Grossmont center Tommy Rutherwod (left) with inside position for the rebound. (Photo bty Don DeMars Photography) ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE

The Barry Movement Santana students converge on Sultans head coach Tim Barry following Friday night's game. Rumors indicate Barry coached his final ballgame, despite support from the student body and many parents. (Photo by Bret Moutaw)
GROSSMONT VALLEY LEAGUE Un-Barry-able By Bill Dickens © East County Sports.com SANTEE (2-22-14) — TIM BARRY coached his final game at Santana High on Friday night (Feb. 21) and it might have been his most exciting – certainly his most emotional. Although the Sultans lost to Grossmont Valley League champion Monte Vista 50-39, the fireworks kept on coming for the Sultans. “It was really strange because the referee called a time out for us when we had the ball near the end of the game, and I knew we had no more timeouts left,” said Barry. “I was walking in front of our bench when I heard the referee’s whistle. I turned around and he was grinning, and the whole side of our gym was standing, giving me a standing ovation. It was an exhilarating feeling, it was really moving.” Barry, who also coached baseball at Santana, was released from coaching both basketball and baseball last week. He emphasized, “This wasn’t my choice. I love these kids and I love this community.” Barry began coaching at 25 years old, and now at 43 is thinking about taking another avenue. He plans to take some time before making any decisions. “In the season finale against Monte Vista, I can’t believe how many people came up and wanted to take pictures,” Barry said. “Kids who aren’t even on the basketball team brought their parents to the game, and my whole family was there. We had a lot of alumni there – guys who played on our CIF championship team of 1988. I can’t even tell you how many pictures were taken. “It was a night I won’t forget.” “I came in the man I knew I was, and I’m leaving the man that I know I am,” Barry said. Another in Barry’s “surprise party” was a call from Ramona basketball coach Al Scheffer. “That one really caught me by surprise,” said Barry. “For a guy like that to call really was heart-lifting.” Barry also wanted to shout out to the student section Purple Rain led by CONNOR BURNS and BUDHA. “I know these guys had a lot to do with tonight,” Barry said. “They’ve been supporters all along.” Monarchs coach MIKE TULLY said, “It was an emotional explosion. It had to make you feel good and sad at the same time.” Monte Vista: Tory Sanders 19 (8 reb, 1 blk, 5 stl), Thomas Walker 9 (3 reb, 5 ast, 2 blk, 5 stl), Jemeil Jackson 9 (5 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Adam Wallace 6 (3 reb, 2 ast), Jordan Jackson 4 (7 reb, 2 blk, 2 stl), Eric Collins 2 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jermyah Kelly 1, Meliek Johnson (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl). Santana: C.J. Clark 11, Ryan Bratlien 10, Tyler Kirk 5, David Colera 5, Sage Hicks 3, Drake Vesco 3, Daulton Barry 2.
Braves ready for the playoffs By Nick Pellegrino © East County Sports.com EL CAJON (2-22-14) — The El Cajon Valley Braves may have fallen a game short of the league title, but you couldn't tell after they posted the school's biggest margin of victory in a league game this century, easily taking out the visiting Matadors, 90-52, on Senior Night. With an emphasis in preparing for the playoffs, ECVHS poured in 30 first-quarter points, when Braves senior BRENDEN BROCIOUS produced 14 of his game-high 20 points to mount a 30-11 cushion. "This was a statement game for us," said Brocious, a 4.50 grade-point average student being looked at by several NCAA Division II and NAIA programs. "We wanted to show that we were fully prepared for the playoffs even though we didn't win league." "I think we got the job done." The Braves burst to a quick 15-4 lead, including consecutive outsides jumpers by Brocious. Mount Miguel then turned the ball over on seven straight possessions, leading to 10 more points by the hosts and a 26-6 advantage. IBRAHIM ALI then closed the quarter with consecutive midrange jumpers, with the margin growing to 50-22 by the half. And when Ali added 9 of his 18 points in the third period, the season sweep of the Matadors was secured; the first match-up was a nail-biter with ECVHS taking a 74-72 decision in Spring Valley . "In our first game with them, it was like we were playing 5-on-7," added Brocious. "We didn't let that happen this time." DRAKE AFAISEN also posted 18 points, while SYON HICKS added 12. For Mount Miguel, NATE GILBERT led the ballclub with a career high 25 points as the lone player in double figures. The previous best thumping by El Cajon Valley this century occurred just last season, dropping El Capitan, 69-39. El Cajon Valley: Brenden Brocious 20 (2 reb), Ibrahim Ali 18 (7 reb, 3 stl), Drake Afaisen 18 (2 reb, 3 ast, 6 stl), Syon Hicks 12 (2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Brandon Rumley 6 (9 reb, 3 stl), Damaje Hodges 5 (3 reb), Ramier Berbain 5 (4 reb, 1 blk), Mike Readus 4 (10 reb, 3 ast), William Pato 2, Ahmad Sulyman (1 reb, 3 ast). Mount Miguel: Nate Gilbert 25 (15 reb, 2 ast), James McLeod 9, Nayib Villarini 7 (7 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Carl Dee Roberson 6 (1 reb), Cesar Sigala 5 (6 reb, 2 ast).

© East County Sports.com
RANCHO SAN DIEGO (2-22-14) — Steele Canyon out-High muscled Helix in Friday’s (Feb. 21) Grossmont Hills League regular season finale.

The Cougars’ 34-31 victory gave them a split with the Highlanders but it really didn’t matter because Steele Canyon ran away with the GHL title with a 9-1 record and 20-6 mark.

Still, they took care of business just as if the title was on the line in a battle that was more physical than a scoring fest, as Steele Canyon avenged an earlier setback to the Scotties (6-4, 16-12 GHL).

While Steele Canyon captured its seventh league championship, the Highlanders shared second place in the GHL with West Hills (6-4, 17-8).

It’s all about the playoffs from now on, and the Cougars should have a pretty good seed. The Cougars lost only one league in 10 outings.

Steele Canyon: Zach Kissel 15 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Dominick Wood-Anderson 7 (11 reb), Aaron Pisiona 5 (5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Tanner Perry 3 (3 reb), Tyler Gulino-Jones 2 (3 reb, 1 stl, 2 blk), Ryan Razooky 2 (1 stl), Dylan Hamlett (4 reb, 1 stl), Donovan Zetouna (1 reb), Lydon Newsom (1 reb).

Helix: Christian Bell 16 (6 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Marcus White 8 (8 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Elsaiah Blair 3 (3 reb, 3 stl), Gary Linson 2 (7 reb), Marcus Norris 2 (9 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Justin Flisher 1 (1 reb, 1 stl), Ernesto Martinez 1.

WEST HILLS 65, GRANITE HILLS 48 – BRAYAN TURNER had 5 threes for Granite Hills in the first half of Friday’s (Feb. 21) Grossmont Hills League regular season finale.

“The final score doesn’t indicate how tough the game was,” said Wolf Pack assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG. “Granite Hills came out on fire and couldn’t miss in the first half.”

“We came back in after intermission behind CHASE PARSONS’ 12 third quarter points to take a 2-point lead after 3 quarters,” said Armstrong.

The Pack’s fourth quarter defense proved to be the difference in the game, as West Hills outscored Granite Hills 23-8.

“The defensive surge was lead by D.J. LEWIS, who had 4 of his 5 rebounds in the fourth quarter,” noted Armstrong.

Parsons finished with a game high 21 points and Lewis scored 8 of his 10 points in the fourth quarter for West Hills.

BRENT WILDER shot 9-for-10 from the free throw line for the game, scoring 14 points for West Hills. The Pack was 24 of 31 as a team.

Turner paced Granite Hills with 15 points, while JACOB BURTON rolled a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds.

TAYLOR FOREMAN also had a double-double for the Eagles of 11 points and 10 rebounds.

West Hills: Chase Parsons 21 (3 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Brent Wilder 14 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk), D.J. Lewis 10 (4 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Ricardo Barajas 7 (2 reb), Marco Ovies 5 (7 reb, 3 ast), Nick Zoree 3 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Bryce Parsons 3 (1 reb), Thomas Reaney 2 (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk), Joe Mansour (2 reb, 1 stl),

Granite Hills: Brayan Turner 15 (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Jacob Burton 11 (12 reb, 1 stl, 3 blk), Taylor Foreman 11 (10 reb, 1 stl), Ryan Kelly 6 (3 reb, 1 ast), Jaron Sanders 3 (5 reb), Rease Warford 2 (5 reb, 4 ast), Chris Diaz (1 reb, 1 stl), Edgar Aguilar (1 reb), Matt Conley (1 ast), Antonio Read (1 ast).

