© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (1-31-10) — When SHANE DILLON determined that STEVEN PITTS’ bid for a game-winning basket was off the mark Saturday (Jan. 30), the 6-foot-5 sophomore made his move.

“I was standing at the top of the key and I realized his shot was going to be short,” Dillon said. “So I crashed the boards, got the rebound and got fouled.”

Dillon made the first of two free throws to give the Patriots a 66-65 edge with 5.4 seconds remaining in the non-league game at Santana. When he missed the second foul shot, the Sultans scooped up the rebound and pushed the ball up court.

The Sultans (15-7) went for a contested layup, but could not convert at the buzzer.

The 1-point victory stretched Christian’s winning streak to 18 games and gave the 6th-ranked Patriots their 20th triumph in 22 starts.

Christian bolted out to a 20-7 first quarter lead and maintained a 58-45 advantage through three quarters.

A 3-point basket by LANDON LOZOYA with 2 minutes remaining capped an 18-2 Santana scoring run, which left the game tied at 60-60.

The Sultans forged in front 62-60 on a bucket by JESSE VARGAS with 1:40 remaining.

The Patriots tied it up on a basket by ZSOLT LAKOSA with 1:05 to play.

Then it was Dillon’s turn again, as he launched a 3-pointer with 58 seconds remaining to put the Pats back on top.

That was a short-lived advantage as Vargas countered with a trey for the Sultans to tie it at 65-all with 46 seconds left.

Christian worked the clock and eventually capitalized on Dillon’s alertness for the win.

“I just wanted to make a play,” said Dillon, who drove the baseline and was fouled with 25 seconds remaining. No free throws were awarded since the Sultans were under the foul minimum. Both teams used their final timeouts and would have one shot left apiece.

“Actually I didn’t think it was gonna come from the free throw line, but I’ll take it,” said Dillon. “On the first one I focused on the rim and had good composure. The shot had a good feel to it when I released it. On the second shot that I missed, I think I let the crowd get to me.”

Dillon finished with a double-double of 18 points – including 2 threes – and 11 rebounds. He also blocked 2 shots.

Lakosa, who was 10 for 16 from the floor, including 3 treys and 4 for 4 on free throws, led all scorers with 27 points.

Christian coach KELVIN STARR told the Patriots they should take pride in the fact that the team has won 20 games this early in the season.

“We didn’t rebound too well in the 2nd half on the defensive end – we gave them too many second chances,” said Patriots assistant coach BRAD SANDUSKY. “Zolt did a good job against their pressure. He handled the ball well. Pitts played well for us again tonight. He has started for us recently so he knows he’s going to play and what is expected of him.”

Once again, ICARO PARISOTTO (knee) and LUIZ BIDART (foot) did not play.

Santana had 14 three-pointers – twice as many as Christian. Lozoya accounted for 6 treys and Vargas knocked down 5. JASON CORBISEZ landed a pair of triples and MATT LUCIUS had the other.

Lucius also led the Sultans with 12 rebounds. TREY BASS had 5 steals.

“To take the lead like we did in the 2nd half against the No. 6 team in the county was special,” said Santana coach TIM BARRY. “I am very pleased with the overall effort of the team. We battled pretty hard, especially in the 2nd half. To rally back from a 20-point deficit is impressive.”

Coach Barry, who helped lead the 1988 Sultans to the San Diego CIF Division I championship, hasn’t lost his touch on the court, as he proved in a pregame alumni scrimmage. The coach played six minutes and took only one shot – hitting a long 3-pointer.

Christian: Zsolt Lakosa 27 (5 reb, 8 ast, 4 stl), Shane Dillon 18 (11 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl), Cody Poteet 13, Erick Allen 8 (6 reb, 1 stl), Steven Pitts (2 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl).

Santana: Jesse Vargas 21 (1 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Landon Lozoya 20 (4 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Matt Lucius 11 (12 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), Jason Corbisez 8 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Trey Bass 3 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 5 stl), Sean Ross 2 (3 reb), Mike Rosolino (1 reb, 1 ast), Matt Gomez (1 reb, 1 ast), Jason Dale (1 reb).

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 97, SAN DIEGO ACADEMY 27 – At Granite Hills, the Knights began their countdown to meeting the defending Division V state champions by pasting the visiting Cavaliers to complete a sweep of this week's home-and-home series.

Saturday's (Jan. 30) 70-point victory was the second-largest margin of victory this season, topped only by a 79-point wipeout of Lutheran earlier in the Citrus South League schedule.

"You hate for a win like this to come against a team like SDA -- they have a great team and a lot of character," said Knights’ assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. "But we've essentially got only three more games leading up to playing the No. 3 ranked team in the state in our division."

The remaining feature game on the Foothills Christian schedule comes on Saturday (Feb. 6), when the Knights entertain Windward of Los Angeles at Granite Hills. The Wildcats possess a 15-6 record.

In the team's preparation, Foothills registered 35 steals against San Diego Academy, including nine by KALOB HATCHER. The senior point guard also collected seven assists, giving him 1,092 for his career to move within 73 of the state record of 1,165 set by current NBA star Jason Kidd.

"Kalob played well tonight, but we missed a number of easy baskets that should have nearly doubled his assist numbers," added McHugh.

Meanwhile, teammate TROY LEAF gained some distance from Hatcher in the race for the CIF San Diego Section career mark for 3-point baskets. Leaf nailed six more treys to give him 251, moving within eight of the section record. Hatcher made just one to stand at 245.

McHugh also noted the team is seeking an additional contest due to recent forfeits by league opponents unwilling to play the Knights. Included was a recent double-forfeit announced by Calvary Christian, which instead met the Foothills' junior varsity ballclub.

"It's just hard to imagine trying to prepare for CIF and state while playing all of our league contests," added the coach, who noted that the Knights still may add one more game.

Against San Diego Academy, Leaf finished with a game-high 32 points, giving the senior a career total of 3,071 to move past Tracy Murray for fifth place on the state career scoring list.

Foothills Christian: Troy Leaf 32 (5 ast, 5 stl), Jamal Aytes 15 (7 reb, 6 stl, 5 blk), Jvonte Brooks 12 (10 reb, 3 blk, 3 stl), Kalob Hatcher 10 (9 stl, 7 ast), Stevie McElroy 10 (4 ast), Dalton Mosser 9, Sal Romeri 4, Ian Mathisen 3 (4 reb), Spencer George 2.

© East County Sports.com
LA MESA (1-30-10) — When Helix coach JOHN SINGER proclaimed Granite Hills’ ANDRE LEWIS as “the best player in the Grossmont Hills League,” the Eagles’ 5-foot-9 senior guard was stunned.

“Man, I’m shocked,” Lewis could only manage. “That’s a great compliment, coming from a coach like that.”

Singer is in his 30th season at the Highlanders’ helm and has 545 victories under his belt. So Singer should know what he is talking about.

“There’s no question that he’s the best player in our league and he should be a first team All-CIF guy,” Singer said of Lewis.

“I guess that makes me a marked man,” said Lewis, who had 25 points Friday (Jan. 29) night as the Eagles beat Helix, 64-55, on the Highlanders’ hardwood. “But honestly, that makes me want to work harder even in practice. I want to live up to what coach Singer said, and yeah – that’s more pressure on me. But I’m going to keep on doing what I’ve been doing.”

And that is leading East County in the majority of statistical categories.

Granite Hills (16-4, 3-0 GHL) stormed to a 40-21 halftime lead over the Highlanders (11-8, 1-2 GHL).

However, foul trouble put a couple of key Granite Hills players on the bench and the Highlanders took advantage, closing the deficit to 54-46. One of those on the pine was Granite Hills sophomore post JASON GAINES, who missed six minutes of the 3rd quarter as the Highlanders went on a 25-14 run.

Gaines, who has a 6-foot-9 wingspan, was sorely missed in that 3rd quarter. Nonetheless he finished with a career best 23 rebounds, 10 points and 4 blocks.

“Helix is physical, but in the first part of the game they weren’t blocking out at all,” Gaines said. “That kind of surprised me, really. But then when I got in foul trouble and had to leave the game Helix really got tough on the boards.”

Junior JAYLEN LINSON collected 16 ricochets off the glass, while KENNY KEYS pulled down 15 rebounds for the Highlanders.

“Jaylen is really tough inside,” noted Gaines.

However Linson scored only 8 points as he missed 9 of 11 shots from the floor. Keys led the Highlanders with 14 points, hitting 6 of 10 shots from the field.

Not to be overlooked was the long-range shooting of KYLE SNYDER, who netted 14 points, including 4 three-pointers and 6 assists for the Eagles.

“Snyder really carried us in the 1st half,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. “Helix got within 5 points of us in the 3rd quarter, and then Lewis hit 2 big 3-pointers.”

Granite Hills spread the floor in the 4th quarter and created scoring opportunities for Lewis.

“They were playing real good help defense on me, kind of a double-team early on,” said Lewis. “But later in the game I started driving to the basket – the lane seemed to open up.”

Keys, who scored 10 of his 16 points in the 3rd quarter, finished with 14 points to execute a double-double for the Highlanders.

One of the downfalls for the Highlanders was their poor free throw shooting (12 of 29).

“Overall this is probably the youngest team I’ve ever had,” said Singer. “The upside is we can only get better.”

Granite Hills: Andre Lewis 25 (3 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Kyle Snyder 14 (6 ast), Garrett Larch-Miller 11 (7 reb, 2 stl), Jason Gaines 10 (23 reb, 4 blk, 2 ast, 2 stl), Scott Atkinson 4 (6 reb).

Helix: Kenny Keys 14 (15 reb, 1 stl), Jaylen Linson 8 (16 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Titus Young 8 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk), Sam Meredith 7 (6 reb, 1 blk), Darien Peterson 7 (2 reb, 6 ast), Tommie Young 4 (4 reb, 6 ast), Yohanes Solomon 5 (1 reb, 1 blk), John Henry Singer (4 reb), (Cameron Lee (2 reb).

CHRISTIAN 63, CLAIREMONT 37 – The injury list is growing, with two starters missing from the Patriots lineup, meaning defense and second-line scoring would be needed to remain at the top of the Central League standings. On Friday (Jan. 29), the team found both to collect the road victory above Mission Bay Park.

On the defensive side, Christian re-discovered STEVEN PITTS, who has been gaining minutes lately. Pitts grabbed a season-best 11 rebounds while adding four steals and a blocked shot, as the Patriots limited Clairemont to just four field goals over the entire second half.

"We don't want to rely on just one or two scorers," said Pitts. "We want to play defense first, which then feeds the offense."

With Clairemont dangerously hanging around through the first half, trailing only 29-22 at intermission, the Patriots turned up the heat in the second half. With everyone aiding with help-side defense, the Chieftains shot a mere 15 percent (4-for-26) over the balance of the contest.

"We were lackadaisical in the first half," Pitts added. "But our defense saved us tonight."

It took a quarter to jump-start an offense which was missing scoring leader ICARO PARISOTTO, along with LUIZ BIDART, last season's top scorer.

Christian made just 5-of-16 shots in the first quarter, yet held a 12-11 lead. An improved 7-for-12 marksmanship in the second quarter expanded the lead to 7 at the half before CODY POTEET demonstrated he can do more than throw a baseball.

The sophomore drained 4-of-6 shots from 3-point range for all of his 12 points, including consecutive treys in the third period to finally gain a comfortable margin.

"With two guys hurt, I got a chance to shoot the ball," said Poteet, who matched his season scoring high while also taking-a-charge on defense. "A game like this showed that we're a complete team with depth."

ZSOLT LAKOSA paced the Patriots with 22 points and 6 assists in the first three quarters. He gave Christian a 12-11 lead with a late 3-pointer to close the opening period, then hit his first three shots of the second quarter, the string started on a steal and halfcourt pass by SHANE DILLON for a breakaway layin.

Dillon finished with a big statistical outing with 12 rebounds, 6 steals and 5 assists.

JAKE LARSEN continued his improved shooting, hitting 3-of-4 from the floor, including a bucket while being fouled for a 3-point play also on a long Dillon pass, for his 7 points.

The Chieftains received 14 points from center Chris Bonner, but only two in the second half after the Patriots adjusted their defense. Meanwhile, one Clairemont guard suffered through an 0-for-17 shooting night, as the hosts were just 10-for-54 from the floor.

Christian: Zsolt Lakosa 22 (9 reb, 6 ast, 4 blk), Cody Poteet 12 (4 reb), Erick Allen 8 (6 reb), Shane Dillon 8 (12 reb, 6 stl, 5 ast), Jake Larsen 7 (2 blk), Steven Pitts 3 (11 reb, 4 stl), Tyrone Sauls 2 (3 reb), Clarence Carter 1.

SANTANA 73, EL CAPITAN 63 – Things started out well for visiting El Capitan as the Vaqueros took an 8-0 lead over Santana in Friday’s (Jan. 29) Grossmont Valley League contest.

ARMON WORRELL hit a trio of 3-pointers, and TYSON KYGAR added a fourth as El Capitan edged to a 16-14 advantage after one period. It was 37-all at halftime and the Sultans led 53-52 going into the final quarter.

JESSE VARGAS led Santana with 27 points as the Sultans (15-7) maintained their lead in the Grossmont Valley League at 3-0.

“The good thing about Vargas is he scored that many points and he didn’t force any shots,” said Sultans coach TIM BARRY.

LANDON LOZOYA added 18 points for the Sultans, hitting 7 of 14 shots from the field.

Santana’s offense was obviously a force. Barry pointed out that El Capitan was hampered with foul troubles.

MIKE OVERSON, the Vaqueros’ main man, spent a lot of time on the bench with foul problems as he did not score in the 1st period and tallied just 2 points in the 4th quarter, finishing with 14 points.

“We went right at him,” Barry said. “And we were fortunate that he missed a lot of playing time.”

Barry heaped accolades on SEAN ROSS, an El Capitan transfer, who canned 4 of 6 shots from the field for 8 points.

Barry said, “I knew this was a game that he really wanted to impress. Sean has been a great role player for us. It’s guys like him that are the X-factor when it comes to helping us down the stretch and into the playoffs.”

Worrell, a 6-foot-4 senior forward, scored a career high 23 points and grabbed 6 rebounds to pace the Vaqueros (5-14, 0-2 GVL). In his last three games Worrell has scored 41 points, including 12 treys.

Santana: Jesse Vargas 27 (1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Landon Lozoya 18 (4 reb, 1 stl), Jason Corbisez 8 (5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Sean Ross 8 (2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Matt Lucius 7 (10 reb, 3 stl), Trey Bass 5 (6 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk, 4 stl).

El Capitan: Armon Worrell 23 (6 reb, 2 stl), Mike Overson 14 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 5 stl), Tyson Kygar 13 (2 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Andrew Cable 6 (4 reb, 1 ast), Robert Craighead 4 (6 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Eric Nunez 3 (4 reb, 1 ast), Kevin Kapka (1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl).

MOUNT MIGUEL 72, EL CAJON VALLEY 43 – As HARRY BRAZELTON goes, so go the Mount Miguel Matadors.

After a week-long bout with the flu, the 5-foot-11 senior guard returned to form by hitting 8 of 16 shots from the field and all 6 chances from the free throw line to finish with 24 points as the Matadors buried the Braves in a Grossmont Valley League game Friday (Jan. 29) at El Cajon Valley.

Brazelton scored nine points in the 1st quarter, guiding Mount Miguel (17-6, 2-1 GVL) to a 15-9 lead. The Matadors led 32-18 at intermission before breaking the game open with a 23-12 run in the 3rd quarter.

“It’s nice to have everybody healthy again,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT. “Having Harry and AJ STANFORD at full strength makes us a different team. A better team.”

Brazelton completed a double-double with 10 rebounds. He also netted a pair of treys, had 4 steals and dished 2 assists.

“I wouldn’t trade Harry for anybody in our league,” Rowlett said. “I feel the same way about AJ. He’s a smooth floor leader. When those two are on their game, we’re tough to beat.”

Stanford hammered out a double of 17 points and 10 assists. He also collected 9 rebounds. BRYANT MITCHELL was bullish on the boards with 15 rebounds.

DOMINIQUE MILLER authored a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds for El Cajon Valley. He also blocked 3 shots. KENDALL CONLEY punched in 12 points and corralled a dozen rebounds for a second double-double for El Cajon Valley (0-20, 0-2 GVL). DONTAE BAILY chipped in with 11 rebounds and a pair of blocks.

"I thought we worked hard in breaking their full court press,” said Braves coach MARTY ELLIS. “The only thing that hurt us was, we could not score when we broke it. As a coach I continue to see improvement in these guys. They continue to show up everyday for practice and they continue to fight every game. What more can you ask for. This team will not lay down. Mount Miguel is a good team and it showed tonight. I give them all the credit.”

