© East County Sports.com
SANTA MARIA (1-1-09) — It’s not likely there’s a better guard in East County than Christian junior LUIZ BIDART, who seems to get better by the game.

The 6-foot Bidart scored 38 points in leading the Patriots to a 53-45 nod over Kern Valley on Wednesday (Dec. 31) for their third win in the four-game Valley Christian Academy Tournament.

“Bidart played awesome again – he could not be stopped,” said Christian assistant coach JOEL ALLEN.

Bidart landed a trio of 3-pointers and clicked on 15 of 20 free throws.

TAYLOR EICHHORST and RONNIE RICHARDS dominated the boards for Christian (6-5) with 12 rebounds apiece.

“We started out in a zone and we had to switch our defense,” Allen said. “We went to a triangle-and-two defense and that shut down Kern Valley ’s attack. It took us awhile to get going on offense.”

Christian scoring: Luiz Bidart 38, Ronnie Richards 5 (12), Taylor Eichhorst 4 (12 reb), Steven Pitts 2 (4 stl), Jake Larsen 2, Mike Stowers 1, Tyrone Sauls 1.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-31-08) — Rocking the rim from the outside for at least 20 points in every game sans one all season, Granite Hills senior DEAN MILLER faced a new challenge when Mount Miguel placed one of its quickest defenders on him.

But when Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON faked everyone out by moving Miller to the low post to create a massive size mismatch, Miller was able to score inside or kick the ball out for his teammates to do the outside shooting work, racing to a huge 22-point halftime lead en route to claiming Tuesday's (Dec. 30) final of the Granite Hills Holiday Classic, 81-57, over the Matadors.

It was the second straight season the Eagles captured the title of their own tournament. Unlike last season's 64-61 decision over San Marcos, which wasn't decided until the final six seconds, this was a route from the very start. A 27-10 advantage in the second quarter lifted Granite Hills to a comfortable 46-24 halftime cushion.

"We knew we had a mismatch, so we kept giving it to Dean down low," said Eagles guard ANDRE LEWIS, who recorded 12 points and 3 assists. "They would try to double-team him, so we were open in the perimeter."

The inside pairing became so one-sided, Miller scored on seven consecutive touches, three on shots from the low post and four times from the foul line (7-of-8 on free throws) to quickly extend the lead.

Meanwhile, Granite Hills (8-4) kept the Matadors off the boards all night, including 21 offensive boards for the Eagles. Plus, Mount Miguel was in foul trouble all contest, including three starters with at least three first-half fouls.

"We isolated Dean and when they attacked when he shot, I was right there on the back side just in case he missed," noted forward RONNIE VON HAGEN. "I was there perfectly."

Von Hagen registered a career-best 14 rebounds, half coming on the offensive glass.

"I'm proud for him -- 14 boards is really something," added Lewis.

Meanwhile, Lewis and AARON HARRIS (13 points, 6 boards) did the dirty work on defense, as Mount Miguel shot just 33 percent (9-for-27) from the floor in the first half.

"We knew as long as we played defense, we could take them," noted Von Hagen, a senior who hopes to attend fire fighting academy after graduation. "Everyone did their part."

Granite Hills drilled 40 percent of its 3-point shots, including three straight by Miller when he moved back outside for the second half. Miller finished with 33 points and was named the tournament's outstanding player by the media.

Mount Miguel, which saw its 4-game winning streak snapped, received a team-best 19 points by HARRY BRAZELTON. He also grabbed 7 rebounds.

JOHNNY NORTON added 10 points and 5 assists for the Matadors (5-10), while DONTE ALLEN and YUEL HAGOS netted 9 each.

The contest ended with a shocking, turn-around 3-point goal by Eagles reserve CAMERON SALOIS to put the finishing touches on the tournament crown.

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 33 (8 reb, 3 ast), Aaron Harris 13 (6 reb), Andre Lewis 12 (4 ast, 3 stl), Ronnie Von Hagen 9 (14 reb), Parker Dow 6 (3 reb), Jason Gaines 5, Cameron Salois 3, John Montes (5 reb).

Mount Miguel scoring: 19 (7 reb), Johnny Norton 10 (5 ast),Yuel Hagos 9, Donte Allen 9 (8 reb), Anthony Stanford 6 (7 reb), Jaymes Brazelton 4.

EL CAJON VALLEY 53, EL PASO-PARKLAND 46 – The visiting Matadors of El Paso witnessed El Cajon Valley 's JORDAN SHIVERS score in a variety of ways through three days of Granite Hills Holiday Classic action. So they did everything they could to slow him down.

"They came out scrambling more than we did," noted El Cajon Valley center DOMINIC DOVE. "I give it to them."

However, even though Shivers was limited to a single basket until nearly the midway point of the second quarter, the Braves did even better defensively to finally secure victory in the third place contest.

With Dove and ANTHONY USSERY dominating the boards with 29 combined rebounds, El Cajon Valley yielded just two baskets in the second quarter and 15 totals points in the second and third periods, combining on 7-for-40 shooting to romp to a 42-29 lead entering the final stanza.

"We're a team and we played as a team," added Dove, who also scored 13 points, while adding 14 boards and blocked 5 shots. "We just need to keep it up."

Parkland utilized an 8-0 run to trim the deficit to 5 points with 1:11 remaining, but Dove took a feed from Ussery (game-highs 15 rebounds and 9 assists) for a victory-clinching layin.

Shivers also got loose in the second half, hitting 5-of-6 shots during one stretch, including a pair of 3-point shots, to finish with a game-high 23 points. In addition, DEVIN LESCH posted 7 points and 9 boards.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Jordan Shivers 23 (8 reb), Dominic Dove 13 (14 reb, 5 blk), Devin Lesch 7 (9 reb.), Anthony Ussery 4 (15 reb, 9 ast), Raylondo Ford 4 (2 stl), Devon Eze 2 (4 reb).

VISTA 57, HELIX 54 – Despite a strong inside game by the Highlanders’ LEVINE TOILOLO and SAM MEREDITH, Helix came up short in Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) championship game of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic.

Vista was ahead by double figures several times and each time Helix would come back.

Helix took the lead 47-46 in the middle of the 4th quarter but couldn’t maintain it due to critical turnovers. Nevertheless, with a minute left Helix had a chance to tie it but once again threw the ball away.

With only 5 seconds remaining Helix had yet another chance to deny Vista the victory but a 5 foot shot missed the mark.

On the bright side Helix sophomore 6-foot-4 sophomore Meredith connected on 6 of 7 shots from the field for 12 points and cleared 11 rebounds to register a double-double.

Six-foot-8 senior Toilolo was also an inside force for the Highlanders around the basket with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks.

“We showed some heart and showed some fight in the 2nd half,” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER. “We were pretty balanced so I was happy with our scoring. When games are close you’ve got to do the little things. We don’t have a big margin of error. Our post guys were pretty good inside.”

Helix scoring: Levine Toilolo 12 (13 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk), Sam Meredith 12 (11 reb, 1 blk), Jaylen Linson 10 (7 reb), Joubert Ballard 8 (4 reb), Tommie Young 8 (2 reb), Dimitar Topalov 2 (4 reb, 2 ast), John Henry Singer 2 (2 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), Darien Peterson (2 ast).

GROSSMONT 55, POINT LOMA 53 – The mysterious Foothillers of Grossmont captured the third place trophy in Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) Chula Vista Spartan Classic. More importantly though, it was Grossmont’s 6th win in its last seven starts.

What had to please Foothillers coach FRANK FOGGIANO most was his team’s ability to overcome a 33-25 halftime deficit. The momentum swing came in the 3rd quarter when the Hillers pounced on the Pointers by claiming an 18-7 scoring spread.

Still, the issue remained undecided. In fact the Foothillers trailed by 5 points with 18 seconds remaining.

Junior JACOB HAAR (18 points, 12 rebounds) connected on a hook shot from the middle of the key, cutting the Pointers’ advantage to 53-50.

With 12 seconds remaining, Grossmont called timeout and came back on the floor in a full-court press. Junior CLAYTON RAINEY tipped the ball off the leg of a Point Loma player, giving Grossmont possession with 11 seconds left.

Grossmont inbounded the ball to COLTER RIOS, who passed to JASON LAKIS, who hit a 3 tie the game at 53.

Lakis then stole Point Loma’s inbound pass at half-court and passed to Rios, who drove to the basket and shot a 4-foot floater which beat the buzzer for a game-winning shot.

“We had some players hurt,” Foggiano said. “DESEAN WATERS did not play after the first four minutes (hurt hip); FELIPE VALDEZ sprained his ankle at the beginning of the 2nd quarter and sat out the rest of the game; and BILLY GANGE has not played the entire tournament (ankle sprain).”

“Lakis and Rios hardly ever play, and they did a great job,” Foggiano noted.

Grossmont scoring: Jacob Haar 18 (12 reb), Jason Lakis 10, Alex Ortiz 9, Felipe Valdez 5, Robbie Nesovic 5, Colter Rios 4, Clayton Rainey 2, Aaron Griffin 2.

VALHALLA 61, MATER DEI 35 – The Valhalla Norsemen have conceived a motto for this season. It’s called the “Beast Mode.”

Although no official interpretation has been offered by coach KEITH JACKSON and his Norsemen (7-6), it could be assumed that this is Valhalla ’s new modus operandi, the means to challenge for the title.

In Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) final round of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic, the Norsemen forged in front of Mater Dei 49-25 after three quarters and then breezed to the finish line.

“It was kind of a rough game so we had to step up and get physical,” said Jackson. “We controlled the inside and played good, strong defense today.”

KYLE KREIBEL, who dumped in 22 points on 9 of 15 shooting from the field and 4 of 5 from the free throw line, was named to the all-tournament team. Kriebel generated 63 points, 25 rebounds and 10 assists in the four game tourney.

JOSH AUSTEL added 11 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals for Valhalla. Steady senior guard AUSTEN SUHAY contributed 9 points, 6 assists and 3 steals.

“He did a good job of running the offense, leading the team today,” Jackson said.

Another key to Valhalla ’s latest conquest was the Norsemen forced 30 turnovers.

Valhalla scoring: Kyle Kriebel 22 (7 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Josh Austel 11 (6 reb, 2 blk, 4 stl), Austen Suhay 9 (6 ast, 3 stl), Tyler Curry 3, Evie Elcantar 5 (2 reb, 4 stl), Jordan Cunningham 4 (3 reb, 3 blk, 2 stl), David Zetts 4 (4 stl), Jevan Georges 3 (6 reb, 2 stl), Trevor Cahoon (5 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl).

STEELE CANYON 84, SERRA 72 – This was the kind of game Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS was looking for as the Cougars (5-9) smacked Serra in Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) final round of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic.

CAMERON MOSS, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound senior post, produced the finest game of his high school career with 29 points and a dozen rebounds.

“MOSS has been playing amazing the last couple of games,” Stephens said. “Everything he’s doing… he’s been playing like a beast – playing really aggressive. He’s like a Renaissance man – he does everything, even sings in the choir.”

No question Moss was on key against Serra.

One of the reasons for that was the superb work of senior point guard JEBARI ROBINSON, who handed out 11 assists while scoring 8 points.

“Jebari Robinson is doing very well setting up Moss,” Stephens said. “We looked good today and it was because he finally took the reins of the offense and got everybody else the ball. He made everyone else around him look good. When he’s good, we’re good.”

But it was no two-man show for the Cougars, who scored their season high.

ZANE KEITH added 12 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks, while KAPTAN KASTER pitched in 12 points and 6 assists. Not to be overlooked was ERIC GILBERT’s 10 points.

JOSIAH SMITH picked off 11 rebounds to go with his 8 points for the Cougars, who scored more than 20 points in each of their last three quarters.

Steele Canyon scoring: Cameron Moss 29 (12 reb, 1 blk), Zane Keith 12 (7 reb, 3 blk), Kaptan Kaster 12 (6 ast), Eric Gilbert 10, Jebari Robinson 8 (11 ast), Josiah Smith 8 (11 reb), Jeff Reid 3, Joey Kramer 2.

CHRISTIAN 66, SIMI VALLEY-GRACE BRETHREN 35 – In Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) first of two tournament games at Valley Christian Academy Tournament at Santa Maria, the Patriots sprinted to a 33-16 halftime lead and never looked back.

As usual, point guard LUIZ BIDART was the offensive spearhead with 23 points and 5 rebounds for the Patriots as they blew out the team from Simi Valley.

“We played really well,” said Christian assistant coach JOEL ALLEN. “This was the first game everybody got in the scoring book, so coach was pretty happy with that.”

Christian scoring: Luiz Bidart 23 (5 reb), Steven Pitts 7, Tyrone Sauls 6, Ronnie Richards 6, Jake Larsen 5, Erick Allen 4 (5 reb), Taylor Eichhorst 5 (6 reb), Mike Stowers 4, Aaron Whitten 4, Andrew Whitten 2.

CHRISTIAN 55, ATASCADERO-NORTH COUNTY CHRISTIAN 45 – Junior guard LUIZ BIDART completed his finest double-header since joining the Patriots as he hammered down 30 points in Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) second of two games in the Valley Christian Academy Tournament in Santa Maria.

Bidart did much of his damage from the free throw line against North County Christian of Atascadero, as he converted 10 of 11 chances. He also hit a pair of 3-balls.

“Luiz Bidart played really well,” said assistant coach JOEL ALLEN. “He hit all his free throws down the stretch – nailed them all in the 4th quarter.”

With 1:30 remaining it was a 3-point game, but Bidart made two free throws to secure the victory for the Patriots as they balanced their record at 5-5.

“When they fouled us we made them pay for it,” Allen said.

Bidart had 13 points in the 1st quarter and 11 in the 4th quarter.

Christian scoring: Luiz Bidart 30 (3 stl), Taylor Eichhorst 6, Erick Allen 4, Tyrone Sauls 4, Jake Larsen 5, Aaron Whitten 2, Andrew Whitten 2, Ronnie Richards 2.

EL CAPITAN 41, MADISON 36 – El Capitan delivered an inside-outside punch to topple Madison in Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) final round of the Granite Hills Holiday Classic.

It was a come-from-behind effort for the Vaqueros who snapped a 28-28 tie in the final quarter.

MICHAEL OVERSON and JON MOLZEN shared high-point honors with 14 apiece. Overson’s totals included a pair of 3s, 5 rebounds and 6 steals.

“Michael Overson did well, did what we expected him to do,” said El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS. “He hit some 3s and had some defensive stops for some layups. It was nice to see him be the kind of player we need him to be. We need him to play like that for us to be successful.”

Once again Molzen was a force on the boards, bagging 11 rebounds in addition to dealing 4 assists and making 4 steals.

“Molzen was a presence out there,” Cavazos said.

El Capitan scoring: Michael Overson 14 (5 reb, 6 stl), Jon Molzen 14 (11 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Robert Craighead 9 (7 reb), Michael Landis 2, Armon Worrell 2 (5 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), Andrew Cable (2 reb, 1 blk).

PASADENA 56, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 50 – A 1-3 finish wasn’t what Foothills Christian had in mind for its joust against some of the nation’s better teams in the

MaxPreps Holiday Prep Classic at Torrey Pines.

But coach BRAD LEAF and his staff can hardly be disgruntled. In the three games that the Knights (10-4) came up short, they lost by an average margin of 6 points.

“We had a decent showing,” said Foothills assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. “This tournament was more about playing tough competition for us than it was about winning. There are a lot of teams that use this time of year to pad their win percentage and while it may help them get seeded, they are going to regret it when they face a tough game.”

Pasadena took a 13-6 first quarter lead and managed to stave off the Knights in Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) finale.

“We really shot poorly, but did not necessarily take tons of bad shots,” McHugh said. “We just couldn't get anything to fall. Pasadena was a team with a lot of size and a lot of speed but they played really slow, they tried to slow the game down to a crawl and they did for most of the contest. Every time we got within 2 we just could not hit that next shot.”

Foothills’ JVONTE BROOKS was battling down low but was outnumbered by Pasadena ’s power line of 6-foot-6, 6-8, and 6-9. Most of Pasadena 's points came on second or third chances.

Still, the Knights remained in contention as Brooks (14 points, 10 rebounds) took away easy shots. The Knights’ zone in the 2nd half further frustrated the Bulldogs, but when Pasadena missed a shot the ‘Dogs took command of the glass.

TROY LEAF canned 10 of 20 shots on his way to a game-high 23 points. KALOB HATCHER added 10 points and 6 assists. He now has 700 assists for his three-year career.

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 23 (5 reb, 4 ast, 6 blk, 4 stl), Jvonte Brooks 14 (10 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Kalob Hatcher 10 (4 reb, 6 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Mike Wnek 3, Brandon Hale (3 reb).

WEST RANCH 61, MONTE VISTA 53 – It wasn’t so much what the Monarchs didn’t do as what West Ranch of Santa Clarita did do in Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) third place game of the 23rd annual Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic in North County.

The Wildcats chewed up the Monarchs (7-6) in the second quarter by a 21-8 margin, opening up a 34-20 lead.

“They blew us out in the 2nd quarter,” Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL said. “West Branch is the toughest team we have played all year. They would substitute five players at a time – I’ve never seen a team as deep as West Ranch. Their press took its toll on us.”

GEOFF HARTMAN produced 21 points and 16 rebounds for Monte Vista, which also received a career high 15 points from COREY PARRISH.

Hartman was named to the all-tournament team. The Monarchs senior averaged 20.5 points and 10.3 rebounds in the four games, while logging 12 assists, 8 blocks and 6 steals.

Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 21 (16 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk), Corey Parrish 15 (3 reb), Alvin Merriweather 7 (3 reb, 1 blk), Trent Watkins 4 (3 reb), Anthony Dotson 4 (5 reb), Tony Jackson 2 (5 reb, 2 ast), Richard Whitfield (2 reb, 2 stl).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-30-08) — Few were disappointed with the anticipated shootout between two of the Grossmont Conference's most prolific scorers: DEAN MILLER of Granite Hills and El Cajon Valley's JORDAN SHIVERS.

Miller poured in a cool 38 points, two shy of his season high, hitting 7-of-13 shots from beyond the arc. Shivers took the inside route, driving around the Eagles toward the basket to the tune of 27 points.

But with few others able to score for the Braves, Granite Hills easily pulled away to gain the Battle of Madison Avenue victory following Saturday's (Dec. 29) 70-46 verdict in the semifinals of the Granite Hills Holiday Classic.

Aided by a superior supporting cast, Miller took advantage to rock the rim. With the Eagles leading 33-22 at the intermission, Miller busted loose by hitting his first five jump shots -- including four triples -- in the third period to open a 49-29 cushion.

"Dean's pretty amazing -- he's done some stuff I've never seen from a human being," said Eagles guard AARON HARRIS. "At practice, he does things that are even more phenomenal, like 180(-degree) layups and stuff."

Meanwhile, Harris was assigned the difficult task of slowing down Shivers.

"I know the way Jordan plays and how aggressive he is," said Harris. "In the first half, I feel I locked him down pretty well."

Over the opening 12 minutes, Shivers was limited to six points as Granite Hills built a double-digit lead. Shivers finally answered with his own series of three consecutive baskets, two on strong spin moves to the basket, but the rest of his teammates collected just 19 total points as the contest slipped away in the second half.

"We've had some trouble with our help-defense lately -- it's the main thing we've worked on during practice the whole week," noted Harris, who posted 8 points and 9 rebounds. "But once we got the lead, I think we've got the game."

When Shivers didn't possess the ball, none of the other Braves did either because of Granite Hills' other guard, ANDRE LEWIS, who posted three quick steals in the early minutes, all leading to baskets. Lewis finished with five thefts, along with 10 points and 7 assists.

"Everyone underestimates Granite Hills," added Harris. "They always do because of our past -- we're not really known for winning. But we've made some changes and are more serious about the game."

The Eagles will tangle against Grossmont South League rival Mount Miguel in Tuesday's 8 p.m. title contest.

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 38 (6 reb), Andre Lewis 10 (7 ast, 5 stl), Aaron Harris 8 (9 reb), Jason Gaines 4, Ronnie Von Hagen 4 (11 reb), John Montes 3 (6 reb, 4 ast), Cameron Roberts 3.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Jordan Shivers 27 (5 reb), Anthony Ussery 5 (5 reb, 3 blk), Devon Eze 4, Dominic Dove 4 (9 reb), Jesse Damman 3, Raylondo Ford 2 (3 ast), Avery Anderson 1.

MOUNT MIGUEL 72, KEARNY 69 (OT) – Expect a few medical bills for Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT to roll in by the end of the season.

First, there will be a developing ulcer condition following his team's 1-9 start. Since then, the Matadors have regrouped to capture four straight contests, but Rowlett's anxiety level might be on the rise anyway -- three of the victories came in overtime (and one loss).

Nevertheless, a win is a win and Rowlett will take them all after his troops scored at the buzzer to force the extra session, eventually avenging an earlier setback to Kearny by taking a 72-69 decision over the Komets in Saturday's (Dec. 29) semifinals of the Granite Hills Holiday Classic.

The Matadors (5-9) will meet the tournament host Eagles in tonight's championship contest, starting at 8 p.m. Granite Hills advanced by whipping El Cajon Valley, 70-46.

Just like the quarterfinals, Mount Miguel rallied from a 6-point deficit in the final two minutes to extend the contest. But this time, they needed a pair of clutch shots.

HARRY BRAZELTON, who scored a game-high 23 points, drilled a 3-point shot for a 58-57 lead, only to see the Komets (8-3) answer with three foul shots to reclaim the advantage.

However, Mount Miguel received a major break when Kearny was called for a 3-second violation while attempting to run out the clock, giving the Matadors just 5.9 seconds to go the length of the court of a shot.

On the inbounds play, A.J. STANFORD got loose along the right sideline, making a perfect bounce pass to DONTE ALLEN (21 points) for an uncontested layin at the buzzer.

The overtime featured five lead changes, the final coming courtesy of a 3-point basket by Stanford for a 69-67 lead with 44 seconds left. Both teams swapped foul shots, with a last-second Kearny shot attempt to force double-overtime bouncing wide off the rim.

Mount Miguel took the lead and held it for most of the third quarter, but Kearny closed the period on a 7-0 run which extended to 13 consecutive points, turning a 42-35 deficit into a 48-42 fourth-quarter advantage with 6:16 to go.

However, Stanford ignited the comeback, scoring 11 of his 20 points and 3 of his game-high 8 assists over the final 9 minutes. Stanford also grabbed 14 rebounds, falling two assists short of a triple-double.

Allen also posted a double-double with 12 boards, while JOHHNY NORTON scored all six of his points in the second half to fuel the comeback.

Mount Miguel scoring: Harry Brazelton 23, Donte Allen 21 (12 reb), A.J. Stanford 20 (14 reb, 8 ast), Johnny Norton 6 (5 ast), O’dessa Sharps 2.

HELIX 63, CHULA VISTA 54 – Playing for championships is nothing new for the Helix Highlanders.

Coach JOHN SINGER’s squad clipped host Chula Vista in Monday’s (Dec. 29) semifinals to advance to the title bout of the Spartan Classic against Vista (11-2) in South Bay on Tuesday (Dec. 30) at 7 p.m.

The Highlanders unleashed a new weapon in the form of 6-foot-4 sophomore forward SAM MEREDITH. A football player by trade, Meredith is beginning to take hold as a force for the Highlanders’ (7-4) basketball team.

Meredith had probably his best game as a cager with 12 points and 9 rebounds against the Spartans.

In the 4th quarter, after 6-foot-8 senior LEVINE TOILOLO (10 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks) fouled out, Singer had to cast his fate with the youthful Meredith.

“I thought Meredith played very well for a kid who hadn’t played very much – he’s only had two practices,” coach said.

Sophomore forward JAYLEN LINSON drilled in a team-best 17 points, hitting 8 of 11 shots from the floor. He also grabbed 9 rebounds.

Included in that sophomore crop were TOMMIE YOUNG, who contributed 8 points, 6 assists and 4 steals, and JOHN HENRY SINGER, who added 3 points and 6 rebounds.

“One of the biggest things tonight, we had four sophomores and one senior on the floor in the last 5 minutes,” coach Singer noted. “Our sophomores are going to have to learn on the job. We’ll have to play over our heads.”

“We had 4 players in doubles, which is the first time that’s happened all year,” coach Singer said.

Helix scoring: Jaylen Linson 17 (9 reb, 1 blk), Sam Meredith 12 (9 reb), Levine Toilolo 10 (10 reb, 2 ast, 4 blk), Joubert Ballard 11 (5 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Tommie Young 8 (6 ast, 4 stl, 2 reb), John Henry Singer 3 (6 reb), Darien Peterson 2 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl).

VALHALLA 51, SERRA 47 – One thing that has to make Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON feel good at this point in the season is his Norsemen are 4-0 against San Diego CIF Division II teams.

The latest Valhalla conquest came in Monday’s (Dec. 29) Chula Vista Spartan Classic in Chula Vista as the Norsemen outscored Serra 27-17 in the 2nd half to balance their overall record at 6-6.

JOSH AUSTEL was a force inside for Valhalla , connecting of 6 of 12 shots from the floor and 5 of 6 free throws for a team-best 17 points.

“Josh is really coming around and doing a lot of good things for us,” Jackson said of the 6-foot-6 junior, who also yanked down 8 rebounds.

KYLE KRIEBEL turned in a steady performance with 12 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.

Valhalla scoring: Josh Austel 17 (8 reb, 2 stl), Kyle Kriebel 12 (8 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl), Steven Kleist 8 (2 stl), Austen Suhay 6 (3 ast, 6 stl), David Zetts 5, Trevor Cahoon 3.

WEST HILLS 55, LAS VEGAS-VALLEY 49 – The Wolf Pack used a balanced scoring attack led by MIKE LIFGREN’s 13 points to capture the first game of Monday’s (Dec. 29) Las Vegas Invitational double-header.

West Hills led 32-22 at halftime.

GARRETT CABRAL added 11 points, 6 assists and 5 steals, while CHASE SENTER chalked up 11 points and 7 assists for the Wolf Pack.

KYLE McLAUGHLIN was tough inside with 8 points and 10 rebounds, and LUCAS ARMSTRONG added 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocks.

“We opened up strong and got a big lead early,” said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. “In the 2nd half we maintained our lead. We controlled the boards and blocked a lot of shots.”

West Hills scoring: Mike Lifgren 13 (4 reb), Garrett Cabral 11 (5 reb, 6 ast), Chase Senter 11 (2 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl), Kyle Navarre 9 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Kellen Johnson 7 (4 reb, 3 ast), Kyle McLaughlin 3 (10 reb, 1 blk), Lucas Armstrong 2 (10 reb, 5 ast, 5 blk), Ryan Bozelle 2 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Adrian Maraziti (2 reb).

WEST HILLS 65, BELL GARDENS 62 – Enjoying perhaps its finest day of basketball, West Hills turned in another balanced effort to complete a double-header sweep in the final day of the Las Vegas Invitational.

GARRETT CABRAL was the spearhead for the Wolf Pack with 13 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.

RYAN BOZELLE had 13 points, including 6 for 6 free throw shooting, while MIKE LIFGREN added 12 points for the Pack.

West Hills overcame a 33-29 first half deficit to improve its record to 6-7.

The score was tied at 62-all with 40 seconds remaining. At 35 seconds Cabral did a pass fake and hit a 3.

