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Foothillers defeat the Catholics for the Spartan title

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (12-31-14) — TOMMY RUTHERFORD knocked down 23 points and grabbed 25 rebounds as the Foothillers defeated Seton Catholic and captured the Chula Vista Spartan Classic championship on Tuesday (Dec. 30).

“We had an 18-point lead going into the fourth quarter,” said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. “We could have done a better job handling pressure. Seton Catholic had six 3s in the fourth quarter.”

Rutherford set the tone for the Foothillers who also received 19 points from CAMERON HENDERSON.

Rutherford was named the tournament MVP while Henderson was named to the All-Tournament team.

Grossmont (11-2) stormed to a 34-14 halftime lead.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 23 (25 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Cameron Henderson 19 (2 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Jacob Denson 8 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Hunter Gaines 6 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Jacob Niskey 2 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jeremiah Appleton (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl).

SAN PASQUAL 71, MONTE VISTA 70 — Coming off a series of injuries, Monte Vista’s ADAM WALLACE proved that he’s ready to go as he has become a steady inside scorer. Wallace scored 34 points including a trio of treys and 9 of 11 free throws in Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoop Classic.

TRE OWENS kicked in 10 points for the Monarchs.

“We need some time for practice,” said Monarchs coach MIKE TULLY. “We need to work on game situations and learn how to defend better.”

Monte Vista: Adam Wallace 34, Tre Owens 10, Terry Bone 7, Saiyeed Mershon 6, Ray Funk 5, Bo Rankins 6, Shai Stevenson 3.

VALHALLA 73, LA MATHESON 58 — NATHAN YOUSIF scored 15 points, CARSON BAKER hit 13 and JOHN MURAD added 12 for Valhalla in Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) Granite Hills Holiday Classic victory over LA Matheson of Canada.

JACOB HAMMET swept the boards with 10 rebounds for the Norsemen.

Valhalla stormed in front 24-6 and extended its advantage to 37-15 by halftime.

Valhalla: Nathan Yousif 15 (4 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Carson Baker 13 (5 reb, 2 ast), John Murad 12 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jacob Hammett 8 (10 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Jordan Ellis 7 (3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Jake Bassette 7 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jared Sullivan 5 (1 stl), Matthew Sako 2 (4 reb, 6 ast, J.J. Meier 2 (2 reb, 1 ast), Austin Gatus 2 (1 reb), Chris Attiq (1 reb, 2 ast), 2 stl).

HELIX 61, RANCHO BERNARDO 51 — The Highlanders, who had lost six of their first seven games, raised their record to 7-7 as they knocked off Rancho Bernardo in Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoop Classic.

JUSTIN FLISHER set the scoring pace with 17 points. HENRY HOLTZ rolled a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds in his best game to date.

MARCUS NORRIS scored 10 points for Helix against the Broncos.

The Highlanders jumped out to lead 23-11 at the end of the first quarter and 34-25 at the half.

Helix: Justin Flisher 17 (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Henry Holtz 15 (10 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Marcus Norris 10 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 5 blk), Gary Linson 6 (4 reb), Qrizjiah Mobley 6 (6 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk), Jumar Wynn 5 (3 reb, 2 ast), Malik Tambwe 5 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Eisaiah Blair 4 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Luke Holloway 3 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 4 blks), Alex Dumas (3 reb, 1 ast), Dylan Lee (2 ast, 1 stl), Jaylen Arnold (1 ast, 1 stl).

GRANITE HILLS 64, HINES CREEK 44 — ANTONIO READ muscled in 16 points and snared 7 rebounds as the Eagles took the foam out of Hines Creek in Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) Granite Hills Holiday Classic action.

MICHAEL LEDESMA chipped in with 16 points and seven rebounds and RYAN KELLY knocked down 14 points for Granite Hills.

“We didn’t play real well – not with the same energy as we did against Morse,” said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON. “We have to learn to be more consistent.”

Granite Hills: Antonio Read 16 (7 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Michael Ledesma 16 (7 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Ryan Kelly 14 (3 reb, 1 stl), David Setterberg 8 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl), Cameron Spitzer 5 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Erin Swinson 5 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Blake Branvall 3 (1 reb), Mario Meza 3 (1 reb), Dominic Sudo-Hooper 2 (3 reb, 1 stl), Noor Noory 2 (1 stl), Chris Diaz (5 reb, 1 ast), Frankie Lucatuorto (5 reb, 1 ast), Wyatt Mason (1 stl).

VISTA 77, MOUNT MIGUEL 35 — The Panthers pounded Mount Miguel for 45 points in the middle two quarters of Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery and never looked back.

“I don’t know what our guys were thinking, but I get the feeling they think they can just roll the ball out on the court and win games,” said Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT.

DONNELL PAYNE paced the Matadors with 16 points and JAY-VON JONES grabbed eight rebounds.

Mount Miguel: Donnell Payne 16, Jay-Von Jones 4 (8 reb), Nathaniel Gilbert 4 (4 reb, 1 ast), Rickey Harvey 4, Trannell Hudson 4, Darian Norwood 3 (5 reb, 1 stl), Trevon Allen 2, Gary Haskins (4 reb), Taj Tucker (2 ast, 1 stl), Cesar Sigala (1 reb).

EL CAJON VALLEY 60, VALLEY CENTER 33 — El Cajon Valley was celebrating the victory over Valley Center in a special way Tuesday (Dec. 30) in the Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery.

“Valley Center beat us by eight points in a tournament on Dec. 2,” said Braves coach MARTY ELLIS. “We really did some better things this time.”

“Tonight was BRANDON RUMLEY’s night, which was a long time coming,” Ellis said. “Rumley really stepped up – this was his first 19-point game. He came out ready to play and the results showed up. This was his break-out moment.”

RICHARD GARCIA added 12 points to ECV’s totals and RONNE READUS was a beast on the boards with 17 to go with his nine points.

El Cajon Valley: Brandon Rumley 19 (2 reb, 1 blk), Richard Garcia 12 (2 reb), Ronne Readus 9 (17 reb, 2 blk), Dion Dean 8 (7 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Demaje Hodges 8 (6 reb, 1 blk), Ibrahim Ali 2 (5 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl), Syon Hicks 2, Ahmad Sulyman (3 ast), Drake Afaisen (2 reb).

WHITTIER PIONEER 80, STEELE CANYON 76 — Steele Canyon came out strong in the first quarter of Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoop Classic contest, leading 16-10 at the end of the period.

Pioneer of Whittier climbed steadily ahead although the Cougars remained in challenging distance throughout the game.

In the end Pioneer prevailed by a narrow margin.

DOMINICK WOOD-ANDERSON paced the Cougars in scoring with 33 points, while AARON PISIONA punched in 14 and TARIQ TILLMAN added 11.

Steele Canyon: Dominick Wood-Anderson 33, Aaron Pisiona 14, Tariq Tillman 11, Dylan Hamlett 10, Nick Hodge 3, Jordan Johnson 3, Lyndon Newsom 2.

WOODSIDE 47, CHRISTIAN 40 (OT) — JOHNNY PAULSON punched in nine points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Christian Patriots in Tuesday’s (Dec. 30) Monte Vista Christian Tournament at Watsonville.

TRAVIS BALLARD and TREVOR HOWELL shared team high point honors with 10 apiece for Christian.

The Patriots lost the game down the stretch after being shutout in the third quarter.

Christian: Travis Ballard 10 (6 reb), Trevor Howell 10 (4 ast), Johnny Paulson 9 (11 reb), JD Parker 8 (3 reb), David Todd Jeremiah 4, Kyle Stowers 2 (4 reb, 4 ast).

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 49, LA COSTA CANYON 47 — No further information was provided for this Under Armour Tournament contest.

CRAWFORD at SANTANA — No report was received for this non-league game.

Yet another double-double for Rutherford

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-30-14) — The Lincoln Hornets couldn’t stop the Foothillers’ TOMMY RUTHERFORD in Monday’s (Dec. 29) Spartan Classic at Chula Vista.

He rolled a double-double of 36 points and 22 rebounds in leading Grossmont to the 60-45 victory.

“We broke their press and Rutherford scored 24 points in the second half."e;

The Foothillers will meet Seton Catholic Prep Academy in the Spartan Classic championship game Tuesday (Dec. 30) at 4:30 at Chula Vista High.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 36 (22 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Cameron Henderson 6 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Jacob Denson 6 (5 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Hunter Gaines 6 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Jeremiah Appleton 4 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Jacob Niskey 1 (2 reb, 1 ast), Ryan Shirley 1.

MOUNT MIGUEL 55, VALLEY CENTER 54 (OT) — Valley Center got the early jump through the first two quarters in Monday’s (Dec. 29) Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery, but by halftime the Matadors had drawn with 2 points.

Mount Miguel had a strong fourth quarter and sent the game into overtime. The Matadors scored eight points and Valley center scored seven.

DONNELL PAYNE had the hot hand, scoring 25 points, including three 3s for Mount Miguel, receiving solid support from the rest of the Matadors.

Mount Miguel: Donnell Payne 25 (8 reb, 1 stl, 1 ast), Darian Norwood 8 (5 reb, 2 stl), Ricky Harvey 8 (1 ast, 1 stl), Nathaniel Gilbert 5 (6 reb, 1 ast), Taj Tucker (4 ast, 3 stl), Gary Haskins (3 reb, 1 stl), JayVon Jones (3 reb), Trevon Allen (1 stl), Trannell Hudson (1 reb).

EASTLAKE 66, EL CAJON VALLEY 51 — “DION DEAN and BRANDON RUMLEY came to play tonight,” said El Cajon Valley coach MARTY ELLIS, referring to Monday’s (Dec. 29) contest in the Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery.

Dean scored 19 points, including 13 of 15 free throw shooting and Rumley scored 16 with seven field goals and a couple of free throws.

“Eastlake had a couple of big guys about 6-foot-8 and their style of play overmatched our style of play. They hit a few monster dunks and it caught our guys off guard. It affects kids, both mentally and physically. It’s an intimidation factor.”