GROSSMONT 56, VALHALLA 51 – The Grossmont Foothillers scored a come-from-behind victory over Valhalla in Friday night’s (Feb. 21) Grossmont Hills League regular season finale.

Steady TOMMY RUTHERFORD rolled a double-double of 20 points and 21 rebounds for the Foothillers, while CARL BLANCHARD rolled a double-double of his own with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

ANTHONY LAWRENCE punched in 11 points for Grossmont.

Valhalla pulled ahead 27-24 at the half and maintained the advantage through the third quarter. Grossmont, however, came back strong in the fourth quarter to take the lead for keeps.

“Hopefully this will jump start us for the playoffs,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “It was a good win for us. We had some rough ones for awhile – tonight we were mentally strong, I thought.”

DAVID GAZALE scored a game high 23 points to lead Valhalla , JORDAN QSAR added 12 and JACOB HAMMETT pitched in 10 points for the Norsemen.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 20 (21 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Carl Blanchard 16 (11 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Anthony Lawrence 11 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), J.T. Barnes 5 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Rome Harris 2 (2 ast), Christian Meno 2 (2 reb), Cameron Henderson (2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Kyle Williams (2 reb).

Valhalla: David Gazale 23 (4 reb, 1 stl), Jordan Qsar 12 (7 reb, 2 stl), Jacob Hammett 10 (5 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), George Fakhoury 4 (1 reb, 7 ast, 3 stl), Jake Bassette 2 (3 reb, 1 blk), Terrell McKay (5 reb, 2 blk), Cole Henderson (1 ast), Trey Schimke (2 reb).

Christian's Zach Kinninger. (Photo by Ruth Mims) ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE

CENTRAL LEAGUE
Crawford rallies late to catch Christian

© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-22-14) — Christian High allowed a fourth-quarter lead slip away Friday night (Feb. 21) as the Patriots fell to Central League rival Crawford, 55-51.

With 45 seconds left, Crawford had a 3-point lead. Christian was called for traveling and eventually fouled, permitting Crawford to make a free throw to go up by 4.

ZACH KINNINGER rolled his 10th double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds.

JOHNNY PAULSON added 16 points for the Patriots in the regular season finale.

Christian: Zach Kinninger 19 (11 reb, 1 blk), Johnny Paulson 16 (3 reb, 2 ast), Trent Sauls 5 (7 reb), Tyler Ballard 3 (1 reb, 6 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl), Justin Vrzich 3, David Jeremiah 3 (1 stl), Michael Carrillo 2 (3 reb, 1 ast), Josh Smith (2 reb).

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-19-14) — Steele Canyon High dealt host Grossmont its second overtime loss on Tuesday (Feb. 18) as the Cougars clinched the Grossmont Hills League championship by a score of 59-57.

The Cougars (19-6, 8-1 GHL) claimed the win when ZACH KISSEL hit two free throws in the final 4 seconds to squeeze out the victory. Kissel finished with 21 points, the majority coming on 17 of 21 free throws.

“This is not the best game we’ve ever played,” said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS. “But I guess you could say it was one of the biggest.”

This marked Steele Canyo’s fifth league championship – three of which have come under the tutelage of Stephens.

It was actually a game of survival for Steele Canyon , as Grossmont’s TOMMY RUTHERFORD scored 35 points and grabbed 25 rebounds. Five of Rutherford ’s points came in overtime, as the game entered the extra session at 42-all.

TANNER PERRY then helped put the game away for Steele Canyon by nailing 2 three-pointers in overtime, giving him 4 for the game and 14 points overall.

DOMINICK WOOD-ANDERSON contributed 10 points for the Cougars.

Slumping Grossmont (16-10, 3-6 GHL) lost for the 5th time in its last 7 starts.

Steele Canyon: Zach Kissel 21, Tanner Perry 14, Dominick Wood-Anderson 10, Aaron Pisiona 5, Robert Teo 2, Dylan Hamlett 2, Tyler Gulino-Jones 2, Lydon Newsom 2.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 35 (25 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Rome Harris 9 (2 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Kyle Williams 8 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), J.T. Barnes 3, Cameron Henderson 3, Christian Meno (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl).

WEST HILLS 46, HELIX 44 – The Wolf Pack took the pleasure of knocking Helix out of the Grossmont Hills League championship in Tuesday’s (Feb. 18) GHL action in Santee .

CHASE PARSONS hit 2 free throws with 38 seconds left to tie the game, then eventually kicked out a pass to BRENT WILDER, who sank the winning bucket for West Hills with 6 seconds left.

Parsons finished with 21 points, 4 steals, 2 assists and a rebound, while Wilder nabbed 11 rebounds to go with 4 points and an assist.

West Hills trailed by 8 points with 2 seconds to go in the first half. D.J. LEWIS helped bring the Pack back with 2 steals that led to 2 baskets and a free throw, giving West Hills a 25-19 lead.

But then the bottom fell out in the 3rd quarter as the Highlanders outscored the Pack 19-1.

West Hills rebounded with a 20-6 spread to eliminate Helix from the league title race.

MARCUS WHITE paced Helix with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while GARY LINSON added 11 points and 8 rebounds.

West Hills: Chase Parsons 21 (1 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk), Marco Ovies 5 (2 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), D.J. Lewis 5 (8 reb, 2 stl), Elias Totah 5 (2 reb), Brent Wilder 4 (11 reb, 1 ast), Thomas Reaney 2 (3 reb), Ricardo Barajas 2 (1 reb, 1 stl), Joe Mansour (1 reb, 1 stl).

Helix: Marcus White 13 (10 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Gary Linson 11 (8 reb, 2 stl), Qrizviah Mobley 9 (7 reb), Christian Bell 5 (5 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl), Luke Holloway 2 (4 reb), Marcus Norris 2 (9 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Ernesto Martinez 2 (2 reb, 1 stl), Elsaiah Blair (4 reb, 1 stl), Justin Flisher (1 stl).

VALHALLA 52, GRANITE HILLS 49 – DAVID GAZALE knocked down 27 points to lead Valhalla (14-11, 4-5 GHL) past Granite Hills (7-19, 108 GHL) in Tuesday’s (Feb. 18) Grossmont Hills League contest.

“We didn’t play that well, so we were very fortunate to get out of there with a win,” said Norsemen coach KEITH JACKSON.

The bottom line, however, is Valhalla sank 10 three-pointers and Granite Hills had 6.

TAYLOR FOREMAN punched in 17 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to leaq Granite Hills.

DAVID GAZALE paced Valhalla with a game-high 27 points, while JORDAN QSAR added 14 points for the Norsemen.

Valhalla: David Gazale 27 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Jordan Qsar 14 (7 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), George Fakhoury 7 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Trey Schimke 2 (5 reb, 3 blk, 1 stl), Jacob Hammett 2 (7 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Terrell McKay (1 blk, 1 stl), Jake Bassette (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Cole Henderson (6 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk).

Granite Hills: Taylor Foreman 17 (16 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Andrew Manning 9 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Jaron Sanders 8 (4 reb, 1 stl), Brayan Turner 7 (4 reb), Chris Diaz 5 (3 reb, 2 ast), Jacob Burton 2 (6 reb, 1 ast), Edgar Aguilar 2 (1 reb), Ryan Kelly (3 reb).

MONTE VISTA 73, EL CAPITAN 49 – Monte Vista took another step closer to securing the Grossmont Valley League championship Tuesday night (Feb. 18) as they cut down visiting El Capitan (12-13, 3-5 GVL).

The Monarchs (13-13, 6-1 GVL) took a 23-8 run in the 2nd quarter to make it 31-13 in their favor.

El Capitan tried to come back in the 3rd quarter but Monte Vista’s 30-17 fourth quarter run nailed down the victory.

“Five kids did 30 points worth of scoring in the fourth quarter,” said Monte Vista coach MIKE TULLY. “The big difference was we were able to press them. We moved the ball well – especially inside. Our press got to them in the 2nd quarter and our defense really showed up.

“ El Capitan went to man defense in the 2nd half and outscored us 19-12. In the fourth quarter we were able to outscore them 30-17. We had really balanced scoring tonight. We’ve really been shooting the ball well from the free throw line lately.”

The Monarchs were 19-for-26 from the free throw line.

El Capitan attempted a comeback in the third quarter, but Monte Vista’s 30-17 scoring in the fourth quarter nailed down the victory/

THOMAS WALKER paced Monte Vista with 18 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 steals. He knocked down a pair of 3s and 6 of 7 free throws.

