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OTAY MESA (12-31-09) — Inducted into the Mount Miguel Athletics Hall of Fame during the school's 50th year anniversary, the undefeated and SDCIF champion Matadors basketball team of the 1967-68 season is a constant reminder that greatness can be achieved.

"I've seen the trophy at our school," said senior AJ STANFORD. "I look at it and think, 'what if...'"

The 33-0 mark by the late DICK RIDGWAY coached team won't be reached by any East County program this season, but other achievements are on the horizon.

Mount Miguel took another step in such a direction Wednesday (Dec. 30) by capturing its second tournament title of the season, outlasting host Montgomery, 58-52, to claim the 27th annual Aztecs Holiday Classic trophy.

HARRY BRAZELTON paced the Matadors by scoring 12 of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter, while Stanford added 19 points and 8 rebounds. Both were selected to the all-tournament team, with Brazelton garnering Most Valuable Player honors.

The Matadors (12-3) are off to another promising start. They are winners of six straight, including a triumph over their closest competitor (Santana) when the new Grossmont Valley League makes its basketball debut next month.

"We committed a lot of turnovers," noted Stanford. "But we played through it by playing defense and rebounding."

If 10 turnovers are "a lot," then standards have been raised for a Mount Miguel program which hasn't won a league crown in more than a decade. Currently, the Matadors are poised for such a feat.

Mount Miguel led practically the entire contest, resisting every comeback attempt by Montgomery in the second half.

The early lead came courtesy of the transition game, as three steals by MARCUS BOOKER led to a series of easy baskets. When the Aztecs took better care of the ball, the rebounding of Booker and three shot blocks from BRYANT MITCHELL allowed Mount Miguel stretch its advantage to 40-32 through three quarters.

Then Brazelton took over when the Matadors offense was about to stall. He nailed a trio of 3-point shots in the final period. Included were consecutive treys by YUEL HAGOS and Brazelton moments after the Aztecs trimmed an 11-point deficit into a 46-43 nailbiter with three minutes to go.

"We gave Harry some open looks," noted Stanford. "And he knocked them down."

Montgomery's comeback attempt was fueled by all-tournament honoree Alex Cobb, who scored seven of his 16 points down the stretch. Cobb, who also grabbed 13 boards, gained most of his late points from the foul line after a relatively clean game became a foul-fest in the fourth period. Mount Miguel survived the loss of three players due to fouls.

Mount Miguel: Harry Brazelton 20 (3 ast, 3 stl), AJ Stanford 19 (8 reb, 4 stl, 3 ast), James Brazelton 5, Yuel Hagos 5 (4 reb), Bryant Mitchell 4 (6 reb, 3 blk, 2 ast), Marcus Booker 4 (5 reb, 5 stl), Tarik Downs 2 (3 reb, 2 stl), Thomas Butler 2.

CHRISTIAN 56, SANTA FE CHRISTIAN 47 – The Patriots no doubt realize they are one of the best teams in East County. They have a 9-game winning streak and an 11-2 record to prove it.

ICARO PARISOTTO scored 18 points and ZSOLT LAKOSA added 16 points to help push the Patriots past host Santa Fe Christian in Wednesday’s (Dec. 30) championship game of the Tri-City Christian Tournament.

The victory clinched Christian’s second tournament title. The Patriots previously captured the Kiwanis Tournament crown.

This was a faceoff of friendly foes, as Christian coach KELVIN STARR and SFC’s skipper Chad Bickley played college basketball together at Christian Heritage College (now San Diego Christian College ).

“It was a battle the whole way,” admitted Starr. “ Chad has a good group and he’s done a good job with them. He had them really ready to play today. He’s one of my biggest friends.”

Parisotto was named tournament MVP and SHANE DILLON (13 points) was named to the all-tournament team.

One major change in Christian’s look this season is the role LUIZ BIDART is taking. A year ago he ranked among the SDCIF leading scorers with a 24.8 average – rather by necessity than choice. Now as a senior he’s taken more of a subdued, yet essential approach to the game.

“Luiz Bidart has become a different player for us since he came back from his (early season) injury,” said Starr. “He knows he doesn’t have to be a scorer now. He has done a good job running the show. All he wants to do is win.”

Christian: Icaro Parisotto 18, Zsolt Lakosa 16, Shane Dillon 13, Luiz Bidart 7, Erick Allen 2. No other stats were available.

GRANITE HILLS 72, FALLBROOK 63 – The Granite Hills Eagles play a fan-pleasing brand of basketball. That is, they score on everybody.

Coach RANDY ANDERSON acknowledges the fact that his crew, which averages more than 75 points per game, is an offensive powerhouse. At the same time he realizes that his troops need to bolster their defense if they are to make a run for the Grossmont Hills League title.

The Eagles (9-4) held off Fallbrook to capture the championship of the 14th Annual Granite Hills Holiday Classic on Wednesday (Dec. 30) in El Cajon.

No matter how you look at it Granite Hills’ game focuses on senior guard ANDRE LEWIS. The 5-foot-9 playmaker scored 33 points, created 11 steals, handed out 7 assists and collected 5 rebounds as the Eagles won their 5th straight and 7th in eight games.

Lewis scored 112 points in the Eagles 4-game tournament sweep. He was 12 for 25 from the floor against Fallbrook, including a pair of 3-balls. He also only missed 2 of 9 free throws.

“Andre took over the game in the 3rd quarter when he scored 12 points after Fallbrook cut our lead to 5,” said Anderson. “At one point he scored on four straight possessions – three field goals and two free throws. He’s a tenacious defender who anticipates well. I’m so proud of his senior leadership.”

GARRETT LARCH-MILLER, a 6-foot-2 junior guard turned in a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds. Nine of Larch-Miller’s points came in the 4th quarter as the Eagles snubbed any thoughts Fallbrook (10-3) had of staging a comeback.

“He made some big shots in the 4th quarter,” said Anderson.

Six-foot-3 sophomore JASON GAINES dominated the glass, collecting 20 caroms and blocking 3 shots for Granite Hills.

“It’s amazing how high Gaines gets over the rim,” Anderson said. “We’ve emphasized the importance of rebounding to him since we are not a real big team, and he’s responded.”

Granite Hills: Andre Lewis 33 (5 reb, 7 ast, 11 stl), Garrett Larch-Miller 22 (11 reb), Jason Gaines 9 (20 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk), Kyle Snyder 6 (3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), James Sadik (6 reb), Wil Wilson 2, Dalton Otineru (2 reb, 3 ast).

Las Vegas-BONANZA 60, SANTANA 46 – The Sultans learned the effect of playing without a shot clock in Wednesday’s (Dec. 30) championship game of the Las Vegas Invitational at Mountain View High.

Riding a five-game winning streak the Sultans (10-5) scored only three points in the 3rd quarter against Bonanza (9-5).

“This was the first game (over here) that playing without a shot clock really affected us,” said Santana coach TIM BARRY. “They held onto the ball for six minutes in the 3rd quarter.”

Bonanza’s stall tactics helped the Bengals to extend a 4-point halftime lead to 40-28 after three quarters.

“Our guys were just so tired,” Barry said.

Santana’s shooting was way off the mark as the Sultans made only 10 baskets in 41 attempts from the floor. Santana did do well from the free throw line, converting 23 of 30 chances.

JESSE VARGAS set the pace by making 11 of 12 charity shots on his way to a 14 point finish. DAVID THRALL was 5 for 5 from the foul line.

“I would love to play this team on a day we had more rest,” said Barry.

Despite the disappointing conclusion Santana finished the tournament 4-1.

“It was a good experience overall for all of us,” Barry said. “The younger players can’t wait to come back here.”

Santana: Jesse Vargas 14 (2 stl), Matt Lucius 7 (7 reb, 3 stl), Landon Lozoya 6 (3 reb, 2 stl), David Thrall 7, Sean Ross 4, Jason Corbisez 3, Trey Bass 2 (5 reb), Jason Dale 2, Matt Gomez 1.

EASTLAKE 68, GROSSMONT 51 – A sluggish start by Grossmont took all of the suspense out of Wednesday’s (Dec. 30) Chula Vista Spartan Classic championship game.

Oh sure, the Foothillers (7-6) played the Titans (12-2) virtually even over the final three quarters, but Eastlake ’s 22-8 first quarter advantage was the difference in the game.

“They just got up on us in the 1st quarter and we couldn’t catch them,” said Foothillers coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “We played OK after the 1st quarter but we didn’t come ready to play I guess.”

Reliable JACOB HAAR delivered 21 points and junior transfer MICHAEL WNEK added a season-best 16 points for the Foothillers, who lost for only the second time in five games.

Wnek’s totals included landing four 3-pointers.

Grossmont: Jacob Haar 21, Michael Wnek 16, Desean Waters 6, Robby Nesovic 4, Anthony Bowden 2, Alex Nesovic 2.

“Kalob’s shooting was off in the first quarter but he was really the only one scoring. Our offense was very immobile at the start,” said Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. “We looked really unmotivated. Normally in a game like this I would not have feared being down even 10, but it just didn't look like we were going to get it together.”

However, Foothills Christian (12-3), which finished 2-3 in the tournament, trimmed a 15-point deficit to 4 points in the second half. “We just couldn't get that one big shot,” McHugh mused.

Hatcher hit plenty of big shots, including seven 3-pointers. Four of those long rangers came in the fourth quarter.

TROY LEAF added 20 points and JVONTE BROOKS pulled down 20 rebounds for the Knights (12-3).

“One thing that we have to improve on going forward is just getting our chemistry together. Right now we seem to have one guy or two guys show up every night,” McHugh said.

Foothills Christian: Kalob Hatcher 27 (2 ast, 4 stl), Troy Leaf 20 (5 ast, 3 reb, 2 stl), Jvonte Brooks 7 (20 reb), Stevie McElroy 6, Daniel LaBahn 2 (4 reb), Henry Luschei (3 reb), Sal Romeri (2 reb).

STEELE CANYON 66, MAR VISTA 44 – For the only time this season, the Cougars outscored an opponent in every quarter as they smashed Mar Vista in Wednesday’s (Dec. 30) final day of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic.

The result was Steele Canyon ’s highest scoring production and its second win in 10 decisions.

“Once we got our offense untracked we were able to do what we wanted,” said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS.

MICHAEL CEDEROTH and CODY WELLS churned out 18 points apiece to pace the Cougars. Wells tucked a pair of 3-pointers into his totals.

“I thought we played outstanding defense the whole game,” Stephens said. “Our bench played a big role in the win. We proved we have a lot of interchangeable parts.”

Steele Canyon: Michael Cederoth 18, Cody Wells 18, Casey Balikian 10, Aundre Belcher 6, Chanceller James 5, Danny Bwinika 4, Andrew King 2, Wes Judish 2, Gilbert 1.

VALHALLA 56, SERRA 44 – Senior guard STEVEN KLEIST showered Serra with four 3-pointers in Wednesday’s (Dec. 30) consolation round of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic in South Bay.

Kleist, who finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 assists, was named to the all-tournament team.

“Steven showed senior leadership tonight,” said Valhalla assistant coach DON ROLLINS. “He was the guy who kept us in the game.”

Kleist accounted for 12 points and 6 rebounds as the Norsemen (6-7) forged to a 30-23 halftime lead.

DAVID WILSCHETZ turned out a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. JORDAN CUNNINGHAM continued to be a complete player, finishing with 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 6 points, 3 blocks and 2 steals for the Norsemen.

“We had better distribution of the ball and controlled the game from the jump,” Rollins said. “As a coaching staff we told the guys it’s a new season now, ending the tournament season.”

Valhalla: Steven Kleist 17 (10 reb, 4 ast, 5 stl), David Wilschetz 13 (10 reb, 1 blk), Kyle Kriebel 11 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk), Jordan Cunningham 6 (10 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk, 2 stl), David Zetts 4 (3 reb, 2 stl), Thomas McDonald 3, Kevin Mills 2 (3 ast),

CRAWFORD 95, WEST HILLS 74 – This has to be one of the highest scoring games of the season thus far – 169 points in Wednesday’s (Dec. 30) final day of the 27th annual Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery.

“The Pack went down 12 early in the 1st quarter then clawed back to tie it at 49 apiece by halftime. It was a game of guards vs. guards. Full court action, endline to endline,” noted West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG.

Nobody could keep up with senior guard SHEDRICK COLLIER, who scored a career-best 33 points for West Hills (3-10). Freshman teammate JONNY PRESTON punched in four 3-pointers on his way to 16 points, and “is playing like an upperclassman.”

All of the Pack’s big men were in foul trouble. Two of them fouled out, and a third was saddled with four personals.

“RALPH BEDOE and RUSSELL TODD stepped in and played a lot of minutes due to the foul dilemma,” Armstrong said. “The young guys gave a great effort. But we just ran ourselves tired. All in all we had a good tournament, going 2-2.

We showed big steps in improving.”

ADRIAN MAZARITI was named to the all-tournament team.

West Hills: Shedrick Collier 33, Jonny Preston 16, Adrian Maraziti 11, John Magoon 6, Kevin Straub 4, Alex Parsons 2, Garrett Guinn 2.

EL CAPITAN 60, PATRICK HENRY 54 – MIKE OVERSON was the guiding light for El Capitan in Wednesday’s (Dec. 30) final day of the 14th Annual Granite Hills Holiday Classic.

The 6-foot-1 senior guard knocked down 10 baskets and 5-of-6 free throws for 26 points to go along with 13 rebounds. It was clearly one his best showings of the season.

El Capitan: Mike Overson 26 (13 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Tyson Kygar 9 (4 reb, 2 stl), Robert Craighead 8 (8 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Armon Worrell 6 (2 reb, 1 blk), Cody Kygar 5 (6 reb), Anthony Agunat 4 (2 reb, 1 blk), Eric Nunez 2.

SD-SOUTHWEST 65, MONTE VISTA 43 – The Monarchs’ bid for the consolation championship of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic Wednesday (Dec. 30) fizzled as the Raiders opened up a 56-27 lead in the first three quarters.

“We were selfish, didn’t run our offense and got killed inside by their big men,” Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL lamented. “Our last group of kids off the bench did hustle and play hard the last 5 minutes and I appreciated their effort.”

Added assistant coach KEITH HOUSTON, “Perimeter defense and transition defense were nonexistent. We gave them just about any shot they wanted. We couldn’t rebound and did not react to their movement at all.”

Monte Vista: Ruben Nwando 12 (4 reb), Tony Jackson 10 (9 reb), Kylie Luster 8 (4 reb), KJ Houston 4 (2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Brian Sterling 2, Kevin Starling 2, Moses Walker 2, Terrance Peterson 2, Brandon Tillet (1 blk), James Jackson (1 blk).

VISTA 59, HELIX 55 – The Highlanders came up short in Wednesday’s (Dec. 30) third place game of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic, leaving their record at 6-6.

Eastlake jumped on top 8-0 and the Highlanders were left to playing catch up. They closed the deficit to two points four times in the second half but never took a lead.

“We didn’t come to play, got down early,” Helix coach JOHN SINGER said. “We were counterpunching tonight. They were the aggressors.”

Helix: Jaylen Linson 12 (5 reb, 2 stl), Darien Peterson 11 (4 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Kenny Keys 8 (7 reb), Sam Merideth 7 (5 reb, 2 ast), Titus Young 7 (3 reb, 5 ast), Yohanes Solomon 4 (3 reb, 1 blk), Tommie Young 4 (4 ast, 5 stl, 1 blk), John Henry Singer 2.

CHULA VISTA 65, EL CAJON VALLEY 35 – The Braves suffered their 13th loss without a win in Wednesday’s (Dec. 30) final day of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic. No details were reported.

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EL CAJON (12-30-09) — Five East County teams have dribbled their way into tournament championship games on Wednesday (Dec. 30).

Christian will play at Santa Fe Christian for the Tri City Christian crown at 1 p.m., while Grossmont takes on Eastlake for the Chula Vista Spartan Classic laurels at 7 p.m.

Meanwhile, at 7:30, Granite Hills hosts Fallbrook for the Granite Hills Holiday Classic hardware and Santana faces Las Vegas Bonanza for the Las Vegas Invitational title.

Capping off the night at 8:15 is Mount Miguel’s bid to capture the championship of the 27th annual Aztec Holiday Classic by knocking off host Montgomery.

SANTANA 65, SAGE HILL 56 – Santana’s MATT LUCIUS embarked on what was going to career day for him in Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) Vegas Invitational action.

Against Sage Hill the 6-foot-4 senior forward muscled in 22 points and grabbed 21 rebounds. He nailed five buckets – two of them 3-pointers – and converted 10 of 15 free throws.

“Lucius was a real monster out there,” Santana coach TIM BARRY said. “He dominated in every phase of the game.”

The Sultans sprinted to a 16-2 lead and never looked back.

Santana, vs. Sage Hill: Matt Lucius 22 (21 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Jesse Vargas 13 (5 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Trey Bass 9 (4 reb, 3 stl), David Thrall 8, Jason Corbisez 7 (4 reb), Landon Lozoya 4 (2 ast, 4 stl), Matt Gomez 2.

SANTANA 56, KINGSBURG 41 – Remember MATT LUCIUS? He was back at it again in the nightcap of Santana’s sweep in Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) Vegas Invitational action.

Lucius erupted for his second double-double with 15 points and 16 rebounds against Kingsburg.

The Sultans (10-4) have won four in a row.

Santana, vs. Kingsburg: Matt Lucius 15 (16 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Jesse Vargas 12 (2 ast), Jason Corbisez 12 (9 reb), Landon Lozoya 11 (4 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Trey Bass 5 (5 reb, 2 ast), David Thrall 1, Danny Carpenter (3 reb), Sean Ross (3 reb).

GROSSMONT 57, VALHALLA 44 – This was a near perfect showing by the Foothillers, who received double-doubles from ANTHONY BOWDEN and JACOB HAAR to vanquish Valhalla in Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) semifinals of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic.

Bowden, a 6-2 senior, knocked down a career high 18 points and collected 14 rebounds to help guide Grossmont (7-5) to its fourth win in five starts.

Haar did not reach his scoring average, but did contribute 12 points and 11 rebounds for his fifth straight double-double.

ROBBY NESOVIC came up strong with 12 points and 7 rebounds for the Foothillers.

Not surprisingly Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO wanted to talk about defense. DESEAN WATERS served up six assists.

“Again I think we played very solid man-to-man defense,” he said. “We did a good job double-teaming the inside game. We matched up pretty evenly height-wise.”

STEVEN KLEIST led Valhalla (5-7) with four 3-pointers en route to a 15-point night.

Grossmont: Anthony Bowden 18 (14 reb), Robby Nesovic 12 (7 reb), Jacob Haar 12 (11 reb), Desean Water 9 (2 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl), Jason Lakis 6 (2 reb).

Valhalla: Steven Kleist 15, David Wilschetz 13, Jordan Cunningham 7, David Zetts 5, Kyle Kriebel 4. No other stats reported by Valhalla.

GRANITE HILLS 80, MATHESON (Vancouver, B.C.) 39 – Junior GARRETT LARCH-MILLER rattled off an impressive double-double of 27 points and 20 rebounds in Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) semifinals round of the Granite Hills Holiday Classic.

Larch-Miller landed three 3-pointers and six of seven free throws as the Eagles claimed a 28-3 lead. Twelve of his points came in the 1st quarter.

ANDRE LEWIS pitched in with 12 points in the 1st quarter and finished with a team high 28. He completed his double-double with 10 assists and also came away with 8 rebounds and 6 steals.

“We tried to work on some things we need to improve, like half-court defense,” Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON said of the blowout.

The Eagles (8-4) have won four in a row.

Granite Hills: Andre Lewis 28 (8 reb, 10 ast, 6 stl), Garrett Larch-Miller 27 (20 reb, 3 ast, 6 stl), Jason Gaines 19 (9 reb, 3 blk), Kyle Snyder 6 (6 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl).

CHRISTIAN 55, CANYON CREST 36 – The Patriots of Christian are sometimes overlooked. People might want to pay closer attention to this bunch which swept a Tri-City Christian Tournament doubleheader on Tuesday (Dec. 29).

Against Canyon Crest the Patriots sprinted to a 31-11 halftime lead and never looked back. ICARO PARISOTTO set the pace with a game high of 16 points.

“We came out hard in the first two quarters and really dominated the play,” said Christian assistant coach BRAD SANDUSKY. “We played outstanding defense – put good man-to-man pressure on them and it took them away from their game plan. Once again we showed good discipline on the court. We made all the right passes.”

Christian, vs. Canyon Crest – Icaro Parisotto 16 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Christian: Luiz Bidart 10 (4 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl), Shane Dillon 8 (7 reb, 2 ast, 4 blk), Erick Allen 7 (4 reb, 2 stl), Cody Poteet 5 (3 reb), Zsolt Lakosa 3 (4 reb, 2 ast), Steven Pitts 2 (6 reb), Clarence Carter 2 (4 reb), Tyrone Sauls 2 (5 reb).

CHRISTIAN 55, ARMY-NAVY 39 – Once again it was ICARO PARISOTTO to the forefront with 23 points as the Patriots polished off Army-Navy in Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) semifinals of the Tri-City Christian Tournament.

ZSOLT LAKOSA pitched in with 15 points as Christian (10-2) won its 8th straight game.

Christian, vs. Army-Navy: Icaro Parisotto 23 (2 reb, 2 ast), Zsolt Lakosa 15 (2 reb, 5 ast), Luiz Bidart 9 (5 reb), Shane Dillon 6 (7 reb, 4 blk), Tyrone Sauls (2 (3 reb), Erick Allen (10 reb).

MOUNT MIGUEL 68, HILLTOP 61 – Senior HARRY BRAZELTON banged in 30 points – including four 3-pointers – as the Matadors edged Hilltop in Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) semifinals of the 27th Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery.

While obviously pleased by Brazelton’s offensive surge, Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT was equally delighted by the overall performance of his Matadors (10-3).

“From start to finish this was the best we’ve played as a team all year,” Rowlett said. “We maintained good defensive intensity the whole game.”

The Matadors are riding a five-game winning streak.

Mount Miguel: Harry Brazelton 30 (6 reb, 2 ast), AJ Stanford 14 (4 ast), JJ Norton 6 (4 stl, 6 ast, 2 reb), Thomas Butler 6 (3 reb), Tarik Downs 5 (5 reb, 2 blk), Yuel Hagos 5 (2 ast), Bryant Mitchell 2 (12 reb, 2 stl), Marcus Booker (4 ast), Jaymes Brazelton (2 reb).

HELIX 67, CHULA VISTA 34 – Junior guard TOMMIE YOUNG made his second appearance for the Highlanders in Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) Chula Vista Spartan Classic action.

Once again, the results were positive. Bouncing off the bench, Young delivered 11 points – sharing team high honors with his freshman brother TITUS YOUNG – 4 steals and 3 assists.

“I brought Tommie up as a sophomore and he’s maturing now,” Helix coach JOHN SINGER said. “His brother seems to play better when Tommie is on the floor.

Helix improved to 6-5.

“We are going to beat you with numbers, not straight talent this year,” Singer said. “We are going to run nine guys at you.”

Helix: Tommie Young 11 (3 ast, 4 stl), Titus Young 11 (4 reb), Jaylen Linson 9 (4 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), John Henry Singer 7 (4 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk), Kenny Keys 6 (7 reb), Darien Peterson 4 (8 reb, 6 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk), Sam Meredith 3 (5 reb), Kevin Williams 2 (2 ast), Yohanes Solomon 6 (5 reb, 2 stl), Donald Woodard 2, Brian Valadez 2 (2 stl, 1 blk), Earl Schexnayder 2, Corey Barnes 2 (2 reb).

FALLBROOK 54, EL CAPITAN 46 – Nobody reached double scoring digits for El Capitan (4-8) which stumbled in Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) semifinals of the 14th Annual Granite Hills Holiday Classic.

“We got in foul trouble early,” Vaqueros coach JASON CAVAZOS said. “It was one of those games where we just kind of went through the motions. It was a good learning experience. There was a point in the game where I called a time out and my comments to the kids seemed to click. If the energy level is low it’s hard to win games.”

El Capitan: Tyson Kygar 8 (2 ast), Mike Overson 7 (13 reb, 3 ast, 4 blk, 3 stl), Robert Craighead 7 (8 reb), Cody Kygar 7 (3 reb), Armon Worrell 5 (5 reb, 2 stl), Anthony Agunat 5 (4 reb), Kevin Kapka 4 (4 reb), Eric Nunez 3.

“This is a game we just have to move on from,” said assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. “We have to have better coherent team effort as the season moves along and we can't blow leads like we did tonight. I don't know that we've ever blown a 14-point lead in the 4th quarter in the past 6 years of our program.”

TROY LEAF had another big game with 30 points (and 10 rebounds) in his quest to become the San Diego CIF’s most prolific scorer.

JVONTE BROOKS jammed in 27 points, while KALOB HATCHER tossed in 11 points and dished 10 assists.

“Los Osos is a Division I team with a big bench and they play physical,” McHugh said. “Unfortunately we did not play physical with them at the end of the game.”

Foothills Christian: Troy Leaf 30 (10 reb, 7 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Jvonte Brooks 27 (7 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk), Kalob Hatcher 11 (10 ast, 2 reb), Dalton Mosser 6, Henry Luschei 3 (2 blk), Stevie McElroy (2 reb), Daniel LaBahn (1 blk).

RAMONA 49, STEELE CANYON 46 – Although the Cougars fell short in Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) Chula Vista Spartan Classic encounter, they may have turned a corner.

Down 27-9 by halftime, the Cougars (1-8) made a complete turn-around during the final two quarters.