“Dean and Rumley were consistent tonight.”

El Cajon Valley: Dion Dean 19, Brandon Rumley 16, Ronne Readus 6, Richard Garcia 3, Ahmad Sulyman 3, Ibrahim Ali 2, Demaje Hodges 2.

VALHALLA 54, CALIPATRIA 43 — The Norsemen used a hard nosed defense to sting the Calipatria Hornets in Monday’s (Dec. 29) Granite Hills Holiday Classic action.

JOHN MURAD scored a game best for Valhalla with 13 points, six rebounds and two blocks. JACOB HAMMETT had a hot shooting hand as well as he nailed 12 points. Murad was 4-for-4 from the floor.

NATHAN YOUSIF pitched in nine points and grabbed five rebounds for the Norsemen.

“The big thing about this game is we held Calipatria to 14 points in the first half,” said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON.

Valhalla: John Murad 13 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk), Jacob Hammett 12 (1 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Nathan Yousif 9 (5 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Carson Baker 7 (3 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl), Jordan Ellis 7 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Jake Bassette 4 (6 reb, 4 ast), Matthew Sako 2 (3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Chris Attiq (3 reb, 1 stl), Christian White (2 reb, 1 blk), Jared Sullivan (1 ast, 1 stl), Jared Sullivan (1 ast, 1 stl).

STEELE CANYON 66, RANCHO BERNARDO 64 (OT) — DOMINICK WOOD-ANDERSON and TARIQ TILLMAN combined to lead the Steele Canyon Cougars past Rancho Bernardo in Monday’s (Dec. 29) Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic.

Wood-Anderson poured in 25 points and Tillman added 14 to keep the Cougars close to the Broncos. In the overtime period Steele Canyon scored seven and RB scored five, closing out the game with a 2-point spread.

Steele Canyon was up most of the game.

“With less than 30 seconds left in regulation they had to foul us,” said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS. “AARON PISIONA, our best free throw shooter, got trapped and fell to the ground. We thought he was fouled but the officials gave the ball to Rancho Bernardo. They made a mid-range jump shot and made it to tie it at 59-59 to send it into overtime.”

In overtime Rancho Bernardo scored first.

“We went up two with TARIQ TILLMAN scoring a 3, then they hit a three to put them up by three,” Stephens recalled. “NICK HODGE made a layup and tied it. With 39 seconds left we shot the ball and missed it. DOMINICK WOOD-ANDERSON went up as the shot clock went off, but the 2 points counted.”

Steele Canyon: Dominick Wood-Anderson 25, Tariq Tillman 14, Aaron Pisiona 9, Lyndon Newsom 7, Nick Hodge 5, Dylan Hamlet 4, Emari Brooks 2,

CHRISTIAN 52, YOSEMITE 34 — Christian High made the long trek to Northern California Monday (Dec. 29) to participate in the Monte Vista Christian Tournament at Watsonville.

TRAVIS BALLARD and KYLE STOWERS used a one-two punch to carry the Patriots past the Yosemite Badgers. Ballard scored a team high 14 points and Stowers punched in 12.

The Patriots will play Woodside on Tuesday (Dec. 30).

Christian: Travis Ballard 14 (2 reb, 1 blk), Kyle Stowers 12 (3 reb, 2 stl), Trevor Howell 9 (9 ast, 3 stl), Johnny Paulson 5 (5 reb), Grant Taylor 5, Layne Larson 3, David Todd Jeremiah 2 (5 reb), Dominic Bristol 2, JD Parker (3 reb, 1 stl), Ethan Contreras (2 reb, 1 ast).

WHITTIER PIONEER 66, HELIX 62 — Helix jumped out to a lead in the first quarter but Pioneer forged ahead 34-26 in the second period in Monday’s (Dec. 29) Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic.

Helix closed the gap to within four points in the third quarter and managed to maintain that space through the fourth, but was never able to get closer than that.

GARY LINSON led Helix with 21 points and 6 rebounds, while MALIK TAMBWE added 16 points and 5 assists.

Helix: Gary Linson 21 (6 reb, 1 ast), Malik Tambwe 16 (2 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl), Qrizjiah Mobley 6 (6 reb, 8 ast, 1 stl), Luke Holloway 6 (2 reb, 1 stl), Jaylen Arnold 6 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Eisaiah Blair 5 (5 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Alex Dumas 2 (3 ast, 2 stl), Justin Flisher 2 (1 reb, 1 ast), Marcus Norris (2 reb).

MORSE 66, GRANITE HILLS 56 — ANTONIO READ scored a team high double-double 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while RYAN KELLY added 14 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in Monday (Dec. 29) in the Granite Hills Holiday Classic.

CAMERON SPITZER tossed in 13 points for the Eagles.

The Eagles let this one get away as they made only 14 of 29 free throws, including 1 of 11 in the first half.

“This is the best team we’ve played,” said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON. “We just plain missed too many chances.”

Granite Hills: Antonio Read 17 (10 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Ryan Kelly 14 (6 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Cameron Spitzer 13 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Michael Ledesma 7 (6 reb, 6 ast, 1 blk), David Setterberg 4, Frankie Lucatuorto 1 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Chris Diaz (2 reb, 2 ast).

OTAY RANCH 53, MONTE VISTA 52 — Despite 35 points by TRE OWENS the Monarchs lost to Otay Ranch on a last second shot in Monday’s (Dec. 29) Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic encounter.

Owens buried a trio of 3s and Monte Vista had a side out trailing 53-50. That’s when the Monarchs offense stalled.

“We led 53-50 but Otay Ranch buried two long range 3-pointers and we couldn’t recover,” said Monarchs skipper MIKE TULLY.

SAIYEED MERSHON poured in 22 points and BO RANKINS added 11 for the Monarchs.

Monte Vista: Tre Owens 35, Saiyeed Mershon 22, Bo Rankins 11, Adam Wallace 8, Ray Funk.

NY-THOMAS JEFFERSON 77, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 47 — No information was provided for this Under Armour Tournament at Torrey Pines.

BONITA VISTA 56, EL CAPITAN 27 — No information was provided for this Aztec Holiday Classic game at Montgomery.

Grossmont continues mastery of Spartan Classic

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
CHULA VISTA (12-28-14) — Grossmont has had a successful history in the Spartan Classic and this year it was the same.

The Foothillers started slow but gained momentum steadily, finally pulling ahead of Central Union by the end of the third quarter 46-43 in Saturday’s (Dec. 27) tournament action.

The Foothillers would finish in the black, 63-58 to send the Spartans of El Centro back to the desert empty.

Steady TOMMY RUTHERFORD turned in another stellar performance, rolling a double-double of 24 points and 17 rebounds, with CAMERON HENDERSON pitching in 12 points to the scoring totals.

The Foothillers enjoyed balanced scoring throughout the team with everybody contributing to the victory.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 24 (17 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Cameron Henderson 12 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Hunter Gaines 5 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Branik Brown 5 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Jonah Heibel 5 (1 reb, 1 ast), Jacob Denson 4 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jeremiah Appleton 4 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jacob Niskey 4 (2 reb).

GRANITE HILLS 52, CALIPATRIA 42 — In what was almost one of the biggest upsets of the young season if one goes by school enrollment size the Granite Hills Eagles were able to pull out a victory over the Calipatria Hornets in the second round of the Granite Hills Holiday Classic On Saturday (Dec. 27).

From the start Granite Hills came out with no pizzazz as the Hornets were able to keep the first period a low scoring one at 6-6. In the second stanza Granite Hills found a little spark and despite shooting 8-20 for the half they were able to lead 28-20 at the break.

In the second half Granite Hills was able to stretch its lead to 39-29 by outscoring Calipatria 11-9 in the third quarter. The final frame started out in the favor of the Hornets as they went on a 7-0 roll to pull within 39-36 with about 6:00 to go.

Calipatria was finally able to tie things even at 40-40 with a layup with 4:00 left.

It was tied up at 42-42 with about 2:30 left in the frame and that is when the Eagles stepped it up a notch. CAMERON SPITZER was fouled on a shot attempt and he calmly went to the line and sank his foul shots to start the roll for the Eagles.

"I knew what I had to do and that was sink the shots and then we as a team stepped it up and finished it out," Spitzer said.

Indeed the Eagles did so as they finished the game on a 10-2 roll to claim the victory in what was a quite a roller coaster affair.

ANTONIO READ led the Eagles with 23 points including three treys and 6-7 free throws. RYAN KELLY had 13 points to go with nine rebounds, DAVID SETTERBERG grabbed nine rebounds.

Granite Hills: Antonio Read 23 (3 reb), Ryan Kelly 13 (9 reb, 1 ast), Michael Ledesma 7 (6 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Cameron Spitzer 5 (4 reb, 2 ast), David Setterberg 2 (9 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Frankie Lucauorto 2 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Chris Diaz (1 reb), Wyatt Mason (1 reb).
– Adam Paul

MOUNT MIGUEL 79, EL CENTRO-SOUTHWEST 59 — DONNELL PAYNE was one of four Matadors to reach double digits as he popped in 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds in Saturday’s (Dec. 27) Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery over El Centro Southwest.

NATHANIEL GILBERT tossed in 18 points, while RICKY HARVEY had 12 and DARIAN NORWOOD scored 11.

The Matadors were splendid at the free throw line, hitting 20 of 25 shots.

"We had a good offensive effort," said Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT. "When we can do that we’re a pretty good team."

Mount Miguel: Donnell Payne 24 (9 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Nathaniel Gilbert 18 (7 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Ricky Harvey 12 (1 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Darian Norwood 11 (5 reb), Trannell Hudson 6 (6 reb, 1 stl), Taj Tucker 4 (5 reb, 2 ast), Trevon Allen 4 (3 reb), Gary Haskins (5 reb).

VISTA 50, EL CAJON VALLEY 48 — Saturday’s (Dec. 27) Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery was a see-saw affair, played evenly with Vista leading by a 1-point advantage at the half. At the end of the third quarter the score stood at 38-36 in El Cajon Valley’s favor.

