© East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (12-31-13) — These two longtime league rivals, Grossmont and Helix, put on a sparkling show in Monday (Dec. 30) night’s championship game of the Chula Vista Spartan Tournament.

With the Foothillers leading 64-61, Helix’s CHRISTIAN BELL launched a 3-point attempt with 1.5 seconds remaining, and was fouled. Bell was awarded three shots but had to make them all to force overtime.

He missed the first one and the referees declared the game over because mathematically there was no way the Highlanders (7-7) could catch the Foothillers (10-4) at that point.

TOMMY RUTHERFORD led Grossmont in a physical game with 19 points and 18 rebounds. He netted 11 of 14 free throws.

As a team Grossmont was 30 of 40 from the free throw line, including 12 of 15 in the fourth quarter.

Not to be overlooked for the Foothillers was CARL BLANCHARD, who scored 8 points in the fourth quarter, including 6-for-6 from the free throw line. He finished with 15 points and 8 boards.

ANTHONY LAWRENCE contributed 16 points for Grossmont, including a trio of triples, while ROME HARRIS had one of his best offensive games with 11 points.

Speaking of high point efforts, MARCUS WHITE scored a game-high 24 points for Helix, hitting 10 of 16 shots from the field, while CHRISTIAN BELL added 19 points and 7 assists for the Highlanders.

Helix took a 14-8 first quarter lead but the Foothillers just kept pecking away and overtook the Highlanders in the second half.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 19 (18 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Anthony Lawrence 16 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Carl Blanchard 15 (8 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Rome Harris 11 (1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), J.T. Barnes 3 (6 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Christian Meno (4 reb), Kyle Williams (2 reb).

Helix: Marcus White 24 (3 ast, 6 stl), Christian Bell 19 (5 reb, 7 ast, 1 stl), Justin Flisher 7 (7 reb, 3 ast), Dylan Lee 3 (1 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), Marcus Norris 2 (9 reb, 3 ast), John Nalty 2 (1 reb, 1 ast), Ernesto Martinez 2 (2 reb), Qrizviah Mobley (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Gary Linson 1 (1 reb), Elsaiah Blair (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Luke Holloway (2 reb).

GROSSMONT 81, LINCOLN 78 (OT) – The Foothillers used a balanced attack to edge Lincoln in Monday’s (Dec. 30) Chula Vista Spartan Tournament semifinal in overtime.

Four Hillers notched double scoring digits paced by TOMMY RUTHERFORD’s 24 points and 18 rebounds. Rutherford was 12 of 17 from the free throw line, including 5 of 8 in the overtime period.

ANTHONY LAWRENCE pitched in 17 points, while CARL BLANCHARD powered in 16 points and pounded the glass for 10 boards.

J.T. BARNES nailed a trio of 3-pointers on his way to a 15 point finish.

“We kept our composure and pounded the ball inside,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 24 (18 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Anthony Lawrence 17 (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Carl Blanchard 16 (10 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), J.T. Barnes 15 (6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Kyle Williams 4 (3 reb, 1 ast), Cameron Henderson 3 (1 reb, 1 ast), Dominique Hill 1, Rome Harris 1 (2 ast, 1 stl), Christian Meno (2 reb).

HELIX 46, MIRA MESA 44 – Helix held a 9 point lead over Mira Mesa with 4 minutes to go and nearly let it slip away in Monday’s (Dec. 30) semifinal of the Chula Vista Spartan Tournament.

CHRISTIAN BELL rang up 21 points to pace the Highlanders, while JUSTIN FLISHER crafted a nifty double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds.

The Highlanders saw their big lead shrink to one point with 2 minutes to play, but held on to turn away the Marauders.

Helix: Christian Bell 21 (4 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Justin Flisher 12 (13 reb, 3 stl, 1 ast), Elsaiah Blair 9 (8 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Ernesto Martinez 3 (2 reb), Gary Linson 1 (3 reb),Marcus White (4 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl), Marcus Norris (1 reb), Luke Holloway (2 reb, 2 stl), Qrizviah Mobley (2 reb, 2 stl).

EL CAPITAN 65, MAR VISTA 53 – El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS said of Monday’s (Dec. 30) final round of the Aztec Holiday Classic, “This is the best defensive game we’ve played all year – for sure.”

JOEY LaCHAPPA carried the offensive torch for the Vaqueros with 21 points, 17 rebounds and 8 steals.

SCOTT ROOT contributed 16 points with 5 assists and 4 steals, while ANDY CASAS chipped in with 9 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.

El Capitan led by as many as 28 points in the second half before Cavazos emptied his bench.

El Capitan: Joey LaChappa 21 (17 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 8 stl), Scott Root 16 (2 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl), Andy Casas 9 (8 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Wyatt Alvarez 8 (1 ast, 2 stl), Myles Emmerson 6 (1 reb, 2 stl), Patrick Howell 3 (3 ast), Aaron Price (1 reb, 1 stl), Brian Ballo 1 (1 reb), Javier Ramirez (1 stl).

MOUNT MIGUEL 60, CHRISTIAN 56 – Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT meant what he said when he noted that “So goes DONNELL PAYNE, so go they.”

Payne punched in a career high 34 points in Monday’s (Dec. 30) Aztec Holiday Classic victory over Christian. The 6-foot-3 junior nailed 12 field goals – two of them 3s – and also converted 12 of 14 free throws.

TAIHIR McMURRAY put together his best game at Mount Miguel, finishing with 18 points. He hit a pair of 3s and 4 of 6 free throws.

Steady ZACH KINNINGER carried the load for Christian with 15 points and 12 rebounds. He made 6 of 10 shots from the field.

JOHNNY PAULSON pitched in with 12 points, while JOSH SMITH corralled 9 rebounds for the Patriots (4-9).

“We had it down to one point with about 2 minutes to go, so we had a chance to win it but just couldn’t do it,” said Patriots coach CARLOS PERALTA.

Mount Miguel: Donnell Payne 34 (6 reb, 4 ast), Taihir McMurray 18 (5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Carl Dee Roberson 4 (7 reb, 1 stl), Dejuan Norwood 4 (4 reb), Amadi Cass-Williams (3 reb, 1 stl), Nate Gilbert (2 reb, 2 stl), James McLeod (3 reb).

Christian: Zach Kinninger 15 (12 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk), Johnny Paulson 12 (4 reb), David Todd Jeremiah 9 (3 reb), Joe Ross 8 (5 reb), Josh Smith 4 (9 reb), Tyler Ballard 4 (2 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl), Trent Sauls 2 (3 reb), Michael Carrillo (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Justin Vrzich (2 reb).

GRANITE HILLS 50, CRAWFORD 41 – SETH COLLINS pumped in 17 points for Granite Hills, as did ANDREW MANNING, in Monday’s (Dec. 30) final round of the Spartan Tournament in Chula Vista . Collins also snared 10 rebounds.

JARON SANDERS pulled down 9 boards for the Eagles.

Granite Hills (4-5) was a miserable 10-for-20 from the free throw line, which definitely made things more difficult for the Eagles.

Manning, however, hit a trio of 3s to pick up the slack.

Granite Hills: Seth Collins 17 (10 reb, 1 ast, 1blk, 1 stl), Andrew Manning 17 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Brayan Turner 8 (5 reb, 2 stl), Jaron Sanders 6 (9 reb, 3 stl, 1 blk), Rease Warford 2 (3 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Jacob Burton (4 reb), Diaz (1 reb), Antonio Read (1 reb), Matt Conley (1 blk).

EASTLAKE 53, WEST HILLS 44 – West Hills played seesaw basketball against Eastlake in the final game of the Aztec Holiday Classic Monday (Dec. 30) at Montgomery .

The Wolf Pack (5-4) took a 17-10 first quarter lead and closed the contest with a 13-7 spread in the fourth. It’s what happened in the middle two quarters that cost them the game, when they were outscored 35-14.

“We played with them the entire game, but we lacked intensity at times,” said West Hills assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG. “It was tough to play a game at 10 a.m.”

“We got beat on the boards again,” Armstrong observed. “It seems to be our biggest flaw.

“We took good care of the ball again versus a very aggressive and athletic Eastlake team,” he added. “And we were 9-10 from the free throw line.”

BRENT WILDER got off to a great start, scoring 12 of his 14 in the first quarter.

“CHASE PARSONS had a quiet 14 as well. He was named to the all-tournament team,” Armstrong said.

West Hills: Brent Wilder 14 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Chase Parsons 14 (1 reb, 2 stl), Marco Ovies 4 (4 ast, 1 stl), Nick Zoree 3 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Joe Mansour 3 (1 ast), Thomas Reaney 2 (3 reb), Ricardo Barajas 2 (1 reb), Elias Totah 2 (1 reb).

EL DORADO 59, STEELE CANYON 57 – The third place game of the Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic, which concluded on Monday (Dec. 30) was a bitter pill for the Steele Canyon Cougars as they succumbed to El Dorado .

“We led the whole game until the end,” said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS. “With one minute left we missed a layup, got the rebound and got called for traveling. They took a 1-point lead with 26 seconds to play. We had our chances but we just couldn’t catch them.

“Even though we lost and we’re disappointed about that, it was a good test and a good learning experience for our kids,” Stephens said.

Steele Canyon: Dominick Wood-Anderson 18, Zach Kissel 15, Aaron Pisiona 10, Dylan Hamlett 7, Jordan Johnson 3, Robert Teo 2, Tyler Gulino-Jones 2.

OLYMPIAN 47, EL CAJON VALLEY 44 – The Braves offense sputtered in the first quarter of Monday’s (Dec. 30) final round of the Baron Optimist Holiday Tournament, but El Cajon Valley still had a chance to win in the final seconds.

“We got down by one with 23 seconds, then we missed a shot at 6 seconds,” said Braves coach MARTY ELLIS. “We got the rebound but couldn’t hold onto it. They scored with 2 seconds left.”

The Braves (10-5) were 6 of 11 from the free throw line.

“If we had made our free throws we could have been successful,” Ellis added. “The really small things killed us tonight. We gave up some post action.”

El Cajon Valley: Ian Danler 10, Syon Hicks 10, Brenden Brocious 8, Daniel Placenti 6, Ibrahim Ali 4, Mike Readus 3, Drake Afaisen 2, Brandon Rumley 1.

EC-SOUTHWEST 65, VALHALLA 61 – The Norsemen saw their record tumble to 4-4 as they fell to El Centro Southwest in Monday’s (Dec. 30) final round of the Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery .

GEORGE FAKHOURY paced the Norsemen with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while JACOB HAMMETT dropped in 13 points, gobbled up 4 rebounds, dished 5 assists, blocked a shot and made a steal.

DAVID GAZALE also scored 13 points and grabbed 6 boards.

“We let a 10-point second half lead disappear and couldn't finish,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON.

Valhalla: George Fakhoury 15 (10 reb, 3 ast, 7 stl, 1 blk), David Gazale 13 (6 reb, 1 stl), Jacob Hammett 13 (4 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Trey Schimke 7 (8 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Uriel Michaca 6 (2 reb), Aram Hermiz 5 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Jake Bassette 2 (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Terrell McKay (2 reb, 1 blk).

BONITA VISTA 57, MONTE VISTA 43 – Monarchs first-year coach MIKE TULLY is a little bit frustrated at this point in the season, but he believes it’s nothing that a few practices can’t remedy.

The Monarchs (5-9) have been dogged by illness and injury and anemic scoring totals.

“I’m just glad we have a couple of days to just practice,” said Tully, whose Monarchs finished 1-3 in the Baron Optimist Holiday Tournament on Monday (Dec. 30).

JORDAN JACKSON had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and TORY SANDERS added a dozen points and 15 boards.

But only one other player had more than three points.

“We did some good things, like taking care of the ball,” Tully said. “We still have a lot of work to do.”

Monte Vista: Jordan Jackson 16 (12 reb), Tory Sanders 12 (15 reb), Adam Wallace 9 (2 ast), Saiyeed Mershon 3 (1 reb, 1 ast), Maliek Johnson 3, Eric Collins (4 reb).

TEMECULA VALLEY 76, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 65 – No information was provided for this Under Armour Holiday Classic at La Costa Canyon.

© East County Sports.com
BONITA (12-29-13) — The El Cajon Valley Braves dribbled from a 12-6 deficit in the first quarter, and used a 35-16 spread in the third quarter to upend host Bonita Vista in Saturday’s (Dec. 28) Baron Optimist Holiday Tournament.

DANIEL PLACENTI led the Braves balanced attack with 14 points as El Cajon Valley registered a 56-42 knockout of the Barons.

“We had a slow start but we got it,” said El Cajon Valley coach MARTY ELLIS. “We did some things differently. Daniel Placenti was huge on the court tonight. He really stepped the defense up. DRAKE AFAISEN probably had a good 6-7 steals – he was after the ball tonight. He’s starting to get real comfortable.

“We liked this game because we’re in the same division (Division 4). We’ve already played 6 of the 22 teams in Division 4 and we’re 6-0 against them.”

But looking back, coach Ellis is wondering when the school is going to present his basketball team with last year’s Grossmont Valley League championship banner.

These are the kind of mementos that hang on the gymnasium wall for all to see and to mark history.

Ellis is still waiting, and wonders why.

El Cajon Valley: Daniel Placenti 14, Drake Afaisen 12, Brenden Brocious 11, Ibrahim Ali 10, Brandon Rumley 4, Syon Hicks 3, Shauntal King 2.

WEST HILLS 63, MONTGOMERY 58 – Slick ball handling by MARCO OVIES and CHASE PARSONS doesn’t really show up in the box score, but it was probably the difference in the Wolf Pack’s knockout of host Montgomery in Saturday’s (Dec. 28) Aztec Holiday Classic.

“We really did a good job of taking care of the ball,” said West Hills’ assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG. “And that was key for us.”

RICARDO BARAJAS was deadly from the free throw line as he made 8 of 8 to score a team high 16 points for the Wolf Pack.

West Hills also welcomed back D.J. LEWIS from an ankle injury.

“We put him on their best offensive player and he did a good job,” said Armstrong.

West Hills: Ricardo Barajas 16 (2 reb, 1 blk), Chase Parsons 11 (1 reb, 3 ast), Thomas Reaney 9 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Joe Mansour 8 (1 reb, 1 ast), Brent Wilder 6 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Marco Ovies 5 (2 reb, 5 ast), D.J. Lewis 5 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Spencer Moyer 3 (1 reb), Elias Totah (1 ast, 1 stl), Nick Zoree (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl).

GRANITE HILLS 46, POINT LOMA 37 – ANDREW MANNING scored 21 points, including a trio of triples as the Eagles punched out the Pointers in Saturday’s (Dec. 28) Spartan Classic at Chula Vista.

SETH COLLINS scored 9 points and had 11 rebounds for the Eagles (3-5).

“Manning hit 6 of his first 7 shots,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. “And we had excellent ball control.”

Granite Hills: Andrew Manning 21 (2 reb, 3 stl), Seth Collins 9 (11 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Rease Warford 5 (3 reb, 1 ast), Jaron Sanders 5 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk), Trevor Sperry 3 (4 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk, 1 stl), Brayan Turner 2 (4 reb, 3 ast), Jacob Burton 1 (4 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk).

LINCOLN 58, HELIX 54 – Former Highlander Tivon Plummer turned 3 of his 4 steals into coast-to-coast layups to help Lincoln gain the nod over Helix in Saturday’s (Dec. 28) Spartan Classic at Chula Vista. Plummer finished with 19 points and 5 rebounds.

The Highlanders, however, had several chances to pull out the victory.

“We had our chances to win it,” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER. “We held the lead probably 85 percent of the time, but our learning points and crucial mistakes cost us the game.

“ Lincoln uses its speed to disrupt your offense, but I thought our guys handled it pretty well,” Singer added.

“The bottom line is we didn’t get embarrassed. To be 6-6 at this point, with a young team like ours... I’m pretty happy with that. These kids are fun to coach.”

Helix: Christian Bell 15 (7 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk), Justin Flisher 10 (13 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Marcus White 9 (7 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Jordan Velasco 8 (3 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Luke Holloway 6 (8 reb, 1 stl), Q Mobley 4 (4 reb, 2 ast), Elsaiah Blair 2 (2 stl), Marcus Norris (3 reb), Ernesto Martinez (1 reb, 1 blk), Dylan Lee (1 reb).

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 59, LAKE WASHINGTON (Wash.) 58 – As major scouts continue to monitor the play of Foothills Christian’s T.J. LEAF, the 6-foot-9 sophomore continued to sparkle as he turned in 38 points in the Knights’ victory over Lake Washington in the Under Armour Holiday Classic at La Costa Canyon.

Six-foot-8 senior DANE NORMAN added 14 points for the Knights (6-6)

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 38, Dane Norman 14.

(No other information was provided.)

GROSSMONT 70, CHULA VISTA 35 – The Foothillers stampeded past tournament host Chula Vista in Saturday’s (Dec. 28) Spartan Classic.

ANTHONY LAWRENCE scored 17 points, including a trio of treys to pace the Foothillers (7-4).

Lawrence, CHRISTIAN MENO and J.T. BARNES would later play in the Football Night Lights All-Star game at Helix.

“I told those guys they could skip the basketball game so they could concentrate on the football game,” said Hillers basketball coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “But they told me they didn’t want to let the basketball team down, so they played both.”

Steady TOMMY RUTHERFORD turned in another double-double of 15 points and 18 rebounds for the Foothillers, who qualified for the Final Four of the Spartan Classic on Monday (Dec. 30).

Not to be overlooked was the play of CARL BLANCHARD, who also coined a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, while CAMERON HENDERSON pitched in 10 points.

Grossmont: Anthony Lawrence 17 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Tommy Rutherford 15 (18 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Carl Blanchard 11 (10 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Cameron Henderson 10 (2 ast, 1 stl), J.T. Barnes 6 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Joseph Cesena 5 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Christian Meno 4 (3 reb), Brandon Bland 2 (3 reb), Kyle Williams (4 reb), Dominique Hill (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Matthew Oropallo (2 reb).

MONTE VISTA 57, HEALTH & SCIENCES 24 – Monte Vista hammered Health & Sciences on the boards in Saturday’s (Dec. 28) Baron Optimist Holiday Tournament at Bonita Vista.

The Monarchs banged the boards for 62 rebounds as they toppled Health & Sciences.

JORDAN JACKSON led the board brigade with 13 caroms, while JERMYAH KELLY collected 12 rebounds and SAIYEED MERSHON grabbed 10.

TORY SANDERS led the Monarchs with 14 points.

The Monarchs turned the game into a rout with a 27-8 scoring burst in the second quarter.

“You know, we could have scored a lot more points, but that’s not what we’re out here for,” said Monarchs coach MIKE TULLY. “We took the opportunity to play a lot of players who don’t normally see that much time.”

Monte Vista: Tory Sanders 14 (8 reb, 5 stl), Jemeil Jackson 6 (4 reb, 2 ast, 5 stlj), Saiyeed Mershon 6 (10 reb, 3 stl), Jermyah Kelly 5 (12 reb), Adam Wallace (4 reb, 2 ast), Jordan Jackson 4 (13 reb), Meliek Johnson 3 (4 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Thomas Walker 2 (4 ast, 7 stl).

VALLEY CENTER 61, MOUNT MIGUEL 58 – The Matadors blew a 9-point lead in the final 5 minutes as Valley Center went on a 10-0 run in Saturday’s (Dec. 28) Aztec Holiday Classic contest at Montgomery.

The Jaguars, in their game-winning streak, nailed 3 three-pointers and a free throw.

Mount Miguel still had a chance but a clock violation spoiled their bid for a comeback.

DONNELL PAYNE had 22 points for the Matadors, including hitting 10 of 13 free throws.

CARL DEE ROBERSON, has another double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds for Mount Miguel.

Mount Miguel: Donnell Payne 22 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Carl Dee Roberson 12 (10 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Dejuan Norwood 7 (8 reb), Taihir McMurray 7 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), James McLeod 6 (1 stl), Nate Gilbert 3 (6 reb), Cesar Sigala (1 reb).

LA JOLLA 68, VALHALLA 60 – “This was one of those games where you’re always one step behind,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON of Saturday’s (Dec. 28) Aztec Holiday Classic contest at Montgomery.

La Jolla led by 14 points and the best Valhalla could do was cut the deficit into single digits.

“One thing I was pleased about was we were a little bit more aggressive, but La Jolla is a physical team and once they got the lead they wouldn’t give it up,” Jackson said.

It was a physical battle where 45 fouls were called between the two teams, resulting in 65 free throws.