JEMEIL JACKSON added 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 steals, and ADAM WALLACE also chipped in with 15 points, while JORDAN JACKSON, who returned to the lineup after an injury, hauled down 15 rebounds to go with 9 points, an assist and 6 steals

ISAIAH CAPOOCIA and KADE KYGAR shared the scoring lead for El Capitan with 12 points apiece.

Monte Vista: Thomas Walker 18 (9 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Jemeil Jackson 15 (6 reb, 5 stl), Adam Wallace 15 (2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Jordan Jackson 9 (15 reb, 1 ast, 6 stl), Tory Sanders 9 (5 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Elijah Moore 3 (1 reb), Eric Collins 2 (2 reb), Meliek Johnson 2 (1 stl).

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

EL CAJON VALLEY 71, SANTANA 31 – This one started out ugly as host El Cajon Valley race-horsed to a 25-4 lead on Tuesday (Feb. 18) in a Grossmont Valley League encounter on the Braves’ floor.

The Braves (16-10, 5-2 GVL) built a 66-25 lead after three periods before the running clock started.

BRENDEN BROCIOUS paced a balanced El Cajon Valley attack with 22 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals.

DRAKE AFAISEN added 17 points and BRANDON RUMLEY was hot on the boards with 11 rebounds.

“We probably won’t win the league title, but we’re looking for the big trophy,” said Braves’ coach MARTY ELLIS. “That’s what we signed up for.”

C.J. CLARK led Santana (7-15, 2-6 GVL) with 11 points and 7 rebounds.

“it was a very difficult game for us,” said Santana coach TIM BARRY.

El Cajon Valley: Brenden Brocious 22 (9 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Drake Afaisen 17 (2 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Syon Hicks 9 (5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Ibrahim Ali 8 (6 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Brandon Rumley 7 (11 reb, 1 stl), Raymier Berbain 3 (2 reb), Ahmad Sulyman 3 (1 ast), Damaje Hodges 2 (5 reb, 2 stl), Mike Readus (7 reb, 2 stl).

Santana: C.J. Clark 11 (7 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Anthony Romero 5 (1 reb), Austin Miller 5, Drake Vesco 3 (1 reb, 1 ast), Tiano Franco 3 (2 ast), Ryan Bratlien 2 (8 reb, 3 ast), Daulton Barry (3 reb, 1 ast), Syon Hicks 2, Tyler Kirk 1, David Colera (1 reb), Mitchell Miller (1 ast).

KEARNY 64, CHRISTIAN 45 – Visiting Christian stayed with Central League leading Kearny for the first quarter of Tuesday’s (Feb. 18) encounter, trailing only 19-18.

After that the No. 10 ranked Komets (20-2, 11-0) outscored the Patriots across the board.

In spite of the loss the Patriots (6-20, 2-9 CL) displayed balanced scoring, including a double-double by ZACH KINNINGER with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while JOHNNY PAULSON pitched in 16 point.

Not to be overlooked was TYLER BALLARDs 11 points, and TRENT SAULS 10 REBOUNDS.

Christian: Zach Kinninger 17 (11 reb, 1 blk), Johnny Paulson 16 (1 reb, 2 ast), Tyler Ballard 11 (6 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), David Jeremiah 1 (1 ast), Trent Sauls (10 reb, 4 ast), Michael Carrillo (5 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Josh Smith (3 reb).

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 105, SAN DIEGO ACADEMY 36 – Despite playing without inside giants T.J. LEAF and DANE NORMAN, Foothills Christian scored a season high number of points en route to its 64th consecutive Sunset League victory Tuesday (Feb. 18) at San Diego Academy.

With tonight’s victory Foothills Christian clinched the Sunset league title for the 7th time in 8 years.

LUIS SALGADO paced the Knights’ record run with 28 points, including a handful of 3-pointers (5). J.R. RIVERA had a powerful game with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

JORDAN VANOMMERING also had a hot hand with 21 points and five rebounds.

The Knights (17-8, 5-0) also received 13 points from JAVIER GUERRERO and 12 from CALEB HOFFMAN.

Foothills Christian beat San Diego Academy 70-8 in their first meeting, prompting coach BRAD LEAF to sit T.J. Leaf on the bench in that game as well.

Foothills Christian: Luis Salgado 28, Jordan VanOmmering 21 (5 reb), Javier Guerrero 13, Caleb Hoffman 12.

Valhalla Norsemen at Steele Canyon Cougars (Photo by Don DeMars Photography) ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE

Santana center C.J. Clark (13) with the rejection from behind, helping the Sultans upset El Capitan. (Photo by Chuck Merino) Sultans show heart, hustle to upend El Capitan, 52-50 By Nick Pellegrino © East County Sports.com LAKESIDE (2-15-14) — Owning just six victories in 20 starts this season, hustle is the least of the hurdles facing the Santana Sultans. So when conditions reached severe when their best player fouled out Friday (Feb. 14), the Sultans went to their strength to pull out an unlikely victory. Despite the absence of leading scorer RYAN BRATLIEN with more than five minutes remaining in a ballgame that was just tied, Santana converted more plays down the stretch to edge archrival El Capitan , 52-50, in a Grossmont Valley League contest at historic Foster Gymnasium. "Everything about this game and how we won came down to coach (TIM) BARRY," said guard TIANO FRANCO, who nailed consecutive 3-point shots – both low line drives that might have reached 12 feet in height – from the corner to help Santana overcome a 7-point deficit early in the third quarter. "Despite everything, he's the one who has kept us together." Barry pointed to several players for towing the line, but mainly to the front line to keep down the game's tempo with solid rebounding. Included were several key boards by C.J. CLARK. "We knew what was needed after Ryan fouled out," noted Clark, who registered 14 points and 13 rebounds. "We all just got inside and went for the ball – we just out-hustled them." Before Bratlein fouled out, DAULTON BARRY also got into the action by catching a low lob for a reverse layin, then he registered a rare blocked shot. After Bratlien was forced to the bench, AUSTIN MILLER took a feed from Franco for a 3-point goal from the left-wing corner for a 46-42 lead. El Capitan had several chances to reclaim the lead, but they made just one of their final eight shots from the floor, then had a basket called back when coaches called a timeout to avoid a turnover, only to see the player make a 180-degree turn in the paint to pour home a basket a split-second after the whistle. Santana also won a series of floorwork on loose balls, with the Sultans coming up with more than their fair share when diving for the ball. A couple of the steals led to fast break layins for buckets or fouls for free throws. In addition, players who were out-jumped for rebounds in the first half now were leaping higher in the final minutes. And the foul line proved critical as Santana hit 4 of their final 6 from the stripe; El Capitan shot a paltry 10-for-29 for the contest. The final seconds saw Clark sink a free throw, then Miller hit a pair with 4.5 seconds left for a 4-point lead, intentionally allowing a cosmetic Vaqueros basket at the buzzer. “It was like bedlam in there,” said Coach Barry after the Sultans held on for only their second win in their last 11 starts. The setback not only ruined Senior Night at El Cap, it eliminated the Vaqueros (12-14, 3-4 GVL) from league championship consideration. Meanwhile, Santana (7-14, 2-4 GVL) simply seeks to extend what had been a disappointing season before defeating their rivals. "Right now, we want to get the 16-seed in Division III and get a shot at Sweetwater," noted Barry on the favorite to get the top berth in the CIF playoffs. Santana: C.J. Clark 14 (13 reb, 1 ast, 4 blk), Ryan Bratlien 9 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Daulton Barry 9 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Austin Miller 8 (2 reb, 2 ast), Tiano Franco 6 (2 reb, 3 ast), Mitchell Miller 2 (2 reb, 1 ast), Anthony Romero 2 (4 reb), Tyler Kirk 2 (1 reb). El Capitan: No information provided. MONTE VISTA 51, MOUNT MIGUEL 32 – The Monte Vista Monarchs took another step closer to winning the Grossmont Valley League championship as they smothered Spring Valley rival Mount Miguel Friday (Feb. 14) night on the Matadors’ floor. Junior ADAM WALLACE put the spark in the Monte Vista offense with his season-high 21-point effort, including 7 of 8 from the field. “Wallace was the guy who made us go tonight,” said Monarchs coach MIKE TULLY. “We didn’t have JEMEIL JACKSON tonight. He was on a football recruiting trip to Western New Mexico , and he’s our best defender. “But the rest of the kids really stepped up – especially Wallace. He was extremely effective for us. He really controlled the game. He’s gotten comfortable as the point guard.” Versatile THOMAS WALKER added 8 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals. “ Walker averages 5 steals a game,” said Tully. “I think he’s one of the leaders in the county in steals. His activity is key for us.’ “JORDAN JACKSON – who missed a practice and therefore sat out the first quarter – is our rock,” said Tully. “We’re better when he’s in the game. He did a good job on CARL DEE (ROBERSON).” Roberson led the Matadors with 11 points and 8 rebounds. “Overall we played really well defensively to hold a team to 32 points,” Tully noted. Monte Vista : Adam Wallace 21 (3 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Jordan Jackson 8 (12 reb), Thomas Walker 8 (6 reb, 3 ast, 5 stl), Meliek Johnson 6, Saiyeed Mershon 4 (5 reb), Isaiyah Kelly 3 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Tory Sanders 2 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jermyah Kelly 1 (2 reb). Mount Miguel: Carl Dee Roberson 11 (8 reb), Nate Gilbert 8 (8 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl), James McLeod 5, Taihir McMurray 4 (2 reb), Nayib Villarini 4 (2 stl).