Bell Gardens came down and shot a two but missed it and fouled. West Hills missed both free throws. With 4 seconds left Bell Gardens shot another three but missed it, leaving the Pack with the victory.

West Hills scoring: Lucas Armstrong 8 (8 reb, 7 ast, 1 blk), Chase Senter 5 (2 reb, 11 ast), Ryan Bozelle 13 (3 reb), Kyle Navarre 6 (3 reb), Garrett Cabral 13 (11 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl),

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 78, CHRISMAN (MO.) 62 – For the Knights, the buck stopped here after TROY LEAF connected on 15-of-23 shots for a game-high 33 points, powering Foothills past William Chrisman High in Monday's (Dec. 29) third round of the MaxPreps Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines. The school is the alma mater to President Harry Truman.

“We really moved the ball well today,” said Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. “We had a lot of assists and we played smart. We fell behind early but we didn't panic. Chrisman won a State title in 2006 and they have all but two seniors on their roster so we knew they would be experienced.”

In the 2nd quarter Chrisman was 2-5 from 3-point range and it seemed like they would never miss but Foothills Christian held their composure and continued to get the ball to the basket.

“ Troy really took over our offense in this game,” said McHugh, “and KALOB HATCHER controlled things well for us. Once those two were in sync we were rolling. Troy and Kalob (13 assists) did a great job of spreading the ball around. I don't know that we missed an open man all night between the two of them.”

JVONTE BROOKS gave the Knights a great game down low. His rebounding (12) along with Leaf’s (12) got them going early when we were struggling.

RYAN SMITH played one of his better games. Ryan got a few easy buckets but he helped himself by finding open holes when they were double and triple teaming Hatcher and Leaf up court.

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 33 (12 reb, 6 ast, 4 blk, 4 stl), Jvonte Brooks 15 (12 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Brandon Hale 10 (4 reb, 1 blk), Kalob Hatcher 9 (3 reb, 13 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Ryan Smith 8 (5 reb), Mike Wnek 3 (3 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl).

GROSSMONT 65, CASTLE PARK 38 – Four Foothillers reached double scoring digits in Monday’s (Dec. 29) Spartan Classic Round Robin Division blowout of Castle Park at Chula Vista.

Junior CLAYTON RAINEY scored a career-best 11 points to guide Grossmont (6-6) to its sixth win in eight starts.

The Foothillers outscored Castle Park in all four quarters.

Grossmont scoring: Clayton Rainey 11, Alex Ortiz 10, Jacob Haar 10, Desean Waters 10, Jason Lakis 6, Colter Rios 5, Felipe Valdez 4, Graham Hajosy 3, Aaron Griffin 2, Robbie Nesovic 2, Alex Nesovic 2. No other information reported.

POWAY 53, MONTE VISTA 35 – When the Monarchs (7-5) falter it usually has something to do with the output of senior GEOFF HARTMAN. Such was the case in Monday’s (Dec. 29) 23rd annual Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic semifinal in North County.

Although the Monarchs took a brief lead with 2:54 left in the first half, the game belonged to Poway (10-2), which advances to Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) championship game against Mt. Carmel.

Poway overcame Monte Vista’s advantage by scoring 17 consecutive points to vanquish Monte Vista to the consolation round.

The Monarchs hung tough early, closing the first quarter even at 10-10.

“After that we lacked intensity and competitive desire,” Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL said. “We did not run our offense well at all. Our game disintegrated into street ball. Good teams like Poway will beat you that way every time.”

Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 13 (4 reb, 2 blk), Trent Watkins 3 (3 reb), Alvin Merriweather 3 (2 reb, 1 blk), Brandon Tillet 3 (2 blk), Anthony Dotson 2 (2 reb, 2 stl), Tony Jackson 2 (2 reb, 1 blk), Aaron Burns 2, Jason Guinto 1, Richard Whitfield (2 stl).

SD-SOUTHWEST 60, STEELE CANYON 48 – DEREK STEPHENS, the Cougars second-year head coach, almost had to hide his eyes when Steele Canyon crumbled in Monday’s (Dec. 29) Chula Vista Spartan Classic contest against San Diego Southwest (3-6).

“This is the fourth game in a row that we’ve had a double-digit lead in the 1st quarter,” Stephens said. “Then we go on to play our worst two quarters of the year back-to-back (as the Raiders earned a 34-13 scoring advantage in the middle two periods).”

Senior CAMERON MOSS led Steele Canyon (4-9) with 18 points.

“We’re our own worst enemy right now,” Stephens said. “We missed probably 15 layups.”

Steele Canyon scoring: Cameron Moss 18, Josiah Smith 9, Jebari Robinson 8, Zane Keith 4, Kaptan Kaster 4, Eric Gilbert 3, Jeff Reid 2.

OAKS CHRISTIAN 84, CHRISTIAN 52 – The Patriots (3-5) ran into a steamroller

in Monday’s (Dec. 29) first round of the Valley Christian Academy Tournament in Santa Maria.

Oaks Christian (8-1) outscored the Patriots in every quarter in a game that was never close.

“They are by far the best team we’ve played,” said Christian assistant coach JOEL ALLEN. “Their best player (6-3 Tyler McGrath) burned us for 30 points.”

Junior guard LUIZ BIDART paced the Patriots with 15 points, while TYRONE SAULS pitched in 10 points and 3 blocks.

Christian scoring: Luiz Bidart 15, Tyrone Sauls 10 (3 blk), Ronnie Richards 7 (3 reb), Andrew Whitten 5, Taylor Eichhorst 5 (5 reb), Jake Larsen 4, Mike Stowers 2, Steven Pitts 2, Erick Allen 2.

PATRICK HENRY 71, EL CAPITAN 52 – Senior JON MOLZEN turned in a powerful double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds in Monday’s (Dec. 29) Granite Hills Holiday Classic third round contest at El Cajon Valley High, but the Vaqueros still came up short.

Patrick Henry outscored the Vaqueros in all four quarters.

El Capitan scoring: Jon Molzen 16 (16 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Michael Overson 14 (5 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Johnathan Kulp 8 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Andrew Cable 5 (4 reb), Robert Craighead 4 (2 reb), Kevin Kapka 2, James Luck 2, Michael Landis 1, Armon Worrell (2 reb).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-28-08) — With pieces disassembled or flat out missing, Mount Miguel High would rather ignore the first month of the basketball season and start over from scratch.

"We're a better team than that," noted junior HARRY BRAZELTON about the Matadors' 2-9 start. "We're trying to get our rhythm and keep playing hard."

Brazelton may be the spark Mount Miguel needs in order to make a run when Grossmont South League action opens next month.

On Saturday (Dec. 27), Brazelton scored five of Mount Miguel 's points during a 7-0 run to force overtime, then opened the extra session with a fancy pass which led to a 3-point basket by JOHNNY. NORTON, powering the Matadors to an 82-78 come-from-behind triumph over Parkland of El Paso in the quarterfinals of the Granite Hills Holiday Classic.

Following its dismal start, Mount Miguel (4-10) is suddenly in the tournament semifinals and will meet Kearny in Monday's (Dec. 29) Final Four contest. The battle will follow the 6:30 p.m. semifinal face-off between El Cajon Valley and the host Eagles.

Trailing between 4 and 10 points throughout, the Matadors could never seem to find a solution until the final two minutes of regulation. With head coach JAY ROWLETT imploring for someone to take charge, Brazelton ended a 10-0 run by Parkland -- also nicknamed "Matadors" -- by drilling a 3-point shot.

"Coach told us to crash the boards and get every loose ball to get back into the game," said Brazelton, who led Mount Miguel with 18 points and 13 rebounds. "We had a lot more intensity in the second half -- we really wanted to win."

The junior forward then scored on a putback, followed by a basket off an offensive rebound by RUDY BURRUEL with 30 seconds remaining to extend the contest.

In the overtime, Mount Miguel answered a quick Parkland bucket by its own 10-0 run to make it a 17-2 overall streak, going over the top with several long passes for open shots. Included was a pair of "touchdown" passes by A.J. STANFORD for assists, while Norton tallied seven of his 17 points in the extra session.

"We started locking down on 'D,' then making good shots," noted Norton. "We grabbed the rebounds with good jumping ability. If we keep it up on defense, we can go far."

Meanwhile, DONTE ALLEN and Burruel added 16 points each, while Stanford had 7 points and 7 assists.

Mount Miguel scoring: Harry Brazelton 18 (13 reb, 6 stl, 4 blk, 3 ast), Johnny Norton 17 (4 ast), Donte Allen 16 (11 reb, 3 ast), Rudy Burruel 16 (3 stl), A.J. Stanford 7 (7 ast), Yuel Hagos 5 (2 blk), Keith Houston 3 (6 reb).

HELIX 56, MATER DEI 42 – With the focus on slowing Highlanders center LEVINE TOILOLO, the door was left wide open for forward JAYLEN LINSON. The sophomore matched his young career high by scoring 15 points, pacing the Scotties to another Chula Vista Spartan Classic triumph.

With Toilolo failing to receive touches of the ball at the low post while absorbing extra attention from the Crusaders in Saturday's (Dec. 27) early going, Linson responded by registering 12 first-quarter points, powering Helix to a 16-8 advantage, leading by double digits most of the way thereafter.

"Our big man, even though he's a senior and I'm a sophomore, let me take over," said Linson. "It was teamwork."

Toilolo, who is rounding back into basketball form after helping the Helix football team gain a berth in the SDCIF Division II championship contest, didn't score his initial points until 3:45 remained in the first half. But with others picking up the slack, paced by Linson, it was an easy wire-to-wire victory.

"Coach (JOHN SINGER) is pushing us real hard and we're coming along because of it," added Linson. "We did good defensively -- that's what we have to do to win."

Toilolo still figured arduously in the Highlanders’ victory, recording 12 points, a season-high 17 rebounds and blocked 4 shots by the Crusaders. In addition, guard JOUBERT BALLARD posted 10 points and 5 assists.

Helix scoring: Jaylen Linson 15 (4 reb), Levine Toilolo 12 (17 reb, 4 blk), Joubert Ballard 10 (5 ast), Dimitar Topalow 7 (6 reb), Tommie Young 4 (4 stl), J.H. Singer 4 (5 reb), Darien Paterson 4 (3 stl).

VISTA 58, VALHALLA 44 — The Vista Panthers have already advanced to a pair of tournament championship games this season, posting a perfect 5-0 record against East County ballclubs (El Capitan, Steele Canyon, Mount Miguel, Granite Hills and Foothills Christian) along the way.

However, the Norsemen moved into perfect position to upend the team bidding for a Top 10 berth, closing to within four points midway through the third period. But the breakthrough streak to finally catch Vista never materialized, allowing the Panthers to advance to Monday's (Dec. 29) semifinals of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic.

"I think we're there, but just need to take that extra step to win these games instead of just playing with a team and having a close game," said Norsemen junior JOSH AUSTEL, who scored 11 points and pulled down six rebounds. "We want to beat those good teams."

Only three Norsemen scored via a deliberate offense which wisely kept them in contention until the final minutes, when Vista (10-2) went on a 14-5 run to make Saturday's (Dec. 27) score deceptively one-sided. Conversely, Valhalla (5-6) never seemed comfortable enough to create a real challenge, attempting to gain a measuring stick to other East County ballclubs which also battled the Panthers.

"We want to be there so bad, but we played scared a little bit in the first half," added Austel.

Except for being tied at 10-all, Vista led throughout, yet never pulled away until the final minutes.

Panthers guard Stephen Que paced both teams with 23 points, featuring a trio of 3-point goals, while forward Quincy Lawson added 19 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.

However, the talented center was virtually matched by Norseman KYLE KRIEBEL’s 21 points, 7 boards and a pair of rejections.

"Lawson is a good player, but we could've posted him up a lot more," added Austel. "Kyle did a real good job on him."

Valhalla scoring: Kyle Kriebel 21 (7 reb, 2 blk), Austen Suhay 12 (4 ast), Josh Austel 11 (6 reb), David Zetts (4 reb).

MONTE VISTA 35, TRABUCO HILLS 33 – Talk about a one-man show... Monte Vista senior GEOFF HARTMAN thundered a mighty double-double of 25 points and a dozen rebounds Saturday (Dec. 27) lifting the Monarchs (7-4) past the Trabuco Hills Mustangs in the second round of the Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic.

Hartman’s thrust helped march the Monarchs into Monday’s (Dec. 29) semifinals against Poway (9-2) at Mt. Carmel at 6 p.m. That game should tell the Monarchs just how good they are. But Hartman, who tallied all but 10 points against Trabuco Hills, will need more than just 10 points of support from his teammates.

A 6-foot-4 force inside the paint, Hartman connected on 10 of 15 shots from the floor and 5 of 8 free throws.

After taking an 8-5 first quarter edge, Monte Vista began the second period with a 7-0 run to take a 10-point lead.

It didn’t last.

Trabuco Hills led 33-32 with a minute to play. And once again, the Monarchs turned to Hartman. He posted up, received a pass and hit a field goal to give Monte Vista the lead 34-33. He was fouled on the shot and completed a 3-point-play by dropping in the free throw.

“The 2nd half was a real slugfest,” Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL said. “Both teams played good, aggressive, man-to-man defense and limited many opportunities. This was the best I’ve seen Geoff Hartman play in my three years here at Monte Vista.”

Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 25 (12 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl), Anthony Dotson 4 (4 reb, 2 ast), Corey Parrish 4 (4 reb), Alvin Merriweather 2 (2 ast),

Tony Jackson (4 reb, 1 blk), Trent Watkins (2 ast), Richard Whitfield (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl).

GROSSMONT 64, CHULA VISTA 63 (OT) – It was another close call for the Foothillers (5-6), who have claimed victories in five of their last seven outings. Two of their losses have come by a total of three points.

So does that make the defending Grossmont North League champions genuine contenders to repeat?

For now, Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO has no comment.

In their latest endeavor, Grossmont squeezed out a victory as DESEAN WATERS sank his fourth 3-pointer of the game with 2 seconds left in overtime.

Chula Vista immediately called a time out. On a half-court inbounds pass, the Hillers’ FELIPE VALDEZ stole the ball to save the win in Saturday’s (Dec. 27) Chula Vista Spartan Classic Round Robin Division.

Grossmont could well have folded when it saw a 55-52 lead vanish when the Spartans’ Justin Walker canned a 3-pointer at the buzzer sending the game into overtime.

Not to be overlooked was ALEX ORTIZ’s career high of 16 points.

Grossmont scoring: Desean Waters 18, Jacob Haar 16, Alex Ortiz 16, Robbie Nesovic 9, Felipe Valdez 5. No other stats reported.

GRANITE HILLS 70, EL CENTRO-CENTRAL 39 – On the strength of double-doubles by DEAN MILLER and AARON HARRIS, the Eagles flew into the semifinals of the Granite Hills Holiday Classic after clubbing visiting Central Union on Saturday (Dec. 27).

Granite Hills (6-4) needs a win over El Cajon Valley at home on Monday (Dec. 29) to qualify for Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) championship game at 8 p.m.

For the senior Miller, doubling up is nothing new. The 6-foot-3 forward has contributed at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in every game this season. He drilled in 21 points, cleared 12 caroms and blocked 6 shots against Central Union.

Harris, hardly the leading free throw shooter for the Eagles, sank 7 of 10 from the charity stripe on his way to 20 points. He completed his double with another powerful effort on the boards with 11 rebounds.

Junior guard ANDRE LEWIS chalked up another 10 assists and topped the Eagles with 5 steals.

“RONNIE VON HAGEN started tonight in front of KYLE SNYDER (knee injury – questionable return for Monday),” Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON said. “Ronnie had a real good game (4 points, 7 rebounds).”

Granite Hills catapulted in front of the Spartans from Imperial Valley 36-16 after one half. That decided the issue.

“I was happy with our defense in the 1st half – it set the pace for the game,” Anderson said. “The team played really unselfish offensively. They were keying on Dean, trying to shut him down and everyone else played real well together, moving the ball around and finding the open man when they were taking away Miller.”

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 21 (12 reb, 6 blk), Aaron Harris 20 (11 reb), John Montes 10 (5 reb), Andre Lewis 7 (10 ast, 5 stl), Cameron Roberts 5, Ronnie Von Hagen 4 (7 reb), Devin Conner 2, Jason Gaines 1.

EL CAPITAN 56, OXNARD-HUENEME 41 – The Vaqueros (7-5) took a 16-4 first quarter lead and never looked back as they swamped the Vikings (0-9) in Saturday’s (Dec. 27) Granite Hills Holiday Classic.

El Capitan led by as many as 18 points.

While JON MOLZEN led the Vaqueros with 17 points, coach JASON CAVAZOS was quick to credit senior BRIAN DEUEL.

“Deuel has been a 4-year player for us. He came in tonight in the 2nd half and hit a couple of 3-pointers. He’s never been a gamer but today he came out and did a good job,” Cavazos said. “It was good because his family was there. He came in and had some shots that he hadn’t done ever before. Everyone on the team for the past two years has called him ‘Rudy.’ He works really hard but he gets really nervous when he goes in the game. He hit those 3s when it was still actually a game.”

Junior ANDREW CABLE cashed in 11 points.

“This was the first game of the year where starter Cable actually played like a starter,” Cavazos said. “He hit all his free throws (5-for-5).”

El Capitan scoring: Jon Molzen 17, Andrew Cable 11, Michael Overson 6, Michael Landis 6, Brian Deuel 6, Armon Worrell 6, John Kulp 4. No other stats reported.

STEELE CANYON 68, MAR VISTA 55 – It was all about scoring balance for Steele Canyon in Saturday’s (Dec. 27) second round of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic in South Bay.

Four Cougars reached scoring double-digits led by JEBARI ROBINSON’s 17 points. JOSIAH SMITH added 15 points, while CAMERON MOSS punched in 12 and KAPTAN KASTER pitched in 10.

“Jebari did a really good job of breaking the press – this was his best game so far,” Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS said. “Moss, Smith and ZANE KEITH had a lot of blocks (10 between them). Our team had a big size advantage over them so that helped.”

This was the second meeting between these teams, Mar Vista claiming a 55-51 victory over the Cougars on Dec. 18. Biggest difference in the rematch was turnover count. SC kicked the ball away 27 times in round one, but turned it over only 14 times in the rematch.

Steele Canyon scoring: Jebari Robinson 17 (2 reb, 6 ast, 4 stl), Josiah Smith 15 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Cameron Moss 12 (11 reb, 1 blk), Kaptan Kaster 10 (6 reb, 6 ast, 4 stl), Eric Gilbert 9 (3 reb), Jeff Reid 3 (3 reb, 2 ast), Zane Keith 2 (5 reb, 3 blk).

CORONADO (Nev.) 77, WEST HILLS 45 – For the second night in a row, the Wolf Pack (4-7) played one solid half and another not so good 16-minute session in Saturday’s (Dec. 27) second round of the Las Vegas Invitational.

In the second half, the Cougars (5-4) pummeled the Pack 48-17.

“We are struggling to put two halves together,” said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. “The wheels came off the cart in the 2nd half. We didn’t do a good job boxing out.”

In Nevada , there is no shot clock. That hasn’t helped the Wolf Pack.

“Both of the teams that we have played here are up-tempo teams – we are the team that is slowing it down,” Armstrong said.

“Garrett Cabral and Lucas (Armstrong) have been playing very well up here – they are contributing in several categories. They need some help though.”

West Hills scoring: Lucas Armstrong 13 (5 reb, 7 ast, 4 stl), Garrett Cabral 13 (3 reb, 3 ast), Kyle McLaughlin 7 (4 reb), Mike Lifgren 5 (4 reb), Ryan Bozelle 3, Kyle Navarre 2 (4 reb), Kellen Johnson 2, Chase Senter (3 ast).

ST. ANTHONY’S (N.J.) 56, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 46 – Any time guard TROY LEAF is held 12 points below his season average Foothills Christian is in trouble as the Knights were reminded in Saturday’s (Dec. 27) second round of the MaxPreps Holiday Prep Classic at Westview.

The 6-foot-3 junior was held to one 3-pointer, while KALOB HATCHER knocked down three shots from beyond the arc to finish with 11 points. BRANDON HALE nailed a pair of treys.

The pivotal quarter was the second when St. Anthony’s Jersey City , N.J. – last year’s national champion – outscored the Knights (9-3) by a 22-7 spread.

Foothills Christian scoring: Jvonte Brooks 14, Troy Leaf 13, Kalob Hatcher 11, Brandon Hale 6, Ryan Smith 2. No other stats reported.

KEARNY 55, EL CAJON VALLEY 40 – Credit Kearny’s Komets for putting a muzzle on El Cajon Valley sharp-shooter JORDAN SHIVERS, who came into Saturday’s (Dec. 27) Granite Hills Invitational second round game averaging more than 25 points per game, was limited to 10 by the Komets.

RAYLONDO FORD attempted to pick up the pace for the Braves (5-6) by tossing in 14 points. DOMINIC DOVE led El Cajon Valley with 14 rebounds, while JAMES STONE plucked 9 off the glass.

The Komets took a 15-7 lead in the 1st quarter and then broke the game open with a 16-7 scoring spread in the 3rd quarter.

“Kearny was very well-disciplined and played very physical,” said El Cajon Valley coach JIM GLEBOFF. “They established themselves in this game and we didn’t meet the challenge.”

El Cajon Valley scoring: Raylondo Ford 14, Jordan Shivers 10 (5 reb), Anthony Ussery 7, Dominic Dove 6 (14 reb, 2 blk), James Stone 3 (9 reb).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-27-08) — Senior forward DEAN MILLER registered a game-high 29 points to take over the East County scoring lead, as the host Eagles captured the opener in their own Granite Hills Holiday Classic by whipping Oxnard-Hueneme, 62-42.

Miller's effort raised his season average to exactly 26.0 points per contest, barely climbing ahead of Foothills Christian guard TROY LEAF, who is one point behind at 25.9 following a 24-point effort Friday (Dec. 26).

However, the Eagles (5-4) jumped in front early courtesy of guard ANDRE LEWIS, who recorded seven steals and four assists in the first quarter alone to claim a 17-10 first-quarter lead. That momentum swelled to a 36-19 Granite Hills lead by the intermission.

Lewis finished with 10 steals (9 in the first half) to tie his own week-old mark for thefts. He also dished off for 6 assists.

"Obviously, it was great defense, setting a school record for steals," Miller noted on Lewis' domination over the Vikings backcourt. "It led to a lot of open shots."

Meanwhile, Eagles teammate AARON HARRIS posted 10 points, skying for a 2-handed slammer in the second half. He added 8 boards and 4 steals.

"It was the whole team working to create a lot of open shots," Miller added.

Miller scored 25 of his points by the midway point of the third period before Granite Hills began to clear its bench.

The one-sided contest saw Granite Hills take 71 shots from the floor, thanks to 25 offensive rebounds -- including 7 by RONNIE VON HAGEN -- while the Oxnard based Vikings attempted just 29 shots, although they did connect 17 times (59 percent).

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 29 (7 reb), Aaron Harris 10 (8 reb, 4 stl, 3 ast), John Montes 8 (5 ast, 4 reb), Andre Lewis 7 (10 stl, 6 ast), Jason Gaines 3, Kyle Snyder 3, Parker Dow 2, Ronnie Von Hagen (7 reb).

EL CAJON VALLEY 61, MADISON 38 — Braves guard JORDAN SHIVERS poured home a career-high 35 points, helping El Cajon Valley (5-5) bury the Warhawks in Friday's (Dec. 26) opening round of the Granite Hills Holiday Classic.

Shivers nailed 11-of-19 shots from the floor, including five triples, helping overcome his team's early turnover difficulties. The Braves gave up the ball 8 times in the first period, yet still led 17-15. Shivers then took control and registered 11 of his points in the second period, mounting a 37-21 halftime advantage.

"I just had to do my thing," said Shivers. "I'm a captain on the team -- a big captain -- so I have to embrace the role and put it down."

Balancing the court play was RAYLANDO FORD, who buried three baskets in each of the first two quarters. Ford finished with 16 points and 5 steals, while A.J. USSERY grabbed 13 rebounds to give the Braves a 52-32 advantage on the boards.

"A.J. is a big man -- he helps up out a lot -- I love it," added Shivers. "He grabs boards and kicks it out. Then my boy Raylando is going upcourt and A.J. hits him with long passes for easy baskets."

The Braves seem content with Shivers taking over on offense, giving the others an opportunity to concentrate on defense. Included were forwards DEVIN LESCH and JAMES STONE, who both grabbed six rebounds despite not scoring.

"We kept pushing it and everyone is contributing," added Shivers. "We're having a lot of fun right now."

Ussery only scored a single basket, but dominated in other areas. Along with his 13 boards, he contributed 6 assists, 5 blocks and 4 assists.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Jordan Shivers 35 (10 reb, 2 blk), Raylondo Ford 16 (5 stl), Dominic Dove 5 (6 reb, 4 ast), Jesse Damman 3, A.J. Ussery 2 (13 reb, 6 ast, 5 blk, 4 stl), James Stone (6 reb), Devin Lesch (6 reb).

MONTE VISTA 63, QUARTZ HILL 60 – It was a somewhat strained duel between former coaching partners, Monte Vista’s JAMES CARROLL and Quartz Hill’s KEVIN MAHADY in Friday’s (Dec. 26) first round of the Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic.

Carroll was Mahady’s assistant coach the only season the latter was Monte Vista’s head coach. That was two years ago before Mahady returned to the Palmdale school when he was unable to sell his house due to a tough housing market.

The up-and-down Monarchs (6-4) were on their game as they raced in front of Quartz Hill (3-6) by a 55-35 bulge after three quarters.

Quartz Hill trailed 61-60 with 13 seconds to play.

“They called a timeout and ran a play,” said Carroll. “They went up for a shot and TRENT WATKINS deflected it. GEOFF HARTMAN got the rebound and was fouled.”

With 2 seconds left, Hartman sealed the victory for the Monarchs by making both free throws.

Hartman, who played for both coaches, nailed 9-of-15 shots from the floor and 3-of-6 free throws for a game-high 23 points. He also led the Monarchs with 9 rebounds and 5 assists.

Monte Vista ’s 5-foot-6 ALVIN MERRIWEATHER blocked a 6-foot-5 Quartz Hill player – twice. Amazing as it was, it could have been the difference in the game in the long run.

“It was tough coaching against Kevin but once the game started I didn’t even think about it,” said Carroll. “Shaking Kevin’s hand at the end of the game was tough. He takes losing hard.”

Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 23 (9 reb, 5 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl), Corey Parrish 10 (3 reb, 1 blk), Alvin Merriweather 10 (2 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl), Tony Jackson 8 (6 reb), Anthony Dotson 7 (4 reb, 3 ast), Brandon Tillet 4 (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Trent Watkins 1 (4 ast), Richard Whitfield (2 ast, 2 stl).

HELIX 60, RAMONA 49 –– Not unlike any father, Helix veteran coach JOHN SINGER had to be a little proud of what JOHN HENRY SINGER achieved in Friday’s (Dec. 26) Spartan Classic Round Robin Division victory over Ramona.

“What can I say, he gave us energy,” coach Singer said. “I’ve been pretty hard on him, haven’t given him a whole lot of minutes. But tonight he found a way to score. He was hollering a bit on the floor, trying to give the team a lift. I was proud of him.”

