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. “Santana did a good job of switching up their D’s – going man and 2-3 zone. We didn’t attack their defense as needed. Santana was the more determined team.”

Santana scoring: Kevin Engelke 15 (7 reb, 2 stl), Blake Harper 8, Carols Vargas 7 (6 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Anthony DeBarrows 7 (2 reb, 3 stl), Tyler Blackledge 7 (6 reb, 2 ast), Chris Sodergren 5 (6 reb), Kyle Salzman 4, Brett Romero 1, Jerrell Patacsil (3 reb), Ryan Garlin (2 reb).

West Hills scoring: Garrett Cabral 14 (7 reb, 2 stl), Chase Senter 8 (5 ast), Tim Nowlin 7 (9 reb, 3 stl, 1 blk), Lucas Armstrong 6 (7 reb, 6 ast, 4 stl), Kyle McLaughlin 5 (5 reb, 1 blk), Kyle Navarre 2 (2 reb).

© East County Sports.com
LAS VEGAS (1-21-08) — When Mount Miguel High tipped off its season in early December last year, few were familiar with the name BRAD BARRETT.

That should change.

A steady contributor for the Matadors (11-7) this season, the junior guard etched his name into the Mount Miguel basketball record book Monday (Jan. 21) when he landed 10 of 12 shots from above the arc on his way to a career-high 41 points in Mount Miguel ’s 70-54 non-league victory over Sierra Vista (Nev.).

“Barrett was on fire,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT.

Indeed. Barrett’s 83 percent marksmanship left him two treys short of the Grossmont Conference 3-point basket record established by Valhalla’s MARK DILLON against West Hills in 1991, matched by El Cajon Valley’s KEMMY BURGESS during a 54-point explosion against Monte Vista in 1998 and equaled by Granite Hills’ NICK TAYLOR against Sweetwater in 2005.

Barrett also snagged 7 rebounds for the Matadors, who also received a powerful double-double of 13 points and 15 rebounds from TRAVON CAPLES.

The Matadors, who jumped out to a 37-28 halftime lead over the Mountain Lions (8-12), snapped a three-game losing streak.

“We were hot in the 2nd half and our pressure got to them,” said Rowlett. “Hopefully we can carry this momentum into the rest of the week.”

Mount Miguel scoring: Brad Barrett 41 (7 reb), Travon Caples 13 (15 reb), AJ Stanford 7 (7 ast), Arthur Hobbs 5 (5 ast, 3 stl), Devyn Moore 2 (2 ast, 6 stl).

The Titans steamrollered to a 44-26 halftime lead and never looked back.

Foothills Christian (14-8) trailed by as much as 22 points in the 4th quarter but closed the gap to 8.

“We’re battling many injuries and added another tonight” Foothills assistant coach JAMES McHUGH said. “ZACH KAUL sat the game with a back injury that was re-aggravated in the Cathedral game. Leaf is battling ankle and groin injuries, Hatcher has played through an ankle injury for the last few games and RJ NAJERA hurt his knee tonight, which is an injury he sustained in football last season that had him out until the beginning of this basketball season.”

“RJ showed a great deal of heart for us tonight,” added McHugh. “Before his injury RJ grabbed 5 rebounds including 4 offensive rebounds (3 in the 4th quarter) which finally gave us some second chance points.”

Hatcher hit 8 of 20 shots from the field, including a trio of treys. He also had 5 steals and 5 assists.

Although the banged-up Leaf netted 7 of 17 shots from the floor and 3 treys as well as making all 8 of his free throw attempts.

With Leaf hurting coach BRAD LEAF asked Hatcher to put the team on his back in the 4th quarter, and Hatcher stepped up.

After 22 consecutive road games Foothills Christian will actually play a “home” game on Saturday (Jan. 26) against Tri-City Christian at Granite Hills High.

“It’s going to be a great change for the boys,” said McHugh. “This team thrives on sixth man support and they play big with big crowds. We’re expecting that when we play TCC. I don’t know of another team that has played 22 straight road games.”

Foothills Christian is an outstanding team for keeping team records. All-time scoring leader Troy Leaf now has 1317 career.

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 25 (3 reb, 2 blk, 4 ast), Aaron Hale 6 (4 reb, 1 blk), Brandon Hale 5 (2 reb), RJ Najera 2 (5 reb, 1 blk), Kalob Hatcher 26 (1 blk, 5 stl, 5 ast), George Travis 3 (1 blk).

© East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (1-20-08) — You could call the Foothills Christian Knights “the Saturday Kids.’ That’s because one-third of their games have been contested on Saturdays.

Foothills Christian (14-7) had won 5 of 6 weekend games until the Knights hit the wall on Saturday (Jan. 19) in the Horizon Super Showcase when they were clobbered by the Cathedral Catholic Dons, 65-48.

“You have to credit Cathedral (11-7) with hard play, they won this game hands down,” reported Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. “Clearly this was our poorest offensive effort in the season.”

The Dons led 28-24 at the half before pulling away with 19-8 third quarter run.

Known for its excellent shooting, Foothills Christian shot a paltry 28 percent, hitting just 15 of 54 chances from the floor. The Knights landed just 6 of 24 shots from above the arc, although they did net 12 of 14 free throws.

Despite the overall dismal performance by the Knights, they did receive a double-double from junior guard ZACH KAUL, who knocked down 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and made 3 steals. Perhaps the most amazing stat is the 5-foot-10 Kaul took three charges.

“Zach Kaul showed great hustle tonight,” said McHugh. “Unfortunately the last charge he took with just over a minute to play put him directly on his tail bone again and had to be helped to the sideline after a few minutes on the floor. His status for Monday will be questionable.”

Despite playing only 22 minutes due to foul trouble, sophomore KALOB HATCHER still managed to lead the Knights with 15 points. He was 8 for 8 from the free throw line before fouling out with 5:45 remaining.

East County scoring leader TROY LEAF registered a career low 8 points, hitting just 3 of 18 shots from the field. Leaf did manage 5 assists, 2 steals and 3 rebounds.

“It's funny when sometimes you stop and realize how young these kids are,” McHugh said. “They have gone from one year of everyone being surprised that they were as good as they were to another where everyone is surprised every time they get beat.”

Kaul eclipsed 700 career points tonight (712) making him the 4th player in school history to do so (Troy Leaf 1292; Brandon Hale 831; Kalob Hatcher 794).

Foothills Christian scoring: Kalob Hatcher 15 (4 stl, 3 ast), Zach Kaul 14 (10 reb, 3 stl), Troy Leaf 8 (3 reb, 2 stl, 5 ast), Aaron Hale 8 (8 reb, 4 blk), Brandon Hale 3 (2 reb), Andrew Atia (1 blk).

El Dorado is ranked No. 4 in Las Vegas .

“We cut it to two points late but couldn’t get closer,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT. “( El Dorado ) had two Division I guys on their team, one going to Oregon and another to NAU ( Northern Arizona University ). I knew going in that they were going to be a real good team. We played hard but they just made some more plays down the stretch.”

Mount Miguel scoring: Brad Barrett 23 (6 reb, 3 ast), Travon Caples 21 (10 reb, 2 ast), AJ Stanford 19 (7 ast, 3 reb), Devyn Moore 8 (5 stl), Arthur Hobbs 4 (5 stl), Matt Miles 3, Charles Graves 1.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-19-08) -- It was already known that the Grossmont Foothillers fielded more weapons than Santana, but when the Sultans saw limited action from two of their starters -- one to fouls; the other to injury -- it made for a one-sided second half Friday (Jan. 18) as the Grossmont North League leading Hillers raced to an easy 54-38 triumph.

RICHARD OGUNSALU powered Grossmont with 15 points and 13 rebounds, one of three Hillers to score in double figures. Meanwhile, guard MICHAEL GRAHAM, better known as a defensive stopper, tallied a season-high 13 points to top his previous best of 11 against Helix.

"We just have too many big guys for most teams in our league to cover, whether it's Richard or IAN COCHRAN or ALEX LEON," said Graham, who added 8 rebounds and 3 steals.

“That’s the worst looking injury I’ve ever seen as a player or a coach,” Santana coach TIM BARRY said. “Once I got out there and reached out to him, Jesse grabbed my hand. I cannot believe how hard he was squeezing my hand.”

Despite playing less than half the game, Vargas led Santana (12-6, 0-2 GNL) with 9 points.

“It was just one of those quirk things,” Barry said of Vargas’ injury. “He went down at such an odd angle. I wasn’t sure whether he’d broken an ankle or what.”

Both coaches credited a doctor and two nurses who happened to be in the crowd for comforting Vargas until paramedics arrived.

“Us from Santana owe that doctor,” Barry said. “She popped Jesse’s knee back into place and it was like two different worlds. His pain was still there but nothing like it was before they put his knee back where it belonged.”

Grossmont (13-6) moved to 3-0 in GNL play, but its lead is tenuous at best.

“We just played steady tonight,” said Foggiano. “We hit a few more shots than we usually do – we had 8 threes, which is fairly uncharacteristic of us. Santana did a good job stopping our inside game.”

On Tuesday (Jan. 22), the Foothillers host second-place El Capitan, which rests one-half game behind Grossmont in the GNL. But Foggiano’s troops will also play short-handed. Point guard KHALID WATERS will miss all of next week's action to participate for the Navy-Marine Corps All-Star Football Game Saturday (Jan. 26) at Cal State Fullerton.

"Every game is important and we've been able to take care of business here at home," noted Graham. "It should be the away games where we will really need to play our best."

Graham registered 10 of his 13 points in the first half, while Ogunsalu tallied 9 of his 15 points by intermission for a 29-22 advantage.

Meanwhile, with Santana's offense in shambles, the Sultans hit just 5-of-28 second-half shots (17.9 percent) with Vargas headed to the hospital.

“Vargas is our best player,” Barry said. “Everything we do runs through him. I don’t know how long he’ll be out, but I’m doubtful that he’ll be back this season.”

Santana scoring: Jesse Vargas 9, Kevin Engelke 6 (7 reb), Kyle Salzman 5, Chris Sodergren 5 (5 reb), Blake Harper 5, Anthony DeBarrows 3, Carlos Vargas 3 (3 ast), Tyler Blackledge 2 (8 reb).

Grossmont scoring: Richard Ogunsalu 15 (13 reb), Michael Graham 13 (8 reb), Khalid Waters 11 (3 ast), Ian Cochran 8 (8 reb), Robert Sullivan 5, Alex Leon 2 (5 reb.).

With 45 seconds remaining, the Eagles (12-7, 1-2 GSL) led 48-46. That’s when Carter came through in the clutch, hitting a bucket to tie the game. Carter was fouled on the shot and made the free throw for a 3-point play.

Neither team had another scoring chance.

“This was a tough game to lose, because we played so well,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. “I don’t usually say anything about the referees, but one call really hurt us this time.”

Anderson was talking about the second quarter, when it appeared that his team had closed the half with a 3-pointer and a 28-25 lead.