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
LA MESA (2-15-14) — Granite Hills High came close in Tuesday’s (Feb. 11) one-point loss to Grossmont Hills League front-running Steele Canyon , which led to the Eagles' seventh straight league defeat.

Now, many a team might call it a season at that point, but not coach RANDY ANDERSON’s flyboys.

In Friday’s (Feb. 14) GHL battle against co-league leading Helix, the Eagles (7-18, 1-7 GHL) pulled off a stunning lopsided victory over the Highlanders, 57-40.

“This was the worst game we’ve played all year,” said Helix coach JOHN SINGER.

For Granite Hills ANDREW MANNING scored 23 points, including six 3-pointers.

But it was REASE WARFORD that stole the show.

“Warford played really well as the point guard,” said Anderson . “He had his second straight double-figure scoring night to go along with his leadership.”

Warford punched in 11 points and dished 5 assists.

Singer agreed that Warford was the pivotal performer in the outcome.

“I think Warford was the best player on the floor tonight,” Singer said.

Of course the Highlanders (16-10, 6-2 GHL) shot only 18 percent from the field, which helped the Eagles shut them down.

“You’re not going to win many games shooting like that,” Singer noted.

Winning at Helix is always difficult, so Granite Hills’ conquest is even more surprising.

“I was happy for our kids tonight,” said Anderson . “We put together pretty close to four quarters for the first time in a long time. Our defense was solid all night long. Offensively we did a great job of controlling the ball, executing the offense and working as a team to get good shots within the offense.”

Eagles football player JACOB BURTON didn’t make many deposits at the register but crashed the boards for a game-high 12 rebounds and 4 blocks.

CHRISTIAN BELL tossed in 13 points to lead the Highlanders, while QRIZVIAH MOBLEY added 11.

Helix can still win the league title, but must sweep their final two games.

Granite Hills: Andrew Manning 23 (4 reb, 3 stl), Rease Warford 11 (1 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl), Brayan Turner 9 (4 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Jaron Sanders 5 (4 reb, 1 blk), Taylor Foreman 5, Jacob Burton 2 (12 reb, 1 ast, 4 blk), Ryan Kelly 2 (1 reb), Chris Diaz (1 reb), Edgar Aguilar (1 reb), Matt Conley (1 ast).

Helix: Christian Bell 13 (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk), Qrizviah Mobley 11 (3 reb), Elsaiah Blair 7 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Marcus Norris 5 (5 reb, 1 stl), Marcus White 2 (6 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk), Dylan Lee 2 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Justin Flisher (1 stl), Ernesto Martinez (4 reb), Jose Fernandez (1 reb), Luke Holloway (3 reb, 1 blk), Gary Linson (4 reb, 1 blk).

Valhalla guard Jacob Hammett. (Don DeMars Photography)

STEELE CANYON 76, VALHALLA 62 – One thing about the Steele Canyon Cougars is they’re a fast-starting crew, as they proved in Friday night’s (Feb. 14) Grossmont Hills League game by jumping on Valhalla 27-10 in the first quarter.

Not that Valhalla (13-11, 3-5 GHL) ever gave up but the Norsemen, who were playing catch-up throughout the night, never got closer than 8 points (54-46) with a minute left in the third quarter.

DOMINICK WOOD-ANDERSON was the main man for the first-place Cougars (18-6, 7-1 GHL) with 32 points and 16 rebounds.

Cougars point guard AARON PISIONA also had one of his better games, finishing with 18 points – hitting 6 of 12 shots from the floor, including 4 three-pointers.

A lot of people would say ZACH KISSEL had an off game, but the numbers would tell a different story as Kissel finished with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals.

A surprise contributor for Steele Canyon was junior ROBERT TEO, who pitched in with 7 points, a rebound, 2 assists, a block and a steal.

DYLAN HAMLETT grabbed a game high 12 rebounds for the Cougars.

“We got crushed on the boards, 46-21,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. “The worst part is we only had 3 offensive rebounds. But I have to say one thing – GEORGE FAKHOURY kept us in the game.”

Fakhoury finished with 19 points, 2 rebounds, an assist and 5 steals, while JORDAN QSAR added 13 points and 7 rebounds for the Norsemen.

Steele Canyon: Dominick Wood-Anderson 32 (16 reb, 1 ast), Aaron Pisiona 18 (3 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Zach Kissel 11 (7 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl), Robert Teo 7 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Tanner Perry 3 (1 reb, 1 stl), Lydon Newsom 3, Dylan Hamlett 2 (12 reb, 2 ast), Ryan Razooky (1 ast), Thomas Higginbotham (1 reb).

Valhalla: George Fakhoury 19 (2 reb, 1 ast, 5 stl), Jordan Qsar 13 (7 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk), Cole Henderson 8 (2 reb), Jacob Hammett 7 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Trey Schimke 6 (1 ast, 1 stl), Yousif Kagy 4, David Gazale 2 (1 reb, 1 ast), Jake Bassette 2 (4 reb), Aram Hermiz (1 reb).

WEST HILLS 62, GROSSMONT 52 – West Hills (15-8, 4-4 GHL) leapfrogged Grossmont (16-9, 3-5 GHL) in the Grossmont Hills League standings Friday night (Feb. 14) by knocking off the Foothillers with relative ease.

One thing that stands out for sure is Grossmont sophomore TOMMY RUTHERFORD is going to score big time, and he did again with 28 points and 22 rebounds.

But his supporting cast once again let him down.

On the flip side, West Hills used a balanced attack to send the Foothillers reeling.

NICK ZOREE, who is known more for his hard-nosed defense, led the Wolf Pack with 15 points.

CHASE PARSONS added 11 points for the Pack, while RICARDO BARAJAS pitched in with 10.

The bottom line came in the 4th quarter when the Pack gained a 24-17 scoring advantage. The key was the free throw line, where West Hills made 12 of 14, compared to the Foothillers’ 2-for-6.

That was the most obvious difference in the game.

West Hills: Nick Zoree 15, Chase Parsons 11, Ricardo Barajas 10, Marco Ovies 8, Brent Wilder 7, Thomas Reaney 6, Elias Totah 5.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 28 (22 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Christian Meno 8 (6 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Cameron Henderson 6 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Rome Harris 5 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Anthony Lawrence 4 (2 reb), J.T. Barnes 1 (2 reb).

© East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (2-14-14) — Foothills Christian High sprinted past Lutheran in Thursday’s (Feb. 13) Sunset League game at Parkway Gymnasium, 86-60.

It was the 63rd consecutive league victory for the Foothills Christian Knights (16-8, 4-0 SL).

T.J. LEAF set the pace for Foothills Christian with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks.

LUIS SALGADO nailed six 3-pointers on his way to a 21-point finish, while DANE NORMAN chipped in with 17 points and JAVIER GUERRERO contributed 15.

Representatives from the Air Force Academy were at the game scouting Norman .

There were 19 three-point buckets in the game – 10 by Foothills Christian.

Lutheran (16-5, 5-1 SL) fell into second place in league play.

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 28 (10 reb, 5 blk), Luis Salgado 21, Dane Norman 17, Javier Guerrero 15.

CLAIREMONT 43, CHRISTIAN 28 – Being shut out 6-0 in the first quarter proved to be an omen for Christian as the Patriots had their poorest shooting night of the season, dropping a lopsided Central League decision to the Chieftains on Thursday night (Feb. 13).

The biggest leak in the Christian offense was from 3-point range, as the Patriots made only 3 of 31 shots against a team they beat 49-46 last month.

From 2-point range, Christian was only 5 of 20 and made 9 of 15 free throws.

Nobody reached double figures for Christian.