“If we make our layups we win by 20,” said DEREK STEPHENS said.

Stephens praised the work of junior guard ANDREW KING, who rang up 12 points – two less than CASEY BALIKIAN.

“I’ve been waiting for him to break out like this,” Stephens said.

Steele Canyon: Casey Balikian 14, Andrew King 12, Cody Wells 6, Chanceller James 5, Michael Cederoth 4, Justin Norwood 4, Wes Judish 1.

EASTLAKE 54, MONTE VISTA 40 – The Monarchs gained a 23-20 advantage in the first half of Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) Chula Vista Spartan Classic, but ran out of steam in the final two quarters.

It was still a ballgame with the Titans leading 45-40 with 4:40 remaining. But that’s where Monte Vista’s comeback bid short-circuited.

“We missed a layup and Eastlake came down and hit a 3,” Monarchs coach JAMES CARROLL said. “So instead of being down three it was 48-40. Eastlake made 6 of 6 free throws in the last three minutes.”

Senior TONY JACKSON coined a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds for Monte Vista (5-8).

Even in defeat Carroll was pleased by his team’s effort.

“We played our best half of the season in the first half,” Carroll said.

Monte Vista: Tony Jackson 13 (11 reb), 2 ast, 2 blk), KJ Houston 8 (5 ast), Ruben Nwando 5 (5 reb), James Jackson 4 (4 reb), Kylie Luster 4 (6 reb, 1 blk), Kevin Starling 4 (2 reb), Brian Sterling 2 (2 blk).

MONTGOMERY 59, WEST HILLS 48 – Although the Wolf Pack played a strong second half, the damage was done in the first half of Tuesday’s (Dec. 29) Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery.

The Pack fell behind 36-21 by the break, but gained a four-point scoring advantage in the final two quarters.

“I thought our kids played very well,” West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG said. “SHEDRICK COLLIER played as good a game as we’ve seen him play in awhile. We outplayed them in the 2nd half, but were too far down.”

West Hills: Adrian Maraziti 16, Shedrick Collier 11, Jonny Preston 8, Kevin Straub 8, Alex Parsons 4, John Magoon 1.

POINT LOMA df. EL CAJON VALLEY – No report.

© East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (12-29-09) — Valhalla High coach KEITH JACKSON was pretty pleased that his Norsemen have won three in a row and are making a run at a berth in the Chula Vista Spartan Classic championship game.

Granted, there is plenty of work still to do to reach that pinnacle. Nevertheless, Jackson couldn’t help but smile when the Norsemen knocked off high-flying Vista 50-45 in Monday’s (Dec. 28) second round of the tournament.

The Panthers had won 8 of their first 10 games, while the Norsemen (5-6) are approaching the .500 mark.

“We came to this tournament last year and were in exactly the same place (Vista prevailed in that game 58-44),” Jackson recalled.

The victory ticket for Valhalla in the rematch was the defensive job the Norsemen did on Vista’s 6-foot-3 senior scoring leader, Stephen Que, who came into this game averaging 22.5 points.

Valhalla blunted the Que, holding him to two points on Monday. Credit for that goes to JORDAN CUNNINGHAM, a 6-3 senior guard.

“Que had a bunch of big shots on us last year but that didn’t happen this time,” Jackson said. “Cunningham did a really good job on him.”

The Norsemen led 37-27 after three quarters, but Vista refused to fold.

“Vista is quick and they can shoot,” said Jackson. “We had to really bear down and play defense.

STEVEN KLEIST anchored the Valhalla defense by taking three charges.

“That was big for us,” noted Jackson.

KYLE KRIEBEL rolled a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Norsemen. Kleist added 12 points – half of which came on 3-point shots.

“I thought we kinda challenged at the end of the game,” said Jackson. “We didn’t take care of the ball early – our turnovers hurt us. But we hunkered down and played good defense. Our seniors really stepped up tonight.”

Valhalla: Kyle Kriebel 14 (11 reb, 4 ast, 3 blk, 2 stl), Steven Kleist 12 (4 reb, 2 stl), Thomas McDonald 9 (6 reb, 1 blk), Jordan Cunningham 7 (7 reb, 9 ast), David Zetts 6 (2 reb), Luke Baxter 2.

EL CAPITAN 58, MATHESON (Vancouver, B.C.) 39 – It took El Capitan more than two weeks before it won its first game this season, but the Vaqueros (4-7) are on a bit of a roll, albeit a mini-roll.

Of course nobody in Lakeside is complaining. The Vaqueros won their third straight game in Monday’s (Dec. 28) Granite Hills Holiday Classic action. It was also El Capitan ’s fourth win in five starts.

“We are starting to come together and understand each other better, which is causing us to make more baskets,” said El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS.

Steady MIKE OVERSON paced the balanced attack with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. Cavazos has come to count on numbers like that from his senior leader.

However the contributions of 6-foot-3 junior forward ROBERT CRAIGHEAD are giving the Vaqueros that extra power inside the paint. Craighead accounted for 16 points and 7 rebounds against the Canadians.

ARMON WORRELL, a 6-4 senior, led the Vaqueros with 10 rebounds.

“Armon Worrell actually started doing things that I’ve known he can do but he hasn’t done for awhile,” said Cavazos. “He made a lot of steals (4). He was kinda all over the place tonight, he had his hands on a lot of balls, which caused a lot of easy transitions for us. The more he does that the better we become.”

El Capitan: Mike Overson 17 (6 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl), Robert Craighead 16 (7 reb, 3 ast), Cody Kygar 8 (3 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Armon Worrell 7 (10 reb, 1 blk, 4 stl), Anthony Agunat 3 (2 ast), Zach Lawrence 3, Tyson Kygar 2 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Eric Nunez 2, Kevin Kapka (3 reb, 2 ast).

Leaf scored 42 points in Monday’s (Dec. 28) MaxPreps Holiday Classic romp over Long Beach Jordan at La Costa Canyon, leaving him just 208 points short of Tyrone Shelley’s scoring record of 2,962.

“Troy took over this game, and Jordan had no answer,” Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGH said. Leaf swished six 3-pointers, giving him 226 for his career – 33 short of the SDCIF record.

KALOB HATCHER, already the all-time assists leader in SDCIF history, included a pair of steals in his totals, and now is only 11 away from the section record in that department. He also has 220 treys.

“Games like this are games we know we have to win,” McHugh said. “The biggest difference between this year and years past is that our guys feel like they are supposed to win every game.”

The Knights (12-1) are doing a pretty job of it so far.

“We know we can win in a variety of ways this year,” McHugh added. “That’s not a luxury we’ve had in the past.”

Foothills Christian: Troy Leaf 42 (3 ast, 5 reb, 3 blk), Jvonte Brooks 16 (16 reb, 1 blk), Kalob Hatcher 15 (9 ast, 5 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Dalton Mosser 7, Stevie McElroy 3 (6 reb), Daniel LaBahn 3 (2 ast).

GROSSMONT 63, SERRA 45 – Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO believes in the basics. Count on his teams to play hard-nosed man-to-man defense and power the ball inside.

That’s the one-two punch the Foothillers delivered to Serra in Monday’s (Dec. 28) Chula Vista Spartan Classic.

“The last few games we’ve picked it up,” said Foggiano, whose Foothillers (6-5) have won three of their last four.

JACOB HAAR, a 6-foot-5 senior, banged in 25 points and corralled 14 rebounds to guide Grossmont.

“We just overpowered them inside with Haar,” Foggiano said. “It helped that they backed off DESEAN WATERS and he hit four 3s.”

Waters totaled 16 points.

Grossmont: Jacob Haar 25 (14 reb), Desean Waters 16 (2 reb, 4 ast), Anthony Bowden 13 (8 reb), Michael Wnek 5 (2 reb), Robby Nesovic 4 (6 reb).

GRANITE HILLS 81, KEARNY 59 – Not many teams can boast having three players reach the 20-point plateau in the same game. Granite Hills is one of the few. Three Eagles cleared that barrier in Monday’s (Dec. 28) Granite Hills Holiday Classic rout of visiting Kearny.

GARRETT LARCH-MILLER (27 points), ANDRE LEWIS (25) and JASON GAINES (20) pulled off the “hat trick” for Granite Hills (7-4).

A 6-foot-3 sophomore, Gaines also gobbled up 20 rebounds. Lewis logged 11 assists.

The Eagles broke the game open in the middle quarters, outscoring the Komets 47-26.

Granite Hills: Garrett Larch-Miller 27 (8 reb, 2 ast), Andre Lewis 25 (11 ast, 4 stl), Jason Gaines 20 (20 reb, 3 ast, 6 blk), Kyle Snyder 5 (6 ast), James Sadik 2, Scott Atkinson 2 (7 reb).

WEST HILLS 42, EL CENTRO-SOUTHWEST 40 – These teams met for the third time this season in Monday’s (Dec. 28) Aztec Holiday Classic action at Montgomery. Unlike the first two meetings that EC Southwest won by 16- and 20-point margins, West Hills (3-8) found this result a bit more favorable.

With a minute to play ADRIAN MARAZITI (22 points) hit two free throws to put the Wolf Pack up 41-38.

After the teams traded turnovers, EC Southwest dropped in a bucket cutting the Pack’s advantage to one with 23 seconds remaining. A jump ball was called with 2 seconds left on the shot clock. West Hills remained in control and on an inbounds pass JONNY PRESTON was fouled. Preston made the first of two shots with 8.7 seconds left.

EC Southwest missed a trey at the buzzer.

Maraziti had 22 points for West Hills, which posted back-to-back wins for the first time this season.

West Hills: Adrian Maraziti 22, Jonny Preston 9, Garrett Guinn 4, Ralph Bedoe 3, Alex Parsons 2, John Magoon 2.

CHRISTIAN 79, BELL-JEFFERSON 44 – The Patriots were powerful from the perimeter in Monday’s (Dec. 28) opening round of the Tri-City Christian Tournament at Army-Navy Academy.

That is, they pounded in nine of 16 shots from beyond the arc (56.3 percent). ICARO PARISOTTO set the pace, canning 5 of 7 long rangers en route to a game-high 23 points.

Overall, Christian shot 53.6 percent from the field (30 of 56) against Burbank ’s Bellarmine-Jefferson. That included a season-best 21 points from ZSOLT LAKOSA, who nailed 8 of 15 field goal tries. Parisotto was 8 of 13 overall.

Christian (8-2) built a 46-14 lead by halftime.

“We got off to a great start, played very unselfishly,” said Patriots assistant coach BRAD SANDUSKY. “Ten of our 12 assists came in the 1st half. There was no step down on defense when the bench players came in. Everybody contributed tonight. TYRONE SAULS had all 12 of his rebounds in the 2nd half – 8 of them were offensive.”

Christian: Icaro Parisotto 23 (2 ast), Zsolt Lakosa 21 (7 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Luiz Bidart 11 (2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Shane Dillon 6 (5 reb, 2 stl), Tyrone Sauls 6 (12 reb, 1 blk), Aaron Hueslin 4 (2 reb, 2 ast), Clarence Carter 2, Erick Allen (6 reb, 4 ast).

MONTE VISTA 46, STEELE CANYON 40 – Don’t look now but the youthful Monte Vista Monarchs (5-7) have suddenly won three games in a row. And their win over Steele Canyon in Monday’s (Dec. 28) Chula Vista Spartan Classic competition was somewhat special in itself.

“We broke a five-game losing streak to Steele Canyon,” Monte Vista JAMES CARROLL noted. “But more than that is we had great balance on offense.”

Four Monarchs scored 9 points or more, with KJ HOUSTON and RUBEN NWANDO setting the pace with 10 apiece.

Carroll was pleased with his team’s defense.

“KYLIE LUSTER was the key to our press,” he said. “We were able to get quite a few steals off of it.”

CODY WELLS (13 points) and JUSTIN NORWOOD (11) were the big scorers for Steele Canyon (1-7).

“We are a young team and we are playing like it,” Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS said. “ Norwood came off the bench today and played very well.”

Stephens believed his club should have won this game.

“I thought our defense played well and our offense did not,” he said. “We made too many mistakes.”

Monte Vista: KJ Houston 10 (2 ast, 4 stl), Ruben Nwando 10 (2 reb, 1 blk, 3 stl), Tony Jackson 9 (8 reb, 1 blk), Brian Hampton 9, James Jackson 4 (2 reb), Kylie Luster 2 (3 reb, 2 stl), Kevin Starling 2 (3 reb, 1 blk).

Steele Canyon: Cody Wells 13, Justin Norwood 11, Andrew King 5, Wes Judish 5, Michael Cederoth 4, Rudy Burruel 2.

MOUNT MIGUEL 65, SWEETWATER 47 – This game belonged to Mount Miguel senior JAYMES BRAZELTON, who registered a career-high 24 points in Monday’s (Dec. 28) victory in the Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery.

“Jaymes was on fire – had real good looks,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT.

The Matadors (9-3) led 31-14 by halftime and coasted to the finish line from there.

“We opened it up pretty good in the 1st half, shared the ball real well. In the 2nd half we relaxed a little bit.”

Once again BRYANT MITCHELL was a beast on the boards for Mount Miguel. The 6-2 senior collected a dozen caroms.

“Mitchell will defend and rebound every game – that’s his guarantee,” Rowlett said.

Mount Miguel: Jaymes Brazelton 24, Harry Brazelton 12 (2 reb, 3 ast), Tarik Downs 8 (4 reb), Thomas Butler 8 (4 reb, 4 ast), JJ Norton 6 (4 ast), 4 ast), AJ Stanford 3 (2 reb), Bryant Mitchell 2 (12 reb, 2 stl), Marcus Booker 2 (5 reb), Willie Morales (2 reb).

SANTANA 61, PAHRUMP VALLEY (Nev.) 47 – LANDON LOZOYA landed a pair of 3-pointers in the first minute of Monday’s (Dec. 28) opening round of the Las Vegas Invitational.

“We shot well from the outside,” said Santana coach TIM BARRY, whose team finished with nine treys. Lozoya hammered down four of those.

Senior guard JESSE VARGAS led the Sultans (8-4) with 18 points.

“Defensively we manned up – it helped us on the boards,” Barry said. “They are a very aggressive, athletic team. They made us work hard.”

Santana: Jesse Vargas 18 (3 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl), Landon Lozoya 13 (5 reb), Matt Lucius 13 (6 reb, 2 stl), Trey Bass 7 (6 reb, 2 stl), Danny Carpenter 6, Jason Corbisez 4 (4 reb, 3 ast), Matt Gomez (2 ast), David Thrall (2 reb).

EASTLAKE 57, HELIX 48 – JAYLEN LINSON cast in 22 points and grabbed 16 rebounds Monday (Dec. 28) as the Highlanders (5-5) lost in Chula Vista Spartan Classic action.

“Nobody else did much of anything,” Helix coach JOHN SINGER said.

The Highlanders shot only 29 percent from the field (17 of 56) and converted only 14 of 27 free throws. Helix also turned the ball over 24 times.

“When I look at the numbers and see that we only lost by 9 to probably the best team in the South (Bay), it says something,” Singer said.

Trevon Ash gave Eastlake (10-2) the swing vote by drilling in 34 points.

Helix: Jaylen Linson 22 (16 reb, 2 stl), Sam Meredith 6 (4 reb, 2 ast), Titus Young 2 (4 reb, 2 ast), Kevin Williams 1 (5 reb), Darien Peterson 9 (6 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Kenny Keys 6 (7 reb, 2 blk), Yohanes Solomon 2 ( 5 reb, 1 blk),

MAR VISTA 60, EL CAJON VALLEY 55 – No report was received for this Chula Vista Spartan Classic game played on Monday (Dec. 28).

© East County Sports.com
CARMEL VALLEY (12-27-09) — In its brief five-year history, Foothills Christian has produced some memorable moments.

Maybe this wasn’t the biggest for the boys basketball team, but it sure offered some quality highlights.

Competing in the prestigious MaxPreps Holiday Classic the Knights (11-1) gained a split in Saturday’s (Dec. 26) opening round double-header.

Albeit Foothills Christian suffered its first loss of the season, falling to Rialto-Eisenhower 92-80 in the nightcap at Torrey Pines, the Knights could celebrate a much more important victory over La Verne-Lutheran 83-80 at La Costa Canyon earlier in the day.

The victory over La Verne-Lutheran was a major step toward Foothills Christian earning the No. 1 seed in the Southern California Division V Regional Playoffs that begin in March. Both teams were ranked No. 1 in different polls, but there’s nothing bigger than gaining the edge in a head-to-head showdown.

The issue, of course, has a ways to go before it’s decided, but coach BRAD LEAF & Co. have to feel comforted in knowing they knocked off one of their major challengers.

“This was a huge win for us when it comes to the state rankings,” said Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGH.

TROY LEAF set the pace against Lutheran with 36 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals and a block.

With 2 minutes left, the game between Foothills and Lutheran was tied at 76-all. The teams traded baskets then with under a minute left Leaf hit a turn-around jumper to give the Knights an 82-80 lead. Lutheran got two 3-point shots off before JVONTE BROOKS smacked the ball back to halfcourt out of bounds to kill the play.

Lutheran in-bounded the ball with 2.8 seconds to play and the player receiving the ball kicked it right back to the in-bounder, who was standing in the back court for a violation. Leaf was fouled with less than a second to play. He missed the first shot but made the second to give the Knights an 83-80 lead.

Brooks finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds, while KALOB HATCHER contributed 15 points and 7 assists.

“Jvonte gave us another solid performance under the glass. STEVIE McELROY created some big baskets for us getting to the hoop and dishing to Brooks for easy baskets,” said McHugh.” Kalob did a great job of controlling the ball for us.”

Foothills Christian vs. La Verne Lutherann: Troy Leaf 36 (7 reb, 4 stl, 1 blk), Jvonte Brooks 20 (13 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Kalob Hatcher 15 (7 ast, 1 blk, 4 reb, 2 stl), Stevie McElroy 10 (3 ast), Sal Romeri 2 (3 reb).

RIALTO-EISENHOWER 92, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 80 – From an emotional standpoint it was fairly evident that Foothills Christian had used up the bulk of its energy in knocking off La Verne-Lutheran.

The Knights discovered that despite wholesale graduation, Rialto-Eisenhower, the defending state champion in Division II with a 32-3 record last year, wasn’t about to fold.

“We won the game that has meaning for us and that is good in the larger scheme of things,” said Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. “Eisenhower deserved the game tonight so you can't use the two game excuse. Ike had to out-rebound us at least 6, 7 or 8 to 1 tonight and they aren't a huge team. Eisenhower just has about eight guys that can all play above the rim and go after it on every rebound, and that's what they do.”

Eisenhower led 47-39 at halftime and then began to pepper Foothills Christian with 3-point shots – finishing with 10 buckets from above the arc.

“They hit 7 straight at one point from the end of the 3rd into the 4th quarter, either open of with guys in their face - it was all the same,” said McHugh.

“STEVIE McELROY had a great day for us, he created a lot of open looks for Jvonte down low and he drew a lot of attention driving through the lane,” said McHugh. “That is a great sign for us. If Stevie can draw defenses like he did today we have a whole world of offense that he is going to open up.”

Foothills Christian vs. Eisenhower: Troy Leaf 21 (4 reb, 1 blk), Kalob Hatcher 21 (7 ast, 2 blk, 3 reb, 2 stl), Jvonte Brooks 21 (10 reb, 1 blk), Stevie McElroy 11 (3 ast), Sal Romeri 6 (2 reb), Dalton Mosser (2 reb).

West Hills freshman guard Jonny Preston (22) will get fouled on this drive, leading to a pair of game- tieing foul shots in the final moments in Saturday's victory over Mater Dei, 36-35, in the opening round of the Montgomery Holiday Classic in Otay Mesa. (Photo by N.L. Preston)

WEST HILLS 36, MATER DEI 35 – JOHN MAGOON’s only point in Saturday’s (Dec. 26) Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery provided West Hills with its second victory in 10 decisions.

Magoon, a first-year player for the Wolf Pack, sank a free throw with one second remaining to give the Pack the nod over Mater Dei.

“Being outscored in each of the final three quarters, the Pack found a way to win,” said Wolf Pack assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG.

West Hills freshman JONNY PRESTON sank two free throws with 12 seconds left to tie the game at 35.

Then the Pack went into defensive mode as RALPH BEDOE took a charge with 6.9 seconds remaining. Preston went for the game-winning 3-pointer but missed.

Enter Magoon, who came down with offensive rebound and was fouled. Shooting in the double bonus Magoon missed the first shot but nailed the second for the win.

Sophomore ALEX PARSONS led the Pack with 9 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. ADRIAN MARAZITI had 11 rebounds.

West Hills: Alex Parsons 9 (6 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), Jonny Preston 8 (4 reb), Shedrick Collier 6 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Russell Todd 4, Adrian Maraziti 4 (11 reb, 2 ast), Kevin Straub 2 (3 reb), Garrett Guinn 2 (3 stl), John Magoon 1 (4 reb, 2 ast), Ralph Bedoe (3 reb).

GRANITE HILLS 78, CALEXICO 61 – Nobody in the Grossmont Conference can pour more points into the basket during a 32-minute session than the Granite Hills Eagles (6-4), who are averaging more than 75 markers per game.

Coach RANDY ANDERSON’s squad did not lose their touch over the Christmas holiday as they canned 26 of 52 shots from the floor in Saturday’s (Dec. 26) first round victory of the 14th Annual Granite Hills Holiday Classic.

Senior guard ANDRE LEWIS hit 10 of 16 shots from the field on his way to a game high 26 points. He also had 7 assists and 4 steals.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that people know we can score,” Anderson said.

GARRETT LARCH-MILLER hit 8 of 17 shots from the field and missed only one of 9 free throws to finish with 25 points. The 6-2 junior forward also collected 13 rebounds.

But the king of the boards was 6-3 sophomore forward JASON GAINES, who corralled 21 caroms and blocked 5 shots.

“We had a lot of offensive rebounds against Calexico because this was a rare occasion where we were the bigger team,” Anderson noted.

Gaines and Larch-Miller each grabbed 9 balls off the offensive glass.

“The key to our season is what we do on defense and in rebounding,” Anderson concluded.

Granite Hills: Andre Lewis 26 (7 ast, 4 stl), Garrett Larch-Miller 25 (13 reb), Jason Gaines 10 (21 reb, 5 blk), Kyle Snyder 10, Dalton Otineru 2 (3 stl, 2 ast), James Sadik 3 (4 reb, 2 stl), Lewis Baker 2.

EL CAPITAN 60, CALIPATRIA 51 – For the first time this year the Vaqueros have posted back-to-back victories as they eased by Calipatria in Saturday’s (Dec. 26) opening round of the 14th Annual Granite Hills Holiday Classic.

MICHAEL OVERSON netted 23 points and cleared 6 rebounds to spark the Vaqueros (3-7), who have won three of their last four starts.

“We can’t complain, after the (0-6) start we had,” said El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS.

ROBERT CRAIGHEAD turned his best performance of the season, scoring 18 points and collecting 13 rebounds. He also passed out 5 assists and notched 3 steals.

“Robert is starting to learn how to play without fouling people,” Cavazos said of the football tight end. “He’s finally gotten his basketball legs. He can really do some things for us.”

So can junior CODY KYGAR, who had 7 points and 3 assists.

“Cody played the best game he’s played all year,” Cavazos judged. “He’s a ball of energy. He’s a soccer player, hasn’t had any varsity basketball experience. Tonight he finally did what he does in practice. He’s all over the floor – diving for balls. It took him awhile to figure out his role on the team.”

ANDREW CABLE is out with an ankle injury he suffered in practice last week.

El Capitan: Mike Overson 23 (6 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Eric Nunez 2, Armon Worrell 8 (4 reb, 1 blk), Cody Kygar 7 (3 reb, 2 stl), Tyson Kygar 2 (5 ast, 2 stl), Robert Craighead 18 (13 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl), Anthony Agunat (5 reb), Kevin Kapka 2 reb).

HELIX 64, RAMONA 36 – Coach JOHN SINGER did some tinkering with the Highlanders starting lineup and the results were nothing but positive in Saturday’s (Dec. 26) opening round of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic.

But the biggest bonus for Helix (5-4) was the return of TOMMIE YOUNG to active duty. Playing in his first game of the season, the 5-foot-10 junior came off the bench to lead the Highlanders with 15 points, 6 steals and 3 assists.

“Tommie had a nice game for his first time out,” Singer said. “He gives us another guard and should help us. He really gave us a boost in this game. He shot well (hitting 5 of 9 shots from the floor).”

JAYLEN LINSON added 12 points and SAM MEREDITH pitched in with 10 points and 8 rebounds. KEVIN WILLIAMS, making a rare start, tossed in 10 points and dished 4 assists.

“Collectively, we’re not that bad,” Singer said. “Basically, we are all underclassmen.” Singer noted that his non-seniors scored 56 points against Ramona.

Helix: Tommie Young 15 (3 ast, 6 stl), Jaylen Linson 12 (2 reb, 3 stl), Sam Meredith 10 (8 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Kevin Williams 10 (2 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Titus Young 7 (6 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Yohanes Solomon 4 (5 reb), Darien Peterson 4 (2 ast, 2 stl), Kenny Keys 2 (2 reb, 2 stl), Brian Valadez (2 reb), John Henry Singer (2 reb).

MOUNT MIGUEL 90, CRAWFORD 55 – Using perhaps their finest balanced attack of the season, the Mount Miguel Matadors scored a season high in Saturday’s (Dec. 26) 1st round of the 27th Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery. It was the second time the Matadors have beaten Crawford.