“I called for a timeout after the referee signaled the 3-point shot (in question) good,” Anderson said. “I thought everything was OK after I called the timeout, then the ref told me he’d made a mistake and took the basket away from us.”

“I’m not saying this cost us the game, because we had a chance to win it in the final seconds, but the ref never gave me a sound reason why he changed his mind.”

WAYNE MARTIN broke out of his 3-point shooting slump to hit 5 of 7 shots from above the arc for the Eagles.

Miller finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks, while blue collar senior AARON HARRIS collected 23 rebounds, 8 points and 4 assists.

“I didn’t start Martin because he had a bruised thigh,” Anderson said. “We put (VICENTE) STAFFORD in there and he held JEBARI (ROBINSON) to 6 points.”

Even though Robinson did not live up to his 12.3 scoring average, his defense was superb.

“Jebari Robinson played sticky defense the whole game,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS. “We played great defense in the 4th quarter. This was a great win for us.”

RILEY BALIKIAN landed 2 of Steele Canyon's 5 three-pointers as he finished with 12 points, giving his 56 tallies in his last four games.

Steele Canyon scoring: Elijah Carter 23, Riley Balikian 12, Jebari Robinson 6, Josiah Smith 4, Cameron Moss 2, Eric Gilbert 2.

Granite Hills scoring: Wayne Martin 17, Dean Miller 13 (10 reb, 3 blk), Aaron Harris 8 (23 reb, 4 ast), Vicente Stafford 4 (6 reb, 3 ast), Kyle San Nicolas 2, Ian Birmingham 2 (12 reb), Clint Davis 2.

Junior guard AUSTEN SUHAY was 6 for 6 from the charity stripe and 7 of 13 from the field as he posted a game-high 20 points for Valhalla (10-8, 1-2 GSL).

Suhay, anointed Valhalla’s ‘go-to guy’ by Jackson, has lived up to that role, scoring 64 points in his last four games.

“This win keeps our heads above water in league at least,” said Jackson. “We’ve had a rough road the last two weeks. Until tonight we’d only had three 3s in the last four games.”

Valhalla was 4 for 11 in shots beyond the arc against Monte Vista.

“ROD FAKHOURY had two big 3s for us,” said Jackson of the 5-foot-10 junior who totaled 10 points and 3 steals.

TREVOR CAHOON continued his offensive surge, hitting 4 of 6 floor shots and 3 free throws for 11 points. The 6-3 junior contributed 39 points in his last three outings.

Jackson continued to pass out accolades.

“RUFFY BACONG gave us a big lift off the bench, and DAVID ZETTS played really good defense off the bench,” the coach said.

Sophomore KYLE KRIEBEL was his usual force inside with 11 rebounds and 6 blocks.

“Sophomore JOSH AUSTEL came in and gave us quality minutes,” said Jackson of the 6-5 Austel, who made an impact. “He just did a really good job securing the middle.”

MIKE WATKINS led the Monarchs with 16 points.

Valhalla scoring: Austen Suhay 20, Trevor Cahoon 11 (2 reb, 2 ast), Rod Fakhoury 10 (3 stl), Kyle Kriebel 7 (11 reb, 6 blk), David Zetts 7, EV Alcantar 5, Josh Austel 4 (2 reb, 3 blk), Ruffy Bacong 4 (4 reb), Damaine Bradshaw 3 (3 reb), Steven Kleist 2.

Monte Vista scoring: Mike Watkins 16, Anthony Bell 10, Chris Jones 6, Brian Williams 6, Tony Jackson 5, Trent Watkins 4, Geoff Hartman 4, Ryan Houser 2. No other details were reported.

HELIX 67, MOUNT MIGUEL 45 – Less than a month ago Helix coach JOHN SINGER was pleased when even one of his Highlanders reached double scoring digits. Imagine his excitement when five Highlanders scored in double figures Friday night (Jan. 18) in a Grossmont South League blowout of Mount Miguel.

Helix (10-7, 3-0 GSL) stands alone atop the league standings, one game ahead of Steele Canyon and two ahead of the other four league members.

“For us to be where we are is ahead of schedule, considering where we began the season,” said Singer. “But this game was closer than the score indicates.”

Not that the Highlanders were ever in jeopardy of losing. Helix outscored the visiting Matadors (10-6, 1-2 GSL) in all four quarters, including 20-10 in the final period. Although it was not a big shooting match for the Highlanders, they were able to convert 10 of 13 free throw chances in the fourth quarter.

“ Mount Miguel played pretty well defensively against us,” said Singer. “But we out-rebounded them on the glass by a ton.”

King of the boards for Helix was 6-foot-8 LEVINE TOILOLO, who grabbed 14 rebounds, made 4 steals and blocked 3 shots in addition to scoring 11 points.

“Their big guy really hurt us,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT. “We’re not a very big team as it is, but when (6-foot-2 senior TRAVON) CAPLES got into foul trouble, we were really in trouble.”

Singer agreed that Toilolo was a major player. Toilolo connected on 5 of 9 shots from the field.

“I think he played well. It was probably one of the better games he’s had for us,” Singer said.

Mount Miguel's BRAD BARRETT led all scorers with 26 points, including 7 of 9 free throw shooting.

“Barrett’s doing his part,” said Rowlett. “But he needs more help from his teammates.”

Helix scoring: Derrall Chandler 15 (3 ast, 2 stl), Levine Toilolo 11 (14 reb, 4 stl, 3 blk, 2 ast), Donald McGowan 11 (8 reb, 3 stl, 2 ast), Kareem Abukar 10 (4 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Demond Narcisse 10 (9 reb, 6 ast), Joubert Ballard 5, Anthony Diaz 3 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Patrick Winston 2 (5 reb, 2 blk).

Mount Miguel scoring: Brad Barrett 26 (5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Travon Caples 10 (7 reb, 3 stl), AJ Stanford 7 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), JJ Norton 2, Arthur Hobbs (3 reb, 3 stl).

The Vaqueros jumped out to a 20-12 lead over the visiting Braves and extended that advantage to 36-22 by halftime.

BARRETT BRAUN paced the Vaqueros with a quiet double-double of 19 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks.

Guard TILA CASE registered a career-high 18 points to go along with 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.

Sophomore MICHAEL OVERSON punched in 11 points, bagged 5 boards, dished 5 assists and logged 6 steals for the Vaqueros.

“MICHAEL OVERSON was the leader of the pack tonight,” said Cavazos. “He did a very good job – was all over the place, and worked on shutting down some of their shooters.”

El Cajon Valley (10-12, 1-2 GNL) outplayed the Vaqueros in the second half, gaining a 34-26 scoring advantage. Obviously it was too little, too late.

“We came out flat and they got us in the beginning,” said Braves coach NATE REED. “We had a lot of turnovers towards the end of the game. My kids played well, I’m happy with them.”

Speaking of turnovers, El Capitan committed 30, which usually spells defeat.

“In the 3rd quarter El Cajon packed the key in a zone. It caused us to turn it over a little bit,” said Cavazos. “We backpedaled and it caused turnovers. We have never experienced that yet. It caused us to slow the game down.”

El Cajon Valley received 17 points, 11 rebounds and 2 steals from LAROY McGEE.

ANTHONY USSERY produced 15 points, while RAYLONDO FORD tallied 11 markers, 4 rebounds, 8 steals and 2 assists.

SHIVAN SULYMAN also played well with 9 points and 5 steals for the Braves.

El Cajon Valley began the game without one of its top scorers, senior KEVIN BENTON, one of its inside forces. Benton is out for the season with a torn tendon and a chipped and fractured bone in his foot suffered in the game against Helix on Monday (Jan. 14).

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 19 (10 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk), Tila Case 18 (6 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Michael Overson 11 (5 reb, 5 ast, 6 stl), Jon Molzen 9 (10 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl), Armon Worrell 3 (6 reb), Matt Hobby 2.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Laroy McGee 17 (11 reb, 2 stl), Anthony Ussery 15 (2 ast, 1 blk), Raylondo Ford 11 (4 reb, 2 ast, 8 stl), Shivan Sulyman 9 (2 reb, 5 stl), Lucas Stafford 4.

The 6-foot-8 pivot from Angola rang up a thundering double-double of 24 points and 20 rebounds Friday night (Jan. 18) as the visiting Patriots (12-6, 1-1 CTL) clipped the Chieftains.

Joaquim knocked down 10 of 16 shots from the field, including one trey and one free throw.

“Vander did a good job going inside in the 3rd quarter,” said Christian assistant coach TIOBIN WILKINS. “We were a lot more patient in that quarter and got some good looks.”

Christian used a 23-16 scoring edge in the third period to extend an 18-14 halftime advantage.

Patriots senior guard DANIEL HAZLETT canned 16 points, hitting 4 of 10 shots including a pair of 3-balls. He was 6 for 8 from the charity stripe.

Clairemont (5-10, 0-2 CTL) did a good job guarding Hazlett,” said Christian assistant coach TOBIN WILKINS. “In the second quarter they held us to 4 points.”

It did not matter in the end.

Christian scoring: Vander Joaquim 24 (20 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk), Daniel Hazlett 16, Manny Walker 5 (4 reb), Bradley Johnston 4, Lawrence Walker 2, Taylor Eichhorst (6 reb, 4 ast).

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (1-17-08) — The well-documented preseason struggles of the Helix Highlanders no doubt sent a message to the other five members of the Grossmont South League. It was sort of like “the perennial kingpin was goin’ down.”

Breaking news – the Highlanders are very much alive and atop the Grossmont South League standings at 2-0.

As a matter of fact, the Highlanders have won three straight since senior point guard KAREEM ABUKAR has joined the lineup.

“Obviously, this is a good win for us,” said Helix veteran mentor JOHN SINGER, whose Highlanders dusted host Monte Vista 63-46 in Wednesday’s (Jan. 16) GSL match-up. “To go 2-0 out of the gate, it’s even better than I thought we could do. But I am pleased to be where we are.”

“Remember, Abukar joined our team just a week ago.”

Abukar’s supporting cast also enjoyed a big night at the Monarchs’ expense.

Senior forward DONALD McGOWAN landed 17 points and 8 rebounds, while RED NARCISSE pitched in 10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.

As a team Helix shot 40 percent from the field and nailed 16 of 27 free throws.

“We respect Monte Vista’s talent,” Singer said. “But I think our defense was the difference. You know me, I’m hard to play for because I’m demanding. It’s all about defense.”

Helix jumped out to a 9-2 lead but the Monarchs managed to balance the books by the close of the opening eight minutes as MIKE WATKINS executed a rare, 4-point play at the buzzer to make it 12-12.

The Highlanders edged ahead 27-23 by the half and gradually extended their advantage.

“We were pretty flat,” said Monarchs coach JAMES CARROLL. “We didn’t shoot very well (33 percent of 55 shots) and didn’t put forth good effort. We turned the ball over too many times (24).”

Playing without CHRIS JONES and KRIS GALLOWAY, who did not play due to illness, did not help Monte Vista (7-11, 1-1 GSL), which suffered its 6th loss in 7 games.