Mount Miguel: Harry Brazelton 24 (10 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), AJ Stanford 17 (9 reb, 10 ast), Yuel Hagos 13 (1 stl), Thomas Butler 7 (7 reb), Jaymes Brazelton 6 (2 reb), JJ Norton 3 (1 ast, 4 stl), Bryant Mitchell 2 (15 reb, 3 stl), Marcus Booker (4 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl).

El Cajon Valley: Dominique Miller 24 (10 reb, 4 ast, 3 blk, 3 stl), Kendall Conley 12 (12 reb, 5 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl), Dontae Baily (11 reb, 2 blk, 3 stl), DeShea Wade 7 (5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl).

VALHALLA 45, STEELE CANYON 34 – Senior guard STEVEN KLEIST continued to be special for the Valhalla Norsemen Friday (Jan. 29) as they stymied Steele Canyon in a Grossmont Hills League contest.

Not only did Kleist lead the Norsemen (10-10, 1-2 GHL) with 13 points – most coming on three triples – he also took his 28th and 29th charges.

Taking a charge is almost a lost art in high school basketball these days. But the 6-foot-3, 180-pound Kleist takes pride in holding his defensive ground against a hard-driving intruder. He is 14 behind national leader Ethan Lynch of Elgin, Texas.

Steele Canyon (4-14, 1-2 GHL) not only had difficulty getting past Kleist, the Cougars were victims of numerous blocked shots.

“We made only 1 free throw in the 1st quarter,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS, whose Cougars trailed 9-1 after the first 8 minutes. “It seemed like they blocked everything we put up. That’s why at halftime I told my guys they needed to use more pump fakes to get Valhalla ’s taller guys off their feet. We did a better job of doing that in the second half.”

Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON was pleased by the Norsemen’s defense, which included a dozen blocked shots.

The Norsemen did have success inside, as DAVID WILSCHETZ knocked down a double-double of 12 rebounds and 10 points. KYLE KRIEBEL popped in 11 points, registered 6 blocks and snagged 7 rebounds. Point guard JORDAN CUNNINGHAM added 7 Assists and 5 blocks for the Norsemen.

Overall, though, Jackson was not so happy with his offense. For example, the Norsemen were a paltry 4-for-19 from the free throw line. From the field Valhalla shot 45 percent but only got off 42 attempts.

“We need to get more shots than we did tonight,” Jackson said. “We are just not getting the job done offensively.”

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

Steele Canyon: Cody Wells 16, Andrew King 6, Wes Judish 3, Casey Balikian 3, Chanceller James 2, Michael Cederoth 2, Justin Norwood 2.

GROSSMONT 59, WEST HILLS 29 – Sophomore ROBBY NESOVIC scored a career high 25 points – eight more than his previous best – helping the host Foothillers maul West Hills in Friday’s (Jan. 29) Grossmont Hills League action.

The 6-foot-2 Nesovic moved into the post vacated by JAKE HAAR, who was out of town attending a funeral.

“Robby is a strong, fearless kid who can shoot from the perimeter and also take the ball to the basket,” Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO said. “He can really go to the basket strong.”

Nesovic capitalized on Grossmont’s transition game.

“They tried to pressure us, but we were able to break through,” Foggiano said. “Robby got a lot of points off the break.”

To cap his night Nesovic also grabbed 14 rebounds.

ANTHONY BOWDEN, a 6-foot-2 senior, was also a force for the Foothillers, garnering 16 points and 16 rebounds. Bowden has bagged 36 boards in his last two games.

“Anthony is a quick jumper and beats most guys to the ball. He’s obviously one of the reasons we dominated the boards at both ends,” Foggiano said.

Grossmont (12-8, 3-0 GHL) remains tied for 1st place with Granite Hills in the Grossmont Hills League. The Foothillers travel to Granite Hills on Wednesday (Feb. 3).

“Six of our eight losses have come to Top 10 teams,” Foggiano noted.

Grossmont: Robby Nesovic 25 (4 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Anthony Bowden 16 (16 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Desean Waters 8 (3 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl), Michael Wnek 6 (2 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Clayton Rainey 2 (2 reb, 1 ast), Derrick Rustich 2 (5 reb).

West Hills: Shedrick Collier 7, Adrian Maraziti 6, Jeron Satterfield 4, Garrett Guinn 4, Jonny Preston 3, Kevin Straub 3, Alex Parsons 2.

© East County Sports.com
NATIONAL CITY (1-29-10) — One concern that clouded the postseason aspirations for Foothills Christian High was depth at the post. However, with the recent clearance of 6-foot-6 forward JAMAL AYTES by CIF San Diego Section officials earlier in the week, the outlook for the Knights turned sunnier.

"It had something to do with transferring," said Aytes, a freshman who will play along side 6-foot-7 center JVONTE BROOKS. "I'm not sure about the reason I couldn't play, but I'm glad to be back."

Aytes debuted in the Knights' season opener before questions were raised, forcing him to the sidelines for nearly two months following a 9-point effort against Escondido on Nov. 30.

Upon his return Thursday (Jan. 28), Aytes drained 10-of-13 shots for 20 points to propel Foothills Christian to another easy Citrus South League triumph over San Diego Academy, 90-29, in the opener of a home-and-home series. The ballclubs collide again on Saturday (Jan. 30) at Granite Hills.

"It was frustrating but also a learning experience," added Aytes, who also grabbed 10 rebounds in posting a double-double. "I worked my butt off in practice, so if I play my game and leave it on the court, everything will present itself."

Obviously, the coaching staff was pleased with his return.

"Jamal was a big lift for us," said assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. "All the players love having him on the team, and he is finally getting the shot he deserves."

"It really seemed like the guys made a point to get him in the game tonight, to get him in the flow of things. Jamal's first shot was an air ball from about 10 feet. After that he didn't miss much, looking better as the game went on."

Foothills (19-4, 5-0 CSL) made sure they made at least five passes on every possession to avoid embarrassing the Cavaliers, who might be the best team in the league besides the No. 2 ranked Knights.

"For as long as we have played in this league, San Diego Academy has always had the most character," added McHugh. "Their coach (Bud Schaffner) is a great guy, their kids are very well-mannered, and the kids play hard the whole way through – the team has no quitters.”

The Cavaliers (3-5, 2-2 CSL) received a season-high 18 points from 6-foot-9 center Lincoln Smith. The senior plans to play for Point Loma Nazarene University next season should he fail to gain admission to Harvard. Smith, whose mother is Dr. Caye Smith, the vice president for Student Development at PLNU, also grabbed 18 boards.

The Knights saw scoring leader TROY LEAF pour home 28 points in less than three quarters of action, while Brooks posted 23 points. In addition, point guard KALOB HATCHER registered 15 assists and 10 points for his 8th double-double of the season.

Sophomore guard STEVIE McELROY, who will take over as starting point guard next season, dished off for 8 assists.

© East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (1-27-10) — Not many teams are cranking out victories with more regularity than coach KELVIN STARR’s Christian High Patriots.

Despite having starters ICARO PARISOTTO (knee) and LUIZ BIDART (foot) on the bench nursing injuries, the Patriots blazed past the host Crawford Colts 81-68 Tuesday (Jan. 26) for their 16th consecutive win.

Senior ZSOLT LAKOSA, a native of Hungary, picked up the slack for the No. 6 ranked Patriots (18-2), pouring in a career high 38 points while helping Christian push its Central League record to 6-0.

Lakosa, a 6-foot-4 guard, nailed 14 of 24 shots from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers. He was perfect from the free throw line in 8 attempts. He also had 6 rebounds, 2 steals and blocked a shot.

One of the steadiest rebounders in the Patriots’ arsenal, 6-4 senior ERICK ALLEN pulled a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds against the Colts (3-15, 0-5 CTL). Allen was 6 for 6 from the field and 2 for 2 from the charity stripe.

Sophomore SHANE DILLON also came up big again, rolling a double-double of 11 points, 10 rebounds and also blocked 6 shots.

CODY POTEET, also a sophomore, put together one of his best games of the year with 12 points – half of them coming from 3-point range.

Overall the Patriots shot a smidgeon less than 65 percent from the field, hitting 33 of 51 markers. Christian led the track meet 41-34 at halftime before breaking away in the 3rd period.

The Patriots shot better than 70 percent in the 3rd period (12 of 17) as they extended their advantage to 67-47.

It’s been awhile since Christian has been ranked in the Top 10. Add the Patriots’ lengthy winning streak and it’s obvious that there is some kind of pressure involved on these guys, who are also regarded as the top team in Division IV of the San Diego CIF.

“The kids on our team know how to handle pressure,” said assistant coach BRAD SANDUSKY. “They’re asked to adjust to it all the time. Take this game for example – we had about 35 points (Parisotto and Bidart) on the bench. But then guys like Poteet and STEVEN PITTS (4 points, 3 rebounds) come through for us. JAKE LARSEN didn’t score that much but he was tough on defense. That’s why we have a pretty good team here.”

“It would be nice to see how good we’d be if everybody was healthy at the same time.”

Christian will continue its Central League campaign on Friday (Jan. 29) at Clairemont at 7:30.

Christian: Zsolt Lakosa 38 (6 reb, 10 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Erick Allen 14 (10 reb, 1 stl), Shane Dillon 11 (10 reb, 2 ast, 6 blk), Cody Poteet 12 (1 reb), Steven Pitts 4 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Jake Larsen 2 (3 reb, 2 stl).

TROY LEAF, who supposedly was going to be sidelined for 10 days with a slight shoulder separation, came back strong for Foothills Christian (18-4, 4-0 CSL). Not only did he score a game-high 29 points, he also participated in an unscheduled dunking exhibition.

“Each year when we go to Mountain Empire, they insist that the rims are 10 feet high, but each year we leave doubting it more and more,” said Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. “Tonight consisted of about 12 dunks by Troy and JVONTÉ BROOKS, most of them high above the rim. These kids can dunk, but at Mountain Empire they can throw it down with ease.”

Leaf also had 7 assists and 3 blocks.

“Troy looked well tonight,” said McHugh. “He played with a soft brace on his shoulder but his shot looked good and with the amount of dunking he did, I would say he is in good shape.”

Brooks turned in a powerful double-double of 28 points and 13 rebounds.

“Jvonte Brooks left the game with 28 points after a monster dunk that went literally straight down and back up about 20 feet,” said McHugh. “He walked off the court with a smile, knowing that his night was over.”

The set-up man for the Brooks & Leaf show was KALOB HATCHER, the all time San Diego CIF assist leader. Officially he finished with 15 scoring passes but could easily have had more.

“Kalob lobbed about 5 or 6 alley-oops that would be highlight reel plays in a big game,” said McHugh.

STEVIE McELROY had 12 points and 10 steals to chalk up his first double-double of the season for the Knights.

“It was good to let Stevie run the show for a good portion of the game with some of the younger guys,” McHugh said. “JV graduate SPENCER GEORGE saw his first action of the year and hit his first bucket.”

The Foothills Christian starters played sparingly.

“Our starters sat some of the first and second quarters tonight, so they got to play into the 3rd and racked up about 18 minutes apiece for our three seniors,” McHugh said.

Foothills Christian: Troy Leaf 29 (2 reb, 7 ast, 3 blk, 2 stl), Jvonté Brooks 28 (13 reb, 1 blk, 3 stl), Stevie McElroy 12 (2 reb, 7 ast, 10 stl), Daniel LaBahn 12 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Sal Romeri 12 (2 stl), Dalton Mosser 7 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Kalob Hatcher 4 (2 reb, 15 ast, 9 stl), Ian Mathisen 2 (2 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, Henry Luschei 2 (5 reb, 3 stl), Spencer George 2 (3 reb).

© East County Sports.com
TIERRASANTA (1-24-10) — It's bad enough when two players were slowed with flu-like symptoms, but when the rest of the team, although healthy, played in similar fashion, it would prove to be a long weekend for the Mount Miguel Matadors.

Despite staying close deep into the third period, the return of Serra point guard Trevin Nelson proved to eventually un-do the Matadors (16-6). After sitting out due to early foul trouble, his return led to an array of passes to forward Chris Richardson for easy buckets, powering the Conquistadors to a 64-51 non-league conquest Saturday (Jan. 23) at Serra.

"We played like we were running in mud," noted Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT. "We didn't offer much out there."

With the BRAZELTON brothers – HARRY and JAYMES – opening the game on the bench due to illness, the rest of the team remained within striking distance before fading away down the stretch.

"We expected a lot more out of Mount Miguel, especially after we won by 30 points on their court last season," said Richardson, who tallied a game-high 23 points along with 8 rebounds. "We thought they'd want some revenge, but we controlled the tempo."

Nelson, saddled with three first-half fouls, marked his return quickly with four of his six assists in the third period.

"Trevin had great court vision and flow to his game," added Richardson.

Meanwhile, Mount Miguel shot 33 percent from the floor in both halves, unable to mount a comeback except for one brief stretch when YUEL HAGOS drained three straight mid-range jumpers in the fourth quarter, the final basket coming while being fouled for a 3-point play. Despite balanced scoring, a team-high 10 points by senior A.J. STANFORD would not be enough.

BRYANT MITCHELL added six points and a career-best 13 rebounds for Mount Miguel. For Serra, Patrick Balthrop hit 8-of-11 shots, including 4-for-4 from beyond the arc, for his 20 points.

During the evening, referee SAM WILSON was allowed to address those in attendance to give tribute to fellow official TIM BROWN, who died Wednesday from an apparent heart attack while officiating a contest at Castle Park. Wilson also introduced Brown's son, Chris, who is a recent graduate from Serra, receiving a loud ovation from the crowd.

Mount Miguel: A.J. Stanford 10 (2 ast, 2 stl), J.J. Norton 8 (4 ast, 4 stl), Yuel Hagos 7, Marcus Booker 7, Harry Brazelton 7, Bryant Mitchell 6 (13 reb), Thomas Butler 4, Jaymes Brazelton 2.

© East County Sports.com
LA MESA (1-23-10) — It was East County basketball the way it’s supposed to be played – Grossmont versus Helix – the oldest two schools in the Grossmont Conference facing off Friday (Jan. 22) in front of a near capacity crowd in the Highlanders’ gymnasium.

Long-time rivals as they’ve been for decades, these two schools have been in opposite leagues since 1994 when they both were aligned in the Grossmont 3A loop.

“People try to tell us who our rivals are... We’ve been around long enough to know,” said Foothillers coach FRANK FOGGIANO, a 1968 graduate of Grossmont. “This is it right here.”

No question.

Fans from both sides were on their feet for the final minutes as the Foothillers eventually prevailed 64-61.

“This was a typical Grossmont-Helix game,” Foggiano said. “I know the score doesn’t indicate it, but this was a tough, physical defensive game.”

The Foothillers (11-8, 2-0 GHL) were cruising 57-44 with five minutes remaining. But the Highlanders (11-7, 1-1 GNL) refused to fold as they eventually shaved the deficit to 60-57 on a 3-pointer by TOMMIE YOUNG with 90 seconds left.

Helix, which had won five in a row, got as close as 2 points in the final seconds after JAYLEN LINSON made one of two free throw shots with 21 seconds left.

Grossmont’s ANTHONY BOWDEN, who collected a game-high 20 rebounds, inched the Foothillers’ advantage to 3 points when he sank one of two free throws with 20 seconds unplayed.

“This was Anthony’s best game of the year,” Foggiano said.

Grossmont stalwart JAKE HAAR scored only 4 points in the 1st half, but his only basket with 11 seconds left gave the Foothillers a 29-28 halftime lead. Haar came to life in the 2nd half, hitting 7 of 14 shots from the field while finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out.

“They were holding and pushing Jake the whole 1st half,” said Foggiano. “I think it kind of riled him up a little.”

Haar agreed.

“I just played harder in the 2nd half,” he said. “I didn’t care what they were doing on defense. I just cared what I was doing on offense.”

Grossmont’s unsung hero was JASON LAKIS, who punched in 12 points, grabbed 4 rebounds and handed out 5 assists.

“They were double-teaming on DESEAN (WATERS),” Lakis said. “So it was my job to get open.”

Lakis nailed a trio of 3-pointers in the contest and scored 4 of Grossmont’s points in the final period. He also gobbled up a key rebound in the final seconds.

“It’s always special to beat Helix, and considering this was a league game makes it even better,” Lakis said.

Despite the loss five Highlanders finished in double figures, led by KENNY KEYS, who came off the bench for 13 points and 18 rebounds. He also blocked 3 shots.

Freshman TITUS YOUNG also scored 13 points – the majority coming on a trio or triples – for Helix, while DARIEN PETERSON tallied 8 of his 12 markers in the final quarter.