HARRY BRAZELTON set the pace for Mount Miguel (9-3) with 20 points and 10 assists. JAMES BRAZELTON added a dozen points while AJ STANFORD and THOMAS BUTLER tallied 10 points apiece. BRYANT MITCHELL bagged a team-high 14 rebounds.

“We shared the ball well offensively,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT. “Everybody knows their role. But what it really comes down to is when Harry and AJ play defense, the whole team feeds off that on the offensive end.”

Mount Miguel: Harry Brazelton 20 (2 reb, 10 ast), Jaymes Brazelton 12 (2 reb, 2 ast), AJ Stanford 10 (3 reb, 2 ast), Thomas Butler 10 (5 reb, 2 stl), Tarik Downs 9 (5 reb), Bryant Mitchell 8 (14 reb, 3 stl, 2 blk), JJ Norton 7 (4 ast, 3 stl), Marcus Booker 7 (5 reb), Willie Morales 1 (3 reb).

MONTE VISTA 60, CHULA VISTA 47 – Sophomore KJ HOUSTON had the hot hand for the Monarchs, scoring a team-best 20 points in Monte Vista’s romp over the host team in Saturday’s (Dec. 26) Chula Vista Spartan Classic opening round tilt.

Half of Houston ’s points came in the 3rd quarter when Monte Vista (4-7) took a 46-30 advantage. He connected on 9 of 11 shots from the field and handed out 5 assists.

Sophomore RUBEN NWANDO scored half of his 16 points in the first quarter for the Monarchs. He also dished 5 assists.

“Ruben is a real dynamic player because he’s such an incredible athlete,” said Monte Vista head coach JAMES CARROLL. “He’s one of our best defensive players, he’s got the biggest hands I’ve ever seen.”

One of the unsung heroes for Monte Vista was KEVIN STARLING. Although the senior guard scored only 7 points he was a menace on defense.

“Starling played the passing lanes very well where he got most of his (five) steals,” said Monarchs assistant coach KEITH HOUSTON. “He was a sparkplug on our press and in our perimeter defense.”

Monte Vista: KJ Houston 20 (5 ast, 1 blk), Ruben Nwando 16 (5 ast, 1 blk), Tony Jackson 9 (4 reb), Kevin Starling 7 (3 reb, 5 stl, 1 blk), Kylie Luster 6 (4 reb, 2 blk), James Jackson 2 (3 reb, 1 blk), Brandon Tillet (1 blk).

GROSSMONT 73, POINT LOMA 43 – Senior forward JACOB HAAR punched out a powerful double-double of 27 points and 15 rebounds to carry the Foothillers (5-5) past Point Loma in Saturday’s (Dec. 26) opening round of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic in South Bay.

Nineteen of Haar’s points came in the first half helping stake Grossmont to a 38-28 advantage by intermission. The Hillers eventually turned the game into a rout as they claimed a 22-5 scoring edge in the final period.

“Haar got us off to a good start and then we kinda coasted from there,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “We played strong defense. Holding them to 43 points – that’s good for us.”

Grossmont: Jacob Haar 27 (15 reb), Robby Nesovic 17 (8 reb), Desean Waters 10 (2 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Anthony Bowden 6 (6 reb), Jason Lakis 4 (2 reb), Derrick Rustich 6 (4 reb), Michael Wnek 3.

VALHALLA 54, MAR VISTA 40 – Six-foot-6 senior KYLE KRIEBEL paved the way for the Norsemen, who overcame a one-point halftime deficit with a strong second half to dump Mar Vista in Saturday’s (Dec. 26) first round of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic.

Kriebel scored 20 points and snared 6 rebounds.

“Kyle was a force inside,” said Valhalla assistant coach DON ROLLINS. “JORDAN CUNNINGHAM played a very good game overall. He had no turnovers in the 2nd half. He’s our normal point guard but tonight we made a switch and put him down low with Kriebel. (Mar Vista) kept a guard on him and we were able to use that to our advantage.”

Cunningham led the Norsemen with 8 rebounds.

DAVID WILSCHETZ, who is a dominant player for Valhalla (4-6), will miss this tournament as he is out of town.

Valhalla: Kyle Kriebel 20 (6 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk), David Zetts 12 (2 reb, 2 stl), Jordan Cunningham 9 (8 reb, 7 ast, 2 blk), Steven Kleist 6 (2 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Thomas McDonald 6, Luke Baxter 2 (2 reb), Matt Butcher (3 reb).

EASTLAKE 73, STEELE CANYON 32 – Eastlake pounced on the Cougars 50-14 in the first half of Saturday’s (Dec. 26) Chula Vista Spartan Classic.

“We didn’t come out hard at the beginning,” Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS said. “We are too young to play that way. Eastlake is a very patient, experienced team. They shot the 3-ball well. We have no returning players – there are no seniors and no core. If you look at our box scores, the quarters we turn the ball over more are our opponents’ highest scoring quarters.”

Stephens praised the play of junior WES JUDISH, who tossed in 9 points.

Steele Canyon: Cody Wells 10, Wes Judish 9, Isaac Curia-Tobin 3, Casey Balikian 2, Jake Wragg 2, Aundre Belcher 2, Andrew King 2, Chanceller James 2.

VISTA 73, EL CAJON VALLEY 30 – The Braves fell to 0-10 in Saturday’s (Dec. 26) first round of the Chula Vista Spartan Classic. No details were reported.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-23-09) — TROY LEAF scored a season-best 39 points to guide Foothills Christian to a 93-68 victory over La Jolla Country Day in Wednesday’s (Dec. 23) championship game of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

When you are the third-most prolific scorer in San Diego CIF history, sometimes you tend to be a perfectionist.

Such was the case with Leaf. Even though the 6-foot-2 senior guard hit 14 of 24 shots from the floor and nailed 10 of 14 free throws in the title romp over the Torreys (6-2), he wasn’t satisfied.

“Man, I can’t make any free throws,” Leaf said. Maybe he’d better check the statistics sheet. For the season Leaf is knocking down 80.5 percent of his 72 charity shots.

“And those missed layups... how many did I miss?” Leaf added.

Again, he was being too tough on himself. Leaf is shooting 58 percent (112 of 193) from the floor.

Against LJCD Leaf made 1 of 4 three-point attempts, leveling his season average from long distance at 29.3 percent. That’s hardly a number to sneeze at.

Leaf did not bemoan his 5 blocked shots against the Torreys, which brings him to 20 for the season.

KALOB HATCHER turned in another solid performance for the Knights, finishing with a double-double of 14 points and 14 assists. The 6-foot senior guard also collected 7 rebounds and made 3 steals.

In a game that was tabbed to be a mismatch, the Knights found themselves trailing seniorless La Jolla Country Day 22-20 after one quarter. The Knights managed to wrestle a 41-37 halftime lead in the free-wheeling affair.

The third quarter saw Foothills Christian use its tenacious trapping defense to create a 31-9 scoring advantage.

“In the first half we didn’t have any energy,” said Hatcher. “At halftime all the seniors went back to the locker room and told everybody we had to pick it up, and that’s what we came out and did.”

JVONTE BROOKS, a 6-foot-7 senior forward, scored 14 points and grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds.

Sophomore guard DALTON MOSSER chipped in with 14 points off the bench, including 4 three-pointers.

Foothills Christian: Troy Leaf 39 (3 reb, 3 ast, 5 blk, 3 stl), Kalob Hatcher 14 (14 ast, 7 reb, 3 stl), Jvonte Brooks 14 (12 reb, 1 blk), Dalton Mosser 14 (2 reb), Stevie McElroy 10 (3 ast, 5 stl), Henry Luschei 2 (2 reb).

MONTE VISTA 52, EL CAJON VALLEY 51 – First-year El Cajon Valley coach MARTY ELLIS was seconds away from a perfect day in the Grossmont Winter Classic on Wednesday (Dec. 23).

Ellis and his wife, who went into labor during the game, welcomed the birth of daughter Arianna. The new addition to the family measured 19 inches and weighed in at 7 pounds, 11 ounces.

The winless Braves appeared to have a victory within their grasp as they led Monte Vista 45-33 with 3 minutes left.

For some reason the Braves lost focus after that and the Monarchs (3-7) gained momentum.

With 9 seconds remaining and El Cajon Valley leading 51-49, the Monarchs’ KJ HOUSTON was fouled. He missed the free throw but teammate KYLIE LUSTER got the rebound and kicked the ball to JAMES JACKSON. Jackson penetrated the middle and passed the ball out to his brother TONY JACKSON, who hit a game-winning 3-point shot with 4 seconds left.

Guess the Jacksons won’t be invited to Arianna’s first birthday party.

“The kids thought they had the game won,” said Ellis. “Our guys got a little excited – they forgot to be patient. This is a game we should have won.”

RUBEN NWANDO led Monte Vista with 17 points.

“El Cajon Valley outplayed us today – they deserved to win,” said Monarchs coach JAMES CARROLL. “We picked up our press in the second half and put more pressure on them. Down the stretch it really showed. Our kids really wanted this game.”

Despite the loss DOMINIQUE MILLER scored a career high 20 points, most of which came on four 3-pointers.

VERNEL MOON pitched in with 17 points, including five 3-pointers.

Monte Vista: Ruben Nwando 17, Tony Jackson 11, Kevin Starling 6, KJ Houston 6, James Jackson 5, Kylie Luster 3, Moses Walker 2, Tyshaun Forbes 2.

El Cajon Valley: Dominique Miller 20, Vernel Moon 17, Kendall Conley 5, Dushawn Johnson 4, Alin Alyadako 3, Jacquelle Morris 2.

SANTANA 64, ST. AUGUSTINE 58 – After dropping their first two decisions in the Grossmont Winter Classic, Santana coach TIM BARRY was rather pleased by the Sultans’ finish which gave them with a four-game split.

“We actually led from start to finish,” Barry said. “All things considered I can’t be disappointed that we went 2-2 in the tournament. To beat St. Augustine is a really nice win for us (since both are Division III teams, which could have playoff connotations).”

Santana (6-4) enjoyed a double digit lead early in the 2nd quarter but St. Augustine made a run and cut the lead to four points at halftime (29-25).

The Sultans were actually scrambling at the end, but staved off the Saints with some clutch free throw shooting in the final minute of the game. LANDON LOZOYA and JESSE VARGAS each converted a pair of charity shots to save the victory.

Vargas was the scoring leader for Santana with 30 points. Lozoya drilled in a trio of 3-pointers and finished with 15 points.

Santana: Jesse Vargas 30 (2 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Landon Lozoya 15 (3 reb, 4 stl), Matt Lucius 9 (5 reb, 3 ast, 8 stl), Sean Ross 4 (3 reb), Danny Carpenter 3, Jason Dale 2, Trey Bass 1 (4 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Jason Corbisez (2 stl).

ESCONDIDO 58, GROSSMONT 49 – Senior JACOB HAAR continues to set the scoring pace for the Foothillers (4-5), but the rest of the Grossmont crew has been inconsistent at best. That was the case again in Wednesday’s (Dec. 23) final round of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

Despite its offensive imbalance, the Foothillers used their solid man-to-man defense to keep the visiting Cougars in check. The game was tied 44-all after three quarters.

“Then we just ran out of gas in that last quarter,” Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO said. “We couldn’t capitalize on our inside game in the fourth quarter (when they scored a mere 5 points).

“What I am pleased most about is we are playing solid man defense right now. We are rotating well and getting good help defense. Heck, I even threw in a 1-3-1 zone and Escondido called time out.”

Foggiano’s teams are not known for playing zone.

Grossmont: Jacob Haar 21, Anthony Bowden 8, Desean Waters 7, Robby Nesovic 6, Jason Lakis 5, Michael Wnek 2.

HILLTOP 70, WEST HILLS 32 – The Wolf Pack (1-8) couldn’t find its offense in Wednesday’s (Dec. 23) final round of the Mar Vista Holiday Invitational. In fact, none of the Pack scored more than 7 points.

“We shot a very low percentage tonight,” said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. “I thought we executed the offense very well but we couldn’t put the ball in the basket. We couldn’t handle their size.”

West Hills: Adrian Maraziti 7, Alex Parsons 7, Shedrick Collier 6, Jonny Preston 4, Russell Todd 4, John McGoon 2, Garrett Guinn 2.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-23-09) — It should be a cakewalk when Foothills Christian faces off against La Jolla Country Day in Wednesday’s (Dec. 23) finals of the Grossmont Winter Classic at Grossmont High. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m.

After knocking off University City 80-65 in Tuesday’s (Dec. 22) semifinals, the Knights are looking to make it a perfect ten (10-0) at the expense of the senior-less Torreys (6-1).

Senior guard KALOB HATCHER, who usually works in the background of Foothills Christian’s victories, was mainstream with a game-high 27 points against the Centurions.

Brooks, who sprained his wrist the night before, finished with 20 points and 20 rebounds.

Despite being bogged down by foul problems, TROY LEAF chipped in with 21 points and 4 rebounds.

“Troy gained his 3rd foul with 5:57 to play in the 2nd quarter,” said McHugh. “In all tonight he played just 16 minutes.”

DALTON MOSSER contributed 9 points and 11 rebounds for the Knights.

“Every night that we get a productive night like that out of guys like Dalton we're going to do well,” said McHugh. “We might not have played our best game tonight, but a lot of teams would like to score 80 points on their best night. We had the county scoring leader on the bench for half the game and we still managed to lead nearly the whole game. The last lead UC had was 2-0.”

Foothills Christian: Kalob Hatcher 27 (2 reb, 4 stl), Troy Leaf 21 (4 reb, 1 blk), Jvonte Brooks 20 (20 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk, Dalton Mosser 9 (11 reb), Stevie McElroy 3, Henry Luschei (3 reb, 1 blk), Sal Romeri (2 reb, 1 blk).

SANTANA 86, EL CAJON VALLEY 49 – Senior guard JESSE VARGAS led a balanced Santana attack in Tuesday’s (Dec. 22) Grossmont Winter Classic action as the Sultans registered a season scoring high against Grossmont Valley League rival El Cajon Valley.

Vargas netted 17 points, dished 6 assists and made 4 steals for Santana (6-4). JASON CORBISEZ pitched in with 14 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.

“We got a lot of time and experience for our bench players today,” Santana coach TIM BARRY said. “I liked our balance both in scoring and rebounding today.”

For El Cajon Valley, KENDALL CONLEY continued to supply his senior leadership with 23 points.

“I’ve found my shooter in VERNELL MOON,” Braves boss MARTY ELLIS said. “I can see some improvement in every game. We need to get back in the gym for some real practice.”

Santana: Jesse Vargas 17 (6 ast, 4 stl), Jason Corbisez 14 (7 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Landon Lozoya 14 (3 reb), Matt Lucius 9 (3 reb), Danny Carpenter 8 (5 reb), Mike Rosolino 7, Sean Ross 6 (7 reb), Trey Bass 5 (4 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Jason Dale 4 (3 reb), Matt Gomez 2.

El Cajon Valley: Kendall Conley 23, Vernell Moon 12, Dominique Miller 6, Alin Alyadako 6, Jeremy Brown 2.

GROSSMONT 54, SD-SOUTHWEST 35 – JACOB HAAR (19 points) and ROBBY NESOVIC (16 points) helped the host Foothillers gang up on San Diego-Southwest in Tuesday’s (Dec. 22) third round of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

As is the case with most coaches, Grossmont’s FRANK FOGGIANO wanted to highlight his team’s defensive effort.

“We played solid halfcourt defense, and limited them to one shot,” Foggiano said.

Foggiano also praised the work of junior guard DESEAN WATERS, who has taken the point position after playing the two guard last year.

“He is beginning to understand the concept of being a point guard,” the coach said. “He’s getting better every game.”

Grossmont: Jacob Haar 19, Robby Nesovic 16, Desean Waters 7, Jason Lakis 5, Derrick Rustich 5, Anthony Bowden 1, Michael Wnek 1.

Trailing by as many as 13 points in the middle of the 3rd quarter, the Monarchs (2-7) cut the deficit to one point several times during the final period.

“We increased the tempo and went to a similar lineup in the 4th quarter,” Carroll said. “BRIAN HAMPTON and KJ HOUSTON sparked the 4th quarter comeback.

TONY JACKSON led Monte Vista with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.

“I’m disappointed at our defensive effort today. We gave up too many down low and did not rebound well,” Carroll said.

Monte Vista: Tony Jackson 22 (9 reb, 3 blk), KJ Houston 12 (2 reb, 3 ast), Brian Hampton 12, Ruben Nwando 9 (4 reb), James Jackson 4 (4 reb, 1 blk), Kylie Luster 2 (6 reb, 1 blk), Kevin Starling (2 reb), Brandon Tillett (1).

OCEANSIDE 77, WEST HILLS 47 – The Wolf Pack loped to a 20-17 first quarter lead in Tuesday’s (Dec. 22) Mar Vista Holiday Invitational action in South Bay. The Pack trailed 40-37 at intermission and then suffered a complete meltdown in the second half.

“We just ran out of gas in the second half,” West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG said.

Senior guard SHEDRICK COLLIER, who logged 11 assists and 5 steals in Monday’s game, paced the Pack with 12 points.

“Collier is very quick to the basket,” Armstrong said. “Sometimes he gets out of control. When he takes care of the basketball he’s a pretty good offensive player.”

West Hills: Shedrick Collier 12, Kevin Straub 10, Alex Parsons 7, Adrian Maraziti 6, Russell Todd 4, Ralph Bedoe 3, Jonny Preston 3, Garrett Guinn 2.

© East County Sports.com
IMPERIAL BEACH (12-22-09) — Veteran coach JEFF ARMSTRONG thought his West Hills Wolf Pack had Monday’s (Dec. 21) Mar Vista Holiday Invitational game in the bag.

But the Wolf Pack surrendered a game-tying bucket at the buzzer by the host Mariners to send the game into overtime.

Led by ADRIAN MARAZITI, West Hills (1-6) outscored Mar Vista in overtime to pull out a 52-48 victory. It was the Wolf Pack’s first win in seven starts.

Maraziti, a senior wing, scored 6 of the Wolf Pack’s 8 points in the extra session. He hit two buckets – one on a jumper and another on a layup – and 2 free throws. SHEDRICK COLLIER and KEVIN STRAUB each added a free throw in overtime.

Maraziti led West Hills with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 8 steals. Straub finished with 11 points. Collier dished 11 assists and 5 steals.

“Of late we have been able to compete but not for all four quarters,” said Armstrong. “It was nice to get our first win – nice to play better basketball for a longer duration tonight.”

West Hills: Adrian Maraziti 16 (9 reb, 8 stl), Kevin Straub 11, Shedrick Collier 7 (11 ast, 5 stl), Jonny Preston 6 (2 reb), John Magoon 6 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Alex Parsons 3 (4 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk), Garrett Guinn 3 (6 reb).

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 92, ESCONDIDO 80 – For the second time this season, Foothills Christian won a scoring bee over Escondido in Monday’s (Dec. 21) second round of the Grossmont Winter Classic in El Cajon.

Bottom line is TROY LEAF (37 points), JVONTE BROOKS (26) and KALOB HATCHER (25) provided the ingredients for the Knights’ 8th win without a loss.

“Troy and Kalob really dictated the offense tonight,” said Knights’ assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. “Jvonte gave us 20 points in the first half and we did a nice job of putting a hand in (Escondido’s Joe) Hudson's face early on.

“They really put a lot of contact on Jvonte all game long. You have to credit the kid, he should have probably shot 100 free throws tonight and he battles through it all. Jvonte is a physical player and it seems that sometimes they just determine that he doesn't need a call because he's physical.”

However, Brooks, who also had 16 boards, suffered a sprained wrist going up for a rebound. He is questionable for Tuesday’s (Dec. 22) semifinal game against University City.

“Jvonte hurt his wrist in the 4th quarter and he had to come back in and literally play with one hand for the last 5 minutes because no one stepped up for him off the bench,” said McHugh.

Foothills Christian sprinted to a 7-0 lead and never trailed thereafter.

The UC-Santa Barbara bound Leaf hit 15 of 27 shots from the field, including one 3-pointer and 6 of 8 free throws.

Hatcher hammered down 10 of 16 shots from the floor, including three treys and two free throws.

“Our defense has been doing well,” said McHugh. “Even though people are probably looking at our scores and thinking we are playing out of our minds, we know our offense hasn't come to full throttle yet.”

“We had far too many turnovers tonight and the issue wasn't really the amount of turnovers we had, it was the type of turnovers we had. A number of our turnovers were after we got a steal or a big rebound and then we gave the ball right back.

Foothills Christian: Troy Leaf 37 (3 ast, 5 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Jvonte Brooks 26 (16 reb, 1 blk), Kalob Hatcher 25 (6 ast, 2 blk, 8 reb, 4 stl), Stevie McElroy 4 (2 ast, 2 reb, 5 stl).

CANYON CREST 69, SANTANA 56 – Coach TIM BARRY admits that he was stunned after Canyon Crest hit five threes in a row to start Monday’s (Dec. 21) second round game of the Grossmont Winter Classic at Grossmont High.

The Sultans (5-4) were down 19-2 at one point in the opening quarter. Santana

made a run in the 4th quarter to cut the deficit to six, but the Ravens swished 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch to hold their lead.

Senior guard JESSE VARGAS paced Santana with 23 points and LANDON LOZOYA added 11 points.

“We got off to a terrible start – our shooting touch was just not there early,” Barry said. “We played with a lot of fire and desire. That helped us claw our way back into the game.”

Santana: Jesse Vargas 23 (2 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Landon Lozoya 11 (5 reb, 2 ast), Jason Corbisez 8 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Matt Lucius 7 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Jason Dale 3, Trey Bass 2 (4 reb, 4 stl),Danny Carpenter 2.

“That really disappointed me,” Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL said of the late arrivals.

RUBEN NWANDO and DAVE THOMAS helped fill in the slack in the 1st quarter.

“This was the best game Dave Thomas has played all year,” said Carroll of the 6-foot-5 senior forward who tossed in 7 points and snagged 4 rebounds.

Nwando led the Monarchs with 14 points.

“I’ve seen some big improvements on the team thus far. We played a really tough schedule and this will only make us a better team as far as league and post season play are concerned.”

Monte Vista: Ruben Nwando 14 (5 reb, 3 ast), James Jackson 9 (4 reb, 1 blk), Tony Jackson 8 (6 reb), Dave Thomas 7 (4 reb), Kylie Luster 5 (9 reb, 2 blk), Moses Walker 3, Kevin Starling 2 (3 reb, 3 ast), KJ Houston 2 (2 ast, 1 blk), Brian Hampton 2 (1 blk).

Ridgecrest-BURROUGHS 58, EL CAJON VALLEY 37 – Even though results aren’t about winning games, El Cajon Valley first-year coach MARTY ELLIS believes he’s making progress.

“We found junior DIANTE ASHBY in a physical education class,” said Ellis after the Braves fell to Ridgecrest Burroughs in Monday’s (Dec. 21) second round of the Grossmont Winter Classic. “He doesn’t have the most athletic ability but he really tries hard.”

Of freshman VIRNEL MOON, Ellis said “I found my 3-point shooter. These guys have never played varsity basketball before, they just don’t know how or when to quit. They are playing with a passion. I can’t ask for more than that.”

Meanwhile, holding the fort for the Braves (0-7) is senior KENDALL CONLEY, who continues to produce double-doubles. The 5-foot-10 point guard came up big against Burroughs with 14 points and 16 rebounds.

El Cajon Valley: Kendall Conley 14 (16 reb, 4 ast, 3 blk, 2 stl), Dominique Miller 11 (5 reb, 1 blk), Virnel Moon 9 (2 reb), Dushawn Johnson 2 (5 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Diante Ashby 1 (4 reb), Jeremy Brown (6 reb, 2 stl).

SCRIPPS RANCH 44, GROSSMONT 43 – At the outset it appeared that the host Grossmont Foothillers were on their way to a berth in the finals of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

Nope.

The Foothillers (3-4) blew a double-digit lead and eventually tumbled into the consolation bracket after falling to visiting Scripps Ranch.

Grossmont: Desean Waters 16, Jacob Haar 13, Anthony Bowden 7, Jason Lakis 6, Robby Nesovic 1.

© East County Sports.com
TIERRASANTA (12-20-09) — Nobody at Christian High is openly talking Top 10 for coach KELVIN STARR’s Patriots at the moment. But this squad is going to demand such attention before the season is complete.

Starr’s troops won a physical battle over Mission Bay 53-41 in Saturday’s (Dec. 19) championship of the 63rd Annual Kiwanis Tournament at Serra High School.

It was the fifth straight victory for Christian (7-2).

Credit the officials for letting these teams go at it. It was a regular blacktop battle where there are no fouls called unless completely obvious. Neither side complained during the rough and tumble affair.

Nobody wound up face down more than Christian senior LUIZ BIDART. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound guard was fearless. He routinely charged down the middle of the key, challenging the Mission Bay defenders who were in no way intimidated.

“That’s my style of game,” said Bidart, who finished with 10 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and was named to the all-tournament team. “I like it when the game’s wide open.”

That’s probably because Bidart has spent the majority of his career playing under international rules in his native Brazil.

In his four Kiwanis Tournament games, Bidart scored 64 points and snagged 36 rebounds for Christian.

“It’s our defense,” he said. “When we play good defense it gets our offense going.”

Starr also pointed out defense as Christian’s No. 1 strength. His players lived up to that as the Patriots handed Mission Bay its first loss in six decisions. Furthermore, Christian held the Buccaneers 34 points below their season scoring average.

SHANE DILLON, a 6-6 sophomore, pitched in with 16 points as did all-tournament guard ICARO PARISOTTO. Half of Dillon’s points came in the 4th quarter to help Christian seal the victory. But Dillon’s game wasn’t all about offense as he also led the Patriots with 12 rebounds and 4 blocks.