Christian: Tyler Ballard 8, Michael Carrillo 6 (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Zach Kinninger 5 (5 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl), Justin Vrzich 3 (3 reb, 1 ast), Travis Ballard 2 (5 reb), Johnny Paulson 2 (5 reb), David Jeremiah 2 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Trent Sauls (4 reb, 1 stl), Ethan Contreras (3 reb, 1 ast).

Chase Parsons (3) of West Hills drives past Valhalla's Trey Schimke (44). (Photo by Don DeMares Photography) ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-12-14) — Last place Granite Hills High, which has failed to win a league game in seven starts, came within a point of knocking off co-leading Steele Canyon in the Grossmont Hills League race on Tuesday (Feb. 11).

The Cougars claimed a 44-43 victory, thanks to a last second free throw by ZACH KISSEL.

Steele Canyon (17-6, 6-1 GHL) led 11-0 in the first quarter, but the Eagles (6-18, 0-7 GHL) bounced back with a 20-8 second quarter lead to take a 4-point advantage.

The game came down to the final seconds of the fourth quarter.

Kissel was fouled in the final seconds, and made the first of two free throws to give the Cougars a lead they wouldn’t lose.

But the Eagles battled back to take a 23-19 halftime lead.

It was a back-and-forth battle after that before Kissel sealed the win for the Cougars.

Steele Canyon: Zach Kissel 12, Dylan Hamlett 9, Aaron Pisiona 8, Dominick Wood-Anderson 7, Lydon Newsom 5, Tanner Perry 3.

Granite Hills: Andrew Manning 15 (1 stl), Rease Warford 14 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Brayan Turner 12 (4 reb, 1 ast), Taylor Foreman 2 (2 reb, 1 stl, 2 blk), Jaron Sanders (7 reb), Jacob Burton (1 reb, 10 reb, 1 ast), Ryan Kelly (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl).

	Singer glares into hat, finds another victory By Andrew Smith © East County Sports.com LA MESA (2-12-14) — When you take a look at this year's Helix High basketball team, there is only one person with any kind of real experience. Their roster of 14 players is littered with underclassmen to only two seniors, but lucky for them head coach JOHN SINGER has seen it all and is a magician with any kind of roster his hand is dealt. Singer has 626 career victories under his cap. In his 33rd season as a head coach he might just be painting his Mona Lisa of his entire career with this group of Scotties. After long-time rival Grossmont beat them back in December in the Chula Vista Spartan Tournament Championship game, he has led the Scotties to 9 victories in their last 11 contests and on Tuesday (Feb. 11) night they completed a Grossmont Hills League season sweep of the Foothillers with a 58-49 effort behind CHRISTIAN BELL to keep pace with Steele Canyon atop the standings for the league title. “He ( Bell ) is fearless,” Singer said of the lone senior that plays major minutes for the Scotties. The gritty guard finished the game with 19 points on 7-of-10 from the field and also hit four clutch 4th quarter free throws. He also added 6 boards, 4 dimes, 3 steals and for good measure one swat. “He's the leader of these guys and he shows by example. To be honest I don't know how he can sometimes walk after games because he throws his body around so much.” Grossmont's (16-8, 3-4 GHL) two-sport star ANTHONY LAWRENCE got the ball kicked out to him after a CARL BLANCHARD defensive rebound with three seconds left in the third quarter. He split two Helix (16-9, 6-1 GHL) defenders and banked in a half-court desperation attempt to cut the Highlanders' lead to 43-38, but that was about the only thing that went right for them all night. The Hillers' then started the fourth quarter with a four minute scoring drought and saw the deficit rise to 13 points before scoring their first bucket. Their double-double machine – sophomore TOMMY RUTHERFORD – scored 27 points and had 11 rebounds, but got in early foul trouble and also tweaked his shooting hand a little. “He's a terrific player,” Bell said of Rutherford. “You're going to stop him from getting his points and rebounds, but if you limit the damage his outside crew does to you, then you have a very good chance.” Without the half-court make of Lawrence, that supporting cast only mustered 19 points and seeing him for the third time this year Singer threw the book at him in an attempt to have the rest of the team try to beat them if they were going down. “It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that you have to stop the big guy,” he said of the 6-foot-9 Rutherford. “We ran four guys at him to wear him down a little and tried to fatigue him by constantly being pushed back down the court with a face pace.” While Grossmont's fourth quarter offense was stagnant, the Highlanders sank 11-of-14 free throws in the frame and got all the big rebounds. MARCUS WHITE and MARCUS NORRIS each contributed 12 points, but also hit three of their four free throw attempts to close out the game. “This rivalry is huge for us,” Bell admitted. “Seeing them in December and losing that championship game makes this victory a whole lot sweeter.” Still one cannot look past the job Singer has done without a magical wand in his hand. There's no pure scorer on this squad and that have to buy into playing intense defense to win the old fashioned way. Even he will admit surprise at the level of success out of this group. “I would've never told you at the beginning of the year that this team would have 16 wins at this point. These guys know who they are and don't try to do too much and they are all very coachable, but are even better just a great group of kids.” Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 27 (11 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk), Anthony Lawrence 9 (4 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Cameron Henderson 6 (3 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Carl Blanchard 4 (11 reb, 2 ast), J.T. Barnes 2 (4 reb, 1 ast. 1 blk), Christian Meno 1 (1 reb, 1 ast), Rome Harris (1 ast) Helix: Christian Bell 19 (6 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Marcus Norris 12 (5 reb, 1 stl), Marcus White 12 (4 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Gary Linson 8 (5 reb, 2 stl), Elsaiah Blair 5 (7 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Justin Flisher 2 (2 reb, 1 ast), Luke Holloway (1 blk).
	Strong defense by West Hills' Thomas Reaney (Photo by Don DeMars Photography)

All 11 Sultans contributed to the victory in the first half, plus a hot hand by Barry in the second half where he made 8 of 9 shots from the field.

“We performed like a unit, like we haven’t done in the past,” said Santana coach TIM BARRY. “This is the kind of team we had hoped to have in the past.”

“For as good of defense that we played on Friday, we did a 180 degree today,” said Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT. “They capitalized on wide open 3s. Santana had 11 3s. They had a lot of second shot opportunities. They just outplayed us today.”

AUSTIN MILLER punched in 12 point s, and C.J. CLARK grabbed 11 rebounds for the Sultans.

NAYIB VILLARINI led Mount Miguel with 10 points.

Santana: Daulton Barry 20 (3 reb, 1 stl), Ryan Bratlien 16 (6 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), Austin Miller 12 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), C.J. Clark 4 (11 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk), Tiano Franco 5 (2 reb, 2 ast), Tyler Kirk 2 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Anthony Romero (1 reb), Mitchell Miller (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl).

Mount Miguel : Nayib Villarini 10 (3 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Carl Dee Roberson 9 (8 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), James McLeod 9 (1 reb), Darian Norwood 7 (7 reb, 3 stl), Nate Gilbert 4 (5 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Taihir McMurray 6.

West Hills' Thomas Reaney (r).

West Hills' Brent Wilder (right). (Dons DeMares Photography)

WEST HILLS 68, VALHALLA 55 – “It was a two-man show for us tonight with a lot of support from everyone else,” said West Hills assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG. “All 10 players scored.”

CHASE PARSONS had 26 points (17 in the 1st half) and BRENT WILDER had 20 points (15 in 2nd half).

“We shot the ball well from the 3-point line (8-15). Chase had 4 and Brent 2,” said Armstrong.

“It was a very odd game as we only shot 2 free throws,” he added. “The refs let the kids play the majority of the night.”

THOMAS REANEY (9 rebounds) and D.J. LEWIS (4 steals) did a good job defensively for the Pack in the post.

“We were very lucky tonight because Valhalla missed a lot of open looks – shots they would probably normally make,” noted Armstrong. “They are a very good shooting team. It was a fun, competitive game and our team played very well tonight.”

GEORGE FAKHOURY and DAVID GAZALE led the Norsemen with 12 points apiece.

Valhalla: George Fakhoury 12 (5 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), David Gazale 12 (3 reb, 1 blk), Jacob Hammett 9 (4 reb, 4 blk, 2 stl), Trey Schimke 7 (6 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk, 1 stl), Cole Henderson 7 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jordan Qsar 6 (7 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk), Jake Bassette 2 (5 reb, 1 ast).

EL CAJON VALLEY 57, EL CAPITAN 43 – El Cajon Valley remained on the heels of Monte Vista in the Grossmont Valley League race, trailing by only half a game after Tuesday’s (Feb. 11) victory over El Capitan.