Helix scoring: Kareem Abukar 18 (7 ast), Donald McGowan 17 (8 reb), Demond Narcisse 10 (8 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Darrell Chandler 6 (6 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Levine Toilolo 5 (6 reb, 4 stl, 2 ast), Anthony Diaz 4 (7 reb), Terrance Cole 2, Joubert Ballard 1 (2 reb).

Monte Vista scoring: Mike Watkins 14 (7 reb), Ryan Houser 11 (5 reb, 3 stl, 1 blk), Anthony Bell 9 (2 reb, 1 blk), Geoff Hartman 8 (13 reb, 4 ast), Tony Jackson 4 (3 reb), Josh Gossmeyer (2 reb), Brian Williams (2 reb).

The 6-foot-3 junior scoring machine is averaging 24.9 points over his last seven games, including 62 over his last two performances. Miller nailed 10 of 17 shots and 3 of 3 free throws for 26 points as the Eagles vanquished visiting Valhalla in Wednesday’s (Jan. 16) Grossmont South League encounter.

“When we get the ball to Miller like we have consistently in the past few games, good things happen,” Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON said.

Miller completed his dominating outing against Valhalla (9-8, 0-2 GSL) with 12 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals.

Senior WAYNE MARTIN re-connected his long distance stroke after a three-game slump, hitting a pair of treys into a 10-point finish. Martin now has 53 three-point bull’s eyes.

Granite Hills (12-6, 1-1 GSL), which has won 7 of its last 9 games, led 25-19 by intermission. Miller helped the Eagles maintain their advantage by scoring 9 of the Eagles’ 14 third quarter points.

“We had to win this game to stay in the (GSL) race,” said Anderson , whose Eagles are knotted in a four-way tie for second place in the GSL.

“IAN BIRMINGHAM (11 rebounds) had a really good defensive game,” Anderson said. “He played great help defense the whole game.

“AARON HARRIS (10 rebounds, 6 points), even though he was in foul trouble did a great job, too.”

So did guard VICENTE STAFFORD (5 assists).

“ Stafford did a great job of being our floor leader in the 2nd half – he really controlled the ball when we needed to use the clock when they were pressuring us.”

Hard-nosed junior AUSTEN SUHAY was the cornerstone for Valhalla , pouring in 15 points, bolstered by 9-of-11 free throw shooting.

TREVOR CAHOON chipped in with 13 points, 8 boards and 2 boards for the Norsemen.

“Miller took the game over,” Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON said. “Our goal coming in was not to let Miller get the ball. But it seems like every time we made a run, Miller would hurt us.”

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 26 (12 reb, 3 blk, 3 stl), Wayne Martin 10, Landon Turley 6 (7 reb), Aaron Harris 6 (10 reb), Ian Birmingham 4 (11 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Kyle
Snyder 2, Vicente Stafford 1 (5 ast, 2 stl).

Valhalla scoring: Austen Suhay 15 (2 reb, 2 ast), Trevor Cahoon 13 (8 reb, 2 blk), Kyle Kriebel 9 (6 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Damaine Bradshaw 2 (5 reb), David Zetts 2, Ruffy Bacong 1 (3 reb, 2 stl).

But the bottom line was the 4th quarter when the Foothillers blew past the Wolf Pack 24-10.

“We couldn’t put the ball in the basket in the last three quarter,” said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG.

The issue was decided when the Foothillers (12-6, 2-0 GNL) converted 14 of 21 free throws in the final quarter to deny West Hills (8-12, 0-2 GNL) an upset bid. For the game Grossmont converted 20 of 31 free throws compared to just 5 of 12 for West Hills.

Grossmont’s TIM COCHRAN, who finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds, hit 11 of 12 free throws. He was 6 for 6 from the charity stripe in the final period in which the Foothillers, as a team, converted 14 of 21 free throws.

MICHAEL GRAHAM hit 3 of 4 free throws in the 4th quarter

“We just kept chipping away,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO.

TIM NOWLIN paced West Hills with 11 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out.

GARRETT CABRAL also tallied 11 points for the Pack.

An ironic twist to the game was West Hills made 17 baskets, which is 3 more than Grossmont did.

“The game came down to experience and they executed better down the stretch than we did,” Armstrong said. “We played well enough to win, but because of our lack of experience, we didn’t finish.

Grossmont scoring: Ian Cochran 21 (13 reb), Khalid Waters 12 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Michael Graham 6 (7 reb, 3 stl), Alex Leon 6 (6 reb), Richard Ogunsalu 5 (10 reb), Robert Sullivan 2 (2 reb).

West Hills scoring: Tim Nowlin 11 (11 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Garrett Cabral 11, Chase Senter 8 (4 reb, 2 ast), Ryan Bozelle 7 (2 reb), Kyle McLaughlin 3 (3 reb, 1 blk), Kyle Navarre 2 (2 reb).

Even though the Braves did not go on a scoring bonanza, they put their ship back in shape as they stunned Santana (12-5, 0-1 GNL) Wednesday (Jan. 16) in El Cajon .

LAROY McGEE paced the Braves with 19 points, including a momentum shifting basket to end the first half. McGee’s buzzer beater followed a late 3-pointer by CHRIS FRANCO that diced a one-time 31-19 Santana lead to six points.

“I thought we executed the game plan beautifully,” Santana coach TIM BARRY said.

“It was a momentum swing for sure.”

The Braves used a 16-8 run in the 3rd quarter to submarine the Sultans.

“ El Cajon Valley came out strong in the 3rd quarter and tied it up,” Barry said. “It was nip and tuck the whole game. With 20 seconds left we shot three 3-pointers. All drew iron but the last shot hit the rim and fell off.”

It was typical of the kind of shooting night Santana had as the Sultans netted just 31 percent of 59 launches from the field.

Sophomore guard JESSE VARGAS paced Santana with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals, while TYLER BLACKLEDGE punched in 9 points and grabbed 9 rebounds.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Laroy McGee 19, Shivan Sulyman 17, Chris Franco 8, Lucas Stafford 4, Raylondo Ford 2, Anthony Ussery 2.

Santana scoring: Jesse Vargas 16 (4 reb, 2 stl), Tyler Blackledge 9 (9 reb), Carlos Vargas 8, Kevin Engelke 7 (7 reb), Kyle Salzman 6 (8 reb), Chris Sodergren 2 (3 reb), Blake Harper 1, Brett Romero (3 reb).

Steele Canyon outscored the Matadors (10-5, 1-1 GSL) in every quarter, culminating in a 50-31 blowout in the second half.

“We came out a little slow but then we stepped it up on defense,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS. “NICK STATHAS was key for us tonight. He really handled the ball well and distributed it like the quarterback he is.”

Unofficially, Stathas dished out a career high 11 assists.

Guard ELIJAH CARTER tossed in a pair of 3-balls and was 4-for-4 from the charity stripe to finish with 14 points. CAMERON MOSS tipped in another 10 spot for the Cougars who clawed their way to a 33-24 halftime advantage.

BRAD BARRETT led Mount Miguel with 20 points, which included a pair of treys and 4 of 5 free throws. The junior guard also snagged 8 rebounds and handed out 2 assists.

Sophomore A.J. STANFORD added 10 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists for Mount Miguel .

“We weren’t ready to compete tonight and Steele Canyon was,” Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT said.

Steele Canyon scoring: Riley Balikian 21, Jake Ransom 16, Elijah Carter 14, Cameron Moss 10, Jebari Robinson 6, Josiah Smith 4, Brandon Brown 4, Eric Gilbert 2, Jeff Reid 2, Nick Stathas 2, Tyler Atwell 2.

Mount Miguel scoring: Brad Barrett 20 (8 reb, 2 stl), AJ Stanford 10 (7 reb, 2 ast), Travon Caples 7 (5 reb), Devyn Moore 6 (5 reb, 3 ast), AJ Norton 5, Donte Allen 4, Arthur Hobbs 2.

© East County Sports.com
VISTA (1-16-08) — Scoring seemed to come as easy as the wink of an eye for freshman MIKE WNEK, who scored a career-high 16 points in Foothills Christian’s 85-52 non-league conquest over Tri-City Christian on Tuesday night (Jan. 15).

Wnek hit 7 of 13 shots from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers, capitalizing on passes from San Diego CIF scoring leader TROY LEAF.

“Troy fed Mike Wnek on the wing all night and he could not seem to miss when Leaf put the ball in his hand,” said Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGH.

Leaf, who came into the game averaging 28.1 points per game, was in passing mode as he recorded a career-best 12 assists to go along with 13 rebounds, 2 steals and one block.

Toiling in a reserve role, Wnek has scored only 35 points in 14 games.

“We got a lot of shots for guys who have not taken a huge percentage of our shots this season,” said McHugh. “Mike Wnek had 13 attempts and AARON HALE had 14 shots and that's huge for us if we can get those guys involved in the scoring.”

KALOB HATCHER, Foothills Christian’s alltime assist leader, delivered 10 scoring passes to go along with 8 steals, 8 rebounds to go along with 9 points. Hatcher’s low scoring total can be attributed to his low shooting, which totaled just 8 shots.

ZACH KAUL appeared to be closer to full strength as he finished with a team-leading 21 points for the Knights (14-6). Kaul nailed 7 of 12 shots, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range.

“Kaul got us rolling offensively with 10 points and three 3's in the 1st quarter,” said McHugh.

Foothills led 22-17 after one period and 47-28 by halftime.

“The boys did a great job of playing our game tonight and playing at our level,” McHugh said. “Too often this season we have played at every other team's level. Sometimes that has been good when we have played good teams but we've also played down to a few opponents that we should have put away easily.”

“We didn't schedule many Division 5 teams this season so the boys could play better competition and it is really paying off. We'll get two more tough matches this coming weekend in Cathedral and Eastlake .”

Seniors ANDREW ATIA and R.J. NAJERA each had one rebound in tonight's game – the 100th rebound of each of their careers – making them the 10th and 11th players in school history to reach the 100 career rebound mark

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 16 (13 reb, 12 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Zach Kaul 21 (10 reb, 2 stl, 2 ast), Aaron Hale 17 (6 reb, 2blk, 2 ast), Mike Wnek 16, Kalob Hatcher 9 (8 reb, 8 stl, 10 ast), Brandon Hale 4 (3 reb), Andrew Atia 2 (2 reb).

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (1-15-08) — What took place at El Capitan High in Monday’s (Jan. 14) Grossmont Conference crossover encounter was hardly a thing of beauty, but coach KEITH JACKSON and his Valhalla Norsemen will take the final result.

Kriebel, who totaled 9 rebounds but tallied just 9 points, broke a 47-all tie when he sank a pair of charity shots with 2:09 remaining.

The game was hardly over as both teams had additional chances to add to their scores.

El Capitan (6-11), which has lost 7 of its last 8, missed a chance to tie when they were unable to covert either of two free throws with 59 seconds left.

As the Vaqueros passed the ball around with 29 seconds remaining, they never got a shot off as Bradshaw came up with a steal and passed the ball to Suhay, who was fouled with 6 seconds left.