The Norsemen had a poor shooting outing, making only 19 of 66 shots (29 percent), including 5 of 25 from 3-point range. They weren’t much better from the free throw line, where they converted only 17 of 34.

Valhalla: George Fakhoury 17 (2 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Jacob Hammett 12 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Jordan Qsar 8 (11 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk, 1 stl), Jake Bassette 9 (6 reb, 1 blk), Trey Schimke 4 (8 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), David Gazale 4 (2 reb, 1 stl), Cole Henderson 5 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Aram Hermiz (1 reb).

BREA OLINDA 58, STEELE CANYON 34 – Facing off against perennial state power Brea Olinda in Saturday’s (Dec. 28) Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic, Steele Canyon hung tough in the first half, trailing only 25-19.

The second half was a different story.

“It was a physical game,” said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS. “And we should expect that because it was the second Orange County team we’ve played.”

ZACH KISSEL led the Cougars in scoring with 13 points.

“We got a lot of decent looks, we just couldn’t get our shots to fall,” Stephens added. “Our two big men – DOMINICK WOOD-ANDERSON and DYLAN HAMLETT – got into foul trouble, and that pretty much took away our inside game.”

Steele Canyon: Zach Kissel 13, Dominick Wood-Anderson 7, Jordan Johnson 4, Aaron Pisiona 4, Tanner Perry 2, Dylan Hamlett 2, Tyler Gulino-Jones 2.

CHRISTIAN 70, E.W. PRATT (Canada) 29 – The Patriots outscored the Canadians 42-16 in the middle two quarters, and that pretty much decided the issue in Saturday’s (Dec. 28) Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery.

Christian (Incomplete): Johnny Paulson 11 (2 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Zach Kinninger 9 (5 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Tyler Ballard 6 (2 ast), David Todd Jeremiah 6 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Joe Ross 5 (2 reb), Michael Carrillo 3 (2 reb), Josh Smith 2 (4 reb, 1 stl), Justin Vrzich (2 ast), Matt Xia (1 reb, 1 ast), Zack Yan (2 reb).

CLAIREMONT 47, EL CAPITAN 45 – No report was provided for this Aztec Holiday Classic game at Montgomery.

© East County Sports.com
RANCHO PENASQUITOS (12-28-13) — ZACH KISSEL scored a career-high 28 points to lead Steele Canyon to its ninth win in 11 starts, as the Cougars clipped host Mt. Carmel, 58-44, in Friday’s (Dec. 27) Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic.

The senior sharpshooter nailed a pair of treys and 10 of 12 free throws for the Cougars who have won six in a row.

“We eliminated Mt. Carmel at their house last year, so we figured they’d really be fired up to see us again this year,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS.

However, the Cougars led 38-19 by halftime and were never seriously threatened to be overthrown.

“One thing about playing here it’s a great environment to play the home team on their home court on a Friday night,” Stephens said.

Stephens has been high on Kissel all year.

“He has a knack for penetrating and getting the ball in the basket,” Stephens said. “His teammates had a lot to do with his scoring totals as they threw more ball screens, which created lanes for him to drive.”

Steele Canyon: Zach Kissel 28, Jordan Johnson 9, Dylan Hamlett 6, Dominick Wood-Anderson 5, Tyler Gulino-Jones 4, Aaron Pisiona 3, Ryan Razooky 3.

EL CAPITAN 74, MONSIGNOR (Canada) 54 – Four El Capitan Vaqueros reached double digits as the Lakesiders dumped Monsignor in Friday’s (Dec. 27) Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery.

ANDY CASAS led the way with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds, while AARON PRICE also logged a double-double of 10 price and 10 rebounds.

“We did okay today,” said Vaqueros coach JASON CAVAZOS. We played pretty well. Andy Casas really played big for us. He had 10 rebounds by halftime. This is his best game of the year.

“He and AARON PRICE helped us get a lot of rebounds. It takes away from the other team’s second chance opportunities.”

SCOTT ROOT led a balanced Vaqueros attack with 12 points and 5 steals.

El Capitan: Scott Root 12 (3 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl), Andy Casas 10 (12 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Aaron Price 10 (10 reb, 3 stl), Myles Emmerson 10 (2 reb, 1 stl), Kade Kygar 9 (2 ast, 2 stl), Wyatt Alvarez 8 (2 ast), Joey LaChappa 8 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Isaiah Capoocia 4 (2 reb, 1 ast), Patrick Howell 2.

HELIX 46, El Centro-CENTRAL 43 – Helix skipped to a 33-22 halftime lead in Friday’s (Dec. 27) Spartan Classic at Chula Vista against El Centro Central.

In the third quarter however the Highlanders scored only 2 points. Fortunately they were able to hold the Spartans to 7.

“We made it tougher than it should have been,” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER. “But the good thing about this game is our kids learned how to overcome adversity and win a close game.”

Helix: Jordan Velasco 11 (4 ast, 1 stl), Marcus Norris 7 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Christian Bell 6 (2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Marcus White 6 (4 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Elsaiah Blair 4 (5 reb, 4 stl), Justin Flisher 4 (9 reb), Dylan Lee 3 (1 reb), Gary Linson 3 (1 reb), Luke Holloway 2 (3 reb, 2 blk).

MOUNT MIGUEL 60, EC-SOUTHWEST 56 – DONNELL PAYNE scored 25 points to lead Mount Miguel past El Centro Southwest in Friday’s (Dec. 27) Aztec Holiday Classic in Spring Valley.

Payne was 10-for-10 from the free throw line and was 3-for-3 from above the arc.

“As Payne goes, we go,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT. “What I have to do is build his confidence because I think he’s a little short in that area.”

JAMES McLEOD finished with 11 points including a pair of treys.

Mount Miguel: Donnell Payne 25 (4 reb, 1 stl), James McLeod 11 (1 ast, 2 stl), Carl Dee Roberson 10 (9 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Taihir McMurray 8 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Dejuan Norwood 6 (6 reb), Nate Gilbert (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Amadi Cass-Williams (1 reb, 2 stl), Cesar Sigala (1 reb).

GROSSMONT 74, Santa Ana-VALLEY 44 – CAMERON HENDERSON hit four 3-pointers on his way to a 14-point finish, helping the Foothillers vanquish the Valley of Santa Ana in Friday’s (Dec. 27) Spartan Classic at Chula Vista.

Never one to be overlooked was 6-foot-9 sophomore TOMMY RUTHERFORD, who dumped in 23 points and snagged 16 rebounds for Grossmont (6-4).

“They tried to stop our inside game and we did a pretty good job shooting the ball from outside,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 23 (16 rebounds, 1 ast, 2 stl), Cameron Henderson 14 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), J.T. Barnes 9 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Carl Blanchard 8 (8 reb, 1 stl), Kyle Williams 6 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Christian Meno 4 (2 reb), Joseph Cesena 4 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Anthony Lawrence 3 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Rome Harris 3 (1 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Matthew Oropallo (2 reb), Brandon Bland (2 reb), Dominique Hills (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl).

MIRA MESA 38, GRANITE HILLS 37 – Granite Hills let one slip through their fingers in Friday’s (Dec. 27) Spartan Classic at Chula Vista as they blew a 10-point lead in the final period.

The Marauders hit three 3s in the last 2 minutes.

“But we still had a chance to win it despite making only 1 of 5 free throws down the stretch, including missing two front ends,” said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON.

The game came down to the final 16 seconds, and the Marauders got a putback to decide the issue.

For Granite Hills (2-5) TREVOR SPERRY had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks, while SETH COLLINS claimed 12 rebounds for the Eagles.

Granite Hills: Trevor Sperry 10 (10 reb, 5 blk), Andrew Manning 10 (4 stl), Seth Collins 7 (12 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Rease Warford 4 (2 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Jacob Burton 2 (5 reb), Brayan Turner 2 (1 reb, 1 stl), Jaron Sanders 2 (1 reb), Diaz (1 reb).

WEST HILLS 80, E.W. PRATT (Canada) 22 – West Hills placed five players in double scoring digits as the Wolf Pack overpowered E.W. Pratt of Alberta, Canada in Friday’s (Dec. 27) Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery.

The Pack netted 36 of 57 shots from the field in the rout.

“Defensively we were active – had 29 steals,” said assistant Pack coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG. “We did a good job of not playing down to the level of our opponent.”

NICK ZOREE led West Hills with 8 steals.

“SPENCER MOYER played a good game for us as well as BRYON PADILLA,” Armstrong said. “It was nice to see everyone getting involved. We've played with a lot of energy the last two nights and will need that same effort tomorrow night vs. Montgomery.”

West Hills: Ricardo Barajas 12 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Brent Wilder 10 (4 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Chase Parsons 10 (1 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Marco Ovies 10 (1 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Spencer Moyer 10 (1 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Nick Zoree 9 (3 reb, 5 ast, 8 stl), Thomas Reany 8 (1 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Byron Padilla 7 (1 reb, 5 stl), Elias Totah 4 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl).

EASTLAKE 58, VALHALLA 54 – JORDAN QSAR enjoyed one of his finest outings with 16 points and 8 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough for the Norsemen to knock off Eastlake in Friday’s (Dec. 27) Aztec Holiday Classic at Mount Miguel.

“The bottom line here is we turned the ball over 18 times – that was the difference in the game,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. “As sloppily as we played, we still had a chance with 18 seconds to go. We were down by 2 and had the ball… and then turned it over. And that was all for us.”

Valhalla: Jordan Qsar 16 (8 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Jacob Hammett 11 (2 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), David Gazale 8 (7 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Cole Henderson 6 (6 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 3 stl), George Fakhoury 6 (1 reb, 6 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Jake Bassette 5, Terrell McKay 2 (1 reb).

MONTGOMERY 53, CHRISTIAN 40 – After falling behind 9-0 early on, Christian was put in the role of playing catch-up in Friday’s (Dec. 27) Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery.

The Patriots trailed only 43-40 in the waning seconds and had the ball but lost the opportunity when they were called for a controversial charge.

“I can sit here and complain about it all I want to, but what good is it going to do,” said Christian coach CARLOS PERALTA. “No question, it hurt us.”

Christian: Johnny Paulson 16 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Tyler Ballard 12 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Zach Kinninger 7 (6 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk), Trent Sauls 3 (1 reb, 3 stl, 1 blk), Josh Smith 2 (6 reb, 1 stl), Michael Carrillo (9 reb, 1 ast), Justin Vrzich (1 reb), Grant Taylor (2 reb, 1 stl).

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 68, Phoenix-DESERT VISTA 46 – T.J. LEAF scored 31 points and DANE NORMAN had 13 as Foothills Christian downed the Desert Vista Thunder from Phoenix in the Under Armour Holiday Classic at La Costa Canyon on Friday (Dec. 27).

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 31, Dane Norman 13.

(No other information was provided.)

CANYON CREST 75, EL CAJON VALLEY 64 – The ragin’ Ravens nailed 15 three-pointers and 16 of 21 free throws in Friday’s (Dec. 27) Baron Optimist Holiday Tournament at Bonita Vista as they outran El Cajon Valley.

“We just couldn’t stop them. They had six different guys making 3-pointers,” said Braves coach MARTY ELLIS.

The Ravens scored 45 points in the middle two quarters to lead by 62-40.

El Cajon Valley: Ian Danler 18, Syon Hicks 17, Ibrahim Ali 11, Drake Afaisen 10, Ahmad Sulyman 3, Brenden Brocious 2, Brandon Rumley 2, Shauntal King 1.

SWEETWATER 92, MONTE VISTA 29 – The Red Devils took a 59-20 halftime lead and never looked back in Friday’s (Dec. 27) Baron Optimist Holiday Tournament at Bonita Vista.

“They’re by far the best team I’ve seen all year,” said Monarchs coach MIKE TULLY. “They really speed the game up and if you try to run with them, that’s a mistake because that’s their style.”

Monte Vista: Adam Wallace 8, Tory Sanders 6 (8 reb), Jordan Jackson 4 (11 reb), Eric Collins 4 (3 stl), Meliek Johnson 3, Jemeil Jackson 2, Jermyah Kelly 2 (8 reb).

© East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (12-27-13) — ANDREW MANNING scored 17 points, and BRAYAN TURNER and SETH COLLINS poured in 15 more apiece as the Eagles controlled Bosco Tech of Manhattan Beach with a 60-48 victory in Thursday’s (Dec. 26) opening round of the Spartan Classic in Chula Vista.

The Eagles landed 8 three-pointers and 16 of 23 free throws in rolling their record to 2-4.

Manning was 9-for-10 from the free throw line, while Collins was 5-for-6 as Granite Hills bounced Bosco Tech.

“This is probably one of our best games of taking care of the ball,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. “For the first time this year I would say that we controlled the game.”

Granite Hills: Andrew Manning 17 (1 ast, 4 stl), Brayan Turner 15 (2 ast, 6 stl), Seth Collins 15 (7 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Trevor Sperry 6 (6 reb, 1 stl, 3 blk), Matt Conley 3 (1 reb, 1 ast), Jaron Sanders 2 (3 reb, 1 stl), Rease Warford 2 (2 reb, 5 ast), Jacob Burton (2 reb).

VALHALLA 57, SAN DIEGUITO 38 – The Norsemen used a 15-4 fourth quarter lead to pull out a victory against San Dieguito in Thursday’s (Dec. 26) opening round of the Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery.

“We went on a 12-0 run in the second half, and then cruised from there,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. “It was obvious we hadn’t played a game for two weeks.”

DAVID GAZELE paced the Norsemen (4-1) as he knocked down 19 points, including 3 of 3 shooting from above the arc.

Three-point shooting was Valhalla ’s strength as the Norsemen made 9 of 22 shots from 3-point land.

Valhalla: David Gazale 19 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Cole Henderson 9 (7 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk), Jordan Qsar 8 (8 reb, 2 stl, 4 blk), George Fakhoury 7 (7 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk), Aram Hermiz 7 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Terrell McKay 5 (3 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), Jacob Hammett 2 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Uriel Michaca (1 reb), Trey Schimke (1 reb).

WEST HILLS 70, CHRISTIAN 55 – The Patriots’ ZACH KINNINGER scored 26 points and grabbed 22 rebounds in the best double-double in East County this season in Thursday’s (Dec. 26) opening round of the Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery against West Hills.

Despite Kinninger’s outburst, it wasn't enough as West Hills countered with 19 points from CHASE PARSONS and 15 from BRENT WILDER.

But the pivotal contribution was ELIAS TOTAH’s four 3-pointers, which gave the swing vote to West Hills (3-3).

“It was nice to have ELIAS TOTAH return to the lineup tonight for his first game of the season,” said West Hills assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG. “MARCO OVIES played very well all around (9 points, 7 assists, 3 steals and 2 rebounds) and took great care of the ball for us.”

“THOMAS REANEY did a great job checking Kinninger in the second half, held him to 5 points in the final two quarters,” said Armstrong.

“Christian (3-7) did not handle our pressure very well and we caused a lot of turnovers,” Armstrong noted. “We shot well from the free throw line – were 16 of 20 (80 percent).”

TYLER BALLARD chipped in with 13 points for Christian, while TRENT SAULS hauled down 13 rebounds.

“We led early in the game (39-32 at halftime),” said Christian coach CARLOS PERALTA. “We got as close as 4 points in the fourth quarter. It was a good game; we had to start fouling at the end.”

Christian: Zach Kinninger 26 (22 reb), Tyler Ballard 13 (4 ast), Justin Vrzich 9, Trent Sauls 4 (13 reb), David Todd Jeremiah 3 (4 reb, 3 ast), Michael Carrillo 3, Johnny Paulson 2.

West Hills: Chase Parsons 19 (4 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl), Brent Wilder 15 (6 reb, 1 ast), Elias Totah 12 (2 stl), Marco Ovies 9 (2 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Thomas Reaney 6 (7 reb, 2 ast), Nick Zoree 4 (1 reb, 2 ast, 6 stl), Ricardo Barajas 2 (1 ast, 1 blk).

EL CAPITAN 56, CASTLE PARK 47 – The El Capitan Vaqueros proved they have a better bench than coach JASON CAVAZOS might have thought they did entering the first round of Thursday’s (Dec. 26) Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery.

El Capitan rallied from a 35-32 deficit with a 24-7 fourth quarter spread to top the Trojans.

“Four of my starters arrived a little late to the game,” said Cavazos. “There was apparently an accident on Wildcat Canyon Road. They sat in the first half, and that affected us a little bit.”

“We kept it close in the first half though so when I put my starters in we were okay,” Cavazos said.

JOEY LaCHAPPA didn’t play in the first half but hauled down 11 rebounds in the second.

AARON PRICE rolled a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Vaqueros (5-3), while ANDY CASAS also cleared 10 balls off the glass.

El Capitan: Aaron Price 17 (10 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Andy Casas 7 (10 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Isaiah Capoocia 7 (2 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Kade Kygar 6 (1 reb), Joey LaChappa 5 (11 reb, 2 stl), Myles Emmerson 5 (2 reb), Scott Root 4 (2 reb, 1 stl), Wyatt Alvarez 2 (5 reb, 4 ast), Patrick Howell (3 ast).

STEELE CANYON 60, FALLBROOK 33 – A 23-7 outburst by Steele Canyon propelled the Cougars to a lopsided victory over Fallbrook in Thursday’s (Dec. 26) first round of the Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic.

ZACH KISSEL, who scored a 14-best for Steele Canyon, was 3-for-3 from above the arc in the explosive third quarter.

TANNER PERRY also nailed a 3-pointer in that period.

Steele Canyon: Zach Kissel 14, Dominick Wood-Anderson 9, Dylan Hamlett 9, Jordan Johnson 7, Tanner Perry 6, Aaron Pisiona 5, Thomas Higginbotham 4, Robert Teo 3, Tyler Gulino-Jones 2, Donovan Zetouna 1.

GROSSMONT 62, CRAWFORD 38 – Playing less than half the game, TOMMY RUTHERFORD knocked down 18 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to carry the Foothillers past Crawford in Thursday’s (Dec. 26) first round of the Spartan Classic in Chula Vista.

ANTHONY LAWRENCE, known more for his expertise as the Foothillers’ quarterback, turned in one of his basketball efforts with 16 points and 8 rebounds against the Colts. Included in his totals was a pair of treys.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 18 (18 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Anthony Lawrence 16 (8 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), J.T. Barnes 9 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Carl Blanchard 8 (7 reb), Cameron Henderson 5 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Kyle Williams 3 (4 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Christian Meno (4 reb), Rome Harris (1 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Dominique Hill (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Matthew Oropallo (1 reb).

OLYMPIAN 46, MONTE VISTA 45 – The Monarchs had two legitimate chances of pulling out a victory over Olympian in Thursday’s (Dec. 26) first round of the Baron Optimist Holiday Tournament at Bonita Vista.

Trailing by one point, Monte Vista missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Olympian came down with the rebound. The Monarchs fouled the Eagles, who missed the free throw and Monte Vista got the rebound.

The Monarchs worked the ball downcourt but missed the chance for a game-winning shot when an 8-footer fell short at the buzzer.

“I’ll take those last 10 seconds any time, and normally we’ll convert,” said Monarchs coach MIKE TULLY. “ But this time it just didn’t work.”

Monte Vista: Jordan Jackson 21 (11 reb), Adam Wallace 9 (3 ast), Meliek Johnson 5 (2 ast), Jesse Rivas 3, Tory Sanders 2 (3 stl), Saiyeed Mershon 2, Eric Collins (7 reb).

L.A. WINDWARD 59, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 46 – The Windward Wildcats clawed their way to a 36-15 halftime lead in Thursday’s (Dec. 26) first round of the Under Armour Holiday Classic at La Costa Canyon.

T.J. LEAF spun a triple-double of 19 points, 10 rebounds and 20 assists.

But the Knights were hardly on their game as they made only 2 of 14 treys.

DANE NORMAN pitched in 16 points for the Knights.

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 19 (10 reb, 10 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl), Dane Norman 16 (4 reb), Caleb Hoffman 7 (5 reb, 6 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Luis Salgado 2 (6 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), J.R. Rivera 2 (6 reb), Daniel Hoffman (2 reb).

MOUNT MIGUEL 64, GLENMARY (Canada) 22 – In another lopsided opener of the Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery, the Matadors took a 13-0 first quarter lead and never looked back against the Canadians as they snapped a 4-game losing streak.

CARL DEE ROBERSON led the Matadors with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 6 steals.

Mount Miguel (3-6) outscored the Canadians across the board.