Singer connected on 5 of 7 shots from the floor for a career-best 10 points.

Young Singer was among three sophomores – TOMMIE YOUNG and SAM MEREDITH were the others – that keyed a pivotal 3rd quarter run that helped the Highlanders push their record above the .500 mark at 5-4.

“We were down by three and the next time I looked up at the scoreboard we were up by 10,” said coach Singer, who learned that he lost two starters to poor grades last week. “Our young guys are going to have to come through. And they did in that third quarter with some key breakouts.”

Senior JOUBERT BALLARD is Helix’s main man in the backcourt, finishing with 14 points, 8 assists and 5 steals.

“Ballard is playing pretty well,” coach Singer said. “He’s going to be our floor leader.”

Helix scoring: Joubert Ballard 14 (5 reb, 8 ast, 5 stl), John Singer 10 (3 reb, 2 ast), Dimitar Topalov 7 (6 reb, 1 blk), Levine Toilolo 6 (14 reb, 7 blk), Tommie Young 6 (2 ast), Sam Meredith 6 (2 reb, 2 blk), Jaylen Linson 5 (6 reb), Darien Peterson 4 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Yohanes Solomon 2 (2 ast).

MOUNT MIGUEL 61, CLAIREMONT 47 – Coach JAY ROWLETT and his Mount Miguel Matadors bolstered their ranks by the addition of the BRAZELTON brothers – HARRY and JAYMES – joining the team in time for Friday’s (Dec. 26)

Granite Hills Holiday Classic opener. The junior transfers were given clearance by the San Diego CIF commissioner Dennis Ackerman.

In his debut against Clairemont, Harry Brazelton shared Mount Miguel high-point honors of 18 with DONTE ALLEN, who topped the Matadors with 11 rebounds. Brazelton pulled down 6 caroms.

“This was the first game that we had our whole squad together,” Rowlett said. “We came out strong defensively, really strong defensively. We shared the ball.”

It was the second time Mount Miguel (3-9) had beaten Clairemont. The first win came in overtime.

A.J. STANFORD directed Mount Miguel ’s floor game with 8 assists.

Not all is well, however.

“We have to get better on the defensive boards,” Rowlett said. “We gave up a lot of offensive rebounds.”

Mount Miguel scoring: Donte Allen 18 (11 reb), Harry Brazelton 18 (6 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Yuel Hagos 8 (4 stl), Rudy Burruel 6 (2 reb), Anthony Stanford 4 (8 ast), Keith Houston 3 (2 reb), Johnny Norton 2 (4 ast, 4 stl), Jaymes Brazelton 2 (3 reb).

NEWARK MEMORIAL (N.J.) 74, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 72 – No doubt there are those who consider Foothills Christian a fluke. That’s probably because few of the national high school basketball powers recognize the youthful Knights as a genuine kingpin.

Those in attendance at Friday’s (Dec. 26) first round of the MaxPreps Holiday Prep Classic at Torrey Pines, should give the Knights (9-2) their due.

“If anyone is doubting our motives they can look at a team who is playing in a division where we managed to draw St. Anthony's in a losers bracket game on Saturday (Dec. 27) at 7 p.m. at Westview High,” said Knights’ assistant coach JAMES McHUGH.

Yes, this is the same St. Anthony’s of Jersey City, N.J. – last year's unbeaten national champion.

“This is such a great stage for our kids to play on a national level and play against great competition,” McHugh said. “In a few months we'll look back at this tournament and we will really see the benefits paying off.”

JVONTE BROOKS punched in 18 points – the majority coming on 8-of-10 shooting from the field. Brooks put in 9 of his 18 in the 4th quarter. He also garnered a team-best 15 rebounds.

Hale finished with 10 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.

“BRANDON HALE was a real X-Factor for us tonight,” said McHugh. “Our team becomes really dangerous when Brandon Hale or MIKE WNEK are hitting their shots from outside. Brandon nailed two straight threes in the 2nd that really boosted us back into the game.”

“Every time we fell behind we clawed back,” said McHugh. “A lot of people were complimenting our team on the composure they had when they fell behind. I think that has been one of our strongest attributes for a while now.”

In the waning seconds KALOB HATCHER (16 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) hit a pair of free throws to cut Newark Memorial’s lead to two points.

With 18 seconds remaining and the Knights trailing by two, Brooks diverted an east shot attempt and Leaf grabbed the rebound. The ball went ahead to Hale who dished it back to Leaf.

That’s when the game went into one of those slow motion modes out of Hollywood.

Obviously knowing that the clock was winding down, Leaf got off a tough 3 attempt from about 4 feet behind the arc that hit the side rim and nearly went in for a 3 point win.

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 24 (11 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk), Jvonte Brooks 18 (15 reb), Kalob Hatcher 16 (5 reb, 10 ast, 3 stl), Brandon Hale 10 (4 reb, 3 ast), Ryan Smith 4 (8 reb).

EL CENTRO-CENTRAL 59, EL CAPITAN 58 (OT) – The Vaqueros scored the final five points of the fourth quarter to force overtime, but scoring the final five points in the extra period failed to be enough as the Spartans secured a mild upset in Friday's (Dec. 26) opening round of the Granite Hills Holiday Classic.

Senior guard Chris Smith poured in a game-high 19 points for Central Union (4-4), including a steal for a breakaway layin and a 53-48 lead with 1:22 remaining.

However, El Capitan (6-5) pulled even when JON MOLZEN hit a pair of foul shots with 48.6 seconds left, then passed to ROBERT CRAIGHEAD for a layin with 26.1 to go. Central followed with yet another turnover, as a MICHAEL OVERSON steal led to a foul shot by Craighead with 21.4 left to tie the contest.

Despite awful ball-handling by the Spartans to close regulation, a new Central ballclub seemed to take the floor in the overtime, scoring on three straight possessions -- baskets by Smith, Brandon Andrews and Eddie Ramirez -- for a 49-43 advantage.

The Vaqueros moved back into range by hitting 5-of-6 foul shots in the final 2:36, but a late 3-point shot for victory at the buzzer bounced off the rim.

El Capitan took the early lead at 14-8 with an 8-0 scoring run, but the Spartans closed the half with a 9-0 streak for a 27-23 halftime lead, when Andrews scored 7 of his 13 points.

The Vaqueros shot well from the floor at 46 percent (19-for-41), but Central doubled-up El Cap in shot attempts (23-for-84) thanks to 30 offensive rebounds.

El Capitan scoring: Michael Overson 16 (9 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk), Jon Molzen 15 (5 ast, 5 stl), Robert Craighead 15 (10 reb), Michael Landis 5 (5 reb), Andrew Cable 3 (4 rev, 3 stl, 2 blk), Will Radasa 2, Armon Worrell 2 (4 ast, 3 reb).

VALHALLA 56, SD-SOUTHWEST 35 – The Norsemen displayed no post-holiday letdown in Friday’s (Dec. 26) first round of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic.

Valhalla (5-5) burned the cords by smoking in 15 of its first 20 shots from the field to send the Raiders reeling 34-13 by the close of the first half.

Senior AUSTEN SUHAY and junior JOSH AUSTEL drilled in a dozen points apiece to pace a balanced Valhalla attack. DAVID ZETTS added 10.

“I don’t think Zetts or Austel missed a single shot in the first half,” Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON said.

Valhalla scoring: Austen Suhay 12 (2 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Josh Austel 12 (3 reb, 2 ast, 5 blk), David Zetts 10 (2 blk, 2 stl), Kyle Kriebel 8 (3 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk, 2 stl), Jordan Cunningham 6 (2 reb, 1 blk, 3 stl), Trevor Cahoon 4 (2 reb, 1 blk), Steven Kleist 2 (5 reb), Evie Alcantar 2, Jevan Georges (2 reb).

POINT LOMA 69, STEELE CANYON 63 – This one boiled down to free throws. Point Loma netted 24 of 35 chances, while Steele Canyon made only 12 of 20 charity shots in Friday’s (Dec. 26) opening round of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic.

“It was a battle the whole game,” Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS said. “We came out sluggish and were kinda chasing them the whole game.”

Yet, the Cougars (3-8) were trailing by only two points with 40 seconds left.

“We had a chance to tie it, but the refs cinched it down in the 2nd half,” Stephens grumbled. “There were a couple of questionable technicals called on us that hurt us.”

Steele Canyon scoring: Eric Gilbert 14, Jebari Robinson 10, Kyle Snyder 10, Kaptan Kaster 10, Jeff Reid 9, Cameron Moss 4, Zane Keith 3, Michael Cederoth 3.

EL DORADO (Nev.) 74, WEST HILLS 47 – For 16 minutes West Hills played like a team that would rather have been celebrating the holidays than playing basketball in Friday’s (Dec. 26) opening round of the Las Vegas Invitational.

The Wolf Pack (4-6) trailed at halftime 38-18.

“They play halves in Nevada with no shot clock,” West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG said. “Coming off the holidays, then making the six-hour drive over here and having to adjust to a different style of play... it all took its toll. I think we needed a chance to stretch our legs for a half.”

Armstrong was pleased with his team’s second half play.

GARRETT CABRAL, who has averaged 15 points over his past five games, led the charge with 17 points. LUCAS ARMSTRONG added 9 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and blocked 2 shots for West Hills.

“I liked the change of playing two halves,” coach Armstrong said. “Would I like to do it all the time, well, I’d have to coach it more often.”

West Hills scoring: Garrett Cabral 17 (2 ast), Lucas Armstrong 9 (10 reb, 6 ast, 2 blk), Chase Senter 6 (5 ast, 3 stl), Mike Lifgren 5 (5 reb), Kyle Navarre 4 (4 reb), Kyle McLaughlin 2 (5 reb), Kevin Straub 2, Kellen Johnson 2.

MATER DEI 50, GROSSMONT 43 – Losing for only the second time in their last six starts, the Foothillers (4-6) fell behind early and wound up chasing Mater Dei in Friday’s (Dec. 26) Spartan Classic Round Robin Division opener at Chula Vista High.

JACOB HAAR led Grossmont with 16 points.

“(Mater Dei) played really solid,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “We came out and didn’t play very aggressively, didn’t play very smart. Those two things aren’t real conducive (to winning).”

Grossmont scoring: Jacob Haar 16, Robbie Nesovic 8, Desean Waters 7, Felipe Valdez 6, Alex Ortiz 4, Clayton Rainey 2.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-24-08) — In the eyes of Foothills Christian – the No. 3 ranked team in the San Diego CIF – it doesn’t matter what has occurred in the past. The Knights are making their own name right now.

With the majority of his starting teammates sidelined for one reason or another – three foul outs and one injury – junior TROY LEAF scored 11 of the Knights final 13 points to hold off Rancho Bernardo, 72-67, in Tuesday’s (Dec. 23) championship of the Grossmont Winter Classic at Grossmont High.

“No question this was a big win for us,” Foothills Christian assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. “A lot of people overlooked Rancho Bernardo in the pre-season. I'd say RB, Lincoln and Vista have the best cases of overlooked teams in the pre-season polls. It's nice to get a win against a big D-1 school.”

Actually, it was the second time in as many nights that the Knights (9-1) have defeated a Top 10 team. They handed University City its first setback in Monday’s semifinals.

Leaf, who gave a so-so performance in the first three quarters, became King of the Court over the final 3:23 of the 4th period in the championship game.

“It was time for me to be the best player I can be,” said Leaf, who ladled in 27 points, bagged 10 rebounds, dished 4 assists, blocked 3 shots and recorded 2 steals. “I was out there with three JV guys who did not have a lot of experience, I told them to just be strong and I’d come back and get the ball.”

Clinging to a 67-63 advantage with 50 seconds remaining. Leaf clicked on both sides of a one-and-one opportunity.

Then it was time for one of the Knights’ lesser knowns – HENRY LUSCHEI – to shine, creating a jump-ball situation that went in Foothills Christian’s favor with 48 seconds to play.

That gave Leaf another edge as he sank 3 of 4 free throws.

BRANDON HALE, who was scoreless until the final seconds, swished a pair of free throws to give the Knights a seven-point advantage with :14.8 seconds remaining.

JVONTE BROOKS banged in 25 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked two shots before fouling out with more than three minutes remaining. He scored all but 2 of his points in the 1st half.

No doubt the biggest loss for Foothills Christian was when KALOB HATCHER suffered a sprained ankle with 6:15 remaining and the scored locked at 52-all.

“He slipped in some water,” said Coach Leaf. “Not having Kalob always hurts us.”

This was a special night for Coach Leaf, who welcomed the majority of his 2004 Steele Canyon SDCIF Division III championship team back for the night. Those on hand included GEORGE CUNNINGHAM, JASON BEAUCHAMP, WES DAVIS among others.

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 27 (10 reb, 4 ast, 3 blk, 2 stl), Jvonte Brooks 25 (12 reb, 3 blk, 2 stl), Kalob Hatcher 7 (5 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Ryan Smith 6 (7 reb), Mike Wnek 5 (6 reb), Brandon Hale 2 (2 reb).

GROSSMONT 69, CRAWFORD 65 – Those expecting to erase the defending champion Grossmont Foothillers as a contender to post the school’s second straight league championship this season better take a second look.

Granted the Foothillers (4-5) are far from perfect, yet they are only one point away from a 5-game winning streak.

Led by sophomore guard DESEAN WATERS the Foothillers came from behind to clip Crawford on Tuesday (Dec. 23) for the consolation championship of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

It was one of those crowd pleasing games where both teams traded baskets back and forth in rapid fashion.

The difference in the outcome was the play of Waters, who scored 12 of his 18 points in the 4th quarter to seal the victory for the Foothillers.

Crawford took a 52-49 lead into the final quarter.

After FELIPE VALDEZ cut the Colts’ lead to one, JACOB HAAR sank a pair of free throws, handing the Foothillers a 53-52 edge with 7 minutes remaining. Waters followed with a layup and then sank both ends of a one-and-one to give Grossmont some breathing room, 57-52.

After that Waters began to play longball as he sank back-to-back 3-pointers, stretching the Foothillers advantage to 67-58 with 3:08 remaining. Waters helped padlock the victory by sinking two free throws with :30 on the clock.

“I like being a 2-guard – the shooting guy,” said Waters. “It works really well with Felipe playing the 1-guard. I think together we did a good job of breaking the press.”

Grossmont assistant coach JASON FOGGIANO agreed with Waters’ assessment.

“Felipe did a decent job of handling the ball and directing our floor game,” the coach said. “He’s a football guy, a hard-nosed player who knows how to steer our offense.”

Probably the best thing Valdez did in this game was set-up Waters for key shots down the stretch.

“Desean’s only a sophomore but mentally he’s older than that,” Foggiano said. “He did a great job of stepping up and hitting some big shots at the end.”

Haar, a 6-foot-4 sophomore who joined the team only days ago, scored a career high 29 points to lead the Foothillers. He was 12-of-17 from the floor and 5-of-5 from the free throw line.

“I think we’re starting to gel right now,” said Foggiano. “Not that we have all our parts together, but I think our game’s getting a lot better. We could be over .500 even with all our problems, but we lost on a last-second shot (46-44 to Rancho Bernardo) in our first game of the season.”

“I think all we can do is get better and I think we will be a factor in the league race this year.”

Grossmont scoring: Jacob Haar 29, Desean Waters 18, Alex Ortiz 8, Felipe Valdez 4, Robbie Nesovic 4, Graham Hajosy 4, Clayton Rainey 2.

MONTE VISTA 46, SANTANA 43 – No question, 6-foot-4 senior GEOFF HARTMAN is the key to any success the Monte Vista Monarchs will find this season.

Hartman hit 6-of-10 shots from the floor – 2 of them 3’s – and added 3 free throws for 17 points to guide the Monarchs (5-4) past Grossmont Conference rival Santana in Tuesday’s (Dec. 23) final round of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

He also tugged in 8 rebounds, sharing team-high honors with 6-foot-4 junior TONY JACKSON.

“Geoff Hartman was Geoff Hartman – Mr. Clutch,” said Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL. “He hit a basket in the last minute to give us a 3-point lead to win the game.”

Carroll was also high on the defensive work that Jackson did on 6-foot-5, 265-pound Santana pillar CHRIS SODERGREN.

“TONY JACKSON did a great job on Sodergren in the 1st half,” Carroll said.

But by the same token Sodergren (17 points, 13 rebounds) came back strong after intermission.

“He brought them back into the game with a great 2nd half,” Carroll admitted.

Carroll also heaped accolades on 5-foot-6 point guard ALVIN MERRIWEATHER, who scored 8 points, snared 6 rebounds and made 4 steals.

“Alvin Merriweather was everywhere today – both on offense and defense,” Carroll noted.

It was a close game throughout, but Santana began to crumble when Sodergren fouled out in the 4th quarter. To make matters worse for Santana (9-5) guard MATT GOMEZ missed the game with injury, and senior guard TREVOR BARKHIMER became ill early in the 1st quarter and missed the rest of the game.

“We clawed and scrapped and scraped the whole game,” said Sultans coach TIM BARRY.

Santana missed a 3-point shot with 6 seconds left. Monte Vista got the rebound and that was the ballgame.

Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 17 (8 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl), Alvin Merriweather 8 (6 reb, 4 stl), Corey Parrish 8 (4 reb, 1 blk, 3 stl), Trent Watkins 7 (3 reb, 2 stl), Tony Jackson 4 (8 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Anthony Dotson 2 (3 reb, 2 ast), Richard Whitfield (2 stl), Brandon Tillet (2 blk).

Santana scoring: Chris Sodergren 17 (13 reb), Bradley Kline 7, Trey Bass 6 (11 reb, 5 ast), Matt Lucius 5 (2 reb), Sean Doyle 4 (4 reb, 2 stl), David Thrall 4 (4 reb), Trevor Barkhimer (2 stl).

STEELE CANYON 75, MONTGOMERY 45 – JOSIAH SMITH and ZANE KEITH put the hammer on Montgomery from inside the paint helping the Cougars post their third win in four games in Tuesday’s (Dec. 23) final round of the Otay Ranch-Mater Dei Tournament at Otay Ranch.

Smith scored a team-best 19 points and claimed 5 rebounds, while Keith collected 16 points, blocked 3 shots and recorded 2 steals for the Cougars (3-7).

“We played well today – we played exceptionally good defense,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS. “We got good looks at the basket all game and we made the extra pass when we needed it.”

The Cougars, who led 39-18 at halftime, finished the game by missing only one of 14 free throws. Smith made 6-of-7 attempts and KAPTAN KASTER was 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.

JEBARI ROBINSON, although only 5-foot-10, led a strong Steele Canyon rebounding presence by pulling down 8 rebounds.

CAMERON MOSS collected 7 rebounds, one more than JOEY KRAMER.

“Our football players have finally gotten into basketball mode,” said Stephens. “They have made us a tougher team.”

Steele Canyon scoring: Josiah Smith 19 (5 reb), Zane Keith 16 (3 blk, 2 stl), Jebari Robinson 8 (8 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Kaptan Kaster 8 (2 ast), Jeff Reid 6 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Cameron Moss 4 (7 reb), Cameron Hubbard 3, Eric Gilbert 7 (5 reb), Joey Kramer 2 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Gazwhan Mikael 2.

© East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (12-23-08) — It seems like when your name is Smith, you have to try harder – be more flashy or be the best at something.

Steele Canyon’s JOSIAH SMITH, a 6-foot-5 senior, is doing his best to carve out a name for himself. He was an All-East County Sports.com first team defensive end in football as well as earning first team defensive honors on the All-Grossmont South League team.

Smith is picking up where he left off in football, rapidly becoming a standout for the Cougars basketball team. He scored a career-high 25 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and made 6 steals as the Cougars (2-7) clubbed Mater Dei, 69-49, in Monday’s (Dec. 22) Otay Ranch-Mater Dei Holiday Invitational.

“I think the kids are having a lot more fun now,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS. “They’re also playing with a lot more energy. We’re running eight to nine kids in there every game now.”

At the moment Smith stands tall as the kingpin.

The Cougars took a 5-point lead into the final quarter before outscoring the Crusaders 17-2. Smith tallied 12 of those points in the final period.

“Just like he’s been doing lately, he made a lot of steals and converted them into baskets,” Stephens said of Smith. “He and CAMERON (MOSS – 9 points, 10 rebounds) dominated inside.”

Steele Canyon shot pretty well from the outside as well, connecting for 7 treys.

ERIC GILBERT and ZANE KEITH accounted for a pair of triples each.

“This was probably our best game,” Stephens said. “We took a lot of good shots and played solid defense.”

Steele Canyon scoring: Josiah Smith 25 (8 reb, 5 stl), Cameron Moss 9 (10 reb), Jebari Robinson 9, Eric Gilbert 8, Kaptan Kaster 7, Zane Keith 6, Jeff Reid 5.

SANTANA 53, SAN PASQUAL 46 (OT) – It took a fierce 2nd half rally and a 7-0 scoring spread in overtime to enable Santana to snap a 4-game losing streak in Monday’s (Dec. 22) Grossmont Winter Classic at Grossmont High.

Santana (9-4) outscored the Golden Eagles 30-21 in the 2nd half.

After San Pasqual tied the game with 31 seconds left in regulation, the Sultans had two chances to put the game away. They missed a 3-pointer but Santana got the rebound. They fed the ball to 6-foot-5, 265-pound CHRIS SODERGREN (16 points, 16 rebounds), who lifted a shot that circled the rim and spun out.

Neither team scored for the first 1:40 of the four minute overtime.

Junior BRADLEY KLINE then hit a 3-pointer to give the Sultans a lead they would not lose.

“Both teams were sluggish for a 9 a.m. game,” said Sultans coach TIM BARRY. “My assistant coach, RICH MICHELMORE, suggested we get out of our zone at halftime and go to a man defense, and get after them. The change in tempo was really effective.

“Junior forward MATT LUCIUS played a phenomenal game. He had a great 2nd half for us off the bench,” said Barry.

Santana scoring: Chris Sodergren 16 (16 reb), Bradley Kline 13 (5 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Matt Lucius 8 (2 reb, 4 stl), Matt Gomez 6, Trevor Barkhimer 4 (2 stl), David Thrall 3 (2 reb), Trey Bass 1 (8 reb, 2 ast), Landon Lazoya (4 reb).

WEST HILLS 65, MONTGOMERY 44 – Playing one of their better basketball games of the season, the Wolf Pack mauled Montgomery in Monday’s (Dec. 22) Otay Ranch-Mater Dei Holiday Invitational.

Once again, GARRETT CABRAL set the pace by hitting 7-of-10 shots from the field for 14 points.

MIKE LIFGREN made half of his 12 shots for a dozen points, while KYLE NAVARRE was 5-for-5 for 10 points with 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.

“Kyle played a solid game on both ends of the floor,” said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. “He’s always tough on the defensive end, but tonight he shot and nailed his shots on the offensive end.”

LUCAS ARMSTRONG crashed the boards for 12 rebounds, blocked 2 shots and logged 8 assists for the Wolf Pack (3-5).

One of the things that pleased Armstrong the most was the Wolf Pack’s 51 percent shooting from the field. Much of that was due to the team’s 26 assists.

“It was one of our better shooting days as we established some kind of inside presence,” said Armstrong.

RYAN BOZELLE added 6 of those scoring passes, while CHASE SENTER had 4.

“The team shared the ball and ran well today,” Armstrong said. “We had only 8 with a couple minutes left, before finishing with a season-low of 10.”

West Hills scoring: Garrett Cabral 14 (2 ast, 1 blk), Mike Lifgren 12 (3 reb), Kyle Navarre 10 (4 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Adrian Maraziti 7, (2 stl), Kevin Straub 5 (3 ast, 2 stl), Kellen Johnson 5 (5 reb, 1 blk), Chase Senter 4 (4 ast, 4 stl), Kyle McLaughlin 4 (2 stl), Lucas Armstrong 2 (12 reb, 8 ast, 2 blk), Ryan Bozelle 2 (6 ast).

MONTE VISTA 43, CLAIREMONT 30 – GEOFF HARTMAN returned to the lineup and propelled the Monarchs to Monday’s (Dec. 22) Grossmont Winter Classic victory over Clairemont.

Hartman delivered game highs of 14 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals for the Monarchs, who led 35-20 after three quarters.

The Monarchs (4-4) are among four of the Grossmont South League teams with four victories.

“Clairemont likes to slow the pace down the whole game,” said Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL. “We had to make them want to play at our pace.”

“COREY PARRISH and RICHARD WHITFIELD stepped up and played real well in their first start of the season,” added Carroll.

Parrish, a 6-foot junior guard, hit 4-of-7 shots from the field for 8 points and also grabbed 6 rebounds.

Whitfield, a 5-foot-11 senior guard, nailed 3-of-6 shots from the field – including one 3 – for 7 points. He also ripped off 5 rebounds and made 3 steals.

“This game really was a must-win game for us,” noted Carroll. “After losing our last two games we had to win this one.”

Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 14 (8 reb, 7 ast, 2 blk, 5 stl), Corey Parrish 8 (6 reb), Anthony Dotson 7, Richard Whitfield 7 (5 reb, 3 stl), Alvin Merriweather 5 (2 stl), Aaron Burns 2, Tony Jackson (3 reb, 1 blk), Trent Watkins (2 ast).

GROSSMONT 56, CHULA VISTA 37 – The hosting Foothillers won for the third time in four starts as junior JACOB HAAR directed a balanced attack with 15 points in Monday’s (Dec. 22) Grossmont Winter Classic romp over Chula Vista.

Grossmont stormed to a 29-8 halftime lead and then cruised to the finish line.

Grossmont (3-5), which is one bucket shy of having a four-game winning streak and a date in Tuesday’s (Dec. 23) championship game, also received a dozen points apiece from DESEAN WATERS and BILLY GANGE.

Grossmont scoring: Jacob Haar 15, Desean Waters 12, Billy Gange 12, Alex Ortiz 5, Robbie Nesovic 4, Graham Hajosy 4, Felipe Valdez 2, Drew Forehand 2.

No other statistics were reported.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-21-08) — Foothills Christian is one victory away from playing for the Grossmont Winter Classic championship. The Knights (7-1) crushed Canyon Crest 84-52 in Saturday’s (Dec. 20) quarterfinals and now must beat Top 10 power University City in Monday’s (Dec. 22) semifinals at 6 p.m. in the Foothillers’ gym.

TROY LEAF scored 25 points, snagged 6 rebounds, made 5 steals and dished 3 assists to direct Foothills Christian past Canyon Crest.

The Knights broke the game open with a 27-5 third-quarter scoring run to send the Ravens packing. The Knights hit 10-of-15 shots from the field, including 3-of-6 from long distance and 4-for-4 from the free throw line during the pivotal 3rd quarter.

“In the 3rd quarter Troy took over and our shots really started to fall,” Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGH said. “After Leaf hit a shot and stole an inbound pass followed by another layup, KALOB HATCHER got a steal and an assist to Troy and we really blew the game open right there.

It wasn’t that easy in the 1st half as the Ravens kept their claws in the Knights throughout.

“The 1st half was really not the tempo we wanted,” said McHugh. “There were a lot of touch fouls called both ways and it was hard to get into a rhythm.”

Foothills Christian got the last word in the waning seconds of the opening half when MIKE WNEK hit a three just before the buzzer to stake the Knights to a 30-24 advantage.

“In the 4th quarter the J.V. players all got in again and they started raining shots too,” said McHugh. “We shot 10-for-18 in the 4th and 7-12 from three in the last quarter.”

