© East County Sports.com
RANCHO SAN DIEGO (2-21-09/UPDATED 2-22-009) — For the third time in the seven-year history of the Steele Canyon varsity basketball program, the Cougars are champions of the Grossmont South League.

When the Cougars clawed their way past visiting Valhalla 59-50 in a battle of league frontrunners before a crowd of more than 1,400 on Friday night (Feb. 20), it earned them their first league title since 2005.

“We knew we had to win this game to take league and we got it done,” said Steele Canyon senior guard JEBARI ROBINSON. “This is a goal we’ve had since we were freshmen.”

Robinson, one of 10 seniors on the Steele Canyon roster, missed his first five shots and then drilled in 6 of his final 10 attempts to finish with 17 points. He accounted for half of the Cougars’ six 3-pointers.

As a league champion, Steele Canyon (16-12, 8-2 GSL) hosts Ramona (15-12) in Wednesday’s (Feb. 25) opening round of the San Diego CIF Division II playoffs.

Even though Valhalla won the first meeting between the two, the Cougars were confident they’d avenge that defeat and take the crown.

Robinson, who also had 6 assists, 3 steals and 3 rebounds, thanked the home crowd for filling the gym for Steele Canyon ’s key victory.

“We wanted to wear our home white (uniforms) and our fans came out to support us,” Robinson said. “We wanted to win it for us, for the crowd and for our school. This is the biggest, nosiest (basketball) crowd I’ve played in front of since I’ve been in high school.”

Robinson was also a blue chip defensive back for Steele Canyon football team.

Valhalla’s biggest lead was 8-6 before Robinson ripped off 10 points to direct Steele Canyon to a 23-15 halftime lead. The Cougars led by as many as 16 in the second half.

CAMERON MOSS, a football player headed for Colorado State on scholarship, has become a legitimate force inside for the Cougars. A physical performer inside the paint, Moss had the soft shooting touch has he dropped in 6 of 8 shots on his way to a 13-point night.

“His footwork around the basket has really helped us out,” Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS said.

JOSIAH SMITH was also a force inside for Steele Canyon , hauling down a dozen rebounds while dumping in 9 points.

Stephens was pleased with the Cougars’ overall shooting – 23 of 55 (42 percent).

“This is the best we’ve shot the ball in the last three or four games,” he said. “This is the time we need to peak.”

The more physical Cougars also pounded the boards for a 46-33 advantage.

Valhalla ’s KYLE KRIEBEL, who has been dogged by a three-week bout with pneumonia, performed admirably. The 6-5, 205-pound junior sank 5 of 10 shots from the floor and 9 of 11 free throws for a game high 19 points. He also crashed the boards for 8 rebounds.

A healthy Kriebel is a must if Valhalla (17-10, 7-3 GSL) is to make any noise in the SDCIF Division II playoffs. The Norsemen host El Capitan in Wednesday’s (Feb. 25) first round of post-season activity.

Valhalla scoring: Kyle Kriebel 19 (8 reb), Austen Suhay 12 (4 reb, 4 ast), Josh Austel 11 (7 reb), David Zetts 3, Trevor Cahoon 2 (6 reb, 1-blk), David Wilchetz 2, Steven Kleist 1 (2 reb).

Steele Canyon scoring: Jebari Robinson 17 (6 ast, 3 reb, 3 stl), Cameron Moss 13 (7 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Josiah Smith 9 (12 reb, 2 stl), Eric Gilbert 8 (8 reb, 2 ast), Jeff Reid 8 (2 reb, 2 stl), Kaptan Kaster 4 (3 reb, 2 ast), Zane Keith (7 reb).

EL CAJON VALLEY 51, WEST HILLS 50 – Given the level of competition in the San Diego CIF Division II playoffs, the El Cajon Valley Braves have actually been talking among themselves about being worthy for a shot at the brass ring.

Their intra-squad chatter may have been presumptuous. Well, almost.

The Braves (15-11, 5-3 GNL), who tied El Capitan for second place in the league standings, needed a photo finish to deny visiting West Hills (9-17, 3-5 GNL) an upset victory.

ANTHONY “A.J.” USSERY, for his last regular season home game in his senior year, drove the baseline and put up a power layup. It rolled off the rim but he was fouled with 8 seconds left. Ussery made both free throws.

Ussery finished with just 4 points, but blocked 7 shots and made 3 steals.

“A.J. is really quick to the ball with those blocks,” El Cajon Valley coach JIM GLEBOFF said. “He’s always been a volleyball player – he has such timing.”

That victory earned the Braves a rare playoff home game against Point Loma (15-10) on Wednesday (Feb. 25).

West Hills (9-17, 3-5 GNL) started off strong, taking a 16-8 lead after one quarter. The Braves kept pecking away from there and finally got the result they wanted.

“I gave my kids a short practice Thursday night so they could get some rest for tonight’s game,” said Gleboff. “Today I found out instead they went over to Bostonia for a couple of hours of full court. They were feeling it tonight. We got lucky.”

DOMINIC DOVE spun a double-double of 13 rebounds and 10 points for the Braves, who have won 6 of their last 7 regular season games.

“I’m really proud of the team,” Gleboff said. “They played hard and with a lot of intensity. That’s all you can ask from them.”

It was another frustrating defeat for West Hills, which received a career high 25 points from senior GARRETT CABRAL. The bulk of his scoring came on a fistful of 3-pointers for 15 points. He did not, however, score in the 4th quarter.

CHASE SENTER tried to pick up the slack for the Pack as he netted a pair of treys in the final 8 minutes.

West Hills has the dubious task of opening the playoffs against top-seeded Hoover (24-7) on the Cardinals floor.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Jordan Shivers 14 (7 reb), Raylondo Ford 11 (6 stl), Dominic Dove 10 (13, 3 stl), Devin Lesch 8 (9 reb), Anthony Ussery 4 (7 blk, 3 stl), Jesse Damman 2, Kendall Conley 2.

West Hills scoring: Garrett Cabral 25, Chase Senter 18 (7 ast), Lucas Armstrong 4 (5 ast), Kellen Johnson 2, Kyle Navarre 1 (7 reb).

It was a night of records for DEAN MILLER as host Granite Hills shredded visiting Helix Friday night (Feb. 20) to further state its case for a prominent seeding position in the Division I SDCIF playoffs.

Miller, a 6-foot-3 senior, rolled off a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds. He didn’t stop there, as his totals included 8 steals and 6 assists.

“Dean tied the Granite Hills all-time steals record of 149 set by BRANDON PRIDE (2004-06),” Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON said.

Miller, who already owns the Eagles’ career scoring mark, was 6-for-20 from the field and 5 for 5 from the free throw line. Three of his baskets came from long distance.

“Dean has started 100 consecutive varsity games and played in 109 consecutive games,” Anderson said. “He’s never missed a practice or a game in his entire career, including the off-season. He’s a special kid.”

This one was all Granite Hills from the start as the Eagles (18-8, 7-3) earned a share of second place in the GSL with Valhalla .

AARON HARRIS also coined a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds for Granite Hills.

It was another long night for Helix (12-14, 2-8 GSL), which trailed from the outset. On the bright side, JAYLEN LINSON produced a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Helix kept its annual playoff string alive by gaining an opening round date at San Ysidro (15-11) in a Division II duel on Wednesday (Feb. 25). Despite a strong finish, Granite Hills (18-8) finds itself on the road against Poway (16-11).

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 20 (10 reb, 6 ast, 8 stl), Aaron Harris 15 (10 reb, 3 stl), Andre Lewis 11 (4 reb, 2 ast), Ronnie Von Hagen 3 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Jason Gaines 2 (3 reb), Kyle Snyder 2, Cameron Roberts 2, John Montes (5 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Parker Dow (3 reb),

Helix scoring: Jaylen Linson 13 (10 reb, 2 stl), Joubert Ballard 7 (5 reb, 1 blk), Anthony Anderson 4 (14 reb, 3 stl, 2 blk), Sam Meredith 3 (2 reb, 2 blk), John Henry Singer 2 (2 reb, 2 stl), Erick Darnall 2, Tommie Young (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Darien Peterson (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Dimitar Topalov (4 reb).

MONTE VISTA 91, MOUNT MIGUEL 57 – Two Spring Valley rivals provided a somewhat surprising ending to the regular season ending Friday night (Feb. 20). And a day later both qualified for the playoffs – Monte Vista will travel to No. 4 San Diego Southwest (18-7) in Division II and Mount Miguel opens at Scripps Ranch (13-12).

The Monarchs (11-16, 2-8 GSL) scored a season high in dismantling the visiting Matadors (11-18, 4-6 GSL). Ironically, the Matadors defeated the Monarchs in the first round meeting, 74-69.

Senior GEOFF HARTMAN, Monte Vista’s main man as he has been throughout the season, knocked down a game-high 27 points while gobbling up 10 rebounds and dishing 8 assists. The 6-foot-3 Hartman also made off with 4 steals and blocked a pair of shots.

Junior TONY JACKSON also had a gala night as he collected a career high 20 rebounds and dropped in 17 points. He also blocked 3 shots.

Senior RICHARD WHITFIELD finished strong as well, tallying 15 points with 3 assists.

Monte Vista ’s previous scoring high this season was 74 points, a figure the Monarchs achieved three times.

“It’s nice to end the season on a positive note” said Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL. “The kids came out and played real well. We dominated from the beginning. We played outstanding defense all game – our press really bothered them. The seniors all played hard.”

Monte Vista led 48-33 at intermission.

“I don’t know what’s the reason, if it’s because of our youth or what,” Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT said. “We are so inconsistent. We played no defense, had no energy.”

Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 27 (10 reb, 8 ast, 2 blk, 4 stl), Tony Jackson 17 (20 reb, 3 blk), Trent Watkins 15 (2 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Richard Whitfield 15 (3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Alvin Merriweather 10 (6 reb, 5 ast, 5 stl), Kevin Starling 3, Dave Thomas 2, Brandon Tillett (2 reb), Kylie Luster (2 reb).

Mount Miguel scoring: Donte Allen 12 (12 reb), Anthony Stanford 11, Jaymes Brazelton 10 (4 reb, 4 ast), Harry Brazelton 9, Rudy Burruel 5 (3 ast, 2 stl), Yuel Hagos 4 (2 reb), Keith Houston 3 (6 reb, 3 ast), Bryant Mitchell 2 (3 reb).

EL CAPITAN 69, SANTANA 63 – MICHAEL OVERSON scored 20 points and JON MOLZEN added 15 and plucked 12 rebounds Friday (Feb. 20) as visiting El Capitan slapped Santana to maintain a share of second place in the Grossmont North League.

“Overson played really well down the stretch,” said El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS. “In the 2nd half he really came through and had some big 3s and some big free throws.”

The Vaqueros (14-13, 5-3 GNL) finally secured the see-saw battle in the final four minutes. El Capitan made the playoffs and won’t have to leave East County as it begins the Division II playoffs at Valhalla . Santana, despite not winning a league game, is sentenced to opening playoff action at No. 2 St. Augustine (19-7) in Division III. Both games are on Wednesday (Feb. 25) at 7 p.m.

“It was a nice win tonight,” Cavazos said. “It was a win we needed. You don’t want to go into playoffs with a loss. It’s hard to beat a team three times in a season but we found a way to do it (against Santana). ”

Trailing by 10 at intermission, Santana (12-14, 0-8 GNL) went on a 19-6 scoring run after the break to assume a 41-38 edge. But El Capitan regained the upper hand when Overson hit a three-pointer and one to lift the Vaqueros in front 42-41.

MATT GOMEZ paced Santana with 18 points, including three 3-pointers and 5-for-5 free throw shooting.

El Capitan scoring: Michael Overson 20 (3 reb, 4 stl), Jon Molzen 15 (12 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 6 stl), Robert Craighead 12 (7 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Jake Zawlacki 9 (5 reb), Andrew Cable 6, Armon Worrell 5 (4 ast, 2 stl), John Kulp 2, Will Radasa (2 reb).

Santana scoring: Matt Gomez 18, Sean Doyle 13 (7 reb), James Needy 9 (8 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Bradley Kline 6 (3 reb, 2 ast), Trevor Barkhimer 6, David Thrall 4 (3 reb), Landon Lozoya 3, Jason Corbisez 2 (2 reb), Matt Lucius 2, Trey Bass (3 reb, 2 ast).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-20-09) — Foothills Christian tries hard to ignore a tsunami of school and CIF-San Diego Section records they continue to compile, directing attention to more important ballgames. And such focus continued following Thursday's (Feb. 19) 102-45 thrashing of Mountain Empire in a Citrus South League contest held at Granite Hills.

The victory gave the Knights a perfect 9-0 sweep through the CSL. Months ago, a 10th contest was mutually agreed upon not to be played to allow both teams to find competition more to each teams' respective level.

"I really don't think about the records," said point guard KALOB HATCHER, who has moved within reach of the CIFSDS career assists record. "Basically, I just pass the ball and make the play."

Hatcher added 13 more assists to his total against the Redhawks, raising his career total to 842. The CIFSDS mark is 857, set from by 2004-07 by JayDee Luster of Hoover, the next Knights' opponent.