Grossmont: Jake Haar 18 (12 reb), Robby Nesovic 15 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Jason Lakis 10 (4 reb, 5 ast), Anthony Bowden 9 (20 reb), Desean Waters 9 (5 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl), Michael Wnek 3.

Helix: Kenny Keys 13 (18 reb, 1 stl, 3 blk), Titus Young 13 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Darien Peterson 12 (2 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl), Tommie Young 11 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Jaylen Linson 10 (9 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Sam Meredith 2 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), John Henry Singer (1 ast, 1 stl), Kevin Williams (1 ast).

Coronado junior Justin Hebner pumped in a quick 10 points, while teammate Peter Zeller drained a pair of 3-balls, giving the Islanders an early 23-17 lead through the first quarter.

However, after Pats coach KELVIN STARR changed his defense and placed ICARO PARISOTTO to defend Hebner, the tables turned and it was all Christian the rest of the way. The Patriots eventually built a 20-point advantage to snap the first-place deadlock between the ballclubs before a large gathering of more than 800 fans at Ryan Athletic Center.

"We knew (Hebner) could shoot, but we played great defense, which is what we really do best," said Parisotto. "We play with confidence and we had more guys who could shoot."

While Hebner closed the half missing his final seven shots, Christian seemed to never miss, hitting on 7 of 11 shots from the floor in the second period when they out-scored the Island Boys, 19-5. For the contest, the Patriots shot a sizzling 56 percent (28 for 50).

Hebner finished with 22 points, 8 coming after Christian mounted a 64-44 lead on a Parisotto 3-ball with 5:56 remaining.

Meanwhile, ZSOLT LAKOSA countered Hebner with 12 points in the third period, part of his game-high 25 points.

At one point, Lakosa drained 10 of 13 field goal attempts, yet balanced his play by passing for 8 assists to account for more than half of Christian's points.

"Zsolt played a fantastic game, too," noted Starr. "If he doesn't have a shot, he's smart with the ball and can find the open man."

Lakosa did both to close the first half to cap a 17-3 scoring run. He scored on a fast-break layin after a blocked shot by Parisotto. Moments later, Lakosa registered the steal to start another break, passing to JAKE LARSEN for his lone basketball on the night on a wide-open layin.

"In the second quarter, we just kept scoring and kept playing defense," noted Lakosa. "Once Icaro starting guarding (Hebner), we just kept pushing."

ERICK ALLEN connected on 8 of 10 shots for 16 points, while SHANE DILLON posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, making the absence of starting guard LUIS BIDART (foot stress fracture) more tolerable.

Christian: Zsolt Lakosa 25 (8 ast, 2 stl), Icaro Parisotto 20 (8 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk), Erick Allen 16 (8 reb, 2 stl), Shane Dillon 11 (10 reb, 3 ast), Jake Larsen 2.

SANTANA 63, MOUNT MIGUEL 59 – TREY BASS didn’t play against Mount Miguel when the Sultans lost to the Matadors on a last-second basket last month.

However, the Santana junior was a force in Friday’s (Jan. 22) rematch, a Grossmont Valley League contest in Santee. The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder scored 19 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished 4 assists as the Sultans (14-7, 2-0 GVL) came from behind to win and take over first place.

Mount Miguel (16-5, 1-1 GVL) led by 12 points midway through the 3rd quarter. That’s when Bass made his move.

“Trey Bass was unbelievable in the last four minutes of the 3rd quarter,” Santana coach TIM BARRY said. “He scored 14 points and single-handedly brought us back into the game. He gave us breathing room when things were otherwise not going well for us.”

Mount Miguel none the less maintained a 50-46 lead entering the final period.

That’s when the Sultans cranked up their pressure and wreaked havoc.

“We took it up a notch in the 4th quarter,” Barry said.

With the score knotted 59-59 and less than a minute remaining, Santana senior guard JESSE VARGAS drove to the basket and missed a shot. JASON CORBISEZ’s follow tip failed to connect.

Then it was MATT LUCIUS’ turn. He pulled down the rebound and went back up to deliver the go-ahead basket to hand Santana a 61-59 edge with 12 seconds left.

After a Mount Miguel miss, Vargas dropped in a pair of free throws to stretch Santana’s advantage to four points with 5.4 seconds left.

“It was just a great basketball atmosphere,” Barry said. “The place was packed and our special fans – they paint themselves purple and call themselves ‘The Purple Haze’ – were going crazy when we made our comeback.”

Lucius led Santana’s supporting cast with 17 points and a dozen rebounds.

Anther swing vote for Santana was hitting 21 of 28 free throws compared to Mount Miguel’s 13 of 26.

AJ STANFORD broke loose for a season-high 24 points to pace Mount Miguel. JJ NORTON added 10 assists and BRYANT MITCHELL led the Matadors on the boards with 8.

“AJ tried to carry us,” Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT said. “And he did a good job, but he needed help that we couldn’t give him.”

Mount Miguel’s BRAZELTON brothers – HARRY and JAYMES – were battling the flu bug and totaled only 14 points. Each of them has spent time in the emergency room over the past two nights. After scoring 13 points, Harry Brazelton was poorly and was taken to a nearby hospital for a checkup.

It was only the second loss in 12 games for the Matadors, who edged Santana on YUEL HAGOS’ last-second bucket to win the San Diego Division III Challenge championship game, 61-58 on Dec. 14.

These teams will meet in the so-called “rubber match” on Feb. 12 in Spring Valley. Consensus is that game will determine the GVL title.

Mount Miguel will travel to Serra for a non-league game on Saturday (Jan. 23) at 7 p.m.

Santana: Trey Bass 19 (11 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Matt Lucius 17 (12 reb, 1 stl), Jesse Vargas 14 (4 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Landon Lozoya 10 (5 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Matt Gomez 3 (2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Jason Corbisez (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl).

Mount Miguel: AJ Stanford 24 (3 reb, 2 stl), Harry Brazelton 13 (6 reb, 5 stl), Yuel Hagos 8 (1 stl), Marcus Booker 6 (2 reb), JJ Norton 5 (2 reb, 10 ast, 2 stl), Jaymes Brazelton 2 (1 ast), Bryant Mitchell 1 (8 reb, 1 stl), Thomas Butler (2 reb).

MONTE VISTA 54, EL CAPITAN 52 – Senior guard MOSES WALKER helped Monte Vista ambush visiting El Capitan in Friday’s (Jan. 22) Grossmont Valley League contest in Spring Valley.

El Capitan (5-13, 0-1 GVL) led by 14 points with 4:44 remaining.

Enter Mr. Walker, who had not scored a single point in the first three quarters. But the 5-foot-9 Walker had at least 8 minutes of his so called allotted 15 minutes of fame in the final quarter as he tallied 11 points, including a game-winning layup at the buzzer.

“Moses was the sparkplug in the 4th quarter,” acknowledged Monte Vista assistant coach KEITH HOUSTON. “He had three offensive rebounds and two putbacks and was 5 of 5 on field goals, including 1 of 1 on threes.”

El Capitan led Monte Vista 51-50 with 49 seconds remaining. KJ HOUSTON stole the ball, passed it to Walker, who passed it to TONY JACKSON, who missed a shot. However, Walker got the rebound and cashed in a putback to push the Monarchs in front 52-51.

With 11 seconds remaining El Capitan’s MIKE OVERSON was fouled and went to the line for the double bonus. His first shot was nullified by a lane violation, but the senior sharpshooter made the second free throw to tie the game at 52-all.

With 5.8 seconds left Monte Vista called a time out. On the inbounds, Walker took the ball and raced downcourt for a layup at the buzzer. Somewhere in the process El Capitan got lost on defense.

“Mo came in the 4th quarter and just went to work,” said Monte Vista coach JAMES CARROLL of Walker, noting that RUBEN NWANDO tallied 10 of his 15 points in the final period. “Ruben was crucial in the 4th quarter – he is very athletic and made a difference. Tony Jackson played a great game in what became a very physical game down low.”

Jackson produced a team-high 20 points for the Monarchs (8-13, 1-1 GVL).

Overson rolled off a double-double of 25 points and 10 rebounds to anchor El Capitan.

ROBERT CRAIGHEAD came up big for El Capitan with a double-double of 18 rebounds and 10 points.

Monte Vista: Tony Jackson 20 (10 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk), Ruben Nwando 15 (6 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Moses Walker 11 (3 reb), Kevin Starling 4 (3 reb, 1 blk), Kylie Luster 2 (4 reb, 1 at, 3 blk), Brandon Tillet 1 (2 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk), James Jackson 1 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), KJ Houston (3 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 6 stl).

El Capitan: Mike Overson 25 (10 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl), Robert Craighead 10 (18 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Tyson Kygar 6 (4 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Andrew Cable 6 (4 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Brian Celeste 5 (3 reb, 1 ast), Armon Worrell (6 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Andrew Agunat (1 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk).

Lewis nailed four consecutive 3-pointers and cashed in 14 of his team-leading 37 points in the 1st quarter as the Eagles edged Valhalla in Friday’s (Jan. 22) Grossmont Hills League battle.

“Basically, Andre took over the game,” Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON said. “They couldn’t stop him.”

The other members of Granite Hills’ high octane three-pronged offensive attack did not have their usual scoring spree. GARRETT LARCH-MILLER was in foul trouble early and had to settle for 7 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.

“He probably sat half the game,” Anderson noted.

Sophomore post JASON GAINES made only 1 of 10 shots from the floor as he settled for a season low 5 points. But the 6-foot-3 muscle man was tough on the boards with 15 rebounds. He also blocked 8 shots.

Never the less, Granite Hills (15-4, 2-0 GHL) extended its winning streak to 11 games.

KYLE KRIEBEL paced Valhalla (9-10, 0-2 GHL) with 16 points and 8 rebounds.

“I thought we did a lot of good things, especially defensively,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. “Give credit to Lewis, though. He was controlling the game. He made some amazing shots.”

Granite Hills: Andre Lewis 37 (4 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl), Kyle Snyder 8 (2 reb, 6 ast), Garrett Larch-Miller 7 (7 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 3 stl), Jason Gaines 5 (15 reb, 3 ast, 8 blk, 3 stl), James Sadik 3 (1 reb), Dalton Otineru 2 (2 reb, 2 stl), Scott Atkinson 2 (2 reb).

Valhalla: David Wilschetz 14 (7 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), David Zetts 11 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), Jordan Cunningham 7 (5 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk), Kevin Mills (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Matt Butcher (2 ast).

STEELE CANYON 63, WEST HILLS 55 – JUSTIN NORWOOD scored 8 of his team-high 14 points in the 4th quarter Friday (Jan. 22) as visiting Steele Canyon went on a 25-13 scoring tear over the final 8 minutes to capture the Grossmont Hills League decision.

“We didn’t miss the gimme layups like we have been doing,” said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS.

But the Cougars (4-13, 1-1 GHL) did have difficulty making free throws. In fact, they were a paltry 14 of 37 – 37.8 percent.

Defensively, the Cougars held their own.

“Having four days to practice this week really helped us,” Stephens said. “Our whole game improved.”

Stephens heaped accolades on sophomore MICHAEL JORDAN and junior AUNDRE BELCHER.

“They did a good job stirring up things defensively coming off the bench,” the coach noted.

ADRIAN MARAZITI canned a game-best 20 points for West Hills (5-13, 0-2 GHL). NICK FINDLEY added 13 points, 11 of them coming in the first half.

Steele Canyon: Justin Norwood 14, Cody Wells 11, Wes Judish 9, Michael Cederoth 8,Andrew King 6, Chanceller James 4, Casey Balikian 4, Michael Jordan 3, Aundre Belcher 2, Danny Bwinika 2.

West Hills: Adrian Maraziti 20, Nick Findley 13, Kevin Straub 7, Alex Parsons 7, Shedrick Collier 4, Jonny Preston 2,John Magoon 2.

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 2, Chula Vista-CALVARY CHRISTIAN 0 – The defending Citrus South League champion Knights (17-4, 3-0 CSL) picked up a forfeit win over Chula Vista Calvary Christian Friday (Jan. 22).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-21-10) — It’s hard to imagine that Christian High was playing without floor and emotional leader LUIZ BIDART for the sixth game in a row during Wednesday’s (Jan. 20) Central League romp over visiting Madison, 62-42, at Ryan Athletic Center.

The game was a makeup from Tuesday (Jan. 19) when the festivities had to be postponed due to a campus-wide power failure resulting from the current wave of rainstorms.

Bidart, who averaged 24.8 points as a junior, has been more of a play-maker this year. That is until he injured his foot early in his senior season. He played through the pain for a dozen games before Patriots coach KELVIN STARR shut him down for the past six games. Bidart was slated for an MRI Thursday (Jan. 21) and hopes to be back in action in two weeks.

Meanwhile, ICARO PARISOTTO popped in a team-high 25 points as the Patriots (16-2, 4-0 CL) rolled to their 14th consecutive victory. The junior from Brazil nailed 10 of 19 shots from the floor and added a pair of free throws. He also grabbed 7 rebounds, handed out 3 assists and 3 steals.

SHANE DILLON cranked out a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds along with 3 blocks. ZSOLT LAKOSA added 15 points, while ERICK ALLEN crashed the boards to collect 10 caroms.

Christian pulled out to a 27-17 lead over Madison (6-11, 1-3 CL) by intermission.

“This was a key win for us, considering both of us are Division IV teams,” said Patriots assistant coach BRAD SANDUSKY. “Basically we came out flat and our defense was kinda soft in the 1st half. Coach Starr gave a little bit of a strong halftime speech to the team to get us going in the 2nd half.”

The Patriots shot better than 52 percent (24 of 46) from the field. That included six 3-pointers and 8 of 11 free throw shooting.

Parisotto led the 3-point parade with 3 triples and Dillon had 2.

Christian: Icaro Parisotto 25 (7 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Zsolt Lakosa 15 (4 reb, 4 ast), Shane Dillon 17 (10 reb, 3 blk, 3 stl), Erick Allen 2 (10 reb, 1 ast), Steven Pitts 2 (1 reb, 1 blk), Tyrone Sauls 1 (2 reb), Cody Poteet (1 ast, 1 stl), Jake Larsen (1 stl).

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (1-20-10) — The Helix Highlanders are starting to make their move. They won their fifth straight game on Tuesday (Jan. 19), dismantling Monte Vista, 55-40, in a Grossmont Conference crossover contest.

Despite winning the game with relative ease, Helix coach JOHN SINGER was hardly in the mood to pass out accolades.

“I wasn’t happy with our game because we did not play with a lot of intensity,” he said. “I guess you could say we did pretty decent in the second and third quarters (holding the Monarchs to 21 points), but the game was decided by that time.”

Indeed it was.

After stumbling to a 9-6 first quarter lead, the Highlanders built a 43-27 lead by the close of the third quarter.

Six-foot-3 junior KENNY KEYS had probably his best game of the year, contributing 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Highlanders (11-6).

Big SAM MEREDITH was also a force on the glass for Helix, collecting a dozen rebounds.

BRIAN STERLING was Monte Vista’s only player to reach double figures with 10 points.

JAMES JACKSON topped the team with 9 rebounds.

“As usual, the game came down to execution… and we didn’t,” Monarchs assistant coach KEITH HOUSTON said.

Helix: Kenny Keys 13 (12 reb, 3 ast), Jaylen Linson 12 (8 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Tommie Young 12 (1 reb, 1 ast, 5 stl), Darien Peterson 9 (3 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Titus Young 4 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Sam Meredith 4 (12 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Corey Barnes 1 (1 reb, 1 blk), Kevin Williams (2 reb), John Henry Singer (1 reb, 1 ast), Donald Woodard (1 ast, 1 stl), Ray Conteras (1 stl).

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

MORSE 58, VALHALLA 50 – Senior STEVEN KLEIST knows all about the school of hard knocks. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Valhalla senior ranks nationally for taking charges. He drew his 25th charge – which ties him for 10th – in Tuesday’s (Jan. 19) non-league tussle with visiting Morse.

Kleist did more than that, as he also punched in a team best 16 points – the majority coming on five 3-pointers. He now has 43 buckets from beyond the arc.

The Norsemen (9-9) were tied with the visiting Tigers (16-5) at 35-35 midway through the 3rd quarter.

“We started trading baskets for a while there,” said Valhalla assistant coach DON ROLLINS. “But then we couldn’t get a stop when we needed it, and they could.”

Valhalla: Steven Kleist 16 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Kyle Kriebel 12 (6 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 3 stl), David Wilschetz 12 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Jordan Cunningham 6 (5 reb, 7 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl), David Zetts 2 (2 reb, 1 stl), Kevin Mills 2 (1 ast, 1 stl).