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 25 (6 reb, 5 stl, 2 blk, 3 ast), Mike Wnek 14 (5 reb), Kalob Hatcher 13 (11 ast, 4 reb, 4 stl), Jvonte Brooks 13 (8 reb, 2 stl), Wesley Baertsch 8, Brandon Hale 8, Sal Romen 3, Daniel Labahn (3 ast).

Las Vegas-FAITH LUTHERAN 82, GRANITE HILLS 81 (OT) – DEAN MILLER scored a team tournament-high 32 points and ANDRE LEWIS rolled a triple-double, including a school record, but it still wasn’t enough to hoist the Eagles past Faith Lutheran in Saturday’s (Dec. 20) final day of the Bishop Gorman Holiday Classic in Las Vegas.

Miller hit 12-of-23 shots – 6 of them three-pointers – and made both of his free throws in addition to reeling in 13 rebounds and dishing 8 assists.

“Every game of the season Dean’s had a double-double,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON.

Lewis, a 5-foot-9 junior point guard, hit 10-of-12 shots from the field for 20 points, dealt 11 assists and set a Granite Hills game record for steals with 10.

“Lewis had a phenomenal game,” said Anderson. “His 10 steals are legitimate against a good team. He’s showing a lot of potential – he played an outstanding game.”

Granite Hills hit 52 percent of 62 shots from the field. Most impressive was their 3-point shooting as they made half of their 20 attempts.

JOHN MONTES hit a pair of treys and AARON HARRIS got 13 rebounds to go with his 12 points.

Granite Hills (4-4) had a chance to win the game in regulation but missed a shot in the final seconds.

“We had a layup that would have won it in overtime and we missed that too,” said Anderson.

“I was happy with our shooting on the road. We just got a little tired defensively after yesterday. I was really proud of how the kids battled and kept their composure in every game. We set out to do what we accomplished in this tournament, and that was to play against top flight competition.”

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 32 (13 reb, 8 ast), Andre Lewis 20 (11 ast, 10 stl), Aaron Harris 12 (13 reb), John Montes 9, Kyle Snyder 8.

STEELE CANYON 59, HILLTOP 52 – Unable to play four consistent quarters all season, the Cougars came out of the halftime locker room with only one thing on their minds: play just one solid quarter.

And it turned out to be the team's best showing of the season.

Despite being outscored in two periods and playing even in the other, Steele Canyon rocked Hilltop by a 20-2 count in the third period, which was enough to subdue the Lancers in Saturday's (Dec. 20) Otay Ranch-Mater Dei Holiday Invitational contest played at Mater Dei.

JOSIAH SMITH got 4 steals in the 3rd quarter that led to layups for the Cougars. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound senior also knocked down 16 points, two more than teammate ERIC GILBERT.

“At the half I talked to the guys and our defense was really, really good in the 3rd quarter,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS. “We forced a lot of turnovers.”

Stephens noted that since the game was played at 9 a.m. the gym was really cold. By the same token, winning took the chill off.

“It was a pretty comfortable win and we needed it,” the coach said.

Steele Canyon scoring: Josiah Smith 16 (4 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl), Eric Gilbert 14 (4 reb, 3 stl), Zane Keith 11 (3 reb, 1 blk), Kaptan Kaster 8 (2 reb, 3 stl), Cameron Moss 7 (4 reb, 1 blk), Cameron Hubbard 2, Joey Kramer 1, Jeff Reid (2 reb, 3 stl).

SJC-ST. MARGARET’S 56, STEELE CANYON 52 – The shot clock at Mater Dei wasn’t working all day Saturday (Dec. 20) in the Otay Ranch-Mater Dei Holiday Invitational.

That hurt all involved, but it comes more into play when it is a close game like the Cougars’ second outing.

“With 58 seconds left we made a basket to pull within two points but since the shot clock wasn’t working, we had to foul,” Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS said.

Or St. Margaret’s of San Juan Capistrano could have simply dribbled around until time expired.

“They shoot really well and made their free throws at the end,” Stephens said. “If they’d had to score they wouldn’t have gotten a shot off.”

ERIC GILBERT paced the Cougars (1-7) with 19 points. The majority of his points came on five 3-pointers.

“The nice thing is that our football players are getting into the groove a little bit,” Stephens said. “Gilbert shot well today and played good defensively. It’s good to see him get his basketball legs.”

One thing that hampered Steele Canyon is JOSIAH SMITH was in foul trouble and thus contributed only 2 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals.

“Actually Smith and KAPTAN KASTER, two of our starters, picked up four fouls each and sat the second half of the 3rd quarter and some of the 4th,” Stephens said.

Steele Canyon scoring: Eric Gilbert 19 (3 reb), Jebari Robinson 10 (2 ast, 2 stl), Zane Keith 7 (5 reb, 4 blk), Kaptan Kaster 7, Cameron Moss 4, Jeff Reid 3 (2 reb), Josiah Smith 2 (2 reb, 2 stl).

HELIX 60, RED BLUFF 58 – Even when 6-foot-8 senior center LEVINE TOILOLO was limited to 9 points, the Helix Highlanders found a way to capture the 3rd place trophy in Saturday’s (Dec. 20) final day of the Red Bluff Holiday Classic.

Helix coach JOHN SINGER was pleased with the victory, but realizes Toilolo is going to have defenders all over him if he doesn’t get some scoring support from his teammates.

“Until we can hit some open shots, people are going to collapse on him,”

Singer said.

The Highlanders did hit the big one against Red Bluff. Senior guard JOUBERT BALLARD came off a high screen and drilled in the winning shot with 15 seconds left.

Ballard rang up a season high 18 points.

“He played well,” said Singer, whose Highlanders (4-4) won two of three in the Northern California tournament.

Helix scoring: Joubert Ballard 18, Jaylen Linson 10, Tommie Young 9, Levine Toilolo 9, Sam Meredith 8, Anthony Anderson 4, Yohanes Solomon 2.

VALHALLA 55, CLOVIS-BUCHANAN 47 – A change in the schedule of the opening round of the Bishop Gorman Holiday Classic in Las Vegas put the Valhalla Norsemen into the tournament’s toughest bracket, coach KEITH JACKSON would like to note.

So a 7th place finish against an eight-team field of national powers seems pretty satisfactory right now.

“This was the winner’s bracket,” said Jackson after the Norsemen knocked off Clovis Buchanan in Saturday’s (Dec. 20) battle for 7th place. “We played as tough a schedule as you can ask for. We played good teams in tough leagues. On Thursday we were supposed to play Oakland McClymonds but they didn’t show up so we played an exhibition game against Marin Catholic. It didn’t count but it did put us into the winner’s bracket.”

Valhalla had an 11-point lead in the second half and Buchanan narrowed it to 5 points, but the Norsemen (4-5) never surrendered the control.

JOSH AUSTEL (14 points, 4 rebounds), KYLE KRIEBEL (11 points, 11 rebounds, 5 blocks, 4 assists) and DAVID WILSCHETZ (9 points, 6 rebounds) carried the Norsemen inside. Guard AUSTEN SUHAY helped Valhalla defuse Buchanan’s pressing defense.

“They pressed us the whole game. Austen played really well, never came out of the game and made a couple of clutch free throws late in the game,” Jackson said. “He has a lot of heart, does a lot of good things for us.”

Jackson believes the Norsemen are better than their record.

“Our four losses are to teams that are ranked in their section,” Jackson reminded. “I don’t think our record is indicative of where we are at. I think we have played the toughest schedule overall of anyone around. Our guys are gaining confidence and are getting excited about league.”

Valhalla scoring: Josh Austel 14 (4 reb, 1 blk), Kyle Kriebel 11 (11 reb, 4 ast, 5 blk), David Wilschetz 9 (6 reb, 1 blk), Steven Kleist 8 (3 reb), Trevor Cahoon 5, Austin Suhay 5 (3 reb, 3 ast), David Zetts 3 (2 reb).

EL CAJON VALLEY 61, CHRISTIAN LIFE 43 – El Cajon Valley landed 9 three-pointers on its way to an easy victory over Christian Life Academy in Saturday’s (Dec. 20) Cougar Tournament at San Ysidro.

The Braves took a 25-9 lead in the 1st quarter and never looked back.

This was the second game of the day for the Braves (4-5).

“We did a very good job in the 1st half,” said El Cajon Valley coach JIM GLEBOFF of his Braves, who led 43-21 at the break. “We are a little more athletic than they are. They zoned us and we hit quite a few 3s (9 for the team).”

RAYLONDO FORD scored 22 points with more than 12 of them coming on 3-point shots. Ford has 8 threes in the last two games – 12 in the tournament.

“I think Ford had a great tournament,” Gleboff said. “He played well defensively. He’s been on fire. His shooting percentage has been phenomenal. He’s all over the floor defensively. He does make things happen.”

El Cajon Valley scoring: Raylando Ford 22, Jordan Shivers 17, Anthony Ussery 10, James Stone 4, Dominic Dove 4, Devin Lesch 2, Omar Hall 2.

MORSE 56, EL CAJON VALLEY 55 – For the second time this season the Braves suffered a one-point loss to Morse in Saturday’s (Dec. 20) matinee of the

Cougar Tournament at San Ysidro.

Despite falling behind 17-6 in the 1st quarter the Braves made a mad dash to the finish line, scoring the final 2 points of the game with 5 seconds left.

“We created a turnover and with 4 seconds left got a shot, but it didn’t go,” said Braves coach JIM GLEBOFF. “We got the rebound and got another shot but failed to score.”

RAYLONDO FORD scored a game-high 24 points – half coming on 4 buckets from above the arc.

DOMINIC DOVE added 10 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks for the Braves, while JORDAN SHIVERS settled for 15 points and 5 rebounds.

El Cajon Valley was not able to overcome its 27 turnovers compared to Morse’s 15.

“We are pretty wild – made a lot of bad decisions,” Gleboff said. “We are close but not close enough.”

El Cajon Valley scoring: Raylondo Ford 24 (5 reb), Jordan Shivers 15 (5 reb), Dominic Dove 10 (9 reb, 3 blk), Anthony Ussery 4, James Stone 2.

GROSSMONT 61, MONTE VISTA 44 – The Foothillers picked up their second win in the last three starts in Saturday’s (Dec. 20) Grossmont Winter Classic.

Had it not been for a one-point loss the night before, Grossmont (2-5) would be pushing .500 and riding a three-game winning streak.

“We pulled away early and maintained our lead throughout the whole game,” Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO said. “We showed good balance, everybody contributed. I was really pleased with our offense.”

DESEAN WATERS popped in 20 points to help the Foothillers reach their season scoring high for a game.

TRENT WATKINS scored a game-best 21 for Monte Vista (3-4). Included in Watkins’ totals were four 3-pointers.

Grossmont scoring: Desean Waters 20, Jacob Haar 10, Robbie Nesovic 8, Felipe Valdez 5, Billy Gange 5, Alex Ortiz 3, Jason Lakis 3, Clayton Rainey 2, Graham Hajosy 2, Alex Nesovic 2, Kevin Wright 1.

Monte Vista scoring: Trent Watkins 21, Tony Jackson 7, Anthony Dotson 7, Alvin Merriweather 5, Kevin Starling 2, Corey Parrish 2.

CRAWFORD 63, SANTANA 57 -- Left for dead at the starting line following a forgetful opening period, the Sultans roared back to tie their Grossmont Winter Classic contest before eventually falling to the Colts in Saturday’s (Dec. 20) contest.

Senior center CHRIS SODERGREN led the late charge with 20 points and a season-best 19 rebounds, but the inability to get to the foul line finally cost Santana (8-4).

"We again went through a 3-4 minute lull when we can't score," noted Sultans coach TIM BARRY. "The shots were there, but they just wouldn't go in."

Crawford (3-4) sprinted to a 25-12 lead through the first period -- "We had a meltdown," noted Barry -- until Santana grinded back. Sodergren registered a majority of his points in the third period to ignite the rally.

"It was a tough, physical game, but we didn't get to the foul line too often," added Barry. "We can stop those lulls by head-faking and drawing fouls to get to the foul line. That's an area we need to do better in."

When the Sultans got to the stripe, they converted, making 9-of-10 attempts. DAVID THRALL, who only officially collected four assists, made several other solid passes which gained free-throw opportunities for the Sultans.

"Chris, obviously played a great game, but David played a solid game, too," added Barry. "He handled the ball well and got through Crawford's pressure."

Thrall also scored 8 points, forward BRADLEY KLINE added 7, while freshman LANDON LAZOYA had 4 in his varsity debut.

Santana scoring: Chris Sodergren 20 (19 reb), David Thrall 8 (4 ast, 4 reb), Bradley Kline 7 (6 reb, 3 stl), Sean Doyle 5 (11 reb), Matt Lucius 5, Trey Bass 4 (9 reb), Landon Lazoya 4, Matt Gomez 2, Trevor Barkhimer 2.

SANTA FE CHRISTIAN 60, WEST HILLS 43 – Santa Fe Christian canned nine 3-pointers Saturday (Dec. 20) on its way to an Otay Ranch-Mater Dei Holiday Invitational victory at Otay Ranch.

The Wolf Pack fell behind by 20, but cut the deficit in two in the second half but never got closer.

GARRETT CABRAL hit 8 of 10 free throws on his way to a team-high 14 points to pace the Pack.

West Hills scoring: Garrett Cabral 14 (8 reb), Lucas Armstrong 11 (2 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), Mike Lifgren 6 (4 reb), Kyle McLaughlin 4 (2 stl), Chase Senter 3 (2 ast), Ryan Bozelle 2 (5 reb, 3 ast), Kevin Straub 2, Kyle Navarre 1 (2 ast).

OTAY RANCH 69, WEST HILLS 54 – Another balanced effort by West Hills in the second game of Saturday’s (Dec. 20) Otay Ranch-Mater Dei Holiday Invitational double-header at Otay Ranch.

MIKE LIFGREN (11 points, 5 rebounds) and GARRETT CABRAL (11 points, 4 rebounds) carried the Wolf Pack (2-5) in the rematch.

“Mike was out-running the floor and his teammates spotted him for several transition layups,” West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG said. “He was active on the offensive glass getting a couple of put-backs.”

It was the second time this season that Otay Ranch defeated West Hills. The Mustangs whipped the Wolf Pack 65-42 on Dec. 6.

West Hills scoring: Mike Lifgren 11 (5 reb), Garrett Cabral 11 (4 reb), Ryan Bozelle 10 (2 reb, 2 ast), Kevin Straub 8 (2 reb), Lucas Armstrong 5 (2 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk), Kellen Johnson 2, Kyle McLaughlin 2, Kyle Navarre 2 (3 reb, 2 stl), Adrian Maraziti 2, Chase Senter 2 (3 ast, 1 blk).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-20-08) — Counting Granite Hills out of the Grossmont South League race would be a mistake. While the Eagles did suffer some key losses to graduation, they’re proving they can play with some of the nation’s best during this weekend’s Bishop Gorman Holiday Classic in Las Vegas.

The Eagles (4-3) came close to sweeping a pair of Western state powerhouses on Friday (Dec. 19), but settled for a split.

GRANITE HILLS 58, RENO-GALENA 57 – The Eagles pounded the boards and claimed a 27-20 halftime lead in the 1st half against the team from Nevada.

“After getting beat so bad (by host Bishop Gorman by 42 points) I was real proud of the guys for coming back,” Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON said. “Our whole purpose to coming to this tournament was to play good competition and get better. We definitely did that today. We came through under pressure.”

In the last 3 minutes Granite Hills was 8-for-8 from the free throw line and was 16-for-20 in the game.

Senior DEAN MILLER rolled a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds while dishing 5 assists and blocking 5 shots. Miller hit a trio of treys and was 7-for-10 from the free throw line.

JOHN MONTES hammered in 11 points and grabbed 5 rebounds for the Eagles, and ANDRE LEWIS accounted for 10 points, 5 assists and 5 steals.

AARON HARRIS pulled down 10 rebounds.

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 20 (10 reb, 5 ast, 5 blk), John Montes 11 (5 reb), Andre Lewis 10 (5 ast, 5 stl), Aaron Harris 8 (10 reb), Kyle Snyder 6.

LV-DESERT PINES 80, GRANITE HILLS 66 – It’s not like he was complaining, but RANDY ANDERSON admitted that playing halves instead of quarters was as much a challenge to his players as to his coaches.

In the second game of Friday’s (Dec. 19) double-header of the Bishop Gorman Holiday Classic at Las Vegas the Eagles trailed Las Vegas Desert Pines only 37-36 at halftime.

“Playing halves gets kind of long – it eliminates two timeouts,” Anderson noted. “We played real well but defensively we were a little tired. There were some questionable calls and we were in a lot of foul trouble.”

DEAN MILLER scored 25 points, including 7 three-pointers to pace the Eagles. Miller, who has scored 65 points in the three tournament games, also had 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks and 3 steals.

AARON HARRIS led a solid supporting cast with 15 points and a dozen rebounds. Guard ANDRE LEWIS also had a sparkling outing with 10 points, 6 assists and 3 steals.

What Granite Hills could not overcome though was Desert Pines’ 11-0 scoring run to start the 2nd half. Even so, Granite Hills trailed by only 5 points with 3 minutes remaining.

“I was happy how we kept our composure when we fell behind,” Anderson said. “Then we came back about halfway through the 2nd half and went ahead by one point.”

Granite Hills trailed by just 5 points with 3 minutes left.

“We had to foul a lot and they kinda pulled away at the free throw line,” Anderson said.

Desert Pines was 23-for-31 on free throws compared to Granite Hills’ 4-for-7.

On the high side for Granite Hills, the Eagles shot better than 58 percent on 3-pointers (14-for-24).

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 25 (12 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk, 3 stl), Aaron Harris 15 (12 reb), Kyle Snyder 11 (7 ast), Andre Lewis 10 (12 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl), John Montes 4, Parker Dow 3.

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 92, SAN PASQUAL 53 – The Knights' bench had a field day in the fourth quarter, out-scoring the Golden Eagles by a 27-10 count -- better than the starters did in the first three periods -- to power Foothills Christian to victory in the opening round of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

"Most of the JV guys got in the game tonight and most of them scored, so that was a lot of fun for them," noted Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. "WESLEY BAERTSCH came into the game and immediately hit a trey, SAL ROMEN hit a baseline jumper on a nice, little head fake, and HENRY LUSCHEI made a nice finish on a bucket while being fouled."

Prior to the bench-clearing, it was the usual suspects for Foothills Christian (5-1).

Defending CIF-San Diego Section scoring champion TROY LEAF tallied 34 points in three periods of action, while center JVONTE BROOKS collected 14 points and 19 rebounds in less than 20 minutes of action.

The Knights also continued to make a dent in the CIFSDS record book.

Leading the way was guard KALOB HATCHER, who registered a triple-double with 20 points, 16 assists and 10 steals.

"Kalob had a great performance," noted the coach. "He moved the ball well -- the whole team did really -- and he assisted on nearly every basket other than a few breakaways on steals."

Hatcher's assists give him 644 career helpers, moving into fifth place on the all-time list. He also now owns 378 steals, good for sixth on the CIFSDS list.

In addition, BRANDON HALE (10 points) drilled a trio of 3-point shots to break into the section's Top 10 rankings.

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 34 (7 reb, 4 ast), Kalob Hatcher 20 (16 ast, 10 stl, 6 reb), Jvonte Brooks 14 (11 reb), Brandon Hale 10, Henry Luschei 5, Mike Wnek 4, Wesley Baertsch 3, Sal Romen 2.

EL CAJON VALLEY 83, IMPERIAL 66 – There are those in East County who believe El Cajon Valley should be the preseason favorite in the Grossmont North League race this season. One thing for sure is the Braves have plenty of scoring punch as they proved in Friday’s (Dec. 19) San Ysidro Cougar Tournament romp over Imperial.

Junior JORDAN SHIVERS, a transfer from Compton Dominguez Hills, scored 30 points – 26 in the first three periods – to drive the Braves (3-4) to the run-and-gun victory.

RAYLONDO FORD rocketed in 22 points, hitting a pair of 3-pointers in the process.

ANTHONY USSERY turned in a powerful game for the Braves, tossing in 10 points (majority coming on a pair of treys), 12 rebounds, 6 assists and 7 blocks.

“Ussery is doing an all-around good job – it’s just amazing,” said El Cajon Valley coach JIM GLEBOFF. “With his blocked shots and rebounding he was a force for us.”

Gleboff also praised the work of JAMES STONE and JESSE DAMMAN for their defensive contributions.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Jordan Shivers 30, Raylondo Ford 22, Anthony Ussery 10 (12 reb, 6 ast, 7 blk), Dominic Dove 9, Jesse Damman 8, James Stone 2, Avery Anderson 2.

DENVER-EAST 69, VALHALLA 50 – One thing is certain about the Valhalla Norsemen – they aren’t playing a soft preseason schedule.

Facing two-time defending Colorado state champion Denver East (5-2) in Friday’s (Dec. 19) Bishop Gorman Holiday Classic at Las Vegas, Valhalla

made a game of it for at least one half, trailing only 28-22 at intermission.

“We hung with them and we should have been even closer but we missed two free throws right at the end of the first half,” Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON said.

Despite the lopsided defeat, Jackson said the 28 second-half points were the most Valhalla has scored in a 16-minute span.

“I heard they’re ranked No. 5 in their state, and they remind me of an El Camino or a Helix team of two years ago,” Jackson added. “They got real physical in the second half. But basically we traded baskets – we just couldn’t make a move on them.”

Valhalla scoring: Kyle Kriebel 14 (2 ast, 1 blk), Austen Suhay 13 (5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), David Wilschetz 7 (6 reb, 1 blk), Josh Austel 6 (2 reb, 3 blk), David Zetts 4, Steven Kleist 3 (3 reb, 2 ast), Trevor Cahoon 2 (2 reb), Brett Miller 1, Jordan Cunningham (1 blk).

COMPTON-DOMINGUEZ 54, VALHALLA 45 – When the Norsemen arrived at the hotel and climbed out of their van on Thursday, they didn’t realize that Compton-Dominguez had arrived at the same time.

“When I saw those guys I thought there must be a college tournament in town as well,” recalled Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. “I thought to myself those guys looked like a Division I basketball team.”

Jackson and the Norsemen found out that the players they’d seen a couple days earlier represented an undefeated California state power, a nationally ranked Top 10 team from Dominguez as they faced off against them Friday (Dec. 19) afternoon in the Bishop Gorman Holiday Classic at Las Vegas.

“They are faster but we are bigger,” Jackson said. “So it made for an interesting match-up.”

Valhalla (3-5) led 25-20 with 5 minutes to go in the 1st half, but Dominguez Hills (8-0) outscored them 10-2 to take a 3-point halftime lead.

“We did a good job of taking away the transition buckets from them,” said Jackson. “We were much improved on defense.”

However the closest Valhalla got in the 2nd half was 45-39.

“I’m always unhappy when we lose, but I thought we did a pretty nice job against a really good team.”

Valhalla scoring: Austen Suhay 11, David Wilschetz 11 (9 reb, 1 blk), Kyle Kriebel 9 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), David Zetts 6 (3 reb), Josh Austel 4 (2 reb), Trevor Cahoon 4, Steven Kleist (2 reb, 2 ast), Jevan Georges (2 reb).

BONITA VISTA 42, GROSSMONT 41 – One small sample of the season of frustration for the Grossmont Foothillers took another turn for the worse during Friday's (Dec. 19th) opening round of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

Case in point: point guard FELIPE VALDEZ. For three periods, Valdez' shooting matched that of many of his teammates, connecting on just 1-of-8 shots from the floor. But when the senior drained consecutive shots, including a 3-point basket with 27 seconds to play, suddenly a comeback against visiting Bonita Vista seemed plausible.

And when the Barons missed the front end of a one-and-one with 4.7 seconds left, Hillers forward JAKE HAAR kicked out the rebound to Valdez, who had enough time to dribble to the 3-point line for an attempt at the game-winning shot.

But remember, this is a young Grossmont team still learning how to win.

Valdez jumped, but on the way to releasing the shot, the ball slipped from his grasp. No shot; no time remaining; and another disappointing setback.

"We got extremely lucky," said Barons junior forward Zack Sanchez, who scored a game-high 13 points but missed the late foul shot. "But when you win by one, then everyone who scored helped us win the game.'

Bonita Vista held a slight edge throughout the final game statistics, shooting 41 percent compared to 32 for Grossmont, with the Barons winning the rebound battle, 36-31.

“Before, we played separately, but now we played together and kept them down," Sanchez added.

The Foothillers jumped out to a quick 15-9 lead, but shot just 10-for-34 the rest of the way. They also failed to extend the lead with sub-.500 shooting from the foul line.

Haar, in just his second contest, paced Grossmont with 11 points and three steals, while BILLY GANGE added 8 points, 6 boards and 3 assists.

Grossmont scoring: Jake Haar 11 (5 reb, 3 stl), Felipe Valdez 9 (6 reb, 5 ast), Billy Gange 8 (6 reb, 3 ast), Jason Lakis 4, Alex Ortiz 3, Desean Waters 3, Drew Forehand 3.

WESTVIEW 47, SANTANA 43 – Injury-riddled Santana came out swinging against visiting Westview in Friday’s (Dec. 19) first round of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

The Sultans (8-3) maneuvered to a 21-10 lead in the second quarter but could not sustain the momentum.

“We hit a lull and just couldn’t make any shots after that,” Santana coach TIM BARRY said.

Even in defeat Barry found something to be pleased about since his team finally was able to string together three consecutive days of practice without a game interruption.

“One thing we did I really am pleased about,” Barry said. “I told my guys I always want to work a play and take the final shot in every quarter. We were able to do that in this game.”

Santana junior guard MATT GOMEZ connected for a 3-pointer which chopped a 36-30 deficit in half to close the third quarter.

“We made just one, but that’s OK, because at least we were able to get the last shot all four quarters,” Barry added. “The main thing is I can see growth.”

Gomez shared high-point honors with CHRIS SODERGREN at 13.

“What hurt us was Westview’s two post players (Phil Gruber and Peter Rubis) scored 36 points between them,” Barry said.

Santana learned it will not have the services of 6-foot-5 senior JAMES NEEDY – out with an injury – for at least four weeks.

Santana scoring: Matt Gomez 13, Chris Sodergren 13 (5 reb), Sean Doyle 6, Bradley Cline 4 (3 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl), Trey Bass 3 (5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Trevor Barkhimer 2 (5 reb, 2 stl), David Thrall 2.

RAMONA 66, WEST HILLS 62 (OT) – The Wolf Pack was sitting on a five-point lead and had possession of the basketball with 1:30 remaining in regulation of Friday’s (Dec. 19) Otay Ranch-Mater Dei Holiday Tournament game against Ramona.

At that point, West Hills (2-3) turned the ball over three consecutive times enabling the Bulldogs to create a 59-59 tie. A late foul call against West Hills gave Ramona a chance to win, but the Bulldogs missed a free throw with 1.7 seconds left.

In overtime Ramona did all of its scoring from the free throw line, clicking on 7 of 8 shots. West Hills countered with a bucket and one free throw.

The Pack was whistled for 25 fouls and turned the ball over 26 times.

“It’s hard to win with those kind of numbers,” West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG said.