"The coaches just wanted us to have another good (competitive) game at the end of the season – it sounds like a good game," added Hatcher, who also finished with a season-high 32 points (2 shy of his career best). "Everyone wants it to replace what happened with San Diego High."

The match-up of Top 10 schools will be held tonight at Hoover, starting at 7 p.m.

"We're ready for the big game with Hoover – it will be a great match-up," noted TROY LEAF, who scored all of his 25 points in the first half to take a 71-19 halftime lead on Mountain Empire.

The most important match-up against the Cardinals may be in the middle, where Knights center JVONTE BROOKS will fare against 6-foot-9 Hoover big man Angelo Chol, who averages a triple-double with 13.0 points, 13.5 rebounds and 10.2 blocks per outing.

The contest was scheduled hours following the announcement of penalties against San Diego, who was forced to forfeit two Eastern League contests for rules violations for the use of ineligible players. San Diego later announced they also wouldn't play the scheduled Foothills Christian game.

Fortunately, officials from Foothills Christian and Hoover were quick to respond to the opportunity for one final quality game before the playoffs.

"Ollie (Goulston, the Hoover coach) called me on Sunday and asked, 'What do you think about playing?," said Knights coach BRAD LEAF. "I said, ‘Sure.'"

The coaches then contacted CIF officials to get approval to play to substitute games lost to San Diego after the Cavers were penalized.

Leaf noted he was unsure whether a forfeit victory from San Diego will officially appear on the Knights' ledger since the school found a replacement contest.

"I told (Commissioner Dennis) Ackerman that I don't care (about receiving a forfeit from San Diego), I wanted to play – I want a game," added Leaf. "And Ollie said the same thing."

It was later confirmed that Foothills Christian (23-4) did receive a forfeit victory from San Diego.

Foothills Christian scoring: Kalob Hatcher 32 (13 ast, 6 stl), Troy Leaf 25 (10 reb, 8 ast, 5 stl), Jvonte Brooks 18 (13 reb, 3 stl, 2 blk), Ryan Smith 6 (2 stl), Henry Luschei 6 (3 reb, 3 stl), Steven McElroy 5, Mike Wnek 4 (5 reb), Daniel Labahn 3, Wesley Baertsch 2.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-19-09) — Following three months of anticipation, Foothills Christian is down to its final games to prepare for the playoffs, opening a string of three contests in as many days by waltzing past visiting Lutheran, 95-25, in Wednesday's (Feb. 18) Citrus South League contest at Granite Hills High.

The victory gives the Knights (22-4, 8-0 CSL) their second league championship in three seasons; the school played as an independent last season.

TROY LEAF poured home 40 points to raise his career total to 2,217, passing Rei Rivera of Rancho Bernardo (1995-98) for 9th place on the CIF-San Diego Section career list.

In addition, KALOB HATCHER passed for 20 assists against Lutheran (6-16, 3-6 CSL) to give him a career total of 829 helpers. The point guard is now just 28 assists away from becoming the section's career leader.

The biggest news from the Lutheran game was what didn't happen. BRANDON HALE did not play after suffering a sprained ankle during Tuesday's practice. His status is unclear for Thursday's CSL finale against Mountain Empire, or Friday's regular season non-league finale at Hoover, a contest which was recently added to the schedule.

"The idea now is really keeping focus and executing," said Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. "Thursday will be our last warm up game and then the Hoover game Friday is really going to serve as guide in the right direction."

"Win or lose, Friday's game is going to pay great dividends once we hit Calvin Christian, The Rock or Maranatha in the playoffs and if we're fortunate enough to go beyond that."

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 40 (6 reb, 2 ast), Jvonte Brooks 17 (14 reb, 6 ast, 4 stl), Kalob Hatcher 17 (20 ast, 7 stl), Sal Romerii 6, Daniel Labahn 5, Mike Wnek 5, Ryan Smith 2, Henry Luschei 2, Steven McElroy 1.

The Usual Suspects

Student supporters for the Grossmont Foothillers don sombreros. (Photo by Jeanne Royce)

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-18-09) — One of the two Grossmont Conference championships has been decided going into Friday’s (Feb. 20) final night of the regular season. The Grossmont Foothillers made a gallant comeback to knock off visiting El Capitan, 47-37, to claim their second straight Grossmont North League title, while the Grossmont South laurels remain up for grabs.

Fact is things remain pretty dicey in the Grossmont South, with Valhalla (17-9, 7-2 GSL) and Steele Canyon (15-12, 7-2 GSL) sharing the league penthouse. Those teams will face off at Steele Canyon Friday at 7 p.m. The Norsemen won the first encounter over the Cougars, 45-37, last month.

In other news, Granite Hills senior DEAN MILLER scored a career-high 50 points as the Eagles (17-8, 6-3 GSL) positioned themselves for a possible second-place tie with the loser of Friday’s championship bout. That, of course, requires Granite Hills to close out the regular season by beating Helix. The Eagles, who will have the homecourt advantage, edged the Highlanders, 54-50, in the first round get-together.

Oh, boy, what a finish.

But wait there’s more.

Just added to Friday’s festive finales is a Top 10 battle between No. 2 Foothills Christian (21-4) and No. 8 Hoover (22-7) on the Cardinals’ floor at 7 p.m. Bring your calculators for that one.

GROSSMONT 47, EL CAPITAN 37 – Few East County basketball games have been more physical than Tuesday’s (Feb. 17) Grossmont North League showdown between visiting El Capitan and Grossmont.

Although both coaches complained about the officiating throughout the contest, there was definitely an extra dose of contact in this one as players wound up prone on the floor every trip down the court.

This one had a weird finish. With El Capitan leading 35-29 and 5:39 remaining, the Grossmont clock shorted out. It took the pseudo-electrician almost 10 minutes to bring the clock back to life.

“Actually it wasn’t even broken,” Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO said. “It was the breaker switch (under the table) that somebody accidentally kicked off.”

Senior guard FELIPE VALDEZ, the Foothillers’ sparkplug, scored 5 of his team-high 16 points in the 4th quarter to guide the Grossmont comeback.

Most people believe Valdez will be selected the Most Valuable Player in the Grossmont North League. He came up big in the championship game against the Vaqueros, hitting 6-of-10 shots from the field, including a trio of 3-pointers.

“I just play to win,” said Valdez. “Now that we’ve got the league championship we have our sights set on the playoffs. It’s like our coach says, if you want to be a champion you’ve gotta play like a champion.”

Junior JAKE HAAR scored 9 of his 11 points in the 4th quarter as the Foothillers claimed a 23-6 advantage during the final period. He did most of his damage from the inside, hitting both of his field goal shots and 5-of-9 free throws while reeling in 4 rebounds.

“Coach challenged me to go hard inside,” Haar said. “When the clock broke, yeah it gave us a little break, and we got the charge we needed in the last few minutes.”

“We caught our breath and went out and played defense,” he emphasized. “That little break there definitely helped us.”

A steal and layup by Valdez cut El Capitan ’s lead to 35-33 with 4:59 remaining. Haar added a free throw to make it a one-point game. Then El Capitan ’s JON MOLZEN scored on a layup to make it 37-34.

The Foothillers put a lock on the victory when DESEAN WATERS hit a short jump shot and Valdez tacked on a steal and a layup, making it 43-37 for Grossmont.

“I think the difference in the game was when we changed to our full-court pressure,” said Foggiano. “We challenged Jake Haar a little bit and he got some key rebounds and free throws at the end.”

Bottom line is, Grossmont is the championship team because of guards Valdez and Waters. No team in East County has a better tandem.

“When you say tandem, I think we have the best two guards in the league,” Foggiano said.

Molzen led El Capitan with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. His problem was nobody else in the Vaqueros’ lineup scored more than 5 points.

Grossmont scoring: Felipe Valdez 16 (2 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Jacob Haar 11 (6 reb, 3 stl), Desean Waters 7 (6 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Billy Gange 7 (9 reb), Robbie Nesovic 3 (4 reb, 2 stl), Graham Hajosy 3.

El Capitan scoring: Jon Molzen 18 (10 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk), Andrew Cable 5 (8 reb), Armon Worrell 4 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Jake Zawlacki 4 (1 blk), Michael Overson 3 (5 reb, 1 blk), Robert Craighead 3 (6 reb, 3 stl).

HELIX 50, VALHALLA 48 – At first glance at a score like this, one thinks of a last-second shot that decides the issue. That wasn’t the case in Tuesday’s (Feb. 17) Grossmont South League game at Valhalla.

Accustomed to being at the top of the pile, the Highlanders (12-13, 2-7 GSL) were scrambling to get out of the cellar, which they did while denying the Norsemen (17-9, 7-2 GSL) a chance to secure at least a co-championship.

JOUBERT BALLARD led Helix with 18 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals in what might be his best game of the season. Ballard nailed 5-of-7 shots from the field and 7-of-12 free throws.

With Helix clinging to a 49-48 lead, Ballard was in a position to put the game away for the Highlanders. He missed the front end of a double bonus, but made the second.

“We led most of the game,” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER. “So it was just a matter of holding them off.”

And the Highlanders didn’t make it easy on themselves. In fact, Helix made only 5-of-16 free throws in the final 8 minutes and were 12-of-29 in the game.

“Like I keep telling you, we’re not a good shooting team,” Singer said. “My guys haven’t quit playing. They defended, took care of the ball and rebounded. That’s why we just beat the best team in the league.”

AUSTEN SUHAY led Valhalla with 15 points. STEVEN KLEIST had 4 threes for another 12, but the Norsemen, who are accustomed to scoring on the inside, were basically shut down inside the paint.

Valhalla ’s inside ace, KYLE KRIEBEL, who was suffering from the lingering effects of walking pneumonia, scored all 7 of his points in the 4th quarter. He also shared rebounding highs with DAVID WILSCHETZ at 6 apiece.

Helix’ ANTHONY ANDERSON was a force inside for the Highlanders with 7 rebounds and 7 blocks.

“Anderson did a nice job defensively,” said Singer. “I thought his 7 rebounds was huge. The kid always brings us energy. He took a lot of balls out of the hole.”

“We rebounded very well tonight,” Singer added. “I thought that was big. We didn’t give them many second shots.”

Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON blamed himself for the loss.

“This one’s on me,” said Jackson. “I didn’t prepare my team properly. We just didn’t have it.”

Helix scoring: Joubert Ballard 18 (10 reb, 6 ast, 3 blk), Erick Darnell 10 (9 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk), Sam Meredith 6 (7 reb, 2 ast), Darien Peterson 5 (4 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk), Anthony Anderson 4 (7 reb, 1 blk), Tommie Young 4, Jaylen Linson 3 (2 reb).

Valhalla scoring: Austen Suhay 15 (2 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl), Steven Kleist 12 (2 stl), Kyle Kriebel 7 (6 reb, 3 blk, 2 stl), Josh Austel 5 (5 reb, 8 blk, 2 stl), David Wilschetz 4 (6 reb), Evie Alcantar 3, Trevor Cahoon 2 (2 reb).

A 6-foot-3 senior, Miller buried 19-of-28 shots from the field – five of them 3-pointers – and swished 7 of 8 free throws to finish with a career high 50 points. That’s 10 points more than Miller’s previous high, which he registered both as a junior and a senior.

Realizing that Miller had a shot at the Granite Hills school record for points in a game, Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON left his shooting star in the game in the final quarter. Miller, however, missed two open 3-pointers, which left him short of NICK TAYLOR’s school record of 53 points set in 1996.

“It was pretty exciting,” said Miller, who increased his Granite Hills career scoring record total to 1,557 points. “I knew Nick had the record because I was a freshman on the varsity when he got 53 against Sweetwater in a Christmas Tournament game. What I remember most is he hit 12 threes.”

Miller is now 56 points clear of Taylor's record, set from 2003-06 to surpass the long standing mark of MIKE WILSON (1,497).

Miller praised his teammates for helping in his quest for yet another scoring record. And so he should. KYLE SNYDER pitched in 8 assists, while AARON HARRIS and ANDRE LEWIS each delivered 6 scoring passes.

Miller’s major scoring night was balanced. He tallied 15 points in the 1st quarter, 14 in the 2nd, 7 in the 3rd and 14 in the 4th.

“They couldn’t stop Dean in the post or anywhere else for that matter,” Anderson said. “If they came out to defend, Dean went around them. When he rolled outside, he hits threes. It was his night for sure.”

Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT doffed his cap to Miller’s shooting spree.

“Miller couldn’t miss and we couldn’t hit anything today,” he said. “Our energy level at the beginning of the game wasn’t as good as it should have been. We just couldn’t get any flow.”

Anderson saluted the camaraderie of his team.

“They all wanted Dean to get the record,” Anderson said. “They sacrificed a lot of their own goals in trying to help him reach his.”

Miller also gobbled up a game-high 15 rebounds. Harris collected 8 caroms.

HARRY BRAZELTON banged in 26 points – the majority coming on five 3-pointers – to pace the Matadors (11-17, 4-5 GSL).

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 50 (15 reb, 2 stl), Aaron Harris 9 (8 reb, 6 ast), Kyle Snyder 5 (8 ast), Jason Gaines 5 (4 reb), John Montes 5 (4 reb), Andre Lewis 2 (3 reb, 6 ast).