Suhay missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving El Capitan yet another chance. The ball rolled free and players from both teams were scrambling.

In what looked like a rugby scrum near mid-court, Suhay emerged from the pile with the ball as the game ended.

“I like to think of myself as a pressure player, but it really hurt when I missed that first free throw,” said Suhay, a 5-foot-11 junior. “But when I saw the ball roll free I was determined to go back and get it, no matter what. There were a lot of hands reaching for the ball in that scramble after I missed. I’m just glad I got it.”

Jackson refers to Suhay as “‘our go-to guy.’ Suhay is taking the role that we wanted him to take. He’s not a one-dimensional kid because he leads us in several categories.”

Suhay finished with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. He hit 5 of 12 shots from the field, including one trey.

“I want the ball,” Suhay said. “I like my teammates to think of me as the ‘go-to guy.’”

The final turning point of the game came when Valhalla shifted its defensive alignment into a triangle-and-2 with hopes of denying El Capitan’s BARRETT BRAUN and JON MOLZEN a chance to hit a tying basket in the waning seconds.

“We just wanted to keep the ball out of those guys’ hands,” said Suhay. And so they did.

El Capitan never got a shot from the field to tie the game.

“We don’t have a lot of confidence because we have guys who have never won (in basketball) at El Capitan,” said Vaqueros coach JASON CAVAZOS. “We have basically an inexperience group and we’re trying to teach them what it takes to be successful. At the end of this game tonight we had guys handling the ball who did not want to be the one to take the last shot.”

TREVOR CAHOON led Valhalla with 15 points, including 6 of 8 floor shots and 3 of 4 free throws.

El Capitan, which never trailed by more than 5 points, led 45-41 after a MICHAEL OVERSON basket with 3:58 to go.

Suhay rallied Valhalla, which scored the next 6 points to regain the advantage. He scored 5 of the points in that 6-0 run.

A TILA CASE basket pulled El Capitan even at 47-all with 2:17 remaining.

Braun scored a game-high 18 points on 8 of 15 shooting and also corralled a game-best 10 rebounds. He also blocked 2 shots, as did Molzen, who chipped in with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals.

Valhalla scoring: Trevor Cahoon 15 (4 reb), Austen Suhay 14 (5 reb, 5 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl), Kyle Kriebel 9 (9 reb), EV Alcantar 6, Derek White 4 (3 reb), Damaine Bradshaw 1 (3 reb).

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 18 (10 reb, 3 blk, 2 stl), Jon Molzen 13 (8 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk, 4 ast), Michael Overson 8 (4 reb, 4 ast), Tila Case 6 (2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Jake Zawlacki 2 (2 blk), Matt Hobby (3 reb).

With 15 seconds to play and Grossmont leading 62-60, Steele Canyon had the ball. JEBARI ROBINSON put up a jump shot from the middle of the key and it rolled around the rim and spun out. Grossmont rebounded and Steele Canyon had to foul. Grossmont hit both free throws.

RICHARD OGUNSALU scored 8 of his game-high 23 points to propel the Foothillers in the decisive 4th quarter.

Where Grossmont (11-6) really clubbed the Cougars was from the free throw line. The Hillers swished 23 of 34 shots from the charity stripe compared with just 6 of 13 for Steele Canyon (6-11).

Cochran finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds, which included hitting 8 of 9 from the free throw line. Ogunsalu, who hit 7 of 8 charity shots, led Grossmont’s board brigade with 16 rebounds.

Grossmont guard MICHAEL GRAHAM totaled 7 rebounds, 5 steals, 2 assists and 6 points.

“In the 4th quarter Graham had 4 rebounds and 3 steals,” said Foggiano. “In this particular game were lucky to get out with a win. Steele Canyon played good enough to win, the ball just didn’t fall their way.”

Once again Steele Canyon’s guards – Robinson (16 points) and ELIJAH CARTER (13 points) – proved that they are as good a tandem as there is in East County.

Senior guard RILEY BALIKIAN is in step with his two teammates, coming off the bench for 8 points.

The Cougars buried the Hillers from 3-point distance, hitting 6 treys to Grossmont’s one. Robinson hit two to lead the way.

“It was a rough, physical game,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS. “Both teams played very hard. We had our chances down the stretch, we just had too many turnovers.”

Grossmont scoring: Richard Ogunsalu 23 (16 reb), Ian Cochran 21 (13 reb), Michael Graham 6 (7 reb, 5 stl, 2 ast), Alex Leon 5 (4 reb), Khalid Waters 5 (6 ast, 3 reb, 2 stl), Robert Sullivan 4 (2 reb).

Steele Canyon scoring: Jebari Robinson 16, Elijah Carter 13, Balikian 8, Zane Keith 7, Eric Gilbert 5, Cameron Moss 4, Jake Ransom 3, Josiah Smith 2, Jeff Reid 2.

Miller connected on 11 of 20 shots from the field, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range. Not unlike a championship golfer, his short game was pretty good too, as he netted 9 of 11 free throws. And for good measure Miller plucked 12 rebounds and made 3 steals.

“We ran the offense really well and his teammates got Dean the ball in good position,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON.

West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG acknowledged that it was “Miller time” in Santee on Monday.

“We had a hard time guarding Miller tonight,” said Armstrong. “And had a hard time defending their flex cuts.”

Ironically, no other player – on either team – reached double scoring digits.

LANDON TURLEY landed 4 of 6 shots from the floor on his way to a 9-point finish and also grabbed 5 rebounds and recorded 3 steals for the Eagles.

“Turley finished well around the basket,” noted Anderson.

Although his size is more like that of a guard (6-feet), AARON HARRIS’s performance is more like that of a post. Harris hauled a game-high 13 rebounds and blocked 3 shots.

Granite Hills (11-6) jumped on top 14-7 after one quarter and inflated their cushion to 42-28 by the close of the 3rd period.

Steady TIM NOWLIN paced West Hills (8-11) with 9 points and 9 boards.

“RYAN BOZELLE (9 points on 3 of 7 shooting) and CHASE SENTER (8 points on 3 of 7 shooting) were brights spots from the perimeter,” Armstrong said.

Both players hit a pair of 3s. Senter added 4 assists, one more than KYLE NAVARRE.

LUCAS ARMSTRONG added 7 boards and 2 blocks for the Wolf Pack.

West Hills continues to struggle from the free throw line, hitting just 5 of 17 against the Eagles.

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 36 (12 reb, 3 stl), Landon Turley 9 (5 reb, 3 stl), Aaron Harris 7 (13 reb, 3 blk), Wayne Martin 3, Kyle San Nicolas 1, Vicente Stafford 1, Ian Birmingham (4 reb, 4 ast).

West Hills scoring: Ryan Bozelle 9 (2 stl), Tim Nowlin 9 (9 reb, 2 ast), Chase Senter 8 (2 reb, 4 ast, Kyle McLaughlin 6, 3 reb, Garrett Cabral 4 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Garrett Middleton 4, Ashur Gelyana 3, Kyle Navarre 3 (3 ast, 2 stl), Lucas Armstrong (7 reb, 2 blk).

What turned this game into a blowout was in the third quarter where Helix gained a 28-0 scoring edge. Not that the Highlanders were struggling by break, as they were cruising 44-25. The result: a running clock in the final quarter.

Four of Helix’s starters reached double digits led by DONALD McGOWAN’s 15 points on 5 of 6 shooting from the floor. DEMOND ‘RED’ NARCISSE added 12 points on 6 of 9 accuracy, while also grabbing 8 rebounds, dealing 6 assists and making 4 steals.

“I liked the way we approached the game defensively,” Helix coach JOHN SINGER said. “We got a lot of transition points (20). We kept them on the perimeter, and did a good job containing the guy with the ball – didn’t let him take it to the basket.”

KAREEM ABUKAR pitched in with a dozen points and 6 assists, while LEVINE TOILOLO added 11 points on 4 of 5 shooting for Helix.

“We were struggling before to find answers,” Singer said. “Now that we have a guy out there handling the ball and running the show, things are starting to come together.”

Helix scoring: Donald McGowan 15 (6 reb), Demond Narcisse 12, Kareem Abukar 12 (3 reb, 2 stl), Levine Toilolo 11 (6 reb, 2 stl), Darrell Chandler 9 (4 reb), Patrick Winston 6 (6 reb), Joubert Ballard 6 2 ast, 3 stl), Andray Jackson 4, Anthony Diaz 4, Anthony Anderson 2 (2 reb), Terrance Cole 1 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl).

El Cajon Valley scoring: Raylondo Ford 7, Chris Franco 6, Kevin Benton 5, Shivan Sulyman 5, Laroy McGee 4, Muhammed Zubair 2.

© East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (1-13-08) — Junior guard ZACH KAUL nailed 3 straight 3-point buckets during a 28-second span of the third quarter to lead the Foothills Christian Knights to a 67-55 win over Otay Ranch in Saturday’s (Jan. 12) South Bay Challenge at Mater Dei.

Kaul, the spark to fan the flames, finished with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and a pair of assists.

The Knights’ TROY LEAF loves to play against the Mustangs. He finished with a game-high 32 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals on Saturday after scoring a school-record 50 points against Otay Ranch in the season opener.

KALOB HATCHER, whose availability was questionable at best due to an ankle sprain the night before, came up big with 14 assists, 9 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals.

AARON HALE scored only 6 points but was a force on defense, blocking 5 shots, giving him 36 rejections for the season to rank 4th in East County .

“Aaron set a great tone for us in the opening quarter, getting 3 blocks,” McHugh said.

However, the game was tied at 11 after the first quarter and remained deadlocked at 29 by the close of the first half.

Otay Ranch’s Anthony Cosentino, who burned the Knights for 22 points in the season opener won by Foothills 90-83, was not a major factor in the rematch due to foul problems. He settled for 12 points in 15 minutes court time.

While Foothills Christian was converting 23 of 56 shots from the field (41 percent) and 12 of 20 free throws, the Mustangs struggled on both fronts. They were just short of pitiful from the free throw line, missing their first 9 attempts.

Otay Ranch, which did not make a free throw until the third quarter, settled for 9 of 24 accuracy.

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 32 (10 reb, 3 stl 1 blk), Zach Kaul 15 (5 reb, 2 stl, 2 ast), Kalob Hatcher 9 (6 reb, 4 stl, 14 ast), Aaron Hale 6 (4 reb, 5 blk, 2 stl), Brandon Hale 3 (2 reb), Andrew Atia 2.

The Pack led 44-42 going into the final quarter, but could not maintain the advantage.

Junior guard CHASE SENTER led West Hills with 16 points and 7 assists. TIM NOWLIN added 10 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks.

West Hills scoring: Chase Senter 16 (3 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl), Tim Nowlin 10 (11 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk), Ryan Bozelle 8 (2 reb, 2 ast), Lucas Armstrong 6 (4 reb, 7 ast, 2 blk), Kyle Navarre 5 (4 reb), Garrett Cabral 5 (5 reb, 3 ast), Ashur Gelyana 2 (2 reb), Kyle McLaughlin 2 (6 reb, 1 blk), Garrett Middleton 2 (4 reb, 1 blk).