GROSSMONT 67, EL CAJON VALLEY 28 – The Foothillers are developing some scoring support for stalwart JAKE HAAR, who rolled one of his typical double-doubles of 18 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday’s (Jan. 19) Grossmont Conference contest at Grossmont.

“We know the more people we can get to score, the better it will be for Jake,” Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO said. “We’ve been shooting the ball well lately.”

DESEAN WATERS and MICHAEL WNEK pitched in 13 points apiece as the Foothillers romped over El Cajon Valley (0-19). Each of the two guards also netted a trio of 3-pointers.

“Wnek has always been a good shooter,” Foggiano said. “He’s starting to learn our system and he’s getting better defensively.”

Grossmont (10-8) received 8 points from Haar and 7 from Waters en route to taking a 21-9 first quarter lead and never looked back.

DOMINIQUE MILLER paced El Cajon Valley with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks.

“We did not have any energy or enthusiasm,” said Braves coach MARTY ELLIS, who saw his team outscored 23-2 in the 3rd quarter. “They beat us in every phase of the game.”

Grossmont: Jake Haar 18 (10 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Desean Waters 13 (2 reb, 4 reb, 4 stl), Michael Wnek 13 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Robby Nesovic 8 (7 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Clayton Rainey 7 (6 reb, 1 at, 1 stl), Anthony Bowden 6 (7 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Derrick Rustich (2 (2 reb).

El Cajon Valley: Dominique Miller 17 (10 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk), Kendall Conley 6 (8 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), DeShea Wade 3 (6 reb, 2 stl), Jeremy Brown 2 (4 reb, 2 stl), Dontae Baily (6 reb, 2 blk), Jacquelle Morris (3 reb).

WEST HILLS at EL CAPITAN – The weather short-circuited this game when heavy winds blew over a tree that hit a transformer and cut all power to El Capitan High School. No makeup date for the game was available.

MADISON at CHRISTIAN – A power outage postponed this Central League contest to Wednesday (Jan. 20) at 4:30 p.m.

The Record-breaker

Foothills Christian guard Troy Leaf connects on his record-breaking shot off a feed from center Jvonté Brooks to become the CIFSDS career scoring leader against Hoover at USD. (Photo by Tori Mills)

© East County Sports.com
ALCALA PARK (1-19-10) — Three items of note were registered on a night when Foothills Christian High senior guard TROY LEAF became the leading scorer in CIF-San Diego Section history.

Unfortunately for the Knights, the other two weren’t as rewarding.

Not only did Leaf injure his left, non-shooting shoulder early in the fourth quarter, Foothills Christian saw its lengthy winning streak against San Diego County opposition come to an end following a dramatic 74-71 overtime setback to No. 1 Hoover in Monday (Jan. 18) night's Elite Eight Showcase at the USD Sports Center.

Leaf finished with 21 points giving him a career total of 2,981. A hustling JVONTÉ BROOKS prevented his own turnover, feeding the ball to a wide open Leaf in the left corner for his record-breaking (3-point) basket 1:18 into the contest.

Leaf’s memorable night was tainted. And not only by the outcome of the game. His immediate future was uncertain as he headed for a nearby hospital after the game.

"Something definitely popped," said head coach BRAD LEAF, Troy's father. "We just don't know how serious it is."

Foothills Christian Knights vs. Hoover Cardinals, Elite Eight Classic, USD Sports Center (Slideshow by Tori Mills) ADDITIONAL PHOTOS ADDED TUESDAY NIGHT

CIF-SDS CAREER SCORING LEADERS Rank, Player, School thru Jan. 18th Points 1. Troy Leaf, Foothills Christian 2. Tyrone Shelley, Christian/Crawford 3. Chase Budinger, La Costa Canyon 4. Nick Corso, Santa Fe Christian 5. Tony Clark, Valhalla/Christian 2,982 2,962 2,928 2,610 2,549

Foothills Christian center Jvonté Broooks (33) attempts to take-the-charge on Hoover's Eric Wells. Brooks was whistled for a blocking foul. (Photo by Tori Mills)

Word was received from Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGH late Friday night.

“Just got a text from Troy – the diagnosis was a separated shoulder, nothing too serious. He will be in a sling for 10 days resting it.”

The potential for a lengthy run in the state playoffs could have hit a roadblock with 6:30 remaining when the UC Santa Barbara bound Leaf grabbed his shoulder in pain, much to the chagrin of a member of the Gauchos coaching staff in attendance.

Although Leaf returned one possession later, the Knights took no chances and went into a zone. The move lasted for just two trips down the court, as Hoover's Dame N'diaye nailed a 3-point shot then Eric Wells took a feed from center Angelo Chol for an 8-point lead with 5:20 remaining.

However, in a battle between ballclubs which were both unbeaten within the county, the Knights rallied with 10 consecutive points. KALOB HATCHER drilled a pair of treys, part of his 20 points, then center Brooks scored on a putback to knot the game at 66-all with 3:53 left.

Brooks, who gave up three inches in battling Hoover 's 6-foot-9 Chol all contest, finished with impressive numbers against a worthy opponent, posting 21 points and 17 rebounds. Hatcher was 6-of-12 from 3-point range.

Leaf then chipped in with a go-ahead 12 footer, the final of his 21 points. But hampered by the shoulder, the senior made just one of his final 10 shots.

The Knights luck then went from bad to worse. A 3-point shot by Hatcher hit the rim, bounded high, and fell through the hoop. But the basket was washed out by the officials when the ball ticked the shot clock above the backboard, putting it out of play.

The break ignited Hoover (15-4) on an 8-point run – two to close regulation on a pair of N'diaye foul shots, then the first six points of overtime before SAL ROMERI saw a long rebound land in his hands. Romeri promptly released the ball for a 3-point goal with 28 seconds to go.

"A game like this is great for basketball in San Diego," said Hoover coach Ollie Goulston, who also promoted the 5th annual event. "And to have Troy break the scoring record here, even against us, makes it even more special."

"Our depth and our ability to dig in down the stretch was the difference. Our last 10 games have been decided in the last two minutes."

Foothills Christian (16-4) saw its 17-game win streak against CIF-SDS foes snapped. The previous loss was also to Hoover to cap the 2008-09 regular season before the Knights won three straight to take the SDCIF Division V championship, advancing the state regional semifinals.

Could another effort be detoured due to Leaf's injury?

"I didn't want to leave my team hanging without me out there," said the senior, who also collected 10 rebounds, 6 blocks and 5 assists. "I'm proud of myself to accomplish the feat (breaking Tyrone Shelley’s scoring record), but I am more concerned about going deep into the state playoffs."

"It was good to get the record, but I wish the game ended in a better way."

Leaf's father is also concerned should the Knights be without his son for an extended period of time.

"For four years, I'm used to him giving me 25 (points per game) and his leadership," said the coach, a former standout for Evansville. "The record is quite an accomplishment, but now we need his shoulder to be taken care of."

Foothills Christian: Troy Leaf 21 (10 reb, 6 blk, 5 ast), Jvonte Brooks 21 (17 reb), Kalob Hatcher 20 (6 stl, 2 ast), Stevie McElroy 4 (6 reb), Sal Romeri 3 (3 reb), Daniel LaBahn 2.

© East County Sports.com
POINT LOMA (1-17-10) — The El Cajon Valley Braves came within a split second of pulling off their first victory of the season during Saturday’s (Jan. 16) inaugural Bennie Edens Classic at Point Loma High.

Senior point guard KENDALL CONLEY turned a baseline drive into a layup that would have given the Braves a 1-point victory. Unfortunately for El Cajon Valley, the final buzzer beat Conley to the draw and the Braves fell short 43-42.

MARTY ELLIS, El Cajon Valley’s first-year head coach, did not dispute the officials’ call.

“It was a nice shot but it was just too late,” he said.

El Cajon Valley (0-18) led San Diego (10-6) by a 17-15 count at halftime. The Cavers fought back to take a 3-point lead into the final period. But the Braves failed to get the last word.

“We handled the ball really well, committed only seven turnovers,” Ellis said. “I thought we did a good job of attacking their zone. On top of that we played good team defense. This would have been a good one to win.”

El Cajon Valley: Jacquelle Morris 13, Dominique Miller 13, Kendall Conley 11, DeShea Wade 5. No other statistics were available.

© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (1-16-10) — Most East County basketball coaches believe the West Hills Wolf Pack lair is one of the toughest gymnasiums to shoot in. Even the Granite Hills Eagles, one of the most prolific scoring teams in the San Diego CIF this season agree after they opened the Grossmont Hills League season by jogging past the Wolf Pack, 77-59.

“The rims are hard here – it’s a tough place to shoot,” said Granite Hills junior guard GARRETT LARCH-MILLER, who contributed 23 points and 19 rebounds to the Eagles' 10th straight victory. Larch-Miller was actually only 1-for-12 shooting in the first half, before nailing 9 of 11 shots from the floor in the second half.

“You have to put more arc on your shots, catch less of the rim because you aren’t going to get many rolls in this gym,” he continued.

Despite shooting 43.2 percent (32 of 74) from the field – including seven 3-pointers – and 12 of 20 free throws, the Eagles finished a smidgeon shy of reaching their season scoring average of 77.5 ppg.

“Nobody can stop our offense,” Larch-Miller said.

No question, there was no stopping Granite Hills sophomore post JASON GAINES, who rang up a career high 30 points, grabbed 15 rebounds, blocked 4 shots and dished 5 assists.

“I think we came out thinking all we had to do is show up and we’d win the game,” Gaines said.

Maybe so, but the closest West Hills (5-12, 0-1 GHL)) would get was 8-4. The Eagles led 24-7 after one quarter and 37-17 by intermission.

Gaines chipped in with 10 points and 7 rebounds in the first two quarters.

“That No. 32 (Gaines) just killed us,” said Wolf Pack coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. “We couldn’t handle him. He was too much for us tonight.”

“I think they surprised us at first,” Gaines said. “It took us awhile to pick up our intensity. Once we did we were back on our game and knew they couldn’t stop us. The guys did a good job of getting me the ball.”

Senior point guard ANDRE LEWIS scored all of his 15 points in the first half, but was held scoreless by West Hills after intermission. By the same token Lewis logged 10 of his 12 assists during the final two quarters for the Eagles (14-4, 1-0 GHL).

“We did some things we set out to do against them,” Armstrong said. “We didn’t want this to be a track meet. I wasn’t interested in losing 100-50. There was less than three minutes to go when we had that thing (margin) down to 14, and I was pretty happy with that. I think teams are silly that try to run with them.”

Despite falling short on the scoreboard, the Wolf Pack did a quality job of working the 35-second clock, especially in the second half. They displayed patience and most of the time did not shoot until only two or three ticks were left on the clock.

“We showed composure running our offense and yes, we did slow it down,” Armstrong said. “It’s not pretty basketball but it can be effective in games like this.”

ADRIAN MARAZITI led the Wolf Pack with 20 points and 6 rebounds. SHEDRICK COLLIER scored all 13 of his points in the 2nd half.

“At this stage of the season we are not measuring success in wins and losses,” Armstrong said. “We have a lot of respect for Granite Hills. They are an outstanding perimeter playing team. We thought we could take advantage of some inside stuff but I don’t think it was as effective as I hoped it would be.”

Granite Hills: Jason Gaines 30 (15 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 4 blk), Garrett Larch-Miller 23 (19 reb, 3 ast), Andre Lewis 15 (3 reb, 12 ast, 3 stl), Scott Atkinson 7 (6 reb), James Sadik 2 (4 reb), Dalton Otineru (4 reb).

West Hills: Adrian Maraziti 20 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Shedrick Collier 13 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Nick Findley 8 (3 reb), Kevin Straub 4 (4 reb, 3 ast), Alex Parsons 4 (2 reb, 2 ast), Jonny Preston 3 (2 reb, 2 stl), Ralph Bedoe 3, John Magoon 2, Garrett Guinn 2.

HELIX 39, VALHALLA 30 – It was an old-fashioned style basketball game despite the 35-second clock in Friday’s (Jan. 15) Grossmont Hills League opener at Valhalla.

It was a type of grinding contest that 30-year veteran Highlanders head coach JOHN SINGER adores.

The Highlanders (10-6, 1-0 GHL) held the Norsemen to 4 points in the 1st and 4th quarters combined.

“I knew going in that it was going to be this style of game – close to the vest,” Singer said.

Helix held Valhalla to a season-low while extending its winning streak to four in a row.

“I just can’t say enough about our defensive effort,” Singer said. “I don’t care what team it is, holding them to 30 points is extremely difficult to do. And Valhalla is a pretty good team.”

Singer handed out defensive accolades to TOMMIE YOUNG for holding the Norsemen’s STEVEN KLEIST to 7 points.

Helix Highlanders forward Sam Meredith (55). (Slideshow by Ruth Mims)

Helix Highlanders at Valhalla Norsemen (Slideshow by Ruth Mims) ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE

Helix freshman guard TITUS YOUNG was the only player in the game to reach double scoring figures, as he finished with 13. He also had 11 rebounds to lead both teams.

“We didn’t execute on the offensive end,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. “With 3 minutes left it was a 3-point game (Helix leading 33-30). Then Linson had a 3-point play. We got outscored 6-0 in the last 3-1/2 minutes. That was the difference.”

On the high side for Valhalla Kleist took 2 more charges, giving him 23 for the season.

The Highlanders claimed an 8-0 edge in second half scoring chances (rebound putbacks) and scored the only 2 points off turnovers in a game that featured 24 turnovers.

This was the first home game for Valhalla (9-8, 0-1 GHL).

Helix: Titus Young 13 (11 reb, 2 stl), Jaylen Linson 7 (7 reb), Sam Meredith 6 (8 reb, 3 stl, 4 blk), Darien Peterson 6 (2 reb, 4 stl, 5 stl, 1 blk), Tommie Young 4 (2 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Kevin Williams 2 (2 reb), Kenny Keys 1 (5 reb, 4 stl, 1 blk).

Valhalla: David Wilschetz 8 (10 reb, 2 blk), Kyle Kriebel 8 (8 reb, 2 ast, 4 blk, 5 stl), Steven Kleist 7 (3 reb), Jordan Cunningham 4 (6 reb, 2 ast, 4 blk), David Zetts 3 (3 ast, 2 stl).

GROSSMONT 61, STEELE CANYON 29 – Although the Grossmont Foothillers dominated Friday’s (Jan. 15) opening game of the Grossmont Hills League, FRANK FOGGIANO was hardly elated.

He didn’t say he was disappointed but pointed out he felt his team was fouling too much and uncharacteristically living on the perimeter, which has not been traditionally his coaching style.

“We’ve been hitting some threes lately, including five in the 2nd quarter tonight,” noted Foggiano, whose team led the visiting Cougars (3-13, 0-1 GHL) by intermission 38-14.

MICHAEL WNEK contributed 11 points – most of them coming on a trio of 3-pointers for Grossmont (10-8, 1-0 GHL).

The Cougars received a team-high 10 points from MICHAEL CEDEROTH.

“We stayed with them halfway through the 1st quarter then they kinda took it to us,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS. “It was the first time we’ve played before a big (Grossmont’s) student cheering section and maybe we were a little intimidated.”

“They run a lot of the same stuff we do,” Stephens added. “But they executed so well defensively and offensively, and we didn’t. They only lost one guy from last year’s team. They shot lights out – hit 7 three’s, which is pretty uncharacteristic of them. We struggled to even get shots off tonight.”

Grossmont: Jake Haar 13 (8 reb), Anthony Bowden 11 (8 reb, 2 stl), Michael Wnek 11 (4 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Desean Waters 9 (2 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl), Robby Nesovic 5 (6 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Colter Rios 5 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Clayton Rainey 4 (4 reb), Jason Lakis 3 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl).

Steele Canyon: Michael Cederoth 10, Andrew King 7, Wes Judish 3, Justin Norwood 3, Chanceller James 2, Danny Bwinika 2, Aundre Belcher 1, Cody Wells 1.

SANTANA 76, EL CAJON VALLEY 57 – Probably the thing foremost on Santana coach TIM BARRY’s mind was not the excitement of opening the Grossmont Valley League season Friday (Jan. 15) night at El Cajon Valley.

Not to take anything away from the never-say-die Braves (0-17, 0-1 GHL), who trailed Santana by 31-23 after one half.

The Sultans (13-7, 1-0 GHL) forced 19 turnovers in the opening two quarters, yet were unable to deter the upset-minded Braves.

“I know our kids were looking ahead to next week’s league showdown against (preseason favorite) Mount Miguel, and sometimes it seemed like we were a little bit out of focus,” said Barry.

After a halftime pep talk the Sultans came out and scored the first eight points of the 3rd quarter to open a 16 point advantage and never looked back.