Mount Miguel scoring: Harry Brazelton 26 (3 reb, 3 ast), Rudy Burruel 14 (2 stl), Donte Allen 7 (5 reb), Yuel Hagos 3, Anthony Stanford 3 (5 reb), Bryant Mitchell (5 reb), Keith Houston (3 reb).

STEELE CANYON 69, MONTE VISTA 58 – It’s all about winning the Grossmont South League championship for the Cougars of Steele Canyon.

The Cougars took a 20-12 first quarter lead and then staved off the upset-minded Monarchs (10-16, 1-8, GSL) down the stretch to set up Friday’s winner-takes-all showdown against Valhalla.

JEBARI ROBINSON knocked down 19 points to pace a balanced Steele Canyon attack against Monte Vista. Nearly half of Robinson’s points came when he connected on a trio 3-pointers.

“We played well coming out,” Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS said. “We concentrated on making the extra pass – we spread the ball around a lot. Jerbari shot well and ZANE KEITH played a good all-around game. We had real good, balanced scoring tonight.”

It was another frustrating night for Monte Vista, which trailed 20-12 after one quarter and by nine points at intermission.

“We dug ourselves a huge hole in the 1st quarter,” Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL said.

The Monarchs might have staged a serious challenge in the second half had they had senior GEOFF HARTMAN in the lineup. But Hartman, who scored 12 points in the opening two quarters, sat the entire second half due to disciplinary reasons.

Even without Hartman, the Monarchs trimmed a one-time 16-point deficit in the 3rd quarter to five midway through the 4th quarter.

“TRENT WATKINS and ALVIN MERRIWEATHER both played their hearts out tonight,” Carroll praised.

Watkins finished with 18 points, half of them on a trio of treys. He was 3-for-3 at the free throw line. Merriweather chipped in with 7 steals, 8 points and 4 assists, while TONY JACKSON punched in 10 points and six rebounds.

Steele Canyon scoring: Jebari Robinson 19, Josiah Smith 12, Eric Gilbert 10, Zane Keith 10, Cameron Moss 7, Kaptan Kaster 6, Jeff Reid 4, Cameron Hubbard 1. No other information reported.

Monte Vista scoring: Trent Watkins 18 (2 reb), Geoff Hartman 12 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk), Tony Jackson 10 (6 reb), Kevin Starling 10 (2 reb), Alvin Merriweather 8 (4 ast), Kylie Luster (7 reb), Brandon Tillett (2 ast).

WEST HILLS 65, SANTANA 63 – When these two teams meet, it’s not always about who ranks where in the standings. This is a game of Santee City Pride.

The visiting Sultans (12-13, 0-7 GNL) appeared to have victory in hand until they crumbled in the 4th quarter of Tuesday’s (Feb. 17) Grossmont North League game.

Senior RYAN BOZELLE, who scored a career-high 20 points for the Wolf Pack (9-16, 3-4 GNL) made the key play to turn defeat into victory for West Hills.

No, it wasn’t that Bozelle scored the winning bucket but it was his steal with 17 seconds left that set up the game-winning basket for West Hills.

Actually it was CHASE SENTER who hit the buzzer beater that gave West Hills the victory.

“We just got it turned around and played some good defense in the 4th quarter,” said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. “They had a chance to win it, but Bozelle picked their pocket and Chase streaked down the floor and hit it at the buzzer. At no stage of the game did we think we had this one. But we got lucky.”

Santana survived 30 turnovers and appeared to have its first league victory in hand.

“In the 11 years as being a head coach this is the worst I’ve felt at the end of a game,” Santana coach TIM BARRY said. “We led from start to finish until the last second of the game.

“At the end of the game with 17 seconds left, after we called a timeout we penetrated to the basket and got stripped. West Hills took a breakaway layup at the buzzer.”

That was a biting ending for Barry, whose Sultans led by as many as 11 points in the 4th quarter.

“We outplayed them for three quarters and two minutes,” Barry said. “West Hills started picking up the pressure, put us at the foul line. We kept hitting 1-of-2 at the line.”

But when Santana’s KEVIN ENGELKE fouled out with 4½ minutes to go the Sultans’ offense sagged..

“In the last 4½ minutes without him we really looked like a team on their heels,” Barry said.

On the upside, Santana improved its record to 12-13 as it picked up a forfeit from Crawford for use of an ineligible player.

West Hills scoring: Ryan Bozelle 20, Garrett Cabral 14, Chase Senter 8, Kyle Navarre 8, Cedric Collier 5, Mike Lifgren 4, Lucas Armstrong 3, Kyle McLaughlin 2, Kevin Straub 1.

Santana scoring: David Thrall 19 (3 reb), Kevin Engelke 10 (5 reb), James Needy 9 (7 reb, 4 ast), Matt Gomez 8 (3 reb), Sean Doyle 7 (12 reb), Trey Bass 3 (3 reb, 2 ast), Bradley Kline 3 (5 reb), Matt Lucius 2, Jason Corbisez 2, Trevor Barkhimer (3 reb, 2 ast).

CRAWFORD 57, CHRISTIAN 53 – On a day when Crawford was tagged with six forfeit losses for using an ineligible player, the Colts got a small taste of satisfaction as they closed out Christian High’s regular season Tuesday (Feb. 17) with a Central League win over the visiting Patriots.

While Crawford was avenging an earlier 55-42 loss to Christian, Patriots guard LUIZ BIDART continued to have things his way. The muscular point guard banged in 28 points, hitting 8 of 13 shots from the field and all of his 12 free throws. Although he ranks among East County ’s 3-point leaders, he did not attempt a shot from beyond the arc.

Bidart finished the regular season with 612 points and a 25.5 scoring average.

“When you realize what he was up against, those are really impressive numbers,” Christian assistant coach JOEL ALLEN said. “Everybody knows he’s our go-to guy, yet still manages to score against every kind of defense imaginable.”

Bidart had a season best of 40 points and never finished with less than 15 markers. From the free throw line he netted 170 of 205 (.829 percentage).

The Patriots (15-10, 7-5 CTL) were playing catch-up from the beginning at Crawford as the Colts galloped off to a 17-12 start in the opening quarter.

“We must have had 15 traveling violations called against us,” Allen said. “Crawford is an uptempo team. We made them play at our pace more the first time we played. Not this time. We played their style and we’re not going to win doing that.”

TAYLOR EICHHORST added 12 points and 5 rebounds for Christian, which figures to earn an anywhere from a No. 5 to a No. 8 seed in next week’s San Diego CIF Division IV playoffs.

Christian scoring: Luiz Bidart 28 (5 reb), Taylor Eichhorst 12 (5 reb), Tyrone Sauls 5 (5 reb), Mike Stowers 3, Ronnie Richards 2 (2 reb), Steven Pitts 2, Aaron Whitten 1.

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (2-14-09) – El Cajon Valley High turns to Grossmont North League scoring leader JORDAN SHIVERS for offensive production. But when Shivers allowed his teammates to share the spotlight, the Braves took control on all five floor match-ups to swamp El Capitan, 62-47, at Foster Gymnasium.

Shivers poured home 16 of his points in the first half, finishing with 22 to match his season average. But the difference for the Braves was found on the other end of the court.

"It was all about defense and defense wins games," said forward DOMINIC DOVE, who grabbed 14 rebounds to give ECVHS a powerful 42-33 advantage on the boards. "We didn't do so well last time, so we worked on it."

The Braves were intimidating in the paint all contest. Early on, the strong inside passing game of El Capitan gained open looks, but help-side defense delivered in the form of 11 shot blocks. Five of the rejections were registered by East County’s leading fly swatter ANTHONY USSERY in the first half to push the lead into double-digits in the early going.

And when El Capitan couldn't convert on its inside looks at the basket, RAYLONDO FORD stormed over the backcourt with 7 steals to go along with 13 points and 4 assists. He also defended Vaqueros scoring leader JON MOLZEN, limiting the senior to just 2 points through the first 3 1/2 quarters.

"(Molzen) is a good player, but I know what he's all about," noted Ford. "He can go left, he can go right. But I've seen him play for four years, so I knew how to stop him and I locked him down."

Molzen only made one of his first 10 shots, while MICHAEL OVERSON was limited to 6 first-half points as the Vaqueros (13-12, 4-2 GNL) trailed 30-20 at the half.

The Vaqueros attempted to adjust by paying more attention to Shivers, but El Cajon Valley (14-11, 4-3 GNL) was primed for the maneuver.

"People are starting to see where I'm at, so they're double-teaming and triple-teaming me," noted Shivers. "So it was time for me to penetrate, kick the ball out, and let my teammates go to work for us."

The transition saw Dove score 9 points in the third period, then Ford tallied 6 in the fourth period. Both finished with 13 points. Meanwhile, DEVIN LESCH added 7 points and 8 boards in a strong supporting role.

"If I didn't make the pass, then A.J. (Ussery) did – he sees the court real well," added Shivers.

The loss was extremely hurtful for El Capitan. The team must sweep both of its final regular-season contests, including Tuesday's (Feb. 17) showdown with front-running Grossmont, in order to claim a share of the GNL crown with the Foothillers.

"El Cap probably got a little mad at us," added Shivers, about the Braves playing the spoilers role. "We had to play our game – the match-up zone defense carried us and won the game for us. We played intensity defense – our eyes were on Molzen the entire time."

For the Vaqueros, Overson finished with 14 points, 6 steals and 6 boards.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Jordan Shivers 22 (7 reb, 2 ast), Dominic Dove 13 (14 reb), Raylando Ford 13 (7 stl, 4 ast), Devin Lesch 7 (8 reb), Anthony Ussery 6 (5 blk), Jesse Damman 1.

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

Over the course of three days, Granite Hills (16-8, 5-3 GSL) knocked off GSL front-runners Steele Canyon and Valhalla in succession, leaving the Norsemen alone at the top with two games remaining in the regular season.

“We’ve lost a couple of close games in league this year, but we’ve won two big games this week,” Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON said. “They are huge in terms of the playoff seeding.”

The first time these teams met, Steele Canyon (14-12, 6-2 GSL) escaped with a one-point victory. The Cougars got a fast start over the visiting Eagles in the rematch, taking an 11-2 lead.

Granite Hills refused to fold and scored the final 8 points of the 1st period.

“After that slow start we played real well,” Anderson said.

Junior guard ANDRE LEWIS rang up 9 of his career high 21 in the 2nd quarter, staking Granite Hills to a 26-22 halftime lead.

“Andre really sparked us,” Anderson said. “He really handled the pressure well the entire game. He was constantly attacking the basket – his energy has been great.”

Steady DEAN MILLER churned out another double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Eagles.

“Dean’s defensive rebounding was outstanding; he did a good job clearing the boards,” Anderson related. “The last time we played Steele Canyon we got hurt on the boards.”

Granite Hills saw a 10-point lead evaporate early in the 3rd quarter, as the Cougars stormed back on the strength of two ZANE KEITH 3-pointers to tie the game 38-38.

“From that point I was really proud of how our guys answered their run,” Anderson said.

All 11 of KYLE SNYDER’s point came in the 2nd half. He was 4-for-4 from the free throw line down the stretch.

AARON HARRIS scored all 9 of his points in the 2nd half – 7 in the 4th quarter.

“Aaron came up big on some offensive rebounds,” noted Anderson. “He was in foul trouble and sat out the entire 2nd quarter. He kept his head and just did an outstanding job. I’m proud of the way he’s kept his composure all year.”

Not to be forgotten was RONNIE VON HAGEN, who came off the Granite Hills bench. He didn’t score any points, but was credited by Anderson for his defensive work inside.

“Steele Canyon’s big guys really hurt us last time. (JOSIAH) SMITH only had 7 points tonight and Ronnie really kept him off the boards.”

Another reserve who made major contributions was JOHN MONTES.

“He had a really big putback in the 4th quarter when they were making a little run on us,” Anderson said.

Granite Hills scoring: Andre Lewis 21 (5 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Dean Miller 20 (10 reb, 4 stl), Kyle Snyder 11, Aaron Harris 9 (8 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk, 4 stl), John Montes 6 (4 reb), Parker Dow 2 (3 reb), Jason Gaines 2, Ronnie Von Hagen (4 reb), Cameron Roberts (3 reb).

Steele Canyon scoring: Eric Gilbert 13, Zane Keith 13, Cameron Moss 9, Jebari Robinson 9, Josiah Smith 7, Jeff Reid 4, Kaptan Kaster 4. No other information was reported by the Steele Canyon coaches.

GROSSMONT 68, SANTANA 43 – Senior FELIPE VALDEZ is making a strong bid for Grossmont North League Player of the Year honors. The transfer from Helix scored a season-high 22 points Friday night (Feb. 13) as the Foothillers smacked Santana to clinch at least a share of a second straight GNL championship.

Grossmont can claim exclusive rights to the league title with a victory over second-place El Capitan when the two tangle on Tuesday (Feb. 17) in the Hillers’ house. That contest marks the end of the regular season for Grossmont (15-10, 6-1 GNL), while El Capitan could earn a share of the circuit crown with a two-game sweep next week. The Vaqueros conclude the season on Friday (Feb. 20) against Santana.