“I thought we came out with a purpose today,” said El Cajon Valley coach MARTY ELLIS. “IBRAHIM ALI really played good defense tonight. He and DRAKE (AFAISEN) really set the table for us tonight.

“BRANDON RUMLEY played good defense,” Ellis added, “and when BRENDEN BROCIOUS is patient, the game comes to him. I think he sees the open opportunities.”

“Our defense was really good tonight. We got a lot of steals. We were able to be successful in the game and we want to finish strong.”

BRENDEN BROCIOUS paced the Braves with 22points, while IBRAHIM ALI added 10 and BRANDON RUMLEY grabbed 12 rebounds.

“We lost the game because they outplayed us,” said El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS. “They out-hustled us. We had chances to be involved. Their pressure hurt us quite a bit. We made a little run in the third quarter.”

“We have to compete for all 32 minutes. We had spurts where we did and spurts where we didn’t. For us to be successful, we have to compete the whole 32 minutes.”

For El Capitan SCOTT ROOT led with 11 points, while ISAIAH CAPOOCIA added 10.

El Cajon Valley: Brenden Brocious 22 (7 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk, 4 stl), Ibrahim Ali 10 (6 reb, 7 ast, 4 stl), Syon Hicks 8 (4 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Drake Afaisen 6 (4 reb, 6 ast, 4 stl), Ramier Berbain 4 (8 reb), Brandon Rumley (12 reb, 1 blk), Damaje Hodges (5 reb, 2 ast), Mike Readus (5 reb, 2 stl).

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

CORONADO 61, CHRISTIAN 34 – The Patriots of Christian got steamrollered by Coronado in Tuesday’s (Feb. 11) Central League encounter on the peninsula.

The Patriots got outscored across the board, despite 15 points from ZACH KINNINGER and 10 rebounds from TRENT SAULS.

Christian drew within 6 points of the Islanders at one point in the third quarter, but then things went south.

Christian: Zach Kinninger 15 (8 reb, 1 stl), Johnny Paulson 11 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Michael Carrillo 3, Tyler Ballard 2 (4 reb, 1 blk, 4 stl), Trent Sauls 2 (10 reb, 1 ast), Justin Vrzich 1 (1 ast, 1 stl), David Jeremiah (2 reb).

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 86, CV-CALVARY CHRISTIAN 36 – LUIS SALGADO nailed 5 three-pointers on his way to a 19 point finish in Tuesday’s (Feb. 11) Sunset League game held at the Spring Valley Recreation Center.

DANE NORMAN added 10 points for the knights (15-8) and CALEB HOFFMAN dished 12 assists.

The victory was the 62nd consecutive league win for the Foothills Christian.

Foothills Christian: Luis Salgado 19, Dane Norman 10, Caleb Hoffman (12 ast).

© East County Sports.com
TEMECULA (2-11-14) — LUIS SALGADO hit 8 of 10 three-point shots and finished with 28 markers to lead visiting Foothills Christian to a 79-61 non-league victory over Rancho Christian of Temecula on Monday (Feb. 11).

T.J. LEAF spun a triple-double of 27 points, 10 rebounds and 13 blocks for the Knights (14-8).

Foothills Christian broke the game open in the second half with a 24-15 third quarter spread to make it 55-45 on the scoreboard.

Foothills Christian took the lead for the first time 31-30 with 10 seconds left in the first half.

CALEB HOFFMAN was the engineer for the Knights with 8 points and 10 assists, while DANE NORMAN added 10 points.

Foothills Christian will complete the regular season with four games, beginning with Tuesday’s (Feb. 11) encounter with Chula Vista Calvin Christian Academy at Spring Valley Rec Center at 3:30 p.m.

Foothills Christian: Luis Salgado 28, T.J. Leaf 27 (10 reb, 13 blk), Dane Norman 10 (2 reb), Caleb Hoffman 8 (10 ast).

© East County Sports.com
LOS ANGELES (2-9-14) — In a battle of perennial state small-schoolpowers, visiting Foothills Christian fell to Price High School, 86-83 in overtime, at L.A. Cathedral High on Saturday (Feb. 8) in a non-league contest

Foothills Christian led 24-15 after one quarter but Price cut the lead to 38-36 by intermission. Price came out in the third quarter with a 26-15 run to take command.

But once again Foothills Christian rallied with a 20-11 gain to send the game into overtime.

The bottom line though is Price had the last word, outscoring Foothills Christian 13-10 in the 4 minute overtime.

T.J. LEAF was the ringleader for Foothills Christian with 33 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.

DANE NORMAN added 18 points, while LUIS SALGADO punched in 15 for Foothills Christian 14-7.

Guard CALEB HOFFMAN also spun a double-double of 11 points and 11 assists for Foothills Christian.

Next up for Foothills Christian is a duel against Rancho Christian of Temecula on Monday (Feb. 10) at Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks at 6 p.m.

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 33 (13 reb, 11 ast), Dane Norman 18, Luis Salgado 15, Caleb Hoffman 11 (11 ast), J.R. Rivera 9.

Helix' Marcus Norris (31) is converged upon by Valhalla's Jordan Qsar (21) and Trey Schimke in a 67-60 upset victory. (Photo by Don DeMars Photography) ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE Norsemen register rare triumph over Helix By Bill Dickens © East County Sports.com | EL CAJON (2-8-14/Revised 2-9-14) — Records tend to cause confusion. Some people are sticklers; others are a little more cavalier. The Norsemen whacked Helix 53-34 on Feb. 3, 2009, which snapped a 19-game losing streak for Valhalla against Helix over a nine year stretch. Last year, Valhalla’s SPENCER HAVIRD hit 3 free throws in the final seconds to give the Norsemen a 48-47 victory over the visiting Highlanders. The latest conquest was last Friday (Feb. 7) when the Norsemen captured a 67-60 Grossmont Hills League victory over the visiting Highlanders. All three of those wins have been under the tutelage of current Norsemen coach KEITH JACKSON. Another time prior to that, Valhalla beat Helix in basketball in 1998 when then-coach LENNY SCHLEIN’s Norsemen beat the Highlanders 57-52. The bottom line is Valhalla has had a miserable time trying to beat Helix. “Coach didn’t dwell on it but talked about it a lot,” said senior DAVID GAZALE of the Norsemen’s latest victory over the Highlanders. Gazale dumped in 25 points and grabbed 7 rebounds for the Norsemen (13-9, 3-3 GHL). “We were excited about beating Helix for Coach Jackson,” Gazale said. Helix coach JOHN SINGER admitted that the Norsemen earned the victory. “It was really electric out there,” he said. “They just outplayed us. There’s no excuses.” For Helix MARCUS WHITE had 21 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals, while CHRISTIAN BELL pitched in 13 points and GARY LINSON gobbled up 10 boards for the Highlanders. It was Senior Night at Valhalla. In addition to Gazale, JACOB HAMMETT poured in 15 points and grabbed 9 rebounds for the Norsemen. Valhalla: David Gazale 25 (7 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk), Jacob Hammett 15 (9 reb, 4 ast, 4 blk, 1 stl), Jake Bassette 5 (5 reb, 1 blk), George Fakhoury 4 (4 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Jordan Qsar 4 (7 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl), Cole Henderson 7 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk), Trey Schimke 3 (6 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Terrell McKay 2 (2 reb, 1 blk), Yousif Kagy 2 (1 reb, 2 stl). Helix: Marcus White 21 (8 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Christian Bell 13 (3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Gary Linson 8 (10 reb, 2 blk), Qrizviah Mobley 7 (7 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Luke Holloway 4 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Elsaiah Blair 4 (4 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Marcus Norris 3 (6 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk). Jake Bassette (20) of Valhalla tries to stop the dribble-drive of Helix guard Christan Bell. The Norsemen won, 67-60. (Photo by Don DeMars Photography)

© East County Sports.com
SPRING VALLEY (2-8-14) — The Monte Vista Monarchs took over sole possession of first place in the Grossmont Valley League Friday (Feb. 7) by knocking off El Cajon Valley, 66-59.

The JACKSON twins – JORDAN and JEMEIL – combined for 36 points and 20 rebounds as the Monarchs (11-13, 4-1 GVL) skipped ahead of the Braves (14-10, 3-2 GVL) and El Capitan (12-10, 3-2 GVL).

The Monarchs were well aware that El Cajon Valley was predicted to repeat as GVL champions.

“That kind of irritated us,” said Jordan Jackson. “We weren’t going to concede anything.”

And so they haven’t.