It was a different style game for Santana, which despite netting 53 percent of 49 shots from the field, canned only a trio of triples.

“I can’t remember the last time we only made three 3s,” Barry said. “To be honest our strategy was a little bit different after we got a sizable lead in the 2nd half. We spread the floor and turned turnovers into layups.”

MATT LUCIUS anchored a balanced Santana attack, hitting 7 of 9 shots from the field, including one three and 3 free throws for a team-best 18 points.

JESSE VARGAS had a poor night at the free throw line, converting only 8 of 15 chances but nevertheless managed to produce 16 points for the Sultans.

LANDON LOZOYA chipped in with 13 points (6 rebounds and 6 steals), while MATT GOMEZ and TREY BASS punched in 10 points apiece.

“I really can’t complain when you get balance like that, no matter how you do it,” Barry said.

KENDALL CONLEY led El Cajon Valley with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists.

DOMINIQUE MILLER added 16 points and 10 rebounds, while newcomer DeSHEA WADE pitched in with 9 points and 7 rebounds.

“The offense is there,” said first-year head coach MARTY ELLIS. “But when you turn the ball over 34 times like we did, it’s hard to win games. We were just lobbing the ball against their pressure, and they took advantage of that.

“But we had two guys take three charges (2 by JEREMY BROWN and one by DONTAE BAILY),” Ellis added.

Santana: Matt Lucius 18 (4 reb, 2 stl), Jesse Vargas 16 (4 reb, 4 stl, 2 ast), Landon Lozoya 13 (6 reb, 6 stl), Matt Gomez 10 (2 reb, 3 stl, 5 ast), Trey Bass 10 (7 reb, 3 stl, 2 ast), David Thrall 4, Sean Ross 2 (5 reb), Kyle Dunlap 2, Jason Dale 1 (3 reb).

El Cajon Valley: Kendall Conley 19 (9 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Dominique Miller 16 (10 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), DeShea Wade 9 (7 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Jeremy Brown 7 (3 reb), Alin Alyadako 3 (4 reb, 2 ast),Sangar Hasan 3 (2 ast), Dushawn Johnson (5 reb, 3 ast), Dontae Baily (4 reb, 2 blk).

MOUNT MIGUEL 73, MONTE VISTA 48 – AJ STANFORD scored a season-high 20 points, including a pair of 3-pointers to help guide the host Matadors past Monte Vista in Friday’s (Jan. 15) Grossmont Valley League opener.

Of course Stanford is pretty good at whatever he does. He was an all-league quarterback for the Matadors football team, which finished 8-3-1 last fall.

“AJ is finally getting his basketball body back,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT. “He’s back to his old self.”

Stanford netted 6 of 12 shots from the field – 2 of which came from long distance – and 6 of 7 free throws. He also had 5 assists and 4 steals.

Mount Miguel’s YUEL HAGOS broke out of a midseason slump with 17 points, more than half of which came from 3-point range. Overall he was 5 for 8 from the floor and missed just one of 5 free throws.

Stalwart BRYANT MITCHELL once again let the Matadors with 11 rebounds and also chipped in 7 points.

“I thought we were a little soft in the 1st half,” Rowlett said, although the Matadors maintained a 27-21 halftime lead over the Monarchs (7-12, 0-1 GVL).

“This guy is the most unselfish player I have ever coached,” Rowlett said. “I know he’s not the biggest guy under the boards (6-foot-2), but he gets great position and manages to wrestle rebounds away from guys much bigger than he is.”

The Matadors, who had played only one game in their previous 13 days, outscored the Monarchs 45-27 in the 2nd half.

“In the second half, our defensive effort really picked up and we were forcing turnovers,” Rowlett said.

The JACKSON brothers – JAMES and TONY – combined for 32 points and 13 rebounds for Monte Vista.

“The game came down to missed opportunities,” said Monarchs assistant coach KEITH HOUSTON. “Monte Vista jumped out to an 8-2 lead. Stanford scored many of his points on the baseline, where our guys did not guard very well at all. We had too many turnovers and missed too many layups.”

Mount Miguel: AJ Stanford 20 (3 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl), Yuel Hagos 17 (4 reb), Harry Brazelton 10 (6 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl), JJ Norton 8 (4 ast, 5 stl), Bryant Mitchell 7 (11 reb, 3 stl), Jaymes Brazelton 7, Thomas Butler 4 (3 reb), Marcus Booker (2 reb).

Monte Vista: James Jackson 17 (8 reb, 2 blk, 2 stl), Tony Jackson 15 (5 reb, 3 ast), KJ Houston 4 (8 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl), Brian Sterling 4 (2 reb), Terrance Peterson 2, Brandon Tillet 2 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Dave Thomas 2, Ruben Nwando 1 (3 reb, 1 blk), Moses Walker 1.

CHRISTIAN 64, POINT LOMA 53 – Hungarian native ZSOLT LAKOSA has scored 47 points in his last two games and has played a key role in the Patriots winning 13 straight games, including Friday’s (Jan. 15) Central League conquest at Point Loma.

A 6-foot-4 senior, Lakosa knocked down 11 of 18 shots from the field (one 3 and one free throw) for a game-high 24 points as Christian (15-2, 3-0 CL) held off a 2nd half surge by Point Loma (2-7, 0-3 CTL).

Lakosa’s hot hand was contagious as the Patriots connected on better than 52 percent from the floor.

“We came out and shot lights out,” said Christian assistant coach BRAD SANDUSKY. “We started out 7-7 from the field.”

ICARO PARISOTTO added 20 points for the Patriots, while ERICK ALLEN and SHANE DILLON controlled the boards with 10 caroms apiece.

“Point Loma played us a zone defense and we were very successful in running our zone offense,” Sandusky added. “It gave us good looks and open shots. We did a good job keeping them off the boards after the 1st quarter. We got good help tonight from our bench.”

LUIZ BIDART once again sat out the game with a sore foot.

Christian: Zsolt Lakosa 24 (2 ast), Icaro Parisotto 20 (5 reb, 5 ast), Erick Allen 9 (10 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Shane Dillon 2 (10 reb, 3 ast, 4 blk, 2 stl), Cody Poteet 5 (2 reb), Tyrone Sauls 2 (2 reb), Aaron Hueslin 2.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-15-10) — The first shot at gaining the CIF San Diego Section career scoring mark comes tonight (Jan. 15), when Foothills Christian guard TROY LEAF and the Knights travel south to meet Eastlake in a 7 p.m. non-league contest.

The countdown for Leaf, a 6-foot-3, 165-pound senior who is currently third all-time with 2,928 points, has been on display for weeks. The march is down to 34 points in order to equal the mark set by current San Diego State guard TYRONE SHELLEY, who collected 2,962 playing for Christian and Crawford high schools from 2004-07. Standing second is current Houston Rockets small forward CHASE BUDINGER, who scored 2,934 for La Costa Canyon (2003-06).

Should the mark fail to fall against the Titans, the UC Santa Barbara bound Leaf will get his next opportunity Monday (Jan. 18) at the USD Sports Center. Second-ranked Foothills Christian (15-3) will meet Hoover in the Elite Eight Showcase (the former Martin Luther King event). Tipoff is at 5:30 p.m.

© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (1-14-10) — Sure, this was just another Grossmont Conference crossover game Wednesday (Jan. 13) night at Santana. But to the Sultans it was special.

After falling behind the favored Foothillers 10-2 in the 1st quarter, Santana turned the game around and never looked back on its way to a 60-41 win.

“When we shoot well we can beat anybody,” said former Grossmont JV coach and now Santana head coach TIM BARRY. “We played well – we caused a lot of turnovers (20). That’s big because I think Grossmont plays the most solid halfcourt man in the conference.”

“It was not my main plan to press. We only pressed them off of misses. Then in the second quarter we decided to press on everything. It helped our offense.”

Santana (12-7) led 22-19 at halftime.

JESSE VARGAS and LANDON LOZOYA led the Sultans with 16 points apiece. They each hit a pair of 3-pointers, as did MATT GOMEZ, who contributed 11 points overall.

Barry praised the play of Gomez, who had ACL surgery last spring and was rehabbing from March until the end of November.

“I told him ‘Welcome Back’ – he got into the flow tonight, hit some 3s. Having him back could be a big factor for us.”

Grossmont (8-8) was led by guard DESEAN WATERS’ 14 points, and JAKE HAAR added 13.

“Santana played better than us,” said Foothillers coach FRANK FOGGIANO.

Santana: Landon Lozoya 16 (3 reb), Jesse Vargas 16 (3 ast), Matt Gomez 11 (2 stl), Trey Bass 9 (4 reb, 2 ast), Matt Lucius 6 (10 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), David Thrall 2.

Grossmont: Desean Waters 14 (3 ast), Jake Haar 13 (6 reb), Robby Nesovic 5 (4 reb), Clayton Rainey 4 (6 reb), Colter Rios 3, Jason Lakis 2 (3 reb).

GRANITE HILLS 91, BONITA VISTA 54 – Host Granite Hills (13-4) scored a season high and stretched its winning streak to nine games in Wednesday’s (Jan. 13) non-league rout of visiting Bonita Vista.

Guard ANDRE LEWIS and post JASON GAINES each logged a triple-double, which has to be some sort of Granite Hills record.

Lewis poured in 32 points, including 9-for-9 free throw shooting and 11-for-20 marksmanship from the field. The senior play-maker capped off his big night with 11 assists, 10 rebounds and 4 steals.

“I’m really happy with Andre Lewis’ intensity level and consistency in attacking the basket,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. “He scored 10 points in each of the first three quarters.”

A 6-foot-3 sophomore, Gaines rolled off his triple-double with 15 rebounds, 13 points and 10 blocked shots. He is East County ’s leading shot blocker with 71 in 17 games. Gaines scored 10 of Granite Hills 30 points in the 3rd quarter to turn the game into a rout.

GARRETT LARCH-MILLER turned in an impressive double-double of 26 points and 22 rebounds – of his boards came off the offensive glass. He leads the Grossmont Conference with 222 rebounds and a 13.1 average.

“I’m really proud of the way these guys have been playing – really relentless, they don’t let up,” Anderson said. “I can’t say enough about their intensity level.”

Granite Hills: Andre Lewis 32 (10 reb, 11 ast, 4 stl), Garrett Larch-Miller 26 (22 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Jason Gaines 13 (15 reb, 3 ast, 10 blk), Kyle Snyder 9 (2 reb, 2 ast), Scott Atkinson 4 (4 reb, 1 blk), Zach Hanken 3, James Sadik 2 (5 reb, 2 stl), Dalton Otineru 2 (3 reb), Lewis Baker (1 blk).

VALHALLA 54, EL CAPITAN 42 – The visiting Norsemen snapped a 32-32 tie with a 22-10 scoring run in the 4th quarter to knock off El Capitan in Wednesday’s (Jan. 13) Grossmont Conference crossover contest.

STEVEN KLEIST scored 9 points, including hitting a pair of 3s in Valhalla ’s 4th quarter momentum swing.

KYLE KRIEBEL also hit a 3 and totaled 6 points in the pivotal quarter for the Norsemen. Kriebel finished with 13 points, two fewer than team leader Kleist.

It was the fourth straight win for the Norsemen (9-7), who have won 7 of their last 8. El Capitan (5-12) suffered its fourth straight loss.

“We didn’t play with a lot of emotion in the 1st half,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. “ El Capitan plays hard and with a lot of emotion. We told our guys at the half we can’t beat these guys unless we pick it up.”

Valhalla outscored El Capitan 35-18 in the 2nd half.

The Norsemen’s defensive specialist extraordinaire, JORDAN CUNNINGHAM, proved that he can do more than shut down the opponent’s best player as he scored 13 points, hitting 4 of 9 shots from the field, including one trey. He also blocked 6 shots and recorded 5 steals.

“Jordan Cunningham is turning into a lockdown defender,” Jackson said. “He does a good job on defending the perimeter. He did it against Vista, Monte Vista and El Cajon Valley. He takes pride in defending the other team’s best offensive player.”

Although freshman point guard KEVIN MILLS scored only two points for the Norsemen, Jackson was pleased by his performance. Mills also had 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.

“He had another nice game for us tonight,” Jackson said. “It was kinda what we were hoping for, going into league (which begins Friday against Helix). We’re better off than we were four weeks ago.”

ARMON WORRELL paced El Capitan with 18 points, half of them coming on 3-pointers.

MIKE OVERSON added 13 points, blocked 3 shots and recorded 4 steals.

Valhalla: Steven Kleist 15 (6 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Jordan Cunningham 13 (4 reb, 2 ast, 6 blk, 5 stl), David Wilschetz 11 (5 reb), Kyle Kriebel 8 (7 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), David Zetts 5 (2 reb, 2 stl), Kevin Mills 2 (3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl).

El Capitan: Armon Worrell 18 (3 reb), Mike Overson 13 (4 reb, 3 blk, 4 stl), Brian Celeste 5 (2 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl), Andrew Cable 4 (5 cable), Robert Craighead 1 (2 reb), Kevin Kapka 1.

MONTE VISTA 54, STEELE CANYON 43 – The Monarchs scored 40 points in the middle two quarters to stave off visiting Steele Canyon in Wednesday’s (Jan. 13) Grossmont Conference crossover contest.

TONY JACKSON set the tone for the Monarchs (7-11) with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. He also chalked up 5 assists and made 5 steals.

JAMES JACKSON hit 5 of 7 shots from the field – one of them a 3-pointer – as he finished with 11 points and 5 rebounds.

The always reliable KJ HOUSTON also notched 11 points, dished 5 assists and pilfered 6 passes.

“We played outstanding defense tonight,” said Monarchs assistant coach KEITH JACKSON. “We had a lot of missed shots in the 1st half and finally settled down after halftime. There was good balance on offense. We had excellent ball movement and we had good open looks at the basket.”

JUSTIN NORWOOD (11 points) and CHANCELLER JAMES (10 points) paced the Cougars (3-12).

“I don’t think we have recovered from Monday night’s game (a triple overtime win over El Cajon Valley ),” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS. “We had a rough practice yesterday and probably should not have practiced. I could tell in warm-ups that the team just wasn’t where it should be.”

Monte Vista: Tony Jackson 14 (10 reb, 5 ast, 5 stl), James Jackson 11 (5 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), KJ Housten 11 (3 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 6 stl), Ruben Nwando 8 (4 reb, 3 blk, 4 stl), Kevin Starling 4 (2 reb), Brian Sterling 2 (3 reb, 1 blk), Brandon Tillet 2 (7 reb, 2 blk), Moses Walker 2.

Steele Canyon: Justin Norwood 11, Chanceller James 10, Andrew King 8, Wes Judish 4, Michael Cederoth 4, Cody Wells 4, Danny Bwinika 2.

© East County Sports.com
LINDA VISTA (1-13-10) — The Christian Patriots keep making things look easy.

Led by ZSOLT LAKOSA’s career-high 27 points, the Patriots pulverized host Kearny, 66-39, Tuesday night (Jan. 12) in Central League action. Lakosa nailed 11 of 15 shots from the field, including one 3-pointer. He was 4-for-4 from the free throw line.

ICARO PARISOTTO chipped in with 18 points, half of them coming from 3-point distance. SHANE DILLON rolled a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds and blocked 3 shots. ERICK ALLEN collected 10 caroms off the glass.

The Patriots missed LUIZ BIDART, who missed the game with a sore foot.

Christian (14-2, 2-0 CTL) is riding a 12-game winning streak.

Leading 12-10 after one period, Christian opened the second quarter with an 8-0 run and the rout was on.

“Our bench contributed well,” said assistant BRAD SANDUSKY. “JAKE LARSEN shot well (2-for-3, five points). STEVEN PITTS played his usual stifling defense.”

Christian: Zsolt Lakosa 27 (5 reb, 2 ast), Icaro Parisotto 18 (3 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Shane Dillon 10 (11 reb, 3 blk), Jake Larsen 5 (2 reb), Erick Allen 4 (10 reb, 2 stl), Cody Poteet 2 (2 reb), Steven Pitts (2 reb, 2 ast).

© East County Sports.com
RANCHO SAN DIEGO (1-12-10) — It’s been a long season for both of these teams, which have three victories between them.

Host Steele Canyon, which came into Monday’s (Jan. 11) Grossmont Conference crossover game averaging 42.8 points per game, tallied 95 markers against visiting El Cajon Valley, but needed three overtimes to deny the Braves their first win of the year after escaping with a 95-88 victory.

“It was the first three he has even attempted all year,” observed Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS.

In the 1st overtime with El Cajon Valley leading 79-75 and 10 seconds left on the clock, ANDREW KING hit a bucket to pull Steele Canyon within two points. Then Steele Canyon fouled and ECV made 1 of 2 free throws, bringing the score to 80-77, El Cajon leading.