“A team like this, I know, is just here on vacation,” said Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT. “But the way we’re playing right now we’ll take a win over anybody.”

Mount Miguel: Carl Dee Roberson 20 (11 reb, 2 ast, 6 stl), Taihir McMurray 11 (2 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), James McLeod 11 (2 reb, 2 ast), Donnell Payne 8 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Nate Gilbert 7 (5 reb, 1 ast), Cesar Sigala 6 (1 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Dejuan Norwood 5 (4 reb), Amadi Cass-Williams (1 reb, 1 stl).

EL CAJON VALLEY 81, GOMPERS 8 (eight) – El Cajon Valley shut out Gompers in the second half of Thursday’s (Dec. 26) Baron Optimist Holiday Tournament at Bonita Vista.

“I don’t like games like this,” said El Cajon Valley coach MARTY ELLIS, who saw his Braves snap a 3-game losing streak. “You can’t get a gauge on your next game. Against teams like this you can’t even prepare – a practice would probably be better.”

Ten players scored for the Braves, led by SYON HICKS’ 19.

BRANDON RUMLEY dominated the boards with 11 caroms.

El Cajon Valley: Syon Hicks 19 (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Ibrahim Ali 10 (1 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl), Daniel Placenti 10 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Brenden Brocious 8 (4 reb, 1 stl), Mike Readus 8 (3 reb, 3 stl), Ian Danler 7 (3 reb, 1 stl), Brandon Rumley 6 (11 reb, 3 stl), Drake Afainsen 6 (1 ast, 1 stl), Ahmad Sulyman 5 (2 ast, 4 stl), Shauntal King 2 (3 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl).

HELIX 103, O’FARRELL 9 (nine)– Thirteen Highlanders played and all of them contributed to Helix’s season-high scoring total in Thursday’s (Dec. 26) opening round of the Spartan Classic in Chula Vista.

The Highlanders led 39-2 after one quarter and 62-3 at halftime.

CHRISTIAN BELL rolled a double-double of 12 points, 10 assists and 5 steals.

Helix took a 20-0 lead and maintained control the rest of the way.

Helix: Luke Holloway 12 (5 stl), Christian Bell 12 (10 ast, 5 stl), Marcus White 10 (5 ast), Gary Linson 10, Jordan Velasco 8 (6 ast, 4 stl), Elsaiah Blair 8, Marcus Norris 8 (4 stl), Jose Fernandez 8, John Nalty 8, Dylan Lee 6, Ernesto Martinez 5, Justin Flisher 4, Michael Solomon 4.

© East County Sports.com
SANTEE (12-24-13) — El Capitan High used a balanced attack to clip Crawford, 77-64, in Monday’s (Dec. 23) final round of the Grossmont Winter Classic at Santana.

Point guard MYLES EMMERSON sparked the Vaqueros (4-3) with 19 points, including 5-for-6 shooting from above the arc.

KADE KYGAR was also on the mark, hitting 4 of 4 threes on his way to a 16 point finish.

SCOTT ROOT punched in 12 points and ISAIAH CAPOOCIA added 11 as the Vaqueros won the scoring fest.

“I think we are kind of hung over from the loss to Valley Center (on Saturday, Dec. 21), said Vaqueros coach JASON CAVAZOS. “Today we played a lot better. We did some real positive things today.”

“Emmerson and Kygar were 9-for-10 from 3-point range between the two of them,” Cavazos added.

El Capitan: Myles Emmerson 19 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Kade Kygar 16 (2 reb), Scott Root 12 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Isaiah Capoocia 11 (2 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Andy Casas 7 (7 reb), Wyatt Alvarez 5 (2 reb, 2 stl), Joey LaChappa 4 (6 reb, 2 ast), Aaron Price 3 (4 reb, 2 ast), Brian Ballo (1 reb).

SANTANA 71, HILLTOP 61 – The youthful Santana Sultans got a lift from their returning seniors as they knocked off Hilltop in Monday’s (Dec. 23) finale of the Grossmont Winter Classic in Santee.

Once again senior C.J. CLARK was the mainstay of the Santana offense as he popped in 21 points, including hitting 9 of 14 from the field and 3 of 5 free throws.

Senior TYLER KIRK came off the Santana bench to knock down 12 points and grab 5 rebounds. He was 8 of 9 from the charity stripe, helping Santana sink 31 of 45 free throws.

RYAN BRATLIEN added 14 points, while senior TIANO FRANCO contributed in ways that were not measured in the box score.

“I think we’re playing pretty good basketball,” said Sultans coach TIM BARRY. “We took five charges last night and three today, and we’re playing good basketball.

“The thing I like about this team most is I have 12 kids fighting for playing time. It’s not like last year when I had 5 players playing all the time.”

Santana: C.J. Clark 21 (6 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Ryan Bratlien 14 (1 reb), Tyler Kirk 12 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Daniel Shively 8 (3 reb, 8 ast), Mitchell Miller 8 (3 reb, 3 ast), Sage Hicks 3 (1 reb), Tiano Franco 2 (1 ast).

MONTE VISTA 58, VALLEY CENTER 49 – “Steals were the difference in the game,” said Monte Vista coach MIKE TULLY Monday’s (Dec. 23) Grossmont Winter Classic game.

The Monarchs had 17 thefts, but Valley Center attempted to rally in the fourth quarter by hitting 13 of 14 free throws.

“We’re a contact team, and sometimes the referees call it and sometimes they don’t,” Tully said. “They chose to call it at the end of this game, but fortunately for us we had a big enough lead and Valley Center couldn’t catch up.”

JORDAN JACKSON had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds, while TORY SANDERS led the Monarchs with 15 points and 7 rebounds.

Monte Vista: Tory Sanders 15 (7 reb, 4 stl, 1 blk), Jordan Jackson 10 (10 reb, 3 stl), Eric Collins 8 (1 reb), Jemeil Jackson 6 (4 reb, 2 stl), Adam Wallace 5 (3 ast, 1 stl), Jesse Rivas 4 (4 reb, 2 stl), Meliek Johnson 4 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Thomas Walker 2 (1 reb, 4 stl, 2 blk), Saiyeed Mershon 2 (2 reb, 1 stl).

UNIVERSITY CITY 50, GROSSMONT 40 – “These are two even teams,” Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO said of Monday’s (Dec. 23) third-place game of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

The Foothillers took a 15-8 first quarter lead, but the Centurions countered with a 20-4 scoring spread in the second quarter.

“We were right there at the finish, but UC hit two big 3s near the end of the third quarter, and that turned a 4-point lead into a 10-point deficit,” Foggiano said.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 11 (15 reb), Rome Harris 8 (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Carl Blanchard 6 (7 reb, 1 ast), J.T. Barnes 5 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Anthony Lawrence 5 (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Cameron Henderson 3 (1 reb), Joseph Cesena 2.

RANCHO BERNARDO 78, EL CAJON VALLEY 72 – SYON HICKS nailed a career-high 22 points as El Cajon Valley attempted to snap a 3-game losing streak but came up short in Monday’s (Dec. 23) final round of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

“All three of the teams we’ve lost to have a big man, and we haven’t been able to deal well with him,” said Braves coach MARTY ELLIS. “Hicks is really starting to get it. He’s been giving me 10 or more points in the last two games.”

El Cajon Valley: Syon Hicks 22, Ibrahim Ali 17, Brenden Brocious 12, Ian Danler 9, Brandon Rumley 6, Daniel Placenti 3, Ahmad Sulyman 2, Drake Afaisen 1.

© East County Sports.com
SCRIPPS RANCH (12-22-13) — It’s not often that a coach asks a player to intentionally miss a free throw, but that’s what Helix coach JOHN SINGER instructed JORDAN VELASCO to do in the waning seconds of Saturday morning’s (Dec. 21) Kiwanis Tournament action against Morse at Scripps Ranch.

“There were five seconds left and we were up by one,” said Singer. “So I told Jordan to just miss the shot (free throw), then they probably wouldn’t be able to get a decent shot at the end of the game. But he made the shot, so now we led by two.”

That also allowed Morse one final chance. The Tigers got the ball to half-court and threw a shot up at the buzzer that wasn’t close.

So the Highlanders (4-5) escaped with a 49-47 victory.

“When I told the guys in the locker room after the game about what I said to Jordan, they all laughed,” Singer recalled.

Singer heaped accolades on 6-foot-3 junior LUKE HOLLOWAY, “who had his best game for us” with 11 points to pace the Highlanders.

The Helix defense did a quality job of containing Morse’s 6-foot-9 standout, Brandon McCoy.

“We ran a lot of guys and a lot of different defenses at him,” Singer said. “Holloway did a great job against him.”

Singer noted Helix’s challenging preseason schedule.

“We’ve played maybe one softie in our first nine games,” he said. “We’ve beaten three solid Division I teams – Eastlake, Carlsbad and Morse. At times we’ve played better than we are.”

Helix: Luke Holloway 11, Marcus White 7, Christian Bell 6, Jordan Velasco 6, Marcus Norris 6, Ernesto Martinez 6, Elsaiah Blair 5, Gary Linson 2.

STEELE CANYON 78, HOOVER 55 – All-Tournament selection DOMINICK WOOD-ANDERSON scored 20 points to carry the Steele Canyon Cougars past Hoover in the 3rd place game in Saturday’s (Dec. 21) final day of the Xtreme Glass Holiday Tournament at Sweetwater.

DYLAN HAMLETT muscled in 17 points for the Cougars, who have won their last four in a row.

“We beat them inside pretty well,” said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS. “And we got good bench play from (ROBERT) TEO, (RYAN) RAZOOKY and (TANNER) PERRY.”

The Cougars pulled away in the second quarter as Perry capped a 22-11 run with back-to-back 3s.

“We’re pretty happy to be 7-2 right now,” said Stephens.

Steele Canyon: Dominick Wood-Anderson 20, Dylan Hamlett 17, Tanner Perry 8, Jordan Johnson 8, Ryan Razooky 8, Robert Teo 7, Thomas Higginbotham 4, Aaron Pisiona 2, Donovan Zetouna 2, Zach Kissel 2.

SANTANA 54, CRAWFORD 52 – Senior C.J. CLARK played a multiple role in helping Santana snap a 3-game losing streak in Saturday’s (Dec. 21) Grossmont Winter Classic.

Not only did Clark roll a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, the 6-foot-4, 205-pounder took three charges – one that probably saved the game for the Sultans (3-5).

Santana was leading 53-52 when one of the Colts drove the key, threw up a shot that went in, but he collided Clark in the process.

“It looked like a charge all the way, to me,” said Sultans coach TIM BARRY. “They could have called blocking but we got the call.”

“In a lot of ways we were fortunate,” Barry said. “We were only 8 of 19 from the free throw line, and 4 of 17 from 3-point range. We’ve got to do better than that.”

Santana: Ryan Bratlien 13 (8 reb, 2 ast), C.J. Clark 11 (10 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Mitchell Miller 8 (3 reb, 4 ast), Daniel Shively 7 (4 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Sage Hicks 5 (1 reb, 2 ast), Daulton Barry 5 (1 reb, 2 ast), Tyler Kirk 4 (2 reb, 1 stl), Tiano Franco 1 (1 reb, 1 stl).

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 63, Las Vegas-CHEYENNE 59 – The Foothills Christian Knights posted their second win in the prestigious Las Vegas Tarkanian Classic on Saturday (Dec. 21) as they knocked off the Cheyenne Desert Shields.

Although the Knights show only a 4-5 record, they have played arguably the toughest schedule in East County thus far.

The key to the victory over Cheyenne was offensive balance as five Knights had 8 points or more.

T.J. LEAF led the way with 19 points and 7 assists, CALEB HOFFMAN added 11 points and 10 rebounds.

LUIS SALGADO had 10 points and DANE NORMAN added 9 points and 7 boards.

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 19 (2 reb, 7 ast, 3 blk), Caleb Hoffman 11 (10 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Luis Salgado 10 (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Dane Norman 9 (7 reb, 2 ast), Javier Guerrero 8 (1 reb, 2 ast), J.R. Rivera 6 (2 reb, 1 blk).

FRANCIS PARKER 70, GROSSMONT 49 – Visiting Francis Parker used its speed and superior transition to run past the Grossmont Foothillers in Saturday’s (Dec. 21) semifinals of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

“We hung with them pretty well for three quarters, and trailed by only 10 points with 6 minutes to play,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “Then we imploded.”

An interesting duel in this contest matched Grossmont’s 6-foot-9 sophomore TOMMY RUTHERFORD against Parker’s 6-foot-10, 225-pound senior Even Fitzner.

Rutherford scored 31 points, hitting all 9 of his free throws, and 11 of his 15 shots from the field.

Fitzner scored 21 points.

“Tommy more than held his own against their guy,” Foggiano noted. “It was interesting to watch.”

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 31 (18 reb, 2 stl), Anthony Lawrence 8 (4 reb, 2 ast), Dominique Hill 3 (1 reb), Cameron Henderson 2 (1 reb, 1 ast), Kyle Williams 2 (4 reb, 2 ast), Rome Harris 2, Carl Blanchard 1 (6 reb, 3 ast), J.T. Barnes (4 reb, 2 ast), Christian Meno (2 reb).

MISSION BAY 74, MOUNT MIGUEL 44 – The visiting Mount Miguel Matadors came out flat against Mission Bay, falling behind 42-22 by halftime in Saturday’s (Dec. 21) final round of the Kiwanis Tournament.

CARL DEE ROBERSON turned in his usual double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing 11 boards.

DONNELL PAYNE had 12 points and 7 rebounds, while JAMES McLEOD hit a trio of 3s.

“We’re not gonna outscore anybody,” said Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT. “We need to get back and defend. The sooner our guys learn that the better off we’ll be.”

Mount Miguel: Carl Dee Roberson 13 (11 reb, 1 stl), Donnell Payne 12 (7 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), James McLeod 9 (1 ast, 2 stl), Taihir McMurray 7 (2 reb, 1 stl), Amadi Cass-Williams 3, Nate Gilbert (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl).

SCRIPPS RANCH 70, EL CAJON VALLEY 40 – A letdown was almost inevitable for El Cajon Valley after the Braves lost their first game of the season on Friday (Dec. 20) against the Grossmont Foothillers in the Grossmont Winter Classic.

The Braves, who battled the Foothillers in a respectable fashion, were simply listless against Scripps Ranch on Saturday (Dec. 21) in the same tournament.

“I wrote on the board after the game in big letters “NO EFFORT,” said Braves coach MARTY ELLIS. “I told my guys that effort is something you can’t coach; it has to come from within.”

The Braves (8-2) were outscored in all four quarters.

El Cajon Valley: Ahmad Sulyman 11, Drake Afaisen 10, Syon Hicks 10, Ian Danler 3, Ibrahim Ali 2, Mike Readus 2, Brenden Brocious 2.

OLYMPIAN 49, MONTE VISTA 36 – The Monte Vista Monarchs were stone cold offensively Saturday (Dec. 21) as they fell to Olympian in a Grossmont Winter Classic contest played at Santana.

“Olympian hit some big 3s at crucial times, and we hit three the whole game,” said Monarchs coach MIKE TULLY. “In fact, we scored 10 of our points in the last 3 minutes of the game when it was out of reach.”

The JACKSON brothers – JEMEIL and JORDAN – combined for 20 points and 15 rebounds.

Monte Vista: Jemeil Jackson 13 (6 reb, 3 stl), Jordan Jackson 7 (9 reb, 1 ast), Adam Wallace 7 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Thomas Walker 4 (5 stl, 4 blk), Tory Sanders 4 (4 reb).

HILLTOP 53, EL CAPITAN 47 – El Capitan couldn’t keep pace with Hilltop in Friday’s (Dec. 21) Grossmont Winter Classic game, although they trailed only by one point at halftime.

The Lancers made an 18-9 run in the third quarter and the Vaqueros couldn’t close the distance.

El Capitan: Scott Root 11 (2 reb, 2 stl), Myles Emmerson 6 (2 reb, 2 stl), Aaron Price 6 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Joey LaChappa 5 (7 reb, 1 stl), Wyatt Alvarez 4 (2 reb, 2 stl), Brian Ballo 4 (2 reb), Isaiah Capoocia 3 (1 reb), Andy Casas 3 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Kade Kygar 3.

© East County Sports,com
EL CAJON (12-21-13) — The previously undefeated El Cajon Valley Braves appeared on their way to upsetting host Grossmont in Friday’s (Dec, 10) Grossmont Winter Classic encounter on the Foothillers’ floor.

The Braves led 30-27 at halftime but faltered in the second half as the Foothillers prevailed 71-57.

“They’re good – probably the favorite in the Grossmont Valley League,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO of the Braves (8-1), “They were hurting us with their trapping defense in the first half, They play hard, They play well as a team,”

The Foothillers turned the game around in the final two quarters, outscoring the Braves 44-27.

“In the second half we figured out how to break their pressure and that was kind of the difference in the game,” said Foggiano.

The main man in the contest was Grossmont’s 6-foot-9 TOMMY RUTHERFORD, who scored 26 points and grabbed 18 rebounds.

“He was obviously the dominant player,” Foggiano noted, “In the second half we did a better job of getting the ball to him in the middle, We moved him to the high post and didn’t just leave him on the block,”

“We did everything we could,” said El Cajon Valley coach MARTY ELLIS, “We didn’t have a big man to match up,”

“ Rutherford definitely dominated the game,” said Foggiano, “But Marty did everything you could expect to do to try to win a game like this, He knew he didn’t have a big man so he did things to try to take away our size advantage, In the first half they did a really good job,”

Countered Ellis, “I think we just ran out of gas in the fourth quarter, We got killed on the boards, We did a good job of pressuring the ball but just ran out of gas,”

The Braves were deadly shooting the long ball.

IAN DANLER hit 5 treys, and BRENDEN BROCIOUS and SYON HICKS each hit a trio of 3s apiece.

Grossmont’s co-star was CARL BLANCHARD, who netted 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

El Cajon Valley: Ian Danler 22, Brenden Brocious 14, Syon Hicks 15, Ibrahim Ali 2, Ahmad Sulyman 2, Daniel Placenti 2, Drake Afaisen (6 reb).

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 26 (18 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Carl Blanchard 16 (10 reb, 1 ast), Cole Henderson 9 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Anthony Lawrence 6 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), J,T, Barnes 5 (6 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Rome Harris 5 (2 ast, 2 stl), Christian Meno 4 (2 reb, 1 ast), Kyle Williams (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl).

STEELE CANYON 58, POINT LOMA 57 – In a game where Steele Canyon lost its leading scorers to fouls, the Cougars still found a way to knock off Point Loma in Friday’s (Dec, 20) Xtreme Glass Holiday Tournament at Sweetwater.

The Cougars were on the verge of dropping a 2-point decision to Point Loma when Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS called on TANNER PERRY, It was one of those pinch-hit deals where Perry had not appeared in the game until the final 10 seconds.

“I asked him if he felt like shooting,” Stephens said of Perry, “He said ‘Of course,’ so I put him in the game.”

Not surprisingly the ball was worked downcourt to put Perry in 3-point range, The all-league baseball player came through as he dropped in a game winning 3-pointer with 1,6 seconds left.

“The kids came off the bench and just mobbed him after that shot,” Stephens recalled, “We thought it was a buzzer beater with no time left, but the referees decided to put 1,6 seconds back on the clock.”

It didn’t matter because Perry was still the hero.

Nevertheless the officials provided the Pointers with one last chance with the clock rewind, but it was too late to get a decent shot off.

Steele Canyon: Dominick Wood-Anderson 11 (10 reb), Aaron Pisiona 9, Zach Kissel 9, Dylan Hamlett 8 (10 reb), Robert Teo 7, Jordan Johnson 6, Ryan Razooky 5, Tanner Perry 3.

MONTE VISTA 46, CRAWFORD 34 – The Monarchs dribbled their way to 20-6 lead in the first quarter and then cruised past Crawford in Friday’s (Dec, 10)

Grossmont Winter Classic contest at Santana.

Guard THOMAS WALKER scored 9 of his 13 points in the first quarter.

“He really sparked us and we seemed to play pretty well after that,” said Monarchs coach MIKE TULLY, “Getting some early offense kinda let us settle in,”

JORDAN JACKSON sprained his ankle two days earlier but came on strong against the Colts with 15 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocks.

“Yesterday’s practice we had Jackson ’s ankle on ice the whole time but I still wasn’t sure whether he’d be able to play,” said Tully.

Jackson answered the call.

“He gives us a presence inside but he’s a lefty who can shoot well from outside,” the coach added.