Jemeil Jackson set the scoring pace for the Monarchs with 23 points, while his brother Jordan scored 13 markers and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Monte Vista’s balanced attack doesn’t stop there as TORY SANDERS pitched in 14 points and hauled down 6 rebounds.

ADAM WALLACE added 10 points, and versatile THOMAS WALKER grabbed 11 rebounds, dished 7 assists and made 2 steals.

For El Cajon Valley IBRAHIM ALI canned 28 points, while BRANDON RUMLEY knocked down 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

The Monarchs broke the game open with a 21-10 spread in the third quarter.

Monte Vista: Jemeil Jackson 23 (7 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl), Tory Sanders 14 (6 reb, 1 stl), Jordan Jackson 13 (13 reb, 1 blk), Adam Wallace 10 (1 ast), Thomas Walker 3 (11 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl), Saiyeed Mershon 3 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Elijah Moore (1 reb), Jermyah Kelly (1 stl).

El Cajon Valley: Ibrahim Ali 28 (2 ast, 2 stl), Brandon Rumley 13 (12 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Brenden Brocious 9 (6 reb, 1 stl), Damaje Hodges 4 (9 reb, 1 stl), Syon Hicks 2 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Raymier Berbain 2 (7 reb), Mike Readus (2 reb).

STEELE CANYON 63, WEST HILLS 54 – The size and speed of the visiting Cougars proved too much, racing to a lead which reached 19 points before coasting to an easy Grossmont Hills League victory Friday (Feb. 7) in western Santee.

Sophomore forward DOMINICK WOOD-ANDERSON paced Steele Canyon with 20 points to match his career high. However, it was the team's passing from the high post – including Wood-Anderson – which undressed the Wolf Pack defense.

"It's one of the things we need to work on if we want to have success and make the playoffs," noted Wood-Anderson. "We were able to make our passes, so things worked out."

The Cougars (16-6, 5-1 GHL) pulled away in the second quarter, as Wood-Anderson and TYLER GULINO-JONES found the open man with passes from the high-side of the lane.

Late in the third quarter, junior guard DYLAN HAMLETT nailed a 3-point shot. So when he fired another bomb, the defense collapsed on him, fouling him while converting another triple. The ensuing free throw resulted in a rare 4-point play and a 51-35 cushion.

West Hills (13-8, 2-4) closed the contest with a 10-2 run against the reserves to make the score look cosmetically close.

The leading scorer for the Wolf Pack was NICK ZOREE with 12 points.

Steele Canyon: Dominick Wood-Anderson 19, Zach Kissel 15, Tanner Perry 9, Dylan Hamlett 8, Robert Teo 7, Ryan Razooky 3, Tyler Gulino-Jones.

West Hills: Nick Zoree 12, Ricardo Barajas 9, Brent Wilder 8, Chase Parsons 7, D.J. Lewis 6, Marco Ovies 4, Spencer Moyer 4, Elias Totah 3, Thomas Reaney 1.

— Nick Pellegrino

MOUNT MIGUEL 47, EL CAPITAN 42 – Mount Miguel’s season took a major blow when DONNELL PAYNE suffered a broken thumb.

Despite the injury, the Matadors found a way to knock El Capitan out of the Grossmont Valley League lead on Friday (Feb. 7).

“We don’t know exactly when he got injured,” said Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT. “But he’s been playing right along without any of us knowing he’s been hurt. Finally he let us know, so we’re without him. He’s out for the season.”

Payne, a junior, had been averaging more than 20 points a game this season for

Mount Miguel (9-14, 2-3 GVL).

The Matadors could have easily folded without their No. 1 sharpshooter, but that hasn’t been the case.

In their victory over El Capitan CARL DEE ROBERSON turned in a powerful double-double of 17 points and 15 rebounds to go with 3 assists and 3 steals.

TAIHIR McMURRAY added a dozen points and 2 assists, and DARIAN NORWOOD pitched in 11 points and 7 rebounds.

“Roberson was a handful for us – just gave it to us,” said El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS.

Cavazos acknowledged the loss of Payne, but also noted that two of his starters were ill.

SCOTT ROOT tried to pick up the pace for the Vaqueros with 18 points, and KADE KYGAR added 15 more.

Mount Miguel: Carl Dee Roberson 17 (15 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Taihir McMurray 12 (2 ast), Darian Norwood 11 (7 reb), James McLeod 4 (2 ast), Nayib Villarini 2 (1 stl), Nate Gilbert 1 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl).

El Capitan: Scott Root 18 (4 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Kade Kygar 15 (1 ast), Isaiah Capoocia 6 (4 reb, 2 stl), Wyatt Alvarez 3 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Joey LaChappa (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Aaron Price (5 reb, 1 ast), Andy Casas (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk).

GROSSMONT 66, GRANITE HILLS 54 – A sure thing for the Grossmont Foothillers is that TOMMY RUTHERFORD will have a double-double.

In Friday’s (Feb. 7) Grossmont Hills League encounter against Granite Hills Rutherford cashed in 27 points and 21 rebounds.

ANTHONY LAWRENCE added 16 points – the majority coming on five 3-pointers, while ROME HARRIS chipped in with 10.

CARL BLANCHARD helped Grossmont (16-7, 3-3 GHL) dominate the glass with 12 rebounds.

ANDREW MANNING nailed 7 three-pointers and finished with 28 points to lead the Eagles (6-17, 0-6 GHL).

“He has a really nice touch,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON of Manning. “He has a nice stroke and a smooth release.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 27 (21 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Anthony Lawrence 16 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Rome Harris 10 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), J.T. Barnes 7 (4 reb, 4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Carl Blanchard 4 (12 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl), Christian Meno 2 (2 reb), Domenique Hill (1 ast),

Granite Hills: Andrew Manning 28 (4 stl), Antonio Read 7 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk), Taylor Foreman 7 (4 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), Brayan Turner 6 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Rease Warford 4 (5 ast, 3 stl), Jacob Burton 2 (8 reb), Jaron Sanders (4 reb, 6 blk), Matt Conley (1 reb).

© East County Sports.com
RANCHO SAN DIEGO (2-4-14) — Usually when Grossmont High’s 6-foot-9 center, TOMMY RUTHERFORD, scores 31 points and grabs 18 rebounds, the Foothillers are a lock for a victory.

That wasn’t the case against Steele Canyon, which knocked off the Foothillers, 72-71 in overtime, Tuesday (Feb. 4).

That outcome allowed Steele Canyon to improve to 15-6, 4-1 in the Grossmont Hills League race, leaving the Cougars only one game behind front-running Helix (15-8, 5-0 GHL).

The issue was decided when ZACH KISSEL hit one of two free throws with 3 seconds left in overtime to stake the Cougars to the victory.

Kissel finished with a season-high 35 points, which included hitting 6 three-pointers and 7 of 10 free throws.

“I thought JACOB HAMMETT did a decent job against Rutherford,” said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS. “I thought he did a good job with weak side help.”

Of course, stopping Rutherford is not in the cards. He still produced more than his average numbers.

“I told our guys to focus on stopping their outside shooting game,” Stephens said. “And I thought we did a good job of doing that. We knew Rutherford was going to get his, but we wanted to make sure nobody else got theirs.”

Nonetheless ANTHONY LAWRENCE finished with 13 points for Grossmont, including a trio of treys.

DOMINICK WOOD-ANDERSON contributed 11 points to Steele Canyon ’s totals, while AARON PISIONA added 11.

Steele Canyon: Zach Kissel 35, Dominick Wood-Anderson 11, Aaron Pisiona 11, Tyler Gulino-Jones 6, Dylan Hamlett 6, Tanner Perry 3.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 31 (18 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Anthony Lawrence 13 (4 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Rome Harris 9 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Christian Meno 8 (4 reb, 1 stl), J.T. Barnes 7 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Carl Blanchard 3 (6 reb, 1 ast).

VALHALLA 58, GRANITE HILLS 55 (OT) – DAVID GAZALE and JORDAN QSAR each hit two free throws in the final minutes of overtime to give the Norsemen the nod over Granite Hills in Tuesday’s (Feb. 4) Grossmont Hills League action.

Gazale finished with 20 points to lead all scorers, while Qsar added 16 points and 12 rebounds.

“We led by 13 points about five times, including 43-30,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON.

But Granite Hills (6-16, 0-5 GHL) refused to fold. The Eagles used a 19-6 fourth quarter edge to send the game into overtime.

TAYLOR FOREMAN scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half and overtime for Granite Hills, finishing with 10 rebounds, while ANDREW MANNING chipped in with 17 points for the Eagles.

“We’re happy to be 4-1 halfway through the league at this point in the season,” said Jackson.