El Cajon Valley got the rebound but James stole the ball and passed it to the Cougars’ RYAN GILBERT, who hit a 3 from the corner to send the game into the second OT, score 80-80.

Once again, in the second overtime, the Braves took an 87-83 lead. The Cougars countered with a basket by CODY WELLS and a buzzer beater by King to extend the game further.

In the third overtime, the Braves ranks dwindled when both KENDALL CONLEY and DOMINIQUE MILLER fouled out. El Cajon Valley played all but 45 seconds of the last overtime with just four players. Steele Canyon capitalized by outscoring the Braves 8-1 for the victory.

“This is one game tape I’m gonna hang onto,” Braves coach MARTY ELLIS said. These guys worked their butts off. They came out ready to play. Conley and Miller really carried the load tonight (74 of the Braves’ 88 points came from these two guys). When they fouled out in the 3rd overtime I knew we were in trouble.”

“This team continues to play hard and they do not know how to give up. I would go to war with these guys sevens days a week.”

Miller finished with 43 points and 20 rebounds before being disqualified by fouls. Conley finished with 31 points and 16 rebounds before he checked out.

Wells had a career-high 24 points to lead Steele Canyon (3-11). King also registered his personal best with 21 points.

“I have never been more proud of an opposing team’s effort than I was of El Cajon Valley tonight,” said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS. “They deserved to win.”

“We struggled tonight. Our free throw shooting kept them in the ballgame. We definitely had to take advantage of the fact that they only had four players in the 3rd overtime.”

The two teams combined for 109 free throws. The Braves made 32 of 52 while the Cougars connected on only 22 of 57.

Steele Canyon: Cody Wells 24, Andrew King 21, Michael Cederoth 15, Ryan Gilbert 8, Rudy Burruel 8, Justin Norwood 8, Chanceller James 4, Danny Bwinika 4,Wes Judish 3.

El Cajon Valley: Dominique Miller 43 (20 reb, 4 ast, 5 blk, 5 stl), Kendall Conley 31 (16 reb, 5 ast, 2 blk, 5 stl), DeShea Wade 7 (6 reb, 3 stl), Sangar Hasan 4 (3 stl), Dontae Baily 1 (5 reb), Allen Esho 1, Dushawn Johnson 1.

MOUNT MIGUEL 69, GROSSMONT 60 – The visiting Matadors converted 17 of 18 free throws to knock off Grossmont Monday night (Jan. 11) in a physical Grossmont Conference crossover battle in El Cajon.

HARRY BRAZELTON, who scored a game-high 20 points for Mount Miguel (15-4), was 7 for 8 from the charity stripe. He also nailed 3 of Mount Miguel ’s 10 three pointers.

YUEL HAGOS was the Matadors 3-point leader, scoring all 12 of his points from above the arc.

“Grossmont is the third good team we’ve played in a row,” said Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT. “I didn’t know how our kids would react after that heart-breaker on Friday (a 65-64 overtime loss to Helix). I love my team. We’re playing together, sharing the ball. We’re having fun at practice and its fun coaching the games. They made it easy for me to bounce back after Friday.”

Considering Grossmont (8-7) also sank 10 three pointers, the most glaring difference was at the free throw line where the Foothillers converted only 6 of 13 chances.

“It was a physical game,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “ Mount Miguel shot their free throws extremely well – that was the difference in the game.”

ANTHONY BOWDEN, who has had the hot hand for Grossmont of late, paced the Foothillers with 14 points.

Mount Miguel: Harry Brazelton 20 (5 reb, 5 stl), Yuel Hagos 12 (2 stl), AJ Stanford 11 (5 reb, 2 stl), Thomas Butler 11 (3 reb), JJ Norton 9 (3 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl), Marcus Booker 2 (5 reb), Bryant Mitchell 2 (7 reb), Jaymes Brazelton 2 (5 reb).

Grossmont: Anthony Bowden 14 (6 reb), Desean Waters 12 (2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Michael Wnek 11 (2 reb, 2 ast), Jason Lakis 9 (3 reb), Robby Nesovic 7 (6 reb), Jake Haar 7 (4 reb).

GRANITE HILLS 89, EL CAPITAN 68 – One thing about the Granite Hills Eagles is certain, their offense can’t be stopped. And that was the case in Monday’s (Jan. 11) Grossmont Conference crossover game against visiting El Capitan.

The Eagles (12-4) took a 29-4 first quarter lead over the Vaqueros (5-11) and then cruised to their eighth straight win.

ANDRE LEWIS scored 12 of his game-high 32 points in the 1st quarter to ignite the Eagles, and KYLE SNYDER tallied half of his 16 points in the same period. GARRETT LARCH-MILLER also added 7 of his 20 points in the 1st period.

By halftime Granite Hills was sitting on a 53-20 lead.

“When Lewis goes to the basket they can’t stop him,” said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON. “He and Snyder and Larch-Miller and JASON GAINES are playing so well together, very unselfish. Lewis does such a good job getting to the basket and when the other team helps (stops Lewis), he just kicks it out to one of the other guys.”

Although the Eagles gave away a height advantage to El Capitan, they were still tough on the boards.

Gaines collected 17 rebounds and blocked 7 shots. Larch-Miller grabbed 14 boards.

As strong as the Eagles were on the glass, they were even more feisty out front.

“We had 21 steals,” Anderson noted. “It was the third game in a row we came out and played really well on both ends of the floor. In the first half the tempo was really good, we set the tone.”

The always reliable MIKE OVERSON led El Capitan with 20 points and 7 rebounds.

TYSON KYGAR added 17 points, while his brother CODY KYGAR contributed 12 points to the Vaqueros totals.

“When you don’t come out ready to play you can’t beat anybody,” said El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS. “I don’t know exactly what it was, but the 1st quarter we just didn’t come out ready to play. We aren’t good enough to overcome that. We have to learn from everything.”

“In the 3rd quarter both teams played their starters and we actually competed in that quarter (gaining a 24-21 edge). All we can do is work on getting better before league.”

For that matter gained a 22-15 edge in the 4th quarter, but it was much too little, much too late.

Granite Hills: Andre Lewis 32 (3 reb, 11 ast, 8 stl), Garrett Larch-Miller 20 (14 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Jason Gaines 19 (17 reb, 6 ast, 7 blk, 4 stl), Kyle Snyder 16 (2 reb), Dalton Otineru 2 (4 stl), Scott Atkinson (4 reb), James Sadik (3 reb).

El Capitan: Mike Overson 20 (7 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl), Tyson Kygar 15 (2 ast), Cody Kygar 11 (7 reb, 5 stl), Armon Worrell 9 (9 reb, 1 blk), Andrew Cable 9 (3 reb, 1 blk), Robert Craighead 3 (7 reb, 2 blk), Brian Celeste 1.

MONTE VISTA 72, WEST HILLS 61 – The host Wolf Pack was flirting with its third straight win in Monday (Jan. 11) night’s Grossmont Conference contest but saw its offense stall, halting their winning ways.

Monte Vista (6-11) claimed a 17-7 scoring edge over the final eight minutes to snap a four-game losing streak.

“The team played real well tonight,” said Monarchs coach JAMES CARROLL. “We had a good, balanced effort from everybody. We were down nine points in the 3rd quarter but were able to put together a good run to take the lead. We played outstanding defense in the 4th quarter.”

You might say Monte Vista won this one with an S-O-S. That is, the defensive efforts of KEVIN STARLING and BRIAN STERLING.

“They were the keys to our defense tonight,” Carroll said. “They played well up top and forced several turnovers.”

TONY JACKSON hit 10 of 15 shots from the floor and 5 free throws for a career-high 25 points to lead the Monarchs. Sterling added 16 points and Starling added 12.

It was a tough loss for the Wolf Pack, which squandered away a 10 point lead midway through the 4th quarter.

“It’s hard to let one get away from you, like this one,” said Pack coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. “We had chances, but lack of experience got the better of us.”

West Hills got good play from ADRIAN MARAZITI in the 1st half with 12 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Maraziti knocked down 3 of his 4 threes in the 1st half.

Freshman JONNY PRESTON scored 10 points for the Pack to go along with 6 assists and 5 steals.

“We get great mileage out of that young man,” said Armstrong.

“ALEX PARSONS gave us a nice effort with 13 points, 9 rebounds (4 offensive),” noted Armstrong. “He played with good energy tonight.”

Monte Vista: Tony Jackson 25 (6 reb, 4 blk, 2 stl), Kevin Starling 12 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Brian Sterling 16 (2 reb, 2 stl), James Jackson 5 (8 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk), Brandon Tillet 5 (5 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk), Ruben Nwando 4 (4 reb), KJ Houston 2 (9 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Moses Walker 2, Kylie Luster 1 (4 reb, 1 blk).

West Hills: Adrian Maraziti 16 (12 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl), Alex Parsons 13 (9 reb, 2 ast), Jonny Preston 10 (2 reb, 6 ast, 5 stl), Nick Findley 8 (2 stl), John Magoon 6 (2 reb), Ralph Bedoe 3, Kevin Straub 2 (2 stl), Garrett Guinn 2 (5 reb), Todd Russell 1.

HELIX 65, SANTANA 43 – At the outset things were looking pretty good for the visiting Santana Sultans as they forced 11 turnovers in the first 10 minutes of Monday’s (Jan. 11) Grossmont Conference game in La Mesa.

“The problem was we needed to turn them into positives at the other end,” said Sultans coach TIM BARRY.

“We talked about it – it’s hard to play at Helix,” “We were up 10-2 to start. I was very happy with our effort, but we just couldn’t make a shot. We played with passion. We were right there with them on the boards. They are a bigger team so it’s a challenge to stay with them on the boards. As we go into league I think we’ll beat anybody in conference.”

“The problem that happened is we got shots we wanted but we just couldn’t get anything to fall. We went from hot in the 1st quarter to just ice cold,” Barry added.

Eleven Highlanders contributed to Helix’ scoring.

JAYLEN LINSON led the Highlanders with 13 points and 6 rebounds. TOMMIE YOUNG added 11 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals.

DARIEN PETERSON turned in another strong game for Helix with 9 rebounds, 9 assists and 7 points.

“After the first four minutes we played very good defense,” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER. “To hold the other team to 43 points I think you have a very good chance to win. Peterson, our point guard, held their leading scorer (JESSE VARGAS) to 5 points. I thought that was pretty good.”

MATT LUCIUS had a double-double for Santana with 10 points and 10 rebounds for Santana (11-7).

LANDON LOZOYA led the Sultans with 13 points.

Helix: Jaylen Linson 13 (6 reb, 2 ast), Tommie Young 11 (6 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl), Sam Meredith 8 (8 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk), Darien Peterson 7 (9 reb, 9 ast), Kevin Williams 7 (2 ast), Titus Young 4 (2 reb, 3 stl), John Henry Singer 4 (1 blk), Earl Schexnayder 3, Kenny Keys 3 (2 reb, 1 blk), Donald Woodard (2 ast), Corey Barnes 3, Yohanes Solomon 2.

Santana: Landon Lozoya 13 (3 stl), Matt Lucius 10 (10 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Matt Gomez 6, Jesse Vargas 5, Trey Bass 4 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Mike Rosolino 3, Jason Corbisez 2 (2 reb), Sean Ross 1.

Of course, Foothills Christian did not ask to be placed in the Citrus South League, but the SDCIF officials said the Knights had to be in a league in order to be eligible for playoffs, and they were placed in this league.

Despite limited playing time in Monday’s (Jan. 11) CSL league game, JVONTÉ BROOKS led the Knights (15-3, 2-0 CSL) with 23 points. DALTON MOSSER added 16 points as five Knights finished in double scoring digits.

Playing in mismatches such as this the Knights have to hold back their superstars such as TROY LEAF, KALOB HATCHER and Brooks.

Leaf, who is destined to become the SDCIF all-time scoring leader, scored 14 points in about nine minutes of playing time.

Hatcher played 15 minutes and walked off the court with 11 points, 15 assists and 6 steals.

“Looking back I figure that Troy and Kalob have sat out nearly 15 games worth of playing time on the bench during league games in their career,” said Knights assistant coach JAMES McHUGH. “Give those kids 15 games against good opponents that they get to play four quarters against and their numbers might be more impressive than they are when it's all said and done.”

“Mosser and IAN MATHISEN had some nice performances for us tonight,” said McHugh. “It's tough to say anything is positive in these games, but one thing you can take is when the guys get in off the bench and show that they want to play, you really see who understands the game.”

“I know people look at these scores and probably think 'why can't they be nice?' I would just say trust me, these scores are beyond courteous. We basically played man to man defense picking up at half court. Lutheran took their first shot with 1:36 to play in the first quarter. That's without playing a pressure defense, so it gives you an idea of how these league games go. I have sat at so many of our league games and listened to people say, 'wow these guys are fast,' when I had been thinking the whole game 'this game is moving so ridiculously slow.'"

Foothills Christian: Jvonté Brooks 23 (4 ast, 1 blk, 10 reb, 7 stl), Dalton Mosser 16 (3 ast, 6 reb, 4 stl), Troy Leaf 14 (5 ast, 3 blk, 2 reb, 5 stl), Kalob Hatcher 11 (15 ast, 6 stl), Stevie McElroy 11 (3 reb, 3 stl), Daniel LaBahn 9, Sal Romeri 8 (2 reb, 2 stl), Ian Mathisen 7 (2 reb), Henry Luschei 4.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-10-10) — It’s no small chore for a team to win a game when only three players score. Foothills Christian, ranked No. 4 and No. 5 in both major SDCIF polls, pulled off that hat trick Saturday night (Jan. 9) while blunting an upset bid by visiting Francis Parker at Granite Hills High.

Foothills Christian (14-3) escaped with a 68-64 non-league victory over the determined Lancers.

“It was a tough fought game for us tonight,” Foothills Christian assistant coach JAMES McHUGH said. “It was good for us to win a close game like this. We lost Jvonté with a little over 4 minutes to play in the game (fouled out) and Troy and Kalob put the team on their backs.”

With just over a minute to play in the game, Parker (8-4) hit a layup to take a 61-60 lead. It was the Lancers' first lead of the game.

It was also short lived, as Hatcher drove the lane and drew a foul (hitting both free throws to put the Knights back on top 62-61. With just a few seconds to play, and the game tied at 64-all Leaf drove and hit a bucket while being fouled. Leaf sank the free throw to give Foothills the lead for keeps. Hatcher added a free throw with 6 seconds to play to close out Parker.

“Early on, the game stayed close and it was kind of frustrating to watch,” McHugh said. “Francis Parker hit a number of unorthodox shots early to stay in the game. We started the game on a 9-0 run and they closed it to 6 with a 3 off the glass and a few other wild plays. Parker is well coached and they get good minutes out of 7 or 8 guys.”

Brooks led the Knights on the boards collecting 15 caroms before his early departure.

“That said, our rebounding was somewhat lacking,” McHugh said. “Parker out-hustled us for a lot of balls we would normally get. They have a lot more height than us, but it was hustle on the loose balls, it wasn't purely height that was winning the battle on the glass.”

“HENRY LUSCHEI provided a little spark for us in the few minutes he gave us tonight, gathering a number of key rebounds.”

Brooks did a great job in the 1st half of cleaning up the offensive glass. Six of his offense boards came in the first half and 5 for baskets.

“We have to get some support from our 4-7 guys,” McHugh said. “We missed a number of layups tonight that we have to have in big games. Parker missed some layups from their starting guards early on as well and that was fortunate for us, but we have to be able to expect that we are going to finish those plays. Our guards did not have a lot of assists tonight, and we had a lot of isolation baskets, but the lack of assists also had a lot to do with missed opportunities on easy baskets.”

Foothills Christian: Troy Leaf 33 (7 reb, 5 blk, 2 ast) Jvonté Brooks 22 (15 reb), Kalob Hatcher 13 (5 reb, 2 stl, 5 ast, 1 blk), Stevie McElroy (4 reb, 2 stl), Dalton Mosser (3 reb), Henry Luschei (5 reb), Sal Romeri (3 reb).

CHULA VISTA 47, STEELE CANYON 38 – The visiting Cougars fell to 2-11 Saturday (Jan. 9) as they dropped a non-league decision at Chula Vista.

Steele Canyon: Chanceller James 13, Michael Cederoth 11, Andrew King 5, Cody Wells 4, Rudy Burruel 2, Justin Norwood 1, Wes Judish 1, Danny Bwinika 1. No details reported.

© East County Sports.com
LA MESA (1-9-10) — It’s too bad that these longtime rivals will play only once this season.

Yes, the Helix and Mount Miguel competition goes way back to the early ‘50s. No doubt there has been a series of great games between these teams, and that has to include Friday’s (Jan. 8) Grossmont Conference contest won by the Highlanders, 65-64, in overtime.