© East County Sports.com
LA MESA (1-12-07) -- If you can't beat them, then join them to beat them.

No, it's not a case of espionage, just being smart by not re-inventing the wheel when Helix High scrapped its strategy and incorporated the ideals used by Steele Canyon to top the visiting Cougars, 59-48, in Friday's (Jan. 11) Grossmont South League opener.

"We just had to take the ball and attack the basket," said Highlanders guard KAREEM ABUKAR. "We were sitting back too much, so coach (JOHN SINGER) made some changes at halftime."

The alterations allowed the Scotties to quickly cancel a 27-21 halftime deficit, first utilizing a 12-0 run in the third period to take a 33-31 lead, then Abukar nailed eight straight foul shots in the fourth period to give the victory to the defending GSL titlists.

Helix also crashed the glass for a large rebounding advantage in the second half.

"I wasn't happy with our execution in the second half on offense or defense," noted Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS. "And (Helix center) LEVINE TOILOLO just killed us with his rebounding.

Toilolo was defended well by both CAMERON MOSS and RILEY BALIKIAN, who limited him to just a single basket. But Toilolo more than made up for his lack of offense by grabbing a season-high 18 rebounds. He also blocked three shots and took a charge to force a turnover.

"We played tougher on defense," added Abukar. "We let them drive on us early, but in the second half we got in their way."

Steele Canyon was just 8-for-30 (26.7 percent) from the floor after the intermission. The Cougars were also not happy about the foul disparity, receiving only 5 free throws all contest while Helix gained 31 chances at the foul line.

During one stretch, Helix was just 2-for-15 at the line before Abukar finally stretched the lead into double figures by sinking 8 straight foul shots over the final 2:52.

“Kareem is a guy we have to have,” Singer said. “He’s our quarterback. He’s been through the drill, changes everything for us. A lot of it is his ability and a lot of it is his passion.”

“We are still a work in progress, but I like our chances when Kareem is on the floor.”

DERRALL CHANDLER ignited the Helix comeback by hitting a short jumper after Toilolo grabbed an offensive rebound and found the guard open along the baseline. Chandler then sank a 3-point basket, followed by drives to the basket for buckets by Abukar, DONALD McGOWAN (14 points, 10 rebounds), and a game-tying layin by DEMOND NARCISSE off an Abukar feed.

Steele Canyon made a late run to close the gap to 43-42 when ELIJAH CARTER -- who recorded team highs of 14 points and 5 steals -- stole the ball and passed to ERIC GILBERT (12 points) for a layin. But Helix countered with 6 straight points, including two following a questionable technical foul against the Cougars.

“After seeing that we were picked to finish third in our league by EastCountySports.com I told my kids today at lunch that I didn’t think any of my teams in 28 years had been picked that low,” Singer said. “Believe me, I used that to motivate.”

JEBARI ROBINSON scored 8 of his 12 points in the first half, while Carter and Gilbert scored 7 to mount a 27-21 halftime advantage for the Cougars. Gilbert also had 4 steals, while Balikian took a pair of charges.

Steele Canyon scoring: Elijah Carter 14 (7 reb, 5 stl, 3 ast), Jebari Robinson 12, Eric Gilbert 12 (6 reb, 4 stl), Cameron Moss 7, Riley Balikian 3 (8 reb, 3 ast), Josiah Smith 0 (6 reb).

Helix scoring: Kareem Abujar 23 (7 reb, 4 ast), Donald McGowan 14 (10 reb), Derrall Chandler 12, Demond Narcisse 5 (6 reb), Joubert Ballard 2, Levine Toilolo 2 (18 reb, 3 blk), Patrick Winston 1 (5 reb).

“This was the best game we played all year,” said Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL after the Monarchs bowled over the visiting Eagles in Friday’s (Jan. 11) Grossmont South League opener.

This was a wire-to-wire victory for the Monarchs, who claimed a 13-9 first quarter advantage.

“We played four quarters of solid basketball tonight,” Carroll said. “We had a great effort defensively. The players really dug down inside themselves and played super defense. It was nice to get a win in our first league game.”

MIKE WATKINS posted 12 points and 5 rebounds for the Monarchs, who also received a boost from senior guard ANTHONY BELL, who hit 5 of 8 shots from the field for 10 points.

“They killed us on the boards with 12 offensive rebounds in the first half,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. “They probably got 16 points off put-backs (to lead 26-18 at the break).”

DEAN MILLER was Granite Hills’ leading crusader with 18 points and a dozen rebounds.

WAYNE MARTIN pitched in 11 points, while AARON HARRIS pulled down 11 rebounds and chipped in 8 points.

“I think a 7-3 record could win our league this year,” Anderson said. “It’s that close.”

Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 20 (3 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Mike Watkins 12 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Anthony Bell 10 (4 reb, 1 blk), Trent Watkins 9 (4 reb, 3 ast), Kris Galloway 9 (8 reb, 2 stl), Ryan Houser 2 (2 reb, 1 blk).

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 18, Wayne Martin 11, Aaron Harris 8, Landon Turley 4 (7 reb), Kyle Snyder 3, Ian Birmingham 2 (4 reb), Kyle San Nicolas 2 (4 ast).

El Capitan edged in front of the visiting Wolf Pack 20-13 by halftime, and then gradually stretched their advantage during the final 16 minutes.

West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG attributed a boisterous home crowd at El Capitan for helping ignite the Vaqueros.

“The place was packed. We had the band and it was standing room only – the crowd was on its feet the whole time,” said Cavazos.

Senior BARRETT BRAUN seemed to energize from the home crowd, leading the Vaqueros with 21 points and 17 rebounds.

“We were predicted to be in last place by (EastCountySports.com),” Cavazos said.

“The kids came ready to play, realized what their jobs were and did them. I’m proud of them – they worked hard and competed the whole game.”

“We’re taking baby steps. Now that the kids are working hard and improving, the scoreboard will eventually end up on the right side. I told the kids “You have to believe in yourselves” and tonight it showed.”

JAKE ZAWLACKI scored 6 of his 9 points in the 1st quarter, giving El Capitan the early lead.

JON MOLZEN pitched in with 5 points but enjoyed an overall quality game that included 3 blocks, 4 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals.

“We’re just young and we’re getting better,” said Cavazos. “We played a tough schedule in the preseason and that’s probably paying off now. We have seven more rounds. We’re going to come out and we’re going to compete.”

West Hills (8-9, 0-1 GNL) saw its four-game winning streak come to an end. It was a dismal shooting night for the Pack, which connected on only 12 of 46 shots from the field and 6 of 21 free throws.

TIM NOWLIN was West Hills’ main man with 12 points and 18 rebounds. Nowlin’s carom total ranks third in the West Hills record book behind Al Enriquez with 22 (1996-97 season).

“The Pack played their third game in five days, didn’t have their legs,” said Armstrong.

“The big emotional win over Valhalla (Wednesday (Jan. 9) took all they had – no gas left in the tank.”

West Hills won’t take Saturday (Jan. 12) off either. The Wolf Pack will face Chula Vista as part of the South Bay Challenge at Mater Dei at 1 p.m.

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 21, Jake Zawlacki 9 (5 reb, 1 blk), Tila Case 6 (4 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Jon Molzen 5 (4 reb, 4 ast, 3 blk, 2 stl), Michael Overson 2 (3 reb, 4 ast, 5 stl), Armon Worrell 2.

West Hills scoring: Tim Nowlin 12, Lucas Armstrong 8 (1 blk), Ryan Bozelle 4 (3 ast), Garrett Cabral 4, Chase Senter 3 (3 reb, 4 ast), Kyle McLaughlin 2 (3 reb), Garrett Middleton (2 reb).

GROSSMONT 65, EL CAJON VALLEY 47 – Favored to capture their first Grossmont North League crown in more than a decade, the visiting Foothillers raced past upset-minded El Cajon Valley in Friday’s (Jan. 11) GNL opener.

A bold prediction statement to be sure. But these Hillers are a confident crew.

Grossmont (10-6) has won four straight and 6 of its last 7. The Foothillers were never in jeopardy against the Braves (9-10), who lost for only the second time in seven games.

After El Cajon Valley sneaked out to a 4-0 lead, Grossmont turned the Braves inside out. Crisp passing by senior guard KHALID WATERS to the inside trio of IAN COCHRAN, RICHARD OGUNSALU and ALEX LEON was too much for the Braves.

Cochran cranked in a season high 26 points, hitting 7 of 11 from the floor and 11 of 16 free throws. His 11 rebounds were second only to Ogunsalu’s 15.

“It’s no secret what we do,” Foggiano said. “We pound the ball inside.”

Ogunsalu did most of his damage from the free-throw line where he made all but two of his 13 chances on his way to a 19-point night.

Senior guard MICHAEL GRAHAM came off the Grossmont bench to create havoc. And so he did, with 4 steals, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 points. Waters had 5 assists.

“I like our guards,” Foggiano said. “Both can play defense and handle the ball. Khalid is a better on-ball defender and Michael is a better off-the-ball defender.”

CHRIS FRANCO led El Cajon Valley with a dozen points, all of which came on 3-point shots. SHIVAN SULYMAN added 10 points and LAROY McGEE banged the boards for 10 rebounds to go along with 9 points.

Grossmont scoring: Ian Cochran 26 (2 ast, 2 stl), Richard Ogunsalu 19 (1 blk), Alex Leon 8 (6 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk), Michael Graham 5, Khalid Waters 4 (4 reb), Alden Tollgaard 3.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Chris Franco 12, Shivan Sulyman 10 (4 reb), Laroy McGee 9, Kevin Benton 9 (4 reb), Raylondo Ford 7 (3 reb, 2 stl).

Valhalla senior guard RUFFY BACONG hit three 3s in the first 4 minutes of the game.

“We went on a little cold streak in the 2nd quarter. It was our first game back since the Christmas break.”

Mount Miguel (10-4, 1-0) turned up the heat in the second half, pouring in 41 points to stave off the upset-minded Norsemen (8-7, 0-1).

“In the 2nd half our defensive pressure got to them – we created a lot of turnovers and started hitting some shots,” Rowlett said. “Our kids played well together tonight.”

It wasn’t only Mount Miguel ’s pressure that harassed Valhalla. It was the shooting of BRAD BARRETT, who knocked down 14 of 16 free throws en route to a game-best 23 points.

Sophomore AJ STANFORD punished the Norsemen with a crushing double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds. He also dished 5 scoring passes and made 4 steals. ARTHUR HOBBS, Barrett and TRAVON CAPLES shared Mount Miguel ’s rebound load with 8 caroms apiece.

“This year you’ve got to be ready because anybody in our league can beat anybody else on any given night,” Rowlett said.

AUSTEN SUHAY led Valhalla with 15 points. KYLE KRIEBEL hit 6 of 8 from the field to finish with 13 points. He also led the Norsemen with 11 rebounds and blocked 2 shots.