West Hills scoring: Garrett Cabral 18 (7 reb), Ryan Bozelle 12 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Chase Senter 10 (7 ast, 3 stl), Mike Lifgren 7 (2 reb), Kevin Straub 5 (2 reb), Kyle Navarre 4 (4 reb, 4 stl), Kyle McLaughlin 4 (4 reb, 1 blk), Adrian Maraziti 2 (2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Lucas Armstrong (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk).

SOUTH MEDFORD (Ore.) 56, HELIX 51 – If the Highlanders could have erased the second quarter they might have knocked off one of the top three teams in Oregon in Friday’s (Dec. 19) faceoff against South Medford in the Red Bluff Holiday Classic.

E.J. Singler, brother of Carl Singler who starts for Duke University, and a cousin play for South Medford (4-0). E.J. Singler is going to Oregon on a full scholarship, and he burned the Highlanders (3-4) for 20 points.

“They are a good team – polished, play together year-round, and we have had just two practices (with all of their players),” Helix assistant coach ANDY MERIDETH said.

Helix grabbed a 15-11 first-quarter advantage, but South Medford used a second-quarter surge to forge in front 31-23 by intermission.

“We just couldn’t get a couple of shots to fall at the end,” Meredith said. “It was a battle – we just grinded and grinded them.”

“JAYLEN LINSON played a great game. He covered E.J. Singler – held him to 20 points. Singler got his points down the stretch – kept their team in the game.”

Linson also tallied 12 points, three fewer than LEVINE TOILOLO for the Highlanders.

“Once our football guys get their timing down we will be a good team,” Merideth said. “I wouldn’t want to play against us in January.”

Helix scoring: Levine Toilolo 15, Jaylen Linson 12, Joubert Ballard 9, Tommie Young 7, Dimitar Topalov 3, Jake Reed 2, Anthony Anderson 2, Sam Meredith 1.

CHRISTIAN 77, TEMECULA PREP 29 – The Patriots (3-4) scored a season-high without benefit of hitting a single 3-pointer Friday (Dec. as they smoked Temecula Prep in the final round of the Cornerstone Tournament in Wildomar.

ERICK ALLEN, a 6-foot-4 junior, scored a career high 16 points to pace the Patriots, who also received a career-best 15 from AARON WHITTEN. Season-leader LUIZ BIDART spun in 15 more, while STEVEN PITTS popped in 10.

“It seems like almost all of our points came inside the paint,” said Christian assistant coach JOEL ALLEN. “We had lots of second chances.”

Christian scoring: Erick Allen 16, Luiz Bidart 15, Aaron Whitten 15, Steven Pitts 10, Taylor Eichhorst 8, Jake Larsen 5, Ronnie Richards 4, Tyrone Sauls 4.

RANCHO BERNARDO 65, MONTE VISTA 28 – It was a long night for the Monarchs (3-3), who once trailed Rancho Bernardo 46-12 in Friday’s (Dec. 19) opening round of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

No other information was available.

© East County Sports.com
RED BLUFF (12-19-08) — It’s not uncommon for basketball coaches to talk about the impact athletes coming out of their school’s football program will have on the hardwood. In some cases it’s a plea; in others it’s a fact.

Take the Helix Highlanders for example. Coach JOHN SINGER welcomed a handful of football players to his basketball team and their influence was immediate.

Six-foot-8 LEVINE TOILOLO, a first team All-East County tight end and defensive end bound who is bound for Stanford, scored 20 points, grabbed a dozen rebounds and fly-swatted 6 shots as the Highlanders opened Thursday’s (Dec. 18) Red Bluff Holiday Classic with a 55-52 victory over Paradise.

“We’ve only had our football players for about one and a half practices,” said Helix assistant coach ANDY MERIDETH. “I mean, that half practice was 45 minutes before we played our first game up here.”

It was a Jekyll & Hyde act for Helix. The Highlanders (2-3) took a 14-5 first quarter lead but then fell behind when Paradise claimed a 17-4 scoring edge in the 3rd period.

Helix rebounded on the strength of 12 Toilolo points to gain a 23-14 fourth quarter scoring advantage to gain the win.

“For his first game back Toilolo was a monster out there,” Merideth said. “He still has his football legs, like he’s running around out there on football cleats. But it’s obvious the impact he makes and you can see what he’s going to do for us down the road.”

Helix played this game without two players that started the first four games for the Highlanders – post PATRICK WINSTON, who earned All-Hilltop Tournament honors, and senior guard TERRANCE COLE.

“We left those guys behind because they needed to finish their finals,” said Merideth. “They could have rushed through their schoolwork and possibly risked becoming ineligible the whole season. But we didn’t want that. It was a mutual decision between all of us that they remain at home to get their schoolwork done.”

“At one time in this game we had four sophomores on the floor,” Merideth added.

Helix scoring: Levine Toilolo 20, Joubert Ballard 9, Dimitar Topalov 7, Sean Linton 7, Tommie Young 6, Yohanes Solomon 2, Sam Meredith 2, Anthony Anderson 2.

Kentfield-MARIN CATHOLIC 40, VALHALLA 37 – After traveling through patches of snow and heavy traffic, the Norsemen were somewhat sluggish when they walked onto the floor for Thursday’s (Dec. 18) Bishop Gorman Holiday Classic at Las Vegas.

“It took us about eight hours to get here,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. “A lot of stop and go.”

For the first three minutes, it was all stop for the Norsemen (3-2), who fell behind 10-0. After that the chase was on. But credit the Norsemen for catching and passing the Wildcats in the final seconds.

Junior DAVID ZETTS hit a 3-pointer to vault Valhalla into a 37-36 lead with 35 seconds to play. Marin Catholic countered by connecting on a 1-and-1 free throw opportunity to regain the lead.

Then came the key play of the game when Valhalla’s TREVOR CAHOON rebounded a Marin miss and appeared to be fouled as he fell out of bounds. However, no foul was called, much to the ire of Jackson and the Norsemen.

“I think he got pushed,” Jackson said. “If we get that call Trevor gets 2 free throws. But that’s the way it goes when you’re on the road.”

KYLE KRIEBEL paced Valhalla with 11 points and 9 rebounds.

“They had us pinned down 36-26 and then we went on an 11-0 run,” Jackson said. “We had multiple shots to win it, but we just couldn’t get the winner to fall. I have to credit our defensive play for keeping us in the game.”

Valhalla scoring: Kyle Kriebel 11 (9 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Austin Suhay 8 (3 reb, 3 ast), David Zetts 7, Josh Austel 4 (3 reb, 1 blk), Jordan Cunningham 3, Steven Kleist 3 (5 reb), Jevan Georges (1 blk), Trevor Cahoon 1 (4 reb, 2 blk), David Wilschetz (3 reb).

MAR VISTA 55, STEELE CANYON 51 – The winless Cougars (0-6), who keep getting closer to breaking into the victory column, took a 12-3 lead over Mar Vista in Thursday’s (Dec. 18) Otay Ranch-Mater Dei Holiday Invitational at Mater Dei.

But 27 turnovers cost them a shot at pulling out a victory. Missing all 10 of their 3-point tries didn’t help, either.

But second-year coach DEREK STEPHENS can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“We don’t know how to win yet,” he said. “The nice thing is we did get 19 assists (7 apiece by JEBARI ROBINSON and JOSIAH SMITH). Josiah had a great all-around game.”

Senior post CAMERON MOSS paced the Cougars with 16 points, while Smith tapped in 10 points and snagged 7 rebounds. ZANE KEITH also reeled in 7 rebounds.

“Once we get a win under our belt it will help our confidence,” Stephens said.

Steele Canyon scoring: Cameron Moss 16 (4 reb), Josiah Smith 10 (7 reb, 7 ast, 3 stl), Zane Keith 8 (7 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk), Jebari Robinson 7 (6 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl), Eric Gilbert 6 (2 reb), Kaptan Kaster 4 (2 stl), Joey Kramer (2 reb).

WESTERN CHRISTIAN 53, CHRISTIAN 48 – Trailing by 10 at the halftime break in Thursday’s (Dec. 18) Cornerstone Tournament game in Wildomar, the Christian Patriots – led by LUIZ BIDART’s 29 points – scrambled back to create a 48-48 tie with 2:30 remaining.

From that point on the Patriots (2-4) shot blanks, including an 0-for-4 effort from the free throw stripe.

“Western got some late shots because we didn’t box out on free throws,” Christian assistant coach JOEL ALLEN said. “On the bright side, we committed only two turnovers in the second half after making 12 in the first half.”

Christian scoring: Luiz Bidart 29, Taylor Eichhorst 13, Aaron Whitten 2, Erick Allen 2, Stevens Pitts 2.

LAS VEGAS-BISHOP GORMAN 80, GRANITE HILLS 38 – This was no contest.

Not that Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON was expecting any miracles when his Eagles (3-2) faced Las Vegas powerhouse Bishop Gorman in Thursday’s (Dec. 18) Holiday Classic in the Silver City.

“They have lightning quick guards who forced us to take a lot of shots we didn’t want to take,” Anderson said. “We committed a lot of turnovers against their half-court trap.”

Senior DEAN MILLER rolled a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds. He nailed a trio of 3-balls and was 7-for-7 from the free throw line.

In this tournament, the game was broken into halves rather than quarters. The Cougars of Bishop Gorman led 38-15 by intermission and it was more of the same in the second half.

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 20 (10 reb), Aaron Harris 8 (7 reb), Andre Lewis 4 (4 ast), Kyle Snyder 2, Ronnie Von Hagen 2, Devin Conner 2.

OCEANSIDE 66, EL CAJON VALLEY 56 – For one half anyway, El Cajon Valley was holding its own against Oceanside in Thursday’s (Dec. 18) San Ysidro Cougar Tournament opener in South Bay. The Braves (3-3) carried a 26-24 edge into the third quarter and then ran out of steam.

The Pirates used a 27-14 third quarter burst to pull away. El Cajon Valley fought back to cut the deficit to four.

“We had our chances,” El Cajon Valley coach JIM GLEBOFF said.

The Braves received solid scoring efforts from Jordan Shivers (26 points), Raylondo Ford (15) and Anthony Ussery (11). Ussery also blocked 6 shots.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Jordan Shivers 26, Raylondo Ford 15, Anthony Ussery 11 (6 blk), Jesse Damman 2, Devin Lesch 2.

EL CAPITAN AT MOUNTAIN EMPIRE – Postponed/Snow.

© East County Sports.com
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO (12-18-08) — The final seconds provided some kind of chess match in a nonleague game at Junipero Serra High Wednesday night (Dec. 17). Visiting Foothills Christian and the host Lions used 8 timeouts over the last 25 seconds, half of them coming in the final 13 ticks.

It was a subtle move by Foothills Christian coach BRAD LEAF that eventually led to checkmate and a 59-58 victory for the Knights (5-1)

The final five points of the night were registered by the Knights, including a pair of free throws by TROY LEAF with four seconds remaining that gave his side the final edge. Best part about it was Leaf connected on both ends of a 1-and-1.

With 13 seconds left, Serra’s Taylor Wetherell hit a pair of free throws to put the Lions up 58-54. On the ensuing drive, Leaf drove the lane and kicked the ball out to MIKE WNEK who drained a 3 with 7.2 seconds to play.

After a time out, Foothills immediately fouled Winston Coggins to send him to the line with Serra leading 58-57. Coggins missed the first of two free throws and coach Leaf subbed physical 6-foot-2 rebounder RYAN SMITH. Coggins missed the second free throw as well.

Smith grabbed the rebound with 5.3 seconds to play, and Foothills called another time out. The ball was eventually inbounded to Leaf who dribbled up the right sideline and was fouled by Coggins. Leaf, who tallied 23 points, was 9 of 10 from the charity stripe. He was a perfect 6-for-6 in the fourth quarter.

"We took one from them that they should have won,” coach Leaf said. “We gave it away, but then we took it back."

Serra’s Alec Williams, who like Leaf has committed to SDSU, got off a running 3-point shot which hit the rim and bounced away. Williams finished with a game high 27 points. SDSU basketball coach STEVE FISHER was on hand to watch his future recruits in action.

JVONTE BROOKS added 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Knights, while KALOB HATCHER dropped in 12 points and dished 10 assists. Most of those marks came in the first half.

Foothills Christian was sitting on a 38-27 halftime lead, but had to scramble in the end to post what is its biggest win to date in terms of positioning for the state Division V playoffs.

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 23 (9 reb, 3 ast, 4 blk 2 stl), Jvonte Brooks 14 (13 reb, 3 blk), Kalob Hatcher 12 (6 reb, 10 ast, 4 stl), Mike Wnek 6, Brandon Hale 4 (4 reb, 2 ast).

LINFIELD CHRISTIAN 64, CHRISTIAN 58 (OT) – The visiting Patriots of Christian were whistled for 34 fouls and finished the overtime period with only three players on the floor in Wednesday’s (Dec. 17) Cornerstone Tournament loss to Linfield Christian in Wildemar.

“Worst officiated game I’ve ever been associated with,” said Christian coach KELVIN STARR, referring to the difference in foul totals (Linfield had 12). Five Christian players fouled out.

The Lions of Temecula’s Linfield Christian netted 21 of 35 free throws compared to Christian’s 8 of 11.

Ironically, it was LUIZ BIDART’s ability to hit a pair of 1-and-1s in the final minute that enabled Christian (2-3) to forced the overtime. Bidart finished with a game high 20 points, but was disqualified early in the four-minute overtime when he was called for his 5th offensive foul.

As it was, the Patriots began the extra session with only four players on the court before Bidart checked out. Not surprisingly, the 5-on-3 matchup resulted in a 6-0 scoring advantage for the Lions.

The Patriots took a 20-11 first quarter lead and were still in control 47-35 after three quarters. The whistles were almost non-stop after that, as the Lions roared to score 29 of the final 40 points.

Christian scoring: Luiz Bidart 20, Taylor Eichhorst 10, Ronnie Richards 9, Erick Allen 8, Aaron Whitten 7, Steven Pitts 2, Tyrone Sauls 2.

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (12-16-08) -- Bruised and bloodied, El Capitan forward JON MOLZEN added to his long menu of gashes, lacerations and assorted contusions.

"I got taken out and hit the ground, hurting my wrist," Molzen recalled. "And my chin, well, I don't know what happened."

For Molzen, it was all in a day's work Monday (Dec. 15). Forced from the contest twice -- once with a bleeding chin -- only to return to pace the Vaqueros (6-4) past Santana, 69-60, in pool play action of the San Diego D-III Challenge at Foster Gymnasium.

Molzen finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, as El Capitan used a 9-0 run in the third quarter to break open what was otherwise an even -- and sloppy -- contest.

"We have a lot to work on and get ready for our next game," noted Molzen. "At least we had a little practice after school so we knew what's going on to play Santana."

The game plan was simple: drive to the hoop, then either shoot or kick the ball out for a 3-point attempt. However, with the Sultans (8-2) standing around on defense in the early going, the contest soon turned into a foul-shooting exhibition -- El Cap alone went 16-for-23 in the first half.

Still, the Sultans got even before the period ended. Forward CHRIS SODERGREN registered nine of his 17 points over the final five minutes of the first period. Teammate JAMES NEEDY added 14 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

But in the third period, moments after the Sultans pulled even at 39-all on a 3-point basket by TREVOR BARKHIMER, El Capitan began its spurt.

ARMON WORRELL scored his lone basket on the drive for a layin, then NICK SANCHEZ accounted for five straight points over three possessions on a putback bucket, a foul shot, then a pass to a wide-open MICHAEL LANDIS for a baseline jumper.

"We were just attacking the middle, trying to get layups and get them into foul trouble," said Vaqueros guard MICHAEL OVERSON, the game's leading scorer with 21. "They'll probably be better the next time we see them, so we have to keep getting better."

El Capitan scoring: Michael Overson 21 (8 reb), Nick Sanchez 15 (10 reb), Jon Molzen 14 (10 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl), Michael Landis 7, Andrew Cable 6, Jake Zawlacki 4 (3 blk), Armon Worrell 2.

Santana scoring: Chris Sodergren 16 (8 reb), James Needy 14 (10 reb), Trey Bass 9, Sean Doyle 7, Trevor Barkhimer 6 (4 reb), David Thrall 5, Bradley Kline 3.

MOUNT MIGUEL 42, CLAIREMONT 39 (OT) – It didn’t start out as a good day for the Mount Matadors, but ended up on the bright side. Sure, it took a four-minute overtime session for the visiting Matadors to post just their second win in 11 starts during Monday’s (Dec. 15) San Diego D-III Challenge contest.

After Mount Miguel ’s JOHNNY NORTON hit 2 free throws to send the game into overtime, ANTHONY STANFORD hit a game-winning 3-pointer with three seconds left in OT.

It was Stanford’s second 3-pointer of the OT and third in the game. DONTE ALLEN also hit a pair of free throws to complete the extra session scoring.

“It was a sluggish game,” Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT said. “The bus was late – we had to cancel the JV game.”

Mount Miguel scoring: Anthony Stanford 12 (3 stl), Johnny Norton 11 (6 ast), Donte Allen 9, Rudy Burruel 6, Yuel Hagos 2, Keith Houston 1 (3 stl).

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (12-14-08) — El Capitan second-year head coach JASON CAVAZOS doesn’t have dreams of running away with the Grossmont North League championship, but based on the first nine games of the campaign, he believes it’s a possibility.

Led by JON MOLZEN’s 24 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, the Vaqueros knocked off visiting Mount Miguel 65-60 in Saturday’s (Dec. 13) San Diego D-III Challenge.

“It was a good game for us,” said Cavazos. “It’s early in the year and we need to learn how to put a whole game together, not just play good at times. Our team can compete with anybody or we can lose, too. Consistency is something we need to work on.”

Molzen scored 13 of the Vaqueros’ second-half points.

Sophomore ROBERT CRAIGHEAD, a varsity football player, was promoted to the basketball varsity by Cavazos earlier this week. Craighead, a 6-foot-3, 205-pounder, shared team-high rebounding honors with ARMON WORRELL at 10 apiece.

“I just moved Craighead up from JV – today was his second game,” Cavazos said. “He can do a lot of things. He starts for us – I’m not going to bring him up to sit on the bench. Varsity games are a lot different from JV. He’s going to be a big part of what we are going to try to accomplish by the end of the year.”

What El Capitan (5-4) accomplished Saturday was the ability to win a scoring fest against the Matadors. Worrell completed his double-double with 11 points for El Capitan.

“As long as the kids can get better, then I think we will have a chance to compete with anybody in our league,” said Cavazos. “That’s our ultimate goal: to win league.”

For Mount Miguel it’s been plenty of offense and no defense, which computes to the Matadors’ 1-9 record.

The only advantage the Matadors had over El Capitan was 3-point shooting. The Matadors nailed eight 3-balls from above the arc, with RUDY BURREUL leading the way with 3.

YUEL HAGOS hit a pair of treys, as did JOHNNY NORTON.

KEITH HOUSTON hit another.

“We score enough points to win almost every game, but this is varsity basketball, not AAU third-grade ball,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT.

“We don’t play any defense. We’re not mentally ready to play defense. They don’t understand how to get ready to win a game. I guess that’s my fault for not emphasizing the importance of playing consistent defense. Until we care about stopping people we won’t win.”

El Capitan scoring: Jon Molzen 24 (7 reb, 5 ast), Armon Worrell 11 (10 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Michael Overson 8, Jake Zawlacki 8, Andrew Cable 6 (5 reb, 2 ast), Robert Craighead 4 (10 reb, 2 ast), Johnathan Kulp 2, Michael Landis 2, Will Radasa (3 reb).

Mount Miguel scoring: Johnny Norton 13, Donte Allen 12, Anthony Stanford 10, Rudy Burruel 9, Keith Houston 7, Yuel Hagos 6, Bryant Mitchell 2, Caesar 1.

KEARNY 68, SANTANA 46 – Coach TIM BARRY knew it would happen sooner or later, that his Santana Sultans would see their winning streak come to a halt. And so it did Saturday night (Dec. 13) in Santee when the fast-breaking Komets used their superior speed to snap Santana’s eight-game winning streak in a San Diego D-III Challenge match-up.

“This brought us back to earth a little,” said Barry said. “ Kearny is a Division III team to be reckoned with down the line.”

The Komets (4-0) knocked out a 20-8 first quarter lead, but the Sultans fought back to trail by only 10 at intermission.

“We were down by 8 points with 33 seconds left in the first half and we’re working for the last shot,” Barry said. “Then we take a terrible shot. Kearny gets the rebound and converts at the other end. Instead of being down by possibly five, we trail by 10.”

Kearny nailed 8 three-pointers in the contest, while Santana committed a season high 26 turnovers.

“In our injury situation it’s hard for us to play man,” Barry said. “By the same token our zone effort was lazy. But overall I feel good how we’ve played so far.”

Santana scoring: Chris Sodergren 10 (8 reb), Bradley Kline 8 (6 reb), James Needy 7 (6 reb), David Thrall 7 (2 reb), Trey Bass 5 (2 reb, 2 stl, 6 ast), Sean Doyle 4 (4 reb), Jason Dale 3, Matt Lucius 2.

Tri-City Christian Tournament
CHRISTIAN def. GUAJOME PARK – No report.
CHRISTIAN def. TRI-CITY CHRISTIAN – No report.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-13-08) — For one of the few times this season, the Grossmont Foothillers started fast and built a 31-16 lead over visiting Mt. Carmel, going on to get their first victory in five starts in Friday’s (Dec. 12) Eastlake Titan Roundball Tipoff.

DESEAN WATERS gunned in 20 points as the Hillers paraded to a 57-40 win over the Sundevils.

“Our man pressure hurt them quite a bit,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “In the 2nd quarter we pulled away – had a 15-point lead at halftime – and they never caught us. We led by 21 points at one time.”

Mt. Carmel made a comeback bid in the 2nd half but the Foothillers held their ground. Waters scored 11 of Grossmont’s 14 points in the final period.

“Every time they scored, he would come down and score,” Foggiano said.

Grossmont is used to winning, as was obvious in last year’s 20-8 finish. Foggiano is not expecting miracles, but he believes his team will begin to make a move soon.

Senior guard BILLY GANGE added 13 points, a team-best 8 rebounds and 3 steals.

“Gange played very good defense and rebounded well for us tonight,” Foggiano added.

Grossmont scoring: Desean Waters 20 (2 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Billy Gange 13 (8 reb, 3 stl), Robbie Nesovic 5 (6 reb, 2 stl), Felipe Valdez 4 (2 ast, 2 stl), Jacob Haar 4 (4 reb), Graham Hadjosy 4 (4 reb), Craig Henderson 3 (3 reb), Clayton Rainey 2 (2 reb), Drew Forehand 2 (2 ast, 2 stl).

MONTE VISTA 41, POINT LOMA 39 – GEOFF HARTMAN, who grabbed 18 rebounds, scored 11 points and dished 4 assists was the main cog in Monte Vista’s victory over Point Loma in Friday’s (Dec. 12) 3rd-place game of the Hilltop Classic.

Hartman, a 6-foot-4 senior, was a hawk on the offensive boards, where he collected 18 caroms against the Pointers – 12 offensive. Hartman’s steady play for the Monarchs’ (3-2) earned him an All-Tournament Team berth in the Hilltop Classic.

Junior DERWIN PETTEWAY also crashed the boards for a dozen rebounds – 8 of them offensive – as Monte Vista finished with 50 rebounds in the game.

Six-foot-4 junior TONY JACKSON also banged the boards for 10 rebounds – half of them coming on the offensive end.

“I’m really pleased with the way we pounded the boards, especially the offensive boards,” said Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL.

Point Loma (2-3) led throughout the 1st half and had the Monarchs down 23-22 at halftime.

The pivotal period in the contest was the 3rd when Monte Vista gained a 12-6 edge.

TRENT WATKINS supplied the firepower in the critical 3rd quarter when he hit a trio of 3-pointers. Watkins also led the Monarchs with 6 assists.

When analyzed statistically, this was a strange game. Monte Vista shot only 25 percent (12-of-48) from the field and connected on only half of their 22 free throws. From a shooting sense, their strong point was that the Monarchs were on target on 6-of-14 shots from above the arc.

“We were strong on defense tonight,” added Carroll.

Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 11 (18 reb, 4 ast), Derwin Petteway 8 (12 reb), Alvin Merriweather 5 (2 reb, 2 ast), Tony Jackson 4 (10 reb), Brandon Tillet 2 (2 reb), Chris Jones 1 (2 ast), Aaron Burns (2 reb).

HELIX 60, HILLTOP 35 – After having been scorched in their opening three games of the season, the Highlanders suddenly find themselves on a 2-game winning streak following Friday’s (Dec. 12) knockout of the host team in the Hilltop Classic.

PATRICK WINSTON was a force inside for the Highlanders, hitting 7-of-9 shots from the floor on his way to a 15 point night. A 6-foot-5 senior, Winston gobbled up 15 rebounds, blocked 3 shots, made 3 steals and dished 3 assists.

Sophomore JAYLEN LINSON also rolled a double-double for the Highlanders, canning 15 points and garnering 10 rebounds.

TERRANCE COLE, a senior guard, netted half of his 8 shots from the field en route to an 11-point night. He also collected 6 rebounds and handed out 4 scoring passes.

The big number that caught the eye of Helix head coach JOHN SINGER was the Highlanders’ turnover count – 8.

“We’ve been averaging more than 20 in our first four games, so this has to be a good sign. We played pretty well tonight, very good defense. Hilltop couldn’t stop us. We were pretty efficient on both ends of the floor. We had good patience to get it inside and defensively we were outstanding.”

The Highlanders outscored the Lancers in all four quarters, turning the game into a blowout with a 21-4 scoring spread in the 3rd period.

Helix scoring: Patrick Winston 15 (15 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 3 blk), Jaylen Linson 15 (10 reb), Terrance Cole 11 (6 reb, 4 ast), Yohanes Solomon 8, Tommie Young 4, Joubert Ballard 3 (5 reb, 3 ast), Darien Peterson 2, Dimitar Topalov 2 (3 reb), John Singer (2 reb, 2 ast), Tommie Young (2 ast).

EL CAPITAN 51, CLAIREMONT 38 – Nothing the El Capitan Vaqueros have done so far has put a scare into their Grossmont North League opponents.

But second-year Vaqueros head coach JASON CAVAZOS believes his club is meshing well and could make a run for the GNL after Friday’s (Dec. 12) nifty San Diego D-III Challenge victory over host Clairemont.

MICHAEL OVERSON led the Vaqueros with a game-high 15 points, adding 4 rebounds and 4 steals.

JON MOLZEN was a force inside, racking up 14 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists for the Vaqueros.

“It helps to have a practice the day before a game,” Cavazos said despite the Vaqueros poor 2-for-15 marksmanship from 3-point range. “It’s hard to have young kids who don’t have a lot of experience, and it’s hard to play a lot of games without practices.

“When you have practice you can correct the mistakes. We did some really good things tonight that we worked on yesterday in practice. When you do it you make me look like a good coach.”

El Capitan scoring: Michael Overson 15 (4 reb, 4 stl), Jon Molzen 14 (9 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Jake Zawlacki 6 (3 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Andrew Cable 7 (4 reb, 4 ast), Will Radasa 4 (2 ast), Michael Landis 3, Johnathan Kulp 2, Armon Worrell (3 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl).