But the Panthers took a 4-point lead in the fourth quarter and that made the difference in the ballgame.

"Rebounding killed us," said Braves coach MARTY NELLIS. "We just got outworked. They got their second shots."

"’;Mr. Consistent,’ as I call RONNE READUS, did his part, notching 18 rebounds to go with six points and four blocks."

"We shot 57 percent on our free throws and lost by two points. . . something doesn’t match up. If we don’t have consistency we have a hard time."

"Ronne set the table tonight – 18 rebounds is not padding his stats. This is his first year playing for me and he’s just a junior. I’m looking for good things from him."

El Cajon Valley was led by IBRAHIM ALI with 17 points to go with seven rebounds and seven assists.

El Cajon Valley: Ibrahim Ali 17 (7 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl), Dion Dean 9 (5 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Ronne Readus 6 (18 reb, 2 stl, 4 blk), Demaje Hodges 5 (7 reb, 2 stl), Drake Afaisen 5 (3 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl), Richard Garcia 3 (1 reb), Brandon Rumley 1 (3 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk).

STEELE CANYON 77, MONTE VISTA 57 — "They zoned us and tried to take our bigs away," said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS, "and that opened up our outside shooting."

DOMINICK WOOD-ANDERSON turned in a powerful double-double with 22 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Cougars to the Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic victory on Saturday (Dec. 27).

Ten Cougars contributed to Steele Canyon scoring, including TARIQ TILLMAN who pitched in 15 points and AARON PISIONA with 14.

Wood-Anderson also was 6-for-8 from the free throw line.

TRE OWENS led the Monarchs with 17 points, more than half coming on a trio of treys, while ADAM WALLACE chipped in with 14.

Steele Canyon: Dominick Wood-Anderson 22 (15 reb), Tariq Tillman 15, Aaron Pisiona 14, Dylan Hamlett 6, Emari Brooks 6, Gage Sanders 5, Jordan Zampetti 4, Lyndon Newsom 2, Nick Hodge 2, Thomas Higginbotham 1.

Monte Vista: Tre Owens 17, Adam Wallace 14, Saiyeed Mershon 9, Shai Stevenson 8, Ray Funk 4, Terry Bone 3, Bo Rankins 2.

HELIX 54, DEL NORTE 34 — The Helix Highlanders played Del Norte even at 11 apiece in the first quarter of Saturday’s (Dec. 27) Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic, and pulled ahead 11-7 in the second.

By the end of the third quarter Helix held a comfortable 39-24 lead they wouldn’t lose.

Q MOBLEY led the Highlanders with 18 points, while MALIK TAMBWE added 11.

Helix: Qrizjiah Mobley 18 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk), Malik Tambwe 11 (3 reb), Gary Linson 7, Eisaiah Blair 7, Alex Dumas 4, Wynn 3, Justin Flisher 2, Marvin Roberts 2.

MIRA MESA 73, VALHALLA 61 — The Mira Mesa Marauders clashed with the Valhalla Norseman in the second round of the Granite Hills Holiday Classic and was able to come away with the grueling victory.

Despite the contest being a 12-point difference the outcome wasn’t settled until the final two minutes. Both teams waged a total battle of attrition as it was physical the entire game as the officials let both teams bang and play.

The tempo was set early on in the first period as the physicality set in with an evenly matched stanza with Mira Mesa leading only 16-15 on a 10-foot jumper at the buzzer as Valhalla led 15-14 with only a couple of seconds left.

The second period was more of the same with the bang and play of both teams and again the Marauders were able to come out on top and lead 28-26 at the break.

The third stanza had Mira Mesa leading all the way when JACOB HAMMETT nailed a 10-footer of his own with :02 left to tie the score at 41-41.

The fourth and final frame of the game had all the fireworks as both teams entertained the crowd and broke out of the semi low scoring funk. However it was Mira Mesa that started things with a 6-0 streak to start the period to stretch the lead to 47-41 and went on to lead 56-45 with about 3:00 to go.

Valhalla did their best to claw back into it but every time they would get within a few points Mira Mesa would answer and stretch the lead and would ultimately do enough damage in the final two minutes to put the finishing touches on the victory. Mira Mesa ended up owning the final frame 32-20.

Interestingly enough the Norseman were able to stay in the game despite the fact they shot an uncharacteristic 3-24 from 3-point range and from the field they shot 21-62.

Leading the Norseman in scoring was JACOB HAMMETT with 28 points including 10-11 from the charity stripe, as well as COLE HENDERSON who scored 19 points including 8-9 from the foul line. JAKE BASSETTE along with his 10 points tallied seven rebounds.

Valhalla: Jacob Hammett 28 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Cole Henderson 19 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Jake Bassette 10 (9 reb, 2 stl), Trey Schimke 4 (6 reb, 1 stl), John Murad (7 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Nathan Yousif (1 reb, 3 ast), Matthew Sako (2 reb), Carson Baker (1 reb).
– Adam Paul

CORONA CENTENNIAL 73, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 51 — No information was provided for this Under Armour Tournament encounter.

Eagles recover from slow start to move on in Holiday Classic

By Adam Paul
© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-27-14) — In the final game of the evening of the first day and round of the GRANITE HILLS HOLIDAY CLASSIC the GRANITE HILLS EAGLES took on LA MATHESON (CANADA) and after a slow start were able to gain the 66-49 victory.

It wasn’t easy at first as the Eagles started out slow and only led 16-9 after the first period.

Granite in the second stanza tried to get things going but LA Matheson just wouldn’t go away and were still in it at the break only down 35-24.

Granite Hills was able to build their lead and with about two minutes remaining in the third quarter they extended the lead to twenty at 49-29 with the help of rebounding of which they had 38 total.

Both MICHAEL LEDESMA and CAMERON SPITZER snagged 10 rebounds for Granite Hills. DAVID SETTERBERG led the Eagles with 19 points, including three 3-pointers, while ANTONIO READ added 10.

Granite Hills: David Setterberg 16 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk), Antonio Read 10 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Chris Diaz 8 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Ryan Kelly 7 (6 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Cameron Spitzer 7 (10 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Frankie Lucatuorto 7 (3 reb), Michael Ledesma 5 (10 reb, 3 ast, Erin Swinson 4 (1 stl, 1 blk), Wyatt Mason 2 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Noor Noory (1 reb), 2 blk), Dominic Sudo-Hooper (1 reb).

MOUNT MIGUEL 65, HILLTOP 58 — The Matadors took a 25-8 first quarter lead in Saturday’s (Dec. 26) Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery, and took a 41-24 halftime lead that they wouldn’t relinquish, even though Hilltop made a run in the fourth quarter.

"We were up by 19 in the fourth quarter and let them come back a little bit," said Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT. "This was our best game of the year defensively – right from the tipoff. Everybody from top to bottom was playing defense."

DONNELL PAYNE paced the Matadors with 30 points and 8 rebounds, while DARIAN NORWOOD hauled down nine rebounds.

Mount Miguel: Donnell Payne 30 (8 reb, 1 ast), Ricky Harvey 9 (2 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Nathaniel Gilbert 7 (5 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Darian Norwood 6 (9 reb, 1 stl), Trevon Allen 4 (3 reb, 1 ast), Gary Haskins 3 (7 reb), Trannell Hudson 2 (1 reb, 1 ast), Taj Tucker (5 ast), Cesar Sigala (1 reb).

VALHALLA 85, POINT LOMA 57 — The Valhalla Norseman easily defeated the Point Loma Pointers 85-57 in Saturday’s (Dec. 26) first round of the Granite Hills Holiday Classic. The Pointers were able to keep the game close for about a quarter only trailing 21-16 after one.

The second quarter was a different story as Valhalla decided to put it into a different gear and clamp down on defense en route to a 25-8 advantage and take a 46-28 lead into the locker-room at halftime.

By the end of the third stanza the Norseman enjoyed a comfortable enough lead that Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON was able to substitute for his starters and give the bench some playing time.

"We came out a little flat defensively but picked it up," Jackson said. "It is good to get a win like this because I was able to get some of my bench players in and also we have played a few close games lately."

Overall it was a balanced effort for Valhalla led by JOHN MURAD who had 19 points, COLE HENDERSON chipped in with 17 points and JAKE BASSETTE with 10 points.

Valhalla: John Murad 19 (4 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), Cole Henderson 17 (6 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), Jake Bassette 10 (8 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Nathan Yousif 10 (6 reb, 2 ast), Matthew Sako 9 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Trey Schimke 6 (4 reb, 1 ast), Jacob Hammett 4 (6 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 3 blk), Jared Sullivan 6 (2 reb), Carson Baker 1 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Christian White (3 reb, 1 ast), Austin Gatus (1 ast). – Adam Paul

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 67, LA WESTCHESTER 49 — Foothills Christian junior TJ LEAF had 22 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and two blocked shots against state-ranked L.A. Westchester before suffering a sprained ankle in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s (Dec. 26) opening round of the Under Armour Tournament at Torrey Pines.

According to reports, Knights coach BRAD LEAF said, "I assume TJ is out for the rest of the tournament. NIKKO (PARANADA) was coming back from a broken wrist, just coming into his own. I’m not sure of his status."

T.J. Leaf said, "We were really playing well as a team. We have a lot of new guys and we were really starting to click."

Foothills Christian: No stats reported.

EL CAJON VALLEY 73, CASTLE PARK 31 — IBRAHIM ALI led the Braves with 28 points in Saturday&rsqu's (Dec. 26) Aztec Holiday Classic at Montgomery, while DION DEAN added 17, RONNE READUS pitched in 14 points and RICHARD GARCIA chipped in with 12.

The score was 41-17 at the half and was never close thereafter.

El Cajon Valley: Ibrahim Ali 28, Dion Dean 17, Ronne Readus 14, Richard Garcia 12, Brandon Rumley 2.

LUTHERAN 56, GROSSMONT 55 — Most people would say that Grossmont’s Saturday (Dec. 26) loss to Lutheran in the Spartan Classic at Chula Vista was a stunning upset.