Monte Vista: Jordan Jackson 15 (14 reb, 4 blk), Thomas Walker 13 (5 reb, 2 ast, 7 stl), Jemeil Jackson 7 (5 stl, 4 reb), Jesse Rivas 5 (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Eric Collins 2 (4 reb, 3 ast), Jermyah Kelly 2, Adam Wallace (4 ast).

GRANITE HILLS 56, BONITA VISTA 45 – ANDREW MANNING, one of the highest scoring players in East County, came up big in Friday’s (Dec, 20) non-league in Bonita Vista, pouring in 25 points.

Granite Hills decided the issue in the fourth quarter, led by the hot-handed Manning, He had 13 points in the final period as the Eagles overcame a 1-point deficit, He was 4-for-4 on free throws down the stretch, and finished 8-for-10 for the game.

“SETH COLLINS, coming off a sprained ankle, and JARON SANDERS did a nice job defensively and rebounding in the fourth quarter,” said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON.

Collins had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 6 steals, Sanders came through with 6 rebounds and 3 steals.

“We played poorly in the second quarter but we came back in the third quarter,” said Anderson, “I was really happy in the second half, We came out with a lot more intensity, In the fourth quarter we continued to play good defense but also controlled the ball offensively, We took care of the ball,”

Granite Hills: Andrew Manning 25 (2 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl), Seth Collins 13 (11 reb, 2 ast, 6 stl), Rease Warford 4 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Brayan Turner 4 (3 reb, 1 ast), Jaron Sanders 3 (6 reb, 3 stl), Chris Diaz 3 (2 reb), Antonio Read 3, Jacob Burton 1 (4 reb, 1 ast), Tanner Sperry (2 reb).

VALLEY CENTER 38, EL CAPITAN 36 – The Vaqueros led 30-25 after three quarters but couldn’t maintain the advantage as they fell to Valley Center in a

Grossmont Winter Classic encounter in Lakeside.

SCOTT ROOT paced the Vaqueros (3-2) with 11 points, while MYLES EMMERSON chipped in with 10 more.

El Capitan’s defense produced 11 steals with Emmerson and WYATT ALVAREZ picking off 3 apiece.

“We had a hard time scoring,” said Vaqueros coach JASON CAVAZOS, “but we have a young team and we need to have close games like this for when we get into league.

“We need to learn how to pull out close games, We have to learn how to grab those extra rebounds or the extra loose ball, and we were not able to do that tonight,”

El Capitan: Scott Root 11 (1 reb, 2 stl), Myles Emmerson 10 (3 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Kade Kygar 5 (1 reb), Joey LaChappa 4 (8 reb, 1 stl), Andy Casas 3 (7 reb, 1 stl), Wyatt Alvarez 2 (1 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Aaron Price 1 (7 reb, 1 stl), Isaiah Capoocia (1 reb), Brian Ballo (1 reb).

MADISON 68, MOUNT MIGUEL 57 – The Matadors wasted 23 points and 12 rebounds by CARL DEE ROBERSON in Friday’s (Dec, 20) joust with Madison in the Kiwanis Tournament game at Serra.

The Matadors (2-5) also received 18 points from DONNELL PAYNE, half of which came on 3-pointers.

TAIHIR McMURRAY, in one of his better scoring games, added 12 points.

In spite of the sloppy start the Matadors trailed by only 4 points entering the final quarter.

“We played hard tonight,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT, “We’re playing good teams, we’ll be ready when league starts, This is a good tournament for us, I have two freshmen in the rotation and we’re focusing on league,”

Mount Miguel: Carl Dee Roberson 23 (12 reb, 1 stl), Donnell Payne 18 (7 reb, 3 ast), Taihir McMurray 12 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Nate Gilbert 4 (2 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Cesar Sigala (3 ast), James McLeod (1 reb), Amadi Cass-Williams (2 reb, 1 stl).

CANYON CREST 52, HELIX 49 – The Highlanders blew an 8-point lead in the third quarter of Friday’s (Dec, 20) Kiwanis Tournament game against Canyon Crest, but fought back to within two with 18 seconds remaining.

The Highlanders, however, missed 2 free throws in those final 18 seconds that probably would have sent the game into overtime.

GARY LINSON paced the Highlanders with 10 points, while MARCUS NORRIS chipped in with 9 points and 6 rebounds.

Canyon Crest burned the Highlanders by hitting 10 three pointers, By comparison, Helix made 3 of 11 from above the arc.

Helix: Gary Linson 10 (5 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Marcus Norris 9 (6 reb, 1 blk), Elsaiah Blair 7 (6 reb, 2 ast), Marcus White 7 (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Christian Bell 6 (5 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk), Jordan Velasco 6 (3 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl), Luke Holloway 2 (4 reb, 1 blk), Ernesto Martinez 2 (2 reb), Dylan Lee (1 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), John Nalty (1 reb).

OLYMPIAN 52, SANTANA 39 – A sluggish first half helped Santana hand Olympian the Grossmont Winter Classic victory Friday (Dec, 20) in Santee.

The Eagles led 11-2 after one quarter and 26-11 by halftime.

“We are way too inconsistent,” said Sultans coach TIM BARRY, “As poorly as we played in the first half, we pulled to within 5 points with two minutes left in the third quarter, and then missed a 3,”

DANIEL SHIVELY led the Sultans with 11 points and 7 rebounds.

“We’re still trying to find a go-to guy,” Barry said.

Santana: Daniel Shively 11 (7 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Sage Hicks 8 (1 reb, 2 stl), CJ Clark 6 (4 reb), Tyler Kirk 5 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Daulton Barry 4 (1 reb, 1 ast), Ryan Bratlien 3 (3 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Anthony Romero 2 (3 reb, 1 ast), Mitchell Miller (2 reb, 1 stl), Austin Miller (1 stl), Tiano Franco (1 reb).

CATHEDRAL PREP (Erie, Penn,) 66, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 55 – T.J. LEAF nailed 28 points field in the Knights loss to undefeated Cathedral Prep (4-0) of Erie., Penn., in Friday’s (Dec. 20) Las Vegas Tarkanian Classic game. He was 10 for 11 from the free throw line.

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 28 (5 reb, 1 ast. 1 blk), Caleb Hoffman 13 (3 ast, 1 reb, 1 stl), Javier Guerrero 9 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Luis Salgado 5, J.R. Rivera (7 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Dane Norman (5 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl).

THUNDERRIDGE (Castle Rock, Colo,) 59, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 54 – Three Foothills Christian Knights reached double scoring digits in Friday’s (Dec. 20) second game of the day in the Las Vegas Tarkanian Classic. T.J. LEAF sank 10 of 14 shots from the floor on his way to a 24-point finish. DANE NORMAN added 12 points and CALEB HOFFMAN punched in 10 points and dished 7 assists.

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 24 (8 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk), Dane Norman 12 points (5 reb, 1 blk), Caleb Hoffman 10 (7 ast, 4 reb, 2 ast), J.R. Rivera 4 (6 reb, 1 blk), Luis Salgado 2 (1 reb), Javier Guerrero 2.

© East County Sports,com
LAS VEGAS (12-20-13) — After absorbing a first round shellacking at the hands of No, 2 ranked Mater Dei of Santa Ana, Foothills Christian High returned the favor on Thursday (Dec, 19) by running over Las Vegas-Chaparral, 70-47, in the Tarkanian Classic.

T.J. LEAF was his usual force for the Knights (3-3), pouring in 31 points, collecting 10 rebounds, dishing 5 assists and blocking a shot, Leaf nailed 13 of 20 shots from the floor, including a pair of 3s.

J,R, RIVERA came up big for the Knights, hitting 5 of 6 from the field en route to an 11 point finish, He also collected 7 rebounds.

Hustling LUIS SALGADO chipped in with 10 points and 3 steals.

CALEB HOFFMAN directed the Foothills Christian offense with 7 assists.

As a unit the Knights were 7-for-13 from the 3-point range.

The Knights are ticketed for a doubleheader on Friday (Dec, 20) beginning with an 11:20 a,m, game against Cathedral of Pennsylvania, They will also play a second game later that night.

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 31 (10 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk), J,R, Rivera 11 (7 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Luis Salgado 10 (3 stl), Caleb Hoffman 8 (4 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Dane Norman 7 (2 stl, 1 blk), Javier Guerrero 3 (4 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl), Daniel Hoffman (1 reb).

MISSION BAY 65, HELIX 53 – The Helix Highlanders were outscored in all four quarters in Thursday’s (Dec, 19) Kiwanis Tournament joust with Mission Bay.

The Highlanders (3-4) fell behind 22-12 in the first quarter and played chase after that.

On a brighter note, 10 Highlanders contributed to the scoring totals, led by ELSAIAH BLAIR’s 13 markers and CHRISTIAN BELL’s 12.

MARCUS NORRIS led the Highlanders on the boards, collecting 8 boards, one more than Bell.

Helix: Elsaiah Blair 13 (6 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Christian Bell 12 (7 reb, 1 ast), Jordan Velasco 6 (3 ast, 1 stl), Gary Linson 4 (2 reb, 1 ast), Ernesto Martinez 4 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Marcus Norris 3 (8 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 4 blk), Marcus White 3 (5 reb, 3 stl), Dylan Lee 3 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), John Nalty 3 (2 reb), Luke Holloway 2 (4 reb, 2 ast), Justin Flisher (1 reb, 1 ast), Michael Solomon (1 blk), Jose Fernandez (1 blk).

FRANCIS PARKER 67, EL CAPITAN 38 – A shaky start saw the Vaqueros trail 21-4 in the first half to put host El Capitan behind the 8 ball in Thursday’s (Dec, 19) Grossmont Winter Classic contest against Francis Parker.

“We’re a team that, when we get that far behind early, we can’t catch up like that,” said El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS, “We struggled to do anything.

“In the second half we played with a little more fire,”

Football player ISAIAH CAPOOCIA led the Vaqueros with 13 points, and AARON PRICE collected 8 rebounds.

El Capitan: Isaiah Capoocia 13 (4 reb, 1 ast), Scott Root 8 (1 stl), Aaron Price 6 (8 reb, 1 blk), Joey LaChappa 4 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Myles Emmerson 3 (2 reb, 1 ast), Wyatt Alvarez 3 (1 reb, 1 ast), Patrick Howell 1 (2 reb, 2 stl), Andy Casas (4 reb), Brian Ballo (1 reb).

MIRA MESA 60, MOUNT MIGUEL 30 – Mira Mesa took a 33-12 halftime lead over visiting Mount Miguel in Thursday’s (Dec, 19) Kiwanis Tournament action.

Only three Matadors reached the scoring column, led by DONNELL PAYNE’s 16 points.

CARL DEE ROBERSON added 11 points and 7 rebounds, and TAIHIR McMURRAY accounted for the other 3 points.

Mount Miguel: Donnell Payne 16 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Carl Dee Roberson 11 (7 reb, 1 ast), Taihir McMurray 3 (1 stl), Nate Gilbert (5 reb), James McLeod (1 reb, 1 stl, 1 ast), Antonio Aguilar (2 reb, 1 stl), Amadi Cass-Williams (1 reb, 2 stl), Cesar Sigala (1 ast),

Grossmont senior guard Christian Meno against Hilltop, (Photo by Frank Price, youatplay,com) ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE

© East County Sports,com
NATIONAL CITY (12-18-13) — Steele Canyon High, which in the past has been known for its defense, turned into an offensive powerhouse as the Cougars clobbered Chula Vista, 79-35, in the first round of the Xtreme Glass Holiday Tournament at Sweetwater.

The Cougars (5-2) led 47-21 at halftime as all 11 players contributed to the scoring.

Even though Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS doesn’t predict his team as a primary contender for the Grossmont Hills League championship, that certainly is an understatement, But then, coaches are like that – they don’t want to show their feelings too early, and definitely not on paper.

The Cougars blew out Chula Vista with relative ease, One has to ask himself are the Spartans that bad, or are the Cougars that good?

ZACH KISSEL has been the most hot-handed of the Cougars with 18 points in the knockout of Chula Vista.

Stephens said, “Kissel is our leader, He hit 14 points in the first quarter and committed only one turnover,”

JORDAN JOHNSON was power inside with 10 points and 6 steals, and 14 in his last two games.

DOMINICK WOOD-ANDERSON had 9 points and 7 boards, as did DYLAN HAMLETT.

Steele Canyon: Zach Kissel 18, Jordan Johnson 10 (6 stl), Dominick Wood-Anderson 9 (7 reb), Dylan Hamlett 9 (7 reb), Tyler Gulino-Jones 8, Robert Teo 6, Tanner Perry 4, Aaron Pisiona 5, Ryan Razooky 4, Thomas Higginbotham 4, Donovan Zetouna 2.

EL CAJON VALLEY 64, IMPERIAL 60 – There are those who have criticized El Cajon Valley for playing a soft schedule, but the Braves were definitely challenged in Wednesday’s (Dec, 18) first round of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

The undefeated Braves (8-0) appeared on their way to their first loss when they fell behind Imperial 19-8 after one period, But El Cajon Valley rallied to slam the door with a 26-10 spread in the second quarter.

Unheralded IAN DANLER knocked down 16 points including a trio of triples to lead the Braves, while SYON HICKS added 14 points and BRENDEN BROCIUS had 13, DANIEL PLACENTI pitched in 11 points for the Braves.

“We did a lot of focusing on free throws – we were 19 of 22, which is a big, big plus,” said Braves coach MARTY ELLIS, “Brocious was the guy that hit the important free throws at the end, He was definitely the calm one, This was not something we panicked about, We picked it up in the second quarter,”

El Cajon Valley: Ian Danler 16, Syon Hicks 14, Brenden Brocious 13, Daniel Placenti 11, Ibrahim Ali 6, Drake Afaisen 2, Shauntal King 2.

GROSSMONT 59, HILLTOP 37 – When it comes to on-court advantage, the Foothillers can always count on sophomore TOMMY RUTHERFORD.

The 6-foot-9 post player scored 15 points and grabbed 18 rebounds past Hilltop in the opening round of Wednesday’s (Dec, 18) Grossmont Winter Classic.

ANTHONY LAWRENCE, known more for his football expertise, contributed 11 points, including a pair of treys and went 3-for-3 from the free throw line.

CARL BLANCHARD contributed 10 caroms on the boards to go with 8 points.

The Foothillers (3-2) took a 15-3 first quarter lead and broke the game open with a 25-10 spread in the third quarter.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 15 (18 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Anthony Lawrence 11 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Carl Blanchard 8 (10 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Christian Meno 7 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Kyle Williams 5 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Rome Harris 4 (1 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), J,T, Barnes 6 (3 reb, 1 stl), Joseph Cesena 3, Cameron Henderson (2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl).

OCEANSIDE 69, SANTANA 49 – A 24-12 third quarter rumble by Oceanside led to a defeat for the host Santana Sultans in the first round of Wednesday’s (Dec, 18) Grossmont Winter Classic.

“They got all of their football players back,” said Sultans coach TIM BARRY ruefully, “I talked to their coach and he said this was their first game back, You can tell they’re still kind of in football shape, but they are very good athletes,”

“In the third quarter they had a really, really good point guard,” coach Barry said, “He did a good job of splitting our zone,”

Santana: Daulton Barry 8 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), C,J, Clark 7 (5 reb, 2 ast), Mitchell Miller 6 (1 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl), Tiano Franco 6 (1 reb), Ryan Bratlien 5 (4 reb, 1 stl), Tyler Kirk 5 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Anthony Romero 5 (3 reb, 1 stl), Daniel Shively 4 (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Sage Hicks 2 (2 reb, 1 stl), David Colera 1 (3 reb, 1 ast), Austin Miller (3 reb, 3 ast).

UNIVERSITY CITY 59, MONTE VISTA 48 – JORDAN JACKSON knocked down 17 points and grabbed 7 rebounds but it wasn’t enough to stave off University City in Wednesday’s (Dec, 18) opening round of the Grossmont Winter Classic.

The Centurions broke the game open with a 21-7 spread in the third quarter, But to Monte Vista’s credit, the Monarchs countered with a 17-6 scoring spree in the fourth quarter.

Monte Vista’s ADAM WALLACE scored 10 of his 13 points in the final period, including 3-for-3 shooting from above the arc.

“University is a big team,” said Monte Vista coach MIKE TULLY, “They basically suffocated us with a 2-3 zone, It took us until the fourth quarter to figure out how to get our rhythm going (as they outscored the Centurions 17-6),”

Monte Vista: Jordan Jackson 17 (7 reb, 1 stl), Adam Wallace 13 (3 reb), Thomas Walker 9 (4 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Jemeil Jackson 5 (5 reb, 4 stl), Tory Sanders 4 (6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl).

TORREY PINES 64, HELIX 46 – The pivotal point in this contest was Torrey Points netted 30 of 38 free throws in this contest compared to 7 of 13 for Helix in Wednesday’s (Dec, 18) Kiwanis Tournament opener at Serra High School.

The Falcons flew out to a 21-3 first quarter lead and never looked back.

ELSAIAH BLAIR had 16 points to lead the Highlanders, JORDAN VELASCO pitched in with 12 and CHRISTIAN BELL added 12.

“The fact that we’re a young team just shows how up and down we can be,” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER, “Sometimes we’re so young I feel like I’m throwing my kids to the wolves, Hopefully they’ll get better in the long run,”

Helix: Elsaiah Blair 16 (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Jordan Velasco 12 (4 ast, 5 stl), Christian Bell 12 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Marcus Norris 4 (4 reb, 1 blk), Michael Solomon 3, Justin Flisher 2 (3 reb, 1 stl), Marcus White (5 reb, 4 ast, 6 stl), Gary Linson (6 reb), Dylan Lee (1 reb).

Santa Ana-MATER DEI 84, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 45 – Six-foot-9 sophomore T.J. LEAF paced Foothills Christian with 25 points and 4 blocks as the Knights lost to nationally ranked, No, 2 Santa Ana Mater Dei in Wednesday’s (Dec, 18) opening round of the Las Vegas Tarkanian Classic at Bishop Gorman High School.

The high point for the Knights was Leaf’s play against Stanley Johnson, the reigning MVP and one of the most highly recruited 6-foot-7 forwards in the nation.

Several major college coaches were on hand to watch this game but most of the focus was on Leaf vs, Johnson.

Among the coaches in attendance was University of Indiana ’s head coach Tom Crean, who made it a point to talk to Knights head coach BRAD LEAF.

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 25 (4 blk), Dane Norman 12, Luis Salgado 3, Javier Guerrero 2, J,R, Rivera 2, Caleb Hoffman 1.

SERRA 71, MOUNT MIGUEL 35 – CARL DEE ROBERSON paced the Matadors (2-3) with 20 points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday’s (Dec, 18) opening round of the Kiwanis Tournament at Serra.

“We’re a work in progress,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT, “Until we learn that a defensive rebound wins games, we’re gonna struggle, It’s not about who has the prettiest moves, who has the best shoes,”

Mount Miguel: Carl Dee Roberson 20 (11 reb, 2 ast), Donnell Payne 6 (3 reb), Nate Gilbert 4 (7 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Taihir McMurray 3 (1 stl), Amadi Cass-Williams 2 (5 reb), Cesar Sigala (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Antonio Aguilar (2 reb), James McLeod (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl),

© East County Sports,com
NATIONAL CITY (12-18-13) — Steele Canyon High scored 52 points in the first half, including 32 in the second quarter to slaughter San Diego-Southwest, 81-29, in Tuesday’s (Dec, 17) Xtreme Glass Holiday Tournament at Sweetwater.

All 11 Cougars in uniform contributed at least 3 points to the scoring totals, led by ZACH KISSEL’s 13.

In the 32-point second quarter, Kissel pitched in 8 points.

“A lot of guys got a lot of minutes in this game,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS.

“I was pleased with the defensive play of RYAN RAZOOKEY and ROBERT TEO,” Stephens added.

Steele Canyon: Zach Kissel 13, Dominick Wood-Anderson 11, Ryan Razooky 10, Dylan Hamlett 10, Tyler Gulino-Jones 8, Jordan Johnson 6, Robert Teo 6, Thomas Higginbotham 6, Aaron Pisiona 4, Donovan Zetouna 4, Tanner Perry 3.

© East County Sports.com
IMPERIAL BEACH (12-15-13 Revised) – El Cajon Valley High head coach MARTY ELLIS was a little bit more ecstatic than he usually is, which was high level following the Braves’ seventh victory without a loss and winning Saturday’s (Dec. 14) Mar Vista Division IV Tournament championship.