Foothillers coach FRANK FOGGIANO doesn’t like to talk about stuff like that prematurely. And he didn’t.

Meanwhile, Valdez continued his scoring tear. In his last three starts, he has tallied 61 points. In his last nine games, Valdez has swished 142 markers for Grossmont, which has won eight of its last 10 starts.

Struggling Santana put up a battle early. The score was knotted 12-12 with a minute left in the opening period before Valdez nailed a 3-pointer. The Hillers eventually led 17-12 after one quarter and then pulled away with a 22-9 scoring spread in the second period.

“We played very good man-to-man defense tonight,” said Foggiano. “That was the key to the game. And we shot very well outside.”

JAKE HAAR chipped in a nifty double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds for Grossmont.

The score was 58-38 in the third quarter when Grossmont emptied its bench.

Even as he saw his injury-riddled team lose its 9th straight game, Santana coach TIM BARRY found some positives.

“My two freshmen, LANDON LOZOYA and JASON CORBISEZ, played two or three quarters and they held their own. They’re going to be good players in the future.”

“I could not be more pleased with the progress of DAVID THRALL this year,” said Barry continued. “He kept us in the game for the first quarter and a half. He had 8 points in the first half. He’s a true point guard type of kid and took it upon himself to go to the basket tonight.”

Grossmont scoring: Felipe Valdez 22 (3 reb, 6 ast, 4 stl), Jacob Haar 13 (11 reb), Desean Waters 8 (2 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Billy Gange 2 (5 reb, 2 ast), Clayton Rainey 7 (6 reb), Alex Ortiz 6 (2 reb), Drew Forehand 5 (2 ast), Robbie Nesovic 2 (3 reb), Craig Henderson 2, Aaron Griffin 1 (4 reb).

Santana scoring: David Thrall 11, James Needy 8 (4 reb), Bradley Kline 7 (3 reb), Matt Lucius 4, Sean Doyle 4 (8 reb), Kevin Engelke 4 (2 ast), Matt Gomez 2, Landon Lozoya 2, Danny Carpenter 1, Jason Dale (2 ast).

VALHALLA 52, MONTE VISTA 38 – The Norsemen regained the Grossmont South League lead Friday (Feb. 13) when they defeated visiting Monte Vista and Steele Canyon lost to Granite Hills.

Nothing came easily for the Norsemen (17-8, 7-1 GSL).

“We had to play without the services of our leading scorer and rebounder KYLE KRIEBEL, who is suffering from pneumonia,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. “We’re hoping to have him back by next Friday.”

Kriebel had actually played the last three games with the malady, but wasn’t getting any better when it came to his health.

To make things even tougher for the Norsemen, point guard AUSTEN SUHAY was whistled for his 4th foul 3 minutes into the third quarter.

“He made some great steals, but after he got 4 fouls we had to move him in and out of the game,” said Jackson, noting that Suhay still managed to contribute 13 points and 5 assists.

Even in Kriebel’s absence, Valhalla dominated inside the paint. Junior JOSH AUSTEL banged in a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds. DAVID WILSCHETZ returned from the injury list to pitch in 7 points and bag 8 boards.

JORDAN CUNNINGHAM started in Kriebel’s place and played superb defense inside. Austel’s defense pleased the coach as well.

“Our big guys really stepped up for us tonight,” Jackson said. “Josh did a good job on interior defense – boxed out, rebounded and contested shots.”

“Sophomore DAVID WILSCHETZ also had a good game. He knows we have a lot of faith in him. He was a little nervous but he’s really going to help us.”

Although Valhalla led only 30-26 heading into the final quarter, the Norsemen simply had too much firepower down the stretch.

GEOFF HARTMAN, who earlier this week scored a season best 30 points, got in foul trouble early with 3 personals in the 1st half. He fouled out with 2:40 left in the game, finishing with 7 points – nearly two-thirds below his season average.

TONY JACKSON and COREY PARRISH had 10 points apiece for Monte Vista (10-15, 1-7 GSL).

Valhalla scoring: Josh Austel 18 (10 reb, 6 blk, 2 stl), Austen Suhay 13 (3 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl), David Wilschetz 7 (8 reb, 1 blk), Jordan Cunningham 5 (4 reb, 2 blk, 2 stl), Trevor Cahoon 3 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Steven Kleist 3 (2 reb, 2 stl), Scott Sturgeon 3.

Monte Vista scoring: Tony Jackson 10, Corey Parrish 10, Geoff Hartman 7, Richard Whitfield 5, Trent Watkins 6, Alvin Merriweather 1. No other information was reported by the Monte Vista coaches.

MOUNT MIGUEL 70, HELIX 68 – Historians will note that when a JOHN SINGER-coached Helix basketball team scores 68 points, the Highlanders win easily.

That wasn’t the case Friday night (Feb. 13) when Helix fell one point short of its season scoring high.

“I don’t care how many points it says we scored, we lost the game on offense,” Singer said. “We muffed too many scoring chances down the stretch.”

And that set the stage for HARRY BRAZELTON’s game-winning basket for the visiting Matadors (11-16, 4-4 GSL).

“Harry got the ball on the inbound and shot a 12-footer from the left elbow as the buzzer sounded,” Mount Miguel JAY ROWLETT said proudly. “It was a big shot.”

It was the finishing touch to a career-high 27 points for Brazelton.

“We didn’t play our best game but we played well in spurts,” Rowlett said.

Helix (11-13, 1-7 GSL) had the ball with 40 seconds left and the shot clock was on at 20. The Highlanders put up a shot that missed the mark and Mount Miguel ’s DONTE ALLEN got the rebound and the Matadors called time out.

Each team would have another shot, but Mount Miguel made the one that counted.

ERICK DARNELL had a career scoring night with 22 points to pace the Highlanders.

Mount Miguel scoring: Harry Brazelton 27 (4 ast, 4 stl), Yuel Hagos 11, Anthony Stanford 17 (9 reb, 4 ast), Jaymes Brazelton 5 (4 ast), Donte Allen 4 (14 reb), Rudy Burruel 4 (3 reb, 2 ast).

Helix scoring: Erick Darnell 22 (7 reb), Sam Meredith 9 (8 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Joubert Ballard 9 (2 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Dimitar Topalov 7 (6 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Laylen Linson 7 (5 reb, 2 ast), Anthony Anderson 6 (10 reb, 2 blk), John Henry Singer 4 (2 reb), Darien Peterson 2 (3 reb, 3 ast), Tommie Young (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl).

KEARNY 53, CHRISTIAN 43 – Seems everywhere Kearny’s defense looked in Friday’s (Feb. 13) Central League showdown at the Ryan Athletic Center, it was sure to find Christian High sharp-shooter LUIZ BIDART lurking nearby.

Currently the third leading scorer in the San Diego CIF, Bidart bobbed and weaved his way around Kearny’s man defense, avoided double-teams and traps as he rolled in 25 points. The kid from Brazil nailed half of his 16 shots from the field – one of them was a 3-pointer – and missed only one of 9 free throws. The 6-foot-2 guard also topped Christian with 8 rebounds and made a couple of steals.

Despite Bidart’s solid performance, the Patriots did not offer enough support to help upset Kearny (19-4, 9-1), which clinched at least a share of the Central League title. It’s been 16 years since a Kearny club last lassoed a league championship.

None of the other Patriots registered more than 5 points or 5 rebounds.

Kearny appeared poised to turn the game into a runaway, taking a 30-16 advantage with a little more than a minute left in the first half. Two free throws by TYRONE SAULS and an old-fashion three-point-play by Bidart left the Patriots down by nine at the break.

Christian (15-9, 7-4) never held a lead, but somehow survived seven 1st quarter turnovers and trailed only 47-41 with just under two minutes to play. But the Komets had clear advantage in overall depth and the hard-working Patriots just couldn’t keep up.

Christian scoring: Luiz Bidart 25 (8 reb, 2 stl), Ronnie Richards 5 (4 reb), Taylor Eichhorst 4 (5 reb, 3 ast), Tyrone Sauls 4 (4 reb), Stephen Pitts 3 (4 reb, 4 stl), Michael Stowers 2, Aaron Whitten 0 (2 reb, 2 stl).

© East County Sports.com
PINE VALLEY (2-13-09) — Credit Foothills Christian coaches for looking ahead. Or maybe one of them is an undercover meteorologist.

Snow is predicted for them thar hills Friday, in the home of the Mountain Empire Redhawks.

Whatever the reason, Foothills Christian’s Citrus South League game at Mountain Empire was moved up 24 hours from Friday to Thursday (Feb. 12). Making that change did not affect what occurred on the court.

The visiting Knights (20-4, 7-0 CitSo) sprinted to a 64-18 halftime lead and then cruised to the finish line with an 86-24 victory.

“This one was ugly from the start,” Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGH said. “It would be interesting if we ever measure the rims at Mountain Empire. There is no way they are regulation height. Every time we have played there, every player on our team can get so much higher than in any other gym. Guys that can barely touch the rim can dunk a ball with relative ease. Guys that can get the middle of the net can nearly throw one down – it’s ridiculous.”

That showed in the 1st quarter when (6-foot guard) KALOB HATCHER threw an ally-oop to (6-3) TROY LEAF that he threw down with 2 hands like he was an NBA superstar,” McHugh added. Hatcher was then warned for hanging on the rim even though the opposing player and the ball were directly under him.

“Hatcher later went up for a dunk and was whistled for a tech when he hung on the rim,” McHugh said. “I suppose his alternative was to land flat on his back and break his neck. But that is the way the game was called all night.”

Prior to the game, Foothills Christian assistant coach DAVE RILEY attempted to explain to Coach Mark Noland of Mountain Empire that the Knights planned to play their regulars for 3 quarters.

Much like in their previous game when coach BRAD LEAF allowed his starters a little more than usual playing time, the thinking behind all that is Foothills Christian is ticketed to face San Diego in a battle of top 10 teams on Saturday (Feb. 14) in the Cavers gym.

In the rout of Mountain Empire, JVONTE BROOKS pulled down 17 boards, helping the team to 56 total (a school record which beat the old mark of 50 in a 2007 playoff game vs. San Diego Jewish Academy). Brooks also banged in 27 points and made 5 blocks.

Troy Leaf added 26 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 steals and 3 blocks. Hatcher finished with 17 points, 12 assists, 8 steals and 8 rebounds.

“In the 4th quarter, all but 3 possessions for both teams combined were ended by the whistle,” said McHugh. “There was about a total of 1:30 of basketball played in that period. The first foul came 8 seconds in. There were 9 fouls called in the quarter, 7 on us along with 2 travels (one on each), 2 carries (both on us) and 3 times they stopped the play to reset the shot clock (with the game clock running).”

Oh, what a night!

Foothills Christian scoring: Jvonte Brooks 27 (17 reb, 3 ast, 5 blk, 2 stl), Troy Leaf 26 (9 reb, 4 ast, 3 blk, 6 stl), Kalob Hatcher 17 (8 reb, 12 ast, 8 stl), Brandon Hale 8 (3 reb), Ryan Smith 6 (9 reb, 5 stl), Henry Luschei 2 (6 reb), Mike Wnek (1 blk), Travis Wolfe (2 reb).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-12-09) — Perhaps it was a case of the Christian High Patriots peeking ahead to Friday’s (Feb. 13) Central League showdown with front-running Kearny.

Whatever it was, the Patriots were less than spectacular in Tuesday’s (Feb. 10) 38-36 victory over last place Clairemont. And they needed four minutes of overtime to top the visiting Chieftains to take sole possession of second place.

After TAYLOR EICHHORST’s only basket with two minutes left sent the game into the extra session, LUIZ BIDART scored two buckets in overtime to leave the Patriots (15-8, 7-3 CTL) just 1½ games behind the loop leading Komets (18-4, 8-1 CTL).

Kearny, which also has games remaining with Clairemont and Coronado, needs two wins in its final three contests to lock up the league championship. Christian, if it can sweep Kearny and Crawford in next Tuesday’s final, could conceivably end in a three-way tie for the league title. Coronado can snag a share of the Central flag by sweeping its final three games, which includes a bout with Kearny.

In Christian’s case all of that could be academic if the Patriots fail to knock off the Komets at the Ryan Recreation Center at 7:30 Friday.

“We’re going to have to play better offensively if we plan to do that,” Christian assistant coach JOEL ALLEN said. “We are a team that needs to play with energy. When we do that we are a pretty good team.”

Bidart paced the Pats with 19 points, hitting just 5 of 17 shots from the floor. He did knock down 8 of 10 free throws.

Christian crunched its way to a 27-15 halftime lead. After that though, the Patriots were listless at the offensive end. In the final two quarters and overtime they shot a paltry 22 percent (5 for 23). The Patriots netted only three buckets in 21 chances in the second half before Bidart nailed a pair of field goals in the OT.

“We must have missed 10 layups,” Allen said. “Clairemont did a decent job of denying Luiz the ball, but when he was trapped he still made some nice passes that should have been assists.”