In spite of 29 points by TOMMY RUTHERFORD, along with 22 rebounds, the Foothillers came up short in an upset loss to Lutheran.

Rutherford had a chance to win the game with 1.8 seconds left but missed the layup as he had three defenders riding his back.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 29 (22 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Cameron Henderson 8 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Jeremiah Appleton 7 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Hunter Gaines 7 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jacob Denson 3 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Branik Brown 1 (2 reb, 1 ast), Jacob Niskey (2 reb, 1 ast).

FALLBROOK 46, STEELE CANYON 44 — In a physical back and forth battle, the Steele Canyon Cougars fell short in heartbreaking manner against the Fallbrook Warriors in the first round of the Mount Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic.

The first quarter for both teams was very low scoring with Fallbrook clinging to a 10-7 lead. Both teams defensively showed up and didn’t allow for any offense. The Cougars only shot 2-10 from the field in the first period. It wasn&rsqu't much better for them as they finished only shooting 4-14 for the entire first half.

Despite the shooting woes for the Cougars they were able to stay in the game by going 7-13 from the charity stripe. The score at the break more resembled a football score than a basketball one as it was all knotted up at 20-20.

The second half saw a little offense by both teams as they both were able to put something together. Steele Canyon was able to finally take the lead on a layup by TARIQ TILLMAN to make it 33-32 going into the final stanza. The fourth period like the previous three went back and forth up to the buzzer.

It was all knotted up at 44-44 and the Cougars were hoping to get the stop so the game would head into overtime, but the Warriors had other ideas. Fallbrook had called timeout and inbounded the ball at about midcourt. The ball handler for Fallbrook took the ball and dribbled all the way to the hoop uncontested, taking advantage of the Cougars lapse in defense, laying it In at the buzzer for the victory.

Leading the Cougars in scoring was DOMINICK WOOD-ANDERSON who tallied 14 points while DYLAN HAMLETT grabbed 11 rebounds.

Steele Canyon: Dominick Wood-Anderson 14 (8 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Tariq Tillman 7 (2 reb, 1 stl), Dylan Hamlett 6 (11 reb, 2 blk), Gage Sanders 5 (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Lyndon Newsom 3 (2 reb), Nick Hodge 1 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Thomas Higginbotham (1 reb, 1 blk). – Adam Paul

CERRITOS 59, HELIX 53 — MARCUS NORRIS netted a season-best 18 points for Helix in Saturday’s (Dec. 26) opening round of the Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic, and EISAIAH BLAIR pulled down 11 rebounds for the Highlanders.

Overall it was a fairly balanced offensive effort for Helix but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Cerritos Dons.

Helix: Marcus Norris 18 (6 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk), Eisaiah Blair 9 (11 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Malik Tambwe 9 (7 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Jaylen Arnold 6 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Qrizjiah Mobley 6 (7 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Gary Linson 4 (6 reb, 1 stl), Alex Dumas 1 (5 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Justin Flisher (3 reb, 1 stl).

ORANGE GLEN 62, MONTE VISTA 36 — Monte Vista took on the Patriots of Orange Glen in the first round of the Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic and played a valiant first half despite not having DEVRON YOUNG, one of their best players available, due to visiting family.

Orange Glen was able to take advantage of this in the second half after only leading at the break 25-17 as Monte Vista was trying to build momentum.

However in the third period the Patriots were able to finally pull away with a 21-5 scoring advantage in the period and thus controlling the rest of the game in the 62-36 victory.

SHAI STEVENSO led all Monarch scorers with 14 points, including 4 of 7 treys. SAIYEED MERSHON chipped in with nine rebounds and TRE OWENS had seven rebounds.

Monte Vista: Shai Stevenson 14 (8 reb, 1 blk), Tre Owens 7 (7 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Terry Bone 7 (6 reb), Bo Rankins 5 (5 reb, 1 stl), Saiyeed Mershon 3 (9 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Ray Funk (3 reb, 1 ast), Adam Wallace (2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk).
– Adam Paul

Can it be done?

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-24-14) — Grossmont High School"s TOMMY RUTHERFORD seems to be almost unstoppable. No matter what kind of defense people play against him he is successful.

Rutherford scored 31 points, grabbed 27 rebounds and blocked 15 shots as the Foothillers flattened Oceanside 63-45 in Tuesday’s (Dec. 23) Winter Classic contest.

CAMERON HENDERSON was a steady support player with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. JACOB DENSON also contributed eight points and eight rebounds for Grossmont as the Foothillers improved their record to 8-1.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 31 (27 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 15 blk), Cameron Henderson 10 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Jacob Denson 8 (8 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jacob Niskey 4 (2 reb), Hunter Gaines 4 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Branik Brown 3 (1 reb, 1 ast), Jeremiah Appleton 2 (2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl).

WEST HILLS 61, CHRISTIAN 48 — The Christian Patriots jumped out to a 16-13 lead in the first quarter of Tuesday’s (Dec. 23) Coronado Holiday Tournament, but West Hills made a 21-11 run in the second quarter to tip the scales in their favor.

The score was 48-36 at the end of the third quarter with the Wolf Pack leading.

RICARDO BARAJAS led the Pack with 15 points, while MARQUELL COOL added 13 points and BRYCE PARSONS chipped in with 12.

THOMAS REANEY snagged 11 rebounds for West Hills.

"We had a pretty good first quarter," said Christian assistant coach TIM BROWN. "Then (West Hills) went on a run in second quarter."

"TREVOR HOWELL had a great start – hit 5 of 6 threes in the first half for his total of 15 points."

TRAVIS BALLARD led Christian with 23 points.

West Hills: Ricardo Barajas 15 (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Marquell Cool 13 (4 reb), Bryce Parsons 12 (2 reb, 1 stl), Thomas Reaney 5 (11 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Issa Ghandour 6 (2 stl), Marco Ovies 5 (7 ast), Kyle Ruiz 3 (3 reb), Miguel Nava 2 (7 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), Austin Alderson (2 reb, 2 ast).

Christian: Travis Ballard 23 (6 reb), Trevor Howell 15 (4 reb), Johnny Paulson 7 (6 reb), Kyle Stowers 2 (4 reb, 7 ast), David Todd Jeremiah 2 (3 reb, 2 ast, J.D. Parker (1 reb, 2 ast).

EL CAJON VALLEY 56, OLYMPIAN 39 — The El Cajon Valley Braves controlled the Winter Classic matchup Tuesday (Dec. 23) against the Olympian Eagles from start to finish.

Despite the fact that the Eagles had more players than the Braves it was their quickness that empowered them to a first quarter lead of 18-12. El Cajon Valley was able to stretch their lead to 36-23 at the break.

Both teams in the third period turned in a lackluster effort on the scoreboard as they only scored five points apiece, but the Braves were able to lead 41-28.

The final period saw the Braves outscore the Eagles 15-11 to complete the win.

Leading the Braves charge to victory was DION DEAN putting up 17 points while RONNE READUS completed another Double-Double in as many days with 13 points and 16 rebounds and also had four blocks. IBRAHIM ALI also tallied some impressive numbers for the Braves, finishing with 12 points and seven rebounds and dishing out eight assists.

El Cajon Valley: Dion Dean 17 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Ronne Readus 13 (16 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, blk 4), Ibrahim Ali 12 (7 reb, 8 ast, 1 stl), Richard Garcia 6, Brandon Rumley 4 (9 reb, 1 stl), Demaje Hodges 4 (7 reb, 1 ast), Ahmad Sulyman (1 reb, 1 ast).
– Adam Paul

VALLEY CENTER 52, MONTE VISTA 34 — Tuesday (Dec. 23), the first game of the day on the last day of the Winter Classic at Cuyamaca College pitted the Valley Center Jaguars and the Monte Vista Monarchs.

The Monarchs led for the entire first quarter until Valley Center hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to take a 16-14 lead it wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the game.

The second quarter saw both teams trade baskets but the Jaguars were able to finally break away completely by limiting the Monarchs to only four points in the second while scoring fourteen and leading 30-18 at the break.

DEVRON YOUNG led Monte Vista with 12 points, while SHAI STEVENSON added 10 and TRE OWENS grabbed seven rebounds.

Monte Vista: Devron Young 12 (3 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Shai Stevenson 10 (3 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), Tre Owens 6 (7 reb, 2 ast), Bo Rankins 6 (1 reb, 1 ast), Ray Funk (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Terry Bone (4 reb, 2 blk), Adam Wallace (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Saiyeed Mershon (1 reb, 1 stl).
– Adam Paul

HILLTOP 45, EL CAPITAN 22 — What a difference a day makes in basketball as the El Capitan Vaqueros took on the Hilltop Lancers in the final day of the Winter Classic at Cuyamaca on Tuesday (Dec. 23).

The Vaqueros looked like a completely different team in the 45-22 loss compared to the previous night when they came out with passion and won against Olympian.

Nothing went right for El Capitan as they trailed 13-3 in the first five minutes of the ballgame and never recovered. Hilltop was able to stretch their lead to 23-10 at the half. Hilltop was able to build its lead to 37-18 after three periods and in the final stanza hold El Cap scoreless for the first couple minutes to build a 24 point lead at 42-18.

El Capitan: Kade Kygar 7 ( 3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Andy Casas 4 (6 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), Isaiah Capoocia 4 (4 reb), Brian Ballo 2 (5 reb, 1 stl), Michael Burke 2 (1 reb), Devin Dulay 2, Ryan Smith 1 (3 reb, 1 stl), Robby Calloway (5 reb, 1 stl), Jacob Jenkins (3 reb), Bryant Irvin (1 blk).
– Adam Paul

RANCHO BERNARDO 54, SANTANA 22 — In the final game of the evening in Tuesday’s (Dec. 23) Winter Classic at Cuyamaca College the Rancho Bernardo Broncos took on the Santana Sultans and cruised to the easy victory.

The Sultans didn’t make it easy at first for the Broncos, only trailing 14-7 after one period of play.

The second period saw Rancho Bernardo build their lead at the half to 25-14. The Broncos pushed their lead even further to start the third stanza with the help of an 8-0 run to make it 33-14.