After whipping San Diego Jewish Academy, 73-47, Ellis claimed his first tournament victory in five years as the Braves’ mentor.

BRENDEN BROCIOUS paced the ECVHS (7-0) with 14 points.

“He came out of his shell,” said Ellis, noting that Brocious nailed 2 of the Braves’ eight 3-pointers.

DANIEL PLACENTI dropped in 13 points, while SYON HICKS and IAN DANLER added 14 apiece.

The Braves turned the game into a blowout with a 19-5 run in the third quarter.

“We’re on a percentage basis,” Ellis said. “I tell my kids we’re at a good 30-40 percent. We haven’t even met our goals yet. Nobody knows our goals except us. This championship was a whole team MVP.”

El Cajon Valley: Brenden Brocious 14, Daniel Placenti 13, Syon Hicks 12, Ian Danler 12, Ibrahim Ali 7, Drake Afaisen 6, Shauntal King 4, Brandon Rumley 4, Ahmad Sulyman 1.

CHRISTIAN 59, IMPERIAL 56; CHRISTIAN 68, INDIO 55 — After dropping their first six decisions, the Christian Patriots rolled up three straight wins to capture the consolation championshipof the 11th annual Imperial Tiger Classic with a double-header sweep on Saturday (Dec. 14) in the desert.

Kinninger was named to the All-Tournament Team, as he was in the previous Wolf Pack-Horsman Automotive Tournament.

JOHNNY PAULSON added 18 points, while JOSH SMITH pulled down 10 rebounds and TRENT SAULS corralled 8 caroms to eliminate the Tigers.

Later Saturday evening Christian knocked off Indio 68-55.

Once again, Kinninger was a stalwart in the post with 19 points and 18 rebounds. And again Paulson was the co-star with 15 points as TYLER BALLARD pitched in 12 points and dished 8 assists.

The physical Sauls collected 11 rebounds in the title bout.

MICHAEL CARRILLO added 6 assists to the effort.

“It was a good tournament,” acknowledged Patriots first year coach CARLOS PERALTA. “We played the first two opponents on their home courts. We got a lot of home cookin’ but we still won the tournament.”

Christian vs. Imperial: Zach Kinninger 22 (20 reb), Johnny Paulson 18, Tyler Ballard 7 (8 ast), Josh Smith 6 (10 reb), Trent Sauls 3 (8 reb), Michael Carrillo 3 (6 ast).

Christian vs. Indio: Zach Kinninger 19 (18 reb), Johnny Paulson 15, Tyler Ballard 12 (8 ast), Joe Ross 8 (7 reb), Trent Sauls 6 (11 reb), Michael Carrillo 6 (6 ast), Josh Smith 2 (8 reb).

WEST HILLS 44, SAN DIEGUITO 31 – JOE MONSOUR knocked down 15 points to spark West Hills to an easy victory over San Dieguito in Saturday’s (Dec. 14) final round of the Wolf Pack–Horsman Automotive Tournament.

Monsour also made two 3s for the Pack as well.

RICARDO BARAJAS added 11 points, including hitting 6 of 8 free throws.

“It was a great way for us to close the tournament,” said coach JEFF ARMSTRONG, whose Wolf Pack finished 2-3 against some of the top teams in the San Diego Section.

“We were very nervous and scored only two points in the first quarter,” Armstrong added. “But our energy was still outstanding. We caught fire in the second half and made 16 steals.

“Our guard play was outstanding.” Armstrong was speaking of Monsour, NICK ZOREE
and CHASE PARSONS.

Parsons, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, came up with a team best 6 steals.

West Hills: Joe Monsour 15 (4 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Ricardo Barajas 11 (1 reb, 1 ast), Nick Zoree 7 (3 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk), Chase Parsons 5 (1 reb, 6 stl), Thomas Reaney 4 (7 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Austin Alderson 2 (2 reb), Brent Wilder 2 (1 reb, 1 ast), Byron Padilla 1, Marco Ovies (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Spencer Moyer (3 reb), D.J. Lewis (2 reb).

EL CAPITAN 60, MISSION VISTA 33 – JOEY LaCHAPPA, who was an all-league football player, is proving his versatility on the basketball court. The 6-foot-1 freshman nailed 5 of 8 shots from the field and 3 of 4 free throws for a team high 13 points to go along with 16 rebounds as the Vaqueros rolled to a lopsided victory in Saturday’s (Dec. 14) Tri-City Tournament action.

“Joey LaChappa is a kid that just goes for it. He’s hit a double-double in almost every one of our games,” said Vaqueros coach JASON CAVAZOS of La Chappa, who also had 9 offensive rebounds.

El Capitan blazed its way to a 37-19 lead over Mission Vista and cruised to the finish line.

KADE KYGAR chipped in with 10 points. AARON PRICE added 9 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals. ISAIAH CAPOOCIA collected 9 rebounds and recorded a team best 5 steals for the Vaqueros, who improved to 3-1. MYLES EMMERSON pitched in 9 points for El Capitan.

“We started out our first tournament 2-0 going into yesterday’s game,” said Cavazos. “I thought we might have some hangover from that game (a 79-41 loss to eventual tournament champion Rancho Christian), but the guys played well today. It was good that they bounced back.

El Capitan: Joey LaChappa 13 (16 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Kade Kygar 10 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Aaron Price 9 (8 reb, 3 stl), Myles Emmerson 9 (1 ast), Isaiah Capoocia 7 (9 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl), Wyatt Alvarez 6 (4 reb), Brian Ballo 4 (5 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl), Patrick Howell 2 (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Andy Casas (6 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl).

EL CAMINO 65, STEELE CANYON 47 – El Camino received a boost to its attack as point guard Devon Watson, a transfer from Army-Navy Academy, joined the lineup for the first time this season in Saturday’s (Dec. 14) romp over Steele Canyon in the Xtreme Glass Holiday Tournament at Sweetwater.

“That guy makes all the difference in their offense,” said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS. “He can dribble it, pass it, and he can shoot it.”

Watson finished with 23 points in his debut as a Wildcat.

“Their transition killed us,” Stephens said. “My guys did a good job inside, but El Camino ranked why they’re ranked No. 5 in the county with their swift backcourt.”

JACOB HAMMETT was the only Cougar (3-2) to reach double digits with 14 points.

Steele Canyon: Jacob Hammett 14, Tyler Gulino-Jones 7, Zach Kissel 7, Jordan Johnson 7, Dominick Wood-Anderson 6, Ryan Razooky 3, Aaron Pisiona 3.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-14-13) — In a battle of two of the San Diego Section’s better teams, the visiting Lincoln Hornets stung Valhalla, 64-63, on a putback by Steve Garrett with 1.2 seconds remaining in Friday’s (Dec. 13) Mount Miguel Invitational action.

“We were down 11-0 before they opened the popcorn stand,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON.

The Hornets went on to lead 21-9 after one period.

“We outscored them in all of the next three periods,” said Jackson. “That’s what coaches say when they lose, but I don’t want to be one of those coaches.”

In spite of the slow start, the Norsemen turned the game into a scramble at the end.

GEORGE FAKHOURY hit a 3-pointer that dices a Lincoln lead to 59-58 in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.

The Hornets countered with a bucket to make it 61-58.

Then Fakhoury answered back with another
basket, making it a 1-point game again.

With the Hornets leading 62-60 JAKE BASSETTE hit a 3-pointer with 8 seconds left, lifting Valhalla in front 63-32.

Then it was Garrett’s turn to be a hero for Lincoln. His bucket gave the Hornets the winning margin.

“We had three guys in his face, and he took a shot and got a hard bounce. He got his own rebound and then threw it in with 1.2 seconds remaining to seal Valhalla ’s doom.

However, the Norsemen (3-1) made one last gasp with a nifty passing play that enabled JORDAN QSAR to take a 20 foot pass that bounced off the front of the rim.

In spite of the loss Jackson said he was proud of the fire in his kids and the way they fought back.

If it came down to handing out game balls, Jackson would have had a hard time choosing. Probably his unsung hero was 6-foot 3 junior Bassette.

“He made so many big plays for us tonight,” Jackson said. “He played hard under the basket. That’s pretty good since when he came into the program he was a skinny guard that played outside. Now he can play outside and play inside.”

Fakhoury scored 13 points but 5 of them came in the stretch run for the Norsemen.

Valhalla: Jacob Hammett 17 (1 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl), George Fakhoury 13 (5 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), David Gazale 12 (4 reb, 1 stl), Cole Henderson 10 (2 ast, 3 stl), Jake Bassette 5 (4 reb, 2 stl), Jordan Qsar 5 (13 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Aram Hermiz (1 reb), Trey Schimke 1 (3 reb, 1 ast).

HELIX 53, CARLSBAD 39 – The Highlanders pulled somewhat of an upset by clipping Carlsbad in Friday’s (Dec. 13) final round of the Hilltop Tournament in Chula Vista.

“I’m very impressed with my kids because of how they bounced back from our last game (a 74-49 loss to Otay Ranch on Wednesday, Dec. 11),” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER. “This is the best game we’ve played so far.”

Singer’s basic starting lineup is two sophomores, two juniors and a senior.

CHRISTIAN BELL, who led the Highlanders with 18 points, including 10 of 12 free throw shooting, is Helix’ senior leader. He was named to the Hilltop All-Tournament Team for his latest efforts.

“He’s a special kind of leader. The way he handles his leadership role, the kids look up to it,” Singer said. “Nobody takes offense to what he tells them. They all like him.”

The Highlanders, who shot poorly from the free throw line in their previous outing, were pretty much on the mark this time, hitting 18 of 25.

Helix: Christian Bell 18 (5 reb, 1 ast), Jordan Velasco 9 (2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Marcus White 6 (4 reb, 1 ast), Gary Linson 6 (6 reb), Elsaiah Blair 5 (8 reb, 3 stl), Dylan Lee 5 (3 reb, 2 ast), Justin Flisher 2 (3 reb, 3 stl), Ernesto Martinez 2 (1 ast, 1 stl).

MOUNT MIGUEL 66, SAN DIEGO 50 – A balanced attack led by DONNELL PAYNE’s 18 points guided Mount Miguel to a relatively easy victory over San Diego High in Friday’s (Dec. 13) Mount Miguel Invitational in Spring Valley.

Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT has maintained that his is a young, inexperienced team (2-2).

“Like I said before, we’re gonna be inconsistent but we made things click this time,” he said.

The Matadors shattered a one-point halftime lead by outscoring the Cavers 38-23 in the second half.

“We’re still trying to find our identity,” Rowlett said. “In this game we had a spark and energy on defense, which is something we didn’t have in our last game. That, and we knocked down some shots.”

Mount Miguel: Donnell Payne 18 (7 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Carl Dee Roberson 16 (12 reb), Taihir McMurray 16 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), James McLeod 9 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Amadi Cass-Williams 5 (4 reb, 2 ast), Nate Gilbert (4 reb, 1 ast), Antonio Aguilar (2 reb, 1 ast), Cesar Sigala (1 reb).

EL CAJON VALLEY 112, ROCK ACADEMY 14 – Seven Braves reach double scoring digits as El Cajon Valley crumbled the Rock Academy in Friday’s (Dec. 13) semifinal of the Mar Vista Division IV Tournament.

The Braves qualify for Saturday’s (Dec. 14) championship game against San Diego Jewish Academy at Mar Vista at 8 p.m.

BRANDON RUMLEY and SYON HICKS had 17 points apiece to pace the Braves against the Rock. Rumley was 5-for-5 at the free throw line and also collected a team best 8 rebounds.

“It’s hard to coach a game like this,” said Braves coach MARTY ELLIS. “We tried to take it easy on them but what can I do? Tell my players to fall down? The Rock coach asked me to come talk to his kids so I did. I told them in my first year I’d been on the opposite side several times. It’s no fun, that’s for sure. But I told them to keep their heads up because things will improve, just like they have for us.”

El Cajon Valley: Brandon Rumley 17 (8 reb, 4 stl), Syon Hicks 17 (1 reb, 4 stl), Brenden Brocious 14 (1 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Ali Ibrahim 14 (2 ast, 3 stl), Daniel Placenti 14 (1 stl), Mike Readus 12 (4 reb), Drake Afaisen 10 (2 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Shauntal King 7 (1 reb, 1 ast, 6 stl), Ahmad Sulyman 4 (1 ast, 2 stl), Ian Danler 3 (2 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl).

CHRISTIAN 37, EC-SOUTHWEST 36 – A basket by ZACH KINNINGER with 5 seconds left gave Christian a last second victory in Friday’s (Dec. 13) opening round of the Imperial Tiger Classic in the desert.

Kinninger finished with team highs of 13 points and 19 rebounds.

Christian will play two games on Saturday (Dec. 14), the first against host Imperial at 1 p.m. The second game is to be determined, depending on whether they win or lose.

Christian: Zack Kinninger 13 (19 reb), Johhny Paulson 10, Tyler Ballard 8 (7 ast), Michael Carrillo 4 (5 ast), Josh Smith 2 (8 reb, 3 blk), Trent Sauls 1 (9 reb).

Temecula-RANCHO CHRISTIAN 79, EL CAPITAN 41– The Vaqueros fell behind eventual champion Rancho Christian 17-0 in the first quarter and never recovered in Friday’s (Dec. 13) Tri-City Tournament.

The Eagles out of Temecula ran their record to 8-2;.

El Capitan: Joey LaChappa 10 (8 reb), Kade Kygar 10 (1 ast), Isaiah Capoocia 9 (1 reb, 1 stl), Myles Emmerson 9, Aaron Price 2 (1 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), Andy Casas 1 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Scott Root (2 stl), Wyatt Alvarez (1 reb, 1 stl).

Granite Hills' Seth Collins (top) with the baseline jumper; Rease Warford (bottom, 3) battles for the ball against Morse on Tuesday). (Photos by Frank Price) ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-12-13) — Undefeated El Cajon Valley High posted its fifth straight victory in Thursday’s (Dec. 12) Mar Vista Division IV Tournament as the Braves knocked off the host Mariners, 53-37.

The victory assured El Cajon Valley a berth in the finals of the tournament against San Diego Jewish Academy on Saturday (Dec. 14) at 8 p.m. at Mar Vista.

The Braves, who used a balanced attack in the victory over Mar Vista, will play the Rock Academy on Friday (Dec. 13) at 5:30 p.m. Win or lose, the Braves will be in the championship game.

In knocking out Mar Vista, SYON HICKS and DANIEL PLACENTI had 12 points apiece, while ALI IBRAHIM chipped in with 10 points and BRANDON RUMLEY grabbed 10 boards for the Braves.

El Cajon Valley: Syon Hicks 12 (2 blk), Daniel Placenti 12, Ali Ibrahim 10, Brandon Rumley 5 (10 reb), Brenden Brocious 5, Drake Faisen 4 (6 stl), Ian Danler 3, Shauntal King 2.

VALHALLA 83, SAN DIEGO 65 – Multi-sport athlete JORDAN QSAR, who has accepted a baseball scholarship to Pepperdine University, was all over the floor in Thursday’s (Dec. 12) victory at San Diego High in the Mount Miguel Invitational.

Qsar, a 6-foot-3 senior, scored 14 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and collected 7 steals as the Norsemen rolled their season record to 2-0.

“We do a good job of spreading the ball and Qsar was one of our main delivery guys,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. “Our stats are well distributed.”

GEORGE FAKHOURY added 14 points and 5 steals, while TREY SCHIMKE chipped in with 10 points and 5 rebounds. DAVID GAZALE also had 10 points.

Valhalla broke the game open in the middle two periods by outscoring the Cavers 43-26.

Valhalla: Jordan Qsar 14 (7 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 7 stl,) George Fakhoury 14 (2 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk, 5 stl), Trey Schimke 10 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), David Gazale 10 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jacob Hammett 8 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Aram Hermiz 8 (3 reb, 3 stl), Cole Henderson 7 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Terrell McKay 6 (6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jake Bassette 4 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Ureil Machaca 2 (1 reb, 1 stl), John Murad (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Yousif Kagy (1 reb), Jordan Ellis (1 stl).

EL CAPITAN 91, WARNER 22 – The Vaqueros blazed past Warner in Thursday’s (Dec. 12) Tri-City Tournament action in Lakeside.

El Capitan rolled its record to 2-0, scoring 80 points in the first three quarters, including 34 in the second quarter.

KADE KYGAR led the Vaqueros, nailing 4 treys on his way to a 17 point finish.

ANDY CASAS also nailed a trio of triples as he rolled a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

BRIAN BALLO was 7-for-8 from the field as he finished with 14 points.

JOEY LaCHAPPA chipped in with 10 points and 8 rebounds, as did AARON PRICE.

El Capitan: Kade Kygar 17 (2 ast), Brian Ballo 14 (5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Andy Casas 13 (10 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Joey LaChappa 10 (8 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Aaron Price 10 (8 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Scott Root 8 (2 reb, 5 stl), Myles Emmerson 7 (1 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Isaiah Capoocia 6 (1 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl), Wyatt Alvarez 4, Patrick Howell 2 (2 reb, 2 ast), Javier Ramirez (2 reb).

CORONADO 54, CHRISTIAN 41 – Christian High took an early 13-9 first quarter lead but couldn’t hang on as the visiting Coronado Islanders won Thursday’s (Dec. 12) opening round of the Imperial Tiger Classic.

ZACH KINNINGER, who was playing with a fever all last week, led the Patriots with 11 points and 5 rebounds.

Where the Patriots fell short was from the 3-point range and they made only 1 of 15 from above the arc.

Christian: Zach Kinninger 11 (5 reb, 1 stl), Trenton Sauls 9 (4 reb), Josh Smith 7 (5 reb), Tyler Ballard 6 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Justin Vrzich 4 (1 ast, 2 stl), Johnny Paulson 2 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Michael Carrillo 2, Joe Ross (2 reb), Travis Ballard (1 reb), David Todd Jeremiah (1 reb, 1 stl).

CLAIREMONT 52, MOUNT MIGUEL 48 – JAMES McLEOD was a ray of sunshine for host Mount Miguel as he nailed 5 three-pointers on his way to a 17 point effort in Thursday’s (Dec. 12) Mount Miguel Invitational.

TAIHIR McMURRAY had 14 points and was 3-for-3 from the free throw line.

CARL DEE ROBERSON chipped in 10 points and 8 rebounds as the Matadors fell to 1-2.

“We got called for 29 fouls,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT. “And Clairemont capitalized by hitting 16 of 32 free throws.

“We just don’t play hard consistently. It’s hard to win games when you don’t do that.”

Mount Miguel: James McLeod 17 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Taihir McMurray 14 (3 reb, 1 stl), Carl Dee Roberson 10 (8 reb, 1 ast), Donnell Payne 3 (3 reb, 1 stl), Antonio Aguilar 2 (3 stl), Nate Gilbert 2 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Amadi Cass-Williams (3 reb), Cesar Sigala (1 reb).

SAN CLEMENTE 70, STEELE CANYON 37 – Steele Canyon suffered its first loss in four decisions thanks to Thursday’s (Dec. 12) loss to the Tritons at San Clemente in a non-league game.

“We had a lot of success in the tournament up north, so this was a big helping of humble pie,” said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS. “Our defense was non-existent, and that carried over to our offense.

Steele Canyon: Jordan Johnson 9, Aaron Pisiona 6, Thomas Higginbotham 6, Jacob Hammlett 5, Zach Kissel 4, Tyler Gulino-Jones 4, Donovan Zetouna 2, Robert Teo 1.

CALVIN CHRISTIAN 67, SANTANA 23 – “We ran into a far superior Division 3 team (Thursday, Dec. 12 in Santee),” said Santana coach TIM BARRY.

No stats reported.

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-11-13) — The Norsemen of Valhalla are not ranked in anybody’s ratings but should not be counted out of the polls. In fact they might be the biggest surprise in the San Diego Section.

The Norsemen dribbled to their second lopsided victory in Wednesday’s (Dec. 11) Mount Miguel Invitational by blowing out Clairemont 70-43.

Valhalla turned the game into a 41-19 rout by halftime.

Of course, nobody is declaring Valhalla the favorite in the Grossmont Hills League championship. By the same token the Norsemen can’t be overlooked.

“We had 12 guys on the board,” said Norsemen coach KEITH JACKSON.

The leader of the band was DAVID GAZALE with 18 points, including four 3s.

JORDAN QSAR, who has a baseball scholarship in hand (soon to be printed on the website), added 8 points and 10 rebounds.

Valhalla nailed 8 three-pointers and 14 of 19 free throws en route to the victory.