“I was shooting whenever I was open and they left me open a lot,” said Dillon. “This was our best game, by far.”

Parisotto, a 6-1 junior, nailed 4 three-pointers, as did Dillon.

“It was a fast break game but we had a lot of 3-point shots that were open,” Parisotto said.

Not to be overlooked were the boys off the bench, including ERICK ALLEN, who contributed 4 points and 3 rebounds but added the intangibles. He was on the floor almost as much as Bidart, scrambling for loose balls.

Sophomore CODY POTEET didn’t play more than six or seven minutes. He also didn’t miss a shot as he nailed his only shot from the field and all three free throws.

Christian: Shane Dillon 16 (12 reb, 3 ast, 4 blk), Icaro Parisotto 16 (7 reb), Luiz Bidart 10 (9 reb, 3 ast), Cody Poteet 5, Erick Allen 4, Zsolt Lakosa 2 (7 reb, 1 blk).

G1: LV-SPRING VALLEY 85, GRANITE HILLS 74 – The Eagles landed 11 three pointers but found themselves playing catch-up from the get-go in Saturday’s (Dec. 19) Las Vegas Bishop Gorman Tournament semifinals.

ANDRE LEWIS, who led Granite Hills with 34 points and 8 assists, sank 5 shots from above the arc.

GARRETT LARCH-MILLER spun a double-double of 22 points and 15 rebounds and also sank a trio of 3s.

“They were a real good team,” Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON said of the Nevada squad. “We played really well in the 2nd half. I was happy with our effort. We cut a 19 point deficit down to 6 in the 2nd half. We were behind 6-9 points in the last 10 minutes.”

Granite Hills: Andre Lewis 34 (3 reb, 8 ast), Garrett Larch-Miller 22 (15 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Jason Gaines 11 (4 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk, 3 stl), Kyle Snyder 5 (2 reb, 2 ast), Dalton Otineru 2 (3 reb).

G2: GRANITE HILLS 77, DESERT PINES 69 – The Eagles won their third game in four tournament starts Saturday (Dec. 19) to take 3rd place.

Once again ANDRE LEWIS had the hot hand, hitting 9 of his first 10 shots from the field. He scored 22 of his 30 points in the first half, vaulting Granite Hills (5-4) into a 48-33 halftime lead. Lewis finished with 30 points and averaged 28.8 in the tournament. He also dished 30 assists, grabbed 21 rebounds and recorded 12 steals.

A 6-foot-3 sophomore forward, JASON GAINES was powerful inside the paint with 16 points, 17 rebounds and 6 blocked shots.

“Jason had a great all-around game. He scored 7 points down the stretch,” said Eagles assistant coach DAN DUFFY.

Gaines had 59 points, 45 rebounds, 16 blocks and 20 assists in the tournament.

Junior GARRETT LARCH-MILLER chipped in with 17 points and 8 rebounds for the Eagles. He also accounted for 2 of Granite Hills’ eight 3-pointers against Desert Pines, as did Lewis. KYLE SNYDER led the team with a trio of 3s in this game.

The trip to the desert was also kind to Larch-Miller, who dropped in 76 points and pulled down 47 rebounds.

Granite Hills: Andrew Lewis 30 (3 reb, 8 ast, 2 stl), Garrett Larch-Miller 17 (8 reb, 3 ast), Jason Gaines 16 (17 reb, 4 ast, 6 blk), Kyle Snyder 11 (3 ast), Scott Atkinson 2 (7 reb), Dalton Otineru 1 (4 reb, 3 ast), James Sadik (4 reb), Zach Hanken (2 reb).

G1: MOUNT MIGUEL 83, THREATT ACADEMY (Australia) 43 – The Matadors blew out the Aussies using a balanced effort in Saturday’s (Dec. 19) first game of the Las Vegas Bishop Gorman Tournament’s final day double-header.

Senior BRYANT MITCHELL set the pace for the Matadors with a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds.

“Mitchell did a good job on defensive rebounding and had a good offensive game too,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT. “It was good for him to get rewarded with a couple of points for his work. He’s a very unselfish player.”

Six Matadors scored 9 or more points in the rout.

YUEL HAGOS hit three 3-pointers for Mount Miguel.

Mount Miguel: Bryant Mitchell 14 (11 reb), Harry Brazelton 14 (5 ast), Thomas Butler 12, AJ Stanford 11 (2 reb, 2 ast), Yuel Hagos 10, JJ Norton 9 (6 ast, 2 stl), Jaymes Brazelton 7 (2 ast), Tarik Downs 6, Willie Morales 2, Marcus Booker 2.

G2: MOUNT MIGUEL 74, SERVITE 54 – YUEL HAGOS had his long-range finder in tiptop condition as the Matadors (8-3) completed a sweep of the double-header and a split in the four game tournament.

Arguably one of East County ’s top 3-point shooters, Hagos hammered down 6 threes en route to a season high 20 points against Servite.

“Hagos was on fire today,” Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT said.

Not to be overlooked were HARRY BRAZELTON, who contributed 16 points, and JJ NORTON, who added 12 points and 5 assists.

Mount Miguel led 40-32 at halftime and gradually added to that advantage in the 2nd half.

“Our pressure got to them, especially in the 2nd half,” Rowlett said. “It was by far our best game in the tournament against a good team. We really played good team defense in this game.”

Mount Miguel: Yuel Hagos 20, Harry Brazelton 16 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), JJ Norton 12 (5 ast, 2 stl), AJ Stanford 9 (4 reb, 2 stl), Jaymes Brazelton 8, Tarik Downs 6 (6 reb, 2 blk), Thomas Butler 5 (2 reb), Bryant Mitchell 4 (7 reb, 2 blk, 2 stl), Marcus Booker (3 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl).

G1: MULLEN (Colo.) 59, VALHALLA 50 – Poor free throw shooting by the Norsemen made the difference in losing the first game of Saturday’s (Dec. 19) double header on the final day of the Las Vegas Bishop Gorman Tournament.

The Norsemen in fact made only 16 of 33 charity shots, which kept them in catch-up mode.

Junior DAVID WILSCHETZ turned in another in a long line of double-doubles with 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Norsemen.

“We started off slow,” said Valhalla assistant coach BERNARD VANN.

“Three different times in the game we got within three points. Our free throw shooting hurt us down the stretch.”

Valhalla: David Wilschetz 17 (11 reb, 1 blk, 4 stl), Kyle Kriebel 13 (7 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk), Steven Kleist 11 (4 reb, 4 stl), David Zetts 5 (2 stl), Jordan Cunningham 2 (2 reb, 3 ast), Luke Baxter 1, Kevin Mills (2 reb).

G2: VALHALLA 68, MELBOURNE ACADEMY (Australia) 50 – Valhalla dominated the paint in the nightcap of Saturday’s (Dec. 19) double-header.

Once again it was DAVID WILSCHETZ setting the pace with 20 points, 14 rebounds and 3 blocks.

He had plenty of help, as KYLE KRIEBEL generated 18 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks.

JORDAN CUNNINGHAM, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, came up big with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists for the Norsemen.

“That was the best game Jordan Cunningham has played this year,” said Valhalla assistant coach BERNARD VANN.

As a team Valhalla shot 58 percent from the floor (23 of 40).

Valhalla: Wilschetz 20 (14 reb, 3 blk, 3 stl), Kyle Kriebel 18 (13 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk), Jordan Cunningham 10 (8 reb, 7 ast), David Zetts 9 (4 reb), Matt Butcher 6 (3 ast), Kevin Mills 3, David Thomas McDonald 2 (2 stl).

EL CAPITAN 60, CLAIREMONT 39 – El Capitan’s all-tournament pick MIKE OVERSON scored 9 of his 14 points and ARMON WORRELL added 8 of his 16 in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s (Dec. 19) final round of the 63rd Annual Kiwanis Tournament at Mission Bay.

The result was a 29-9 scoring rush over the last 8 minutes for the Vaqueros (2-7) that turned a one-point game into a lopsided victory.

“We needed a little bit more from everybody, and everyone needs to contribute. We are starting to get that,” said El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS. “If we can do that, we’ll be a more well-rounded and successful team.”

The 6-foot-1 Overson rolled a double-double that included 14 rebounds. The 6-foot-4 Worrell collected 10 caroms. ROBERT CRAIGHEAD chipped in with 10 points.

“We’ve never been in situations where we’ve lost so many games at the beginning of the year,” Cavazos said. “I’m trying to get the kids to know that there is a lot of season ahead of us. My biggest challenge is to get the kids to realize that.”

El Capitan: Armon Worrell 16 (10 reb, 2 stl), Mike Overson 14 (14 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl), Robert Craighead 10 (4 reb), Andrew Cable 8 (4 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Kevin Kapka 5, Anthony Agunat 4, Lawrence Zach 3, Cody Kygar (3 reb, 2 ast).

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 97, CANYON CREST 54 – When TROY LEAF scores 28 points, grabs 10 rebounds and hands out 5 assists in a Foothills Christian rout, that should be considered routine for the UC Santa Barbara bound senior.

But when sophomore STEVIE McELROY scores 17 points, dishes 8 assists and makes 5 steals, that’s good news for the Knights (7-0).

McElroy netted 7 of 12 shots from the field as Foothills Christian cruised past Canyon Crest in Saturday’s (Dec. 19) opening round of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

“He's a player that we need to be using in big minutes,” said Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. “Stevie can become a really solid player on this team with a little defensive discipline.”

Six-foot-7 senior JVONTE BROOKS, much like Leaf, turned in his usual powerful performance of 21 points and 9 rebounds.

“Troy has a lot more rebounds when teams try to take Jvonte out of the game, and KALOB (HATCHER) simply chooses another person to dish it to when they do that,” said McHugh.

Hatcher has produced bigger numbers in games gone by but was plenty effective against Canyon Crest with 8 steals and 4 assists.

“We were able to get a few of the bench guys some good minutes today which helped us look at a few different guys in different defensive roles,” McHugh noted.

DALTON MOSSER, for example scored 14 points for the Knights.

“Dalton is kind of deceptive,” McHugh said. “Teams tend to shy away from worrying about him on the outside, but most of them are finding out that's a mistake and our guys are really gaining confidence in him. More and more they are trusting Dalton to hit that shot. If Dalton and Stevie are scoring like they did today that makes us dangerous.”

Junior DANIEL LaBAHN, playing in his first game for Foothills Christian, scored 7 points.

“He has been nursing a leg injury,” McHugh said. “Daniel is another one of those guys that teams look at and just think OK this is the guy that we have to leave open, but Daniel can knock down the 3 with the best of them.”

Foothills Christian: Troy Leaf 28 (10 reb, 9 ast), Jvonte Brooks 21 (9 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 3 stl), Stevie McElroy 17 (4 reb, 8 ast, 5 stl), Dalton Mosser 14, Kalob Hatcher 7 (5 reb, 4 ast, 8 stl), Daniel Labahn 7, Ian Mathisen 3 (2 reb), Henry Luschei (1 blk).

SANGER 75, WEST HILLS 62 – Deep into the third quarter, the depleted West Hills Wolf Pack, a ballclub missing three starters, were virtually even with their opponent from southern Fresno County.

However, when a fourth starter went to the bench with a fourth foul late in the third period, the Apaches (3-4) seized the opening and went on a 16-0 run over a 5:23 span to take Saturday's (Dec. 19) Extreme Glass Holiday Invitational opener, held at Mar Vista High in Imperial Beach.

"Yes, we're a really young team, but we had been staying close with teams for only about two quarters, but this time we went halfway into the third quarter," said Wolf Pack coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. "So, right there, we're showing improvement."

Freshman guard JONNY PRESTON nearly doubled his previous scoring best, collecting 19 points, including 15 in the second half while the rest of the ballclub struggled shooting the ball. Earlier, Preston's best was 11 against Serra.

"ALEX (PARSONS) is one of our best rebounders," noted Preston. "He was keeping us in the game, but when he went out, we had trouble inside."

The teams exchanged leads in the early going, with West Hills leading 17-16 after one period, then Sanger took a 31-28 halftime lead when Steven Montgomery nailed a 3-point shot just four seconds prior to the buzzer.

The Apaches lead never went higher than 6 points until Parson was forced to the bench. The Pack also hurt their comeback effort by sinking just 3-of-9 foul shots in the second half, including missing all three front-ends on 1-and-1 opportunities.

Senior ADRIAN MARAZITI added 12 points for West Hills (0-5), while junior GARRETT GUINN scored all 8 of his points in the first half. Both are forwards.

Pacing Sanger was Patrick Pinkard, who tallied 24 points.

West Hills: Jonny Preston 19, Adrian Maraziti 12, Garrett Guinn 8, Ralph Bedoe 7, John Magoon 4, Alex Parsons 3, Nick Findley 3, Shedrick Collier 2, Kevin Straub 2, Russell Todd 2.

GROSSMONT 54, BONITA VISTA 51 – Senior forward JACOB HAAR hammered down 18 points and cleared 15 rebounds Saturday (Dec. 19) as the host Foothillers (3-3) held off Bonita Vista in the first round of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

Grossmont jumped out to a 16-7 lead in the opening quarter and led by as many as 14 in the third stanza.

“In the 3rd quarter then they made a little run and hit a three in the 4th quarter,” Hillers coach FRANK FOGGIANO said. “We made 4 of 5 free throws in the 4th quarter – that helped.”

Grossmont: Jacob Haar 18 (15 reb), Robby Nesovic 15 (6 reb, 2 stl), Desean Waters 10 (2 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl), Anthony Bowden 8 (6 reb), Jason Lakis 3 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl).

ESCONDIDO 56, SANTANA 45 – The Sultans lost the battle of the boards to Escondido in Saturday’s (Dec. 19) first round of the Grossmont Winter Classic. The Cougars are one of the better teams in the San Diego CIF and showed Santana why.

“We hung around but we couldn’t keep them off the boards,” said Santana coach TIM BARRY. “We gave them too many 2nd, 3rd and 4th chances.”

Santana (5-3) did well defending Escondido’s sharpshooter Joe Hudson, holding the 6-foot-1 senior guard to 9 points.

“We played a box-and-one on Hudson,” Barry said. “We used four players on him – TREY BASS, JASON CORBISEZ, LANDON LOZOYA and MATT LUCIUS.”

Santana: Jesse Vargas 15 (2 reb,), Matt Lucius 9 (7 reb, 1 blk, 6 stl), Landon Lozoya 7 (4 ast), Jason Corbisez 6 (5 reb, 2 ast), Sean Ross 4 (4 reb), Matt Gomez 2, Jason Dale 2, Trey Bass (2 stl, 3 ast).

RED BLUFF 58, HELIX 55 – It seems like beating Helix is special no matter where the Highlanders play. Such was the case in Saturday’s (Dec. 19) third place game of the Red Bluff Holiday Classic.

The game was tied 29-29 at halftime.

“It was a back and forth game,” said Helix assistant coach ANDY MERIDETH. “It was Red Bluff’s tournament and they wanted to win it. They especially wanted to beat us. We gave up too many layups, didn’t rebound as well as we could have. Things just didn’t fall for us tonight.”

JAYLEN LINSON, who was held to 2 points the night before, led the Highlanders (4-4) with 16 points against Red Bluff.

“The kids are disappointed but we’ve just got to come back and get a couple days in the gym,” Merideth said. “We’ll be OK.”

Helix: Jaylen Linson 16, Titus Young 11, Kevin Williams 10, Sam Meredith 10, Kenny Keys 4, John Henry Singer 2, Darien Peterson 2.

RANCHO BERNARDO 68, EL CAJON VALLEY 35 – It’s hardly what first-year coach MARTY ELLIS desired, but he’s facing the facts. His ranks were decimated by poor academics heading into Saturday’s (Dec. 19) first round of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

KENDALL CONLEY, the only remaining senior, made the grade and finished with a strong double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds against Rancho Bernardo.

“We knew going into today’s game we would be rebuilding our roster,” Ellis said. “We are young and trying to rebuild from the beginning.”

El Cajon Valley: Kendall Conley 19 (14 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Dominique Miller 13 (8 reb, 3 stl), Dushawn Johnson 3 (4 reb, 3 stl).

SCRIPPS RANCH 68, MONTE VISTA 43 – Senior foward TONY JACKSON ddelivered a double of 14 points and 10 rebounds Saturday (Dec. 19), as the Monarchs (2-5) fell to Scripps in opening round of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

Monte Vista trailed 35-28 by halftime, but couldn’t keep up in the final two quarters.

“We ran our offense the whole game fairly well,” Monarchs assistant coach KEITH HOUSTON said. “Defense and turnovers killed us today. Early turnovers in the 2nd half led to two 3s by Scripps Ranch to break the game open. We have to learn that defense must be played with intensity and desire the entire 32 minutes.”

Monte Vista: Tony Jackson 14 (10 reb, 2 ast), James Jackson 8 (2 reb, 3 ast), Kylie Luster 6 (6 reb, 1 blk), Kevin Starling 2, Ruben Nwando 8 (2 reb), KJ Houston 4 (3 reb, 5 ast), Dave Thomas 1 (2 reb).

Steele Canyon's isaac Curia-Tobin (42) with the breakaway layin at Coronado. (Photo by Tori Mills)

El Capitan Vaqueros at Coronado Islanders (Slideshow by Tori Mills)

© East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (12-19-09) — Warning to teams in the San Diego CIF. The Christian High boys basketball team is for real.

The Patriots (6-2) advanced to Saturday’s (Dec. 19) finals of the 63rd Annual Kiwanis Tournament at Serra where they will face off against Mission Bay (5-0) at 7:30 p.m.

Christian claimed a nifty 46-41 victory over Division I power Poway (5-4) in Friday’s (Dec. 18) semifinals at Mira Mesa.

Christian went on a 7-0 run to start the game. Poway got its first point on a free throw with 45 seconds left in the first quarter. By then the Patriots were breezing 19-1.

ICARO PARISOTTO set the pace for the Patriots with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists. Four of his buckets came from 3-point range.

In his three Kiwanis Tournament games LUIZ BIDART has scored 54 points and snared 27 rebounds for Christian. He had 13 points and 6 rebounds against the Titans.

SHANE DILLON didn’t have his best shooting night but he did lead the Patriots with 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. ERICK ALLEN was scoreless but chipped in with 7 rebounds and 2 steals.

“All our shots were falling and their shots were not,” said Christian assistant coach BRAD SANDUSKY. “We did a really good job against them on defense. We switched defenses all night so they would have no idea what we were going to play.”

Poway closed to 33-26 after three quarters but that was as close as the Titans would get.

“We did a good job controlling the ball throughout the game,” Sandusky added.

Christian: Icaro Parisotto 16 (8 reb, 2 ast), Luiz Bidart 13 (6 reb, 2 stl), Shane Dillon 8 (10 reb, 3 blk), Tyrone Sauls 5 (3 reb), Zsolt Lakosa 4 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Erick Allen (7 reb, 2 stl), Steven Pitts (4 reb).

GRANITE HILLS 74, SILVERADO (Nev.) 71 (OT) – A 3-point play by GARRETT LARCH-MILLER with five seconds remaining gave Granite Hills the overtime victory over Las Vegas Silverado in Friday’s (Dec. 18) second round of the Las Vegas Bishop Gorman Tournament.

Three times this season Granite Hills has won games by 3 points or less – two of them in overtime.

“At the end of regulation we had a good defensive stand,” said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON. “They had the ball with 30 seconds to play and we did a good job of shutting them down.”

Larch-Miller scored a career high 28 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. He completed a double-double with 11 rebounds.

JASON GAINES executed a triple-double of 15 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. For good measure the 6-foot-3 sophomore blocked 3 shots.

Not to be overlooked in Granite Hills’ high octane offense was point guard ANDRE LEWIS, who punched in 18 points, pilfered 7 passes and dished 6 assists.

But the victory for Granite Hills (4-3) was not all about offense.

“In overtime Silverado had the ball with 45 seconds left,” Anderson said. “Andre Lewis made a good defensive play down the side lines, moving his feet to force (the Silverado player) out of bounds.”

Granite Hills: Garrett Larch-Miller 28 (11 reb, 2 stl), Andre Lewis 18 (8 reb, 6 ast, 7 stl), Jason Gaines 15 (16 reb, 10 ast, 3 blk), Kyle Snyder 10, James Sadik 2 (5 reb), Dalton Otineru 1 (7 reb, 2 stl).

DESERT PINES 58, VALHALLA 52 – No question it’s difficult for teams from California to adjust to the style of play in the Las Vegas Bishop Gorman Tournament.

The games are played in two 16 minute halves instead of four 8 minute quarters. That doesn’t sound like a big deal but when you throw in the factor that there is no shot clock, teams from Nevada have developed a variety of stalling tactics that seem to frustrates team from out of the area.

“We came out and fell behind early, we didn’t play very well in the first eight minutes,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. “We were struggling. In the 1st half we weren’t getting back on “D” – we had problems with our transition defense.”

Credit Valhalla for doing a decent job of adjusting to the Silver City atmosphere. The Norsemen trailed 44-40 with 8 minutes remaining,

“With no shot clock we were doing a lot of chasing people around,” Jackson said. “We got within 4 points but we didn’t make the big shots.”

DAVID WILSCHETZ was once again a force in the middle for Valhalla. In one of his best games of the season the 6-foot-4 junior knocked down 8 of 14 shots from the floor to finish with 20 points and 14 rebounds.

KYLE KRIEBEL, who is showing little signs of an early season ankle injury, hit 6 of 10 shots from the floor for 12 points and also cleared 11 balls off the glass.

One sore spot for the Norsemen came at the charity stripe where they made only 5 of 11 free throws.

Valhalla: David Wilschetz 20 (14 reb, 2 blk, 3 stl), Kyle Kriebel 12 (11 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk), Kevin Mills 8 (2 ast), Jordan Cunningham 3 (4 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk), Steven Kleist 3 (2 blk, 2 stl), Thomas McDonald 2 (3 reb), David Zetts 2 (2 ast), Matt Butcher 2.

IMPACT ACADEMY 80, MOUNT MIGUEL 67 – Not many teams are going to outshoot the Mount Miguel Matadors. That much we know.

By the same token, the Matadors (6-3) aren’t going to dominate the boards against many of their opponents, either. They found both to be true in Friday’s (Dec. 18) Las Vegas Bishop Gorman Tournament action.

While the BRAZELTON Brothers, HARRY (21 points, 4 assists) and JAYMES (16 points), were bedazzling the team from Hayward in Northern California, Mount Miguel, as a unit, was being dominated on the glass.

“They had guys that were 6-10 and 6-6 on the front line. (Impact Academy) is a prep school so they had a lot of fifth-year seniors. We competed, especially in the second half. We were down 7 points with 7 minutes to go and fumbled the ball out of bounds.”

Mount Miguel: Harry Brazelton 21 (4 ast), Jaymes Brazelton 16, Tarik Downs 14, AJ Stanford 9, Thomas Butler 4 (7 reb), Marcus Booker 1 (2 reb),Bryant Mitchell (5 reb).

CORONADO 54, STEELE CANYON 28 – The Cougars know they are young, so one needs to find reasons to smile whenever the opportunity arises. On Friday (Dec. 18), the team saw its offense make strides in several areas – except for the one that counts.

Strong passing and playmaking saw Steele Canyon (1-5) find the open man for an array of undisputed shots, yet the Cougars converted only one of its first 18 shots of the second half in falling to the host Islanders in a non-league affair at Blumenthal Athletics Complex.

Interestingly, the single conversion came on their most difficult shot, when ISAAC CURIA-TOBIN was sent sailing to the floor while being fouled. He also nailed the foul shot for the 3-point play, but it was the Cougars' lone points in the third period, when Coronado stretched a 35-19 halftime lead into a 44-22 cushion.

CODY WELLS paced Steele Canyon with 8 points, with 7 coming in the first period. The Cougars were just 10-for-24 at the foul line.

Senior guard Justin Hebner led the Islanders with 21 points.

Steele Canyon: Cody Wells 8, Chanceller James 5, Isaac Curia-Tobin 5, Casey Balikian 5, Michael Cederoth 4, Jake Wragg 1.

MORSE 57, EL CAPITAN 44 – Vaqueros coach JASON CAVAZOS must be having trouble getting his point across to his El Capitan basketball team.

“It’s all about balance and we’re not getting it,” Cavazos said after the Vaqueros (1-7) lost to Morse for the second time this season in Friday’s (Dec. 18) annual Kiwanis Tournament at Mission Bay.

Senior MIKE OVERSON was his usual steady self as he led the Vaqueros with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Nobody else reached double scoring digits for El Capitan.

El Capitan: Mike Overson 20 (9 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk), Andrew Cable 8 (3 reb, 2 stl), Tyson Kygar 6 (3 reb, 3 ast), Armon Worrell 5, Robert Craighead 4 (8 reb, 2 ast), Cody Kygar 1.

LAKE OSWEGO (Ore.) 68, HELIX 34 – It’s not often that Helix is involved in a mismatch like it was in Friday’s (Dec. 18) second day of the Red Bluff Holiday Classic.

Outside of the 13 points junior guard KEVIN WILLIAMS supplied off the Helix bench none of the Highlanders (4-3) scored more than 4 points.

“They were way too big for us,” Helix assistant coach ANDY MERIDETH said. “We couldn’t get the ball inside. And I don’t think we had much left after the emotional win we had the night before.”

Helix: Kevin Williams 13, Donald Woodard 4, Earl Schexnayder 3, Darien Peterson 3, Yohanes Solomon 3, Titus Young 2, Brian Valadez 2, Jaylen Linson 2, Sam Meredith 2.