Christian scoring: Luiz Bidart 19 (4 reb), Tyrone Sauls 7 (11 reb), Ronnie Richards 4, Andrew Whitten 4, Aaron Whitten 2, Taylor Eichhorst 2 (5 reb).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-11-09) — On an evening when Granite Hills High needed scoring leader DEAN MILLER to pass the ball more often than shoot it, the senior still found time enough to become the Eagles' career scoring champion Tuesday (Feb. 10), as they handed front-running Valhalla its first Grossmont South League setback of the season, 54-51.

Receiving intense double-team coverage by the Norsemen, Miller finished with 14 points. Included were six in the opening period to keep Granite Hills close, then six more in the fourth period to stave off Valhalla's attempt to keep an unblemished GSL ledger.

"I'm real happy with Dean's unselfishness and getting the other players involved when it was obvious they were all over him and set to stop him," said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON. "He got the ball to other players, giving them good looks."

The strategy was similar to the teams’ first meeting. But this time, Miller’s teammates were hitting their shots. ANDRE LEWIS poured in a team-high 17 points — his third-highest total of the season — while AARON HARRIS added 15, including consecutive 3-point goals midway through the fourth period to give Granite Hills (15-8, 4-3 GSL) the lead for keeps.

"We were focused on who their main people were, then we executed a lot better than the first time we played them," noted Harris. "Our main purpose was to play defense on KYLE KRIEBEL and AUSTEN SUHAY."

Down 43-42 after a 3-point goal by Valhalla junior guard STEVEN KLEIST, who shot 5-for-7 from the arc for all of his 15 points, the Eagles answered with a 10-0 run over the next four minutes.

A Miller putback lifted the hosts in front, then Harris used a set shot for his first triple. But Harris’ second one, bounded off the front of the rim, yet rolled over and into the basket.

"I've been shooting 3s at practice, but that last one scared me a little bit," noted Harris. "I look over at my coach's face and he was shakin’ his head like, 'Why did you do that?' so I was thinking, 'Oh please, God, go in.'"

Harris added a pair of foul shots with 2:07 left for a 52-43 advantage as Granite Hills held on.

The victory moved the Eagles, at least mathematically, back into the GSL race. However, a Valhalla victory over Steele Canyon would move the Norsemen back into position to claim a league crown for the first time in more than 15 years.

While Valhalla was concerned about slowing Miller, the Eagles did an even better job on Kriebel, who has been hampered by illness over the past week. Lewis and Harris limited the Norsemen’s scoring leader to just a pair of free throws without a basket from the floor.

"I was on Kriebel to start the game, while Andre Lewis was on Suhay," noted Harris. "And when Andre got into a little bit of foul trouble, I took his man for a while."

Valhalla was also slowed with an inability to hit the boards. They were limited to just 8 offensive rebounds, preventing second-chance opportunities, a staple which originally helped the Norsemen move to the top of the standings.

"We were out-matched by their height advantage, but we played our pants off," said Lewis. "We just had to box out, get them on our backs and get them into foul trouble."

In the first meeting, Granite Hills scored a mere 24 points in an embarrassing 44-24 loss. This time, they matched that total by halftime, taking a 24-22 lead to the locker room.

"A big difference was their offense — I've never seen those guys hit some of those shots before," noted Norsemen senior TREVOR CAHOON. "Andre didn't seem to miss any and neither did Aaron — I still don't know how they hit some of those shots."

Miller surpassed Granite Hills alum NICK TAYLOR (1,501 points, 2003-06) for the school career scoring record. Miller now has 1,507 points with three regular season games and the playoffs remaining.

Miller also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.

For Valhalla, Suhay led with 19 points and 5 boards, while JOSH AUSTEL added 11 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.

Granite Hills scoring: Andre Lewis 17 (3 reb), Aaron Harris 15 (7 reb), Dean Miller 14 (11 reb, 2 stl, 2 ast), Kyle Snyder 5, Jason Gaines 3 (3 stl).

Valhalla scoring: Austen Suhay 19 (5 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk), Steven Kleist 15 (3 reb), Josh Austel 11 (9 reb, 3 blk), Trevor Cahoon 2 (4 ast, 3 reb), Evie Alcanter 2, Kyle Kriebel 2 (7 reb, 2 stl).

STEELE CANYON 73, MOUNT MIGUEL 59 – Host Steele Canyon survived a rocky second quarter to whip Mount Miguel in Tuesday’s (Feb. 10) Grossmont South League action. The victory, coupled with Valhalla ’s loss, pulled the Cougars (14-11, 6-1) into a tie for first place with the Norsemen.

The Matadors (10-16) and RUDY BURRUEL nearly spoiled the party. A 5-foot-7 sophomore, Burruel scored a career-high 21 points – the majority of his markers coming on six 3-pointers.

Four of Burruel’s treys came during the second eight-minute stanza when the Matadors used a 25-7 scoring burst to take a 38-30 halftime lead.

“We played really well except for the 2nd quarter,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS. “They hit 6 threes in the second quarter. That, combined with us missing some layups, really hurt us. It was a big momentum change.”

So was the 3rd quarter when the Cougars pounced on the Matadors 23-4. Steele Canyon poured on 43 points in the final two quarters.

“We did a lot better and converted a lot more in the second half, especially in the third quarter,” Stephens said. “ZANE KEITH has had some issues and missed practice so he sat for the first half, but he came in the second half and gave us a little spark.”

While Burruel and HARRY BRAZELTON (18 points) were the Matadors’ main scoring threats, Steele Canyon was able to contain ANTHONY STANFORD, holding him to 5 points – 8 points below his season average.

Stephens credited JEFF REID for slapping the clamps on Stanford.

Meanwhile, JEBARI ROBINSON and JOSIAH SMITH got a lot of baskets in transition. Smith finished with 23 points – two shy of his season high. Robinson netted 18. CAMERON MOSS and Reid each chipped in 10 points.

Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT was not pleased by his team’s performance.

“We’ve been a Jekyll-and-Hyde team,” Rowlett said. “You never know which of our teams is going to show up. This was a big game because we need as many wins as we can get down the stretch to improve our playoff position.”

One thing that continues to irritate the Matadors coach is his team’s failure to attack the basket with any regularity.

“That’s why we don’t shoot many free throws,” Rowlett said, noting that Mount Miguel was only 2-for-3 from the charity stripe at Steele Canyon. “We can’t blame the officials – they called a good game.

“Our problem is all we want to do is shoot jumpers, shoot 3s.”

Albeit a much smaller team than Steele Canyon, Mount Miguel did get solid board play from BRYANT MITCHELL (13 rebounds, 3 blocks) and DONTE ALLEN (11 rebounds).

Steele Canyon scoring: Josiah Smith 23, Jebari Robinson 18, Jeff Reid 10, Cameron Moss 10, Zane Keith 6, Kaptan Kaster 4, Joey Kramer 2.

Mount Miguel scoring: Rudy Burruel 21 (2 stl), Harry Brazelton 18, Bryant Mitchell 6 (13 reb, 3 blk), Anthony Stanford 5, Jaymes Brazelton 4 (2 stl), Yuel Hagos 3, Donte Allen 2 (11 reb).

EL CAJON VALLEY 52, SANTANA 45 – Coach TIM BARRY and his Sultans were determined to keep El Cajon Valley ’s JORDAN SHIVERS from putting together a game-winning scoring high.

They were semi-successful.

Using a Box-and-one defense, the Sultans limited Shivers to 16 points, shutting him out in the 1st and 3rd quarters. Still Shivers, a 6-foot-1, 212-pound junior guard, was the only player in Tuesday’s (Feb. 10) Grossmont North League game to reach double scoring figures.

“They saw what I did last time in the Grossmont game (30 points), so they double- and triple-teamed me,” Shivers said. “It was a good game plan, but I just brought my team into the game more by penetrating and letting them go to work.”

Shivers accounted for the Braves only two 3-pointers, but connected on only 5 of 14 shots from the field overall. He was 4 of 7 from the foul line. His stats line didn’t end there, though, as he gobbled up 9 rebounds and made 6 steals.

“Every time I got the ball it seemed like they had three guys on me,” Shivers said of the Sultans’ Box-and-1 strategy. “What they didn’t want is me taking the ball to the basket. They wanted to close off the key to me.”

Barry rotated four players in the box – DAVID THRALL, MATT GOMEZ, TREVOR BARKHIMER and TREY BASS – on Shivers.

“I think overall we did a good job of taking them out of their game,” Barry said. “We were committed to not let Shivers beat us. That’s why we used a lot of gadget stuff.”

The Braves (13-11, 3-3 GNL) trailed Santana 15-11 after one quarter, but scrambled back to take a 26-24 edge by halftime.

The amazing thing about that was Santana had 12 total rebounds and El Cajon Valley had 13 offensive boards and a total of 24 for the half. For the game, El Cajon Valley earned a 55-30 advantage on the glass.

Neither team shot well all night. El Cajon Valley swished only 19-of-57 (33 percent), while Santana was a tick back at 32 percent (18-for-56). A major difference was at the free throw line. The Braves attempted 25 charity tosses, but hit only 12. By comparison, Santana’s JAMES NEEDY was 1-for-2 from the foul line and that was it for the Sultans (11-13, 0-5 GNL).

Despite its statistical shortcomings, Santana was in the game until the final minute. KEVIN ENGELKE’s third 3-pointer (and his team’s 8th) of the night pulled the Sultans to within 50-45 with 41 seconds left.

RAYLONDO FORD answered with a bucket for the Braves 12 seconds later and that was the ballgame.

The Braves now get a shot to knock El Capitan out of its share of the GNL lead when they face the Vaqueros Friday night (Feb. 13) in Lakeside.

El Cajon Valley scoring: Jordan Shivers 16 (9 reb, 6 stl), Domenic Dove 8 (12 reb), Anthony Ussery 7 (10 reb, 3 ast, 4 blk, 4 stl), Raylondo Ford 6 (4 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl), Devin Lesch 6 (9 reb), Kendall Conley 4 (5 reb), Treyvon Martin 2 (2 reb, 2 stl), Devon Eze 2, Jesse Damman 1 (2 reb).

Santana scoring: Kevin Engelke 9 (5 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Sean Doyle 8 (6 reb), Matt Gomez 6 (5 ast), David Thrall 6 (3 reb, 2 ast), Landon Lozoya 6 (2 reb, 2 ast), James Needy 5 (8 reb), Bradley Kline 3, Trey Bass 2 (3 ast).

MONTE VISTA 53, HELIX 49 – Credit the Monte Vista Monarchs for not ducking their collective heads and rolling over without a struggle.

Faced with going winless in the Grossmont South League, the Monarchs rode the season-high 30 points of senior GEOFF HARTMAN to topple visiting Helix for their first league conquest.

That victory ended Monte Vista’s 7-game losing streak, while Helix fell to 11-12 and 1-6. The Monarchs sport the same league record and are 10-14 overall.

Hartman, who registered his career high of 39 points as a junior, burned the Highlanders in the 1st quarter. The 6-foot-3 scoring machine was 4-for-4 on 3s (6-for-12 overall) and scored 17 points in the first quarter for a 20-7 Monte Vista lead.

Hartman also notched 6 steals, cleared 7 rebounds, handed out 5 scoring passes and blocked 3 shots.

“He’s probably the best player in our league,” Helix coach JOHN SINGER said.

The Highlanders kept clawing back, but the Monarchs never caved in.

“We got off to a great start,” said Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL understated. “We kept up the pressure on Helix and had the lead the whole game. This was our best defensive effort in a long time. We were intense the whole game.”

A football player by trade – he’s headed for the University of Oregon where he’ll play defensive end – Helix’s ANTHONY ANDERSON was no court jester. The 6-foot-5 Anderson logged a triple-double, scoring 10 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and setting a Helix record with 11 blocks.

Anderson’s fly-swatter act ranks second only to Grossmont Conference record holder MIKE WILSON of Granite Hills who recorded 12 rejections (vs. Poway, 1996).

Considering Helix is the home of BILL WALTON one has to wonder about his name not ranking among the all-time best. At that time, though, Helix coach GORDON NASH was not overly fond of blocked shot. In fact, he discouraged it, thus Walton and his cohorts did not make leaping efforts to knock down enemy shots.

For good measure Anderson made 5 steals to finish the night.

Monte Vista junior STEVEN BOELTER fractured his left wrist in the first half and is out for the remainder of the season. Carroll is counting on DAVE THOMAS to fill that void.

Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 30 (7 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk, 6 stl), Trent Watkins 10 (2 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Alvin Merriweather 5 (4 reb, 2 stl), Tony Jackson 3 (7 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Richard Whitfield 2 (6 reb, 3 ast), Dave Thomas 2, Kevin Starling 1.

Helix scoring: Jaylen Linson 12 (9 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Anthony Anderson 10 (14 reb,11 blk, 5 stl), Darien Peterson 10 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl), Joubert Ballard 5 (2 ast, 2 stl), Sam Meredith 4 (4 reb), Ahmad Rashada 4 (5 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk), Tommie Young 3, Yohanes Solomon 1 (2 reb), John Henry Singer (2 reb), Jake Reed (2 reb).

GROSSMONT 71, WEST HILLS 33 – Most of the attention Grossmont senior FELIPE VALDEZ has enjoyed has come for his ability to handle the ball and serve the Foothillers as a steady point guard. Although somewhat of an unknown, Valdez proving to be an integral part of the Hillers’ attack.