GEORGE FAKHOURY contributed 11 points for the Norsemen to go along with 4 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal.

Valhalla: David Gazale 20 (1 reb, 1 stl), Jordan Qsar 16 (12 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), George Fakhoury 11 (4 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Jacob Hammett 6 (7 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl), Jake Bassette 2 (2 reb), Cole Henderson 2 (6 reb, 3 ast, 4 blk, 1 stl), Trey Schimke 1 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Terrell McKay (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl).

Granite Hills: Taylor Foreman 19 (10 reb, 3 ast), Andrew Manning 17 (7 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Jaron Sanders 8 (7 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Jacob Burton 6 (5 reb), Brayan Turner 5 (6 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Rease Warford (1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Chris Diaz (1 reb), Matt Conley (1 reb), Antonio Read (1 ast).

HELIX 60, WEST HILLS 57 – The Grossmont Hills League-leading Highlanders nailed 20 of 25 free throws in the second half, and 12 of 14 in the final quarter as they edged West Hills in Tuesday’s (Feb. 4) GHL action.

Helix used double figures from MARCUS WHITE (14), ELSAIAH BLAIR (14) and CHRISTIAN BELL (12) to guide the Highlanders (15-8, 5-0 GHL) past the Wolf Pack (13-7, 2-3 GHL).

“We had the flu and it kept BRENT WILDER out of the game. NICK ZOREE played with the flu, but it definitely hurt us,” said West Hills assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG.

CHASE PARSONS tried to pick up the slack for the Pack with 23 points, including a trio of triples.

“He’s probably one of the better players in our league,” Helix coach JOHN SINGER said of Parsons.

Armstrong agreed, “Chase is one of the best perimeter players for sure.”

No doubt Parsons proved his value as he hit 6 of 10 from the field and 8 of 10 from the free throw line to pace the Pack.

Helix: Marcus White 14 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Elsaiah Blair 14 (3 reb, 1 stl), Christian Bell 12 (3 reb, 7 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Luke Holloway 6 (7 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Marcus Norris 6 (6 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), Gary Linson 5 (4 reb, 1 stl), Qrizviah Mobley 3 (6 reb, 1 stl).

West Hills: Chase Parsons 23 (4 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Nick Zoree 8 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Ricardo Barajas 8 (2 reb), Thomas Reaney 7 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), D.J. Lewis 6 (3 reb, 1 blk), Marco Ovies 3 (2 reb, 4 ast), Elias Totah 2, Joe Mansour (1 reb, 1 stl).

MADISON 67, CHRISTIAN 50 – The visiting Christian High Patriots fell behind 37-21 at halftime of Tuesday’s (Feb. 4) Central League game and never recovered.

Eight Patriots reached the scoring column, led by TYLER BALLARD’s 15 points. He made 4 of 11 three-pointers and grabbed 7 rebounds.

JOHNNY PAULSON added 14 points – the majority of which came on 4 of 12 three-point shooting for the Patriots (6-17, 2-6 CL).

ZACH KINNINGER contributed 10 points and 9 rebounds, while TRENT SAULS did not score a single point but came down with a team high 10 boards.

Christian: Tyler Ballard 15 (7 reb, 4 ast), Johnny Paulson 14 (3 reb, 2 ast), Zach Kinninger 10 (9 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Josh Smith 3 (2 reb, 1 ast), Travis Ballard 2 (2 reb), Zack Yan 2, Justin Vrzich 2 (1 reb), Joe Ross 2 (2 reb, 1 blk), Michael Carrillo 1 (2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Ethan Contreras (1 reb), Trent Sauls (10 reb, 1 stl), David Jeremiah (2 reb, 1 ast).

Foothills Christian center T.J. Leaf (22, in white) in action earlier this season against Valhalla. (Photos by Luke Grantham)

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (2-2-14) — It was Senior Night for Foothills Christian Saturday night (Feb. 1) at Granite Hills.

Probably the most outstanding senior on this night was guard CALEB HOFFMAN, who scored 7 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, dished 8 assists and recorded 4 steals as the Knights knocked off visiting San Bernardino, 60-48.

“I thought last year was going to be my final basketball season,” Hoffman said. “But then I came out late (from football, where he was the Knights’ quarterback). This basketball season is like a bonus year. It’s pretty exciting – I’m glad to be out here.”

Hoffman took a physical beating bringing the ball up from the Cardinals (13-9) pressure, ending up on the floor several times. But he shook it off, saying “That’s the way I play.”

Hoffman wasn’t real sure about playing the point guard when he re-joined the team as a senior.

“The difference this year is I focus on more than just scoring points,” he said. “That wasn’t the case in my first three seasons, when all I worried about was scoring points.”

Hoffman is more focused on “taking care of the ball and getting the ball inside to our big guys.”

Six-foot-9 T.J. LEAF turned in a typical game for him, hitting 10 of 15 shots from the field for 20 points. He also completed a triple-double with 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Noting that this was the final regular season home game for the Knights (13-7), Leaf said playing on the road doesn’t make a whole lot of difference than playing on home court.

“We’ve played so many road games already it’s not like it’s anything shockingly different,” Leaf said. “We’ll play wherever we have to.”

LUIS SALGADO knocked down 19 points on 7 of 9 shooting from the field. The majority of his handiwork came from long distance as he made 5 of 6 three-pointers.

“Shooting the 3-pointer is really based on rhythm,” said Salgado. “That’s my shot.”

J.R. RIVERA made 4 of 5 from the floor for 8 points. He also blocked 7 shots and grabbed 4 rebounds.

Next up for Foothills Christian is a non-league battle with perennial playoff power Price High School at L.A. Cathedral High on Saturday (Feb. 8) at 3 p.m.

Following that, the Knights will face Rancho Christian of Temecula at Cal Lutheran on Monday (Feb. 10) at 6 p.m.

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 20 (11 reb, 10 ast, 4 blk, 1 stl), Luis Salgado 19 (1 ast, 2 stl), J.R. Rivera 8 (4 reb, 7 blk), Caleb Hoffman 7 (8 reb, 8 ast, 4 stl), Dane Norman 6 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Daniel Hoffman (2 reb), Javier Guerrero (1 reb).

VALHALLA 56, OLYMPIAN 48 – Norsemen coach KEITH JACKSON noted that Valhalla ’s conquest of Olympian was key to his team’s San Diego CIF Division 3 seeding position.

The Norsemen used a 21-11 fourth quarter spread to ground the Eagles in Saturday’s (Feb. 1) Coaches vs. Cancer encounter at Montgomery.

“My team showed me a lot,” said Jackson. “After last night’s emotional win over Grossmont (63-54) they found a way to win over Olympian.”

DAVID GAZALE led the Norsemen with 18 points, including four 3-pointers.

JACOB HAMMETT pitched in with 17 points and hammered the boards for 9 rebounds.

However, the rebound leader was COLE HENDERSON, who corralled 11 boards.

“I knew this would be a tough game for our kids, who played in front of a packed house on Friday, and then in front of just family and friends on Saturday,” noted Jackson.

Valhalla: David Gazale 18 (5 reb, 1 ast), Jacob Hammett 17 (9 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Jordan Qsar 6 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Cole Henderson 5 (11 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk), George Fakhoury 3 (3 reb, 6 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Trey Schimke 3 (4 reb, 1 ast), Terrell McKay 2 (1 reb, 1 stl), Jake Bassette 2 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Aram Hermiz (1 reb).

MOUNT MIGUEL 53, CHULA VISTA 49 – Playing at 10 o’clock in the morning doesn’t bode well for quality basketball in most cases.

But Mount Miguel, which won for only the second time in eight starts, jumped out to a 20-10 first quarter lead over Chula Vista and continued on to a victory in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Montgomery.

It was the second time the Matadors have conquered the Spartans, having claimed a 77-42 victory last month.

CARL DEE ROBERSON set the pace for the Matadors (8-14), knocking down 13 points and grabbing 8 rebounds.

As a team Mount Miguel buried five treys, with JAMES McLEOD accounting for two of them.

Mount Miguel: Carl Dee Roberson 13 (8 reb, 1 ast), Donnell Payne 9 (6 reb, 2 stl), Nate Gilbert 6 (5 reb, 1 ast), Taihir McMurray 7 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), James McLeod 6 (1 reb, 2 ast), Nayib Villarini 6 (1 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl), Amadi Cass-Williams 3 (1 reb, 1 stl), Darian Norwood 3 (3 reb).

EL CAPITAN 55, PACIFIC RIDGE 54 – No information provided for this Coaches vs. Cancer game held at Montgomery Saturday (Feb. 1).