“Do I think beating Mount Miguel is fun? Heck, I hate Mount Miguel,” said DARIEN PETERSON, whose 12-foot jumper in the middle of the key with 7 seconds remaining decided the issue. “Yeah this is one of the biggest – probably the biggest win we’ve had so far. We beat a good team.”

The Highlanders, who snapped Mount Miguel’s 8-game winning streak, could easily have gone down to defeat. Mount Miguel (14-4) was sitting on a 3-point lead with 3 seconds to play in regulation.

But somehow the Highlanders got the ball inbounds and into the hands of senior TOMMIE YOUNG, who beat the buzzer with a baseline 3-pointer to send the game into overtime.

There were those on the Mount Miguel side who thought time had expired before Young was able to launch his game-tying shot. The officials didn’t see it that way.

The Matadors’ coaches also questioned whether a few seconds should have remained on the clock following Peterson’s game-winning shot in overtime.

That could have been, but pandemonium reigned following Peterson’s bullseye, and the clock ran out.

“I thought I had another time out, but the officials couldn’t have heard it anyway,” lamented Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT.

JAYLEN LINSON turned in a powerful double-double for Helix with 20 points and 15 rebounds.

“We knew we had to bring it to ‘em,” said Linson. “And Coach Singer made it clear that we had to control their big scorer (HARRY BRAZELTON) if we expected to win.”

Brazelton, who is averaging more than 20 points per game, was tagged with his third foul 5:15 into the game and had to leave the floor. Upon his departure he had scored 7 points, propelling Mount Miguel to a 13-8 lead.

“I think there was a little bit too much confusion at the scorer’s table, because we had him with only two fouls and they had him with three,” Rowlett said.

Brazelton sat out all of the 2nd quarter, yet the Matadors maintained a 28-20 halftime lead.

Brazelton returned to the court and hit a pair of 3s in the 3rd quarter, but Helix rang up 21 markers to tie the contest at 41-all with a quarter to play. Credit AJ STANFORD for completing a 3-point play with no time left on the clock in the 3rd.

The Matadors took a 47-41 lead in the 4th period, but the Highlanders refused to fold. Helix, in fact, took a 50-49 lead on a putback by TITUS YOUNG with 1:59 to go.

Four free throws by Harry Brazelton put Mount Miguel back in front 53-50 with 1:46 remaining.

Peterson nailed a pair of free throws at the other end to make it a 1-point game.

The Highlanders’ SAM MEREDITH converted 1 of 2 free throws to tie the game at 53-all with 45 seconds to play.

And the foul fest continued…only it was Mount Miguel ’s turn.

Sanford gave the Matadors a 1-point edge with a free throw and JJ NORTON converted two more charity tosses to give Mount Miguel a 3-point edge with 10 seconds remaining.

But the Matadors could not hold on as Young hit his 3-point shot at the horn to force the extra session.

In overtime Young burned the Matadors again with a 3-point bucket, handing Helix a 63-61 edge with 55 seconds left.

Stanford countered with two free throws to return the advantage to Mount Miguel with 47 seconds remaining.

It was series of timeouts and scrambling until Young hit the game winner.

“We could have easily lost this game but we had a will to win,” said Peterson. “I think was the turning point of our season.”

Helix coach JOHN SINGER was elated by the victory.

“I’ll tell you, Mount Miguel (Division III) has a lot of poise and is going be right up there with the best in their division,” Singer said. “So I feel like we beat a good team tonight. We earned the win.”

Helix: Jaylen Linson 20 (15 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Tommie Young 17 (9 reb, 5 ast, 5 blk), Darien Peterson 12 (5 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Sam Meredith 7 (7 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 3 blk), Kenny Keys 4 (8 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Titus Young 3 (9 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), John Henry Singer 1 (2 reb, 2 stl), Kevin Williams (2 reb).

Mount Miguel: Harry Brazelton 19 (5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), AJ Stanford 16 (6 reb, 2 ast), Thomas Butler 8 (7 reb), Jaymes Brazelton 8, JJ Norton 5 (2 reb), Bryant Mitchell 4 (10 reb), Marcus Booker 4 (5 reb, 3 ast).

CHRISTIAN 80, CLAIREMONT 48 – Unlike the blacktops of inter-city America, where future basketball stars work their trade with dizzying jumping and slam dunk abilities, basketball skills are developed differently in other parts of the world.

"We learn to shoot the ball in Brazil," said Christian junior ICARO PARISOTTO. "We're always learning how to improve our shot.”

Parisotto mesmerized visiting Clairemont with his ability to drain an outside jumper, nailing 6-of-9 treys en route to a game-high 29 points in the Patriots' Central League opener Friday (Jan. 8) at Ryan Athletic Center.

"We jump a lot and try to follow our shot, then the coaches here help us with little things," added Parisotto. "But defense is the key for us."

Taking control of the boards early, Christian utilized scoring runs of 9-0 and 11-0 to flash to a quick 20-5 lead, which bolstered to a 28-8 cushion through the first period. Later, Parisotto displayed his defense by sacrificing his body and taking a charge to forge a turnover.

Ballgame over.

"We have a lot of good shooters on this team, like SHANE (DILLON) and ZSOLT LAKOSA," added Parisotto, who hails from Santa Cruz do Sul in the southern quarter of Brazil along State Hwy. 471.

Another early knockout blow came from another Brazilian import, LUIZ BIDART, who hails from the capital of Sao Paulo. Bidart make a nice inbounds pass to Lakosa for a layin to open the scoring, then added a pair of his own baskets to help quickly put away Clairemont (3-11, 0-2 CL).

However, the Chieftains showcased a couple of young prospects, as center Chris Bonner finished with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks, while guard Cody Bermudas pumped in 15 points. Both are juniors.

"James (Profit, the new Clairemont coach) is going to do real well with them," said Christian coach KELVIN STARR about the former SDCIF Player of the Year out of Serra in 2000. "He'll go through some bumps – I know about that from last year – and turn that team around."

"But right now, we have to focus on ourselves. All these teams are trying different things to keep up with us, so we have to stay prepared."

Parisotto has now scored 62 points in his last two outings, lifting his season average to 21.4 per contest. Meanwhile, Lakosa added 15 points and ERICK ALLEN contributed 12, as Starr cleared the bench early with all his starters gone by the end of the third period after mounting a 75-38 advantage.

Christian: Icaro Parisotto 29 (5 ast), Zsolt Lakosa 15 (6 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Erick Allen 12 (12 reb, 3 ast), Luiz Bidart 10, Shane Dillon 9 (6 reb), Aaron Heuslin 3, Cody Poteet 2, Tyrone Sauls (3 reb, 2 blk).

GROSSMONT 49, EL CAPITAN 45 – It’s uncharacteristic for the Grossmont Foothillers to win a game on their perimeter shooting. But that’s what they did in Friday’s (Jan. 8) Grossmont Conference crossover contest at El Capitan.

DESEAN WATERS and MICHAEL WNEK hit three treys apiece and ROBBY NESOVIC hit a seventh, which carried the Foothillers to their fourth win in five starts.

“ El Capitan played very hard,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “It was a good challenge for us – we made seven threes, which is not really our thing. We picked the tempo up by hitting threes.”

Grossmont senior JAKE HAAR, who came in averaging 18.5 points per game, was limited to a season-low 6 points by the Vaqueros (5-10).

“We went to the outside game because they were shutting down the inside,” Foggiano said. “It’s good to know we can score inside or out, that we’re not just one-dimensional.”

ARMON WORRELL, a 6-foot-4 senior, dropped in 12 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, made 5 steals and blocked a shot for El Capitan.

Six-foot-3, 220 pound junior ROBERT CRAIGHEAD also dominated the paint for the Vaqueros with 14 points, 5 rebounds, blocked a shot and made 2 steals.

Waters led all scorers with 17 points.

ROBBY NESOVIC scored 13 points and grabbed 8 rebounds for the Foothillers.

Grossmont: Desean Waters 17 (4 ast, 3 stl), Robby Nesovic 13 (8 reb), Michael Wnek 9 (2 reb), Jake Haar 6 (8 reb), Anthony Bowden 4 (4 reb).

El Capitan: Robert Craighead 14 (5 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Armon Worrell 12 (7 reb, 1 blk, 5 stl), Andrew Cable 9 (4 reb, 1 blk), Mike Overson 7 (7 reb, 6 ast, 1 blk), Tyson Kygar 3, Cody Kygar (2 reb), Brian Celeste (2 ast).

WEST HILLS 76, CAJON VALLEY 57 – First-year year El Cajon Valley coach MARTY ELLIS was one of East County’s aces during his playing days. But, like his team, he’s seen the Braves suffer through 15 consecutive losses this season.

That’s why when El Cajon Valley claimed a 32-29 halftime lead in Friday’s (Jan. 8) Grossmont Conference contest against visiting West Hills – winner of four of its last six – Ellis and his boys were fired up.

“We came out with lots of energy,” Ellis said noting that the Braves scored the first nine points in the game. “I was very proud of my guys. This was the first game we actually led at halftime.”

El Cajon Valley carried a two-point edge into the fourth quarter. That’s when the Braves succumbed to the referee’s whistle and the Wolf Pack offense caught fire.

“We had trouble versus their pressure, and the pace of the game was quick,” West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG said. “Marty had his kids ready and they were out of the gate in a hurry.”

SEDRICK COLLIER (22 points) and ADRIAN MARAZITI (16) carried the West Hills offense.

“We went to four guards and Maraziti (who thinks he’s a guard),” Armstrong said. “We handled the ball better and had shooting threats on both sides of the floor.”

El Cajon Valley was in the game until DOMINIQUE MILLER fouled out.

“That really hurt their boards and scoring presence,” Armstrong said. “Then when JACQUELLE MORRIS exited, the score became lopsided. Those two kids really make them go. The game was much closer/competitive than the final score indicates.”

KENDALL CONLEY led the Braves with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 6 steals.

DOMINIQUE MILLER added 15 points and 8 boards for El Cajon Valley.

“I think we need to continue to work on our press break offense and control our possessions,” Ellis said. “Other than that, I think we are closer to getting a win. I continue to remind them that confidence, less turnovers plus energy will be the key to our first win.”

West Hills: Shedrick Collier 22, Adrian Maraziti 20, Jonny Preston 13, Kevin Straub 6, Findley 6, Alex Parsons 4, John Magoon 2, Garrett Guinn 2, Ralph Bedoe 1.

El Cajon Valley: Kendall Conley 21 (12 reb, 4 ast, 6 stl, 2 blk), Dominique Miller 15 (8 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Allen Esho 8 (2 reb, 3 stl), Jacquelle Morris 7 (4 reb), Dushawn Johnson 4 (2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Sangar Hasan 4 (2 ast, 2 stl), Dontae Baily (5 reb).

GRANITE HILLS 69, MIRA MESA 54 – KYLE SNYDER drilled in five 3-pointers and finished with 19 points as the visiting Eagles marched past Mira Mesa (9-5) in a non-league Friday night (Jan. 8).

“Snyder hit some really deep threes, in fact all five of his threes were deep,” Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON said. All but one of Snyder’s buckets came from above the arc.

Steady senior guard ANDRE LEWIS canned a game-high 28 points. Lewis also dished five assists.

“Mira Mesa tried to stop Lewis, but he had Snyder to kick it out to,” Anderson said. “They work so well together.”

GARRETT LARCH-MILLER led a strong Granite Hills rebounding brigade, collecting 20 caroms. He also contributed 15 points and handed out 5 scoring passes as the Eagles (11-4) stretched their winning streak to seven straight.

“I thought it was our most solid overall performance, our best defensive effort,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. “Giving up 54 points against a good team at the pace we play was a real good defensive effort on our part. We came out with a lot of intensity on both ends of the floor in the 1st half for the second game in a row.”

Granite Hills led 42-26 by intermission.

Victory did not come without a price for Granite Hills, as leading rebounder JASON GAINES missed much of the action due to early fouls trouble and later hitting his head on the floor.

“He missed almost half the game,” Anderson said.

Anderson praised JAMES SADIK for his work off the bench, which included 7 rebounds.

Granite Hills: Andre Lewis 28 (5 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Kyle Snyder 19, Garrett Larch-Miller 15 (20 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk), James Sadik 4 (7 reb), Jason Gaines 3 (5 reb, 5 ast, 3 blk), Dalton Otineru (7 reb), Scott Atkinson (3 reb).

VALHALLA 54, MONTE VISTA 32 – The Norsemen stormed in front 13-2 after the 1st quarter of Friday’s (Jan. 8) Grossmont Conference crossover contest at Monte Vista.

Valhalla (8-5) outscored the Monarchs (5-11) in three of the four quarters, breaking the game open with a 20-7 run in the 3rd period.

Once again versatile JORDAN CUNNINGHAM had a hand in all phases of the game for Valhalla (8-7), which has won six of its last seven encounters.

“TONY JACKSON was Monte Vista’s sparkplug – helped ignite their game in the 2nd quarter (cutting Valhalla ’s advantage to 26-19),” Norsemen assistant coach DON ROLLINS said. “We made a defensive adjustment at halftime and put Cunningham on Jackson and Jordan did a commendable job on him – held him to three points in the 2nd half.

“Cunningham is filling up the stats sheet for us.”

So is DAVID WILSCHETZ, who scored 13 points and grabbed 16 rebounds (9 of them off the offensive glass.

“He was crashing the boards a lot, was around the ball all the time,” Rollins said.

No to be over looked was STEVEN KLEIST, who topped the Norsemen with 15 points. Even more impressive is he is closing in on taking 20 charges.

Valhalla: Steven Kleist 15 (7 reb, 2 ast), David Wilschetz 13 (16 reb), Kyle Kriebel 13 (10 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), Jordan Cunningham 7 (7 reb, 4 ast, 3 blk, 2 stl), Luke Baxter 3 (3 reb), David Zetts 2 (4 reb), Andrew Lewellen 1 (2 reb).

Monte Vista: Tony Jackson 12 (3 reb, 1 blk), Kevin Starling 8 (8 reb), James Jackson 4 (1 blk), KJ Houston 4 (5 reb, 2 stl), Brian Sterling 2 (2 reb), Moses Walker 2, Dave Thomas (3 reb), Kylie Luster (9 reb), Terrance Peterson (2 reb). No other details reported.

SANTANA 66, STEELE CANYON 43 – Despite stumbling along the way the Santana Sultans continue to position themselves as contenders in the newly formed Grossmont Valley League.

“I was happy we turned the page from Tuesday (a loss to West Hills),” Santana coach TIM BARRY said. “I actually calmed down after 16 hours. We can’t walk into any gym and just get the game – we have to work hard from the outset. We did that tonight (Jan. 8).”

JESSE VARGAS led the way past Steele Canyon with 19 points, including three 3-pointers. LANDON LOZOYA knocked down four three-pointers and finished with 17 points as did MATT LUCIUS, who clicked on six of 9 floor shots

“But it was the unsung heroes, like TREY BASS who did so many things for us tonight,” Barry said. “He’s one of our big men but he does so many things like handle the ball and their press well. How he does for us dictates how we do for the rest of our season. He really pushes us in terms of handling the ball.”

Michael Cederoth nailed 11 points to pace Steele Canyon (2-10).

Santana: Jesse Vargas 19 (4 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Matt Lucius 17 (5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Landon Lozoya 17 (2 reb, 3 ast), Trey Bass 6 (6 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Jason Corbisez 2 (2 reb, 3 stl), Matt Gomez 2 (2 ast), Mike Rosolino 2, Sean Ross 1.

Steele Canyon: Michael Cederoth 11, Chanceller James 9, Casey Balikian 6, Justin Norwood 6, Danny Bwinika 5, Ryan Gilbert 3, Wes Judish 2, Andrew King 1. No other details were reported.

© East County Sports.com
CARMEL VALLEY (1-8-10) — It’s been awhile since the Mount Miguel Matadors have been on the kind of roll they are at the moment.

Challenged by perennial power Cathedral Catholic (7-5) in a non-league game on Thursday (Jan. 7) in North County, the Matadors rebounded from a sluggish start to deal the Dons a 54-37 setback.

That win – the Matadors’ 8th in a row – improved Mount Miguel’s record to 14-3.

Cathedral capitalized on a bundle of Mount Miguel fouls to take a 25-19 halftime lead.

“We didn’t do a whole lot of things right in the first half,” Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT said. “We gave up nine offensive rebounds and sent them to the free throw line 21 times (overall). Fortunately, they only made seven.”

HARRY BRAZELTON scored 7 of his game-high 19 points and AJ STANFORD dropped in 6 of his 15 points in the third quarter as Mount Miguel used a 21-6 run to take a 40-29 advantage after three quarters.