A standout for the Foothillers football team as a return specialist and running back, Valdez is rapidly developing into one of Grossmont’s chief scoring threats.

The 5-foot-8 Valdez scored 17 points, dished 7 assists and made 4 steals in Grossmont’s dismantling of the visiting Wolf Pack (8-16, 2-4 GNL) in Tuesday’s (Feb. 10) league activity that enabled the Foothillers (14-10, 5-1 GNL) to move one-half game ahead of idle El Capitan (13-11, 4-1) for the league lead.

In his last two starts, Valdez has contributed 39 points along with his general steady court leadership. In his last eight games, Valdez has punched in 120 points for the Foothillers, who have won seven of their last nine outings.

JAKE HAAR had a quiet double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds for Grossmont, which zipped out to a 22-8 first quarter lead and never looked back.

Grossmont scoring: Felipe Valdez 17 (3 reb, 7 ast, 4 stl), Jacob Haar 13 (10 reb, 2 stl), Robbie Nesovic 8 (4 reb, 3 stl), Alex Ortiz 8 (2 reb), Clayton Rainey 6 (9 reb, 3 stl), Desean Waters 6 (2 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Graham Hajosy 6 (2 reb, 2 stl), Billy Gange 2 (6 reb, 2 stl), Aaron Griffin 2 (4 reb), Craig Henderson 2, Alex Nesovic 1.

West Hills scoring: Kyle Navarre 10, Chase Senter 6, Ryan Bozelle 6, Kyle McLaughlin 5, Mike Lifgren 4, Garrett Cabral 2.

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 104, CV-CALVARY CHRISTIAN 27 – For the second game in a row Tuesday (Feb. 10) the Foothills Christian Knights reached the century mark for scoring against a hapless Citrus South League opponent.

Since it is getting closer to playoff time and the No. 3-ranked Knights (19-4, 6-0 CitSo) are looking at their final major regular season challenge Saturday (Feb. 14) at No. 2 San Diego, Foothills Christian coach BRAD LEAF left his regulars on the floor a little longer than he usually does in a league game.

The Knights, who earlier in the season scored 47 points in the opening quarter against Lutheran, charged in from of their outmanned league rival 41-1 in the opening eight minutes.

It was 65-9 by intermission and 99-17 after three periods. Three Foothills regulars scored 20 or more points. Newcomer DANIEL LABAHN pitched in 9 points plus 3 rebounds and 3 steals.

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 28 (7 reb, 6 ast, 5 blk, 2 stl), Kalob Hatcher 24 (6 reb, 8 ast, 9 stl), Jvonte Brooks 20 (9 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk, 4 stl), Daniel Labahn 9 (3 reb, 3 stl), Brandon Hale 8 (5 reb, 2 ast), Mike Wnek 7 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Steven McElroy 3 (2 stl), Ryan Smith 3 (4 reb, 2 stl), Wesley Baertsch 2 (2 reb), Henry Luschei (4 reb), Travis Wolfe 2 reb).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-8-09) — Credit Foothills Christian junior guard KALOB HATCHER for providing a little suspense in Saturday’s (Feb. 7) Citrus South League basketball mismatch against Midway Baptist at Granite Hills High.

Hatcher's 7 steals in the Knights 100-30 victory over the Patriots moved him into 2nd on the CIF-San Diego Section list with 439 thefts for his career. He passed Lincoln Prep’s John McCartney, who totaled 437 steals from 1987-90. The all-time leader is Hoover’s JayDee Luster (2004-07) with 559.

“The real question tonight was how well we would play after a 2-week break from action,” said Foothills Christian assistant JAMES McHUGH. “We came out clicking on all cylinders and it was great. We moved the ball very well and we were able to get the younger JV guys in early tonight, which we really wanted to do.”

The game, of course, was no contest. The Knights (18-4, 5-0 CitSo) bolted to a 32-4 lead in the opening quarter and led 58-6 by halftime.

It was a fun community night for us,” McHugh said. “We had an alumni vs. staff and youth workers from the school and church game before the varsity game,” McHugh said. “We also honored our seniors.”

That would be RYAN SMITH, TRAVIS WOLFE and BRANDON HALE.

“Ryan is special for a lot of reasons,” McHugh said. “He came through Youth Venture which is a youth center run by our church. That was actually how I became associated with the church about 13 years ago as well.

“Travis is such a fun presence for the guys, he's a guy who probably never touched a basketball before the season, but he has great character and he has a great relationship with all the guys on our team so everyone welcomed him to the roster this year.

“Brandon Hale has really grown as a player and a person over the last 4 years. He's probably the most overlooked player on our team,” McHugh said. “But if you check the CIF books you'll see his name in a few different places come season's end.”

Foothills Christian shot 62 percent (44 of 71) against Midway Baptist (2-12, 1-5 CitSo). TROY LEAF led the way with 28 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals and 5 assists. He also hit 4 treys.

“It was a fun night getting to let the JV guys like DANIEL LABAHN, HENRY LUSCHEI and SAL ROMERI get some good playing time,” McHugh said. “STEVIE McELROY had the opportunity to get some good minutes and run the point and really have the opportunity to work on his game. He had some of the most impressive passes of the night.”

Foothills Christian hit the century mark in scoring for the first time all season although the Knights easily could have done so many times before.

“It was actually fun to get to 100 points tonight as we have been close many times but with a running clock and fouls and without pressing the issue it usually doesn't happen. But our JV guys got it done at the end,” McHugh said. “McElroy had an assist to Wolfe (2nd basket of the season) to put us at 97. Luschei made a nice fade away to get us to 99 then McElroy stole a pass and was fouled with 27 seconds to play and time ticking away at the line. He drained the first one and it was actually nice to see our crowd celebrate something like that.

“Usually it's quiet in games like this and no one feels like they can cheer anymore, but this was a special night for a lot of reasons and it was a nice ending to a celebratory night,” McHugh concluded.

Foothills Christian scoring: Troy Leaf 28 (9 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl), Jvonte Brooks 20 (12 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Kalob Hatcher 12 (3 reb, 13 ast, 7 stl), Daniel Labahn 12 (2 reb, 2 ast), Mike Wnek 9, Henry Luschei 6 (8 reb, 2 stl), Brandon Hale 3 (2 reb, 2 blk, 2 stl), Sal Romeri 3 (3 reb), Steven McElroy 3 (2 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Ryan Smith 2 (5 reb, 2 blk), Travis Wolfe 2.

Fromthe floor, Helix' Erick Darnell (in white) gets a pass off, despite the presence of Steele Canyon guard Jeff Reid. The Cougars remained in second place after downing the Highlanders, 62-56. (Photo by Bill Kolegraff)

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (2-7-09) — The Grossmont North League race was a 4-team race entering the week. But now, two survivors are sprung through the madness after posting key victories on Friday (Feb. 6).

Defending champion Grossmont overcame a revived El Cajon Valley ballclub to escape with an overtime triumph, while El Capitan saw senior JON MOLZEN take over in the second half to roll past West Hills.

EL CAPITAN 66, WEST HILLS 51 — The Vaqueros outscored the Wolf Pack in every quarter to pull away for the comfortable triumph, with Molzen leading the way. The senior forward registered 21 points and 15 rebounds, but was even more impressive with his passing.

In the second half, Molzen, who was coming off his “best game” according to El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS, converted six passes for assists, while five others led to foul shot opportunities, as West Hills defenders found no answers in sending a parade of Vaqueros to the foul line. Included was a 9-for-10 effort by Molzen in the second half.

"We just went out there to win the game by attacking the basket whenever we could," said Molzen. "We focused on getting the weakside block, so whenever a long shot went up, we'd be there for the rebound."

In his last two games Molzen has scored 49 points, grabbed 25 rebounds, dished 10 assists, recorded 6 steals and blocked 8 shots.

"Of course we always try hard, but West Hills is our rival, so the ef fort was really there tonight," noted Worrell, a junior forward. "We're not quicker than they are, but Molzen knows the court and he was giving me the ball whenever I cut to the open spaces."

A benefactor to the strategy was ARMON WORRELL, who finished just a point shy of his season high with 10 points. He also aided the defense with 3 steals.

Included were an array of inside shots, where MICHAEL OVERSON secured the majority of his 12 points. Meanwhile, MICHAEL LANDIS bombed a pair of 3-point goals as part of his 11 points.

“We are getting better and the kids are starting to believe in themselves,” said Cavazos. “Molzen had another good game. He stepped up and did what he’s been do ing the past couple of weeks.”

“When you have a group of 12 guys who believe, you’re going to be successful,” Cavazos added. “We were up 22 in the fourth quarter. Everybody got to play at the end of the game. The kids came out and showed they want to be contenders.”

West Hills stayed within range early, as GARRETT CABRAL tallied 9 of his 15 points in the first half. But the Wolf Pack shot just 28 percent (10-for-35) from the floor after the intermission, never able to make a run at the Vaqueros, despite 8 points and 5 assists by guard CHASE SENTER.

“ El Capitan played very good, very aggressive defense,” said Pack coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. “We had our hands full with Overson in the first half and Molzen in the second half. Molzen is starting to=2 0play pretty good basketball.”

“We didn’t play our best basketball. We weren’t very good from the free throw line. It puts us on the outside looking in.”

El Capitan scoring: Jon Molzen 21 (15 reb, 6 ast, 4 blk, 3 stl), Michael Overson 12 (2 stl), Michael Landis 11, Armon Worrell 10 (4 reb, 3 stl), Andrew Cable 6 (3 reb), Robert Craighead 3 (7 reb, 2 blk), Jake Zawlacki 3 (6 reb, 3 ast).

West Hills scoring: Garrett Cabral 15 (6 reb), Kyle Navarre 10 (3 reb), Chase Senter 8 (5 ast), Mike Lifgren 7, Ryan Bozelle 4 (5 reb), Lucas Armstrong 3 (4 reb, 2 blk), Kyle McLaughlin 2 (9 reb, 2 stl), Kevin Straub 2, Kellen Johnson (6 reb).

VALHALLA 58, MOUNT MIGUEL 53 – The Norsemen extended their Grossmont South League record to 6-0 – the best start by a Valhalla boys basketball since 1996 when coach MANNY SILVA’s ballclub began 6-0.

AUSTEN SUHAY, the Norsemen’s senior point guard, scored a career-high 32 points to help Valhalla (16-7, 6-0 GSL) post its 11th win in 12 starts.

Suhay’s scoring spree was 10 points better than his previous high this season, and 4 better than he scored as a junior.

“This was one of the toughest league games we’ve had,” said Suhay, who hit 9 of 12 shots from the floor (2 of them 3s) and also 8 of 12 free throws. “Their defense on me wasn’t too good. They left the lane open and I took a chance.”

As a rule Suhay controls the perimeter and dishes the ball inside to his tall front line.

“I think they want the ball in my hands in tight situations,” said Suhay, who also had 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks. “From there it’s a judgment call. In this game against Mount Miguel I think they were more interested in surrounding our big guys. That presented me with more chances to score.”

KYLE KRIEBEL, who has had the flu for the last week, pitched in 12 points and 3 blocks for the Norsemen. Nobody else scored more than 5.

Austen showed why he is who we thought he was,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. “He had a career night. He just had a good overall game. You can’t say enough about him – he had the game of his career. He played like a senior – gave us a lot of leadership.”

HARRY BRAZELTON had 19 points for Mount Miguel and ANTHONY STANFORD had 10 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.

“We self-destructed,” said Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT. “We were tied at 53-53 with a minute left and missed a 3. Suhay killed us. He’s going to be the Player of the Year.”

Leading 51-50 with 2:14 to play Valhalla saw its advantage momentarily disappear when RUDY BURRUEL hit a 3 to put Mount Miguel up by 2.

Suhay scored 18 points in the second half to turn things back around in Valhalla ’s favor.

Valhalla scoring: Austen Suhay 32 (6 reb, 4 ast, 3 blk), Kyle Kriebel 12 (2 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk), Steven Kleist 5 (2 reb), Josh Austel 4 (3 reb, 6 blk), Evie Alcantar 3 (3 reb), Jordan Cunningham 2 (4 reb), Trevor Cahoon (3 reb, 2 stl).

Mount Miguel scoring: Harry Brazelton 19 (5 reb, 3 ast), Anthony Stanford 10 (6 reb, 6 ast), Rudy Burruel 8, Jaymes Brazelton 7 (2 ast, 3 stl), Bryant Mitchell 4 (8 reb), Yuel Hagos 3, Donte Allen 2 (8 reb).

GROSSMONT 60, EL CAJON VALLEY 51 (OT) – After seeing a 12-point lead dissolve in Friday (Feb. 6) night’s Grossmont North League game visiting Grossmont could have easily folded.

But the Foothillers claimed a 10-1 scoring advantage in overtime to post their 3rd overtime victory of the season, which has helped them earn a 13-10 overall record. It was a key victory, which left the Foothillers tied with El Capitan for first place in the GNL at 4-1.

Grossmont snapped a 50-50 tie on a short jumper by FELIPE VALDEZ with 2:49 left in overtime. Valdez would later add two free throws in the extra period to finish with a team-high 18 points.