“Ruffy was the only one who could hit a 3 as we finished 4 for 19 in the game,” Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON said. “Give Mount Miguel credit. It was a different game in the second half – there was a tempo change. It seemed like they were a lot more aggressive and put a lot of pressure on us.”

Mount Miguel scoring: Brad Barrett 23 (8 reb, 2 ast), A.J. Stanford 17 (5 ast, 4 stl), Travon Caples 9 (8 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 4 stl), Arthur Hobbs 8 (8 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk), Devyn Moore 4 (5 reb, 4 ast), Donte Allen 1.

Valhalla scoring: Austen Suhay 15 (3 reb), Kyle Kriebel 13 (11 reb, 2 blk), Ruffy Bacong 12 (3 ast), Trevor Cahoon 6 (4 reb), Damaine Bradshaw 2 (2 blk), Derek White 2, Alex Merutka 2.

The visiting Cardinals (12-4) led by 14 points late in the second quarter and appeared to have the outcome in hand.

Led by 6-foot-8 VANDER JOAQUIM, who delivered 21 points, 20 rebounds and blocked 8 shots, the Patriots (11-6, 0-1) clawed back into contention. A bucket by sophomore guard MANNY WALKER shaved Hoover ’s edge to 43-41 with five minutes left.

“We had the momentum on our side and we were coming back,” said Christian coach TOBIN WILKINS.

Then point guard DANIEL HAZLETT (19 points, 3 threes) cramped up and had to sit for three-plus minutes. His absence hurt Christian’s ball-handling against the faster Cardinals, who closed the game with a 24-6 scoring run.

What stung Christian even more was its 4-for-16 free throw shooting.

“Our adrenalin was pumping so much we couldn’t calm down at the free-throw line,” Wilkins said. “It was a fast-paced game.

Hoover also burned the Pats by nailing 10 threes. Corey Trisby hit three 3s on his way to a game-high 22 points, and teammate Clarence Sherman hit four 3s.

Christian scoring: Vander Joaquim 21 (2 stl), Daniel Hazlett 19 (3 reb, 3 ast), Manny Walker 5, Taylor Eichhorst 2 (4 stl).

Hatcher injured his ankle 3:34 into the game and sat the remainder of the night after being fouled from behind. Hatcher’s 3-point shot to start the game gave Foothills Christian the lead 3-0 and the Knights never trailed thereafter.

TROY LEAF was the driving force that carried the Knights past Calvin Christian (6-8). The 6-2 sophomore guard punched in 30 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and chipped in 8 assists.

Foothills finished the first period on top 22-12. After that the foul-laden affair trudged through the final three periods.

“Offensively, we never got into a flow tonight,” FC assistant coach JAMES McHUGH said. “Without Kalob we often ran a zone offense and moved the ball around a bit more than normal. Leaf got to the basket almost at will. But what we were looking for was a few more guys to step up and make something happen.”

No one other than Leaf had double digits for the Knights (12-6).

“Our free throw shooting has to improve before playoffs roll around,” McHugh said. “We were not terrible tonight (14 of 22) but we missed the front end of nearly every 1 and 1. We did not have many turnovers tonight but we had a lot of bad passes that we just threw right at a defender's hand and were fortunate enough to get the ball right back. I don't think the 6 turnovers were indicative of a great night of ball control.”

Foothills coach BRAD LEAF shuffled players in and out, which is not customary for this club.

“We're still working on different areas of our game and trying to get back to a strong team game,” McHugh said. “If we can get back to playing the way we were at the Wolf Pack Tournament and being healthy like we were then we can go a long way into the State Tournament

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 30, Zach Kaul 9 (6 reb, 2 blk, 2 stl, 5 ast), Mike Wnek 8, Brandon Hale 7 (3 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl, 2 ast), Aaron Hale 6 (6 reb), Kalob Hatcher 4 (2 stl), Ryan Smith 2 (3 reb).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-11-08) -- The only thing predictable about the pennant races in both Grossmont Conference boys basketball leagues this winter is that they're, well, unpredictable.

The North and South leagues feature balanced rosters without any distinct all-county prospects coming to the forefront, so making any accurate forecast would be as shocking as one from a local television weather talking-head.

In fact, the more successful squads can be found more and more among the private schools, where Foothills Christian High (11-6) and Christian High (11-5) have the best preseason records.

Foothills, the defending CIF-SDS Division V champions, continue a trend toward building club (summer) programs and keeping the roster intact on campus. The Knights surprised many by reaching the top without any prominent seniors last season, advancing to within two games of the state championship contest before falling in double-overtime.

This season coach BRAD LEAF's troops are ranked No. 7 in the San Diego Union-Tribune poll. The Knights have posted some impressive wins over perennial powers Mission Hills (No. 3), Horizon (No. 9), and St. Augustine, plus gaining a revenge triumph over a giant Army-Navy Academy squad.

All four teams feature some of the tallest players in the San Diego Section, yet the Foothills' munchkins successfully defended the post or prevented the ball from getting inside with steal after steal.

Sophomore guard TROY LEAF (27.9 ppg) leads the East County's highest-scoring team, while KALOB HATCHER is anything but desperate with an average over 19 points per outing while dishing off for a region-best 8.4 assists per contest.

Throw in defender ZACH KAUL (3.2 steals) and post defender BRANDON HALE, and Foothills holds the inside path as the top seed in Division V as an independent.

CENTRAL LEAGUE
Christian -- KELVIN STARR remains a head coach for a Ryan Center basketball team, but simply changed colors as the former San Diego Christian College mentor takes over the high school Patriots which should be in the thick of a Central League dogfight.

Hoover (11-4) looks to be the team to beat.

The schedule makers apparently don’t believe in suspense as Christian hosts the Cardinals in Friday’s (Jan. 11) league opener.

To match-up with the Cardinals' 6-foot-8 Angelo Chol, Christian features junior center VANDER JOAQUIM, a 6-8 native of Angola who seems to get better with every ballgame.

If the Christian and Hoover centers neutralize each other, then it will be up to the Pats' backcourt -- guards DANIEL HAZLETT and MANNY WALKER -- to lead the team to the championship.

GROSSMONT NORTH
1. Grossmont -- Center RICHARD OGUNSALU and forward IAN COCHRAN give the Foothillers probably the best 1-2 inside scoring punch in East County. It is the play of this duo that Grossmont hopes will lift the Foothillers to their first league crown in more than a decade. And with a pair of recent victories over ancient rival Helix, Grossmont may be the team to beat despite a vanilla 9-6 record.

Point guard KHALID WATERS directs the Grossmont attack.

2. Santana -- Owners of the best preseason record (12-4) among the five Grossmont North League schools, the Sultans are aware of their critics. Now classified as a Division IV school, Santana has faced mostly small-school competition in the preseason. However, the remaining GNL ballclubs are either Division II or III, which means tougher competition.

The good news for head coach TIM BARRY is his Sultans are a capable quintet led by a trio of steady scoring threats in senior TYLER BLACKLEDGE, junior KEVIN ENGELKE and sophomore JESSE VARGAS.

3. El Cajon Valley -- The Braves boast talented guards LAROY McGEE and RAYLONDO FORD, who can score from anywhere on the court. But if either drive to the basket, opposing defenses better not collapse too far -- beware the kickout pass to 3-point shooter ANTHONY USSERY, who is a streak shooter from beyond the arc.

Coach NATE REED’s Braves (9-9) will give a hint whether they are contenders or pretenders when they host Grossmont in Friday’s (Jan. 11) league opener.

4. West Hills -- The defending North League titlists played a killer schedule against many of the top Division I programs in the county. The Wolf Pack (8-8) dropped its first five decisions, yet now is a.500 ballclub following a pair of Grossmont Conference crossover victories earlier in the week.

This is a team that has to learn on the job. Senior TIM NOWLIN, a 6-5 post player, is the backbone although LUCAS ARMSTRONG and GARRETT CABRAL have come on to put teeth in the Pack attack.

5. El Capitan – The Vaqueros have lost six straight entering GNL play. Senior center BARRETT BRAUN (22.9 ppg, 10.6 reb) has proven to be difficult to stop, but the rest of the Vaqueros’ cast has been inconsistent.

GROSSMONT SOUTH
1. Granite Hills -- The Eagles (10-5) have legitimate scoring threats in DEAN MILLER (21.2 ppg) and WAYNE MARTIN (19.2 ppg). This is a club that also bangs the boards with a medium-sized lineup and decent depth.

With strong rebounding by LANDON TURLEY, IAN BIRMINGHAM and AARON HARRIS to prevent second-chance opportunities, the Eagles could unseat Helix as GSL champions.

However, like all teams in the South, there is one obstacle to overcome. For the Eagles, controlling tempo and weaving through the press will be key.

2. Steele Canyon – No East County team has a better backcourt tandem than the Cougars’ JEBARI ROBINSON and ELIJAH CARTER. Both guards display quickness, scoring ability and are pick-pockets on defense. Because of these guys, the higher the tempo, the better for Steele Canyon (6-9).

The unheralded Steele Canyon big men are improving. Thus, make no mistake about it, coach DEREK STEPHENS’ club could claim the GSL title this winter.

3. Helix – Coach JOHN SINGER has endured only one losing season in his 27 years at the helm. But this club, while continuing to play in-your-face defense, is woefully hurting on the offensive end. The sharp-shooting KAREEM ABUKAR, perhaps the team’s biggest offensive threat, has yet to take a shot due to injury.

Blue-collar workers DONALD McGOWAN and DEMOND “Red” NARCISSE add a little bit of everything. Six-foot-8 LEVINE TOILOLO must improve if Helix is to find its way to the top,

4. Mount Miguel -- TRAVON CAPLES (16.8 ppg) and BRAD BARRETT (16.7 ppg) are the only pair in the Grossmont Conference to each hit for 30 or more in a game, while A.J. STANFORD (10.0 ppg) balances the attack.

The Matadors are talented, but their biggest hurdle is maintaining a complete roster which has hindered team development. For example, after several Matadors football players joined the team late after reaching the SDCIF semifinals for the first time in 20 years, one starter left town unannounced.

5. Monte Vista -- Forward GEOFF HARTMAN (17.9 ppg) and three-point marksman MIKE WATKINS (11.1 ppg) lead the offensive-minded Monarchs (6-10). It’s a matter of playing a stingier brand of defense that will determine Monte Vista’s fate.

6. Valhalla -- Point guard AUSTEN SUHAY is an all-around jewel, while KYLE KRIEBEL and TREVOR CAHOON contribute on the inside. It’s a shame somebody has to be picked to finish in the basement. But there is no guarantee that the cellar-dwellers will be from Valhalla (8-6).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-10-08) — This long-standing battle between East County’s oldest rivals was hardly a thing of beauty in Wednesday’s (Jan. 9) Grossmont Conference crossover match-up.

One thing that could be said about this encounter is that it was physical and neither team shot particularly well.