WESTVIEW 66, MOUNT MIGUEL 65 (OT) – East County three-point ace YUEL HAGOS scored a career-high 21 points for Mount Miguel in Friday’s (Dec. 12) Eagle-Vaquero Classic, but the Matadors (1-8) still came up short as visiting Westview won its first game in five starts.

Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT, who saw his Matadors overcome a 32-20 halftime deficit, thought they might be able to pull this one out.

“With 12 seconds left we went up 2 and they went full court and hit a runner off the backboard to tie it (at 54-all), sending the game into overtime,” Rowlett said.

Once again in OT Rowlett thought the Matadors were on their way to a victory.

Didn’t happen.

“In overtime we went up by 4 then their big man – who hasn’t hit a 3 all day – hits a 3,” said Rowlett ruefully.

Nonetheless, the Matadors were still in contention for a win. But with 7 seconds left Mount Miguel missed the front end of a one-and-one and the Wolverines gobbled up the rebound, called a timeout and then hit the game-winning shot.

It was no doubt a bitter defeat for the Matadors, who received 14 points and 11 rebounds from ANTHONY STANFORD and 13 points and 6 assists from JOHNNY NORTON.

Mount Miguel scoring: Yuel Hagos 21, Anthony Stanford 14 (11 reb), Johnny Norton 13 (6 ast), Donte Allen 8 (4 reb), Keith Houston 6, Rudy Burruel 3, Bryant Mitchell (4 reb), O’Dessa Sharps (4 reb).

SERRA 58, WEST HILLS 44 – Following a quick 7-1 start by West Hills, this final pool play contest in the Wolf Pack-Horsman Tournament was even for three quarters. But when the hosts suddenly went cold from the floor, allowing the winless Conquistadors to pull the upset Friday (Dec. 12).

West Hills (2-2) connected on just 2-of-11 shots and turned the ball over nine times in the final minutes, including a pair of steals in the backcourt on balls passed directly to members of the Q's for layins, as things fell completely apart for the hosts.

The recipient of the errant passes was Gary Adams, who scored four of his 10 points on consecutive giveaways, igniting a 13-0 run to convert a 41-40 nailbiter into a comfortable 54-40 margin for the City League crew.

Q's center Chris Reid paced both sides with 17 points and 9 rebounds.

For West Hills, which shot just 27 percent from the floor, CHASE SENTER registered team-highs of 11 points and 3 assists, while ADRIAN MARAZITI added 10 points.

West Hills scoring: Chase Senter 11 (3 ast), Adrian Maraziti 10 (3 stl), Ryan Bozelle 8 (4 stl), Garrett Cabral 5 (2 ast), Kyle Navarre 4 (5 reb), Kyle McLaughlin 4 (7 reb), Kellen Johnson 3 (4 reb), Lucas Armstrong (6 reb), Mike Lifgren (4 reb).

LINFIELD CHRISTIAN 59, CHRISTIAN 45 – No other information was available for this Tri-City Christian Tournament game.

© East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (12-12-08) — Helix coach JOHN SINGER wasn’t ready to throw a party, but he was a little more upbeat than he’s been at any point this season following Thursday’s (Dec. 11) 50-36 victory over Chula Vista in the Hilltop Classic.

“It’s a win and we’ll take it,” said Singer after his Highlanders (1-3) broke a 16-16 halftime deadlock with a 19-4 third-quarter scoring run.

“In that 3rd quarter we played the best six minutes we have in any of our four games this season. We defended, took care of the ball, took good shots and converted at the offensive end.”

PATRICK WINSTON turned in a solid game for the Highlanders with 11 points, 18 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks.

“I told my kids that this is the way we want to play – all the time – like we did in that six minute stretch,” Singer said. “I don’t expect us to play at that level all the time, but that’s what we want.”

JAYLEN LINSON hit 6-of-10 shots from the field and 2 free throws to top the Helix scoring column with 14 points.

Helix led 35-20 entering the final quarter. Chula Vista came storming back on the strength of a fullcourt press, slicing the Highlanders’ advantage to 4 points.

“We just don’t know how to win yet,” Singer observed. “It’s like I told my guys, it’s a process, and you reach that by taking little steps.”

One of those steps in the victory over the Spartans was the Highlanders’ ability to hit 9-of-11 free throws in the 4th quarter.

TERRANCE COLE was 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.

Helix scoring: Jaylen Linson 14 (4 reb), Patrick Winston 11 (18 reb, 3 stl, 3 blk), Terrance Cole 9 (6 reb, 2 ast), Joubert Ballard 8 (5 ast), Dimitar Topalov 6 (5 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk), Tommie Young 2, John Singer (5 reb).

SANTANA 58, MOUNT MIGUEL 48 – When it comes to big men, Santana senior CHRIS SODERGREN is proving that he ranks with East County’s best.

The 6-foot-5, 265-pound Sodergren bullied the Matadors for a career-high 35 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in Thursday’s (Dec. 11) San Diego D-III Challenge in Spring Valley.

Santana jumped out to a 13-0 start and had a 16-point lead late in the 2nd quarter. Then Mount Miguel finished the half with an 11-0 run to cut it to 23-18.”

In the 3rd quarter Sodergren was 9-of-9 on field goals.

“And that’s where we pulled away,” said Barry, noting that the Sultans took a 46-30 lead into the final quarter.

With 3 minutes left Santana was up by 20. Mount Miguel shaved the deficit in half, finishing with 3 three’s and a free throw to cut it to 58-48 at the end.

BRADLEY KLINE added 7 points, 10 rebounds and 4 steals for the Sultans (8-0).

“We really put it together tonight,” said Barry. “It was good for the team to see where we really stand.”

Mount Miguel junior YUEL HAGOS hammered in 6 three-pointers to lead the Matadors (1-7) with 18 points.

Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT had mixed emotions.

“O’DESSA SHARPS had a good game rebounding – led us with 8,” Rowlett noted. The junior also contributed 6 points.

ANTHONY SANFORD punched in 15 points for the Matadors.

“We just don’t play run defense,” said Rowlett. “We had trouble with our post defense – we let No. 30 (Sodergren) get 35 points on us. The people who were guarding him didn’t want to compete and were worried about everything else but their own position.”

Santana scoring: Chris Sodergren 35 (12 reb, 2 ast), Bradley Kline 7 (10 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Sean Doyle 6 (5 reb), Trey Bass 6 (4 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Trevor Barkhimer 2 (5 reb, 2 ast), James Needy 2 (7 reb).

Mount Miguel scoring: Yuel Hagos 18, Anthony Stanford 15, O’Dessa Sharps 6 (8 reb), Johnny Norton 4 (5 ast), Rudy Burruel 3, Donte Allen 2, Keith Houston (7 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk).

Monte Vista's Geoff Hartman (23) hits a jumper. (Photo by Chris Diaz, Hilltop High iCrew Digital) Complete Slideshow Available HERE

It was the lack of defense that caused the Monarchs to come up on the short end. Monte Vista was down 56-38 after three quarters.

“We played a really bad first three quarters,” said Monarchs coach JAMES CARROLL. “It seems we lack some intensity.”

Monte Vista cut the deficit to 9 points with 4 minutes to play as GEOFF HARTMAN scored 16 of his game-high 24 points during the 4th quarter.

“Then we ran out of gas,” said Carroll. “I’m proud that we made a run at RBV in the 4th quarter.”

Monte Vista will play Point Loma at Hilltop on Friday (Dec. 12) at 6:30 for the third place in the Hilltop Classic.

Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 24 (2 reb, 7 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Derwin Petteway 12 (5 reb, 3 blk, 3 stl),Trent Watkins 9 (2 ast), Tony Jackson 6 (6 reb, 2 stl), Chris Jones 4, Anthony Dotson 4, Aaron Burns 3, Alvin Merriweather 2 (4 reb).

SADDLEBACK VALLEY CHRISTIAN 51, CHRISTIAN 32 – It was tough sledding for the visiting Christian High Patriots in Thursday’s (Dec. 11) season opening round of the Tri-City Christian Tournament.

Since the majority of the Patriots’ roster is comprised of football players, Christian was a bit ragged around the edges against Saddleback.

“Defensively, we played OK,” Christian coach KELVIN STARR said. “We’ve got to get better offensively. I think we will improve in both areas. Our football players have been out here for less than a week.”

Christian trailed by only five points with 5:12 remaining, but that’s when its offense stalled.

TYRONE SAULS, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound sophomore football player, paced the Patriots with 11 points. AARON WHITTEN pitched in 8 points.

Christian self-destructed with 26 turnovers and made just one of 9 free throws.

“Pretty tough to win when you’re doing things like that,” Starr said.

Christian scoring: Tyrone Sauls 11, Aaron Whitten 8, Taylor Eichhorst 4, Erick Allen 4, Jake Lawson 3, Steven Pitts 2.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-11-08) — Following elimination from championship consideration in the Eagle-Vaquero Classic, the Foothills Christian basketball team entered its final pool play contest with, let's say, less than its normal enthusiasm.

"We came out really flat," said junior KALOB HATCHER, stating the obvious.

Actually, worse than flat – and buried by counts of 12-0 and 15-1 to The Bishop's School, which like Foothills, is ranked among the top 10 teams in the San Diego Section.

Added Hatcher, "We knew we had to pick it up, and playing defense is the only way we can pick up our offense."

When Hatcher changed assignments and was asked to stop The Bishop's guard Maliik Love, who scored 12 of his 21 points in the first quarter, everything changed. Foothills then outscored the visitors by 22 points over the final 3 1/2 quarters, racing to a comfortable 70-62 decision at Granite Hills.

"Since we lost Monday night (to Vista), this was a statement game to see how good we really are," noted Hatcher. "We didn't execute like we should against Vista, then we weren't prepared for the defense that Bishop's threw at us tonight."

Once Foothills determined a way to beat the double-team at the top of the lane, the offense fell back into place with an array of layins or wide-open jump shots.

Leading the way was junior center JVONTE BROOKS, as the transfer from La Jolla Country Day registered a career-high 26 points while adding 16 rebounds.

"I thought we needed to battle on the boards because we didn't come out with a lot of energy," explained Brooks. "Coach (BRAD LEAF) called a timeout and told us to play our game and get away from playing their game."

"Kalob and TROY (LEAF) do a great job attacking the basket, so I get a lot of touches inside the key, where I was able to beat them one-on-one."

Most of Brooks' baskets were layins, while Hatcher (17 points) and Leaf (15) balanced the action from the perimeter. Much of the offense came in the form of isolation plays while teammates cleared out, accepting passes on the weak side for open looks.

"It was a big test – there was a big build-up to this game," added Brooks. "After our loss, we wanted to rebound. Minus that first quarter, after that we played well.”

Love finished with 21 points, many early off nice passes by sophomore center Stephen Kaiser, who registered four early assists. However, when Foothills adjusted, Kaiser failed to collect any more helpers, although he did finish with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

"We made sure we made our shots to get back into the game, while we put some heart into the defense in the second quarter," said senior BRANDON HALE, who slowed Kaiser's production. "We got a lot of open shots for Brooks at the low post after we came out slow."

After being down by 14, Foothills cut the margin to 37-31 by the half. The host Knights went on an 11-2 run to open the second half. A pair of Hatcher drives to the basket tied the contest at 39-all, then Leaf took a Hale pass to drain a long triple for their first lead.

The Bishop's battled back to regain a 6-point lead at 50-44, but Foothills closed the ballgame on a 26-12 run, as Brooks scored 11 points in the final period.

The Foothills defense aided itself by taking-the-charge three times to force turnovers, including one stop each by Hale, Brooks and Hatcher.

Foothills Christian scoring: Jvonte Brooks 26 (16 reb, 4 blk), Kalob Hatcher 17 (8 ast, 5 reb), Troy Leaf 15 (7 ast, 6 stl), Brandon Hale 8 (5 reb), Ryan Smith 2, Mike Wnek 2.

SANTANA 62, OLYMPIAN 49 – The critics and cynics will poo-poo Santana’s 7-0 record, claiming the Sultans are playing a marshmallow schedule. But that doesn’t bother Santana coach TIM BARRY because it’s part of his master plan for the overall season.

Santana dominated Olympian (0-3) in Wednesday’s (Dec. 10) San Diego D-III Challenge in South Bay. They outscored the Eagles in every quarter as CHRIS SODERGREN paced the Sultans with 16 points and 8 rebounds.

JAMES NEEDY added 14 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, while BRADLEY KLINE chipped in with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Kline accounted for both of Santana’s 3-point buckets.

“It was a very pleasing game – a step up in competition for us,” said Barry. “TREVOR BARKHIMER and James Needy both played a great game for us on both ends of the floor. I was happy with our defense, especially in the 3rd quarter (when the Sultans held Olympian to six points.”

Santana scoring: Chris Sodergren 16 (8 reb), James Needy 14 (6 reb, 3 ast), Bradley Kline 12 (8 reb, 3 ast), David Thrall 9 (4 reb), Trevor Barkhimer 6 (2 reb, 2 stl), Trey Bass 2 (2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Sean Dowly 2 (3 reb), Matt Lucius 1.

MORSE 48, EL CAJON VALLEY 47 – JORDAN SHIVERS was anything but cold for the Braves, who dropped a heartbreaker on Wednesday (Dec. 10) at Morse in Eagle-Vaquero Classic action.

Shivers sat for half of the 1st half with 3 fouls, picking up his fourth early in the 2nd half.

Maybe it was the unplanned rest, sentenced to the bench with his foul woes, that Shivers came back strong in the final two quarters, scoring 23 of his career-high 25 points despite playing with 4 fouls.

“We finally took the lead with 3½ minutes to play and then Morse took it right back,” said El Cajon Valley coach JIM GLEBOFF. “It was a 2-point game but we couldn’t get the lead. We made some bad decisions in the last 2½ minutes and it cost us.”

Morse led 24-15 at halftime.

“In the first half we didn’t play very well but it was kinda encouraging to be able to come back in the 2nd half and play better,” said Gleboff. “It’s still early in the season.”

El Cajon Valley scoring: Jordan Shivers 25, Raylondo Ford 8, Dominic Dove 5, Anthony Ussery 5, Kendall Conley 2, Devon Eze 2.

EL CAMINO 68, VALHALLA 45 – After a slow start Valhalla managed to make a game of it in the first half, trailing No. 4 ranked El Camino (5-0) by only 6 points in the Eagle-Vaquero Classic Wednesday (Dec. 10).

The second half was a different story as the Wildcats claimed a 17-point scoring edge.

“Let’s face it, El Camino is more physical than we are and they have more quickness,” said Valhalla assistant coach DON ROLLINS. “But give our kids credit – we came out a little timid in the 1st quarter and then settled in. We just couldn’t get any offense going in that 1st quarter.”

Known for its 3-point shooting, Valhalla fired up nothing but blanks – going 0-8 from above the arc. Overall the Norsemen shot 38 percent from the field.

AUSTEN SUHAY hit 8-of-13 shots from the floor and a pair of free throws (3-2) with 18 points. The 6-foot senior guard also made a spectacular block, denying El Camino of an attempted dunk shot.

KYLE KRIEBEL added 11 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks for Valhalla, while JOSH AUSTEL netted 8 points, collected 6 boards and rejected 3 shots.

“We had a tough 4th quarter. We had some things we didn’t do well tonight – didn’t rebound as well as we can. Late in the game El Camino forced some turnovers and opened it up on us. They really played well in the 4th quarter. We have to turn the corner on teams like that.”

Valhalla scoring: Austen Suhay 18 (1 blk), Kyle Kriebel 11 (5 reb, 3 blk), Josh Austel 8 (6 reb, 3 blk), David Zetts 4 (3 reb), Brett Miller 2, Evie Alcantar 2, Jordan Cunningham (2 reb, 3 ast), Trevor Cahoon (4 reb).

ESCONDIDO 67, STEELE CANYON 55 – Although Steele Canyon appears on the verge of turning things around, the Cougars (0-5) lost an Eagle-Vaquero Classic catfight to the Cougars of Escondido (2-2).

One thing Steele Canyon did have going was balanced scoring, led by the 14 points of CAMERON MOSS. JOSIAH SMITH and JEBARI ROBINSON added 10 points apiece.

All three just came out of football.

“We played pretty well in the 1st quarter,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS of his Cougars’ 14-13 lead. “Our football players are still trying to adjust to playing basketball. It’s frustrating, but we just need to get more time in the gym. We played Escondido pretty tough tonight.”

Steele Canyon scoring: Cameron Moss 14, Josiah Smith 10, Jebari Robinson 10, Kaptan Kaster 8, Zane Keith 6, Cameron Hubbard 2, Jeff Reid 5.

KEARNY 67, EL CAPITAN 51 – Senior JON MOLZEN put together probably his best game of the season in Wednesday’s (Dec. 10) San Diego D-III Challenge

with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 4 steals as the Vaqueros slipped to 3-4 on the season.

MICHAEL OVERSON added 17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. The El Capitan junior guard scored 9 points in the final quarter and hit 7-of-8 free throws against Kearny.

ARMON WORRELL chipped in 10 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists for the Vaqueros, who

El Capitan scoring: Michael Overson 17 (5 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Jon Molzen 12 (13 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk), Armon Worrell 10 (6 reb, 3 ast), Michael Landis 6, John Kulp 4, Robert Craighead 2 (2 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk).

POWAY 53, GROSSMONT 41 – The defending Grossmont North League champions continued to struggle Wednesday (Dec. 10) as they dropped their fourth straight Eastlake Titan Roundball Tipoff contest on their home court.

Unbeaten Poway (4-0) used a 12-6 scoring run to take a lead, leaving the Foothillers to play catch-up the rest of the night.

Grossmont scoring: Robbie Nesovic 13, Billy Gange 9,Felipe Valdez 8, Aaron Griffin 4, Desean Waters 4, Craig Henderson 2, Graham Hadjosy 1.

© East County Sports.com
RANCHO SAN DIEGO (12-10-08) — It's only 10 days into the season, yet the Valhalla Norsemen have already batted in a series of nailbiters which went down to the final moments. In those three contests, the Norsemen, who may not play beautiful basketball, nevertheless were proficient down the stretch.

The plodding Norsemen again did exactly what was needed to maintain a late lead, staving off a rally by visiting Westview for a 51-42 triumph in continuing action of the Eagle-Vaquero Classic.

Valhalla (3-1) is now tied for second among all East County programs in victories and winning percentage.

"It's our third close game under 10 points, yet we won them all," said KYLE KRIEBEL. "The experience factor -- knowing what it takes to hold them off -- is there."

Along with Tuesday's (Dec. 9) victory over Westview, the Norsemen now own narrow verdicts over Coronado (49-47) and El Cajon Valley (53-51). Their only setback was to 3rd-ranked Foothills Christian.

"We have a bunch of guys back from last year, so we get all that experience back except for one guy," added Kreibel. "We definitely are doing real well on defense this year -- something we focused on last year."

Valhalla held a 40-31 lead through three quarters when the offense hit a dry spell. With the Norsemen not scoring over a 5-minute stretch, the Wolverines (0-3) ran off seven straight points to move within striking distance. But every time Westview got close, the Norsemen would answer.

"We were winning virtually the whole game, but almost lost it in the fourth quarter," noted point guard AUSTEN SUHAY. "We finished strong. Kreibel had a good 'and one,' then our free throws were pretty good down the stretch."

Two foul shots by Westview center Phil Gruber, who scored a game-high 19 points, pushed the margin to 40-38. However, a Kreibel putback off an offensive rebound while being fouled ended the scoreless drought with 3:27 remaining.

"We've done that a couple of times this year. We don't finish like we should at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but we come on at the end," added Suhay. "I think this just shows the maturity of our team."

Westview moved the contest back into critical mode when forward Peter Rubis hit a short baseline jumper to move within 44-42 with 2:38 left. However, the Norsemen closed the ballgame on a 7-0 run, as steals by Suhay and Kreibel blanked the Wolverines the rest of the way.

"That's when Austen took over," added Kreibel. "He's a hard match-up for anybody.

Valhalla dropped 6-of-7 foul shots in the final minutes, all sandwiched around a drive through the lane by DAVID ZETTS, who flipped home a 5-footer. TREVOR CAHOON also registered a steal in the final minutes.

Valhalla scoring: Austen Suhay 15 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Kyle Kriebel 15 (4 reb, 2 ast), David Zetts 8, Steven Kleist 7, E.V. Alcantar 2, Jevan Georges 2, Josh Austel 2, Jordan Cunningham (5 reb, 2 stl).

MONTE VISTA 48, CHULA VISTA 44 – Monte Vista survived a cold shooting 2nd quarter to pull out a come-from-behind victory over Chula Vista in Tuesday’s (Dec.9) Hilltop Classic.

GEOFF HARTMAN led the scoring parade for Monte Vista (2-1) with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals.

TONY JACKSON turned in a solid double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds, while junior DERWIN PETTEWAY chipped in 11 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals off the bench for the Monarchs.

“Petteway played huge for us off the bench,” said Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL.

Trailing 25-18 at halftime, the Monarchs used an 18-10 third-quarter splurge to carry a 1-point advantage into the final quarter.

“We had good balance throughout our lineup tonight,” said Carroll. “We are starting to get an idea about our starters and our player rotations. Our guards kept us in the game tonight. They shot down Chula Vista ’s guards. Our defense kept us going tonight. It took us until the 3rd quarter to get our offense in synch.”

Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 16 (8 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl), Derwin Petteway 11 (4 reb, 2 stl), Tony Jackson 10 (11 reb, 2 blk), Chris Jones 5 (2 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Anthony Dotson 4 (3 reb, 2 ast), Trent Watkins 2 (2 ast, 2 stl).

VISTA 73, GRANITE HILLS 65 – DEAN MILLER scored a career-high 40 points, hitting 17-of-33 shots from the floor and a pair of free throws, but it wasn’t enough to stave off Vista (5-0) in Tuesday’s (Dec. 9) Eagle-Vaquero Classic in El Cajon.

Miller’s personal record total included 4 three-pointers, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.

“Dean was the best player on the court – he was really aggressive tonight,” said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON. “He did it all.”

Vista’s Quincy Lawson, one of the San Diego Section’s top scorers, paced the Panthers with 31 points. He was deadly from the free throw line, hitting 9-for-12 chances from the free throw stripe in the 4th quarter.

“Dean played him tough,” Anderson said.

With 3 minutes remaining Granite Hills was down by only one point.

“They just got a few more free throws down the stretch and we missed a couple of shots,” said Anderson.

Junior KYLE SNYDER finished with 11 points, most of it coming on a trio of 3-pointers. ANDRE LEWIS added 7 points and 9 assists to go along with 3 steals.

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 40 (11 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Kyle Snyder 11, Andrew Lewis 7 (9 ast, 3 stl), Harris 3 (6 reb),Jason Gaines 2, John Montes 2.

SANTANA 46, CLAIREMONT 27 – CHRIS SODERGREN continued to be the driving force for host Santana as he banged in 16 points to help the Sultans (6-0) clobber visiting Clairemont in the opening game of the San Diego D-III Challenge.

It was a sluggish first half, as Santana staggered to a 16-13 lead.

It was more a case of sloppy play by Santana than good defense by Clairemont, as the Sultans committed 10 of their 16 turnovers in the 1st half.

“At the half I told our guys we are playing good defense,” Santana coach TIM BARRY said. “Clairemont ran the shot clock down each time, but because our guys were playing such good defense, they couldn’t get off a shot and had shot clock violations.”

“I stressed to the players at halftime the need to take better care of the ball,” said Barry. “I told them we weren’t going to have many possessions because of the way Clairemont ran the shot clock, and we couldn’t afford to give the ball away.”

It didn’t matter though, as the Sultans outscored the Chieftains 30-14 over the final two quarters.

Santana scoring: Chris Sodergren 16 (5 reb, 2 stl), James Needy 11 (5 reb, 2 ast), David Thrall 7 (2 stl), Trey Bass 5 (5 ast, 4 stl), Bradley Kline 5 (2 reb, 2 ast), Danny Carpenter 2, Sean Doyle (2 reb, 2 stl), Trevor Barkhimer (2 reb, 2 stl).

KEARNY 66, MOUNT MIGUEL 58 – Visiting Mount Miguel gave Central League favorite Kearny all it could handle in Tuesday’s (Dec. 9) opening round of the San Diego D-III Challenge.

“It was a 3-point game with a minute left,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT.

But the Matadors had fouls to give. It didn’t matter though, as the Komets did a fine job of playing keepaway, and once they were fouled, made their free throws.

Mount Miguel’s DONTE ALLEN, who finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, missed much of the early action as he drew two quick fouls in the 1st quarter.

“That kinda hurt us,” said Rowlett.

ANTHONY STANFORD led the Matadors with 20 points, nearly half of them coming on a trio of 3-pointers. The junior guard also had 6 assists and 2 steals. Junior JOHNNY NORTON added 13 points and 4 assists for the Matadors (1-6). YUEL HAGOS, one of the East County’s top 3-point shooters, netted a trio of treys from above the arc.

The key to Mount Miguel’s season could come as early as next week.

“We’re still waiting for the CIF to clear two of our players,” Rowlett said. “We’re supposed to hear by Monday.”

Mount Miguel scoring: Anthony Stanford 20 (6 ast, 2 stl), Donte Allen 13 (10 reb), Johnny Norton 13 (4 ast), Yuel Hagos 9, Rudy Burruel 3, Bryant Mitchell (4 reb).

TORREY PINES 59, HELIX 34 – Even though veteran coach JOHN SINGER knows that his Highlanders’ fortunes will improve once football season ends, he stills feels like hiding his eyes these days.

Helix (0-3) committed 22 turnovers and hit only 38 percent of 43 shots from the field as it succumbed to Torrey Pines (3-0) in Tuesday’s (Dec. 9) Hilltop Classic action.

“When you think that we had only 7 assists and made just 15 baskets, and turned the ball over as much as we did, it’s hard to believe that we were only 10 points down (36-26) going into the final quarter,” Singer said.

The Falcons turned the game into a blowout with a 23-8 scoring spread in the final 8 minutes.

Sophomore forward JAYLEN LINSON led the Highlanders with 10 points and 4 rebounds.

PATRICK WINSTON added 7 points and 9 rebounds for the Scotties.

Helix scoring: Jaylen Linson 10, Patrick Winston 7 (9 reb), Tommie Young 6, Joubert Ballard 4 (2 ast), Yohanes Solomon 2, Terrance Cole 3, Darien Peterson 2, Dimitar Topalov (6 reb), John Singer (2 ast).

OLYMPIAN 63, EL CAPITAN 54 – The visiting Vaqueros took early leads of 14-10 and 29-6 in the opening half of Tuesday’s (Dec. 9) San Diego D-III Challenge in South Bay, but eventually faded down the stretch as they saw their record dip to 3-3.

On the bright side El Capitan senior JON MOLZEN put together his finest game of the season with 23 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 7 steals. However, all but 8 of his points came in the 1st half, which hurt the Vaqueros in the 2nd half.

MICHAEL OVERSON was stone cold in the 1st half, hitting only 2 free throws, but came on strong in the final two periods with 5 baskets in a bid to deny Olympian the upset.

What hurt El Capitan the most was its misfiring at the free throw line. The Vaqueros netted only 10-of-24 charity shots, while Olympian was 17-of-28 from the free throw line.