© East County Sports.com
LAS VEGAS (12-18-09) — They play halves not quarters in Nevada high school basketball. There is no shot clock, so teams can stall or take as long as they desire before uncorking a shot.

With the game tied 68-68 in Thursday’s (Dec. 17) opening round of the Las Vegas Bishop Gorman Tournament, Granite Hills watched as Reno Galena attempted to keep the ball for one final shot.

“There was 2:20 remaining when they tried that,” Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON said.

That strategy backfired as Galena turned the ball over with 1:11 left. The visiting Granite Hills Eagles attempted a similar victory plan.

“We held the ball outside for about a minute and they stayed back in their zone,” Anderson said. “I called timeout with 10 seconds left. We designed a play and they tipped the ball out of bounds underneath our basket with three seconds left.”

Once again Anderson diagramed a play and that was the difference as JASON GAINES’ three-foot shot gave the Granite Hills a 70-68 victory.

“KYLE SNYDER made a beautiful lob pass to Gaines above the rim and he put it in,” Anderson said.

ANDRE LEWIS continues to pepper in the points for Granite Hills (3-3), finishing with 33 points. The senior guard missed his first six shots from the floor, but then made 12 of 20 – including 4 threes. He missed only one of six free throws.

Lewis has scored 30 or more points in four of his first six starts.

What was amazing is Granite Hills grabbed a 42-33 lead despite going 0-for-8 from the free throw line in the first half.

Overall Granite Hills sank 11 of 23 shots from above the arc.

Granite Hills: Andre Lewis 33 (7 reb, 8 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk), Jason Gaines 17 (8 reb, 3 ast, 4 blk), Kyle Snyder 9 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), Garrett Larch-Miller 9 (13 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Dalton Otineru 2 (3 reb), Scott Atkinson (2 reb).

EL CAPITAN 59, WESTLAKE (New Zealand) 42 – After beginning the season with six consecutive losses the El Capitan Vaqueros discovered the path to victory lane for the first time in Thursday’s (Dec. 17) opening round of the 63rd Annual Kiwanis Tournament at Mission Bay High.

The Vaqueros blazed out to a 38-11 halftime lead over the team from New Zealand. Game over.

“We really needed a win no matter who we beat,” said El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS. “It’s good to get a win under our belt. We’ve lost some really close games against some good teams.”

Cavazos admitted this team from New Zealand was not El Capitan’s biggest challenge.

“It’s all about having some confidence,” he said. “It’s also about having only 10 turnovers as opposed to the 43 we had in the game before.”

What the Vaqueros had going against the boys from down under was offensive balance.

Senior ANDREW CABLE led the scoring parade with 16 points.

“It’s like I told the boys before the game, we are not going to win games by watching MIKE OVERSON score 33 points (as he did in a 82-60 loss to Mission Bay),” Cavazos said. “We need everybody to contribute – we need balance.”

El Capitan: Andrew Cable 16 (3 reb, 4 ast), Mike Overson 13 (4 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Robert Craighead 11 (6 reb), Armon Worrell 9 (8 reb, 3 stl, 1 blk), Tyson Kygar 8 (2 ast), Anthony Agunat 2, Cody Kygar (2 reb).

CHRISTIAN 58, MISSION HILLS 45 – It’s amazing to believe that Christian High could go scoreless in the second quarter and still finish on top against a quality team like Mission Hills.

But that’s what the Patriots did on Thursday (Dec. 17) in a quarterfinal game of the 63rd Annual Kiwanis Tournament at Mira Mesa.

Once again the Patriots’ scoring leader was LUIZ BIDART, who hit 7 of 10 shots from the floor, including a pair of 3s, and 5 of 6 free throws to finish with a game high of 21 points.

The 6-foot-2 senior also led the Patriots (5-2) with 10 rebounds.

In the last two games Bidart has had double-doubles both times, scored 47 points and garnered 21 rebounds.

“Mission Hills clogged the middle on us in the 1st half and that stalled our offense,” said Christian assistant coach BRAD SANDUSKY. “Coach (KELVIN) STARR gave the team a fiery talk at halftime, and we came out and were a different team in the 2nd half. We went to a zone on defense and did a good job hitting the boards, and we finally started making our layups.”

Christian hit 9 of 16 shots from 3-point distance. ICARO PARISOTTO was 5 for 9 from above the arc, finishing with 17 points. SHANE DILLON was 2 for 2 from long distance as he totaled 10 points.

Christian: Luiz Bidart 21 (10 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Icaro Parisotto 17 (5 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl), Shane Dillon 10 (5 reb, 1 blk), Zsolt Lakosa 6 (6 reb, 3 ast), Erick Allen 2 (5 reb, 1 blk), Steven Pitts 2 (2 reb).

HELIX 63, ENTERPRISE 60 – The return of football player SAM MEREDITH to the Helix lineup in Thursday’s (Dec. 17) Red Bluff Holiday Classic opener put a little more muscle in the Highlanders’ attack.

A 6-foot-4, 250-pound junior post, Meredith jammed in 17 points and collected 12 rebounds as the Highlanders rolled their record to 4-2.

“He gives us more of a presence inside,” said assistant coach ANDY MERIDETH. “Sam and JAYLEN (LINSON) are interchangeable at the 4 and 5. Having both of them will keep teams from keying on one guy.”

Linson proved that against Enterprise as he scored 24 points and snagged 11 rebounds.

“That was Jaylen’s best all-around game of the year,” Merideth said.

The first three quarters of the game were a track meet Merideth added. “Then we slowed things down and started to grind it out.”

Linson scored 15 points, including five from the free throw line, in the 4th quarter. The 6-foot-3 junior netted 8 of 10 free throws in the contest.

Helix: Jaylen Linson 24 (11 reb), Sam Meredith 17 (12 reb), Darien Peterson 9, John Henry Singer 4, Kenny Keys 4, Titus Young 3, Yohanes Solomon 2.

VALHALLA 62, THREATT ACADEMY (Australia) 27 – For one of the few times this season the Valhalla Norsemen were at full strength when they faced a team from Melbourne, Australia in Thursday’s (Dec. 17) Las Vegas Bishop Gorman Tournament.

“It was nice to have all the pieces to our puzzle,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. “We played a pretty aggressive game. We were finally able to get into a flow.”

The Norsemen (2-4) torched the Australians both inside and out. STEVEN KLEIST was a sizzling 5-for-5 from three-point range en route to a game high 19 points.

KYLE KRIEBEL (13 points, 11 rebounds) made his return to the lineup after missing three games with an ankle sprain. DAVID WILSCHETZ continued his strong play in the paint with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

After taking an 11-point lead in the first half, the Norsemen turned the game into a blowout with a 35-11 scoring burst during the final 16 minutes.

Valhalla: Steven Kleist 19 (3 stl, 1 blk), Kyle Kriebel 13 (11 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk), David Wilschetz 12 (10 reb), Thomas McDonald 6 (2 stl), Jordan Cunningham 5 (5 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl, 4 blk), David Zetts 3 (2 reb, 2 stl), Kevin Mills 2 (2 ast, 2 stl), Matt Butcher 2.

FAITH LUTHERAN (Nev.), 70, MOUNT MIGUEL 57 – The visiting Matadors couldn’t hold a 10-point, first-half lead in Thursday’s (Dec. 17) opening round game of the Las Vegas Bishop Gorman Tournament.

Yet, even with nine minutes remaining Mount Miguel (6-2) maintained a six-point edge.

“Then (Faith Lutheran) went on a run,” said Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT. “We didn’t have any defensive rebounds whatsoever. Our defensive effort leaves a lot to be desired. That’s something we’re going to have to work on when we get back to San Diego.”

Mount Miguel: Harry Brazelton 20 (2 ast), Thomas Butler 10, AJ Stanford 8 (2 ast), Bryant Mitchell 5 (10 reb), Yuel Hagos 6, Jaymes Brazelton 2, Tarik Downs 2 (3 reb), Marcus Booker 2 (3 ast), JJ Norton 2.

El Capitan's Mike Overson (11) drives on Mission Bay. (Photo by Ed Piper)

© East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (12-17-09) — In a game where Christian High missed 20 layups, senior LUIZ BIDART returned to the Patriots lineup for the second time in six games in Wednesday’s (Dec. 16) opening round of the 63rd Annual Kiwanis Tournament. The guard was quite a welcome addition.

Bidart finished with 26 points – including a deadly 14-for-14 from the free throw line – 11 rebounds and a pair of assists as the Patriots (4-2) edged Mira Mesa, 63-60.

“Bidart’s ability to get to the free throw line was key tonight,” said Christian assistant coach BRAD SANDUSKY. “Our defense, including our press, was outstanding in the last part of the fourth quarter.”

Good thing, because Christian was trailing 60-51 with a minute to play.

The Patriots outscored Mira Mesa 12-0 during that span, with Bidart and ICARO PARISOTTO each hitting a 3-pointer. Bidart was also 6 for 6 on free throws in that stretch.

Christian: Luiz Bidart 26 (11 reb, 2 ast), Icaro Parisotto 13 (3 reb, 4 stl), Shane Dillon 9 (5 reb, 5 blk), Cody Poteet 8 (3 reb), Zsolt Lakosa 5 (6 reb), Steven Pitts 1 (3 reb), Tyrone Sauls 1, Allen (5 reb).

SANTANA 63, SWEETWATER 42 – Despite missing three starters and five players overall for one reason or another, the visiting Santana Sultans smacked Sweetwater in a non-league contest Wednesday night (Dec. 16).

“I felt we had the game in hand in the 1st half as we led by 15-18 points,” said Santana coach TIM BARRY. “But then they got real physical in the 3rd quarter, which made it a 6-point game going into the final period.

“What killed us was we gave up 21 offensive rebounds,” Barry said. “I can’t remember ever allowing that many second chances.”

The Sultans (5-2) managed to connect on 23 of 37 free throws – 14 of the bullseyes coming in the final period to put the Red Devils (0-3) in their place.

JESSE VARGAS paced Santana with 20 points, including hitting 9 of 14 free throws.

MATT LUCIUS controlled the paint with 16 points and 7 rebounds for Santana.

Santana: Jesse Vargas 20 (3 stl), Matt Lucius 16 (7 reb), Matt Gomez 8 (3 reb, 2 ast), Jason Corbisez 7 (5 reb, 7 stl, 5 ast), Mike Rosolino 5 (2 stl), Jason Dale 4 (4 stl), Danny Carpenter 3 (4 reb, 4 stl).

Overson canned 12 buckets and 9 of 13 free throws en route to his season scoring high. In addition, he pulled down 9 rebounds, dished 3 assists, 2 steals and blocked one shot.

What submarined the Vaqueros (0-6) were 43 turnovers in Wednesday’s (Dec. 16) first round loss in the 63rd annual Kiwanis Tournament at Mission Bay.

El Capitan: Mike Overson 33 (9 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Armon Worrell 9 (9 reb, 3 ast), Rob Craighead 8 (5 reb), Tyson Kygar 5, Andrew Cable 2 (4 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Cody Kygar 2, Kevin Kapka 1 (2 reb).

© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (12-15-09) — It was more than simply Monday night (Dec. 14) basketball when Santana hosted Mount Miguel.

It was the championship game of the San Diego Division III Challenge. Furthermore, it was a game with possible San Diego CIF Division III playoff connotations. Add the fact that these two teams are the primary contenders for the championship in the newly formed Grossmont Valley League.

And what a game it was. Santana streaked out to early leads of 11-2, 15-4, 19-8 and 32-19 before the Matadors came storming back to steal a 61-58 victory.

Mount Miguel senior guard YUEL HAGOS, who missed his first five shot attempts, caught fire when the game was on the line as he nailed back-to-back three-pointers in the final 48 seconds to help produce the Matadors’ 6th win in seven starts.

Hagos, who finished with 8 points, said his game-winning bucket in the final 2 seconds, was a designed play. The way he saw it was Santana stacked its box-and-one defense to keep Matadors sharp-shooter HARRY BRAZLETON from uncorking the last shot.

That part worked for Santana (4-2). But as Brazelton approached the basket, he kicked the ball to Hagos.

“They came out to double on Harry and he made a perfect pass to me,” Hagos said. “I had a good feeling when I let that last shot go.”

Santana coach TIM BARRY praised Hagos for his clutch shot, but noted that his Sultans did offer some resistance.

“The kid (Hagos) made a nice shot, but it wasn’t uncontested,” Santana coach TIM BARRY said. “He didn’t have an open look because we came flying out on him. He showed excellent poise.”

Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT agreed.

“Hagos is a catch-and-shoot guy,” the coach said. “But he wasn’t very consistent tonight. I have to give him credit, though. He came through with the game on the line.”

Brazelton led all scorers with 25 points, hitting 10 of 22 shots from the floor and 3 of 5 free throws.

Senior TARIK DOWNS, playing in only his second game at Mount Miguel, gave the Matadors a major lift off the bench, finishing with 10 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks.

The game was deadlocked at 46-46 after three quarters.

Five points by Brazelton gave Mount Miguel a 51-47 edge. But the Sultans refused to fold. Buckets by MATT LUCIUS and JESSE VARGAS tied the game at 51-51 with 4:30 remaining.

JON CORBISEZ sank a pair of free throws to slide Santana back in front. A bucket by Brazelton tied it again. LANDON LOZOYA executed a three-point play to give the Sultans new life.

Downs registered a put-back for Mount Miguel and Corbisez countered for Santana with 1:04 left.

Santana was looking good at that point, leading 58-55.

But the Sultans could not find a remedy for the Hagos factor.

AJ STANFORD pitched in with 13 points, including hitting 7 of 8 free throws in the 1st half to help keep the Matadors in the game.

Mount Miguel: Harry Brazelton 25 (7 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), AJ Stanford 13 (5 reb, 3 ast), Tarik Downs 10 (14 reb, 2 stl, 3 blk), Yuel Hagos 8 (3 reb), Marcus Booker 2 (3 reb, 4 ast), Thomas Butler 2 (2 reb), Jaymes Brazelton 1, Willie Morales (2 reb).

Santana: Matt Gomez 14 (2 reb), Jesse Vargas 11 (5 reb, 2 ast), Landon Lozoya 10 (5 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Jason Corbisez 8 (8 reb), Matt Lucius 6 (11 reb, 3 stl), 1 blk), David Thrall 4 (2 ast), Danny Carpenter 4 (3 reb), Jason Dale (2 reb, 2 stl), Sean Ross 1.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-13-09) — Rancho Bernardo is one of the better boys basketball teams in the San Diego CIF. And the Broncos certainly do a lot of things well.

One thing they can’t do is beat SDCIF Division V powerhouse Foothills Christian. Twice the Broncos have kicked up their hooves in an effort to buck the Knights in the Eagle-Vaquero Tournament at Granite Hills.

In Saturday’s (Dec. 12) tournament championship game, Rancho Bernardo enjoyed a brief five-point lead. That held up like a Kleenex in a rainstorm as Foothills Christian cruised to a 65-54 victory to capture the brass ring.

As usual TROY LEAF (26 points, 5 rebounds, 4 blocks) and KALOB HATCHER 24 points, 5 steals) paved the way for the undefeated Knights (6-0).

Rancho Bernardo (4-2) did play well inside, holding the Knights’ JVONTE BROOKS to a season low 9 points. But the 6-foot-7 senior cleared 10 rebounds, made 3 steals and blocked a shot despite the Broncos’ efforts.

“RB came with the game plan of taking Jvonte completely out of the game,” Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGH said.”

“Jvonte was double, even triple teamed at times so it was obvious that we had to go at another avenue,” added McHugh. “Thankfully Troy was unstoppable in the 2nd quarter (12 points on 5-6 shooting and 2-3 FTs). Then in the 3rd quarter Kalob started to hit his shots and we really took over from there.”

Foothills Christian held Rancho Bernardo to 6 points in the 4th quarter to stamp out any chance of a comeback.

“We changed defenses and went to a swarming defense,” said Knights assistant coach DAVE RILEY. “We put in fast feet speed late in the 3rd quarter and the beginning of the 4th.”

McHugh agreed. He drew the comparison of style when the Knights played Morse a very physical game, to the 1st half of tonight's game where the officials called every hand check and bump.

“Some of the younger guys are still adjusting to that, but our seniors are all intelligent players and they know how to adjust,” said McHugh.

“DALTON MOSSER was a real bright spot for us tonight. He nabbed 7 rebounds tonight and a few steals, and many of them came at very key points in the game,” said McHugh.

It’s not surprising that Foothills Christian, which is arguably the best team in the San Diego CIF, is unbeaten after its first tournament.

“As the season progresses teams are going to discover that we have more than a few weapons,” McHugh said. “We have some big wins under our belt. We’re not where we need to be, by a long shot. But it’s a lot nicer saying that we’re 6-0 rather than 4-2 or 3-3.”

Foothills Christian: Troy Leaf 26 (3 ast, 4 blk, 5 reb, 3 stl), Kalob Hatcher 24 (2 ast, 3 reb, 5 stl), Jvonte Brooks 9 (10 reb, 3 stl, 1 blk), Dalton Mosser 6 (7 reb, 2 stl), Stevie McElroy (3 stl).

MOUNT MIGUEL 70, CLAIREMONT 46 – It’s been awhile since the Mount Miguel boys basketball team has played for any kind of championship. But the Matadors (5-1), thanks in part to Saturday’s (Dec. 12) conquest of Clairemont, will take on host Santana (4-1) for the gold medal of the San Diego Division III Challenge Monday night (Dec. 14) in Santee. Tipoff is set for 7:30.

Mount Miguel needed a come-from-behind effort to deny Clairemont the upset. The Chieftains led 18-13 after one quarter, but the Matadors fought back to lead 32-27 by intermission. It was all Mount Miguel after that.

HARRY BRAZELTON nailed 10 of 17 shots from the field, finishing with a team high 21 points for Mount Miguel. He also dished 7 assists, grabbed 6 rebounds and 5 steals.

“We came out a little sluggish in the first quarter,” Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT said. “But I thought we really picked up our intensity and defensive play in the second half.”

AJ STANFORD added 11 points, while 6-foot-4 senior TARIK DOWNS made his Mount Miguel debut with 7 points and 8 rebounds.

Mount Miguel: Harry Brazelton 21 (6 reb, 7 ast, 5 stl), AJ Stanford 11 (3 reb, 3 stl), Tarik Downs 7 (8 reb), Yuel Hagos 6 (4 reb), Jaymes Brazelton 6 (3 reb), Willie Morales 4 (6 reb, 3 stl), Marcus Booker 4 (8 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl).

ST. AUGUSTINE 52, VALHALLA 41 – If the Valhalla Norsemen can ever get all of their players healthy and on the floor at the same time, they might be a little bit easier to gauge.

Right now, who knows what this team is capable of doing?

DAVID WILSCHETZ, a 6-foot-4 junior forward, was named to the All-Wolf Pack-Horsman Invitational Tournament team. He scored a team high 14 points, 7 rebounds and blocked 3 shots for the Norsemen (1-4).

STEVEN KLEIST led Valhalla ’s supporting cast with 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assist and 2 steals.

“We played good team ball throughout the 1st half,” Norsemen assistant coach DON ROLLINS said. “Mental mistakes and turnovers in the 2nd half hurt us. Saints had three treys in the 3rd quarter to open the game.”

Valhalla: David Wilschetz 14 (7 reb, 3 blk, 3 stl), Steven Kleist 12 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Jordan Cunningham 6 (3 ast, 8 blk), Thomas McDonald 6 (6 reb), Kevin Mills 6 (4 reb), Matt Butcher (2 reb), Andrew Lewellen (2 reb).

EL CENTRO-SOUTHWEST 71, WEST HILLS 51 – The Wolf Pack (0-5) wrapped up the final round of the Wolf Pack-Horsman Invitational Saturday (Dec. 12) with a consolation round loss to El Centro Southwest.

The Desert bunch jumped out to a 23-8 lead after one quarter and never looked back as they defeated West Hills for the second time in the tournament.

“We let that first quarter get away from us, but I thought the kids played hard and competed in the final three quarters,” West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG said. “We took better care of the ball with only 10 turnovers during those final three quarters.” West Hills committed 10 turnovers in the first quarter alone.

Sophomore NICK FINDLEY, playing in his first varsity game, rang up 11 points – two fewer than team leader ADRIAN MARAZITI. Findley included a trio of 3-pointers in his totals.

West Hills: Adrian Maraziti 13 (6 reb, 3 ast), Nick Findley 11 (2 reb), Alex Parsons 8 (6 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk), Jonny Preston 6 (2 ast, 4 stl), Shedrick Collier 5 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Garrett Guinn 4, Kevin Straub 2 (3 stl), John Magoon 2 (2 reb).

El Cajon Valley junior guard Alan Alyadako with the drive to the basket against Chula Vista in Hilltop Tournament play. (Photo by Brian Antoniszyn, iCrew, Hilltop High School) COMPLETE SLIDESHOW HERE

© East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (12-12-09) — It’s not very often that the Foothills Christian Knights find themselves behind after the 1st quarter, but that was the case in Friday night’s (Dec. 11) Eagle-Vaquero Tournament game at Morse.

That’s right – the Tigers were clinging to a 19-17 lead after the first eight minutes.

After that the Tigers should have gone back into hiding as the Knights outscored Morse 47-25 in the middle two quarters.

From there Foothills Christian (5-0) cruised into Saturday’s (Dec. 12) Eagle-Vaquero Tournament championship game against Rancho Bernardo (4-1) at 5 p.m. at Granite Hills.

In their victory over Morse the Knights received another 30 points from TROY LEAF and a double-double from JVONTE BROOKS, who rolled in 22 points, grabbed 21 rebounds and blocked 6 shots.

“Jvonte took over the boards and Troy took over the shooting,” said Knights assistant coach DAVE RILEY. “In the 1st quarter we came out really slow; in the 2nd quarter we looked like the Knights of old.”

Leaf has been ill with the flu for the last couple of games, but his performance was strong this night.

“What was great to see was that we really battled on the glass,” said Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGHES. “Jvonte was unstoppable inside for us. He should have drawn 10 more fouls than he did. He was hacked every time he had the ball, but to be fair, they let it go pretty physical both ways.”

KALOB HATCHER did not have his best shooting night, but people fail to realize sometimes how much he can control the game.

“We didn't really "need" a huge scoring night from Kalob, but we did need to control the game, and he provided that for us with great defense, 9 assists and just 3 turnovers,” said McHugh.

STEVIE McELROY has been a bright spot for the Foothills Christian defense. The 2nd and 3rd quarter were key tonight. It was during the 2nd and 3rd that Leaf started to hit shots, and McElroy really played some lock down defense. McElroy fouled out in the 3rd but he didn't allow Morse to do a lot of the things they wanted to do offensively.

“Jvonte had 6 blocks tonight and I'd argue that he had at least 3 more,” said McHugh. “I think he had 5 goal tending calls and at least 3 were on just the flattest shots you've ever seen, I don't know how they were ruled as heading down, but it didn't affect us, Jvonte had no problems down low regardless of who guarded him.”

Foothills Christian: Troy Leaf 30 (5 reb, 2 blk, 6 stl 5 ast), Jvonte Brooks 22 (21 reb, 6 blk), Kalob Hatcher 10 (3 reb, 2 stl, 9 ast), Dalton Mosser 4 (3 reb, 2 stl), Sal Romeri 4 (3 reb, 2 stl), Stevie McElroy 3, Henry Luschei (2 reb, 1 blk).

Christian got off to a good start when the Patriots’ ICARO PARISOTTO sank two free throws, awarded when the Eagles’ 6-foot-8 forward, Chen Cai, got a technical for dunking the ball in pregame warm-ups.

That was just the beginning for Parisotto, who finished with a career high 31 points as the Patriots improved to 3-2. He also nailed 6 of 9 shots from above the arc and was 9 for 17 overall from the field. For good measure he was 7 for 8 from the free throw line, grabbed 6 rebounds and made 3 steals.

ZSOLT LAKOSA led the support team with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. He knocked down 8 of 17 shots from the field and 4 of 5 free throws.

SHANE DILLON, playing in only his second varsity game since the end of the football season, was also steady, hitting 5 of 8 shots from the floor for 11 points while gobbling up 5 rebounds and blocking 2 shots.

Although basketball is not his number one game, sophomore CODY POTEET continues to contribute to the basketball team. He was 3 for 3 from the field and added a free throw to finish with 7 points.

“We came out very well. We were really ready to play tonight,” said Patriots assistant coach BRAD SANDUSKEY. “We knew this was going to be a tough game and a real test for us. They are a very good team and are very well coached. Once again we had good players in our lineup – everybody has been contributing. This was a good weekend for us. We found we can play tough opponents and be in the game throughout.”

Christian: Icaro Parisotto 31 (6 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Zsolt Lakosa 20 (6 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Shane Dillon 11 (5 reb, 2 blk), Cody Poteet 7 (3 reb), Tyrone Sauls 5 (2 reb), Nate Bennett 3, Steven Pitts (3 reb, 3 stl).

VALHALLA 53, EL CENTRO-SOUTHWEST 38 – The Valhalla Norsemen put their foot down Friday (Dec. 11) night after three straight losses to knock off El Centro Southwest in consolation action of the Wolf Pack-Horsman Invitational at West Hills.

What made this victory so satisfying to coach KEITH JACKSON was that his 1-3 team was able to accomplish this feat without two of his injured leading players, KYLE KRIEBEL and DAVID ZETTS.

DAVID WILSCHETZ, a 6-foot-4 junior forward, picked up the slack for the Norsemen, dumping in 19 points while clearing 11 rebounds. Wilschetz made four of his first five shots.