Grossmont was on the verge of turning the game into a blowout with a 15-point lead and 5 minutes to play, but the Highlanders scrambled back only to see Grossmont escape with a 45-39 victory.

Grossmont (9-6) received an emotional boost from the 500 fans on hand when RICHARD OGUNSALU delivered a monster slam and IAN COCHRAN followed with a jump shot seconds later to make it 41-26.

Considering the Highlanders shot less than 30 percent from the field (16 of 34), the game appeared to be over at that point. But the Highlanders (6-7), who netted only 5 of 33 shots in the 1st half, caught fire, outscoring the Hillers 13-1 over a 4½ minute stretch of the final period.

A 3-point bucket by DEMOND “Red” NARCISSE pulled the Highlanders to within 42-39 with 28 seconds remaining. Narcisse scored half of his 12 points in the final quarter, while DONALD McGOWAN scored 7 of his 15 points for the Highlanders during the last 8 minutes.

However, Grossmont managed to stave off the Highlanders as Cochran hit both ends of a one-and-one with 27 seconds left, and guard KHALID WATERS added the final point in the final second.

Helix was only 3 for 13 from the free throw line and a painful 1 for 7 in the 4th quarter.

The victory gave Grossmont a two-game sweep over Helix, having beaten the Highlanders 59-44 in an earlier Spartan Classic game in Chula Vista.

“We showed some heart and desire,” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER. “But still we showed no sense of urgency out there. We’re hurting offensively, and that’s no secret. To shoot pathetically like we did today to lose by only six says something about our defense.”

What the Highlanders did do rattled the Foothillers into 21 turnovers. Helix also claimed a 38-37 edge on the boards.

Cochran led Grossmont with 18 points, half of which came on his 9 of 11 free throw shooting.

Ogunsalu had 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Foothillers. MICHAEL GRAHAM came off the bench to create 5 steals, snag 7 rebounds and deliver an impressive come-from-behind block on a breakaway.

“We beat them twice but neither time was easy,” said Foothillers coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “I thought it helped us when we went to three guards.”

WEST HILLS 55, VALHALLA 49 – Five games into the season and West Hills was 0-5 and a team that most people in East County figured was not going to be a factor in the Grossmont North League race.

So much for first impressions. Coach JEFF ARMSTRONG’s Wolf Pack have won 8 of its last 11, including 4 straight. Now with its ledger even at 8-8, the Wolf Pack charges into Friday’s (Jan. 11) league opener with El Capitan with plenty of momentum and a lot of pride.

“It’s a slow process but we are making positive strides,” said Armstrong after the Wolf Pack dispatched host Valhalla in Wednesday’s (Jan. 9) Grossmont Conference crossover game.”

The Pack netted 10 of 13 free throws in the 4th quarter to hold off the Norsemen (8-6), who converted only 4 of 8 chances from the charity stripe.

“We took care of the ball down the stretch and made our free throws,” added Armstrong.

TIM NOWLIN led West Hills with 16 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks and 4 assists.

LUCAS ARMSTRONG shared high-point honors with 16, dished 6 assists, 4 rebounds and blocked a shot. That duo combined to shoot 12 of 21 from the field.

“Lucas and Tim hooked up several times, penetrating the Norsemen defense for easy baskets,” said Armstrong.

“Valhalla is a touch match-up for us,” Armstrong added. “If we go big it’s hard to guard the perimeter, if we go smaller, their bigs attack the basket well. We’re very fortunate to get this win on the road.”

A key in the 4th quarter for West Hills was the bench play of KYLE NAVARRE (3 for 3 on free throws – 2 in the 4th quarter) and KYLE McLAUGHLIN.

“They defended well and each came up with two offensive rebounds down the stretch,” said Armstrong.

GARRETT CABRAL chipped in with 12 points – half of them coming on 3-point connections. The other half, perhaps most importantly, came on 6 for 8 free throw shooting in the 4th quarter.

Valhalla led by 5-4 to start the game then tied it at 35-all in the 3rd quarter. Then West Hills went on a game-winning run.

Junior EV ALCANTAR scored a career-high 13 points while making a rare start for Valhalla. He did most of his damage from beyond the arc where he hit 3 of 6 shots.

“We played hard but West Hills scrapped for the loose balls,” said Norseman coach KEITH JACKSON. “Our problem this year has been pulling together for a full game. We pull off some good runs here and there, but we have to play a complete 32 minutes.”

The Braves, who have won 5 of their last 6, registered an impressive Grossmont Conference crossover win at Monte Vista on Wednesday (Jan. 9).

With one minute left and Monte Vista up 55-54, El Cajon Valley ’s LAROY McGEE hit a field goal to put the Braves in front by one. He was fouled but missed the free throw and Monte Vista’s GEOFF HARTMAN got the rebound.

The Monarchs missed another chance to regain the lead when a MIKE WATKINS jump shot from the left side missed its mark. Once again Hartman got the rebound and his follow shot was three-quarters of the way in the basket before it spun out.

The Braves extended their advantage when McGee sank a pair of free throws with 22 seconds remaining. Monte Vista ’s bid to force overtime went awry when Mike Watkins missed a shot at the buzzer from 18 feet out.

“We’re doing the small things that makes our game work,” said El Cajon Valley coach NATE REED.

McGee hit a pair of 3s and finished with a game-high 21 points for the Braves. KEVIN BENTON added 13 points.

Monte Vista (6-10), which did an excellent job attacking from the baseline to lead 32-24 by intermission, received 19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals from Hartman. The 6-foot-4 junior was 8 for 16 from the field.

El Cajon Valley used an 18-11 fourth quarter scoring burst to pull out the victory.

“I can’t say there is any one person that’s carrying us because we have a lot of guys contributing,” added Reed. “Our kids play with a lot of emotion.”

The Monarchs, usually a solid 3-point shooting team, connected on only 3 of 14 shots from above the arc. They also missed half of their 16 free throws.

“We played pretty well in the 1st half,” said Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL. “Our intensity was up pretty high. But we came out flat in the 3rd quarter and they took real advantage of it.”

El Cajon Valley scoring: Laroy McGee 21, Kevin Benton 13, Chris Franco 9, Anthony Ussery 8, Raylondo Ford 7.

The Sultans (12-4) streaked to a 13-0 lead in the first 2 ½ minutes and never looked back.

KEVIN ENGELKE rolled a nifty double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead Santana. The 6-foot-3 junior also dished 3 assists, made 2 steals and blocked a shot.

Sophomore guard JESSE VARGAS nailed 6 of 9 shots from the floor – two of them coming from outside the arc – on his way to a game-high 15 points. Vargas also pitched in 6 assists and recorded a pair of steals.

“This is just what I wanted, a chance to rotate all 12 of our guys,” Barry said. “I think everybody got a lot of minutes.”

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-9-08) — It’s games like these that coaches welcome on occasion. It’s a chance for the non-headliners to carry the ball.

The Patriots (11-5) overpowered visiting Christian Life Academy 62-31 in a non-league game Tuesday night (Jan. 8) at the Ryan Athletic Center.

VANDER JOAQUIM (16 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals) and DANIEL HAZLETT (12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals) were productive in part-time work.

The coaches were probably more pleased by unheralded team members ANDREW SEXTON and TAYLOR EICHHORST.

Sexton, a 6-foot-4 senior, scored 10 points and dished 2 assists, while Eichhorst, a 6-foot-3 junior, added 9 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and dealt 2 assists.

“In the first half Vander wasn’t shooting the ball much, but he shot very well in the 2nd half,” said Christian assistant coach TOBIN WILKINS. “Andrew Sexton played very well, ran the floor well and was strong with the ball. Hopefully, this was a good tune-up for our game on Friday.”

Wilkins was talking about the Central League opener on Friday (Jan. 11) when Christian hosts No. 6-ranked Hoover at 7:30 p.m.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-07-08) — For a team with an 8-6 record, it’s hard to believe that the Grossmont Foothillers have been cast into the favorite’s role for the Grossmont North League race that begins on Friday (Jan. 11).

Without argument, the Foothillers have a solid senior starting five. No one in the Grossmont Conference has a better first five. If the Foothillers have a shortcoming, it’s a lack of a productive bench.

Grossmont veteran coach FRANK FOGGIANO refuses to get caught up in the crossfire of who has the best this or that, but deep down inside he has to believe his Foothillers are the team to beat in the GNL.

The Foothillers basically shut down a usually high-scoring Monte Vista offense Monday night (Jan. 7) and continued on to dump the visiting Monarchs 56-42 in a Grossmont Conference crossover game.

Grossmont claimed a scoring edge over Monte Vista (6-9) in all four quarters.

“It stayed close most of the time – it was an 8-point game going into the 4th quarter,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO.

Senior IAN COCHRAN, who finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, did so despite having to sit out the majority of the 2nd half due to foul problems.

RICHARD OGUNSALU added 14 points and 11 boards, while MICHAEL GRAHAM contributed 8 points, 5 steals and 3 rebounds for the Foothillers.

Not to be overlooked was the work of senior guard KHALID WATERS, who added 6 points, 5 assists and 4 steals to the Grossmont account.

“Monte Vista scrambled well, spread the court,” Foggiano said. “I was impressed with them. I thought they played well tonight.”

“We played well in the early going, but we dug ourselves a hole we could not get out of,” said Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL.

GEOFF HARTMAN appeared to be overmatched by Grossmont’s veteran “painters” underneath the basket, finishing with just 11 points and 4 rebounds.

Grossmont hosts Helix on Wednesday (Jan. 9) in a rematch of a tournament game the Foothillers won 59-44 in the 3rd place game of the Spartan Classic in Chula Vista last month.

Grossmont scoring: Ian Cochran 20, Richard Ogunsalu 14 (2 ast), Michael Graham 8 (3 reb, 5 stl), Alex Leon 3 (6 reb), Robert Sullivan 3 (2 reb), Aaron Griffin 2.

Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 11 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Mike Watkins 9 (4 stl, 2 reb, 2 ast), Kris Galloway 9 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Chris Jones 8, (2 reb, 2 ast), Trent Watkins 4 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Tony Jackson 1 (3 reb), Alex Robinson (2 reb).

STEELE CANYON 81, EL CAPITAN 52 -- Both ballclubs entered Monday's (Jan. 7) Grossmont Conference crossover opener with the poorest preseason record within their respective leagues. However, the host Cougars proved there is a significant difference.

Robinson scored a team-best 16 points to help wrap up the victory early, as Steele Canyon (6-9) began to empty its bench late in the second quarter after mounting a 40-11 advantage.

The fast start to the series of ballgames against North League rivals leaves Robinson optimistic for a strong second half to the season.

"I think we can finish all the way -- win league, go to CIF, everything," Robinson added. "The team is getting better with good coaching and good work in practice."

Keying the victory was the limited effect of Vaqueros center BARRETT BRAUN. Although he got his points with 18, he was held in single-digits in rebounds (9) for one of the few times this season.

"We talked about me guarding him, but it wasn't working out," noted Robinson. "So RILEY (BALIKIAN) stepped in and did a good job guarding No. 40 (Braun)."