El Capitan scoring: Jon Molzen 23 (5 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 7 stl), Michael Overson 12 (8 reb, 4 stl), Armon Worrell 7 (8 reb, 3 stl, 1 blk) Brian Deuel 3, Andrew Cable 3 (3 reb, 2 ast), Michael Landis 2, Jake Zawlacki 2 (5 reb), Will Radasa 2 (3 reb).

EASTLAKE 53, GROSSMONT 42 – The visiting Foothillers (0-3) were outscored in each of the four quarters of Tuesday’s (Dec, 9) Titan Roundball Tipoff by host Eastlake.

Eastlake (2-1) grabbed a 15-10 first-quarter lead and never let go.

Grossmont scoring: Desean Waters 12, Craig Henderson 5, Robbie Nesovic 4, Felipe Valdez 3, Alex Ortiz 3, Colter Rios 3, Aaron Griffin 2, Billy Gange 2, Alex Nesovic 1.

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (12-9-08) — The need for six games to finally gain its initial victory wasn't exactly the game plan Mount Miguel had in mind entering the season. But with a re-worked lineup, at least the Matadors are attempting to play to their strengths to maximize a green roster.

The backbone to any success this season may be its 3-point shooting. On Monday (Dec. 7), RUDY BURRUEL drained six of the 10 treys downed by Mount Miguel, powering to an 85-78 decision over visiting Olympian in the opening pool play contest of the San Diego D-3 Challenge.

Burruel hit six of his first nine shots from beyond the arc en route to a game-high 20 points, while JOHNNY NORTON added 17 points and found the open 3-point shooter all night long with a season-best 9 assists.

"My team started hitting big shots down the stretch when we needed it," said Norton, a junior point guard. "We can make it when we get all our players back. We just need some time."

The see-saw affair saw Burruel hit consecutive treys to gain a 35-30 lead in the second quarter. Olympian (0-2) made several runs to get close, but never could overtake the Matadors (1-5).

One Eagles streak was quelled by ANTHONY STANFORD, who hit three straight shots in the third period. Stanford matched teammate DONTE ALLEN with 13 points. The Matadors then extinguished the Eagles by sinking 10-of-12 foul shots in the fourth period.

"I believe in my team. They can hit the big shots when it comes down to it," added Norton. "All we need to do is get the ball to them and keep working on defense."

YUEL HAGOS added 10 points, giving Mount Miguel five players scoring in double figures. Hagos and KEITH HOUSTON added a pair of 3-point goals each.

Mount Miguel scoring: Burruel 20, Norton 17 (9 ast., 3 stl.), Allen 16 (11 reb., 3 blk.), Stanford 13 (13 reb, 5 ast.), Hagos 10, Houston 8, Sharps 1.

EL CAPITAN 52, WESTVIEW 47 – Playing on the road for the first time this season the Vaqueros came up with an impressive victory over perennial power Westview in Monday’s (Dec. 8) Eagle-Vaquero Classic.

“We started out real slow – it was our first away game of the year and the kids had to get used to a new gym,” said Vaqueros coach JASON CAVAZOS. “In the 2nd quarter a little click came on in our guys, like ‘Hey, we can compete with these guys.’ We battled, set up some screens and got a couple of easy baskets off it.”

Once again MICHAEL OVERSON set the pace for the Vaqueros with 14 points despite making only 2-of-8 free throws.

ARMON WORRELL added 8 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists for El Capian, which also received 8 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks from JAKE ZAWLACKI.

Cavazos had special praise for senior JOHN KULP, who came of the bench to contribute 4 points and 3 assists.

“John sparked us a little bit,’ Cavazos said. “It was a good first road game for us.”

El Capitan outscored the Wolverines in each of the final three quarters.

El Capitan scoring: Michael Overson 14 (2 ast, 6 stl), Armon Worrell 8 (7 reb, 3 ast), Jake Zawlacki 8 (7 reb, 3 blk), Jon Molzen 6 (4 reb, 3 stl), Will Radasa 6 ( reb, 2 stl), Andrew Cable 6 (4 reb), John Kulp 4 (3 ast).

EL CAJON VALLEY 69, CORONADO 37 – Playing no doubt their finest game of the season, El Cajon Valley ran past visiting Coronado without looking back in Monday’s (Dec. 8) Eagle-Vaquero Classic contest.

The Braves (2-2) led 13-6 after one quarter and 29-14 at halftime.

El Cajon Valley broke the game open with a 23-10 spread in the 3rd quarter. Junior JORDAN SHIVERS knocked down a team-best 19 points, with half of them coming on a trio of 3-pointers.

“I think we can come out and be a decent team,” said Braves coach JIM GLEBOFF. “We have a lot of room to get better as a team. We can cut our turnovers down.”

RAYLONDO FORD added 17 points, which included a 3-pointer and 4-of-5 accuracy from the free throw line.

But it was 6-foot-6 senior ANTHONY USSERY who had the best all-around game for the Braves, finishing with 8 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 7 steals and 5 blocks.

“Ussery is way down from what he expects to be,” said “He was very active tonight. I was really impressed with his play. The team as a whole showed a lot of energy tonight. That was important for us.”

El Cajon Valley scoring: Jordan Shivers 19, Raylondo Ford 17, Anthony Ussery 8 (9 reb, 8 ast, 5 blk, 7 stl), Dominic Dove 8, Kendall Conley 5, Jesse Damman 5, James Stone 6, Omar Hall 2.

VISTA 79, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 76 – For an early season match-up this was a pretty competitive Eagle-Vaquero Classic contest played Monday (Dec. 8) in North County.

With 12 seconds left Vista’s Eric Miller missed the first of two free throws, but hit the second, staking the Panthers to a three-point lead.

Foothills Christian (3-1) had two more chances to tie the game and send into overtime. KALOB HATCHER, who finished with a team high 31 points, hit the back iron on a contested 3 and after a scramble, freshman STEVIE MCELROY managed to tap the ball back to Hatcher for one more desperation 3. The ball rattled in and rimmed out to end it.

“In the end Vista just outplayed us the last few minutes,” said Foothills Christian assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. “Kalob had some turnovers but he played out of his mind for most of the game. Kalob hit 4 consecutive 3's in the 3rd quarter when Vista was climbing back into it.”

“The loss will set us back in the eyes of North County just a bit, but we certainly know that was a winnable game tonight.”

Visiting Foothills Christian took a 1st quarter 20-16 lead and maintained that advantage until 6:10 was left in the game. The Panthers’ 6-foot-6 Quincy Lawson blocked a Knights’ shot, then raced to the other end of the floor and dunked the ball for a 63-62 Vista lead.

Lawson had just 7 points at halftime and sat for a good deal of time because of foul trouble. In the 4th quarter he started hitting everything he threw up, finishing with 36 points. Lawson clicked on 14-of-22 shots from the field, including a pair of treys. He was also 6-for-10 from the free throw line.

“We missed a few key free throws down the stretch and they really came back to haunt us,” said McHugh. “The game went back and forth for the last few minutes but we just turned the ball over at some key points and we could not rebound from that.

TROY LEAF, who scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, was whistled for his 5th foul on a charging call with 2:08 to play.

Hatcher hit 5 three-pointers and added 8-of-9 free throw shooting. JVONTE BROOKS also had 4 fouls when Leaf departed and therefore limited the Knights’ options.

“Jvonte did a great job on defense tonight and again had a big game with 17 rebounds (to go with 14 points),” McHugh said.

RYAN SMITH had a big rejection of Lawson on a breakaway late in the 3rd quarter, but Lawson came back with a monster block of his own and finished the play with a breakaway layup to give Vista another lead.

Foothills Christian scoring: Kalob Hatcher 31 (6 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Troy Leaf 26 (11 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk), Jvonte Brooks 14 (17 reb), Mike Wnek 2, Steven McElroy 2, Ryan Smith 1 (3 reb, 1 blk).

MORSE 53, STEELE CANYON 48 – Some guys are just great athletes, no matter what sport they play. Case in point is Steele Canyon senior guard JEBARI ROBINSON.

Playing his final football game on Friday (Dec. 5), the 5-foot-10 Robinson made his debut on the court three days later – without benefit of a practice. Robinson didn’t skip a beat as he nailed 5 three-pointers and totaled a game-high 19 points for the Cougars in the Eagles-Vaquero Classic (Dec. 8).

Another gridiron newcomer was JOSIAH SMITH, who hauled down a team-best 9 rebounds and tossed in 6 points.

Cougars tight-end turned basketball player CAMERON MOSS added 6 points and 6 boards for Steele Canyon Cougars (0-4).

ZANE KEITH, a fulltime basketball player, knocked down a trio of 3-pointers on his way to an 11 point finish. The 6-foot-5 Keith also blocked 4 shots and grabbed 7 rebounds.

“This was the first time we have had all our team, including the football players, together this year. I was pleased with the way we played defense tonight. Cameron Hubbard and Joey Kramer played outstanding defense.

“We cut our turnovers in half tonight (15). We had many open shoots tonight – we just couldn’t hit them.”

Steele Canyon scoring: Jebari Robinson 19 (2 ast, 3 stl), Zane Keith 11 (7 reb, 4 blk), Josiah Smith 6 (9 reb), Cameron Moss 6 (6 reb), Joey Kramer 2 (2 reb), Kaptan Kaster 2 (2 reb), Cameron Hubbard 2.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-07-08) — A work of art it wasn’t. Yet successful it was.

Visiting Morse was clinging to a one point lead in Saturday’s (Dec. 6) Eagle-Vaquero Classic at Granite Hills with 1.5 seconds remaining. The host Eagles had just called a time out to see if they could create a miracle finish.

And so they did.

Morse surrounded Granite Hills’ scoring ace DEAN MILLER with three defenders. No surprise, considering Miller had poured in 26 points on 8-for-15 shooting from the floor and 8-for-10 accuracy from the free throw line.

“They took away our No. 1 option like we thought they would,” Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON said. “But we got an excellent pick from KYLE SNYDER and a great pass from RONNIE VON HAGEN.”

AARON HARRIS, one of East County’s top rebounders and not known for his shooting, wound up with the ball. Harris turned and unleashed a shot as the buzzer sounded, sinking a game-winning 3-pointer giving Granite Hills a 56-54 victory.

“Harris had his toes right on the (three-point) line and he banked it in,” Anderson reported. “He was squared up to the basket, but I doubt if it was his intent to bank the ball in. No matter. We’ll take it.”

Harris’ game-winning bucket came on a night when he was 6-for-8 shooting from the floor, but a horrid 1-for-9 shooting free throws. The 6-foot senior finished with 14 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.

Miller hit 8 of 10 free throws against the Tigers and now leads East County with .923 accuracy from the charity stripe. He also snagged 12 rebounds and blocked 4 shots against Morse.

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 26 (12 reb, 4 blk), Aaron Harris 14 (14 reb), Andre Lewis 7 (7 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl), John Montes 5, Kyle Snyder 4.

SANTANA 89, BORREGO SPRINGS 35 – Santana coach TIM BARRY doesn’t care what other coaches think about the level of competition his Sultans have faced in the season-opening Ram Classic in Borrego Springs.

Bottom line is Santana swept to five consecutive wins in the high desert to capture the Ram Classic championship for the second year in a row.

Due to the way the host team designed the tournament, Santana faced the host Borrego Springs Rams in Saturday’s (Dec. 6) championship game.

“People can say what they want, but we have nine JV kids coming up and only one returning starter,” Barry said. “This wasn’t about piling up easy wins or looking for mediocre competition. It was about bonding, gaining some confidence and having a great time.”

The Sultans streaked in front 21-5 after one period and were standing on a 51-16 bulge by intermission.

“We punished them in the paint,” Barry said of the championship mismatch.

Due to the early blow out conditions, CHRIS SODERGREN tallied only 8 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists as he was anointed tournament MVP.

JAMES NEEDY drilled in 20 points, snagged 8 rebounds and blocked 4 shots. SEAN DOYLE added 13 points and 7 boards in the finale. BRADLEY KLINE, who also was named to the all-tournament team, tapped in 8 points in abbreviated action.

Santana scoring: Trevor Barkhimer 8 (6 stl, 2 ast), Trey Bass 8 (4 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Danny Carpenter 2 (4 reb), Jason Dale 4, Sean Doyle 13 (7 reb, 2 ast), Bradley Kline 8 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Matt Lucius 8 (3 reb), James Needy 20 (8 reb, 4 blk, 2 stl), Chris Sodergren 8 (9 reb, 7 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl), David Thrall 10 (3 ast, 3 stl).

OTAY RANCH 65, WEST HILLS 42 — The Wolf Pack stayed with the talented Mustangs for nearly three quarters until Otay Ranch point guard Alex Perez caught on fire Saturday (Dec. 6). The sophomore tallied 19 of his game-high 25 points in the second half to collect another Wolf Pack-Horsman Tournament victory.

Perez opened the fourth period by draining five straight shots, including three jump shots, to break open the contest.

"In the first half, we rushed our offense and took too many quick shots," said Perez. "When we switched to a full-court press in the second half, they couldn't handle it."

"When we get all of our players eligible and get our transfers cleared, we should be pretty good and win league," added Perez, who fell three assists short of a triple-double (25 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists).

Fortunately for the Wolf Pack, they may be in a similar position in the Grossmont South League. Six football players recently joined the ballclub.

"We've only had a few practices with the football players," noted senior guard RYAN BOZELLE, who scored 10 points. "Once we get our chemistry down, we'll be okay.”

Senior forward MIKE LIFGREN registered six of his team-high 11 points in the first period to keep the game tied at 13-all, but Otay Ranch allowed just a pair of 3-point buckets in the second quarter to take a 25-19 halftime lead.

The Mustangs then opened the second half with an 8-0 run, scoring mostly on layins the rest of the contest.

"With our defense, we didn't drop back in our 2-3 (zone) and they picked us apart in the fourth quarter," added Bozelle. "We were in it for a while, but we broke down -- we were close for three quarters until (the mistakes) caught up on us."

West Hills scoring: Mike Lifgren 11 (5 reb., 4 blk.), Ryan Bozelle 10, Adrian Maraziti 6, Garrett Cabral 5 (5 reb.), Kyle McLaughlin 4, Kyle Navarre 4 (5 reb., 3 stl.).

TORREY PINES 74, MONTE VISTA 42 – The game started out with Torrey Pines being charged with a technical foul for dunking in Saturday’s (Dec. 6) pregame warm-up of the Hilltop Classic.

The two technical foul shots were taken by Monte Vista’s GEOFF HARTMAN gave the Monarchs a 2-0 edge before the opening tipoff. It all went down hill after that.

Monte Vista played most of the 2nd quarter with its three most experienced players on the bench with foul trouble – Hartman (3 fouls), CHRIS JONES (2) and TRENT WATKINS (2).

Watkins fouled out of the game with just three minutes into the 3rd quarter.

Hartman managed 11 points, the majority coming on a pair of three-pointy buckets to pace the Monarchs (1-1). Junior DERWIN PETTEWAY added 10 points and six rebounds.

“Torrey Pines did a good job switching defenses,” Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL said. “Their 1-3-1 zone really bothered us – we weren’t ready for it.”

Ten Monarchs scored in defeat.

“The one good thing about tonight’s game was that we got a chance to get a look at everybody under actual game conditions,” Carroll said.

Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 11 (3 reb), Derwin Petteway 10 (6 reb), Anthony Dotson 4, Tony Jackson 4 (4 reb), Richard Whitfield 4, Jason Guinto 3, Kevin Starling 2, Corey Parrish 2 (2 reb), Alvin Merriweather 1, Chris Jones (3 reb, 3 ast), Brandon Tillet (2 reb).

POINT LOMA 52, HELIX 40 – As long as half of the varsity basketball team is involved in the San Diego CIF Division II football playoffs, the Highlanders are going to struggle. And so they are, with back-to-back losses in the Hilltop Classic.

“It’s not for a lack of effort,” Helix coach JOHN SINGER said. “We’re playing all nine of the guys we have right now, but we do not have anyone we can call a go-to-guy.”

Not yet, anyway.

Guard JOUBERT BALLARD was the only player to break the double digits barrier with 12 points in a game Helix led 11-8 after one quarter. But turnovers – 41 in two games – continue to plague the Highlanders.

Helix scoring: Joubert Ballard 12 (3 reb, 1 blk, 2 ast), Patrick Winston 5 (7 reb, 3 stl, 1 blk)), Jaylen Linson 5 (4 reb), Dimitar Topalov 5 (2 reb), Terrance Cole 4 (4 reb), Tommie Young 5 (2 reb), Yohanes Solomon 2 (3 reb), John Singer 2 (2 reb), Darien Paterson (4 ast, 2 stl).

MIRA MESA 40, GROSSMONT 25 – The visiting Foothillers (0-2) registered one of their lowest scoring outputs in recent memory in Saturday’s (Dec. 6) Eastlake Titan Roundball Tipoff. Fact is, the Hillers mustered only six points in the opening 16 minutes which left them to play catch-up the rest of the game.

Mira Mesa’s Damon Williams, a standout running back on the gridiron, nearly outscored the Hillers by himself, finishing with 21 points. Williams did most of his scoring from the outside.

Grossmont scoring: Desean Waters 7, Graham Hajosy 5, Billy Gange 4, Drew Forehand 2, Robbie Nesovic 2, Felipe Valdez 2, Aaron Griffin 1, Alex Nesovic 2.

MISSION BAY 65, MOUNT MIGUEL 62 – No other information was available for this non-league contest.

Mount Miguel scoring: Anthony Stanford 15, Yuel Hagos 14 (3 3-point FG), Donte Allen 14, Keith Houston 8, Rudy Burruel 6, O’Dessa Sharps 4, Johnny Norton 1.

Monte Vista guard Tony Jackson drives the lane then makes a spectacular round-the-back (and opponent) pass, leaving Hilltop High's Chris Prather (33) in the popcorn machine. (Photo by by Brian Antoniszyn, Hilltop High iCrew Digital) Complete Slideshow Available HERE

Monarchs collect initial victory over Hilltop © East County Sports.com CHULA VISTA (12-6-08) — Monte Vista's GEOFF HARTMAN turned in a powerful scoring performance, hitting 12-of-23 shots from the field, including one trey and 3-of-5 free throws for 28 points as the visiting Monarchs toppled the host Lancers in Friday’s (Dec. 5) Hilltop Classic in South Bay. “We got off to a good start – we shot well and played good defense in the 1st quarter,” said Monarchs coach JAMES CARROLL. “They played tough against us in the 2nd quarter and made a run on us to get back in the game. The rest of the game was a real dogfight. We played well down the stretch – we shot well, protected the ball and made our free throws when they counted to win the game.” Playing in their opening game, the Monarchs trailed 41-40 entering the final quarter. But thanks to a solid effort from their bench – led by BRANDON TILLIT – Monte Vista escaped with a 4-point victory. “Brandon Tillet was just super,” said Carroll. Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 28 (7 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Tony Jackson 7 (6 reb), Trent Watkins 5 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Chris Jones 3 (3 reb, 3 ast), Anthony Dotson 2 (3 reb), Alvin Merriweather 2, Corey Parrish 2 (3 reb), Derwin Petteway 2, Brandon Tillet 2 (4 reb).

© East County Sports.com
BORREGO SPRINGS (12-06-08) — Santana High (4-0) is dealing for a Royal Flush Saturday (Dec. 6) at high noon when the visiting Sultans attempt to defend their Ram Classic championship against host Borrego Springs.

Once again, the Sultans (4-0) turned to 6-foot-5, 265-pound CHRIS SODERGREN to help Santana bump off semifinal challenger San Pasqual Academy 57-52 on Friday (Dec. 5). Sodergren slammed in 23 points and claimed 8 rebounds, while JAMES NEEDY collected 14 rebounds, dished 4 assists and canned 8 points.

“I expected this to be a tough game, our toughest one over here and it really was,” said Santana coach TIM BARRY. “They matched up to us size-wise and forced us to play some zone. San Pasqual was much quicker than we were. We finally went to a smaller lineup to match up with them so we could play man-to-man defense.”

“San Pasqual had a player, Higgs-Narcisie, who scored 20 points for them – 15 in the first half,” Barry said. “We shut him down in the 2nd half. We had a good effort in all phases of the game.”

Santana scoring: Chris Sodergren 23 (8 reb), James Needy 8 (14 reb, 4 ast), Bradley Kline 8 (5 reb, 2 ast), Trevor Barkhimer 6 (3 reb), Sean Doyle 4 (6 reb), David Thrall 3, Matt Lucius 3, Trey Bass 2 (6 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl).

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 74, WESTVIEW 58 – The Foothill Christian Knights' outside game nearly matched their inside game Friday (Dec. 5), leading to an easy waltz over the Wolverines in an Eagle-Vaquero Classic pool play affair.

Backed by a game-high 22 points by KALOB HATCHER, Foothills Christian shot 13-for-31 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the post offense dropped 13-of-30 shots from the floor, where TROY LEAF registered 10 of his 18 points, as the Knights breezed to a 47-23 halftime lead.

“The first half was one of the best halves we’ve played – including the summer,” said Knights coach BRAD LEAF. “The score was 47-23 at the half. It was really good for us. It was one of the best defensive efforts we have put together,”

The Knights shot 17-36 from the field in the first half, including 8-19 from 3 point range. BRANDON HALE and MIKE WNEK each hit two 3's in the 2nd quarter.

“Kalob was the story of the game for us,” said Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. “Kalob really showed a lot of leadership tonight. He was 3-4 from 3 point land and had 3 assists in the 1st quarter.”

“Mike Wnek and Brandon Hale also showed up huge for us tonight when those guys are hitting there isn't much for other teams to do,” said McHugh. “Who do you guard at that point?”

Foothills Christian scoring: Kalob Hatcher 22 (7 ast.), Troy Leaf 18 (9 ast., 7 reb., 5 stl.), Brandon Hale 14, Mike Wnek 11, Jvonte Brooks 7, Ryan Smith 2.

VALHALLA 53, EL CAJON VALLEY 51 – With 12 seconds left on the clock and Valhalla leading 51-49, AUSTEN SUHAY hit two free throws, putting Valhalla ahead 53-49 in Friday’s (Dec. 5) Eagle-Vaquero Classic at El Cajon Valley. It was the second time in as many games that Suhay has provided the Norsemen (2-0) with the winning points.

El Cajon Valley did not roll over without a challenge.

With 4.5 seconds remaining the Braves’ JORDAN SHIVERS hit a bucket to cut the deficit to two. However, the Braves were out of timeouts out of luck as Valhalla allowed time to expire.

“El Cajon was pretty emotional and intense tonight, and our guys did a good job in matching and intensity,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. “We did a good job defensively.”

“El Cajon is very quick and athletic – they are very hard to contain. We had good balance on offense. The players take good pride in spreading the scoring around,” Jackson added.

Valhalla improved to 2-0 while El Cajon Valley fell to 1-2.

Shivers had a game-high 20 points to pace the Braves, while ANTHONY USSERY contributed 12 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks.

“Valhalla played well as a team and executed well,” said El Cajon Valley coach JIM GLEBOFF. “We just couldn’t get over the hump. We are having problems fouling. We’re making some poor decisions with turnovers and fouls. If we can clean that up we’ll be OK.”

Valhalla scoring: Austen Suhay 10 (4 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl), Kyle Kriebel 11 (8 reb, 3 blk), David Wilschetz 9 (6 reb, 2 blk), David Zetts 8, Steven Kleist 7, Trevor Cahoon 6 (3 reb, 3 stl), Josh Austel 2 (4 reb, 2 blk), Jordan Cunningham (2 reb).

El Cajon Valley scoring: Jordan Shivers 20, Anthony Ussery 12 (10 reb, 5 blk, 3 stl), Dominic Dove 7, Raylondo Ford 4, Devon Eze 4, Jesse Damman 2, Kendall Conley 2.

RANCHO BUENA VISTA 57, HELIX 43 – Veteran coach JOHN SINGER isn’t expecting a fast start from his Highlanders, considering he has five players still involved in the CIF football playoffs and another who has not cleared eligibility.

“We’ll be alright when we get our other six guys back,” said Singer, whose Highlanders dropped the season opener to Rancho Buena Vista in the Hilltop Classic tournament.

It wasn’t a complete flop by the Highlanders, who were tied with the Longhorns at 39-39 after three periods.

“You’re not going to win too many games when you turn the ball over 24 times, like we did,” Singer noted. “But we still had a chance to win it in the last quarter.”

One glaring difference between the teams was RBV hit 7-of-15 three-point shots while Helix was only 2-of-11 from above the arc.

“Until we get everybody out here we’re gonna struggle,” Singer said.

PATRICK WINSTON paced the Highlanders with 11 points and 19 rebounds.

Helix shot less than 35 percent from the field in their season debut.

Helix scoring: Patrick Winston 11 (19 reb, 3 stl, 2 blk), Dimitar Topalov 9 (2 reb), Jaylen Linson 7 (9 reb), Yohanes Solomon 6 (4 reb), Tommie Young 5 (2 ast), Joubert Ballard 3 (8 reb, 5 ast), Terrance Cole 2 (2 stl, 3 reb), John Singer (2 ast).

VISTA 90, MOUNT MIGUEL 62 – DONTE ALLEN scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Mount Miguel, and JOHNNY NORTON scored 17 points and dished 6 assists, but it was not near enough to keep pace with the visitors from the North County in Friday’s (Dec. 5) Eagle-Vaquero Classic encounter.

“We scored enough to win we just can’t defend, and that’s my fault as the coach,” said Matadors coach JERRY ROWLETT. “But we’ll get some practice time and clear that up. We have got to get our defense tighter. We have a lot of new guys. We are in two tournaments in two weeks, and because of finals, I want them to be able to pass their classes.”

Another positive for Mount Miguel was YUEL HAGOS hit four 3-pointers.

Mount Miguel scoring: Johnny Norton 17 (6 ast, 3 stl), Donte Allen 12 (10 reb), Yuel Hagos 12, O’Dessa Sharps 7, Anthony Stanford 6 (4 ast), Rudy Burruel 5, Keith Houston 3.

EL CAMINO 74, STEELE CANYON 30 – In hindsight this is probably a game that coach DEREK STEPHENS probably wished he hadn’t scheduled, as the Cougars fell behind 37-17 at halftime of Friday’s (Dec. 5) Eagle-Vaquero Classic game against visiting El Camino, and never recovered.

“We were missing 5 players (still playing CIF football). Our defense played well but our offenst is still struggling. We are not shooting well and we are turning the ball over too much.”

“CAMERON HUBBARD and ZANE KEITH really battled hard all night. RC SHIELDS played well off the bench. We played hard for about a quarter and a half, then we ran out of gas. This was our third game in three nights.”

Steele Canyon scoring: Zane Keith 7, Kaptan Kaster 5, Joey Kramer 5, Cameron Hubbard 5, RC Shields 4, Michael Cederoth 2, Andrew King 2.

ESCONDIDO 70, EL CAPITAN 45 – Host El Capitan could not overcome 39 turnovers in Friday’s (Dec. 5) loss to Escondido in an Eagle-Vaquero Classic game.

MICHAEL OVERSON paced the Vaqueros with 12 points but was blanked in the middle two quarters. The junior guard did come up with 8 steals and 4 rebounds.

ANDREW CABLE pitched in with 8 points and 4 rebounds.