“His energy really got us going,” said Jackson.

STEVEN KLEIST, a 6-3 senior guard, chipped in with 14 points, 6 steals and 4 rebounds.

Not to be overlooked was the work of JORDAN CUNNINGHAM, who knocked down 4 of 6 shots from the field en route to 11 points and 6 rebounds.

Although Valhalla led all the way, Southwest made a belated run in the 2nd half to draw within 41-35 but never got closer than that.

“We had to go to our bench tonight and they did a good job,” said Jackson. “Freshman KEVIN MILLS made 3 assists, and 6-foot-5 LUKE BAXTER, is a volleyball kid who never played basketball before this year. He played really well for us.”

Valhalla: David Wilschetz 19 (11 reb, 1 blk), Steven Kleist 14 (4 reb, 6 stl), Andrew Lewellen 4 (4 reb), Thomas McDonald 3 (2 reb), Matt Butcher 2 (4 reb), Kevin Mills (2 reb, 3 ast), Luke Baxter (2 reb, 1 blk).

OTAY RANCH 95, WEST HILLS 63 – Host West Hills was playing catch-up from the start as the visiting Mustangs stormed to a 28-12 first quarter lead in Friday’s (Dec. 11) Wolf Pack-Horsman Invitational in Santee.

West Hills shot 54 percent (25 of 46) from the field but was unable to keep the Mustangs from kicking up their heels.

ADRIAN MARAZITI set the scoring pace for West Hills with 20 points, anchored by 7 of 11 shooting from the field. He also hit a trio of triples and was 3 for 3 from the free throw line.

“We played a better 2nd half today. We shot the ball well, going 10-for-13 in the 3rd quarter,” said Wolf Pack coach JEFF ARMSTRONG.

The Wolf Pack had a hard time matching up with the Mustangs.

“(Six-foot-3 Alex) Perez was too much for us to handle,” Armstrong noted. “He lit us up for 35 points in three quarters of play.”

“He’d had 50 points if Howard (Suda, the Otay coach) would have played him in the 4th quarter,” Armstrong said. “Perez is some kind of player. He can shoot from anywhere in the gym, he is crafty to the basket and finishes above the rim.”

West Hills sophomore ALEX PARSONS did a good job on the boards, hauling in 15 rebounds – 6 on the offensive end – and went 5 for 6 from the field.

JONNY PRESTON posted some good numbers, 3-for-5 for a freshman and led the team in both assists (4) and steals (3).

“The young Wolf Packers played some quality minutes and are getting valuable experience,” Armstrong noted.

West Hills: Adrian Maraziti 20 (4 reb, 2 stl), Alex Parsons 11 (15 reb), Shedrick Collier 7 (2 reb, 3 ast), Ralph Bedoe 7, Kevin Straub 6 (2 reb), Jonny Preston 6 (4 ast, 3 stl), Garrett Guinn 2 (2 reb), Russell Todd 2, John Magoon 2.

Senior guard JASON GUINTO left the game early

This was more than simply a loss for the Monarchs, who have lost senior guard JASON GUINTO with a fractured hand, suffered in a scramble after a loose ball. He will reportedly be sidelined for six to eight weeks.

The Monarchs led 21-19 at halftime but surrendered 49 points in the 2nd half, to sustain their fourth loss in six games.

A high point for Monte Vista was the fact that the Monarchs turned the ball over only 17 times and shot 50 percent (19 of 38) from the field. Of that sure-handed shooting Monte Vista made 8 of 16 from three-point range. Tony Jackson was the point leader here, missing only one of four attempts from beyond the arc.

“Westview is very fundamentally sound,” said Monarchs coach JAMES CARROLL. “We played well in the 1st half, but we reverted to our old ways in the 2nd half.”

“We ran the offense better this time, the spacing was much better this time,” said assistant coach KEITH HOUSTON. “There is no quit in any of these players.”

Monte Vista: KJ Houston 17 (4 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl), Tony Jackson 15 (2 reb, 1 blk), James Jackson 12 (2 reb, 3 ast), Kevin Starling 6, Ruben Nwando 2 (3 reb), Kylie Luster 2.

MISSION BAY 83, MOUNT MIGUEL 54 – Undefeated in their first four games, the Mount Miguel Matadors had to be stunned when they found themselves on the short end of a 23-8 first-quarter score in Friday’s (Dec. 11) San Diego DIII Challenge contest.

“We had a bad one tonight,” said Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT. “Mission Bay killed us on their transition game. Our transition defense leaves a lot to be desired. We just did not want to play tonight – they dominated us from the beginning.”

Mount Miguel was stone cold shooting from the field, hitting just 18 of 61 shots (29.4 percent).

HARRY BRAZELTON led the Matadors on 19 points, the bulk of which came on a trio of 3-pointers, and THOMAS BUTLER added 10 markers.

Six-foot-2 senior forward BRYANT MITCHELL left the game with an ankle injury and is lost to the Matadors for at least a week.

Mount Miguel: Harry Brazelton 19 (2 ast, 3 stl), Thomas Butler 10, Marcus Booker 9 (6 reb, 3 ast), Tarik Downs 8 (5 reb), Yuel Hagos 6 (3 reb), Jaymes Brazelton 2, AJ Stanford (2 reb, 2 ast).

CHULA VISTA 64, EL CAJON VALLEY 44 – Only four Braves scored in Friday’s (Dec. 11) consolation contest against Chula Vista on the final day of the Hilltop Classic in South Bay.

KENDALL CONLEY, who scored 10 points, was named to the All-Tournament team.

JAMES STONE scored a team best 17 points for the Braves and OMAR HALL added 13.

“It’s going to take all nine of our players to get us a win, and we need all nine players scoring to make us go,” said Braves coach MARTY ELLIS. “We did not bring any energy to the gym with us tonight. I think the players underestimated Chula Vista.”

El Cajon Valley: James Stone 17, Omar Hall 13, Kendall Conley 10, Devin Lesch 4.

RANCHO BERNARDO 72, EL CAPITAN 60 – It’s not often that a coach following a 12-point loss will claim that it was his team’s best game of a young season.

“We were down by four at halftime,” El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS said of Friday’s (Dec. 11) Eagle-Vaquero Tournament encounter with visiting Rancho Bernardo. “RB is a pretty talented team.”

Rancho Bernardo (4-1) gradually widened the gap in the second half against the

Vaqueros (0-4). Six-foot-9 senior center Tanner Clayton paced the Broncos with a powerful triple-double of 12 points, 18 rebounds and 13 blocks.

“In the first four minutes of the 2nd half they got up by 10 points and we could never overcome it,” Cavazos said. “It actually was the best game we’ve played all year. All we can ask our guys to do is try and get better every single day. If they do, the wins will come. We lost three games by one point.”

El Capitan: Mike Overson 27 (2 ast, 3 stl), Andrew Cable 9 (4 reb, 1 blk), Armon Worrell 7 (3 reb, 2 stl), Tyson Kygar 6, Brian Celeste 7, Robert Craighead 4, Eric Nunez 2, Cody Kygar (3 ast).

“Our kids didn’t come ready to play,” said grumbled Helix coach JOHN SINGER.

One did – freshman point guard TITUS YOUNG, who paced Helix (3-2) with 13 points.

YOHANES SOLOMON was named to the All-Tournament team.

Helix: Titus Young 13 (3 ast, 2 reb), Kenny Keys 7 (5 reb), Kevin Williams 6 (2 ast), Jaylen Linson 6, Brian Valadez 6 (8 reb), Earl Schexnayder 5, Yohanes Solomon 4 (9 reb), Corey Barnes (3 reb), Darien Peterson (2 ast), Ray Contreras 2.

Highlanders guard Titus Young goes baseline. (Photo by Brian Antoniszyn, iCrew, Hilltop High) Additional Helix-Torrey Pines pictures HERE

© East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (12-11-09) — Not many people give the youthful Monte Vista Monarchs any chance of making an impact in the Grossmont Valley League this season.

Probably the naysayers thought they had made the right call when Chula Vista took a 13-8 first quarter lead in Thursday’s (Dec. 10) Hilltop Tournament game.

Hopefully those with the negative attitude didn’t leave too soon, as Monte Vista came from behind to claim a 58-51 victory over the Spartans.

For the Monarchs, it was kind of a jagged offensive balance led by TONY JACKSON’s 14 points and 8 rebounds. KJ HOUSTON added 11 points and 3 steals.

Monte Vista led 43-28 after three quarters. Chula Vista closed the gap in rapid fashion by going on a 13-0 run in the 4th quarter to pull within 43-41.

The Monarchs had 25 team fouls and Chula Vista was in double bonus with 7:25 left to play

The streak was finally stopped on a basket by KJ HOUSTON.

At this point JAMES JACKSON had back-to-back blocks.

“James did a great job tonight,” said the Monarchs coach JAMES CARROLL. “He has a good grasp of the game of basketball. His two blocks in the 4th quarter were huge.

“I was a little depressed after the Torrey Pines game the other night,” Carroll added. “I was afraid the kids would not bounce back, but they did. We did a great job in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, especially on defense. I was worried when Chula Vista made that 13-0 run to start the 4th quarter, but the team regrouped and finished well. ”

Monte Vista: Tony Jackson 14 (8 reb), KJ Houston 11 (2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), James Jackson 7 (6 reb, 2 blk), Jason Guinto 7 (3 ast, 2 stl), Ruben Nwando 7 (4 reb, 3 stl), Kylie Luster 4 (2 reb), Brandon Tillett 4 (2 reb), Kevin Starling 4.

ESCONDIDO 75, CHRISTIAN 74 – The football players, who bring height to the Patriots’ starting lineup, certainly made an impact in Thursday’s (Dec. 10) Eagle-Vaquero Tournament encounter against visiting Escondido.

In the last two minutes of the 4th quarter Escondido ’s Joe Hudson – who scored 36 points including 8 treys – hit a triple to put Escondido up 73-71.

With 45 seconds remaining, Christian’s ICARO PARISOTTO hit a 3-point shot to move the Patriots ahead 74-73. Hudson rallied with another field goal.

Following a time out, Christian inbounded the ball downcourt to ZSOLT LAKOSA, who missed a shot from the corner as the ball bounced off the rim at the buzzer.

Parisotte scored 30 points while grabbing 5 rebounds, dishing 5 assists and making 7 steals to pace the Patriots. Lakosa added 20 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists, while football quarterback SHANE DILLON, in only his second game of the season, pitched in with 12 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks. ERICK ALLEN, the Patriots other quarterback grabbed 10 rebounds.

Christian’s LUIZ BIDART has missed the last two games with tendinitis in one of his feet. He is day to day and won’t play “until he gets complete clearance from the doctor,” said Patriots assistant coach BRAD SANDUSKEY.

Christian: Icaro Parisotto 30 (5 reb, 5 ast, 7 stl), Zsolt Lakosa 20 (4 reb, 5 ast), Shane Dillon 12 (9 reb, 2 ast, 4 blk, 2 stl), Cody Poteet 5 (4 reb), Erick Allen 5 (10 reb, 2 stl), Tyrone Sauls 2.

EL CAMINO 90, GRANITE HILLS 83 – There is no better guard in East County than Granite Hills’ ANDRE LEWIS. After five games the 5-foot-9 senior is averaging 30.4 points per game.

Lewis scored 40 points for the second time – this time against El Camino – in Thursday’s (Dec. 10) Eagle-Vaquero Tournament. He was 11 of 11 from the free throw line and 5 for 8 from 3-point range.

GARRETT LARCH-MILLER was also an offensive scoring machine with 24 points to go along with 12 rebounds and 4 assists – two more than Lewis.

JASON GAINES hit 5 of 10 shots from the field including one trey to finish with 11 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

“They just couldn’t stop Lewis, no matter what he did,” said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON. “He constantly drove into the lane and consistently scored. When El Camino cut him off he was able to kick the ball to Larch-Miller.”

Anderson noted that both teams shot well from the field. Granite Hills shot 53 percent overall and hit 9 three-pointers.

El Camino hit 7 threes.

Granite Hills: Andre Lewis 40 (3 reb, 6 ast, 4 stl), Garrett Larch-Miller 24 (12 reb, 4 ast), Jason Gaines 11 (8 reb, 4 ast), Kyle Snyder 6, James Sadik 2 (4 reb), Scott Atkinson (6 reb).

With 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter Rancho Buena Vista was up 68-65. The Braves fought back as MASON BREWER hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 68-68.

“Brewer seems to be Mr. Clutch Guy when we need it,” said Braves coach MARTY ELLIS. “We came out with a lot of energy today. JAQUELLE MORRIS brought a lot of energy – that was huge in bringing up everybody’s energy level.”

KENDALL CONLEY scored 19 points, DEVIN LESCH made 16 points and JAMES STONE added 13 markers for the Braves.

“The effort and energy were there, we just made mistakes at the last minute –at the end we didn’t take care of the ball when we needed to,” said Ellis. “We just needed to get the first win and I think we’ll be OK.”

El Cajon Valley: Kendall Conley 19, Devin Lesch 16, James Stone 13, Omar Hall 6, Mason Brewer 5, Jaquelle Morris 5, Dushawn Johnson 4.

TORREY PINES 70, HELIX 60 – Veteran coach JOHN SINGER will be the first to admit giving up 70 points will almost surely lead to a defeat. By the same token, Singer noted that the Falcons were tall and provided a heavily experienced challenge to his youthful Highlanders in Thursday’s (Dec. 10) Hilltop Classic in South Bay.

Bottom line: Torrey Pines sank 8 three-pointers, while Helix was scoreless from beyond the arc. Most of the long range damage was administered by Torrey Pines 6-foot-4 junior Nick Kerr, who nailed five 3-pointers.

“Torrey came out playing an up-tempo game and we just weren’t ready,” Singer said. “That and they beat us with a lot of backdoor screens.”

JAYLEN LINSON paced the Highlanders (3-1) with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists. YOHANES SOLOMON generated a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

“I like these kids and I know that we’re going to get better,” Singer said. “We have a couple of key guys in football and another guy working on his grades. I think by the team we reach league we’ll be OK.”

Helix: Jaylen Linson 20 (12 reb, 5 ast), Yohanes Solomon 13 (10 reb, 1 blk), Kenny Keys 10 (2 reb, 2 ast), John Henry Singer 8 (3 reb, 4 ast), Titus Young 4 (2 reb), Darien Peterson 4 (6 ast, 1 blk), Donald Woodard 2, Brian Valadez (2 reb).

MORSE 87, STEELE CANYON 50 – The impromptu fire drill on-the-job training continued for Steele Canyon in Thursday’s (Dec. 10) Eagle-Vaquero Tournament encounter against the visiting Morse Tigers.

But Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS can see progress already.

“We played a lot better than last night (in a lop-sided loss to Foothills Christian),” he said. “We were down 3 points after the 1st quarter. We outplayed Morse in that quarter but we missed some layups in the 2nd quarter. We were running a decent offense in the 1st quarter. The football players have only practiced one time. We actually played pretty well tonight. We didn’t capitalize on a lot of shots but we’ll be able to do better once we get some more practices in.

On the last play of the 1st half the Cougars’ 6-4 MICHAEL CEDEROTH got kneed in the hip and got a hip pointer so he didn’t play at all in the 2nd half.

“That hurt us because we gave up some size around the basket,” Stephens said.

Mount Miguel transfer RUDY BURRELL paced the Cougars (1-4) with 12 points.

Steele Canyon: Rudy Burruel 12, Andrew King 9, Cody Wells 7, Michael Cederoth 6, Justin Norwood 6, Chanceller James 4, Isaac Curia-Tobin 2, Casey Balikian 2, Dylan Kirchhofer 2.

HOOVER 83, GROSSMONT 47 – The Grossmont Foothillers found out why the Hoover Cardinals are ranked No. 1 in the San Diego CIF and No. 15 in the state by CalHiSports.com during Wednesday’s (Dec. 10) Titan Tipoff semifinal at Eastlake.

The Cardinals (5-0) clubbed the Hillers 48-23 in the middle two quarters to turn out the lights.

“We played hard,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “Maybe we’ll do better if we meet them later in the playoffs.”

Grossmont: Jacob Haar 13, Robby Nesovic 12, Desean Waters 9, Jason Lakis 3, Anthony Bowden 4, Michael Wnek 3, Colter Rios 3.

© East County Sports.com
LAKESIDE (12-10-09) — It doesn’t get any closer than this. Both teams had a chance to pull out a victory in Wednesday’s (Dec. 9) Eagle-Vaquero Tournament.

In the final minute, ARMON WORRELL hit a 3 to give El Capitan the lead at 45-43. Christian’s ZSOLT LAKOSA hit back-to-back field goals, the second of which came with 30 seconds to play, giving Christian the lead at 47-45.

El Capitan hit the front end of a one-and-one and missed the second with 8 seconds to play.

On the rebound, El Capitan fouled and Christian’s SHANE DILLON missed the first shot of a one-and-one. El Capitan grabbed the rebound and took the ball to MIKE OVERSON at half court. His shot at the buzzer hit the rim and bounced off, leaving the victory to Christian, 47-46, at Foster Gymnasium.

The Patriots held a slim lead of 30-26 at halftime and the score was tied 35-all after three periods.

Christian’s ICARO PARISOTTO led all scorers with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Teammate ZSOLT LAKOSA chipped in with 12 points and 6 rebounds.

El Capitan senior ANDREW CABLE scored a team high 17 points to go along with 7 rebounds, while Overson contributed 14 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and a block.

Christian assistant coach BRAD SANDUSKEY said, “It was a pretty close game the whole way. It was back and forth the whole game.”

Christian: Icaro Parisotto 20 (6 reb, 3 ast), Zsolt Lakosa 12 (6 reb), Shane Dillon 6 (9 reb, 2 blk, 3 stl), Steven Pitts 4 (2 reb), Tyrone Sauls 2 (1 blk), Cody Poteet 3 (2 reb), Erick Allen (8 reb).

El Capitan: Andrew Cable 17 (7 reb, 2 ast), Mike Overson 14 (4 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Armon Worrell 6 (2 reb, 2 ast), Robert Craighead 6 (5 reb), Anthony Agunat 2, Tyson Kygar 1 (2 reb).

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 104, STEELE CANYON 42 – Foothills Christian took a 33-7 first quarter lead and led by 52-17 at halftime in Wednesday’s (Dec. 9) Eagle-Vaquero Tournament at Granite Hills.

It was no contest, obviously.

KALOB HATCHER was the leader of the circus with 33 points, which included 13 assists and 9 steals. Hatcher also landed 5 of 8 three-pointers and 9 of 10 two-point shots.

JVONTE BROOKS bullied the Cougars inside the paint. The 6-foot-7 senior post made 12 of 17 shots from the field and 6 of 11 free throws for 30 points while gathering 15 rebounds, 8 steals and 5 assists.

TROY LEAF chipped in with 21 points, 7 assists, 6 steals, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks.

“Offensively they couldn’t stop any of us,” said Knights assistant coach DAVE RILEY.” We played a great game – very few mistakes.”

Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS agreed that his team was overmatched.

“They were shooting layup after layup,” said Stephens, whose team committed 34 turnovers. “We just got our football players back and we don’t know how they’re going to help us. I know that Foothills wanted to send us a message and I think we got it, at least I hope we did. We need leadership and we’re still looking for it.”

Nobody scored in double figures for Steele Canyon (1-3).

“It just shows you how far we have to go – we didn’t have a single assist all night,” said Stephens ruefully. “I know we have talent. It’s just a matter of making us more of a basketball team.”

According to Riley, Foothills Christian (4-0) is ranked 20th in the state, and No. 1 in the county per MaxPreps.com.

Foothills Christian: Kalob Hatcher 33 (13 ast, 1 blk, 9 stl), Jvonte Brooks 30 (15 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 9 stl), Troy Leaf 21 (5 reb, 7 ast, 2 blk, 6 stl), Sal Romeri 8 (3 reb), Henry Luschei 6 (4 reb, 1 blk), Steve McElroy 4 (3 ast, 3 stl), Dalton Mosser 2 (2 reb).

Steele Canyon: Rudy Burruel 9, Chanceller James 8 (2 reb), Dylan Kirchhofer 7 (4 reb), Brandon Watson 4, Wes Judish 3, Cody Wells 3, Justin Norwood 2, Jake Wragg 2, Andrew King 2.

MOUNT MIGUEL 64, KEARNY 59 – It wasn’t pretty but the Matadors managed to extend their record to 4-0 in Wednesday’s (Dec. 9) San Diego Division III Challenge against Kearny in Spring Valley.

Said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT, “We didn’t play defense and that allowed them to keep the game close.”

Defense or not, the Matadors rode the hot hand of HARRY BRAZELTON, who tallied 25 points to keep their record unblemished. Brazelton hit 9 of 19 shots from the field including 2 three-pointers. He was also 5 for 7 from the free throw line. He finished with a complete game of 6 rebounds and 5 steals.

BRYANT MITCHELL chipped in with 8 points and 11 rebounds before leaving the game with a sprained ankle.

THOMAS BUTLER added 9 points and 6 rebounds, while AJ STANFORD contributed 8 points, 2 rebound and 2 assists.

“We were stagnant, we had no energy,” noted Rowlett. “The high point for us was the play of Mitchell. He played a complete game until he hurt his ankle. I know he won’t play in Friday’s game against Mission Bay, but we’re hoping he’ll be available when we go to Arizona next week.”

Mount Miguel: Harry Brazelton 25 (6 reb, 5 stl), Thomas Butler 9 (6 reb), Bryant Mitchell 8 (11 reb), AJ Stanford 8 (2 reb, 2 ast), Marcus Booker 6 (6 reb), Jaymes Brazelton 4, Yuel Hagos 4 (2 reb, 2 ast), Willie Morales (3 reb).

SANTANA 76, CRAWFORD 44 – Sultans senior guard JESSE VARGAS was on top of his game as he rang up a season high 24 points, including 4 three-pointers in Wednesday’s (Dec. 9) San Diego Division III Challenge in Santee. He made 8 of 16 from the field and 4 of 4 free throws.

LANDON LAZOYA hit 10 of 12 from the floor, including one three for 21 points. He also had 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals.

MATT LUCIUS also turned in a strong performance for Santana, hitting 4 of 6 from the floor and 5 of 6 free throws for 13 points. He grabbed 10 rebounds, dished 2 assists and made 2 steals.

“Matt Lucius played a good game for us tonight,” said Santana coach TIM BARRY. “He was balanced in every facet.”

Crawford hit three 3s in the first couple of minutes. Barry put Vargas on Crawford’s best shooter in the 2nd half and told him “don’t worry about rebounds, steals, assists – just shut him down.”

And so he did. Vargas held the Colts’ marksman to 4 points in the 2nd half.

“We got off to a great start,” Barry said. “We shot the ball well. After the first 30 seconds we took control of the game. We stayed with them in the beginning then broke it open later in the quarter. I was worried going into this game. Crawford is a tough place to play.

“We had good balance tonight. We have a lot of players who can contribute in several ways.

Santana: Jesse Vargas 24, Landon Lozoya 21 (7 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl), Matt Lucius 13 (10 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Jason Dale 6 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), David Thrall 4 (2 ast), Trey Bass 4 (3 reb, 9 ast, 3 stl), Danny Carpenter 2 (3 reb), Mike Rosolino 2.

MIRA MESA 48, GROSSMONT 37 – It appears to way to stop the Grossmont Foothillers is to slap a muzzle on JACOB HAAR. Host Mira Mesa proved that to be fact in Wednesday’s (Dec. 9) in Eastlake ’s Titan Tipoff.

Haar did lead the Foothillers with 10 points, but nobody else scored in double figures.

“Grossmont did not play very well tonight,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “It was a lackadaisical effort. We were totally embarrassed. No player stood out at all. Grossmont teams in the past have always put forth a strong effort; this team did not play hard at all.”

Grossmont: Jacob Haar 10, Anthony Bowden 9, Robby Nesovic 9, Jason Lakis 7, Desean Waters 2.

SCRIPPS RANCH 56, VALHALLA 35 – So far the basketball season has not gone the way the Valhalla Norsemen had hoped it would. In fact in Wednesday’s (Dec. 9) Wolf Pack-Horsman Invitational at West Hills the Norsemen’s paltry offense left them with their third loss in as many games.

Scripps Ranch (3-0) outscored the Norsemen 23-7 in the fourth quarter to put the game on ice.

Six-foot-4 senior DAVID WILSCHETZ led Valhalla with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks.

KYLE KRIEBEL had a horrible shooting night from the field but finished with 8 points and 7 rebounds.

“It was the worst game we’ve played all year,” said Valhalla assistant coach DON ROLLINS. “We made a lot of bad passes, especially in the 4th quarter. We were in the game until the 4th quarter then we just fell apart.”

Valhalla: David Wilschetz 15 (5 reb, 2 blk), Kyle Kriebel 8 (7 reb), David Zetts 5 (2 ast), Steven Kleist 5 (5 reb), Jordan Cunningham 2 (3 reb, 3 ast, 5 blk, 2 stl), Matt Butcher (2 reb).

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CHULA VISTA (12-9-09) — It won’t be long before Helix coach JOHN SINGER will not be able to afford to bring freshman point guard TITUS YOUNG off the bench. He’s proving he’s too good not to start.

Young was prime time caliber in Helix’s 50-32 romp over Chula Vista in Tuesday’s (Dec. 8) Hilltop Classic tournament game.

Finishing with a career high 17 points, the 5-foot-10 Young hit 6 of 9 shots from the field, including a trio of threes.

“Titus Young was very solid off the bench. He had a good floor game,” coach Singer said.