“All things considered that second half is probably the best we’ve played this year,” Rowlett said. “They couldn’t handle our pressure and we did a nice job of rotating on the boards. Basically, we just tightened up our game.”

Rowlett noted the importance of this win.

“We are both Division III teams and getting a ‘W’ here was essential,” the coach said.

Mount Miguel: Harry Brazelton 19 (8 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), AJ Stanford 15 (3 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Jaymes Brazelton 8, Marcus Booker 4 (2 reb, 3 ast), Thomas Butler 4 (4 reb, 2 ast), JJ Norton 2 (3 ast, 5 stl), Bryant Mitchell 2 (5 reb).

© East County Sports.com
BONITA (1-7-10) – Unlike the old adage, Bonita Vista High very well knew what hit them early. But they couldn't do anything about it.

Continuing to utilize its international style of penetrating, then dishing off for the 3-point shot, Christian High saw ICARO PARISOTTO drain 3 of his 7 triples in the opening four minutes Wednesday (Jan. 6), while SHANE DILLON dropped in two additional triples to mount a 22-8 lead out of the gate, propelling the Patriots to a 77-53 thrashing of the host Barons.

Parisotto finished with 33 points, two more than his previous career-high and his third 30-point effort of the season.

"It's amazing to see what we can do sometimes," said Dillon, who sank five treys as part of his 17 points to also establish a career best. "We're passing the ball very well, and we're well-prepared thanks to the coaches, who do a great job scouting our opponents."

When it comes to passing the basketball, few teams do better than the Patriots, with eight different players collecting at least one assist.

And if Christian did miss a shot, nearly half of the loose balls were scooped up for offensive rebounds to keep Bonita Vista pinned.

"It's part of style — we like to go up-and-down the court — while other teams want to slow things down and run their offense," added Dillon. "It's what we expect when we get into league, but I think we're ready for it."

The inside play of Barons forwards Zach Sanchez (13 points) and Raul Lozano (9 points), coupled with a pair of 3rd-period treys by David Scarafone, saw Bonita Vista close to within 44-38.

However, Parisotto ended a 16-2 Barons run with a short jumper, then LUIZ BIDART found himself in an unusual position. Suffering through a poor shooting night, Bonita Vista twice left Bidart completely unguarded while holding the ball at the top of the key, so the senior from Brazil took exception and simply dribbled hard to the basket, registering four quick points on a layin and a pair of foul shots to push the lead back to double digits.

And when ERICK ALLEN scored on an impressive putback with a Barons defender draped all over his back, Christian pushed the lead to 54-40 to close the third period.

ZSOLT LAKOSA finished with 14 points for Christian, going 5-for-5 from the foul line in the final period, while Bidart scored 8 and took a charge on defense to force a turnover.

Christian: Icaro Parisotto 33 (5 stl, 4 reb), Shane Dillon 17 (8 reb, 3 blk), Zsolt Lakosa 14 (6 reb, 3 ast), Luiz Bidart 8 (3 ast), Jake Larsen 3, Erick Allen 2 (7 reb).

© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (1-6-10) — The visiting West Hills Wolf Pack scored the final seven points of Tuesday’s (Jan. 5) Grossmont Conference crossover match against city rival Santana, claiming a 56-49 victory.

Some might call this an upset when comparing the teams' records entering the contest.

Adrian Maraziti (right) with the breakaway layin to help West Hills top host Santana. (Photo by N.L. Preston)

“I thought we were in pretty good shape at that point,” said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG.

Not so.

The Pack committed a foul that led to three free throws by Santana’s DAVID THRALL. The West Hills player that was called for the foul complained vehemently enough to draw a technical foul and left the game with his fifth personal.

Santana’s JESSE VARGAS added two free throws to shave the deficit to 5 points by the close of the third quarter.

The game came down to the final seconds.

After a scramble on the floor for a loose ball, West Hills’ RALPH BEDOE landed a 3-pointer to give the Pack a 48-44 lead with 55 seconds to play.

SHEDRICK COLLIER scored on a driving layup to extend the Pack’s advantage to 6 points.

Santana’s SEAN ROSS pulled Santana closer with a putback to make it 50-46.

Collier, who scored 8 of his 11 points in the 4th quarter, tacked on two free throws to give West Hills a 52-46 lead with 40 seconds to play.

Santana (10-6) cut the Pack’s advantage in half as MATT LUCIUS converted a 3-point play to make it 52-49 with 17 seconds remaining.

Collier broke Santana’s pressure defense and was fouled on his way to the basket. He made two free throws to pad the Pack’s lead to 54-49.

Santana’s Vargas missed a 3-pointer with 8 second left and during the scramble for the rebound, West Hills’ JOHN MAGOON was fouled.

Magoon, a 5-foot-11 junior, netted two free throws with 4 seconds left to seal the deal for West Hills (4-10).

“This is a big momentum boost for us,” said Armstrong. “Our bench won this game for us. I’m talking about Magoon, Bedoe and KEVIN STRAUB. These are guys that aren’t usually in the limelight but they came up big for us in this game.”

Santana coach TIM BARRY said “This was the worst loss of my 14-year career.”

Of course Barry was talking about the emotional impact, since losing to the Wolf Pack really had no impact to Santana’s future since they are now in different leagues.

“Jeff did a great job of getting his kids to play hard,” Barry said. “They dug in and played with confidence. I’m not sure what our kids were thinking but they didn’t play with any passion until the 2nd half.”

“I’m totally disappointed in myself for not preparing my kids to play this game.”

West Hills: Adrian Maraziti 16, Shedrick Collier 11, Alex Parsons 7, John Magoon 6, Jonny Preston 6, Ralph Bedoe 5, Kevin Straub 3, Garrett Guinn 2.

Santana: Jesse Vargas 16 (5 reb), Matt Lucius14 (8 reb, 4 stl), Landon Lozoya 7 (3 reb, 3 stl), Sean Ross 5 (4 reb, 3 stl), Matt Gomez 4 (2 ast), David Thrall 3, Jason Corbisez (4 reb), Danny Carpenter (3 reb), Trey Bass (2 stl).

By doing so, every game involving the Knights (13-3, 1-0 CSL) is guaranteed to be a blowout. Case in point was Tuesday’s (Jan. 5) league opener at Midway Baptist.

Despite playing a little more than 19 minutes, Foothills sharpshooter TROY LEAF scored a season-best 47 points bringing his career total to 2,881. The 6-foot-2 senior is 82 points shy of breaking the SDCIF career scoring mark held by Tyrone Shelley (2,962).

Leaf’s five 3-pointers raised his career total to 235, which leaves him second on the SDCIF books to Chula Vista’s Jerome Green (259 in 1990-93).

The Knights’ KALOB HATCHER also landed a pair of treys giving him 230 for his career. Hatcher is now tied for 4th place on the SDCIF slate with San Marcos ’ Brian Baum (1991-94) at 230 apiece.

Hatcher plucked a dozen steals to give him a SDCIF career record 565 thefts, surpassing the mark of 559 held previously by Hoover ’s JayDee Luster.

“I don't think Kalob wanted to break the mark tonight, but it was one of those games where guys are literally throwing the ball directly at you and you have to take it,” Foothills Christian assistant coach JAMES McHUGH said. “One thing I hope people will realize about Kalob's assist and steals (SDCIF) records, and the scoring record that Troy is closing in on, is how much they rely on each other. The records exist because of each other. Those two owe a lot to each other for a great high school career.”

Six-foot-7 senior JVONTÉ BROOKS rolled an easy double-double of 23 points and 15 rebounds in three quarters of action.

“Jvonté's addition is also a huge factor in their (Leaf and Hatcher) success,” McHugh said. “Brooks is probably the greatest unsung hero in all the records that we're seeing go down because Jvonté allows our guards to get out and run when he clears the glass.”

As what will be common through the Knights league encounters the Foothills Christian bench will see plenty of action.

“A real bright spot for us tonight was IAN MATHISEN,” McHugh said. “Ian got in for the 4th quarter and he played really well. It might not show up much on the stat sheet but he had an all around solid performance and that was great to see.”

Foothills Christian: Troy Leaf 47 (2 ast, 8 reb, 5 stl, 1 blk), Jvonté Brooks 23 (15 reb, 5 stl, 5 blk, 3 ast), Kalob Hatcher 10 (17 ast, 12 stl, 2 reb), Dalton Mosser 9 (6 reb), Stevie McElroy 6 (8 ast, 7 stl, 2 reb), Ian Mathisen 4 (5 reb, 1 blk), Sal Romeri 2 (3 ast, 1 blk), Daniel LaBahn 2.

GRANITE HILLS 90, MONTE VISTA 65 – The fast-breaking Eagles scored a season high in Tuesday’s (Jan. 5) Grossmont Conference contest at Monte Vista.

ANDRE LEWIS, arguably the best player in the Grossmont Hills League, turned out a double-double of 25 points and 12 assists to go along with 6 steals for the Eagles (10-4), who won their sixth straight.

Lewis made 8 of 13 shots from the floor and 9 of 13 free throws.

“He’s doing a great job of distributing the ball and attacking the basket,” said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON of Lewis.

Granite Hills scored more than 20 points in each of the four quarters.

“I was real happy with our intensity on both ends of the floor and with our attack on offense in the 1st half (when the Eagles scored 49 points),” said Anderson.

GARRETT LARCH-MILLER had 15 points in 1st half on his way to a 23-point, 15 rebound, 5 assists effort for the Eagles. The 6-foot-2 junior hit 10 of 18 shots from the field including one trey, and was 2 for 2 from the free throw line.

JASON GAINES had 15 points in 1st half (12 points in 1st quarter) and finished with 17 to go along with 11 rebounds and 6 blocks.

“I really liked the way Gaines is attacking the rim,” said Anderson. “He’s real long (6-foot-4) but he plays even bigger than that. He works hard.”

Anderson noted that Granite Hills is one of the highest scoring teams in the county and it is not by coincidence.

“I’m really proud of the way the guys are working together – really unselfish play. It shows in the number of our assists (25 on 34 baskets),” Anderson noted.

Senior TONY JACKSON and sophomore RUBEN NWANDO had 16 points each to lead Monte Vista (5-10).

Granite Hills: Andre Lewis 25 (12 ast, 6 stl), Garrett Larch-Miller 23 (15 reb, 5 ast), Jason Gaines 17 (11 reb, 3 ast, 6 blk), Kyle Snyder 14 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk), Dalton Otineru 6 (5 reb), James Sadik 3, Zach Hanken 2 (3 reb), Wil Wilson (2 reb).

Monte Vista: Tony Jackson 16 (6 reb, 2 blk), Ruben Nwando 16 (2 reb, 1 blk), Brian Sterling 9 (2 ast), KJ Houston 7 (3 ast), Moses Walker 4 (1 blk, 2 stl), Kevin Starling 4, Dave Thomas 3 (3 reb), Kylie Luster 2 (5 reb, 1 blk), James Jackson 2, Tyshaun Forbes 2.

HELIX 52, EL CAPITAN 39 – Helix pushed its record above the .500 mark in Tuesday’s (Jan. 5) Grossmont Conference crossover contest in Lakeside.

KENNY KEYS, a 6-foot-3 junior, was the standout for the Highlanders with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks.

“He was the player of the game as far as I’m concerned,” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER. “He did a lot of things coming off the bench for us.”

JAYLEN LINSON chipped in with a double-double of 12 points and 16 rebounds for Helix (7-6).

Singer said the key to beating the Vaqueros (5-9) was to keep a harness on senior MIKE OVERSON.

“Overson was really good at posting up our guards,” Singer said. “So we tried to run a couple of defensive change-ups in an attempt to neutralize him.”

Nevertheless, Overson finished with 18 points and 5 rebounds to lead the Vaqueros.

“You have to give credit to El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS,” Singer said. “He does a great job with the talent he has.”

Helix scored 12 points on second chance shots.

“They outplayed us but we outscored them,” Singer said. “That’s not the way you want to do it, but if you come away with a win I guess it’s OK.”

Helix: Kenny Keys 16 (7 reb, 3 stl, 2 blk), Jaylen Linson 12 (16 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk), Titus Young 7 (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Darien Peterson 6 (2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Tommie Young 5 (3 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Yohanes Solomon 4 (5 reb), Sam Meredith 3 (4 reb, 1 blk), Kevin Williams 1 (2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk).

El Capitan: Mike Overson 18 (5 reb, 1 blk), Armon Worrell 5 (11 reb, 1 blk), Cody Kygar 5, Tyson Kygar 5 (2 reb, 2 stl), Andrew Cable 4 (2 reb, 2 ast), Robert Craighead 2 (2 reb, 2 stl.

MOUNT MIGUEL 44, STEELE CANYON 39 – The Matadors stretched their winning streak to seven in a row with Tuesday’s (Jan. 5) Grossmont Conference crossover victory in Spring Valley.

Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT admitted that his team was not performing at top level.

“We led by 12 points in the 4th quarter but then we let Steele Canyon back into the game,” he said. “It seemed like we weren’t focused all night, didn’t play really well. But I trust my team, and they made the plays they had to to win the game.”

HARRY BRAZELTON hit 8 of 15 shots from the floor, including a pair of threes, to lead the Matadors with 18 points. He also led Mount Miguel with 5 steals and contributed 3 assists.

AJ STANFORD chipped in with 11 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals.

BRYANT MITCHELL led the Matadors with 8 rebounds, while JJ NORTON topped the club with 4 assists.

Despite losing, Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS was pleased with the effort of his Cougars (2-9).

With 2 minutes remaining and the game tied at 39-all, the Cougars were flirting with an upset.

“We held them to 8 points in the 4th quarter – they made only two baskets.” Stephens said.

“I thought my guys played really hard, they played their hearts out. I thought we outplayed them. We are inexperienced, but we work hard – we never quit. We did a much better job in the 2nd half offensively – didn’t turn the ball over as much.”

Sophomore CODY WELLS led the Cougars with 13 points.

“Cody Wells played really well, especially in the 4th quarter,” Stephens said. “It was a physical game – there weren’t a lot of fouls called.”

“RYAN GILBERT came off the bench and played really well for us tonight,” said Stephens. “He was boxing out and played good defense.”

Mount Miguel: Harry Brazelton 18 (2 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl), AJ Stanford 11 (4 reb, 4 stl), JJ Norton 4 (4 ast), Jaymes Brazelton 4, Yuel Hagos 3, Marcus Booker 2, Bryant Mitchell 1 (8 reb, 2 stl), Thomas Butler 1, Tarik Downs (3 reb).

Steele Canyon: Cody Wells 13, Ryan Gilbert 8, Michael Cederoth 7, Justin Norwood 4, Andrew King 3, Wes Judish 2, Chanceller James 2,

VALHALLA 69, EL CAJON VALLEY 22 – Valhalla’s JORDAN CUNNINGHAM is not a statistical machine, but he knows how to play defense, and that doesn’t always show up in the numbers columns.

The Valhalla coaches recognize Cunningham’s value to the 7-7 Norsemen. They consider him the cornerstone to the club’s defense.

The visiting Norsemen led the Braves 12-0 after one quarter.

“Our defense set the tone in the 1st quarter,” said Valhalla assistant coach DON ROLLINS. “We have never shut an opponent out in the three years that I’ve been at Valhalla. That is something that the kids are proud of.”

The Norsemen held the Braves (0-14) to single digits in every quarter.

Four Norsemen reached double scoring digits, three of them coining double-doubles.

Known more for his defense, Cunningham paced the Norsemen with 13 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals.

KYLE KRIEBEL turned a double-double of 11 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.

DAVID WILSCHETZ pitched in with 10 points and a team-best 12 rebounds for the Norsemen.

Senior LUKE BAXTER had a breakout game with 12 points for Valhalla.

KENDALL CONLEY led the Braves with 12 points and 5 blocks.

“I’m still trying to instill confidence,” said Braves coach MARTY ELLIS. “I want them to play hard and not worry about the scoreboard. We lack size. I’m seeing good effort. Valhalla ran their offense well and played good defense. We’re going to get somebody some day – we’re getting closer.”

Valhalla: Jordan Cunningham 13 (10 reb, 7 ast, 5 stl), Luke Baxter 12 (5 reb), Kyle Kriebel 11 (10 reb, 3 at, 4 blk, 3 stl), David Wilschetz 10 (12 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Kevin Mills 9 (3 reb, 2 stl), David Zetts 9 (2 reb), Steven Kleist 5 (3 ast, 4 stl).

El Cajon Valley: Kendall Conley 12 (3 reb, 5 blk, 3 stl), Dushawn Johnson 4 (3 stl), Dominique Miller 4 (3 reb, 2 stl), Jacquelle Morris 2 (4 reb).