El Capitan scoring: Michael Overson 12 (4 reb, 8 stl), Andrew Cable 8 (4 reb), Jake Zawlacki 6 (5 reb, 2 ast), Armon Worrell 5 (6 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Jon Molzen 5 (4 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk, 2 stl), John Kulp 2, Brian Deuel 5, Will Radasa 2.

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (12-5-08) — El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS can only smile when his Vaqueros properly execute their offense. But when they don't, which occurred often in Thursday's (Dec. 4) Eagle-Vaquero Classic contest, all the coach can do is grimace and remind himself it's only the first week of the season.

"When we start moving the ball, we go boom-boom-boom and into the flow of the game, getting good shots," noted Cavazos.

Fortunately, there were slightly more smiles than frowns, allowing El Capitan to rally from a 10-point deficit to nip visiting Morse, 52-47, in continuing pool play action of the tournament.

Junior shooting guard MICHAEL OVERSON keyed the comeback on the defensive end of the court, registering six of his game-high seven steals in the second half to ignite the transition game.

"We weren't very patient with our offense, but then we got some good looks inside," said Overson, who finished with a game-high 17 points. "In the first half, we didn't come out ready to play."

Morse center Rome De La Rosa (6-3) was a major thorn in the first half, scoring 14 points for a 31-21 lead, as the Tigers went to the locker room with a 33-26 halftime advantage.

"We talked about him before the game," added Cavazos. "They didn't realize how good he was, but then they learned to know where the good players are all of the time."

And when El Capitan switched predominately to a zone defense, De La Rosa disappeared from the score sheet and the comeback ensued. De La Rosa, in fact, was limited to a pair of free throws over the final two quarters.

"They made the adjustment and it worked out well," Cavazos said.

The result was a huge third-quarter burst, out-scoring the Tigers by a 17-4 count to grab the lead.

An Overson putback gave El Cap (2-1) its first lead at 34-33. The teams then took turns taking the lead four more times, with the Vaqueros finally going on a 7-0 run to assume control for keeps. Included were layins by ANDREW CABLE and JAKE ZAWLACKI, followed by a 3-point basket by Overson to close the quarter.

Meanwhile, Morse (0-3), which dominated the boards by grabbing 18 offensive rebounds in the first half alone, suddenly lay dormant in the water with just a single field goal in the quarter.

"We tried to mix up our defense -- try to get Morse to think a little more," Overson added.

JON MOLZEN followed with the play of the game, making a smooth bounce pass to ARMON WORRELL for a backdoor layin while being fouled to give El Capitan a 7-point lead and control the rest of the way.

"It was a change we had to make because De La Rosa was hurting us in the first half," Cavazos noted. "Whether we were in man or zone, we had to know where he was at all times. We lost sight of him in the first half. In the second half, we gained sight of him."

Cable finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds, while Molzen scored all of his 8 points in the second half, when El Cap outscored the Tigers, 26-14.

El Capitan scoring: Michael Overson 17 (7 reb., 7 stl.), Andrew Cable 15 (5 reb.), Jon Molzen 8 (5 reb., 5 ast.), Jake Zawlacki 6 (7 reb., 4 ast.), Armon Worrell 4, John Kulp 2.

WEST HILLS 35, HORIZON 34 – You won’t find his name among the West Hills scoring leaders in Thursday’s (Dec. 4) season opening victory over Division IV powerhouse Horizon in the Wolf Pack-Horsman Tournament.

Introducing KYLE McLAUGHLIN, a 6-foot-2 Wolf Pack senior post player.

McLaughlin scored only two points – the game-winning basketball with 10 seconds left – permitting the Pack to pounce on the Panthers.

“Horizon had a one-point lead and the ball with 28 seconds left,” West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG said. “Suddenly McLaughlin jumps the passing lane for a steal. Just a great play and follow through by him.”

Horizon was able to launch one 3-pointer in a bid for the win with three seconds left. The shot missed its mark and the Wolf Pack’s KYLE NAVARRE collected the rebound and sealed the victory.

“Yes, this is certainly a great way to start the season,” Armstrong said. “But we have plenty of room for improvement. We’ve just gotten our football players out here so we have mesh together and build on that.”

West Hills’ play was a bit ragged at the start as Horizon took a 19-11 halftime lead. Devyn Iglehart scored the majority of his game high 17 points in the first two quarters, but cooled off considerably in the second due to the West Hills defense.

Offensively, though, both teams struggled.

“We were throwing the ball all over the gym in the first half,” Armstrong said. “But at the same time I thought KELLEN JOHNSON, LUCAS ARMSTRONG and McLaughlin did a great job defending their big man (6-7 Omar Richards). He didn’t hurt us at all.”

West Hills scoring: Ryan Bozelle 9 (three 3s), Garrett Cabral 7, Kyle Navarre 6, Mike Lifgren 6, Adrian Maraziti 3,Kyle McLaughlin 2, Chase Senter 2.

SANTANA 72, JULIAN 16 – It wasn’t pretty, but it was pleasing to Santana coach TIM BARRY and his Sultans, who jolted Julian in Thursday’s (Dec. 4) Borrego Springs Ram Classic contest.

Ten Sultans contributed to the Santee Five’s lopsided victory. Big CHRIS SODERGREN set the pace with a crisp double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds. He also dished three assists.

TREY BASS banged in 11 points and USD-bound baseball pitcher JAMES NEEDY nailed 10 points and scooped up 6 rebounds.

“We got a chance to play everybody today, and the opportunity to practice everything we do, both offensively and defensively,” Santana coach TIM BARRY said. “It’s not often you get a chance to do that during a game, so we definitely took advantage of it. By the end of the next week we’ll have played nine games in 11 days.”

Santana scoring: Chris Sodergren 13 (11 reb, 3 ast), Trey Bass 11 (3 reb), James Needy 10 (6 reb), Trevor Barkhimer 8 (2 reb), Matt Lucius 7 (4 reb, 2 stl), Sean Doyle 6 (7 reb), David Thrall 6 (2 stl), Bradley Kline 5 (5 reb, 4 stl), Danny Carpenter 4 (3 reb), Jason Dale 2 (3 reb).

THE BISHOP’S 74, STEELE CANYON 47 — For the second night in a row Steele Canyon received strong inside scoring from ZANE KEITH (17 points) and MICHAEL CEDEROTH (14), but showed its inexperience in the backcourt in dropping an Eagle-Vaquero Classic contest at the Fleet Center at The Bishop’s School.

In their first two games, the two postmen have combined to score 59 points for the Cougars (0-2), whose leading ball-handlers are still making tackles in the San Diego CIF playoffs.

The shorted-handed Cougars led the No. 10-ranked Knights 15-14 after one period.

“Keith is the only guy who has a lot of experience,” Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS said. “He got in foul trouble in the 2nd half and that’s when Bishop’s made their run.”

The middle two periods were a different story, as The Bishop’s rolled to a 42-15 margin.

“We definitely played better than last night,” Stephens assured.

“The guys are getting more confident in their game. We made some adjustments offensively and played really, really hard in the 1st quarter, actually the whole game. We threw the ball away too much last night. We did it about half as much tonight.”

Steele Canyon scoring: Zane Keith 17, Michael Cederoth 14, Joey Kramer 9, Kaptan Kaster 7.

© East County Sports.com
CORONADO (12-3-08) — It won’t go down as one of the greatest season openers in Valhalla history, but the Norsemen did provide some last second dramatics when they edged host Coronado 49-47 in an Eagle-Vaquero Classic encounter.

Senior guard AUSTEN SUHAY swished a pair of free throws with 12 seconds remaining to provide the Norsemen with the winning edge over the Islanders.

A returning All-Grossmont South Leaguer, Suhay netted nine of 11 charity shots which made up half of his game high 22 points. He was also 6-for-13 shooting from the floor and managed – although he’s only a 6-footer – a team high 8 rebounds.

“It was a strange game,” Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON said. “We never gave up the lead, but we just didn’t do enough to pull away.”

The Norsemen easily could have been last second losers. With 20 seconds remaining and the score tied at 47-47, Coronado inbounded the ball. A double team by Valhalla ’s Suhay and STEVEN KLEIST forced a turnover. That theft eventually led to Suhay’s last-second heroics.

KYLE KREIBEL nailed 6 of 9 shots from the field and finished with a dozen points and six rebounds. TREVOR CAHOON chipped in with 7 rebounds and 3 assists, while DAVID WILSCHETZ contributed 7 points and 6 boards.

Valhalla scoring: Austen Suhay 22, (8 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Kyle Kriebel 12 (6 reb, 1 blk), David Wilschetz 7 (6 reb), Steven Kleist 5 (2 stl), Trevor Cahoon 3 (7 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), Jordan Cunningham (4 reb).

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 98, EL CAJON VALLEY 55 – Preseason predictions for the Knights seem to be on target. Rated either third or fifth in the county (depending on which media outlet you prefer), Foothills Christian set several school records in skating to an easy victory over the Braves (1-1) in Eagle-Vaquero Classic action Wednesday (Dec. 3) at Granite Hills.

TROY LEAF, the defending CIF-San Diego Section scoring champion as a sophomore, opened his junior campaign in fine style by pouring in a game-high 36 points.

However, the Knights run to a Division V section title will be aided by the addition of JVONTE BROOKS. The 6-foot-7 center, also a junior, added 29 points and broke a pair of school records in the process.

Brooks kept the physical El Cajon Valley game off the boards by grabbing a school-high water mark 26 rebounds. Among those, 15 were offensive boards, also smashing the old standard.

The previous game record was 19, set by Leaf against Borrego Springs almost exactly two years ago to the day (Dec. 1, 2006). The old mark for offensive boards was 9, set by TREVOR NEWKIRK on the date (Dec. 8, 2004 (of the school's first varsity victory in any sport.

A motivated El Cajon Valley squad, taunted at being no match for the Knights despite defeating Mount Miguel one night earlier, proved otherwise early, staying within 22-17 through the first period.

However, the Foothills Christian defense yielded only 16 points over the middle two periods to pull away to a 69-33 advantage.

Knights guard KALOB HATCHER, following a forgettable opening period (five turnovers), sparked the offense with 25 points and 11 assists. He also recorded 9 rebounds and 6 steals, falling one carom short of a triple-double.

“The best thing about our guys is they don’t care who scores as long as someone is putting the ball in the hoop,” said Foothills Christian assistant coach JAMES McHUGH.

As a team, Foothills was charged with just a single second-half turnover.

For El Cajon Valley, newcomer JORDAN SHIVERS again sparked the ballclub with 13 points.

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 36 (7 reb., 6 ast.), Jvonte Brooks 29 (26 reb.), Kalob Hatcher 25 (11 ast., 9 reb., 6 stl.), Brandon Hale 8.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Jordan Shivers 13, Dominic Dove 8, A.J. Ussery 8, Kendall Conley 6, Raylondo Ford 6, James Stone 6, Devin Lesch 5, Devon Eze 2, Omar Hall 2.

SANTANA 68, VINCENT MEMORIAL 45 – One of the reasons Santana coach TIM BARRY annually takes his Sultans to the Borrego Springs Ram Classic is to show his players defensive styles they are unlikely to see in East County or points west, north or south.

“I like going to this tournament,” said Barry. “You get to see a lot of gadget defenses that we never get to see around here. Vincent Memorial played a 1-3-1 zone. We had not played against that zone before and I liked the way we handled their it.”

Barry’s boys bounced out to a 15-12 first quarter lead and gradually widened the margin over the Fighting Scots each of the final three periods of Wednesday’s (Dec. 3) desert duel.

Junior BRADLEY KLINE turned in a powerful performance for Santana (2-0), collecting 15 points and 8 rebounds.

CHRIS SODERGREN was Santana’s muscle in the middle for the second game in a row, tossing in 12 points and collecting 10 rebounds. SEAN DOYLE led the Santana supporting cast with 10 points and a dozen rebounds.

While pleased by Santana’s start, Barry recognizes there is room for improvement.

“We did have too many turnovers (23),” he noted. “But I’m pleased with the way we distributed the ball (24 assists).”

Santana scoring: Bradley Kline 15 (8 reb, 2 stl), Chris Sodergren 12 (10 reb, 5 ast), Sean Doyle 10 (12 reb, 3 ast), Trevor Barkhimer 7 (2 reb, 4 ast, 5 stl), Matt Gomez 6 (2 reb, 2 ast), James Needy 5 (10 reb), Trey Bass 5 (6 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl), Danny Carpenter 5, Jason Dale 2, Matt Lucius 1 (2 stl), David Thrall (3 ast).

RANCHO BERNARDO 46, GROSSMONT 44 – Although virtually wiped out by graduation, the Foothillers came out strong in Wednesday’s (Dec. 3) Eastlake Titan Tournament opener against visiting Rancho Bernardo.

“We played very well for 3½ quarters,” Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO said. “They got a couple of 3s with 30 seconds to go and caught us.”

The Broncos edged in front 44-42, but the Foothillers scrambled back to tie it on a pair of DESEAN WATERS free throws with 30 seconds remaining.

With 12 seconds to go Grossmont called timeout to set up a play. The Foothillers made it to midcourt when the ball handler slipped and lost the ball. A Rancho Bernardo defender scooped up the loose ball, worked his way downcourt and sank the game-winning shot.

Grossmont’s 6-foot-6 ROBBIE NESOVIC paced Grossmont with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

“We played well,” Foggiano said in spite of the frustrating defeat. “Robbie Nesovic played strong and Desean Waters handled the ball well – made three 3s.” Waters finished with 13 points, the majority coming from his shooting above the arc.

Grossmont scoring: Robbie Nesovic 15 (10 reb, 2 stl), Desean Waters 13 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Felipe Valdez 9 (3 reb, 2 ast), Clayton Fainey 4 (2 reb), Billy Gange 3 (4 reb), Aaron Griffin (5 reb).

VISTA 84, STEELE CANYON 42 – The visiting Cougars got caught in a Vista buzzsaw during Wednesday’s (Dec. 3) season opener of the Eagle-Vaquero Classic in North County.

Returning 6-foot-5 senior ZANE KEITH was Steele Canyon ’s offensive leader with 16 points. Sophomore center MICHAEL CEDEROTH cashed in 12 more.

“We are missing a lot of players, who are still playing football,” said DEREK STEPHENS. “We brought up some JV kids to fill in for the football players (who are still in the SDCIF playoffs).”

“ Vista is a very good team. We play Bishop’s then El Camino this week so this is a tough schedule without our thoroughbreds. It’s going to be a real learning experience for us this week.”

Steele Canyon scoring: Zane Keith 16, Michael Cederoth 12, Joey Kramer 8, Andrew King 2, Cameron Hubbard 2, Kaptan Kaster 2. No other stats were available.

THE BISHOP’S 83, MOUNT MIGUEL 22 – This one will not likely appear on the Mount Miguel postseason highlight reel, as the visiting Matadors (0-3) were bowled over by The Bishop’s in Wednesday’s (Dec. 3) Eagle-Vaquero Classic.

“We had only seven guys in uniform and fatigue started to set in,” Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT said. That certainly was the case in the final period when the Knights earned a 17-0 scoring spread.

Mount Miguel scoring: Keith Houston 5, Bryant Mitchell 1, Rudy Burruel 5 (4 reb, 2 ast), Anthony Stanford 7 (3 reb), Johnny Norton 2, O’Dessa Sharps 2 (4 reb).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-3-08) — When it comes to the annual Eagle-Vaquero Classic, the El Cajon Valley Braves just seem to have Mount Miguel's number.

For the third straight season, the teams' annual battle went down to the final seconds, with the Braves again nipping the Matadors, this time 58-56 in Tuesday's (Dec. 2) encounter.

Mount Miguel had two chances in the final seconds to forge overtime, but Braves forward DOMINIC DOVE blocked the first attempt, then forced a second shot to be altered while the shooter was in the air to give the Braves the victory in the season opener for El Cajon Valley.

"They kept pick-and-rolling on A.J. (USSERY), so he just said he was going to fall back and get my man," said Dove, who scored 8 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.

The switch worked well.

"His man tried to put it up and I was right there to block it."

Mount Miguel (0-2) mounted a lead which reached 14 points midway through the third quarter, as the final of four treys by RUDY BURRUEL lifted the Matadors advantage to 48-34.

Burruel finished with 14 points, while teammate ANTHONY STANFORD paced all scorers with 23.

However, El Cajon Valley answered when junior guard JORDAN SHIVERS tallied 12 of his team-best 22 points over the final three minutes of the period to ignite the comeback.

"We were down in the locker room (at halftime), so I tried to hype everybody up and get us back in the game," said Shivers, who recently moved to the area after living in both Compton and Lancaster. "Then everybody started putting effort into it -- and our team went crazy."

Plus, the Braves turned up the defense, too, controlling the boards before finally taking the lead in the final two minutes.

"I had to get some boards and put in the work since I'm the big man on this team," Dove added. "Everybody had their head down -- we're not used to being down at the half -- so we had to come out and keep our composure and get our intensity up."

Shivers' dribble-drive to the basket for a layin while being fouled gave ECVHS a 3-point play and a 56-54 lead with 1:41 remaining. On the next possession, JAMES STONE blocked a shot with the ball landing in the hands of RAYLONDO FORD, who tossed a 40-foot pass upcourt to the breaking Ussery for another layin.

"The rest of the team stepped up because I had a bad game," noted Ussery, who was limited to 10 points. "My boy, Jordan, stepped up; Dominic stepped up; and the rest of the team helped out -- it was a team game."

"In the first half, we got a little jumpy, had some butterflies and got too excited, then we calmed down and came out and played."

Over the past two seasons, the Braves nipped the Matadors in this tournament, 50-48 and 57-52, although Mount Miguel bounced back to avenge each setback in the Grossmont Conference Tournament later in the season, winning by double-figures each time.

However, ECVHS believes the trend will turn around as they hope to compete for the Grossmont North League crown under the direction of veteran coach JIM GLEBOFF, who is starting his first season with the Braves.

"We have a lot of newcomers, but I think we can honestly go to CIF," added Shivers.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Jordan Shivers 22 (4 treys, 2 blk), Kendall Conley 13, A.J. Ussery 10 (3 stl), Dominic Dove 8 (12 reb., 2 blk), Ford 5 (4 ast, 3 stl).

Mount Miguel: Anthony Stafford 23, Rudy Burruel 14, Yuel Hagos 7, O'Dessa Sharps 6, Johnny Norton 6.

EL CAPITAN 50, CORONADO 42 – Senior guard MICHAEL LANDIS popped in 13 points and MICHAEL OVERSON added 11 Tuesday night (Dec. 2) as host El Capitan leveled its ledger at 1-1 in the Eagle-Vaquero Classic.

“We actually looked like we’ve been practicing something the last couple of weeks,” El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS said. “We competed tonight.”

Cavazos was talking about the improvement the Vaqueros (1-1) made on the boards over their season opening loss to Vista on Monday.

“We did better at boxing out, taking away their second and third shots,” the coach said.

ARMON WORRELL led the Vaqueros board brigade with 10 caroms. JON MOLZEN chipped in 8 rebounds, 6 rebounds and 5 blocks.

El Capitan scoring: Michael Landis 13 (3 ast, 2 rebs), Michael Overson 11 (3 rebs., 3 stl); Jon Molzen 8 (2 stl), Armon Worrell 7 (2 stl), Jake Zawlacki 5, Andrew Cable 4 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Will Radasa 2.

SANTANA 79, GUAJOME PARK 52 – At 6-foot-5, 265 pounds Santana senior CHRIS SODERGREN usually gets his way around the basket. He did in Tuesday’s (Dec. 2) non-league season opener on the Sultans’ court.

Sodergren muscled in 11 buckets and a pair of free throws for a game-high 24 points against the outmanned Frogs of Guajome Park. Sodergren also grabbed 9 rebounds – one less than team leader 6-foot-4 sophomore TREY BASS. Bass also had 4 assists and 3 steals.

Senior JAMES NEEDY made his basketball debut for the Sultans, knocking down 11 points while bagging 9 rebounds.

This Santana team has good size as five players are 6-4 or taller.

“Sodergren, a 3-year returning starter, is going to be a force in the post,” said Santana coach TIM BARRY. “And Needy will help us. With only two returning players everybody is getting a chance to play. We have younger kids coming up and it was a nice varsity game for them. We’re big this year. We definitely have some size.”

But all is not perfect for the Sultans, as coach Barry points out:

“Having the disastrous off-season we had in the summer we lost point guard JESSE VARGAS (knee) and senior KEVIN ENGELKE (shoulder). They were both coming off surgery and were playing pretty well, then they both re-injured themselves. We’ve lost them both for the season.”

Santana scoring: Chris Sodergren 24 (9 reb, 2 ast), James Needy 11 (9 reb, 2 ast), Trey Bass 9 (10 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Sean Dowle 7 (4 reb), Matt Lucius 6 (2 ast), Matt Gomez 6 (5 ast), Bradley Kline 5 (5 reb), Jason Dale 4 (4 reb), Trevor Barkhimer 3 (2 reb, 2 stl), Danny Carpenter 2 (5 reb), David Thrall 2.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-2-08) — Granite Hills connected on its first seven 3-point shots to zoom in front of visiting Escondido 29-8 in Monday’s (Dec. 1) second round of the Eagle-Vaquero Classic.

DEAN MILLER hit four treys during the opening scoring spree, and JOHN MONTES hit three more.

The Eagles (2-0) maintained their advantage but had to hold off a fourth-quarter charge by the tenacious Cougars to claim a 75-66 victory.

For the second game in a row Miller finished with 22 points, including 8-for-8 free throw shooting. He was one of four Eagles to finish in double scoring digits.

Hard-nosed senior rebounder AARON HARRIS pitched in with 14 points and 12 rebounds, one more than Miller.

Montes added 13 points and 10 boards, while RONNIE VON HAGEN crashed the glass for 8 caroms.

“Everybody executed real well,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. “ Escondido is a decent team, made a little run on us in the last quarter, but we didn’t lose our composure. I was real happy with our composure in the 2nd half.”

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 22 (11 reb, 7 ast, 2 blk), Aaron Harris 14 (12 reb), Kyle Snyder 12, John Montes 13, Andre Lewis 5 (6 ast, 3 stl), Ronnie Von Hagen 4, Jason Gaines 5.

CORONADO 60, MOUNT MIGUEL 57 – ANTHONY STANFORD and JOHNNY NORTON scored 17 points apiece for the visiting Matadors in Monday’s (Dec. 1) Eagle-Vaquero Classic opener.

But that wasn’t enough as Coronado used a 23-13 third quarter spread to edge in front 49-41. The Matadors made a belated charge in the final quarter only to fall inches short in the final seconds.

“We’re still waiting for CIF clearance on a couple of players,” said Mount Miguel coach JERRY ROWLETT. “We can use them. We had a chance to tie it at the buzzer on a 3 that didn’t go. We allowed way too many points.”

Mount Miguel scoring: Anthony Stanford 17, Johnny Norton 17, Yuel Hagos 13, Rudy Borruel 8, O’Dessa Sharps 2, Bryant Mitchell (2 reb).

VISTA 84, EL CAPITAN 45 – It wasn’t exactly what El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS had in mind for the season opener.

The visiting Vista Panthers nailed nine 3-pointers as they sprinted past the host Vaqueros Monday (Dec. 1) in the Eagle-Vaquero Classic.

Trey Johnson had 25 points and Quincy Lawson had 23 to lead the North County powerhouse past the rebuilding Vaqueros.

Vista broke open an 8-point halftime lead with a 22-10 third quarter scoring spree.

Junior MICHAEL OVERSON paced the Vaqueros with 13 points, including a trio of 3s.

JAKE ZAWLACKI added 9 points and 4 rebounds, while JON MOLZEN contributed 8 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.

El Capitan scoring: Michael Overson 13 (3 reb, 2 ast), Jake Zawlacki 9, Jon Molzen 8, Armon Worrell 7 (4 reb), Michael Landis 4, Andrew Cable 4 (5 reb, 3 ast).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (11-30-08) — For openers, it wasn’t a bad start for Granite Hills which opened the season Saturday (Nov. 29) with a 65-48 victory over visiting Coronado in an Eagle-Vaquero Classic contest.

Senior captain DEAN MILLER rattled in a team-best 22 points, including perfect 8-for-8 shooting from the free throw line. The 6-foot-3 forward also had 11 rebounds to top the team.

“We played good team defense, and that’s a good thing because we did not have a good shooting night,” Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON said.

The Eagles netted a smidgeon better than 32 percent of 56 shots from the field, and included a paltry 4-for-23 from three-point range.

Anderson praised the overall play of junior point guard ANDRE LEWIS. The 5-9 junior included a pair of tip-in buckets on his way to a 14-point finish. He also cleared seven rebounds, six assists and three steals.

“Andre really sparked us,” Andersons said.

Anderson said Granite Hills will be playing its “toughest schedule in five years.” That includes participating in the Bishop Gorman Invitational (Dec. 18-20) in Las Vegas (NV), an event that features eight state champions.

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 22, Andre Lewis 14, Aaron Harris 13 (7 reb), Kyle Snyder 8, Parker Dow 5, Jason Gaines (5 reb), John Montes 3.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (7-7-08) – Christian High senior center VANDER JOAQUIM, who once played for the national team of Angola, has made a sudden shift in direction considering his collegiate future.

With one season remaining in his high school career at Christian, the 6-foot-10, 220-pound Joaquim has uncommitted to play at the University of San Diego and instead will attend Nebraska starting in the 2009-10 season.

Joaquim’s decision to attend the Big 12 university centers around assistant coach WALTER ROESE. After spending last winter under Bill Greer at USD, Roese landed a position with Nebraska veteran head coach Doc Sadler.

“I think his connection with coach Roese is the reason Vander changed his mind,” said Christian High coach KELVIN STARR. “Coach Roese speaks Portuguese as does Vander. He is also a friend of the family back in Angola. So when coach Roese went to Nebraska, Vander wanted to follow. He made it clear that he wanted to play at a college where Roese was involved.”

The East County leader in rebounding (16.8 rpg) as a junior, Joaquim generated a 21.1 scoring average and netted better than 54 percent of his shots from the field. His numbers attracted attention throughout the college basketball community. But the combination of Roese and the opportunity to play in the Big 12 Conference convinced Joaquim to recommit.

“Vander is a loyal kid who was nervous about telling USD ‘no’,” Starr said. “I think he is enamored about going to a big-time school like Nebraska. Honestly, I think his chances of turning pro are better at Nebraska. He already has all the ‘X’ factors. He just needs more experience.”

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (5-20-08) — JIM GLEBOFF, who has coached for nearly a half century, has accepted the boys basketball post at El Cajon Valley High.

Gleboff takes over for NATE REED who directed the Braves the past four seasons.

“It seems almost second nature for me to be coaching somewhere,” said Gleboff, who last coached women’s basketball at Cuyamaca College two seasons ago. “This is a nice fit for me. It is close to where I live and it offers me another challenge.”

Gleboff is a familiar face locally, nationally and internationally. In East County, he’s also coached boys basketball at Granite Hills and El Capitan. In addition, he directed the Serra High boys basketball program a decade ago.

“My first coaching job was in 1958 when I did both football and basketball for three years at Eleva Strum High School in Eau Claire, Wis.,” Gleboff recalled. “I’ve been all basketball after that.”

His resume includes six seasons at the University of Wisconsin-Superior as well as high school coaching stops in Reno and Las Vegas. On the international level, Gleboff left his coaching mark in Egypt and Tahiti.