Singer also heaped accolades on his son, JOHN HENRY SINGER, who had a balanced game that included 8 rebounds and leads the Highlanders with 6 assists.

“Johnny is about getting wins,” said coach Singer. “He’s going to do what he’s asked to do. He’s more of a help-side defender ­– he’s our glue guy. I thought he played pretty well tonight. This was his best of three games.”

The Highlanders are off to a 3-0 start.

Helix: Titus Young 17 (2 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Jaylen Linson 9 (2 reb), Yohanes Soloman 7 (11 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Brian Valadez 7 (6 reb, 2 ast), Kenny Keys 4 (9 reb, 2 ast), John Henry Singer 4 (8 reb, 6 ast), Darien Peterson 2 (5 reb).

SANTANA 77, CASTLE PARK 38 – After suffering a two-point loss the day previous, Santana came out on a dead run as the Sultans clobbered Castle Park in a San Diego Division III Challenge game on Tuesday (Dec. 8) in Santee.

Santana led 30-5 midway through the 2nd quarter when coach TIM BARRY went to his bench. The Sultans scored 23 points on turnovers in the 1st half as they led 39-12 by intermission.

“We talked about pulling from the last two minutes of the Kearny game and took that momentum into tonight’s game,” Barry said.

Sophomore LANDON LAZOYA set the tone for Santana with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals.

Senior JESSE VARGAS pitched in 14 points, 6 assists, 4 steals and 4 rebounds, while DAVID THRALL added 14 points.

“Everyone who dressed tonight played and scored,” said Barry. “We gave everybody lots of playing time. I liked our aggressiveness and hope it carries over. “

Santana: Landon Lozoya 16 (7 reb, 3 stl), Jesse Vargas 14 (4 reb, 6 ast, 4 stl), David Thrall 14 (2 ast), Matt Lucius 8 (8 reb), Troy Wise 5 (2 reb, 3 stl), Trey Bass 4 (4 reb, 6 stl), Mike Rosolino 4 (3 stl), Jason Dale 4 (3 reb), Danny Carpenter 4 (6 reb, 2 ast), Sean Ross 4 (5 reb), Matt Gomez 2 (2 stl).

ESCONDIDO 71, STEELE CANYON 36 – It’s official. Coach DEREK STEPHENS and his Steele Canyon Cougars are starting from scratch this season. And we don't mean the school's mascot.

No returning players from last year’s Grossmont South League champions. Senior JOEY KRAMER, who was the lone returnee, began the season and played in the first two games. But now his high school basketball career is over as he will undergo surgery for a torn labrum.

“I have all the respect in the world for Joey,” Stephens said. “He knew we needed his experience. He was hurting but he tried to play in pain. It got so bad that he had to quit and have surgery. I feel bad for him that he’s going to miss his senior year.”

Steele Canyon (1-2) is looking for a point guard, as was evident in Tuesday’s (Dec. 8) Eagle-Vaquero Tournament loss at Escondido. The Cougars turned the ball over 34 times.

“We had flashes where we looked pretty good,” Stephens said. “But we are struggling with our ball-handing.”

The best news is Steele Canyon’s ranks were reinforced with the addition of a handful of players off the Cougars’ football team.

Steele Canyon: Cody Wells 13 (3 stl), Casey Balikian 11 (6 reb), Michael Cederoth 9 (4 reb), Rudy Burruel 2, Chanceller James 1 (2 reb, 1 blk), Wes Judish (2 stl), Dylan Kirchhofer (2 stl), Justin Norwood (2 reb),

RANCHO BERNARDO 70, GRANITE HILLS 59 – The start was solid as Granite Hills secured a 20-13 first quarter lead over the visiting Broncos in Tuesday’s (Dec. 8) Eagle-Vaquero Tournament.

After that it became a series of scoring streaks. Rancho Bernardo (3-1) went on a 11-0 run to take a 26-25 edge in the 2nd period only to have the Eagles (2-2) tally the final five points of the half to lead 30-26.

“Foul trouble just killed us,” Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON said. “We had our three biggest guys miss a quarter or more with foul trouble. If we could have avoided the foul trouble I know we could have stayed right with them.”

Despite missing a more than a quarter, Granite Hills’ 6-foot-2 junior GARRETT LARCH-MILLER rolled a nifty double-double of 15 points and 15 rebounds. Guard ANDRE LEWIS paced the Eagles with 21 points, 8 assists, 6 steals and 4 rebounds.

“Larch-Miller worked really hard on the boards and we need him to be strong like that,” Anderson said. “We just have to keep him on the court.”

Even with two minutes to play, Rancho Bernardo led by only six points. Granite Hills had to foul and the Broncos made the free throws to pull away.

Granite Hills: Andre Lewis 21 (8 ast, 6 stl, 4 reb), Garrett Larch-Miller 15 (15 reb, 2 ast), Kyle Snyder 13, Jason Gaines 6 (4 reb), Scott Atkinson 4 (4 reb), James Sadik (5 reb).

WESTVIEW 67, EL CAJON VALLEY 42 – Playing without senior guard JORDAN SHIVERS (ankle) obviously hampered the Braves as they succumbed to Westview in Tuesday’s (Dec. 8) Hilltop Classic.

The Wolverines led 22-11 after one quarter and 50-30 after three periods.

“Westview jumped out on us early,” said El Cajon Valley coach MARTY ELLIS. “We made a lot of mistakes with the ball. We looked a little out of synch and they took advantage of it.”

Senior guard KENDALL CONLEY paced the Braves with a season high 20 points to go along with 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.

Pint-sized MASON BREWER proved his worth to the Braves by knocking down a trio of 3-pointers as he finished with a dozen points.

“We are in a learning curve right now but I do know by league time my guys will compete. I believe that these young men will get it,” Ellis said. “I enjoy working with these men. I continue to emphasize to them to keep their head up and learn from every defeat. Conley and Brewer continue to show positive spurts. When all the guys are clicking together I think we will be hard to beat.”

El Cajon Valley: Kendall Conley 20 (4 ast, 5 reb, 2 stl), Mason Brewer 12 (2 stl, 3 reb), Devin Lesch 4 (8 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Jacquelle Morris 2 (3 reb), Jacob Yakub 3, James Jones 1 (5 reb, 2 stl), Deshawn Johnson (3 ast, 2 stl, 2 reb), (Omar Hall (3 reb).

TORREY PINES 73, MONTE VISTA 29 – It was a long night for the Monte Vista Monarchs, who fell behind Torrey Pines 46-15 by halftime in Tuesday’s (Dec. 8) Hilltop Classic encounter.

“The game came down to too many turnovers,” said assistant coach KEITH HOUSTON. “We were very aggressive in the beginning but we could not keep up with the pace of the game and we could not shoot the ball well at the beginning. Defensively we had trouble recognizing and reacting to their screens. We gave them too many open looks and uncontested shots.”

Monte Vista: Tony Jackson 14 (4 reb, 1 blk), Ruben Nwando 5 (2 reb, 2 stl), Jason Guinto 5, Kylie Luster 4 (3 reb), KJ Houston 1 (5 ast), James Jackson (3 reb).

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ENCINITAS (12-8-09) — HARRY BRAZELTON scored 20 of his game-high 36 points in the fourth quarter of Monday’s (Dec. 7) San Diego Division III Challenge contest as the Matadors posted their third straight win without a loss by smacking San Dieguito Academy, 63-46.

Brazelton buried 4 of his game-best 6 three-pointers during the final session. Overall he was 8 for 12 from the free throw line.

“We were in foul trouble pretty early in the game,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT. “We had three starters on the bench with four fouls in the third quarter. All except Harry – he kept us going.”

Mount Miguel was charged with 26 fouls in the game, which enabled San Dieguito to score more than half of its points (24) from the free throw line.

Senior WILLIE MORALES made his basketball debut and pulled down 6 rebounds, one less than team leader BRYANT MITCHELL.

YUEL HAGOS also had 6 rebounds to go along with 7 points.

Mount Miguel: Harry Brazelton 36 (3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Yuel Hagos 7 (6 reb, 2 ast), Thomas Butler 6, AJ Stanford 4 (5 reb, 4 ast), Jaymes Brazelton 4, Bryant Mitchell 3 (7 reb), Marcus Booker 2 (5 reb, 3 stl), Willie Morales 1 (6 reb).

GROSSMONT 54, CARLSBAD 41 – JACOB HAAR, a 6-foot-5 senior, continued to supply the leadership for the Foothillers Monday night (Dec. 7) as he tallied 19 points and 12 rebounds in a Titan Tipoff victory over visiting Carlsbad.

Grossmont (2-1) erased a four point halftime deficit by outscoring the Lancers 37-24 in the 2nd half.

“We were kind out of synch in the first half,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “In the second half we played a lot better. We made a couple of adjustments against their offense and our kids did a good job against them.”

ROBBY NESOVIC, known more for his defense and rebounding, chipped in 12 points and 6 boards for the Foothillers.

MICHAEL WNEK knocked down a pair of threes and finished with 8 points for Grossmont.

Grossmont: Jacob Haar 19 (12 reb, 2 stl), Robbie Nesovic 12 (6 reb, 2 stl), Michael Wnek 8 (2 reb, 2 ast), Desean Waters 7 (2 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl), Anthony Bowden 4 (6 reb), Jason Lakis 3 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Colter Rios 1.

KEARNY 53, SANTANA 51 – With 2 minutes left in Monday’s (Dec. 7) San Diego Division III Challenge, the visiting Sultans trailed by 11 points.

At that point Santana started to foul, Kearny started to miss free throws and all of a sudden the Sultans started to score. They cut the deficit to 2 points with 6 seconds to play.

Santana contested a jump ball and got the ball with alternate possessions underneath their own basket.

“We had two good looks at the bucket – the last shot spun in and out at the buzzer,” Sultans coach TIM BARRY said. “As bad as we played I still thought we could sneak the game out at the end. I’m pleased with the way we competed at the end.”

JESSE VARGAS, Santana’s senior point guard, knocked down 23 points, hitting 8 of 13 from the field and 4 of 6 free throws. Included in his totals was a trio of 3-pointers.

MATT LUCIUS contributed 11 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals for Santana, while MATT GOMEZ added 9 points, 3 assists and 4 steals. TREY BASS also had 4 steals for Santana.

“This was our first game on the road,” Barry said. “We were not ready to play at the start of the game.”

On the first seven possessions Santana had six turnovers.

“And they weren’t pressure turnovers,” said Barry. “We were as dreary as the weather.”

Santana: Jesse Vargas 23 (2 reb), Matt Lucius 11 (9 reb, 4 stl, 2 ast), Matt Gomez 9 (2 reb, 4 stl, 3 ast), David Thrall 4 (2 ast), Trey Bass 2 (5 reb, 4 stl, 2 ast), Landon Lozoya 2 (4 reb),

MT. CARMEL 40, EL CAPITAN 37 – Senior MIKE OVERSON had another big night with 19 points, 7 rebounds, 7 steals and 2 assists Monday night (Dec. 7) in an Eagle-Vaquero Tournament game, but he and the El Capitan offense stalled over the final eight minutes resulting in a third loss in as many decisions for the Lakesiders.

Fact is El Capitan netted only four baskets in the second half – none in the 4th quarter. The only points put up by the Vaqueros in the final stanza were three Overson free throws.

Not to say that Mt. Carmel was on fire down the stretch either, but the Sundevils rang up 7 points in the final period including a key 3-pointer by Steve Spilman that erased a one point El Capitan lead.

El Capitan: Mike Overson 19 (7 reb, 2 ast, 7 stl), Tyson Kygar 7 (2 reb, 1 blk), Andrew Cable 5 (5 reb), Robert Craighead 4 (4 reb), Anthony Agunat 2 (2 reb, 1 blk).

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EL CAJON (12-6-09) — Playing in Division V of the San Diego Section, the Foothills Christian Knights are sometimes overlooked by those who can’t believe a small school of their size can be such a state powerhouse.

Make no mistake about it, these Knights are alive. They proved that against SDCIF Division I power Rancho Bernardo in Saturday’s (Dec. 5) as they rolled to a 76-63 victory in the Eagle-Vaquero Tournament.

Four Knights finished in double scoring digits led by TROY LEAF’s 26 points.

“Dalton has really given us a lift,” said assistant coach DAVE RILEY. “He was 3 for 3 in the second quarter (when Foothills took a 36-29 halftime lead).”

JVONTE BROOKS, who finished with 17 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocks, chipped in 8 points in the second quarter.

“Jvonte is just a monster inside the paint,” Riley noted.

When Rancho Bernardo attempted to deny Brooks, they usually fouled and the Knights’ 6-foot-7 senior sank 7 of 10 free throws.

Foothills Christian led by as many as 27 points in the second half before coach BRAD LEAF began making wholesale substitutions.

Foothills Christian: Troy Leaf 26 (5 ast, 2 reb, 1 blk), Jvonte Brooks 17 (17 reb, 3 blk), Kalob Hatcher 16 (8 ast, 3 reb, 6 stl), Dalton Mosser 15 (2 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Henry Luschei 2 (4 reb), Sal Romeri (3 reb).

HELIX 43, HILLTOP 41 – Veteran coach JOHN SINGER saw his Highlanders roll to their second straight Hilltop Classic victory Saturday (Dec. 5) as Helix knocked off the host team.

It was a come-from-behind effort for the Highlanders who fell behind the Lancers 8-0 in the early going.

DARIEN PETERSON and YOHANES SOLOMON led a balanced Helix attack with 10 points apiece.

But not surprisingly, offense was not the part of the game Singer wanted to discuss.

“I thought we played pretty well defensively,” Singer said. “We held them to 6 points in the 4th quarter, and I thought we had the better of it in that quarter.

“We have to play a certain style – solid defense and rebound – to give ourselves a chance,” Singer added. “There won’t be too many of our wins coming by blowouts. For us, it’s all about a tough defensive game.”

Helix: Darien Peterson 10 (2 reb, 4 stl, 1 blk), Yohanes Solomon 10 (5 reb, 1 blk), Jaylen Linson 8 (6 reb, 2 ast), Titus Young 8 (4 reb, 2 ast), Kenny Keys 4 (3 reb, 2 blk), Brian Valadez 3, John Singer (4 ast).

RANCHO BUENA VISTA 53, MONTE VISTA 35 — In the final pool play round of the Hilltop Classic on Saturday (Dec. 5), Monte Vista forward TONY JACKSON kept his team close for a half with 10 of his team-high 12 points before the Longhorns pulled away to a double-digit lead in the third quarter.

JAMES JACKSON aided Monte Vista's inside game with 5 points, 5 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots, but the team missed too many open looks to stay in contention.

"We hung in there in the first half playing with four sophomores," said Monarchs coach JAMES CARROLL, who returns just one starter from last season.

"Fundamentally, we're not where we want to be. But the team proved they can compete, they need to learn to apply what's being taught."

Monte Vista: Tony Jackson 12 (2 ast), Corey Parish 6, James Jackson 5 (5 reb, 2 blk), Kylie Luster 4 (6 reb), Brandon Tillet 4, Kevin Starling 2 (4 ast), Ruben Nwando 2.

OTAY RANCH 74, VALHALLA 52 – Are the Valhalla Norsemen a 3-point shooting team or not?

In their season opener they made 9 of 18 against Cathedral Catholic. Less than 24 hours later the Norsemen were a miserable 1-for-12 from beyond the arc in Saturday’s (Dec. 5) Wolf Pack-Horsman Invitational loss to Otay Ranch at West Hills.

So maybe the Norsemen are stronger inside the paint.

“Our inside game was 16 for 30, we played a lot better tonight,” said Norsemen assistant coach DON ROLLINS. “We had too many turnovers both nights (18, 19 respectively).”

KYLE KRIEBEL, recovering from the flu, rolled his ankle early in the 3rd quarter so the Norsemen were without his senior leadership late in the game. He finished with 12 points and 4 rebounds.

That certainly didn’t help as Valhalla fell to 0-2.

Valhalla: David Wilschetz 14 (8 reb), Kyle Kriebel 12 (4 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), David Zetts 9, Jordan Cunningham 7 (4 reb, 1 blk), Thomas McDonald 6, Steven Kleist 2 (4 reb), Matt Butcher 2 (2 reb).

GROSSMONT 79, CALEXICO 32 – All 11 of the Grossmont players that participated in Saturday’s (Dec. 5) Titan Tipoff Classic at Eastlake contributed to the Foothillers hefty scoring total.

JACOB HAAR set the pace for Grossmont (1-1) with 27 points and 10 rebounds against the smaller Bulldogs (0-2).

This was no contest from the start as the Hillers hustled to a 29-5 lead in the opening quarter and never looked back.

Grossmont: Jacob Haar 27 (10 reb, 2 ast), Robbie Nesovic 11 (6 reb, 2 stl), Michael Wnek 11 (2 ast, 2 stl), Anthony Bowden 10 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Desean Waters 4, Colter Rios 3 (4 ast), Jason Lakis 3, Derrick Rustich 3 (4 reb), Eli Kambale 3, Clayton Rainey 2, Alex Nesovic 2.

TORREY PINES 70, EL CAJON VALLEY 40 – The Falcons of Torrey Pines pounded out a 41-16 halftime lead in Saturday’s (Dec. 5) final round of pool play in the Hilltop Classic and then cruised to the lopsided victory.

“We started out real slow,” Braves coach MARTY ELLIS said. “Their pressure defense took us away from what we wanted to do. We just couldn’t get into our groove tonight. KENDALL CONLEY had an excellent game tonight. I expect him to be our floor leader."

Returning all-leaguer JORDAN SHIVERS settled for 11 points and 9 rebounds for the Braves (0-2). He’s off to a slow start, but once he locks in El Cajon Valley is sure to pick up its level of success. But an ankle injury in this lopsided loss may impede his progress.

“Shivers suffered a severe ankle sprain early in the 3rd quarter and he’ll have an examination on Monday,” said Ellis, a former East County Player of the Year at Monte Vista. “As of now he’s out indefinitely. He will not play on Tuesday (Dec. 8) (against Westview).”

Conley, who also played football for the Braves, hauled down 11 rebounds and tallied 9 points.

El Cajon Valley: Jordan Shivers 11 (9 reb, 3 ast), Kendall Conley 9 (11 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), James Stone 8 (8 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Devin Lesch 8 (6 reb, 3 ast), Mason Brewer 3 (2 reb), Brandon Smith 3, Omar Hall 2 (2 reb).

SERRA 72, WEST HILLS 49 – Erase the third quarter in Saturday’s (Dec. 5) Wolf Pack-Horsman Invitational contest at West Hills, and the Wolf Pack may have made a game of it against Serra.

Serra’s 26-8 third quarter scoring spree, however, turned a six-point Conquistadors halftime edge into a blowout.

Freshman guard JONNY PRESTON paced the Pack with 11 points, which included 4-for-7 shooting from the field. Too bad for Preston, as he didn’t have much help on the scoring end. Preston accounted for the Wolf Pack’s only two 3-pointers.

Excluding Preston, West Hills (0-3) was stone cold, hitting just 12 of 48 shots from the floor. As a unit the Pack converted just 15 of 34 free throws. Turning over the ball 28 times certainly didn’t help matters.

Thirteen of the turnovers came in the fateful 3rd quarter.

West Hills: Jonny Preston 11 (3 ast, 2 stl), Shedrick Collier 9 (4 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Adrian Maraziti 9 (5 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Alex Parsons 8 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Kevin Straub 4 (2 reb, 2 stl), Ralph Bedoe 3, Garrett Guinn 2 (9 reb), John Magoon 2 (3 reb).

El Cajon Valley guard Mason Brewer (15) with the drive against Helix in Hilltop Tournament play. (Photo by iCrew, Hilltop High School)

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EL CAJON (12-5-09) — There is seemingly no stopping Granite Hills senior guard ANDRE LEWIS. The Eagles play-maker, who is averaging 30.3 points through the first three games, sank a 3-foot jumper at the buzzer in the third overtime of Friday’s Eagle-Vaquero Tournament, giving Granite Hills (2-1) an 80-78 victory over visiting Morse.

Lewis finished the night with 31 points, hitting 10 of 23 shots from the floor (one three) and 10 of 14 free throws. He also hauled down 7 rebounds, dished off 7 assists and made 4 steals.

The unsung hero in the Granite Hills victory was sophomore center STEVE ATKINSON. At first glance that might seem strange since the 6-foot-6 Atkinson scored only two points to go along with his 12 rebounds.

What scoring he did do came in overtime. He, in fact, was 0-for-4 from the charity stripe as the Tigers (1-1) and Eagles scored 10 points apiece in the first two extra sessions. Atkinson found the mark in the third four-minute stanza, sinking two free throws to tie the game at 78-78 with 20 seconds remaining.

A Morse turnover 10 seconds later set the stage for Lewis’ heroics.

“Andre did a good of penetrating, but thought he might be too late to get off that last shot to beat the buzzer,” Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON said. “Fortunately he pulled up in time. If he’d gone for the layup, I think we might have been staring at a fourth OT.”

Anderson lauded the work of other Eagles, who made key contributions to keep Granite Hills’ chances alive. Sophomore JASON GAINES didn’t make a basket in four shots, but was 12-for-14 from the foul line. That includes 4-for-4 in OT.

Long-ball shooter KYLE SNYDER, who tallied 14 points and rang up a trio of threes, drained one from about 30 feet out during the extra periods.

“That was huge,” Anderson said.

GARRETT LARCH-MILLER chipped in with 14 points and a team-best 13 rebounds for Granite Hills.

Anderson also heaped accolades on junior JAMES SADIK, who came off the bench to toss in 5 points and corral 7 rebounds.

Granite Hills was 35-of-50 from the free throw line. Morse was 27 of 42 from the charity stripe in the foul-marred encounter.

Granite Hills: Andre Lewis 31 (7 reb, 7 ast, 7 stl), Kyle Snyder 14 (2 ast), Garrett Larch-Miller 14 (13 reb, 2 ast), Jason Gaines 12 (8 reb, 3 ast, 4 blk), James Sadik 5 (7 reb), Scott Atkinson 2 (12 reb), Dalton Otineru 2.

STEELE CANYON 60, EL CAPITAN 58 – Senior MIKE OVERSON, who scored a career-high 33 points and snagged 13 rebounds, nearly pulled out a victory for host El Capitan in the Eagle-Vaquero Tournament Friday night (Dec. 4).

Overson’s 3-pointer cut visiting Steele Canyon ’s advantage to 59-58 with 1.1 seconds to play.

Steele Canyon inbounded the ball and freshman CASEY BALIKIAN was fouled. With the game in a double bonus free throw situation and 0.4 second left to play, Balikian missed his first free throw but made the second to bring the score to 60-58.

At that point El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS asked the referee if Balikian made his second free throw, would the Vaqueros still have time to get a shot off. The ref replied that he would have to see the play.

El Capitan inbounded the ball to Overson who was standing at the free throw line in the backcourt. Overson turned and threw the ball the length of the court and swished the basket. The outside referee called it good and the crowd went wild.

But… the outside official came to chat with his partner and the call was overturned.

It was a great win for Steele Canyon (1-1) and a bitter loss for El Capitan (0-2).

“We played good defense on Overson,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS. “He made a lot of difficult shots. He’s a real good player.”

“We are so young as a team. We return only one player from last year’s team – senior JOEY KRAMER, and he’s playing with a torn labrum. He’s a warrior. Most of the time tonight we had two freshmen and one sophomore on the floor. We played hard and with a lot of intensity.”

Steele Canyon: Joey Kramer 14 (5 reb), Andrew King 10 (5 ast, 4 stl), Casey Balikian 10 (3 reb, 2 ast), Michael Cederoth 9 (6 reb, 1 blk), Cody Wells 7 (3 stl), Wes Judish 4 (5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Justin Norwood 4 (3 reb, 1 blk), Dylan Kirchhofer 2 (2 reb).

El Capitan: Mike Overson 33 (13 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Tyson Kygar 8 (3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Robert Craighead 7 (6 reb), Armon Worrell 4 (5 reb, 2 blk), Eric Nunez 3 (2 reb), Anthony Agunat 2, Andrew Cable 1 (2 ast, 1 blk).

HELIX 57, EL CAJON VALLEY 53 – It’s been decades since Helix and El Cajon Valley have played a competitive basketball game like they did in Friday’s (Dec. 4) opening round of the Hilltop Classic in South Bay.

But the Braves, under the leadership of first-year coach MARTY ELLIS, charged up his new team to put Helix on the ropes.

“I think they’re going to be all right,” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER. “They’re going to beat some people.”

JAYLEN LINSON had 16 points and 13 rebounds the lead the Highlanders.

YOHANES SOLOMON rolled a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds for Helix.

KENDALL CONLEY paced the Braves with 18 points, while JORDAN SHIVERS tossed in 13 points and grabbed 4 rebounds before fouling out in the 4th quarter.

“(Freshman) TITUS YOUNG did a great job on Shivers,” Singer said. “He played about 25 minutes after our starting point guard picked up two quick fouls.”

Perhaps the biggest swing vote Helix had was making 23 of 36 free throws compared to El Cajon Valley ’s 10 of 25.

“In the 1st quarter MASON BREWER came off the bench and kept us in it with 2 threes,” said Ellis. “Then we were down 7 points and PATRICK JOHNSON’S 3-point shot pulled us to within 4 points in the 4th quarter. That was our last basket tonight.”

“Conley was on his game tonight – he played a wonderful game,” said Ellis. “He just needed some help. You can definitely tell what we need to work on. It came down to the wire – we made 10 of 25 free throws.”