The Sultans went scoreless for the first 6:15 when they finally scored their first basket with 1:45 remaining and trailed 35-16 after three periods of play.

RYAN BRATLIEN led Santana with 12 points, hitting 2 of 3 treys.

Santana: Ryan Bratlien 12 (2 reb, 2 stl), Nathan Ball 4 (1 stl), Daulton Barry 2 (4 reb), Anthony Romero 2 (3 reb, 1 stl), Austin Miller 2 (4 reb, 3 ast), Mitchell Miller (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Sage Hicks (3 reb), Trent Baugh (2 reb, 1 stl).
– Adam Paul

Norseman, like most folks, lose in Las Vegas

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
HENDERSON, NV (12-23-14) — The desert was kind to Las Vegas as the Norsemen came within two points of capturing the championship of the Foothill Holiday Classic on the outskirts of Las Vegas.

The Norsemen (7-2) came oh so close to winning out against Green Valley of Nevada, ending the game with a 59-57 overtime victory for the Gators (9-2).

COLE HENDERSON scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a losing cause for the Norsemen. JACOB HAMMETT poured in 18 and JAKE BASSETTE added 10.

Valhalla: Cole Henderson 22 (12 reb), Jacob Hammett 18, Jake Bassette 10, John Murad 6, Jordan Ellis 1.

MOUNT MIGUEL 54, EL DORADO 42 — The Mount Miguel Matadors stayed close on the heels of El Dorado in the first half and moved ahead by 27-13 in the last half of Monday’s (Dec. 22) Las Vegas Foothill Holiday Classic at Henderson, NV.

DONNELL PAYNE paced the Matadors with 20 points, including four 3-pointers.

NATHANIEL GILBERT added 18 points and DARIAN NORWOOD chipped in with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Mount Miguel: Donnell Payne 20 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Nathaniel Gilbert 18 (6 reb, 2 stl, 1 ast), Darian Norwood 10 (9 reb, 1 ast), Gary Haskins 2 (3 reb), Trannell Hudson 2 (1 reb, 3 ast), Cesar Sigala 2 (1 stl), Trevon Allen (4 reb), Taj Tucker (4 ast).

MONTE VISTA 75, IMPERIAL 44 — Monte Vista took on the Imperial Valley Tigers Monday (Dec. 22) in a Winter Classic matchup and despite the game being close early on, the Monarchs cruised to the easy 75-44 victory.

In the initial quarters it was a close ballgame as Imperial only trailed 16-8 after the first period.

However in the second period the Monarchs went on an 11-0 run and stretched their lead to 29-12 which they never relinquished.

The Monte Vista offense was balanced and heavy on double digit scoring. DEVRON YOUNG poured in 12 points, TRE OWENS added 11, RAY FUNK chipped in with 11, ADAM WALLACE tossed in 11 and SAIYEED MERSHON contributed 10.

The Monarchs’ defense caused chaos as they created 23 steals and also were able to grab 35 total boards as well. Every player who stepped onto the court pretty much scored or got into the stat book.

Monte Vista: Devron Young 12 (4 reb, 5 ast, 7 stl, 1 blk), Tre Owens 11 (2 reb, 2 ast, 7 stl, 1 blk), Ray Funk 11 (7 reb, 2 ast, 6 stl), Adam Wallace 11 (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Saiyeed Mershon 10 (3 reb, 3 stl), Bo Rankins 6 (7 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), Terry Bone 6 (5 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk), Shai Stevenson 6 (4 reb, 2 ast, 4 blk), Abdi Hussein 2 (1 reb, 1 blk), Adrian Bass (1 reb).
– ADAM PAUL

EL CAPITAN 65, OLYMPIAN 50 — In one of the most interesting games recently El Capitan took on Olympian in a Winter Classic matchup at Cuyamaca College and came out on top.

The game itself was quite interesting as Olympian only led 12-8 after the first period. It was in the second period where things heated up as El Capitan went on a monster run of 17-1 and held Olympian scoreless for the final 3:30 of the half to take a 36-20 advantage into the break.

The Vaqueros, thanks in part to their run in the second period rolled up a 28-8 advantage.

To start the second half Olympian, like El Capitan, had a move up their sleeve. They were able to go on a 12-0 advantage to pull with four at 36-32 with 5:40 remaining in the third period. By the end of the third the once mighty lead enjoyed by the Vaqueros was down to single digits as they only led 45-36 thanks in part to a 16-9 advantage.

The final stanza proved to put the icing on the cake for the Vaqueros as they withstood Olympian and again it was another scoring run that figured into the outcome. The Vaqueros were able to finish off the game and claim the victory using a final 12-0 run and held Olympian scoreless for about the final three minutes of the game.

The victory by El Capitan was a complete team effort led by the big man in the middle ANDY CASAS who had a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards as well as KADE KYGAR who put up 18 points, including three treys and 9-for-9 free throw shooting.

"We played with a lot of passion and heart tonight," said El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS. "It was our first game with our football players back and their energy really showed up. The intensity was higher than it has been this season. These guys are really fired up."

El Capitan: Kade Kygar 18 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Andy Casas 17 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Ryan Smith 8 (2 reb, 2 ast, 6 stl), Isaiah Capoocia 5 (4 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Robby Callaway 4 (5 reb), Jacob Jenkins 3 (1 reb, 1 ast), Michael Burke 3, Bryant Irvin 3, Brian Ballo 2 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Devin Dulay 2 (1 reb, 1 ast), Austin Fry (2 reb).
– ADAM PAUL

GROSSMONT 56, PATRICK HENRY 36 — The host Foothillers made it look easy as they smothered Patrick Henry in Monday’s (Dec. 22) Winter Classic contest.

TOMMY RUTHERFORD shared game high honors with CAMERON HENDERSON at 21 apiece. Rutherford also hauled down 24 boards.

Grossmont improved their record to 7-1.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 21 (24 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Cameron Henderson 21 (5 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Jacob Denson 8 (6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Hunter Gaines 6 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl).

WEST HILLS 57, SAN DIEGO 52 — "This is one of the worst games that we’ve played," said West Hills assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG of Monday’s (Dec. 22) Coronado Holiday Tournament contest.

Not to be overlooked, however, was the pitching of BRYCE PARSONS, who was 10 for 12 for 20 points.

RICARDO BARAJAS chipped in with 18 points and KYLE RUIZ brought down eight boards.

West Hills: Bryce Parsons 20, Ricardo Barajas 18, Kyle Ruiz 3 (8 reb), Chris Moyer 3, Issa Ghandour 3, Miguel Nava 3, Cameron Barry 2 (4 stl), Austin Alderson 2.

HELIX 81, MADISON 41 — GARY LINSON scored a season high 22 of his 28 points in the first half for Helix in Monday’s (Dec. 22) Lion’S Club Classic at Sweetwater.

Q MOBLEY added 11 points and MARCUS NORRIS chipped in with 10.

Helix (5-5) ballooned its lead to 66-32 in the third quarter and never looked back.

Helix: Gary Linson 28 (4 reb, 1 stl), Qrizjiah Mobley 11 (2 ast), Marcus Norris 10 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jordan Velasco 9 (4 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Jaylen Arnold 7 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Marvin Roberts 4 (5 reb, 1 stl, 2 blk), Justin Flisher 4 (4 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Luke Holloway 3 (4 reb), Malik Tambwe 2 (3 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Eisaiah Blair 2 (8 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Alex Dumas (2 ast, 1 blk), Dylan Lee (3 reb), DaJuan Roberts (1 reb).

STEELE CANYON 63, ABBOTTSFORD (Canada) 46 — Steele Canyon rolled over Abbottsford in Monday’s (Dec. 22) Lion’S Club Classic game at Sweetwater.

The one-sided game was controlled by DOMINICK WOOD-ANDERSON, who paced the Cougars with 20 points.

EMARI BROOKS added 15 points and DYLAN HAMLET chipped in with 10.

AARON PISIONA scored two points but delivered seven assists.

Steele Canyon: Dominick Wood-Anderson 20, Emari Brooks 15, Dylan Hamlet 10, Gage Sanders 6, Nick Hodge 4, Aaron Pisiona 2 (7 ast), Tariq Tillman 2, Lyndon Newsom 2, Thomas Higginbotham 2.

CORONADO 58, CHRISTIAN 48 — Christian traveled to the peninsula to face the Islanders in the Coronado Holiday Tournament on Monday (Dec. 22), but came home empty.

Coronado held a slim lead of 7-2 after the first quarter but kept the advantage close as they led 20-16 at the half.

Christian (6-2) made up some ground in the third and fourth quarters but it wasn’t enough as the Islanders (7-1) finished 10 points ahead.

KYLE STOWERS led the Patriots with 17 points and six assists, while TREVOR HOWELL added 13 points. JOHNNY PAULSON grabbed nine rebounds for Christian.

Christian: Kyle Stowers 17 (6 ast), Trevor Howell 13, Travis Ballard 9 (4 reb, 2 blk), Johnny Paulson 6 (9 reb), David Todd Jeremiah 2.

VALLEY CENTER 58, EL CAJON VALLEY 50 — The El Cajon Valley Braves took on the Jaguars of Valley Center in the Winter Classic Monday (Dec. 22) in a back and forth physical game that wasn’t decided till late in the fourth period in favor of the Jaguars.

El Cajon led 13-12 after the first period and then in the second both teams scored 15 points with the Braves leading 28-27 at the break. The second half again was a battle but Valley Center eventually broke away in the third to lead 43-37.

However El Cajon Valley was more than up to the task to take one more charge in the fourth but unfortunately Valley Center got the upper hand to start the fourth period.

The Jaguars started out on a 4-0 run to stretch their lead to 10 at 47-37, which led El Cajon to call a timeout with 6:50 left. The largest lead of the game was by 11 in favor of Valley Center at 50-39 with 5:40 remaining.

The Braves made one last charge going on a 9-0 run to pull within two at 50-48 with a little over three minutes remaining but that would be the closest they would come. The Braves scored only one more basket and Valley Center would finish the game on a 8-0 run to close it out.