In the next two nights the Norsemen will get to prove how good they really are as they travel to San Diego on Thursday (Dec. 12) for a 5 p.m. contest, and then host Lincoln on Friday (Dec. 13) for an 8 p.m. start.

Valhalla: David Gazale 18 (2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Jordan Qsar 8 (10 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), George Fakhoury 8 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Jacob Hammett 7 (4 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Aram Hermiz 7 (1 reb, 1 stl), Cole Henderson 6 (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Jake Bassette 4 (3 reb), Uriel Michaca 3 (4 reb, 2 ast), Jordan Ellis 3 (2 reb), Terrell McKay 2 (6 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Yousif Kagy 2 (1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Justin Jaime 2 (2 reb), John Murad (4 reb, 1 stl), Trey Schimke (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl).

EL CAJON VALLEY 65, ORANGE GLEN 51 – El Cajon Valley coach MARTY ELLIS decided to shuffle the deck in Wednesday’s (Dec. 11) Mar Vista Division IV Tournament contest against visiting Orange Glen.

It was a wise decision as the Braves posted their fourth win in a row. El Cajon Valley is the only team with no losses in the tournament.

Junior IAN DANLER paced the Braves, scoring a career high 21 points, including hitting 6 treys to defeat Orange Glen.

BRANDON RUMLEY grabbed 9 boards for the Braves.

“We had a different lineup. DRAKE AFAISEN really set the table with 6 steals,” said Braves coach MARTY ELLIS. “I call it the “Izzy Defense – we aren’t going to let one player beat us.

“I stuck all my quick guards – ALI IBRAHIM, Afaisen and DANIEL PLACENTI – on their best player,” Ellis said. “When one of them got tired, I put another one in. Drake plays really low to the ground. You can’t cross over on him.”

“They had two big kids that were legitimately 6-foot-8.”

“They put the pressure on at the end but we were already up by 20. We kept our composure.”

El Cajon Valley: Ian Danler 21, Drake Afaisen 9 (1 reb, 2 ast, 6 stl), Daniel Placenti 9 (2 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Ali Ibrahim 8 (2 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Syon Hicks 8 (2 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Brenden Brocious 8 (1 stl), Brandon Rumley 2 (9 reb), Mike Readus (4 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl).

LA COSTA CANYON 86, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 60 –.J. LEAF knocked down 25 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, dished 4 assists and blocked 4 shots in Wednesday’s (Dec. 11) Eagle Invitational contest, but it wasn’t enough to stave off La Costa Canyon, which is arguably the top team in the county.

LUIS SALGADO added 12 points, while DANE NORMAN chipped in with 9 points, 5 rebounds and had 3 blocks for Foothills Christian.

The Knights could not overcome the 3-point shooting barrage by the Mavericks.

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 25 (7 reb, 4 ast, 4 blk, 1 stl), Luis Salgado 12 (3 reb, 4 ast), Dane Norman 9 (5 reb, 3 blk), Caleb Hoffman 8 (4 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Daniel Hoffman 3 (1 reb, 1 ast

SAN DIEGUITO ACADEMY 46, CHRISTIAN 36 – ZACH KINNINGER scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and made the All-Tournament team, but it wasn’t enough for the Patriots to overthrow San Dieguito Academy in Wednesday’s (Dec. 11) Wolf Pack–Horsman Automotive Tournament game.

Kinninger, who has been suffering from fevers that reached as high as 103 degrees the past couple of days refused to step out of the lineup, hitting 5 of 8 shots from the field against the Mustangs.

TYLER BALLARD also scored 10 points for the Patriots.

Christian: Zach Kinninger 10 (11 reb), Tyler Ballard 10 (1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Justin Vrzich 5 (3 reb, 2 ast), Johnny Paulson 5 (1 ast, 2 stl), Josh Smith 2 (6 reb, 1 blk), Travis Ballard 2, Trent Sauls (2 reb, 1 stl), Michael Carrillo (1 ast), David Todd Jeremiah (1 reb), Grant Taylor (1 reb).

EL CAMINO 72, GRANITE HILLS 55 – BRAYAN TURNER scored 19 points and ANDREW MANNING pitched in 14 more but the Eagles couldn’t keep pace with El Camino in Wednesday’s (Dec. 11) Eagle Invitational in El Cajon.

“We really battled them, even though we were short-handed,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. “We executed well in the first half (trailing only 34-28).”

Granite Hills: Brayan Turner 19 (6 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Andrew Manning 14 (2 reb, 2 ast), Rease Warford 8 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Jaron Sanders 6 (8 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), Edgar Aguilar 3 (2 reb), Antonio Read 3 (2 stl), Ryan Kelly 2 (4 reb), Jacob Burton (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk), Matt Conley (1 reb).

OTAY RANCH 74, HELIX 49 – After falling behind 21-6 in the first quarter the Highlanders never recovered as they suffered their second loss in four games of the Hilltop Tournament on Wednesday (Dec. 11).

Otay Ranch was 12-for-19 from 3-point range, which swayed the game into the Mustangs’ favor.

CHRISTIAN BELL and JORDAN VELASCO each pitched in 11 points.

“We didn’t defend it,” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER. “In the two games we’ve lost we have given up 21 three-pointers. We can’t confine the ball.”

Helix: Christian Bell 11 (3 reb, 2 stl), Jordan Velasco 11 (2 reb, 1 ast), Elsaiah Blair 6 (6 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Luke Holloway 5 (6 reb), Justin Flisher 4 (4 reb, 1 stl), Gary Linson 4 (5 reb), Marcus White 4 (2 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), John Nalty 2 (4 reb, 1 blk), Michael Solomon 2 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jose Fernandez (1 reb, 1 stl).

© East County Sports.com
ESCONDIDO (12-11-13) — Monte Vista High registered an impressive victory in Tuesday’s (Dec. 10) GameOnSportz Challenge by knocking off host San Pasqual as JORDAN JACKSON made an and-one with just over 34 seconds left to give the Monarchs a 52-51 win.

Jordan Jackson finished with a team best 14 points and 9 rebounds.

“We got lucky today to squeak one out,” said Monarchs coach MIKE TULLY. “We ended up pressing in the entire fourth quarter and it got to them. San Pasqual had gone ahead by two (49-47) on a 3-pointer. We had been ahead the entire game.

“ERIC COLLINS hit 2 big free throws down the stretch to tie it at 49-all. Jordan Jackson knocked down a jumper and got fouled and hit 1 of 2 at the line.

“With 34 seconds left they got a quick bucket and I put in ADAM WALLACE, who was fouled and missed the front end of a 1-and-1. We pressed them and got them out of their rhythm.

“Their good shooter – Dominick Matthew – missed a 3-pointer at the end of the game. JEMEIL JACKSON really helped us defensively – held Matthew to 12 points.”

Jemeil Jackson finished with 9 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.

“We will have a week of practice before our next game,” said Tully. “Having the football players back will give us a chance to work on our team chemistry.”

Monte Vista: Jordan Jackson 14 (9 reb), Jemeil Jackson 9 (6 reb, 3 ast), Tory Sanders 8 (6 reb), Eric Collins 6 (2 reb, 2 ast), Adam Wallace 6 (4 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Jesse Rivas 5 (2 reb), Meliek Johnson 2 (1 reb), Thomas Walker 2 (6 reb, 4 ast).

EL CAPITAN 77, VISTA-CALVARY CHRISTIAN 54 – It hasn’t taken the El Capitan football players long to fit into their basketball shoes.

In Tuesday’s (Dec. 10) opening round of the Tri-City Tournament, the Vaqueros dominated from the start, taking an early 16-3 lead and never looked back.

Fact is, El Capitan led by 35 points at one stretch.

Wide receiver SCOTT ROOT nailed 5 of 11 from the field and 6 of 7 free throws for a game-high 16 points to go along with 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 4 steals to pace the Vaqueros.

Linebacker JOEY LaCHAPPA hit 6 of 8 from the field to finish with 13 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.

Guard KADE KYGAR proved that his bloodlines are geared for long distance shooting as he nailed 3 of 4 shots from above the arc and finished with 12 points.

MYLES EMMERSON was sparkling at the point guard post with 11 tallies, 9 assists and 3 steals. The best part of his game is he turned the ball over only once.

ANDY CASAS chipped in with 8 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks for El Capitan.

“For our first game I think we played okay,” said Vaqueros coach JASON CAVAZOS. “We don’t have one superstar on our team. This is definitely a Team.”

El Capitan: Scott Root 16 (8 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl), Joey LaChappa 13 (11 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl), Kade Kygar 12 (1 reb, 5 ast), Myles Emmerson 11 (1 reb, 9 ast, 3 stl), Andy Casas 8 (12 reb, 3 blk, 1 stl), Wyatt Alvarez 7 (3 ast, 3 stl), Aaron Price 4 (4 reb, 1 ast), Brian Ballo 4 (3 ast), Isaiah Capoocia 2 (1 reb, 1 stl), Patrick Howell (1 reb, 2 ast).

MOUNT MIGUEL 59, CRAWFORD 50 – Led by DONNELL PAYNE, Mount Miguel put on a 23-9 fourth quarter scoring rush against Crawford in Tuesday’s (Dec. 10) Mount Miguel Invitational in Spring Valley.

Payne netted 22 points for the second game in a row for the Matadors (1-1). He did much of his damage from the free throw line where he hit 8 of 9, giving him 17 of 22 free throws in his first two starts. In addition he captured 10 rebounds against the Colts.

CARL DEE ROBERSON rolled a double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds for Mount Miguel. The 6-foot-5 senior has 25 rebounds in the first two games of the season.

TAIHIR McMURRAY chipped in with 12 points, giving him 25 in his first two varsity games.

Payne scored 13 of his points in the pivotal fourth quarter for the Matadors.

Mount Miguel: Donnell Payne 22 (10 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Carl Dee Roberson 12 (14 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Taihir McMurray 12 (1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), James McLeod 7 (1 reb, 1 ast), Nate Gilbert 3 (1 reb), Amadi Cass-Williams 2 (3 reb), Antonio Aguilar 1 (1 reb), Cesar Sigala (1 reb, 1 ast).

MORSE 64, GRANITE HILLS 54 – Injuries have dogged Granite Hills in the early season as three starters have been sidelined for various maladies.

JUNIOR FERREIRA broke his collarbone in a preseason scrimmage and won’t return until the end of January, TREVOR SPERRY suffered an injury that occurred for the first time last year and recurred in the first half of the Eagles’ loss to Morse in Tuesday’s (Dec. 10) Eagle Invitational. SETH COLLINS was carried from the court in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury.

“All of those guys were starters,” said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON. “So we have to look to other players to pick up the slack.”

Among those doing his best to lift the Eagles is senior ANDREW MANNING, who scored 29 points, nailing 7 of 16 from the floor, including six 3-pointers. He was also 9-for-11 from the free throw line.

BRAYAN TURNER added 14 points for the Eagles, including a pair of treys and was 4-for-4 free throw shooting.

JACOB BURTON led the Eagles on the boards by collecting a dozen caroms.

Granite Hills (1-2) took a 36-28 halftime lead over Morse but their offense faltered in the second half.

“We were still only 5 points back with 1:30 to play, but just couldn’t get shots to fall in the second half,” said Anderson.

Granite Hills: Andrew Manning 29 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Brayan Turner 14 (6 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Seth Collins 7 (7 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Rease Warford 2 (1 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Jaron Sanders 1 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Jacob Burton 1 (12 reb, 1 ast), Trevor Sperry (5 reb, 1 blk), Matt Conley (1 blk), Antonio Read (1 ast).

EL CAJON VALLEY 58, MARANATHA 40 – The Braves blazed their way to their third straight win by mauling Maranatha Christian in Tuesday’s (Dec. 10) Mar Vista Division IV Tournament.

The Braves led 47-27 after three quarters and that was the story.

ALI IBRAHIM paced the Braves with a career high 16 points, while SYON HICKS added 12.

BRANDON RUMLEY led the Braves on the boards with 10 rebounds.

“I think we play according to our competition,” said El Cajon Valley coach MARTY ELLIS. “We play Orange Glen tomorrow, which is a little better team than today.

“I think they are starting to get it little by little – it’s just getting the guys to buy into our system. They’re bonding more, getting to know each other more.”

El Cajon Valley: Ali Ibrahim 16 (3 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Syon Hicks 12 (4 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Mike Readus 8 (7 reb, 1 ast), Daniel Placenti 6 (1 ast, 2 stl), Brandon Rumley 5 (10 reb, 2 stl), Ian Danier 5 (2 reb, 3 stl), Shauntal King 4, Brenden Brocious 2 (1 reb), William Pato (1 reb), Ahmad Sulyman (1 ast), Drake Afaisen (2 stl).

HELIX 37, HILLTOP 23 – Junior guard JORDAN VELASCO scored 11 points to lead Helix to a sluggish 37-23 victory in Tuesday’s (Dec. 10) Hilltop Tournament action.

This game was not about offense, however, as the Highlanders took a 16-5 halftime lead.

“This was one of the ugliest games you’d ever want to see,” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER. “It was like JV vs. Freshmen – and we were the JV.

“You know what? I think we played pretty good defense. We just couldn’t find the basket,” he added. “This is the youngest team I’ve ever had. We only have one senior that plays. I enjoy these kids because they’re nice people.”

Singer has toyed with turning in his whistle after this season, but don’t look for that to happen.

“I still enjoy the juices of coaching kids. And this is a great group.”

Helix: Jordan Velasco 11 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Marcus White 9 (4 reb, 4 stl), Christian Bell 6 (8 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Elsaiah Blair 5 (9 reb, 2 stl), Gary Linson 4 (3 reb, 2 stl), Justin Flisher 2 (7 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Dylan Lee (2 reb, 2 stl), John Nalty (2 reb), Luke Holloway (2 reb).

© East County Sports.com
RANCHO BERNARDO (12-10-13) — Sophomore COLE HENDERSON scored 5 of his 14 points in overtime to help Valhalla High to a 76-68 season-opening victory over host Rancho Bernardo in Monday’s (Dec. 9) first round of the Mount Miguel Invitational.

DAVID GAZALE led the Norsemen with 22 points, including hitting 3 of 3 triples.

JACOB HAMMETT chipped in with 16 points, including a pair of treys, while JORDAN QSAR pitched in 11 points.

GEORGE FAKHOURY scored only 9 points but they were key markers as they helped Valhalla take a 38-32 lead at halftime and gave the Norsemen a 3-point lead in regulation with 35 seconds left. He also netted 2 free throws in the extra session.

Valhalla took a 24-13 first quarter lead under the leadership of Gazale, who hit a pair of 3-pointers.

“We’ve played better games in the past but this was pretty decent for an opening round effort,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON.

Valhalla: David Gazale 22, Jacob Hammett 16, Cole Henderson 14, Jordan Qsar 11, George Fakhoury 9, Jake Bassette 2, Trey Schimke 2.

EL CAJON VALLEY 75, CASTLE PARK 38 – The Braves won their second game in as many starts Monday (Dec. 9) as they clobbered Castle Park in the

Division IV Tournament at Mar Vista.

The Braves used a balanced attack, led by ALI IBRAHIM with 19 points.

BRANDON RUMLEY turned in a nifty double-double of 14 points and helped the Braves on the boards with 12 caroms.

SYON HICKS added 12 points and BRENDEN BROCIOUS pitched in with 10.

The Braves took a 15-5 first quarter lead and turned the game into a blowout by outscoring the Trojans 43-18 in the second half.

El Cajon Valley: Ali Ibrahim 19 (4 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Brandon Rumley 14 (12 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Syon Hicks 12 (4 reb, 2 stl), Brenden Brocious 10 (4 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Daniel Placenti 8 (3 reb, 3 stl), Mike Readus 6 (3 reb, 1 stl), Shauntal King 3 (2 reb, 1 stl), Ahmad Sulyman 3, William Pato (4 reb), Drake Afaisen (2 reb).

RAMONA 57, MOUNT MIGUEL 53 – With a lineup laced with new faces, the host Matadors suffered a heart-breaking loss in Monday’s (Dec. 9) opening round of the Mount Miguel Invitational.

DONNELL PAYNE led the Matadors with a career high 22 points, while CARL DEE ROBERSON banged in 18 points and collected 12 rebounds in the defeat.

“For us, Carl Dee was the Player of the Game,” said Mount Miguel coach JAY ROWLETT. “This is a real different team because we need players who are role guys last year to become go-to guys this season. It’s a learning process and hopefully we can get it done.”

Mount Miguel: Donnell Payne 22 (5 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Carl Dee Roberson 18 (11 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Taihir McMurray 5 (1 ast), Nate Gilbert 4 (2 reb, 1 ast), Amadi Cass-Williams 3 (6 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Antonio Aguilar 1 (1 reb), Cesar Sigala (4 reb, 4 ast).

CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC 60, CHRISTIAN 38 – No report for this Wolf Pack–Horsman Automotive Tournament at West Hills.

© East County Sports.com
NAPA (12-8-13) — Their trip to the San Francisco Bay area paid off for the Steele Canyon Cougars in several ways. Not only did the Cougars have a nifty tour of The City, they knocked off Vacaville 61-58 in the Wine Valley Classic Tournament to earn the championship.

The Cougars (3-0) rallied from a 22-18 first-quarter deficit and continued to outscore Vacaville across the board.

JORDAN JOHNSON and ZACH KISSEL paced Steele Canyon with 12 points apiece, while DOMINICK WOOD-ANDERSON chipped in with 10 points.

“Our defense was a little lethargic in the first quarter,” said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS. “But we made some adjustments in the second quarter, and defensively I thought we did a pretty good job.

“I’m proud of the guys. It was good for them – they looked a little tired in the first quarter but picked it up. It was a good experience for the kids.”

Steele Canyon: Jordan Johnson 12, Zach Kissel 12, Dominick Wood-Anderson 10, Tariq Tillman 9, Tyler Gulino-Jones 7, Dylan Hamlett 5, Ryan Razooky 3, Aaron Pisiona 3.

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 77, HOOVER 65 – Foothills Christian turned Saturday’s (Dec. 7) battle against Hoover into a track meet in Eagle Invitational action at Granite Hills.

The Knights broke the game open with a 24-11 third quarter spread to improve their record to 2-1.

CALEB HOFFMAN led the Knights in scoring with 21 points and DANE NORMAN added 20.

T.J. LEAF finished with 17 points but was double- and triple-teams by the Cardinals.

JAVIER GUERRERO chipped in with 10 points and LUIS SALGADO contributed 9.

Foothills Christian: Caleb Hoffman 21 (2 reb, 5 ast), Dane Norman 20 (13 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), T.J. Leaf 17 (17 reb, 3 blk), Javier Guerrero 10 (6 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl), Luis Salgado 9 (5 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl), J.R. Rivera (1 reb), Daniel Hoffman (1 ast).

HELIX 61, EASTLAKE 51 – Helix posted an impressive victory in Saturday’s (Dec. 7) second round of the Hilltop Tournament by toppling the Titans.

For the second game in a row CHRISTIAN BELL led the Highlanders in scoring with 17 points.

JORDAN VELASCO chipped in with 13 points and DYLAN LEE added 12.

“We made big free throws when we needed them,” said Highlanders coach JOHN SINGER. “We are getting very good leadership from Christian Bell. He’s really matured a lot. He gets it now. He’s doing a lot of things that we need him to do.”

“This is an extremely young, inexperienced team,” added Singer. “We are only playing one senior. We really don’t have a lot of returning guys. It was a good win for us tonight.”

Helix: Christian Bell 17, Jordan Velasco 13, Justin Flisher 12, Dylan Lee 5, Gary Linson 5, Marcus White 4, Marcus Norris 3, Elsaiah Blair 2.

PATRICK HENRY 65, WEST HILLS 61 – Despite a 27 point effort by CHASE PARSONS, host West Hills could not overcome visiting Patrick Henry in Saturday’s (Dec. 7) Wolf Pack–Horsman Automotive Tournament at West Hills.

“We let another one get away from us,” said Wolf Pack coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. “We were tied with 2 minutes to go. Went up big early (20-7) and then cooled off.

“Give Henry credit – they capitalized on every mistake we made.”

“THOMAS REANEY was big for us tonight,” Armstrong said. “He was consistent.”

RICARDO BARAJAS connected for 11 points for the Wolf Pack, and D.J. LEWIS tossed in 7 points and grabbed 7 boards.

Parsons played another great game. He hit 12 of 13 free throws, grabbed 8 rebounds, dished 3 assists and made 4 steals.)