The Foothillers should be happy they escaped with a victory considering they shot only 29 percent from the field. Granted, they hit 9 three-pointers – 4 each by Valdez and DESEAN WATERS – and gained a 51-39 edge in rebounding.

The game could easily have been a blowout had it not been for the 30-point effort of JORDAN SHIVERS. Bottom line, though, is Shivers ran out of gas, scoring only one point in overtime.

Comparing statistics, it’s not easy to figure out how Grossmont won this game.

Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO said it was an energy burst sparked by Valdez in the 4-minute overtime that made the difference.

On paper, JACOB HAAR rolled a powerful double-double of 14 points and 16 rebounds for Grossmont. Guard DESEAN WATERS added 17 points and pitched in five saves.

“We love to be entertaining,” Grossmont coach FRAN FOGGIANO joshed. “You have to be kidding. We went stagnant in the fourth quarter (as Stivers scored 10 points in an 18-7 spread that send game into overtime.”

At this point Grossmont is well positioned to repeat as Grossmont North League champions.

Grossmont scoring: Felipe Valdez 18 (5 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl), Desean Waters 17 (4 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Jacob Haar 14 (16 reb), Billy Gange 4 (10 reb, 3 ast), Clayton Rainey 4 (11 reb), Alex Ortiz 3, Robbie Nesovic (2 reb).

El Cajon Valley scoring: Jordan Shivers 30 (6 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Raylondo Ford 8 (3 reb), Jesse Damman 5 (2 reb), Anthony Ussery 4 (8 reb, 6 ast), Dominic Dove 4 (11 reb, 2 ast, 4 blk), Devin Lesch (2 reb, 1 blk), Kendall Conley (4 reb).

GRANITE HILLS 60, MONTE VISTA 52 (OT) – Math quiz. Which is better? Two double-doubles or two players nearing or reaching their career scoring highs.

And the winner is – Granite Hills. The visiting Eagles rode the strength of DEAN MILLER’s 14 points and 10 rebounds along with AARON HARRIS’ 14 points and 11 rebounds to claim a key Grossmont South League overtime nod over Monte Vista on Friday night (Feb. 6).

Accustomed to being a one-man gang for the Eagles (14-8, 3-3 GSL), Miller settled for taking only 11 shots (making 5). One of his on-target swishers raised his East County leading 70th three-pointers.< /FONT>

With 20 seconds left in regulation Miller hit a lean-in 15-foot jumper at the left elbow at the buzzer in a crowd of defenders to tie the game 48-48 and put it into overtime.

Granite Hills dominated the four-minute overtime. The bulk of the Eagles’ bonus basketball offense of 12 points came on making 10 of 12 free throws. Junior guard ANDRE LEWIS hit four straight charity shots to sway momentum in the Eagles’ favor.

For the game, Lewis was 10 of 14 from the foul line.

As a team, Granite Hills cashed in 23 of 31 charity shots. KYLE SNYDER made all 5 of his free throws.

Granite Hills jumped out to an 11-point lead early in the 2nd quarter then went flat offensively.

Monte Vista capitalized on the Eagles scoring skid, rolling off a 22-6 run late in the second quarter into the middle of the third quarter and moved in front by 10 points.

Monarchs’ senior GEOFF HARTMAN turned in a near personal record performance with 26 points, 18 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and a pair of blocks. Newcomer STEVEN BOELTER had a career-high 10 points for the Monarchs.

“I was proud of the way our guys battled back.” Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL said.

Anderson was pleased by the work of Harris.

“Harris played a great game defensively. He played nearly the whole game – 35 of 36 minutes. He had the same energy at the end of the game as he did at the beginning. He had 2 breakaway monster dunks late in the game. They were big, big plays.”

Monte Vista (9-14, 0-6 GSL) led by four points going into the 4th quarter. The Monarchs were stung by fouls, drawing 22 personals compared to 7 for Granite Hills. That spelled the difference in the end.

“They had the momentum going into O.T. and used it to their advantage,” Carroll said. “They are an excellent free throw shooting team and that helped them get back into the game and eventually win it.”

It was the 7th loss in a row for Monte Vista.

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 14 (10 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Aaron Harris 14 (11 reb, 4 stl), Andre Lewis 12 (3 ast, 3 stl), Kyle Snyder 11, John Montes 4 (3 reb), Jason Gaines 3 (4 reb), Parker Dow 2 (3 reb).

Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 26 (18, 6 ast, 2 blk, 4 stl), Steven Boelter 10, Tony Jackson 8 (12 reb, 2 ast), Trent Watkins 6, Richard Whitfield 2 (4 reb), Alvin Merriweather (2 reb, 2 ast).

STEELE CANYON 62, HELIX 56 – Even veteran JOHN SINGER was stunned when his Helix Highlanders (11-11, 1-5 GSL) scored 31 points in the 4th quarter only to fall short against visiting Steele Canyon in Friday’s (Feb. 6) Grossmont South League action.

The season-high scoring flurry by the Highlanders didn’t matter much as Steele Canyon (13-11, 5-1 GSL) produced 24 points over the final eight minutes.

“We played pretty good defense all night,” Singer said. “But when I saw we scored 31 points in that last quarter I thought there must be an error.”

Six times the Highlanders have scored 45 points or fewer in a game this season.

“For most of the season we just haven’t been able to find the basket,” said Singer.

In the fourth quarter JOUBERT BALLARD had 10 points and so did DARIEN PETERSON.

“Helix couldn’t miss in the 4th quarter,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS. Ballard hit some tough shots. It was not a very good way to close out a game. We were up 13 going into the 4th quarter, but we missed a lot of free throws in that quarter.”

CAMERON MOSS rolled a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds, while JOSIAH SMITH netted 15 points and bagged 10 boards for the Cougars. Guard JEBARI ROBINSON also had 16 points.

Overall Steele Canyon made 25 of 42 free throws.

Helix’ DARIEN PETERSON, a 5-foot-11 junior guard was 6 for 6 from the field and 5 for 5 on free throws. His totals included one 3-pointers, 5 steals and 3 assists.

“He played his best game of the year,” Singer said of Peterson, who finished with 16 points.

One other item Singer wanted to note was his praise for Stephens, Steele Canyon ’s second-year head coach.

“He’s doing as good a job as any coach in our league,” Singer said. “He’s going to be a great coach and Steele Canyon is lucky to have him.”

“I don’t just say that about any coached,” added Singer, who is in his 29th season at Helix. “This guy’s a good one.”

Steele Canyon scoring: Cameron Moss 16 (12 reb), Jebari Robinson 16, Josiah Smith 15 (10 reb), Jeff Reid 7, Zane Keith 4, Kaptan Kaster 4.

Helix scoring: Darien Peterson 16 (3 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl), Joubert Ballard 14 (7 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Jaylen Linson 11 (8 reb), John Singer 6 (4 reb, 1 blk), Erick Darnell 6 (3 reb), Tommie Young 2 (2 reb, 2 stl), Jake Reed (2 ast), Sam Meredith 1 (7 reb, 2 stl, 5 blk), Anthony Anderson (5 reb, 1 blk).

CORONADO 50, CHRISTIAN 38 – It was almost a repeat performance of the first round Central League meeting between these two long-time rivals Friday (Feb. 6) at the Ryan Athletic Center.

The visiting Islanders (15-10, 6-3 CTL) led wire-to-wire to move into a second-place tie with the Patriots (14-8, 6-3 CTL). Coronado al so won the first round encounter 53-40.

“It was disappointing,” said Christian athletic director DAVID BEEZER, speaking in place of Patriots’ coach KELVIN STARR who did not return any telephone calls after the game. “We had a good sized home crowd, but our team really never got into it.”

The Islanders gained a 38-25 advantage after three quarters, and Christian was finished.

Coronado ’s focus was on containing Christian sharpshooter LUIZ BIDART. Mission accomplished. Bidart was held to 16 points.

“Bidart has not been feeling well all week,” Beezer said. “That’s not an excuse, but he really had to work for every point he got against Coronado.”

TAYLOR EICHHORST added 11 points for the Patriots, who saw a three-game winning streak end.

Christian scoring: Luiz Bidart 16, Taylor Eichhorst 11, Aaron Whitten 6, Jake Larsen 3, Mike Stowers 2. No other statistics were reported by the Christian coaches.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-5-09) — Everyone knows that Christian High's offense centers around Central League scoring leader LUIZ BIDART. But when you consistently play games in the high 40s and low 50s, one need only look to TAYLOR EICHHORST to discover the heart of the Patriots' defense.

Eichhorst, the team's senior leader, battled against a pair of taller Point Loma defenders Wednesday (Feb. 4), yet still finished with 8 points and a game-high 11 rebounds in backing Christian to a 45-40 triumph at Ryan Athletic Center.

The decision sets up Friday's showdown at home against Coronado to see which side gets a shot to challenge front-running Kearny for the league title.

"We are taught to play hard – we don't back down on anyone," noted Eichhorst, who scored 1770 on his SAT college exam. "It all starts of the defensive end – coach (KELVIN) STARR emphasizes that – then everything clicks from there."

And the effort was needed down the stretch after Point Loma scoring leader Robby Tarte registered 15 of his game-high 21 points in the third period, trimming an 11-point Patriots lead into a 34-33 nailbiter by the start of the fourth periods.

"He got some big 3-pointers, so we tried to trail him to slow him up," noted Eichhorst. “We had different guys go in and out of the game to guard him."

While Eichhorst battled inside to prevent Point Loma center John Gaymond from scoring any baskets all contest — all 4 of Gaymond's points came from the foul line — others did a chunk of work on the perimeter.

"First we had AARON WHITTEN, who is a really good defensive player, on Tarte," noted Eichhorst. "Then we had STEVEN PITTS on him, and he also did a good job."

The defense played so well, Tarte didn't score again until only 11 seconds remained, but by then the Patriots had already secured the victory.

"I've always taken pride in my leadership – motivating a team and getting the energy going. That's how I feel about athletics," Eichhorst added.

When Bidart is on the bench, the offense can suffer. But the team takes an even bigger hit on defense when Eichhorst sits. And his teammates know it.

"Taylor plays hard the whole game and he's very good at rebounding," noted Bidart, who scored 15 points while still suffering effects from the flu. "And this team can't allow second shots."

"We really did a good job on (Tarte) in the first half, but came out flat in the third quarter – we let him go a little bit. But we did a much better job in the fourth quarter.”

Following a couple of early lead changes, Bidart spurred an 11-4 run by the Patriots. He tossed a 40-foot pass to Pitts for a breakaway layin, then he nailed a 3-point basket. So the Pointers played tighter on him, and Bidart countered with a drive to the basket for another layin to begin stretching the lead.

Christian scoring: Luiz Bidart 15 (3 reb, 2 ast), Taylor Eichhorst 8 (11 reb, 2 ast), Steven Pitts 6 (4 reb, 2 blk), Ronnie Richards 6 (6 reb), Andrew Whitten 5 (3 reb), Tyrone Sauls 4, Jake Larsen 1.

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (2-4-09) — It had to be frustrating for FRANK FOGGIANO and his Grossmont Foothillers Tuesday night (Feb. 3) when they knew that a victory over El Capitan would leave them two games atop the pack with four games remaining.

The defending Grossmont North League champion Foothillers missed that opportunity as they allowed a season-high scoring total in losing to the Vaqueros 71-63.

Now the Foothillers are sharing the GNL lead with El Capitan, and El Cajon Valley and West Hills are only one game back. The possibilities of co- and tri-championships are mind-boggling in this circuit.

Senior JON MOLZEN led the Vaqueros to the upset of the visiting Foothillers with 28 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks and 3 steals.

“It was Jon’s best game of the year,” El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS said. “I’m not just talking about points, he was his best in several ways. I don’t even want to go into the numbers – he was a vocal leader and was helping his teammates help us win a game we needed to win.”

“This is the kind of player he can be. Fortunately, he’s blossoming at the right time, just as we are as a team.”

In El Capitan ’s eyes this game was all about the second half. Trailing 32-29 to the Foothillers at intermission, El Capitan used a 17-6 scoring spree in the third quarter to take control.

Each team scored 25 points in the final quarter.

“I got a lot of layups,” said Molzen, who was 9 of 13 from the field and 10 of 13 from the free throw line. “I think the best thing about this game is I didn’t have to force any shots. They tried to play straight ‘man’ and I just dribbled around them. If they did close the lane I just kicked it back out.”

Molzen said he only took one shot outside the paint – a 3-pointer that missed its mark.

“ El Capitan did a good job of exploiting our defense,” said Foggiano. “Our rotation wasn’t very good. And you have to give Molzen credit – he was like a rhino going through there.”

While Foggiano was disappointed by the setback he believes his Foothillers can still finish on top.

“It’s like I told my kids, if you want to be a champion you have to act like one,” he said. “That means if we win out (the last four games), we’ll be the champions.”

El Capitan (12-11, 3-1 GNL) – winner of 4 of its last 5 – shot 56 percent from the field against the Foothillers. The irony there is the Vaqueros were 0 for 9 from 3-point range and 69 percent from 2-point distance. The fact that they hit 17 of 24 free throws didn’t hurt either.