“I like the way we came out today – the energy,” Ellis continued. “I had the team go to school today dressed nice, wearing ties. They looked sharp and their confidence level was way up. I was proud of them. I’m trying to turn it around at El Cajon Valley. I want to teach my guys life skills as well as basketball.”

Helix: Jaylen Linson 16 (13 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Titus Young 13 (2 reb), Kenny Keys 11 (6 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Yohanes Solomon 10 (10 reb, 4 ast), Brian Valadez 7 (9 reb, 2 blk), Darien Peterson (2 ast).

El Cajon Valley: Kendall Conley 18 (3 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Jordan Shivers 13 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), James Stone 8 (4 reb), Mason Brewer 6 (2 stl), Deshawn Johnson 5, Brandon Smith 2 (5 reb), Devin Lesch 1 (7 reb, 1 blk).

MOUNT MIGUEL 87, CRAWFORD 55 – A 35-point 4th quarter by host Mount Miguel (2-0) turned this San Diego Division III Challenge contest on Friday (Dec. 4) into a rout.

HARRY BRAZELTON scored 9 of his game-high 29 points down the final eight-minute stretch. His brother JAYMES BRAZELTON scored 9 of his 13 points during that span. YUEL HAGOS netted 6 of his 15 in the 4th quarter as the Matadors knocked the Colts out of their saddles.

“There were a lot of clutch shots in the 4th quarter,” Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT said. “Crawford cut it to 8 in the 2nd half. Then in the 3rd quarter BRYANT MITCHELL made a short jumper to put us up 10 and then we went on a little run. Mitchell’s shot was key for us.”

“This is an important tournament because they are all Division III teams like we are.”

Mount Miguel: Harry Brazelton 29 (9 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Yuel Hagos 15 (4 reb, 3 stl), Jaymes Brazelton 13 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Marcus Booker 10 (9 reb), Bryant Mitchell 7 (12 reb), AJ Stanford 7 (8 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Patrick Arizmendi 4 (4 reb), Thomas Butler 2 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl).

SANTANA 63, MONTGOMERY 51 – The return of senior JESSE VARGAS to the point guard has made things a lot more upbeat for the Santana Sultans. Vargas finished with a game-high 19 points in Friday’s (Dec. 4) San Diego Division III Challenge in Santee.

TREY BASS, who is rapidly establishing himself as one of the top free throw shooters in East County, was 10 for 12 on his way to a 14-point finish against the Aztecs (1-1). The 6-foot-4, 210-pound junior also led the Sultans with 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 7 steals.

“We pressed tonight and Bass is our five,” Barry said. “He did a great job of flashing to the middle in the press break and threw down the floor for open layups.”

“Jesse and Bass had a very, very good night controlling the game. With every game Jesse gets a little stronger mentally and physically.”

Santana used a 20-12 third quarter spread to take control of the game.

“I knew it would be a close game because Montgomery beat Kearny,” said Barry. “So I expected a tough game, and they didn’t disappoint. We really went at each other. It was nip and tuck all the way through, but we did a great job pressuring and shooting.”

“This tournament is comprised of what I refer to as the ‘mid-majors.’ We’re not in the elite conference so it’s fun to get together,” Barry said.

Santana: Jesse Vargas 19 (3 stl), Trey Bass 14 (9 reb, 8 ast, 7 stl), Matt Gomez 11 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Landon Lozoya 11 (6 reb, 2 ast), Matt Lucius 6 (8 reb), Mike Rosolino 2 (2 ast).

CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC 47, VALHALLA 39 – Coach KEITH JACKSON was stunned by the fact that his Norsemen had only two offensive rebounds in the whole game, 18 turnovers and shot just 3 free throws in Friday’s (Dec. 4) opening round of the Wolf Pack-Horsman Invitational at West Hills.

“Tonight showed us what we need to work on,” Jackson said. “We have to hunker down and try to get going. We’ve got a long road ahead of us.”

KYLE KRIEBEL was the only Norseman with any kind of notable numbers as he finished with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 7 blocks. He was 3 for 3 on threes.

Valhalla ’s STEVEN KLEIST did all of his scoring from the 3-point line as he finished with a team-high 15 points.

“I was pleased with the play of freshman point guard KEVIN MILLS,” said Jackson. “He did a great job of running our offense for us. I thought we did an excellent job on defense. It was our defense that kept us in the ballgame.”

Valhalla: David Zetts 4, David Wilschetz 7, Kyle Kriebel 11 (6 reb, 7 blk), Steven Kleist 15, Kevin Mills 2.

HILLTOP 53, MONTE VISTA 48 – Digging out of an 18-4 first quarter hole proved too much to ask for the youthful Monte Vista Monarchs in Friday’s (Dec. 4) Hilltop Classic contest.

“We lacked intensity at the beginning of the game, then came back but never got closer than 4,” Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL said. “I was proud of the kids for not giving up. Hilltop is a good team, rebounds very well and plays solid defense. We need to learn to consistently run an offense and find a good shot.”

KJ HOUSTON led Monte Vista (1-1) with 14 points.

Although this was a physical encounter, the Monarchs received only 6 free throws in the game.

Monte Vista: KJ Houston 14, Tony Jackson 9, Ruben Nwando 7, Corey Parrish 7, James Jackson 5, Kylie Luster 4, Kevin Starling 2.

EL CENTRO SOUTHWEST 66, WEST HILLS 52 – GARRETT GUINN (15 points), Adrian MARAZITI (12) and SHEDRICK COLLIER (11) all reached double scoring digits in Friday’s (Dec. 4) Wolf Pack-Horsman Invitational, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a 23-8 first quarter deficit.

West Hills (0-2): Garrett Guinn 15 (3 stl), Adrian Maraziti 12 (2 ast, 4 stl), Shedrick Collier 11 (2 ast, 4 stl), John Magoon 7, Alex Parsons 5, Jonny Preston (2 ast).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-4-09) — This might have been a closer game had all the players been available. But both visiting Foothills Christian – missing two starters – and host Christian – missing four football players 6-feet-4 and taller and involved in the San Diego CIF playoffs – diluted the Thursday’s (Dec. 3) non-league showdown.

Nevertheless, it was a run-and-shoot first quarter with the Knights claiming a 24-20 advantage. It quickly turned into a blowout after that with Foothills Christian rolling to an 83-38 Eagle-Vaquero Tournament romp over the Patriots.

Despite not sinking a single 3-pointer, senior TROY LEAF finished with a game high 32 points and now has 65 points in his first two starts for the Knights (2-0). Leaf also reeled in a dozen rebounds.

“Some of the young and inexperienced guys got a great experience tonight,” said Foothills Christian assistant coach DAVE RILEY.

One of the neophytes was junior SAL ROMERI, who knocked down 10 points and nabbed 5 rebounds. Juniors HENRY LUCHESI and IAN MATHISEN made their varsity debuts count as they combined for 9 points and 11 rebounds.

“It's important for these guys to know they can play at this level. We have to have that depth and know that when they are called on, they will step up. The last thing we can afford is for these guys to get in the game and be shell shocked. Fortunately tonight Sal, DALTON MOSSER, Mathisen and Luschei all contributed.”

Not to be overlooked was the play of steady KALOB HATCHER (17 points, 8 ast, 3 stl) and JVONTE BROOKS (11 points, 10 reb, 1 blk) for Foothills Christian.

Sophomore CODY POTEET paced the Patriots (1-1) with 11 points. He also had the assignment of covering Leaf.

“Cody had a tough match-up tonight,” said Christian assistant coach BRAD SANDUSKY. “We had him shadow Troy Leaf We figured with his quickness and athleticism, even though he probably wouldn’t shut Leaf out, Cody would be able to put him off his game, get under his skin. It helps Cody get a better feel for the speed of the varsity level.”

Injuries have also hampered the Patriots.

ZSOLT LAKOSA, who hails from Hungary, has tendinitis in his right wrist, his shooting hand.

“He’s been doing pretty much everything with his left hand even though he’s right-handed,” Sandusky said. “He drives with either hand but finishes with his right. His wrist injury affected his free throw shooting tonight (0-for-6), and he was just 5-for-16 from the floor.”

Returning senior floor leader LUIZ BIDART did not play all four quarters as he was icing an injured foot.

Poteet scored the majority of his 11 points towards the end of the game

“In the 4th quarter we left Cody in the game with four JV players. He exceeded our expectations by far – he didn’t come off the court once,” Sandusky said.

Foothills Christian: Troy Leaf 32 (12 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Kalob Hatcher 17 (8 ast, 3 stl), Jvonte Brooks 11 (10 reb, 1 blk), Sal Romeri 10 (6 reb, 1 blk), Dalton Mosser 7 (2 reb), Henry Luschei 5 (5 reb), Ian Mathisen 4 (6 reb).

Christian: Cody Poteet 11, Zsolt Lakosa 10 (9 reb, 3 ast), Icaro Parisotto 7, Luiz Bidart 7 (6 reb, 2 ast), Jake Larsen 3 (2 reb, 1 blk).

© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (12-3-09) — Santana High coach TIM BARRY is elated to have JESSE VARGAS healthy again. Just having the senior point guard back in the lineup gives Barry thoughts of a possible run for the Grossmont Valley League championship.

Santana sprinted to a 16-4 first quarter lead in Wednesday’s (Dec. 2) season-opening game of the San Diego Division III Challenge, which resulted in a 79-40 victory over Clairemont.

Vargas finished with a team-high 22 points, 3 steals and 2 assists.

“Jesse controlled the game and shot well from the perimeter,” Barry said.

Coming off a pair of knee surgeries that caused him to miss 17 months, Vargas is a little tentative.

“I think it might have been in the first minute or two of the game when Jesse drove the lane and got an and-one after being knocked to the floor,” Barry said. “I said to myself, ‘just get up, just get up.’”

Vargas bounced up and made the free throw. He hit a trio of 3-pointers and was 5 for 7 from the charity stripe.

“I think the biggest thing is Jesse doesn’t dwell on it (injuries),” Barry said. “He plays as hard as he ever has.”

MATT LUCIUS, a 6-foot-4 senior, was a force inside (16 points, 14 rebounds) for the Sultans, as was TREY BASS (15 points, 10 rebounds).

Santana led 29-15 at halftime but Barry wasn’t satisfied.

“At halftime I talked to the kids about gaining our identity as a strong 3rd quarter team,” Barry said.

And so they were… outscoring the Chieftains 29-9 in the third stanza.

Santana: Jesse Vargas 22 (3 stl, 2 ast), Matt Lucius 16 (14 reb), Trey Bass 15 (10 reb, 3 stl, 3 ast), Mike Rosolino 6, Landon Lozoya 5, Danny Carpenter 5 (5 reb, 2 blk), Sean Ross 5, Matt Gomez 5.

ESCONDIDO 70, GRANITE HILLS 64 – After shooting 52 percent in a season-opening victory over Mt. Carmel, the host Granite Hills Eagles netted only 31 percent (19 of 61) against visiting Escondido in Wednesday’s (Dec. 2) second round of the Eagle-Vaquero Tournament.

Guard ANDRE LEWIS, who was blazing hot against Mt. Carmel, netted only 7 of 27 shots against the Cougars yet finished with a team-best 20 points.

None of the Eagles were shooting at their usual torrid pace.

“That’s the strange thing about this game,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. “Our shooting was off the mark yet we still had four guys finish in double figures.”

Lewis, who was 6 for 8 from the free throw line, collected 9 rebounds, handed out 6 assists and notched 5 steals.

Six-foot-3 sophomore JASON GAINES was powerful inside with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 6 blocked shots.

“Gaines plays bigger than his size because he has long arms and gets great position underneath,” Anderson said.

Anderson also lauded the defensive work of DALTON OTINERU, who slapped the shackles on Escondido ’s sharpshooter Joe Hudson. A 5-10 junior, Otineru held the 6-2 Hudson to 5 points in the first half.

“Dalton denied Hudson the ball all over the court,” Anderson noted. Hudson finished with 14 points, with 6 coming in the 4th quarter after the Cougars (2-0) had the game in hand.

Granite Hills scrambled back and trailed by only one point midway through the 4th quarter.

“They beat us on the offensive glass pretty soundly,” Anderson said. “And they had four guys in double figures, just like we did. Escondido ’s a good team and I was proud of how well we battled back against them.”

Granite Hills: Andre Lewis 20 (9 reb, 6 ast, 5 stl), Jason Gaines 15 (11 reb, 6 blk), Kyle Snyder 12 (5 reb, 5 ast), Garrett Larch-Miller 11 (7 reb), Scott Atkinson 2 (8 reb), Dalton Otineru 2, Lewis Baker 2.

CHRISTIAN 54, MT. CARMEL 50 (OT) – The Christian High Patriots basketball team will feature a lot of new faces this season. Some of them are still involved in the football playoffs.

It took the Patriots an extra four minutes to get the job done in Wednesday’s (Dec. 2) season-opening Eagle-Vaquero Tournament game at Mt. Carmel. In fact the Sundevils had the Patriots pinned down 15-4 after one quarter.

Even after three periods the Sundevils maintained a 35-24 advantage. After that is when the Patriots turned up the intensity.

A 21-10 fourth quarter scoring spree sent the game into overtime.

ICARO PARISOTTO scored 4 of his game-high 29 points at the line in overtime to help the Patriots prevail. Overall he was 10 for 23 from the floor, including a trio of treys. The 6-foot-2 newcomer also made 10 steals and led the Patriots with 6 rebounds.

Senior guard LUIZ BIDART chipped in 12 points and 3 assists for the Pats.

“Luiz Bidart started off slow but towards the end he stepped up and proved what kind of player he really is,” said Christian assistant coach BRAD SANDUSKY.

ZSOLT LAKOSA also had 3 assists, 5 rebounds and a couple of steals to go with 5 points for Christian.

Those who know sophomore CODY POTEET can throw a baseball 90 miles per hour should take note he can also play a little bit of basketball. In his varsity debut Poteet hit a 3-pointer and finished 5 points and 2 rebounds.

“We’ve been battling some injuries and we are waiting for a couple of kids – STEVEN PITTS and TYRONE SAULS – to come out from football,” said Sandusky.

Christian: Icaro Parisotto 29 (6 reb, 10 stl, 1 blk), Luiz Bidart 12 (4 reb, 3 ast), Cody Poteet 5 (2 reb), Zsolt Lakosa 5 (5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Aaron Hueslin 2, Nate Bennett 1 (2 reb).

EASTLAKE 46, GROSSMONT 39 — Senior JACOB HAAR muscled in 15 points and corralled 7 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as the visiting Grossmont Foothillers fell to host Eastlake in Wednesday’s (Dec. 2) opening round of the Titan Tipoff.

Upset-minded Grossmont trailed only 38-37 with 1:40 remaining.

“We got fouled and missed our free throw,” said Foothillers coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “Then we fouled and they made their free throws.”

Eastlake’s final 6 points came from the free throw line.

Grossmont was a collective 5 for 10 from the charity stripe for the game.

“We had some opportunities,” said Foggiano. “For the first game, we played really solid man defense. We gave up too many offensive rebounds, especially at the end.”

Eastlake led 17-9 after 1st quarter, but the Foothillers trailed only 27-24 at the halftime break. No question it was a frustrating loss for the Foothillers, but Foggiano is hardly ready to throw in the towel.

“We are notorious for starting slow but I think we’ll be all right,” Foggiano said.

Grossmont: Jacob Haar 15 (7 reb), Desean Waters 8 (3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Robbie Nesovic 8 (5 reb), Michael Wnek 6, Jason Lakis 2, Anthony Bowden (4 reb).

ST. AUGUSTINE 60, WEST HILLS 41 – Make no mistake about it, the Wolf Pack is starting from scratch.

“West Hills has a really young team,” said assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG. “This year’s team is athletic as all get out. But everyone is a first year varsity player except ADRIAN (MARAZITI) and (KEVIN) STRAUB, who are returning players.”

West Hills held its own early on against more experienced St. Augustine, trailing only 14-10 after one period in Wednesday’s (Dec. 2) Wolf Pack-Horsman Invitational in the Wolf Pack den.

“In the 1st quarter we competed, shot the ball pretty well,” said Armstrong. “Then St. Augustine turned up the pressure. We needed to take better care of the ball.”

Senior guard SHEDRICK COLLIER scored 13 of his team high 19 points in the 2nd half. And football player Maraziti hammered down 16 points.

“Maraziti was attacking the basket well,” Armstrong said.

West Hills will have its ranks bolstered in the future. The Wolf Pack was playing without three of its 11 players.

During warm-ups prior to the game Straub came to the bench saying he “heard something pop in his hamstring.” JERON SATTERFIELD suffered a broken hand in the alumni game on Nov. 28 and is expected to be out for four to five weeks, and one more player will rejoin the team next week due to academics.

West Hills: Shedrick Collier 19 (2 ast, 4 stl), Adrian Maraziti 16 (3 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk), John Magoon 4 (6 reb, 2 stl), Jonny Preston 2 (2 reb, 4 ast), Alex Parsons (2 ast, 2 stl), Garrett Guinn (2 reb).

MOUNT MIGUEL 65, CASTLE PARK 15 – It’s only one game, but coach JAY ROWLETT’s Matadors have eyes for winning the Grossmont Valley League championship this season.

Mount Miguel used a balanced attack led by the BRAZELTON brothers – JAYMES and HARRY – to win Wednesday’s (Dec. 2) San Diego Division III Challenge opener at Castle Park. The Matadors led 48-10 by intermission and it was all running clock in the second half.

The Brazeltons combined for 26 points, 5 rebounds and 5 steals.

Sophomore THOMAS BUTLER contributed 12 points and 8 rebounds, while football quarterback AJ STANFORD pitched in 12 points.

Mount Miguel: Jaymes Brazelton 13 (3 reb, 4 stl), Harry Brazelton 13 (2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Thomas Butler 12 (8 reb, 2 stl), AJ Stanford 12 (3 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Yuel Hagos 9 (2 ast, 3 stl), Marcus Booker 6 (3 reb, 2 ast), Patrick Arizmendi (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl).

© East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (12-2-09) — Trailing the majority of the game, the Monarchs of Monte Vista turned up the heat in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s (Dec. 1) non-league season opener at Olympian.

Down by 8 points with as many minutes remaining, the Monarchs erupted for 33 points in the fourth quarter to take a 69-64 victory over Olympian.

TONY JACKSON scored 9 of his team-leading 23 points in the final period, while CORY PARRISH and KYLIE LUSTER each popped in 8 during the late surge.

“We really increased the tempo in the last quarter,” Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL said.

The 6-foot-4 Jackson, the only returning starter from last year’s 11-17 team, also collected 13 rebounds to top the Monarchs. Sophomore point guard K.J. HOUSTON coined a double-double for Monte Vista, tossing in a dozen points and dishing 10 assists

“We are starting four sophomores this year, Carroll said.

One of those sophomore is the 6-foot-5 Luster, who tallied 14 points and yankwed down 7 rebounds. Another 6-5 sophomore making major contributions is JAMES JACKSON, the younger brother of Tony. James Jackson pitched in 8 points and corraled 4 rebounds.

Parish, who is coming off an injury, sparingly before hitting all 6 of his free throws in the comeback quarter. As a team Monte Vista was 18 of 23 from the charity stripe.

Monte Vista: Tony Jackson 23 (13 reb), Kylie Luster 14 (7 reb, 1 blk), KJ Houston 12 (10 ast, 2 reb, 3 stl), James Jackson 8 (4 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Corey Parish 8, Jason Ginto 2 (4 reb, 4 stl), Kevin Starling 2 (3 stl), Brandon Tillet (2 reb, 1 blk).

MORSE 69, EL CAPITAN 46 – It was a rocky start for the El Capitan Vaqueros, who were roughed up Tuesday night (Dec. 1) by visiting Morse in an opening round game of the Eagles-Vaquero Tournament.

El Capitan: Mike Overson 18 (7 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Tyson Kygar 10 (2 reb), Armon Worrell 9 (6 reb, 4 stl), Robert Craighead 2 (9 reb), Cody Kygar 2 (2 reb), Anthony Agunat 2, Brian Celeste 2, Nester Ramirez 1.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-1-09) — The East County boys basketball season began with some high octane scoring Monday (Nov. 30) night – on two fronts.

TROY LEAF and JVONTE BROOKS poured in 33 points apiece to lead visiting Foothills Christian past Escondido, 96-85, while ANDRE LEWIS canned a career-high 40 points to direct host Granite Hills by Mt. Carmel. Both games are part of the Eagle-Vaquero Tournament.

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 96, ESCONDIDO 85 – Even though it was obviously a free-wheeling offensive show, it was the defense of 5-foot-8 sophomore guard STEVIE McELROY that cast the swing vote for the Knights’ season-opening win.

McElroy’s role was to put the clamps on Escondido sharp-shooter Joe Hudson, who scored 32 points, including 7 three-pointers in the 1st half. Thanks to the hot-handed Hudson, the Cougars led 51-50 at halftime.

“In the 2nd half we stuck Stevie McElroy on Hudson, and he did a great job of shadowing him,” said Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. “ Hudson was held to 9 points in the 2nd half. The game was plagued with fouls but the momentum of the game never seemed to slow down.”

JVONTE BROOKS, a 6-7 senior, scored 23 of his 33 points in the 1st half and finished with 18 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.

“Jvonte really put the team on his back tonight,” McHugh said. “Foul trouble caused him to miss much of the 3rd quarter otherwise his numbers might have been even more impressive.”

Brooks hit 12 of 18 shots from the floor but was only 9 of 19 from the free throw line. He dominated the glass on both ends and was a factor on nearly every ball that went up.

“One thing that I noticed tonight, which has been a constant for the last 4 years with this team is that they don't panic under pressure,” said McHugh. “We fell behind by 6 in the 3rd quarter but we simply climbed back in it and we never looked like we were rushing to hit that one "big shot."

Foothills Christian’s trademark is the 3-point shot, but the Knights were only 5 of 19 from above the arc at Escondido.

“One thing that was different about this team, we scored more than 30 points in the paint, which would have been unheard of for us in years past,” said McHugh.

JAMAL AYTES, a 6-6 freshman post, contributed 9 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks in his Foothills Christian debut.

With 3:50 left in the 3rd quarter, Foothills Christian led 63-61. McElroy hit a key 3-pointer (his only points of the night) to extend the Knights’ lead to 5 points.

Nearly half of TROY LEAF’s 33 points came from the free throw line as he missed only one of 16 opportunities. Leaf passed Jerome Green (Chula Vista 1990-93) to move into 7th on the all time scoring list with 2,425 career points.

KALOB HATCHER tallied 16 points and 10 assists. His assists against the Cougars extended his SDCIF record to 899 for his career.

Foothills Christian: Jvonte Brooks 33 (18 reb, 4 blk), Troy Leaf 33 (7 reb, 5 ast, 2 blk, 4 stl), Kalob Hatcher 16 (10 ast, 4 reb, 5 stl), Jamal Aytes 9 (2 blk, 10 reb), Stevie McElroy 3, Sal Romeri 2 (3 reb).

GRANITE HILLS 87, MT. CARMEL 76 – ANDRE LEWIS, Granite Hills’ senior point guard, nailed 12 of 21 shots from the field and 12 of 14 free throws. A dozen of his points came via four 3-pointers.

“Andre had a great all-around night,” Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON said. “He shot well from the perimeter and did a good job of taking the ball to the basket.”

His passing wasn’t bad, either, as Lewis logged 6 assists. He also notched five steals.

This was no one-man show. GARRETT LARCH-MILLER also had a solid shooting night, swishing 6 of 13 from the field (including a pair of threes) and 5 of 7 free throws.

Six-foot-3 sophomore JASON GAINES chipped in with a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds. Senior KYLE SNYDER pitched in 11 points and five assists for Granite Hills.

“We’re very big so we’re going to have to rely more on our offense and shooting,” Anderson said. “We have four legitimate scorers and three guys who can hit from the perimeter.”

Granite Hills: Andre Lewis 40 (6 ast, 5 stl), Kyle Snyder 11 (5 ast), Larch-Miller 19 (5 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Jason Gaines 14 (11 reb), Scott Atkinson 2, Dalton Otineru 1.

EL CAMINO 74, STEELE CANYON 38 – The youthful Cougars, who have only one of their top 11 players returning from last year’s 17-13 Grossmont South League championship team, didn’t get off to a memorable start on Monday (Nov. 30).

Of course, the Cougars were tangling with No. 6-ranked El Camino and that’s not the best of situations for a rebuilding team.

Junior MICHAEL CEDEROTH was one of the bright spots for the Cougars, finishing with 12 points, hitting all 5 of his shots from the field and 2 of 3 free throws. Sophomore guard CODY WELLS pitched in with 11 points and 4 steals.

El Camino jumped out to a 21-6 first quarter lead and never looked back.

“We had a lot of trouble handling their defensive pressure,” Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS said. “Out of the 12 that suited up only one has a year of varsity experience and for 9 out of 12 it was their first varsity game. We suited up 5 sophomores and 2 freshmen.”

Steele Canyon should receive reinforcements once the Cougars conclude the football playoffs.

Steele Canyon: Michael Cederoth 12 (2 reb, 2 stl), Cody Wells (11, 2 ast, 3 reb), Joey Kramer 4 (3 reb), Wes Judish 4 (4 reb), Andrew King 3 (2 ast), Dylan Kirchhofer 2.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (11-30-09) — The boys basketball season begins Monday night (Nov. 30) with three games in the Eagle-Vaquero Tournament at various sites.

No. 2 ranked Foothills Christian travels to North County to take on the Escondido Cougars at 7 p.m.

Closer to home, Granite Hills hosts Mt. Carmel, and Steele Canyon entertains El Camino in 7:30 p.m. starts.