The Braves were led by RONNE READUS who tallied another double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds, while DION DEAN scored 11 points and dished out three assists.

El Cajon Valley: Ronne Readus 14 (16 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Dion Dean 11 (5 reb, 3 ast), Ibrahim Ali 10 (6 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Brandon Rumley 9 (5 reb, 1 stl), Richard Garcia 6 (1 reb), Demaje Hodges (3 reb, 1 ast).
– ADAM PAUL

SCRIPPS RANCH 60, SANTANA 42 — In a Winter Classic matchup at Cuyamaca College on Monday (Dec. 22) the Santana Sultans took on the Scripps Ranch Falcons and unfortunately came up on the short end of a valiant effort.

The game didn’t start out on a high note for the Sultans as the Falcons climbed on top 11-0, but the Sultans clawed their way back into the game to be only down by two after one period of play at 14-12.

In the second quarter the Sultans were able to gain the advantage and take a 26-25 lead into the break thanks to a 14-11 advantage in that quarter.

The third period was more of the same but the Falcons couldn’t quite put away the Sultans and only led 44-37.

Santana going into the fourth period was feeling the momentum, being down by only seven despite having fewer players than Scripps Ranch. Unfortunately the cards didn’t fall the way for the East County team and Santana ran out of gas as Scripps Ranch finally put the game away in the final couple of minutes to pull out the victory.

Santana: Ryan Bratlien 9 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Mitchell Miller 8 (5 reb), Sage Hicks 7 (6 reb), Daulton Barry 6 (2 reb), Trent Baugh 5 (2 reb, 2 ast), Anthony Romero 3 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Austin Miller 2 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), 1 ast, 1 stl).
– ADAM PAUL

GRANITE HILLS vs. WESTERN (NV) — No report was received for this Foothill Holiday Classic at Henderson, NV.

Norseman, Matadors and Eagles take a page out of Ernie Banks’ playbook

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
HENDERSON, NV (12-21-14) — The Norsemen of Valhalla have had good fortune in the Las Vegas Foothill Holiday Classic at Henderson, NV, winning in the first round on Friday (Dec. 19) and then both of their games on Saturday (Dec. 20).

By doing so, the Norsemen have vaulted into the championship game on Monday (Dec. 22) at 1 p.m. against an opponent yet to be named.

In Game 1 the Norsemen trailed Cimarron (NV) by two points at the half but were able to make up the difference in the second half, going on to score 62-54 for the victory.

COLE HENDERSON scored 23 points and 11 rebounds, while JOHN MURAD and JAKE BASSETTE added 12 and 11 points respectively for Valhalla in the first game.

In the nightcap Valhalla enjoyed a slim 24-21 advantage at the half but were able to maintain their composure and the offense picked up against Rancho (NV), handing the Nevada team a 53-47 defeat.

COLE HENDERSON was again the leading scorer, rolling another double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds. JACOB HAMMETT scored 15 points while JOHN MURAD pitched in 13.

G1: Cole Henderson 23 (11 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl), John Murad 12 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Jake Bassette 11 (6 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Trey Schimke 6 (2 reb, 5 stl, 1 blk), Jacob Hammett 5 (5 stl, 3 blk), Jordan Ellis 3 (4 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Nathan Yousif 2 (2 reb), Matthew Sako (2 reb, 1 ast).

G2: Cole Henderson 19 (12 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Jacob Hammett 15 (6 reb, 5 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl), John Murad 13 (5 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl), Jordan Ellis 4 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Nathan Yousif 2 (1 reb), Jake Bassette (4 reb, 2 ast), Trey Schimke (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl.

EL CAJON VALLEY 93, IMPERIAL 42 — El Cajon Valley got the early lead – though not by much – against the Imperial Tigers in Saturday’s (Dec. 20) Winter Classic, and held it throughout the game.

"We started off slow in the beginning," said Braves coach MARTY ELLIS. "By halftime we opened it up. We played good defense tonight. The guys are working hard – they’re starting to get it what I want them to learn before league.

"We’re trying to play defense and trying to pressure the ball. I’m trying to wear you down."

IBRAHIM ALI led the Braves in scoring with 24 points and 10 assists, and RICKY GARCIA was close behind with 21 points.

DION DEAN also scored in double digits with 16 points, while RONNE READUS rolled a triple-double of 12 points, 20 rebounds and 10 blocks. BRANDON RUMLEY also scored in double figures with 16 points.

El Cajon Valley: Ibrahim Ali 24 (3 reb, 10 ast, 1 blk, 4 stl), Ricky Garcia 21 (2 ast, 1 stl), Dion Dean 16 (4 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Ronne Readus 12 (20 reb, 10 blk, 1 stl), Brandon Rumley 11 (6 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Demaje Hodges 7 (5 reb, 2 ast), Ahmad Sulyman 2 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl).

G1: GRANITE HILLS 55, EL DORADO 51

G2: GRANITE HILLS — received forfeit win – Granite Hills’ luck changed for the better on Saturday (Dec. 20) as the Eagles won their first game against El Dorado and received a forfeit victory in place of their third game of the Las Vegas Foothill Holiday Classic at Henderson, NV. The Eagles’ record is now 2-1 in the tournament.

"We took care of the ball better and we rebounded better, and in the second half we held them to 19 points so it was a good defensive effort," said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON of the El Dorado game.

"My two sophomores (RYAN KELLY and CAMERON SPITZER) did a real nice job on the boards rebounding, and Spitzer had a good all around game."

Spitzer finished with 16 points, while ANTONIO READ tossed in 12 for the Eagles. Kelly hauled down 12 rebounds to lead the team.

G1: Granite Hills: Cameron Spitzer 16 (5 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Antonio Read 12 (4 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), Frankie Lucatuorto 8 (2 reb, 1 blk), David Setterberg 7 (6 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl), Ryan Kelly 5 (12 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Michael Ledesma 4 (3 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl), Wyatt Mason 3, Chris Diaz (3 reb, 1 ast).

G1: SPRING VALLEY (NV) 61, MOUNT MIGUEL 31

G2: MOUNT MIGUEL 69, SOUTHERN (AUSTRALIA) 33 — Mount Miguel traveled to Henderson, NV to participate in the Foothill Holiday Classic on Saturday (Dec. 20). They played a two game stand in the second round of tourney action.

"RICKY HARVEY was guarding somebody (in the Spring Valley game) and got hit with an elbow in the mouth. It knocked out a front tooth," Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT said. "We took him to the Emergency Room and they got a dentist who was on call. He put the tooth back in. It didn’t break or shatter, but he’ll be eating soft foods for awhile. He can’t play until the 26th.

"We got into foul trouble in the first game," Rowlett explained. "It was a 10-point game and they went on a little run in the second half. We just have to work on our consistency."

NATHANIEL GILBERT scored 13 and DONNELL PAYNE added 10 in Game 1.

"In Game 2 we played with a lot more energy and hopefully it will carry over to Monday’s game," Rowlett said.

G1: Mount Miguel: Nathaniel Gilbert 13, Donnell Payne 10, Trannell Hudson 4, Taj Tucker 2, Cesar Sigala 2.

G2: Nathaniel Gilbert 20, Donnell Payne 17, Darian Norwood 6, Trannell Hudson 4, Cesar Sigala 4, Gary Haskins 2.

MONTE VISTA 56, SCRIPPS RANCH 51 — In the second varsity game of the day the Monte Vista Monarchs took on the Falcons of Scripps Ranch at Cuyamaca College.

In a closely battled game between the two teams the Monarchs were able to pretty much lead the entire game in the 56-51 victory. Besides tying the game a couple of times in the second half the closest the Falcons were able to get was within one point at 14-15 with about 6:00 left in the first half.

The Monarchs led 33-23 at the half. Things sort of got interesting in the second half as Scripps Ranch outscored Monte Vista 14-9 in the third frame to close the gap at 42-37.

In the 4th quarter with 6:10 left the Falcons tied the game at 42-42 and then the Monarchs retook the lead with a couple of baskets. With 95 seconds remaining Scripps Ranch tied it again at 51-51 on a three-pointer. The game wasn’t won by the Monarchs until there was 57 seconds left to go. ADAM WALLACE was fouled and he calmly went to the charity stripe and sank the shot to put the Monarchs ahead 53-51 and help them finish the game on a 4-0 run.

The other key to the Monarchs victory was their ability to crash the boards as they finished with 39 – three of those coming within the final seconds of the game to keep Scripps Ranch from victory.

Monte Vista: Devron Young 22 (8 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Adam Wallace 17 (3 reb, 1 stl), Tre Owens 6 (4 reb, 1 stl), Saiyeed Mershon 4 (8 reb, 2 stl), Bo Rankins 3 (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Terry Bone 3 (4 reb, 1 blk), Ray Funk (4 reb, 2 ast), , Shai Stevenson (5 reb).

— ADAM PAUL

GROSSMONT 60, UNIVERSITY CITY 51 — The two big guys for coach FRANK FOGGIANO’s Foothillers dominated Saturday’s (Dec. 20) Winter Classic game.

To no one’s surprise TOMMY RUTHERFORD rolled – another – double-double of 32 points and 26 rebounds. Teammate CAMERON HENDERSON poured in 20 points in the winning effort.

Grossmont led 33-30 at the half and maintained the advantage through the rest of the game.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 32 (26 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Cameron Henderson 20 (4 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl), Jacob Niskey 3 (1 reb, 2 ast), Branik Brown 3, Jeremiah Appleton 2, Jacob Denson (6 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Hunter Gaines (2 ast, 1 stl).

CHRISTIAN 62, PREUSS UCSD 45 — The Christian Patriots faced Preuss of UCSD on Saturday (Dec. 20) in the Coronado Holiday Tournament and came away winners.

"We struggled in the first quarter," commented Christian coach BRAD BRISTOL. "We didn’t play very well at all. We had a really good second and third quarter (scoring 21-9 and 24-9 respectively).