“Chase attacked the rim well,” Armstrong said. “And AUSTIN ALDERSON showed moments of brilliance in the 4th quarter (all of his 4 pts).

“We continue to get beat on the boards,” the coach said. “We ran out of gas at times tonight...........3 games in 3 days. “

West Hills: Chase Parsons 27 (8 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Ricardo Barajas 11 (2 reb, 1 stl), D.J. Lewis 7 (7 reb), Thomas Reaney 4 (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Austin Alderson 4 (2 reb), Marco Ovies 3 (2 reb, 1 ast), Joe Mansour 3 (1 reb, 3 stl), Spencer Moyer 2 (1 reb), Nick Zoree (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Brent Wilder (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl).

DEL NORTE 48, GROSSMONT 39 – Grossmont trailed 27-15 at halftime and could never recover in Saturday’s (Dec. 7) semifinal of the Eagle Classic Tournament at Olympian.

TOMMY RUTHERFORD led the Foothillers with 14 points and 16 points rebounds and is a sure thing to be an All-Tournament pick.

“We played a very uninspired basketball game,” said Foothillers coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “We did okay in the second half, we just didn’t come out very inspired.”

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 14 (16 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), J.T. Barnes 8 (3 reb, 1 ast), Kyle Williams 7 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Carl Blanchard 6 (5 reb, 1 ast), Cameron Henderson 4 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Anthony Lawrence (4 reb, 1 ast).

KEARNY 72, MONTE VISTA 49 – This game was almost over by the first quarter as Kearny took a 16-3 lead in Saturday’s (Dec. 7) GameOnSportz Challenge at Santana.

JORDAN JACKSON led the Monarchs with 20 points and 9 rebounds but he didn’t have the support that he will have in the next week.

TORY SANDERS scored 10 points and 7 rebounds for the Monarchs and SAIYEED MERSHON grabbed 7 boards.

“Tory Sanders scored 10 points in the first half,” said Tully. “He only played a little over a half, and fouled out in the third quarter. He would have really helped us.”

Monte Vista will receive reinforcements from the football team as the Monarchs lost in Saturday’s SDCIF football game.

“We only had seven kids suiting up for one reason or another,” said Monarchs coach MIKE TULLY. “It will help to get our football players back. We’ll be pretty solid.

“We came out of the gate horribly tonight, and we only have one practice with the football players before we play San Pasqual on Tuesday (Dec. 10).”

Monte Vista: Jordan Jackson 20 (9 reb, 1 blk), Tory Sanders 9 (7 reb), Adam Wallace 7 (1 reb, 5 ast), Elijah Moore 6 (7 reb), Saiyeed Mershon 6 (7 reb), Meliek Johnson 1 (3 reb).

TORREY PINES 73, CHRISTIAN 23 – It was another tough night for the Patriots in Saturday’s (Dec. 7) Wolf Pack–Horsman Automotive Tournament at West Hills.

Torrey Pines dominated the game from the get go.

“We were heartbroken by last night’s defeat – a halfcourt shot by Kearny (which caused the Patriots to lose 69-68),” said Christian coach CARLOS PERALTA. “Physically and emotionally we were just a little down, physically spent.”

The Patriots will meet Cathedral Catholic in their next game of the tournament on Monday (Dec. 9). It’s not known when the Christian football players will be joining the team, but they will be welcomed when they do arrive.

Christian: Tyler Ballard 7 (1 reb), Zach Kinninger 5 (3 reb, 1 ast), Brandon Tardiff 3 (4 reb), Travis Ballard 3 (1 ast), Johnny Paulson (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Justin Vrzich (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Josh Smith (2 reb), Joe Ross (1 reb), Zack Yan (1 reb), Taylor 3 (1 ast).

SANTANA 73, SD-SOUTHWEST 38 – DANIEL SHIVELY scored a career high 24 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and made 4 steals in leading the Santana Sultans to a lopsided victory over visiting San Diego-Southwest in Saturday’s (Dec. 7) GameOnSportz Challenge.

C.J. CLARK added 14 points, RYAN BRATLIEN tossed in 11 and ANTHONY ROMERO had 10 points.

Shively was 11-for-15 from the field, while Clark was 6-for-8 as the Sultans evened their record at 2-2.

Santana: Daniel Shively 24 (11 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), C.J. Clark 14 (3 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Ryan Bratlien 11 (3 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Anthony Romero 10 (3 reb, 1 stl), David Colera 4 (3 reb), Mitchell Miller 4 (4 reb, 3 ast), Daulton Barry 2 (3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Sage Hicks 2 (4 reb, 1 stl), Tyler Kirk (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Austin Miller (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Drake Vesco (3 reb, 1 ast).

© East County Sports.com
NAPA (12-7-13) — Steele Canyon High will dribble into the finals of the Wine Valley Classic on Saturday after knocking off the host team Napa 57-55 in Friday’s (Dec. 6) semifinals.

JORDAN JOHNSON and ZACH KISSEL scored 13 points apiece to lead a balanced attack in the semifinal win over Napa.

DOMINICK WOOD-ANDERSON and DYLAN HAMLETT tossed in 10 points apiece.

“We had solid contributions from several guys,” said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS.

Steele Canyon had to survive some dead-eye free throw shooting by Napa, which netted 20 of 27.

“It’s been a fun trip so to win the championship of the tournament would be just a bonus,” Stephens said. “We went into the city (San Francisco) today and went across the Golden Gate bridge, and I realized that most of these kids have never done that before.”

On Saturday the Cougars will play Vacaville at 3 p.m. for the championship.

Steele Canyon: Zach Kissel 13, Jordan Johnson 13, Dominick Wood-Anderson 12, Dylan Hamlett 10, Tanner Perry 7, Tyler Guilino-Jones 2.

MONTE VISTA 64, SD-SOUTHWEST 44 – First-year Monte Vista head coach MIKE TULLY celebrated his first victory as the Monarchs buried San Diego Southwest 64-44 in Friday’s (Dec. 6) non-league contest in the South Bay.

JORDAN JACKSON hit 9 of 11 shots from the field for 21 points to go along with 8 rebounds to lead the Monarchs to victory.

TORY SANDERS added 18 points and 10 rebounds as Monte Vista improved to 1-2.

“It’s a good feeling to get that first varsity win,” Tully said.

Monte Vista: Jordan Jackson 21 (8 reb), Tory Sanders 18 (10 reb), Meliek Johnson 4 (2 ast), Michael Diaz 5 (2 ast), Isaiyah Kelly 5, Saiyeed Mershon 3, Elijah Moore 3, Jermyah Kelly 2.

CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC 63, WEST HILLS 60 – The Wolf Pack let one get away from them in Friday’s (Dec. 6) Wolf Pack–Horsman Automotive Tournament contest.

The Wolf Pack was up 5 points with 1 minute to go, but made a crucial turnover on a skip pass that led to a 3 point play.

The Pack got the ball back and missed a 12 foot baseline shot which Cathedral rebounded and came down and hit a three to put them up 1 with 12 seconds to go.

“We got the ball back with 12 seconds to go and tried to run a play to get the ball into CHASE PARSONS hands, but couldn't,” West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG said. “We threw up a shot in desperation and came up one point short.”

Armstrong complimented the play of Parson, as he led the team with one of his better offensive games (19 pts, 7 rebs).

RICARDO BARAJAS was entered into the starting lineup tonight and responded well. He scored 12 of the team’s 21 points in the 3rd quarter.

The Pack struggled from the free throw line, missing 6 free throws in the 4th quarter (4 down the stretch).

"It did not help matters as I didn't have Ricardo on the floor for the last play of the game,” said Armstrong.

Rebounding woes continue to haunt the Pack.

“I hope the Pack can rebound tomorrow for the 8 p.m. contest against Patrick Henry,” Armstrong said. “I am proud of the boys’ effort as we have played two top 10 teams in the last 24 hours and could have won the game tonight."

West Hills: Chase Parsons 19 (7 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Ricardo Barajas 15 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Brent Wilder 7 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), D.J. Lewis 6 (5 reb), Joe Mansour 6 (1 reb, 1 stl), Nick Zoree 5 (2 ast, 4 stl), Spencer Moyer 2 (5 ast, 2 stl), Thomas Reaney 2 (3 reb, 1 stl), Marco Ovies (5 ast, 2 stl), Austin Alderson (3 reb, 1 ast).

MATER DEI 55, GROSSMONT 49 – Despite a powerful double-double of 21 points and 16 rebounds by TOMMY RUTHERFORD, the Foothilllers could not short circuit Top 10 ranked Mater Dei in the semifinals of the Eagle Classic Tournament at Olympian High Friday (Dec. 6)

It was tied in the 3rd quarter at 35 apiece. But the two teams stalled at 52-49 for several minutes before the Crusaders pulled away.

“We ending up having to foul at the end,” said Foothillers coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “They made 6 free throws at the end.”

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 21 (16 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Cameron Henderson 8 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Rome Harris 7 (1 reb, 1 ast), Carl Blanchard 6 (8 reb, 3 ast), Anthony Lawrence 3 (4 reb, 2 ast), Kyle Williams 2 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), J.T. Barnes 2 (1 reb, 1 ast).

HOOVER 63, GRANITE HILLS 56 – Returning veteran ANDREW MANNING scored 19 points and newcomer SETH COLLINS popped in 10 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and dished 2 assists but it wasn’t enough for the Eagles to stave off the Hoover Cardinals in Friday’s (Dec. 6) second round of the Eagle Invitational.

The game was tied at 13 apiece after one quarter, but Granite Hills played catch-up after that.

“ Hoover is a very quick team, but I thought our three guards – Manning, REASE WARFORD and BRAYAN TURNER – did a good job of handling the ball against their full court pressure,” said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON.

Miles Nolen-Webb led Hoover with 33 points.

Granite Hills: Andrew Manning 19 (1 reb), Seth Collins 10 (7 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Brayan Turner 9 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Trevor Sperry 6 (10 reb, 1 ast, 4 blk), Rease Warford 6 (3 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Jaron Sanders 2 (1 reb), Jacob Burton 2 (4 reb), Matt Conley 2 (1 reb).

WESTVIEW 61, HELIX 53 – Perennial power Helix overcame a 22-11 deficit to Westview in Friday’s (Dec. 6) Hilltop Tournament opener, but the Highlanders couldn’t hang on.

Perhaps the most pivotal stats was the Highlanders committed 16 turnovers compared to just 8 for Westview.

CHRISTIAN BELL had 17 points, including a pair of treys.

JORDAN VELASCO chipped in with 14 points, including hitting 10 of 11 free throws, while MARCUS NORRIS knocked down a pair of treys and finished with 9 points and 6 rebounds.

Although he didn’t score, JUSTIN FLISHER grabbed 8 rebounds.

Helix: Christian Bell 17 (5 reb, 2 ast), Jordan Velasco 14 (1 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Marcus Norris 9 (6 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Marcus White 5 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Elsiaiah Blair 5 (1 ast), John Nalty 2, Gary Linson 1 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Justin Flisher (8 reb, 1 ast), Dylan Lee (4 reb, 1 ast), Luke Holloway (2 reb).

CALVIN CHRISTIAN 71, SANTANA 47 – Trailing by 5 points at halftime, host Santana caved in to visiting Calvin Christian 25-7 in the 3rd quarter of Friday’s (Dec. 6) GameOnSportz Challenge, and the issue was all but decided after that.

“Calvin Christian shoots the ball so well,” observed Sultans coach TIM BARRY. “We were only down by 5 points at the half.

RYAN BRATLIEN led the Sultans with 13 points while DANIEL SHIVELY pitched in 10.

“In the 3rd quarter we missed a lot of easy shots,” Barry noted. “They switched up their defense and we struggled. We are very team-oriented – don’t really have a go-to guy yet.”

Santana: Ryan Bratlien 13 (5 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Daniel Shively 10 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Sage Hicks 8 (3 reb, 1 ast), Daulton Barry 6 (3 reb, 1 ast), Tiano Franco 3 (1 reb), Anthony Romero 3, Mitchell Miller 2 (1 reb, 1 ast), C.J. Clark 2, Austin Miller (7 reb, 4 ast), Tyler Kirk (3 reb).

PATRICK HENRY 69, CHRISTIAN 68 – The Christian High Patriots let one slip through their fingers in Friday’s (Dec. 6) Wolf Pack–Horsman Automotive Tournament at West Hills.

Leading by 2 with three seconds left, the Patriots turned the ball over and Patrick Henry quickly capitalized with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to steal the victory.

Christian: Zach Kinninger 17 (11 reb, 2 ast), Tyler Ballard 15 (3 reb, 3 ast), Josh Smith 12 (5 reb), Johnny Paulson 10 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl), Justin Vrzich 6 (2 reb, 6 ast), Joe Ross 5 (3 reb, 1 blk), Zack Yan 1 (4 reb, 1 blk).

© East County Sports.com
NAPA (12-6-13) — Steele Canyon High opened the season in Northern California by knocking off Pleasanton-Foothill, 55-44, in Thursday’s (Dec. 5) in the Wine Valley Classic.

After taking an 8-hour drive the Cougars came out shooting as JORDAN JOHNSON, DYLAN HAMLETT and TYLER GULINO-JONES scored 10 points apiece to lead a balanced attack for Steele Canyon.

The Cougars outscored Foothill in all four quarters.

AARON PISIONA hit 2 treys on his way to an 8 point finish.

“We played really well,” said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS. “For our first game we were pretty balanced and led wire-to-wire.”

Steele Canyon will play at host Napa in the next leg of the tourney.

“It’s pretty cold up here,” Stephens said. “It was 19 degrees last night. But it was fun to watch the kids play in the snow.”

Steele Canyon: Jordan Johnson 10, Dylan Hamlett 10, Tyler Gulino-Jones 10, Zach Kissel 9, Aaron Pisiona 8, Dominick Wood-Anderson 6, Tanner Perry 2.

POWAY 72, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 70 – The Knights of Foothills Christian came close but left with a loss in Thursday’s (Dec. 5) Granite Hills Eagles Invitational at Granite Hills.

With 30 seconds left Foothills Christian was down by 3.

JAVIER GUERRERO took a shot from above the arc and was fouled. He made the first free throw and deliberately missed the second, counting on the Knights getting the rebound. Didn’t happen as Foothills Christian was called for a lane violation on the attempt.

In two games T.J. LEAF has scored 64 points with 28 rebounds. LUIS SALGADO punched in 3 triples on his way to 10 points.

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 36 (12 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 3 blk), Dane Norman 10 (5 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Luis Salgado 10 (4 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl), Caleb Hoffman 6 (1 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Javier Guerrero 6 (3 reb, 3 ast), J.R. Rivera 2 (1 reb).

TORREY PINES 64, WEST HILLS 47 – CHASE PARSONS popped in 14 points and D.J. LEWIS netted 12, but it was not enough offense to topple Torrey Pines in Thursday’s (Dec. 5) Wolf Pack–Horsman Automotive Tournament at West Hills.

“Great team effort against one of San Diego's premier teams,” Wolf Pack coach JEFF ARMSTRONG.

West Hills was down 33-31 late in 3rd quarter but the Pack was in the game.

A couple of mistakes early in the fourth quarter and some missed shots allowed the Falcons to remain undefeated in pool play and they eventually opened it up to 17.

“Chase Parsons lead us in scoring with many strong moves to the rim and a few three pointers,” said Armstrong. “He had a fever last night and tonight.

D.J. Lewis did a great job battling Torrey Pines big men, leading us with 7 rebounds.

“D.J. did a nice job guarding one of the top players in county in Brandon Cyrus (Canadian national team member).”

Despite getting out rebounded, the Pack hung tough and Armstrong was proud of their effort.

West Hills: Chase Parsons 14 (4 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), D.J. Lewis 12 (8 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Richardo Barajas 6 (1 reb, 1 stl), Brent Wilder 4 (3 reb, 1 blk), Thomas Reaney 4 (3 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), Joe Mansour 3 (2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Spencer Moyer 2 (2 reb), Austin Alderson 2 (2 reb), Marco Ovies (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Nick Zoree (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl).

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-4-13) — El Cajon Valley, the defending Grossmont Valley League champions, is picking up where it left off a year ago.

The Braves knocked off Vincent Memorial, 56-48, in Wednesday’s (Dec. 4) non-league game behind a balanced attack.

BRENDON BROCIOUS led the Braves with 18 points, including 6 of 7 free throw shooting.

IBRAHIM ALI paced the supporting cast with 14 points, while SYON HICKS added 10 markers.

BRANDON RUMLEY led El Cajon Valley on the boards with 14 rebounds along with 8 points and 4 steals. to defeat the Scots from Calexco.

“We came out pretty strong,” said Braves coach MARTY ELLIS. “We played with a short number of guys. I think we got tired. We turned the ball over way too much. But these guys have been through it – they’ve been through it before.”

El Cajon Valley: Brendon Brocious 18 (5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Ibrahim Ali 14 (1 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Syon Hicks 10 (4 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Brandon Rumley 8 (14 reb, 4 stl), Mike Readus 4 (3 reb, 2 stl), Ahmad Sulyman 2 (1 ast, 2 stl).

LA JOLLA 55, MONTE VISTA 34 – TORY SANDERS muscled in 15 points and wrestled down 6 rebounds but it wasn’t enough to stave off the La Jolla Vikings Wednesday (Dec. 4) as the Monarchs fell for the third game in succession.

JORDAN JACKSON added six points and 9 boards for the Monarchs.

“Once again we made too many turnovers (23),” said Monte Vista coach MIKE TULLY. “We just didn’t have much energy. Eight of those came inside.”

Monte Vista: Tory Sanders 15 (6 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk, 3 stl), Meliek Johnson 8, Jordan Jackson 6 (9 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Adam Wallace 4 (2 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Isaiyah Kelly (2 reb, 1 ast), Saiyeed Mershon (2 reb), Elijah Moore (2 reb).

UNIVERSITY CITY at SANTANA – A mix-up in schedule caused Wednesday’s (Dec. 4) Challenge contest to be rescheduled for a later date.

© East County Sports.com
OCEANSIDE (12-4-13) — No question that Foothills Christian is going to be challenged by one of the toughest schedules in the San Diego CIF Section.

Credit Round 1 for the Knights as they edged host El Camino 74-71 on Tuesday (Dec. 3) in the first round of the Eagles Invitational sponsored by Granite Hills.

Six-foot-9 sophomore T.J. LEAF led the charge for the Knights with 28 points and 18 rebounds.

Point guard CALEB HOFFMAN scored 13 of his 19 points in the final quarter as the Knights snubbed the Warriors comeback bid.

Newcomers JAVIER GUERRERO punched in 13 points, and 6-foot-8 DANE NORMAN added 10 points and 9 rebounds for the Knights.

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 28 (18 reb, 8 ast, 1 stl), Caleb Hoffman 19 (3 reb, 1 stl, 6 ast), Javier Guerrero 13 (3 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl), Dane Norman 10 (2 reb, 1 ast), J.R. Rivera 4 (1 reb, 1 stl).

GROSSMONT 61, BONITA VISTA 18 – Six-foot-9 TOMMY RUTHERFORD continued to dominate the Eagle Classic Tournament at Olympian on Tuesday (Dec. 3).

Rutherford, who has averaged 55 points and 32 rebounds in his first two games, will lead the Foothillers (3-0) into Friday’s (Dec. 6) semifinals against Mater Dei in the Olympian Eagles Classic Tournament.

CARL BLANCHARD led the Foothillers on the boards with 10 rebounds.

Grossmont blanked the Barons in the 2nd quarter to take a 23-7 half time lead.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 28 (18 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Cameron Henderson 9 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), J.T. Barnes 6 (4 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Kyle Williams (5 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Anthony Lawrence 5 (4 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Carl Blanchard 3 (10 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Rome Harris (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl).

MADISON 56, MONTE VISTA 50 – The Monarchs managed a 1-point lead in Tuesday’s (Dec. 3) Gameonsportz Challenge against visiting Madison in the 4th quarter, but couldn’t hang on.

“It wasn’t our usual approach but we ran a 2-3 zone and we turned the game into a crawl,” said first-year Monarchs coach MIKE TULLY. “But they hit a couple of clutch 3s down the stretch and we were unable to counter.”

Despite the short-handed lineup Monte Vista managed a balanced attack led by SAIYEED MERSHON with 12 points and 7 rebounds.

TORY SANDERS added 11 points and JORDAN JACKSON had 9 points and 13 rebounds.

Monte Vista: Saiyeed Mershon 12 (7 reb), Tory Sanders 11 (1 ast, 1 blk), Jordan Jackson 9 (13 reb), Meliek Johnson 9 (3 reb, 2 ast), Adam Wallace 7 (1 stl), Isaiyah Kelly 2 (3 reb, 1 ast).