“We like to pride ourselves on playing solid defense but we did not do that in this game,” Foggiano commented. “I’ll give my kids credit for coming back like they did because we were down 16 points in the second half and closed it to within 5. But it’s like I always say, if you don’t play very good defense you’re probably not going to win.”

FELIPE VALDEZ led Grossmont with a career-high 21 points, including a perfect 8 for 8 from the free throw line.

JAKE HAAR chipped in with 20 points and 6 rebounds for the Foothillers.

Despite being bogged down with foul trouble, MICHAEL OVERSON hit 6 of 10 shots from the field to finish with 16 points for El Capitan. JAKE ZAWLACKI got all of his 11 points in the first half.

El Capitan scoring: Jon Molzen 28 (11 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl, 4 blk), Michael Overson 16 (3 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Jake Zawlacki 11 (2 reb, 2 ast), Robert Craighead 6 (2 reb, 2 stl), Michael Landis 5 (3 reb, 2 ast), Armon Worrell 2 (2 reb, 4 st, 1 blk), Andrew Cable 3 (3 reb).

Grossmont scoring: Felipe Valdez 21 (4 ast, 2 stl), Jacob Haar 20 (6 reb), Drew Forehand 6, Desean Waters 4, Robbie Nesovic 4 (2 reb), Clayton Rainey 4 (4 reb), Billy Gange 2 (4 reb), Graham Hajosy 2.

WEST HILLS 51, SANTANA 48 – In the Grossmont North League battle of Santee rivals, visiting West Hills survived a disastrous 2nd quarter on Tuesday (Feb. 3) to keep its slim title chances alive.

While the Wolf Pack (8-14, 2-2 GNL) won for only the second time in its last nine games, outscoring Santana 14-6 with all of its points coming from the free throw line in the 4th period, any hopes West Hills has of claiming a loop title or even making the playoffs will have to come from a strong finish.

West Hills plays three of its final four league games away from home.

“We’ve been a pretty good road team,” Wolf Pack coach JEFF ARMSTRONG said. “Mathematically we are still alive. Realistically, though, we are still on the outside looking in.”

Interpretation: West Hills is one game behind GNL co-league Grossmont and ElCapitan.

West Hills could be involved in an interesting scenario. If the Wolf Pack can beat El Capitan in Lakeside on Friday (Feb. 6), and Grossmont falls at El Cajon Valley, this league would be locked in a four-way tie between the aforementioned teams at 4-2 with two games remaining.

Only Santana is out of the race. But think about the chances for the Sultans (11-12, 0-4 GNL) to play spoiler.

The Wolf Pack camped on the free throw line to deny the Sultans their shot at a league victory. Fact is, West Hills made 14 of 22 attempts from the charity stripe to erase a 42-37 Santana lead. KYLE NAVARRE was 7 for 10 from the free throw line in the decisive period.

Yet the game came down to the final seconds. West Hills was holding a 1-point lead going into the final minute. Navarre and LUCAS ARMSTRONG added a free throw apiece to stake the Pack to a 3-point lead with 4 seconds remaining.

“We thought we had them there but Santana took a half-court shot that just missed sending the game into overtime,” Coach Armstrong said.

When it comes to West Hills it’s all about balanced scoring. Four members of the Pack had 8 points or more, led by CHASE SENTER’s 12 points which all came on 3-pointers.

After West Hills sprinted to an 18-6 first quarter lead Santana countered with a 25-4 second quarter spread to take a 31-22 advantage at the break.

For Santana, however, things seem to take a turn for the worst during every game of late as the Sultans have lost 7 in a row.

KEVIN ENGELKE, who scored all of his 9 points in Santana’s blowout second quarter, continues to have shoulder problems.

“Kevin Engelke’s shoulder totally popped out, even with the brace,” said Santana coach TIM BARRY. “He went into the team room and popped it back in.”

CHRIS SODERGREN scored 11 of his 16 points in the second quarter but never regained his shooting touch as he finished with 16 markers.

“In the fourth quarter we had all kinds of things happen – SEAN DOYLE, DAVID THRALL and TREY BASS all fouled out, Engelke’s shoulder popped out and MATT GOMEZ turned his ankle,” recalled Barry. “We had one starter – Sodergren – on the floor to finish the last 2 minutes of the game. It was just insane.”

Barry, the poster boy for bad luck, pointed to freshman LANDON LOZOYA. It seemed like a small thing at the time, but Lozoya hit what Barry thought was a 3 with 2 minutes left, but the official said his foot was on the line and turned it into a 2.

“Both teams were in double bonus in the fourth quarter, but we were just 2 for 8 on free throws in the entire second half. And that was the difference,” said Barry.

West Hills scoring: Chase Senter 12, Kyle Navarre 8, Garrett Cabral 8, Mike Lifgren 8, Lucas Armstrong 4, Kyle McLaughlin 4, Adrian Maraziti 3, Ryan Bozelle 2, Kellen Johnson 2.

Santana scoring: Chris Sodergren 16 (6 reb), James Needy 9 (10 reb), Kevin Engelke 9, Matt Gomez 5 (2 ast), David Thrall 4 (2 reb, 3 ast), Sean Doyle 3 (6 reb), Landon Lozoya 2, Trey Bass (4 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Trevor Barkhimer (2 reb, 2 ast).

The Matadors still have a shot at a league title with five games remaining. Granite Hills, meanwhile, is struggling to keep its playoff hopes alive.

Mount Miguel (10-14, 3-2 GSL) used a 22-6 springboard over the final 8 minutes to whip a Granite Hills squad it had lost to by 24 points in the first round of league play.

“In the fourth quarter we were able to get into the flow without having the whistle blow every other possession,” Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT said. “There were a lot of whistles in the first half and we couldn’t get into the flow.

“In the second half we played together and fought back. We just chipped away and chipped away.”

The Matadors scorched the Eagles (13-8, 2-3 GSL) from the free throw line, hitting 10 of their final 11 charity shots down the stretch.

“We hit only one of our last four free throws in the final couple of minutes,” lamented Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON.

Still the Eagles, who led by as many as 9 points in the second half, were clinging to a 2-point lead with 1:30 remaining. Missed free throws at that stage proved critical as the Eagles kept drawing blanks while Mount Miguel was cashing in from the foul line.

Despite suffering their third loss in five games, the Eagles got game highs of 23 points and 13 rebounds from DEAN MILLER. Mount Miguel ’s top offensive threat was HARRY BRAZELTON with 19 points. ANTHONY STANFORD had a double-double of 15 points and 10 assists for the Matadors.

“We just gave it up in the fourth quarter,” Anderson said. “They made their free throws and we didn’t. We didn’t finish the game.”

Mount Miguel scoring: Harry Brazelton 19 (5 reb, 2 stl), Anthony Stanford 15 (2 reb, 10 ast, 3 stl), Donte Allen 14 (6 reb), Johnny Norton 6 (3 stl), Rudy Burruel 3, Bryant Mitchell (8 reb), Jaymes Brazelton (4 reb, 2 ast).

Granite Hills scoring: Dean Miller 23 (13 reb, 3 blk), Aaron Harris 14 (4 reb), Kyle Snyder 9, Jason Gaines 6, Andre Lewis 1 (8 ast, 2 stl), John Montes 1, Ronnie Von Hagen (8 reb).

VALHALLA 53, HELIX 34 – The visiting Norsemen snapped a 19-game, 9-year losing streak to the vaunted Helix Highlanders on Tuesday (Feb. 3) to maintain their lead in the Grossmont South League.

Upending the Highlanders might never have happened had Valhalla ’s inside ace KYLE KRIEBEL been unable to participate.

“We didn’t know until an hour before game time if Kyle would even be able to play,” Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON said. “He’s been sick, had a fever. We didn’t know if he’d able to go until we saw him walk in the door.”

Despite playing with a three-digit fever, Kriebel rang up 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Valhalla (15-7, 5-0 GSL) to its first win over Helix since 1999. Valhalla and Helix tangled three times that year, with the Highlanders gaining a 2-1 edge. Helix won 36-34 in a tournament game and 72-66 in a second round league game in overtime. In between, Valhalla grabbed a 57-52 nod over the Highlanders.

So much for the history lesson.

Valhalla has won 10 of its last 11 games and holds a one game lead heading into the second round of GSL action.

“Kyle showed a lot of heart,” Jackson said. “We tried to limit his playing time – like to two to three minutes at a time. He wanted to be out there more, but we didn’t want him to collapse. It’s like he said, ‘this is Helix, and I’ve got to be out there.’”

Kriebel closed the 3rd period by hitting a 3-pointer, accounting for 10 of the Norsemen’s 19 in that period as Valhalla opened up a 20-19 halftime lead.

Junior JOSH AUSTEL had a hot hand inside the paint for the Norsemen, as he canned 7 of 12 shots for 14 points. Eight of his points came in the 4th quarter as Valhalla won going away.

The ever reliable Valhalla point guard AUSTEN SUHAY turned in another strong performance with 11 points and 7 assists.

“We took too many perimeter shots and just couldn’t get into the flow in the first half,” Jackson said. “We did a better job of taking it inside in the second half. That’s our game.”

TREVOR CAHOON and Suhay helped shut out Helix point guard JOUBERT BALLARD.

“The road to winning our league’s championship always goes through Helix,” Jackson said. “To win in their gym is a major plus for us.”

Valhalla scoring: Kyle Kriebel 16 (12 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 3 stl), Josh Austel 14 (5 reb, 1 blk), Austen Suhay 11 (7 ast, 2 blk, 3 stl), Steven Kleist 5 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Evie Alcantar 3 (3 reb), Jordan Cunningham 2 (4 reb), David Zetts 2 (4 reb, 1 blk), Trevor Cahoon (2 reb, 2 ast), Manny Hernandez (2 ast).

Helix scoring: Sam Meredith 12 (7 reb, 3 stl), Jaylen Linson 9 (9 reb), Anthony Anderson 5 (2 reb, 1 blk), Darien Peterson 2 (2 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), John Singer 2 (4 reb), Erick Darnell 2, Ahmad Rashada 2 (2 stl), Joubert Ballard (2 reb, 2 ast), Jake Reed (2 reb).

STEELE CANYON 72, MONTE VISTA 51 – It was the perfect setting for an ambush, was Tuesday’s (Feb. 3) Grossmont South League game at Monte Vista.

The high-flying Cougars, who have won 11 of their last 15, must have had plenty to talk about when they went into the locker room after the first half leading last place Monte Vista only 25-23.

If the Monarchs could have pulled off the upset that probably would have given Valhalla the Grossmont South League championship.

Rebounding from their lackluster first half, the visiting Cougars made it clear that they weren’t ready to concede the circuit crown to front-running Valhalla.

Sparked by a strong second half by JEBARI ROBINSON, who scored 16 of his 19 points in the final two quarters along with a superb job in the middle by CAMERON MOSS, who was 7 for 7 in the paint after intermission, the Cougars ran away from the Monarchs to finish the first half of GSL play at 4-1.

“The second half was the best half Jebari has played all season,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS. “He was aggressive but yet under control. He attacked the rim (hitting 7 of 8 shots). That’s what we need from him.”

Robinson hit 8 of 14 overall. Moss was even better, hitting 9 of 10 to share team high-point honors with Robinson at 19.

“A lot of us are sick,” Robinson said. “Our main offense is to push it but since a lot of us weren’t feeling well we slowed the ball down and just ran plays.”

“In practice I’ve been trying to work on driving to the basket more, get a lot more fouls.”

In the case of Robinson, most of the plays turned into layups.

He also had 7 assists and 6 rebounds in addition to hitting 3 of 5 free throws.

The beneficiary of Robinson’s crisp passes was Moss, who had one of his best games to date.

“We were coming off that tough loss Friday (to Valhalla) and we knew we had to come out hard and get a win to get back on track,” said Moss, who will sign a football scholarship offer from Colorado State on Wednesday (Feb. 4).

Steele Canyon, which plays four of its final five games at home, scored 47 points in the second half, hitting 20 of 27 shots from the field (74 percent) and 7 of 9 free throws to turn the game into a blowout.

Monte Vista is overmatched in the Grossmont South League at the moment.

Without question senior GEOFF HARTMAN, who tallied 23 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, ranks with the elite but outside of that the Monarchs lack scoring punch.

As a team the Monarchs shot only 38 percent against the Cougars.

“They killed us on the backdoor cut,” said Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL. “And then we let their point guard open to get to the hoop without much resistance. We’re just not a 4-quarter team yet.”

Steele Canyon scoring: Cameron Moss 19 (5 reb, 2 stl, 4 blk), Jebari Robinson 19 (6 reb, 7 ast, 1 blk), Josiah Smith 18 (8 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Zane Keith 5 (3 reb, 2 ast), Jeff Reid 4 (6 reb, 2 stl), Eric Gilbert 4 (2 reb, 1 blk), Kaptan Kaster 3 (2 ast).

Monte Vista scoring: Geoff Hartman 23 (9 reb, 6 ast, 1 blk), Alvin Merriweather 6, Kevin Starling 6, Tony Jackson 5 (8 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), Trent Watkins 5, Jason Guinto 4, Richard Whitfield 2 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Kylie Luster (2 reb).