Balikian also hit a trio of 3s for 9 points.

ERIC GILBERT and ELIJAH CARTER registered 12 points each for Steele Canyon, while JAKE RANSOM added 10.

El Capitan (5-10) also received 10 points from MICHAEL OVERSON, who collected 7 rebounds, made 5 steals and dished 3 assists.

“In the 4th quarter we started off slow and they started off fast,” said El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS. “We’re going through some young adversity right now. We’re hoping to get all the kinks out – we want to learn from our mistakes. We need to focus on league. We have a long way to go but as we strive to improve, that’s all we can ask.”

Steele Canyon scoring: Jebari Robinson 16, Eric Gilbert 12, Elijah Carter 12, Jake Ransom 10, Riley Balikian 9, Nick Stathas 6, Josiah Smith 5, Cameron Moss 5, Zane Keith 4, Stephen Howell 2.

El Capitan scoring: Barrett Braun 18 (9 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk), Michael Overson 10 (7 reb, 5 stl, 3 ast), Tila Case 9 (6 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Armon Worrell 7 (3 reb), Michael Landis 4, Jake Zawlacki 4 (2 reb, 3 blk).

EL CAJON VALLEY 65, GRANITE HILLS 55 – El Cajon Valley coach NATE REED did not look at Monday’s (Jan. 7) Grossmont Conference crossover game as a knockout.

“Upset? I’m not upset. I’m all smiles,” said Reed after his Braves (8-9) rolled over their East Madison Avenue rivals at Granite Hills. “We played with a lot of emotion and that was key.”

Traditionally a run-and-gun outfit, El Cajon Valley toned down and controlled the tempo against the Eagles (10-5), who saw a five-game winning streak end. The Braves have won four of their last five.

“We didn’t want to get into a running game,” Reed said. “I know Granite Hills saw us against Kearny and that game was really back-and-forth. That’s why we figured changing things up with more passing and driving would make a difference.”

Four Braves reached double scoring digits led by RAYLONDO FORD’s 17 points. LAROY McGEE added 14 points and 8 rebounds.

“We have about eight guys contributing right now,” Reed said. “But we’re not looking any farther ahead than our next game.”

This was a frustrating loss for Granite Hills, which has eyes for winning the Grossmont South League championship.

“Hopefully this will serve as a wakeup call for us,” Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON said. “We were horrible.”

Granite Hills’ DEAN MILLER nailed a game-best 21 points, including 6 of 7 free throws. The 6-3 junior also blocked 3 shots and cleared 7 rebounds.

East County 3-point leader WAYNE MARTIN was 0-for-5 from shots beyond the arc, but made up for that shortcoming by going 9 of 9 from the free throw stripe to finish with 17 markers.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Raylondo Ford 17 (5 reb), Laroy McGee 14, Dove Dove 12 (7 reb), Kevin Benton 10 (6 reb), Shivan Sulyman 7, Anthony Ussery 5 (8 reb).

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 21, Wayne Martin 17, Aaron Harris 6, Vicente Stafford 6 (9 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Kyle Snyder 3, Ian Birmingham 2, Kyle San Nicolas (6 reb, 3 ast).

WEST HILLS 60, SD SOUTHWEST 44 – A 30-16 scoring spree in the second half of Monday’s (Jan. 7) non-League bout at San Diego Southwest carried the Wolf Pack (7-8) to its third straight win and fourth in five starts.

“We played three good quarters tonight,” West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG said.

“I take the blame for the 19 points we surrendered in the 2nd quarter, as I left the boys in the press too long. We gave up a few layups.”

Senior TIM NOWLIN muscled up a powerful double-double of 15 points and 16 rebounds to pace the Pack past the Raiders.

“Tim Nowlin continues to carry us,” Armstrong said of the 6-foot-5 senior, who netted half of his 14 shots from the field and also handed out 5 assists.

GARRETT CABRAL led the West Hills scoring parade, finishing with 17 points. He was the main spark in the second half surge. He, like Nowlin, shot 50 percent from the field (8-for-16).

LUCAS ARMSTRONG’s contributions cannot be counted exclusively in the scoring column. The West Hills junior guard was perfect on six charity tosses, snagged 6 rebounds, dished 5 assists and blocked 6 shots.

West Hills scoring: Garrett Cabral 17 (5 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Tim Nowlin 15 (16 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl, 3 blk), Lucas Armstrong 8 (6 reb, 6 blk, 5 ast), Ryan Bozelle 8 (5 reb, Kyle McLaughlin 6 (5 reb, 3 stl), Chase Senter 3 (3 reb, 5 ast), Jon Darby 2 (2 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Kyle Navarre 1 (2 reb, 2 ast), Garrett Middleton (2 reb).

SANTANA 48, OLYMPIAN 36 – It was less than an illustrious victory, but the visiting Sultans will take the conquest in Monday’s (Jan. 7) non-league struggle at Olympian with a grain of salt.

Santana staggered out of the chute to hit only 3 of 16 floor shots in the opening period, yet still managed to lead 9-2.

Guard JESSE VARGAS equaled his season high of 21 points to carry the Sultans.

“Jesse always gets the most out of his game,” Barry said of the 5-foot-8 sophomore guard, who also contributed 4 rebounds and 3 steals.

Senior TYLER BLACKLEDGE pitched in with 16 points and 6 rebounds for Santana, which won easily despite shooting only 37 percent from the field (19 of 52). The Sultans missed only two of 10 free throws.

Santana scoring: Jesse Vargas 21, Tyler Blackledge 16 (2 ast), Kevin Engelke 4, Blake Harper 2, Chris Sodergren 2, Brett Romero 2, Carlos Vargas 1 (2 ast, 2 stl).

© East County Sports.com
OCEANSIDE (1-05-08) — Steele Canyon tapped into a new scoring source – make that sources – to upend Escondido 69-56 in Saturday’s (Jan. 5) Wildcat Shootout at El Camino High.

Senior guard RILEY BALIKIAN and 6-foot-5, 220-pound junior CAMERON MOSS scored 20 points apiece as they dumped Escondido (5-9) in a battle of the Cougars.

Balikian was 8-for-8 from the floor, including four 3-pointers. Moss, meanwhile, muscled in 9 shots from the field and was 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.

“Riley and Cameron were both outstanding,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS.

NICK STATHAS nailed a pair of 3-pointers to head Steele Canyon’s supporting cast.

Steele Canyon took a 16-12 first quarter lead and gradually extended that margin to 53-39 by the end of three quarters.

“The guys came out and played hard from the beginning,” Stephens said. “We moved the ball well and played outstanding defense. We played with a lot of intensity on both ends of the floor.”

Steele Canyon scoring: Riley Balikian 20, Cameron Moss 20, Jebari Robinson 7, Nick Stathas 7, Josiah Smith 6, Jake Ransom 6, Elijah Carter 3.

PACIFIC HILLS 62, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 58 – The Foothills Christian marathon began at 8 a.m. with this, the first game of a Mission Prep Showcase doubleheader Saturday (Jan. 5) in rain-ravished San Luis Obispo.

Sophomore TROY LEAF punched in 33 points for the Knights, who were playing catch-up most of the morning against the Bruins (7-7).

Pacific Hills led by 17 points in the third quarter, but the Knights scrambled back to cut the lead to 58-50 with 2:17 remaining. The Knights embarked on an 8-0 run led by Leaf’s five points. BRANDON HALE launched that burst with his second 3-pointer of the game.

The Foothills offense stalled over the final 1:01 as the Bruins came out on top.

Two of Foothills major contributors the past two seasons – KALOB HATCHER and ZACH KAUL – were limited to 6 points combined.

Foothills scoring: Troy Leaf 33 (8 reb, 4 ast, 3 blk), Aaron Hale 10 (8 reb, 2 blk), Brandon Hale 6 (2 reb), Kalob Hatcher 6 (6 ast, 2 reb, 2 stl), Mike Wnek 3 (3 reb).

MISSION PREP 59, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 57 (OT) – The second game of Foothills Christian’s Mission Prep Showcase doubleheader Saturday (Jan. 5) in San Luis Obispo, provided another rollercoaster ride for the Knights (11-6).

Tip-off time was 9:45 p.m. – more than 13 hours after these basketball players started their day.

Once again, Foothills Christian was chasing from the outset. At one time, Mission Prep, which sank ten 3-pointers, was sitting on a 14-point lead. And for the second time in this mini-tournament, the Knights forced a tie game in the waning moments.

An offensive rebound and assisting pass by RYAN SMITH led to a bucket by ZACH KAUL that tied it at 55-55 with 0:46 left in regulation.

A TROY LEAF bucket gave Foothills Christian the earlier edge in overtime, but that would be the only points the weary Knights would produce in the four-minute extra session.

“The purpose of making this trip and playing these two teams is to help prepare us for the (CIF Div. 5) playoffs,” Foothills Christian coach BRAD LEAF said. “It was huge for us to get out of San Diego and play quality competition like this.

“It was a good trip for us in terms of bonding, but we really did not play that well,” coach Leaf added.

TROY LEAF paced the Knights with 21 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Foothills scoring: Troy Leaf 21 (2 ast, 2 stl), Kalob Hatcher 14 (7 ast, 3 stl, 3 reb), Zach Kaul 13 (7 reb, 4 stl, 2 ast), Aaron Hale 4 (5 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk), Brandon Hale 3 (4 reb), Ryan Smith 2 (6 reb).

SANTA FE CHRISTIAN 55, CHRISTIAN 39 – It was not the best of shooting nights for the host Patriots, who nailed just 30 percent of 60 floor shots and 3 of 11 free throws in a lopsided loss to Santa Fe Christian (10-3) Saturday night (Jan. 5) at the Ryan Athletic Center.

Early foul troubles and some hot-handed shooting by the Eagles allowed SFC to avenge an earlier 60-53 loss to Christian (10-5).

After a sluggish start, Christian, which never led, closed to within 17-13 with 5:50 left in the first half. But the Patriots could not match shots with SFC, which hit eight of its first nine field goal attempts in the second quarter to gain a 29-21 halftime lead.

While SFC shot 46 percent from the floor (21-46), it was its defense that caused Christian major problems.

The Eagles swarmed around Christian’s 6-foot-8 junior center VANDER JOAQUIM, holding him to a season low 12 points on 5 of 16 shooting. Bothered by two quick foul calls, Joaquim, on the bench for nearly 10 minutes, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked six shots.

Christian’s top outside scoring threat – DANIEL HAZLETT – finished with 7 points on 3-for-16 shooting. He also had 3 steals and accounted for half of the Patriots’ 4 assists.

ANDREW SEXTON played well off the Christian bench, contributing 5 points and 6 rebounds.

Karl Holmlund paced SFC with 21 points, including four 3-pointers.

Christian scoring: Vander Joaquim 12, Daniel Hazlett 7, Andrew Sexton 5, Andrew Whitten 4, Lawrence Walker 3, Bradley Johnston 2, Manny Walker 2, Aaron Whitten 2, Michael Pitts 2 (4 rebs).