"We outscored them 45-18 combined. If we could put a complete game together we would have an opportunity to compete."

TRAVIS BALLARD led the Patriots in scoring with a double-double of 20 points and 14 rebounds, while KYLE STOWERS came in with a triple-double of 11 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.

TREVOR HOWELL contributed 12 points, including four treys, and JOHNNY PAULSON chipped in with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Christian: Travis Ballard 20 (14 reb), Trevor Howell 12, Johnny Paulson 11 (11 reb), Kyle Stowers 11 (13 reb, 11 ast), David Todd Jeremiah 5 (3 reb), Dominic Bristol 1 (2 reb).

HELIX 57, POINT LOMA 48 — The Helix Highlanders came to play in Saturday’s (Dec. 20) Lion’s Club Classic at Sweetwater, enjoying a 28-16 advantage by halftime.

The Pointers drew within three points in the third quarter but Helix managed to hold on for the final victory.

MALIK TAMBWE led the Highlanders in scoring with 15 points, while Q Mobley rolled a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. JORDAN VELASCO scored nine points and dished eight assists. GARY LINSON grabbed nine rebounds while ESAIAH BLAIR pulled down 10 boards.

Helix: Malik Tambwe 15 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 blk), Qrizjiah Mobley 11 (11 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Jordan Velasco 9 (3 reb, 8 ast, 1 stl), Gary Linson 7 (9 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), Justin Flisher 5 (2 reb), Esaiah Blair 4 (10 reb, 2 sstl), 1 blk), Alex Dumas 4 (1 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Marcus Norris 2 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk), Henry Holtz (1 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk).

STEELE CANYON 98, BONITA VISTA 86 — DOMINICK WOOD-ANDERSON poured in a career high 33 points, grabbed 20 rebounds and blocked seven shots for Steele Canyon in the Lion’s Club Classic at Sweetwater on Saturday (Dec. 20).

"He was a man among boys," said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS.

"In the fourth quarter (Bonita Vista) started fouling and AARON PISIONA made 10 free throws in the last 10 minutes of the game, finishing 12-for-12 from the charity stripe overall plus 5 buckets for a total game of 22 points.

"We had four guys foul out," Stephens said. "Bonita Vista scored 23 off of free throws; we scored 27 off of free throws. It was a long game."

"We didn’t play very good defense but we won it. The kids played hard and everyone scored."

EMARI BROOKS punched in 14 points for the Cougars.

Steele Canyon: Dominick Wood-Anderson 33 (20 reb, 7 blk), Aaron Pisiiona 22, Emari Brooks 14, Tariq Tillman 8, Nick Hodge 7, Jordan Johnson 3, Gage Sanders 3, Robert Teo 3, Lyndon Newsom 2, Thomas Higgenbothem 2.

RAMONA 76, WEST HILLS 62 — No further information was provided for this Coronado Holiday Tournament game.

HILLTOP 47, SANTANA 44 — In the third game of the day of Winter Classic played at Cuyamaca College the Santana Sultans took on the Hilltop Lancers and dropped a heartbreaker 47-44.

The Sultans completely controlled the game, leading 30-20 at the half and 42-28 after three periods of play.

The largest lead the SULTANS enjoyed was by sixteen during the third period. However someone forgot to tell Santana that a game was a full thirty-two minutes.

The final six minutes of the game saw the Sultans go into a scoring drought and Hilltop took full advantage, limiting the Sultans to just two points in the final period – outscoring them 19-2. Hilltop was able to tie the game at 44-44 with just under two and a half minutes left and finally took the lead for good 46-44 with 57 seconds remaining.

RYAN BRATLIEN led the Sultans in scoring with 19 points.

Santana: Ryan Bratlien 19 (5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Daulton Barry 6 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Austin Miller 5 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Trent Baugh 5 (5 reb), Mitchell Miller 3 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Frankie Gutierrez 2 (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Anthony Romero 2 (7 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), Sage Hicks 2 (5 reb, 1 stl).

— ADAM PAUL

VALLEY CENTER 49, EL CAPITAN 30 – In the final game of the evening of Saturday’s (Dec. 20) Winter Classic the Valley Center Jaguars took on the El Capitan Vaqueros and marched their way to a 49-30 victory. The Vaqueros, who were short-handed as some of their players were absent as they had played in the State CIF Division III football title game at StubHub Center in Carson earlier in the day, gave a most valiant effort in the first half as they only trailed 28-17. However in the third quarter the Jaguars used their manpower to put the game away using a 13-1 run to lead after three periods of play 42-18. The Jaguars led by as many as 26 points in the game during the fourth period. The Vaqueros were able to outscore the Jags 12-7 in the final stanza.

El Capitan: Bryant Irvin 12 (2 reb, 2 stl), Andy Casas 10 (8 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 4 blk), Kade Kygar 6 (1 reb, 1 ast), Ryan Smith 2 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Brian Ballo (4 reb, 4 ast), Jacob Jenkins (2 reb, 1 stl), Austin Fry (2 reb).

— ADAM PAUL

Readus blocks Scripps Ranch’s chance at win

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
RANCHO SAN DIEGO (12-20-14) — El Cajon Valley and Scripps Ranch squared off in Friday’s (Dec. 19) Winter Classic contest at Cuyamaca College and battled right up to the last second.

The Braves’ RONNE READUS made the play of the night when he blocked a Falcon shot just before the buzzer, leaving El Cajon Valley with the 44-43 victory.

El Cajon Valley was down two points with 36 seconds remaining, and Coach MARTY ELLIS recalled, "We through up something (a plan) and RICKY (GARCIA) hit a three with 21 seconds left."

"We only had three fouls against us."

With six seconds left Scripps Ranch called a time out and their play did not go as planned.

"Ronne Readus got the blocked shot for the Braves and the game," said Ellis. "That block was key – it was huge."

"My guys stuck to the game plan tonight. They really came together as a team tonight."

Readus led the Braves with a double-double of 14 points and 16 rebounds, while RICHARD GARCIA added 11 and IBRAHIM ALI chipped in with eight points and six rebounds.

El Cajon Valley: Ronne Readus 14 (16 reb, 1 blk), Richard Garcia 11, Ibrahim Ali 8 (6 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Dion Dean 6 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Drake Afaisen 3 (4 reb, 1 stl), Demaje Hodges (3 reb), Brandon Rumley (1 reb), Ahmad Sulyman (1 ast).

VALHALLA 59, DEL SOL 54 — Valhalla bowled its way out to a 35-25 halftime lead in Friday’s (Dec. 19) Las Vegas Foothill Holiday Classic at Henderson, NV, and finished with a 59-54 victory over Del Sol.

JACOB HAMMETT paced the Norsemen with 10 points and COLE HENDERSON added 10. They each had seven boards.

NATHAN YOUSIF tossed in seven points, including one 3-pointer, one rebound, two assists and a block. JOHN MURAD had eight points and four rebounds.

Valhalla netted 30 points from the field and shot 30 percent from the floor to win a close one.

Valhalla: Jacob Hammett 10 (7 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Cole Henderson 10 (7 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), John Murad 8 (4 reb), Nathan Yousif 7 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Trey Schimke 6 (5 reb), Jordan Ellis 4 (3 reb, 5 ast), Matthew Sako 2 (2 reb, 2 ast), Jake Bassette (6 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk), Carson Baker (2 reb).

MONTE VISTA 74, HILLTOP 60 — The Monte Vista Monarchs knocked off Hilltop in the first round of the Winter Classic at University City on Friday (Dec. 19).

The Monarchs scored 45 points in the second half with all eight members of the team adding to the totals.

DEVRON YOUNG paced the Monarchs with 21 points, while SHAI STEVENSON chipped in 11. SAIYEED MERSHON rolled a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds, and ADAM WALLACE added 14 points.

"We scored 45 points in the second half," Monte Vista coach MIKE TULLY said, "and jumped on the boards with Mershon leading with 12 boards."

Monte Vista: Devron Young 21 (4 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl), Shai Stevenson 11 (5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Saiyeed Mershon 10 (12 reb, 1 stl), Adam Wallace 14 (3 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Raymone Funk 6 (5 reb, 3 stl), Bohanon Rankins 5 (7 reb, 4 ast), Terry Bone 5 (3 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), Tre Owens 2 (2 reb, 1 stl).

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 71, LONE PEAK (UTAH) 66 — No further information was provided for this Tarkanian Classic game in Las Vegas.

MORSE 71, GROSSMONT 56 — Grossmont started off strong with an 18-9 first quarter advantage over Morse in Friday’s (Dec. 19) Winter Classic contest, but the second quarter was a different story.

"We had a little bit of trouble with their pressure," said Grossmont coach FRANK FOGGIANO. "With four minutes to go we had a 6-point lead . . . then TOMMY (RUTHERFORD) fouled out.

"I think he got tired and when you do you don’t move your feet as well. But I couldn’t take him out."

Henderson, a 6-foot-10 junior center still scored a team high 23 points and grabbed 21 boards. COLE HENDERSON added 16 points for the Foothillers, while JACOB DENSON chipped in with six points and six rebounds.

Morse came on strong in the fourth quarter and carried the victory away.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 23 (21 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Cameron Henderson 16 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Jacob Denson 6 (6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Hunter Gaines 6 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Ryan Shirley 3 (1 ast, 1 stl), Jacob Niskey 2 (1 reb).

WEST HILLS 73, CLAIREMONT 33 — West Hills came out strong and never let up as they conquered Clairemont in Friday’s (Dec. 19) Coronado Holiday Invitational.

"It was a pretty lopsided game," noted West Hills assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG. "Good to see all of our kids get some minutes and produce. Only bad thing was 16 turnovers as a team."

"BRYCE PARSONS lead us again tonight with 17 points," Armstrong added.

ISSA GHANDOUR also scored in double digits with 10 points.

The Wolf Pack welcomed RICARDO BARAJAS, who popped in eight points, back from injury.