MT. CARMEL 44, GRANITE HILLS 38 – ANDREW MANNING knocked down 21 points including a pair of treys, but it wasn’t enough to carry host Granite Hills to a victory in their Eagle Invitational Tuesday (Dec. 3).

TREVOR SPERRY led the Eagles on the boards, collecting 11 caroms to go along with 6 points.

“Our defense was solid the whole game,” said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON. “We just turned the ball over too much on offense – we had 21 turnovers. Manning had 13 points in the 3rd quarter.”

Granite Hills: Andrew Manning 21 (2 reb, 1 ast), Jaron Sanders 6 (2 reb, 1 ast), Trevor Sperry 6 (11 reb, 1 blk), Brayan Turner 4 (6 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Antonio Read (1 reb, 1 blk).

KEARNY 59, SANTANA 33 – The Santana Sultans got caught in a buzz saw by the Kearny Komets in Tuesday’s (Dec. 3) second round of the Gameonsportz Challenge.

The Komets led 39-15 at halftime and it was Game-Set-Match after that.

“ Kearny is a little bit out of our league,” said Sultans coach TIM BARRY. “They have three transfers from out of state – Arkansas I think. They really play. They’re good. They definitely brought it tonight.”

RYAN BRATLIEN led the Sultans with 10 points.

Santana: Ryan Bratlien 10 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Daniel Shively 6 (6 reb, 2 ast), Anthony Romero 6, Sage Hicks 3 (1 ast), Mitchell Miller 3 (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), C.J. Clark 2 (2 reb), David Colera 2 (2 reb, 1 stl), Tyler Kirk 1 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Drake Vesco (1 stl).

West Hills D.J. Lewis (in white) goes up for a shot against Christian High defenders Monday in Santee. (Photo by Ramon Scott)

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-3-13) — TOMMY RUTHERFORD poured in 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Grossmont Foothillers clipped Canyon Christian, 53-50, in Monday’s (Dec. 2) Eagle Classic Tournament at Olympian.

“ Rutherford had 20 points in the first half,” noted Hillers coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “He dominated in the first half and then they double- and triple-teamed him in the second half. He still scored 7 points in the second half.”

ANTHONY LAWRENCE pitched in with 8 points including a pair of treys for the Foothillers.

Grossmont carried a 9 point lead into the final period against Canyon Crest before locking up its second win in as many starts.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 27 (14 reb, 1 ast), Anthony Lawrence 8 (4 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Carl Blanchard 7 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Kyle Williams 6 (4 reb, 2 ast), Cameron Henderson 3 (4 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), J.T. Barnes (4 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl).

SANTANA 78, SD-SOUTHWEST 52 – Eleven Sultans contributed to the scoring as Santana mowed down San Diego-Southwest in Monday’s (Dec. 2) opening round of the GameOnSportz Challenge.

RYAN BRATLIEN led the scoring parade with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.

ANTHONY ROMERO pitched in 12 points and DANIEL SHIVELY chipped in with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

“As usual, we live and die by the 3,” said Sultans coach TIM BARRY. “We had seven 3s. We’re really, really young – we have 6 sophomores on our roster.”

Santana: Ryan Bratlien 16 (7 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl), Anthony Romero 12 (2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Daniel Shively 11 (11 reb, 7 ast, 1 stl), C.J. Clark 9 (6 reb, 2 stl), Sage Hicks 6 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Drake Velasco 6 (1 reb, 1 ast), Mitchell Miller 4 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 5 stl), Tiano Franco 4 (1 ast), Tyler Kirk 6 (3 reb, 1 ast), David Colera 4 (3 reb), Austin Miller (4 reb, 2 ast).

WEST HILLS 50, CHRISTIAN 41 – The Wolf Pack used a balanced attack led by BRENT WILDER’s 10 points in Monday’s (Dec. 2) opening round of the Wolf Pack–Horsman Automotive Tournament at West Hills.

Christian, which was missing several football players who will contribute to their program, could not muscle enough to match stride with the Wolf Pack.

ZACH KINNINGER and JOHNNY PAULSON led the Patriots with 13 points apiece, and Kinninger grabbed 19 boards.

“I thought that Christian did a pretty good job for not having their football players and also for having a new coach. They have two very good players,” said West Hills assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG.

Armstrong was referring to first-year Christian coach CARLOS PERALTA, who hails from North Carolina.

“NICK ZOREE played very well,” noted Armstrong. “If you count hustle point he was very good on those. He was all over the floor.

“CHASE PARSONS, MARCO OVIES and JOE MANSOUR each had 4 steals – that’s 12 of our 18 steals. Anytime you have 18 steals that’s a high number,” Armstrong added.

West Hills: Brent Wilder 10 (4 reb, 1 ast), Ricardo Barajas 7 (3 reb, 1 ast).

Chase Parsons 6 (2 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk), D.J. Lewis 6 (3 reb, 1 stl), Thomas Reaney 6 (4 reb, 1 stl), Joe Mansour 4 (3 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Marco Ovies 4 (2 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Spencer Moyer 3 (2 reb, 2 stl), Nick Zoree 2 (4 reb).

Christian: Zach Kinninger 13 (19 reb, 1 stl), Johnny Paulson 13 (4 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Tyler Ballard 5 (7 reb, 1 stl), Justin Vrzich 4 (2 ast), Josh Smith 2 (8 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Joe Ross 2 (1 blk), Zack Yan 2 (3 reb, 2 ast).

CALVIN CHRISTIAN 63, MONTE VISTA 43 – Playing without four key players who are on the Monarchs football team, which is still playing in the San Diego CIF playoffs, visiting Monte Vista fell to the Crusaders in a non-league contest on Monday (Dec. 2).

JORDAN JACKSON and ADAM WALLACE scored 17 points apiece for Monte Vista in a losing cause for the short-handed Monarchs. Wallace nailed two treys.

Monte Vista: Jordan Jackson 17, Adam Wallace 17, Tory Sanders 7, Saiyeed Mershon 2.

© East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (12-1-13) — For one quarter of Saturday’s (Nov. 30) season opening Eagle Classic Tournament at Olympian High, theGrossmont Foothillers blazed their way to a 27-4 lead over Mira Mesa.

After that, Grossmont cruised to the finish line in a 64-43 victory.

“We shot lights out in the 1st quarter,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO.

TOMMY RUTHERFORD scored 8 of his game-high 23 points in that period and CARL BLANCHARD knocked down 7 of his 15 markers in the Foothillers’ 1st quarter streak.

Rutherford finished with 14 rebounds while Blanchard grabbed 11 boards.

The Foothillers will return to action on Monday (Dec. 2) against Canyon Canyon at Olympian at 4:30.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 23 (14 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Carl Blanchard 15 (11 reb, 2 ast), Kyle Williams 9 (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Rome Harris 8 (2 reb, 7 ast, 1 stl), Anthony Lawrence 6 (2 reb, 1 ast), Cameron Henderson 3 (2 reb, 3 ast), J.T. Barnes (3 reb, 1 ast).

This season will be a first of sorts for the massive CIF Southern Section as it implements an open division in its section playoffs. The CIF San Diego Section will also conduct an open division. For purposes of state rankings, it will likely cause a fluctuation of movement after the regular season ends because the CIFSS's top teams traditionally dominate the weekly top 20 rankings, whereas the Central Coast Section (which already conducts an open division) and the San Diego Section traditionally has one or two teams in the top 20.

Another difference is the CIFSS coaches we talked to seem to like the concept, but that doesn't seem to be the case with coaches in San Diego, where depth and quality of teams pales in comparison to the CIFSS.

When we first heard CIFSS Rob Wigod was going to approve the open division, the first thought through our minds was there was going to be a huge wait between the section and SoCal regional playoffs for many state ranked CIFSS teams that lost in the first round of the open division. That problem seems to be rectified by the open division format.

Instead of all open division participants (up to 16) being guaranteed a berth in the CIF SoCal regional playoffs, the first-round winners are guaranteed a spot. There will be a consolation bracket and that winner will also be guaranteed a SoCal regional playoff berth. The other teams will need to apply for a berth in the regional tournament. This process should cut the wait time for some quality teams that otherwise would have advanced far in one of the CIFSS's traditional playoffs divisions.

Per the CIF state office, the parameters of the CIF open division in the North and South will remain the same as last season.

(Last year¹s final rating in parentheses with 2012-13 win-loss record)

1. (1) Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 34-2
The Monarchs are an easy choice to pencil at the top of these rankings and are California's preseason No. 1 ranked for the third consecutive season. Long Beach Poly was the last team to begin No. 1 in 2010-11. Mater Dei is going for a unprecedented fourth straight state title in the CIF's highest classification and it all starts with small forward Stanley Johnson (6-6, Sr.). Last year's Cal-Hi Sports State Junior of the Year recently finished tied for third in preseason balloting conducted by Student Sports for national player of the year honors and will go down as Mater Dei's best player ever. If Mater Dei wins another state title, it will be hard deny Johnson's a place among the state's all-time greats. He has just enough pieces around him to get the job done in Mario Soto (6-6, Sr.), transfer Rex Pflueger (6-6, Jr.) and center M.J. Cage (6-10, Soph.). Coach Gary McKnight (960-85) doesn't have much depth, but his team's experience and cohesiveness because Johnson plays in every summer and fall event with his teammates cannot be underestimated.

2. (2) Etiwanda 28-4
The Eagles finished last season No. 2 and open in the same spot with a solid blend of returnees and newcomers. Etiwanda also gets credit for being the only California team to defeat Mater Dei last year. Etiwanda won the coveted CIFSS Div. I-AA title, but lost the rematch to the Monarchs in the SoCal Open Division final. Coach Dave Kleckner (470-150) has USC-bound point guard Jordan McLaughlin (6-0, Sr.) plus two all-league performers in guard Dominick Alexander (6-0, Sr.) and forward Kenny Barnes (6-4, Sr.) back. Kleckner is a defensive-oriented coach and has won in recent years without a lot of true size in the post. That changes this year with transfer center Jordan Naughton (6-9, Jr.). Kameron Edwards (6-6, Jr.) is the top newcomer from an excellent 20-2 JayVee team. McLaughlin was named co-CIFSS Div. I-AA Player of the Year with Mater Dei's Stanley Johnson, and throw in the fact the Eagles have some size this year, makes the Eagles a real threat to become the first team from the Inland Empire to win a state title in the highest classification.

3. (9) St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 24-7
This is the team everybody is curious to see because it has such a high
ceiling, but there is also a real possibility it won't be able to live up to
tremendous expectations. The ceiling is so high because few teams in the
country can match the scoring ability that Daniel Hamilton (6-7, Sr.), Tyler
Dorsey (6-5, Jr.) and transfer Vance Jackson (6-8, Soph.) provide. Another
transfer, Lorne Currie Jr. (6-2, Jr.) from L.A. Fairfax, has shown marked
improvement in fall leagues and will man the other backcourt spot opposite
Dorsey, one of the best juniors in the country who can play on the ball or
score at a high level off it. The main concern for coach Derrick Taylor
(286-67) is depth and post presence because his man cog underneath is a
ninth-grader, Billy Preston (6-8, Fr.). St. John Bosco plays in a tough
slate of showcases and tournaments and that should help Currie Jr. and
Preston gain valuable experience for Trinity League play. In short, Bosco's
season will be defined by its two monster game versus Mater Dei on January 15 and February 7.

4. (11) Westchester (Los Angeles) 29-7
Two years ago, the Comets had one of the best JayVee teams in the state and now that core group of players are seniors. Last year's team was supposed to be a'year away' from being an elite team, but Westchester used its team-first concept and trademark depth to capture its 12th L.A. City Section title under Ed Azzam. This year, Westchester won't be as deep, but it has a solid combination of size, athletic ability and experience to contend for the CIF Open Division title. Nick Hamilton (6-3, Sr.) is a hellacious rebounder (10.8 rpg) and Myles Stewart (6-4, Sr.) is much improved and LMU bound Elijah Stewart (6-4, Sr.) get it done on both ends of the floor. Akil Reese (6-2, Jr.) provides stability in the backcourt, but the play of Josh Rideau 6-8, Sr.) inside may hold the key to the Comets' fortunes. Azzam (791-227) will surpass legendary Crenshaw coach Willie West as the L.A. City Section's winningest coach, but state title No. 7 for Azzam won't be an easy road.

5. (26) Bishop O¹Dowd (Oakland) 26-4
Northern California's top-ranked team is in a similar boat to No. 3 St. John
Bosco. The Dragons have a tremendous ceiling, but they must show improvement in the consistency department. Coach Lou Richie (who played on O'Dowd's 1988 NorCal Division I championship team) is optimistic with four returning starters and 10 lettermen back from a North Coast Section Division III title team, including State Sophomore of the Year Ivan Rabb (6-9, Jr.). Guard Paris Austin (5-11, Jr.) had a breakout sophomore campaign and is quickly developing into one of NorCal's best players in his own right. The pieces around O'Dowd's inside-outside combo are a bit undervalued as well and that's what makes this team dangerous. Guard Juwan Anderson (5-11, Sr.) was an all-leaguer and had a standout summer while Isaiah Thomas (6-7, Jr.) flanks Rabb up front and gives the Dragons a frontline that few teams in the state can match. If O'Dowd's consistency can match it talent, and if Rabb plays like one of the nation's best players, this team should be a tough out in the NorCal Open Division regional.

6. (16) Loyola (Los Angeles) 25-8
The Cubs have experience, size and depth and are just looking for the breaks to go their way this season. The past two seasons, highly-regarded point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright (5-9, Sr.) has battled injuries during the latter part of the season and left the SoCal Div. I regional final with a
leg injury before Santa Monica won the contest on a last-second 3-pointer.
If the breaks go Loyola's way, it could challenge for the Southern Section
Open Division title. Besides Jackson-Cartwright, coach Jamal Adams (179-53) has center Tom Welsh (7-0, Sr.) back in the fold and he's one of the most improved post players in the country. Max Hazzard (6-0, Jr.), the grandson of former UCLA great Walt Hazzard, gained valuable experience last season while Yale-bound Khalil Bedart-Ghani (6-3, Sr.) can play in both the backcourt or frontcourt and gives Adams an athletic defender and rebounder. This is a compete team that will be tough to beat if it shoots a high percentage because of its inside-out ability.

7. (17) Centennial (Corona) 26-3
The Huskies cracked the preseason Student Sports FAB 50 at No. 49, but they still have to prove they have what it takes to compete with the state's upper echelon in the post-season. After being upset by Silverado of Victorville, 77-75, in the CIFSS Div. I-AA playoffs, that team was completely shut down by No. 2 Etiwanda, 43-28. The talent is in place with
players such as Sedrick Barefield (6-0, Jr.), much improved Deontae North
(6-5, Sr.) and Khalil Ahmad (6-3, Jr.). The play of Jordan Griffin (6-3,
Soph.) should give Centennial a spark, but it will be fellow 10th-grader Ike
Anigbogu (6-7, Soph.) that could hold the key because of his needed size. If Josh Giles can get his perimeter-oriented team to consistently defend at a high level, this team could be a factor in the CIFSS's new open division.

8. (NR) Compton 20-10
This is the first gut-wrenching decision of the rankings. We could have went with Modesto Christian or even Long Beach Poly, but we decided to go with the Jackrabbits' Moore League rivals. Their experience and talent level warrants perhaps an even higher rating, but the Tarbabes have underachieved in recent seasons. Their core, however, is now seniors so we did not penalize them for prior seasons as much as we could have. It starts with lefty point-guard Kyron Cartwright (5-11, Sr.), one of the most underrated guards on the West Coast. When he's on and under control in the open court, the Tarbabes can run nearly anyone out of the gym. You'll be hard-pressed to find a better pair of wings than Fresno State-bound Isaiah Bailey (6-6, Sr.) and All-CIFSS performer Iziahiah Sweeney (6-3, Sr.). Robert Lewis (6-2, Jr.) is an excellent spot up shooter and Raysean Scott (6-4, Soph.) provides athleticism and scoring ability. Similar to St. John Bosco is relation to Mater Dei, Compton's season will be defined by its performances against Long Beach Poly.

9. (22) Modesto Christian 29-4
The Crusaders easily could have been rated higher than Compton and even Bishop O'Dowd. After all, Modesto Christian did beat O'Dowd 57-42 in the opening round of the CIF NorCal Open Division regional. The Crusaders, however, lose major firepower off last year's club whereas O'Dowd and Compton basically return its units intact. Anthony Townes (6-6, Jr.) is rapidly developing into one of the NorCal's top frontcourt layers and Mason Washington (6-0, Sr.) provides a steady presence in the backcourt. Both he and newcomer Jeff Wu (6-1, Jr.) will play D1 basketball. Another newcomer that will greatly contribute is Kevin Hamlet (6-6, Jr.) and national scouts already have Christian Ellis (6-2, Soph.) on their radars. After all the newcomers and transfers mesh, this could be a juggernaut come February.

10. (20) El Camino Real (Woodland Hills) 28-4
The Conquistadors could have been a spot or two higher, but they must
replace the scoring ability of 2013 L.A. City Section Player of the Year
Michael Thomas (Hawaii) and are going through a coaching change as Dave Rebibo left for the college ranks. Former assistant Joe Wyatt (one of the state's scoring leaders and an all-state pick at Granada Hills Kennedy in 1993) inherits a program with four returning starters and eight lettermen.
Evan Wardlow (6-4, Sr., No. 23), Julian Richardson (6-3, Sr., No. 36) and
Maleke Haynes (5-10, Sr., No. 83) are all among the state's Hot 100
prospects for the Class of 2014. Wardlow displayed marked improvement during fall leagues and Richardson has an innate scoring ability. Adding depth is Julian Rochelin (6-6, Sr.) while Kelton Conway (5-11, Sr.), the son of former 100-meter state champion and NFL standout Curtis Conway, provides a spark with his defensive intensity.

The next 25:
11. (18) Redondo Union (Redondo Beach) 28-8
12. (3) Long Beach Poly (Long Beach) 28-4
13. (32) Chaminade (West Hills) 27-8
14. (14) Serra (Gardena) 26-7
15. (12) Bullard (Fresno) 27-3
16. (27) De La Salle (Concord) 26-5
17. (8) Bishop Montgomery (Torrance) 32-2
18. (39) Newark Memorial (Newark) 23-8
19. (NR) St. Mary's (Stockton) 20-8
20. (25) Windward (Los Angeles) 20-9
21. (NR) Rancho Cucamonga 24-5
22. (NR) La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad) 28-6
23. (NR) Chino Hills 24-5
24. (28) J.W. North (Riverside) 31-4
25. (NR) Moreau Catholic (Hayward) 18-10
26. (NR) El Camino (Oceanside) 26-7
27. (NR) Cantwell Sacred Heart (Montebello) 20-10
28. (NR) Fairfax (Los Angeles) 19-13
29. (NR) St. Ignatius (San Francisco) 16-11
30. (NR) Damien (La Verne) 26-7
31. (NR) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 17-11
32. (NR) Sacramento 25-6
33. (NR) Village Christian (Sun Valley) 27-5
34. (5) Sheldon (Sacramento) 27-6
35. (10) St. Augustine (San Diego) 29-4

Teams On The Bubble (Listed Alphabetically):
Alemany (Mission Hills) 14-13
Brentwood (Los Angeles) 27-5
Capital Christian (Sacramento) 26-5
Central (Fresno) 20-10
Crespi (Encino) 23-10
El Cerrito 22-11
Foothill (Santa Ana) 21-6
Foothills Christian (El Cajon) 20-15
Hart (Newhall) 25-3
Harvard Westlake (North Hollywood) 17-11
Hoover (San Diego) 31-6
JSerra (San Juan Capistrano) 17-9
Los Osos (Rancho Cucamonga) 19-9
Mayfair (Lakewood) 22-6
Mission Viejo 26-5
Monte Vista (Danville) 20-7
Morningside (Inglewood) 10-17
Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 17-15
Orange Lutheran 18-10
Pacific Hills (Los Angeles) 29-4
Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) 28-6
Price (Los Angeles) 24-4
Rancho Verde (Moreno Valley) 24-7
Riordan (San Francisco) 20-12
San Gabriel Academy (San Gabriel) 24-10
Santa Monica 29-7
Servite (Anaheim) 17-13
Silverado (Victorville) 23-6
St. Joseph Notre Dame (Alameda) 25-9
View Park Prep (Los Angeles) 24-14