West Hills: Bryce Parsons 17 (4 reb, 3 ast), Issa Ghandour 10 (2 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk), Thomas Reaney 8 (6 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Ricardo Barajas 8 (3 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Sahil Alami 6 (5 reb, 2 stl), Cameron Barry 5, Marquell Cool 4 (6 reb), Austin Alderson 4 (2 reb, 2 ast), Miguel Nava 4 (6 reb, 1 blk), Marco Ovies 3 (3 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Kyle Ruiz 2 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 4 blk), Chris Moyer 2 (3 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk).

CHRISTIAN 56, GUAJOME PARK 38 — The Christian High Patriots met the Guajome Park Frogs in Friday’s (Dec. 19) Coronado Holiday Invitational on the peninsula, coming out strong enough to lead 26-15 at halftime.

Although the Patriots faltered a bit in the second quarter they held a comfortable lead from the intermission to the end of the game.

"We did okay in the first quarter but got off to a bad start in the second," said Patriots coach BRAD BRISTOL. "We scored 18 in the first quarter and 16 in the third – that really contributed to our victory. The kids are excited but it’s still early."

TRAVIS BALLARD led the Patriots in scoring with 15 points, while KYLE STOWERS chipped in with 13 and TREVOR HOWELL added 11. JOHNNY PAULSON contributed 10 points to the scoring.

Christian: Travis Ballard 15, Kyle Stowers 13, Trevor Howell 11, Johnny Paulson 10, David Todd Jeremiah 4, Dominic Bristol 2, Layne Larson 1.

HELIX 72, HOOVER 63 — Helix faced the Hoover Cardinals Friday (Dec. 19) in the Lion’s Club Classic at Sweetwater, and came away with a "W."

Balanced scoring as well as fairly even rebounding made the difference.

The Highlanders led 36-32 at half time and the Cardinals would draw no closer than six points at the end of the third quarter.

MALIK TAMBWE stepped up to lead the Highlanders with 12 points and seven rebounds, while JORDAN VELASCO rolled a double-double of 10 points and 14 rebounds.

Helix: Malik Tambwe 12 (7 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Jordan Velasco 10 (14 reb, 14 ast), 3 stl), Justin Flisher 9 (2 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), Esaiah Blair 8 (4 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Gary Linson 8 (6 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Qrizjiah Mobley 7 (8 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Marcus Norris 6 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 blk), Alex Dumas 6 (1 ast, 2 stl), Jaylen Arnold 4 (6 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl).

ARBOR VIEW (NV) 59, MOUNT MIGUEL 31 — The Mount Miguel Matadors travelled to Las Vegas to participate in the Foothill Holiday Classic at Henderson, NV, where they faced their first opponent, the Arbor View (NV) Aggies.

The Matadors may have been thrown off a little by the fact that the game time is divided into halves, unlike at home where they play four quarters. The Aggies led 30-16 at halftime and were too much for the Matadors to overtake.

"We have got to be consistent with our effort," noted Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT. "Nobody is going to feel sorry for us. We’re going to bounce back though."

DONNELL PAYNE led the Matadors with 14 points but no one else reached double figures.

Mount Miguel: Donnell Payne 14, Trannell Hudson 4 (4 reb, 2 ast), Nathaniel Gilbert 4 (3 reb, 2 stl), Taj Tucker 3 (3 ast), Darian Norwood 2 (6 reb), Trevon Allen 2 (2 ast, 1 stl), Gary Haskins 2 (3 reb), Ricky Harvey (1 ast), Cesar Sigala (1 reb).

DESERT OASIS 72, GRANITE HILLS 30 — In one of the low points of Granite Hills High basketball in recent years, the Eagles were smacked by the Desert Oasis (NV) Diamondbacks by better than double the score in the Las Vegas Foothill Holiday Classic at Henderson, NV.

Nobody scored in double figures for the Eagles during Friday’s (Dec. 19) first round of the tournament.

The Eagles will play El Dorado at 10:20 a.m. on Saturday (Dec. 20) and another opponent yet to be named at 1.

Granite Hills: Michael Ledesma 6 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Frankie Lucatuorto 5 (1 reb), Jordan Rogers 5 (1 reb), Ryan Kelly 4 (2 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Antonio Read 4 (3 reb, 2 blk), Erin Swinson 2 (5 reb), David Setterberg 2 (2 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk), Cameron Spitzer 2 (2 ast).

RANCHO BERNARDO 49, EL CAPITAN 43 — The Vaqueros came out hard, running up the first quarter score to 15-8 against the Broncos in Friday’s (Dec. 19) Winter Classic contest.

In the second quarter the Foothillers began to fade a little but rallied to within one point in the third quarter scoring. In the end Rancho Bernard had too much depth and overcame the Vaqueros in the fourth quarter.

"We didn’t win but we had a good game," said El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS. "We did pretty well, considering we only had six guys and we ran out of gas. These guys were competing."

ANDY CASAS led the Vaqueors with 16 points and rebounds, while BRIAN BALLO rolled a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards. KADE KYGAR added 10 points.

El Capitan: Andy Casas 16 (9 reb), Brian Ballo 10 (10 reb), Kade Kygar 10 (2 reb, 2 ast), Jacob Jenkins 5 (4 reb), Michael Burke (1 reb).

OLYMPIAN 62, SANTANA 55 — The Santana Sultans gave the Olympian Eagles a battle, but the outcome ended up with a victory for Olympian in Friday’s (Dec. 19) Winter Classic action.

RYAN BRATLIEN paced the Sultans with 18 points, while AUSTIN MILLER and MITCHELL MILLER scored nine points apiece.

Santana: Ryan Bratlien 18 (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Austin Miller 9 (4 reb, 4 stl), Mitchell Miller 9 (5 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Anthony Romero 6 (3 reb, 2 stl), Frankie Gutierrez 5 (7 reb, 1 ast, 5 stl), Sage Hicks 5 (2 reb), Daulton Barry 3 (5 reb, 3 ast), Trent Baugh (1 ast).

Lots of scorers, just not a lot of scoring

© East County Sports.com
NATIONAL CITY (12-18-14) — Nine Helix Highlanders scored but they came up short in Wednesday’s (Dec. 17) Lion’s Club Classic at Sweetwater High School as El Camino held on the 68-56 victory.

ESAIAH BLAIR scored 15 points, and MALIK TAMBWE poured in 10 points and grabbed nine boards for Helix (2-5). JORDAN VALASCO also contributed 10 points.

"We had a 2 point lead at halftime but we’re just not a real tough team," said Helix coach JOHN SINGER. "We can’t keep a lead."

Helix: Esaiah Blair 15 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Malik Tambwe 10 (9 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 6 blk), Jordan Velasco 10 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Jaylen Arnold 7 (5 reb, 5 ast, 2 blk), Justin Flisher 6 (4 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Alex Dumas 5 (1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Marcus Norris 2 (6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 blk), Qrizjiah Mobley 1 (1 reb, 1 blk), Gary Linson (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl).

High drama for West Hills

© East County Sports.com
LA JOLLA (12-19-14) — The Wolf Pack took it down to the final 2.1 seconds on a putback bucket by BRYCE PARSONS to snatch the 61-60 victory from Bishop’s grasp Thursday (Dec. 18) in a non-league game. It was the first time that West Hills led in the contest.

Parsons led the Pack with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while RICHARD BARAJAS – back from injury – followed with 14 points and CHRIS MOYER added 12 points and six rebounds.

West Hills: Bryce Parsons 22 (10 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Ricardo Barajas 14 (3 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Chris Moyer 12 (6 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), Kyle Ruiz 5 (1 reb, 1 stl), Miguel Nava 5 (6 reb, 1 ast), Issa Ghandour 2 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Thomas Reaney 1 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Marco Ovies (2 ast), Austin Alderson (1 reb).

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 88, CONSTITUTION (PA) 60 — Foothills Christian defeated Constitution of Pennsylvania in Thursday’s (Dec. 19) Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas, Nev. No further details available.

MADISON 67, STEELE CANYON 64 — The Steele Cougars played a close one on Thursday (Dec. 19) in the Lion’s Club Classic at Sweetwater, losing a narrow game to Madison.

DOMINICK WOOD-ANDERSON led the Cougars in scoring with 17, while AARON PISIONA followed with 15 and DYLAN HAMLETT chipped in with 14. EMARI BROOKS added 10.

Steele Canyon: Dominick Wood-Anderson 17, Aaron Pisiona 15, Dylan Hamlett 14, Emari Brooks 10, Jordan Johnson 6, Tariq Tillman 2

Wolf Pack come from behind to take down Firebirds

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
CARLSBAD (12-17-14) — Down two at half time, the West Hills Wolf Pack came out in the second half of Tuesday»s (Dec. 16) non-league game In North County with more intensity and better team play, outscoring the Firebirds team 15-8 and led by five after three quarters, 40-35.

The fourth quarter was a shoot-out as the Pack gave up five 3’s but held on to outscore Pacific Ridge 58-52.

"I thought we played well in the second half but they had some kids that shot it well with hands in their face," said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. "We gave up 11 threes tonight. You're lucky to win giving up those kind of numbers."

"Senior THOMAS REANEY continues to be our most consistent performer, scoring 12 – 10 in the second half (7 for 11 FG'S) and hauling down eight rebounds."

"We got a good effort out of junior KYLE RUIZ as he drew the tough assignment of defending their top scorer and scored nine points himself," Armstrong continued. "Junior MARCO OVIES got on track in the second half as he dished out 5 assists, helping the Wolf Pack’s comeback."

"We received one of senior AUSTIN ALDERSON’S better games of the new season as he scored eight (3 for 4) and had seven rebounds. Virginia transfer junior MIGUEL NAVA is starting to come into his own, figuring his way around the offensive end and helping on the boards (3-rebounds and 2 for 2 from the floor). Miguel played good defense."

West Hills: Thomas Reaney 14 (9 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Bryce Parsons 9 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Kyle Ruiz 9 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Austin Alderson 8 (7 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Marco Ovies 7 (2 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl), Miguel Nava 6 (3 reb, 1 ast), Issa Ghandour 3 (1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Marquell Cool 2 (3 reb, 2 stl), Chris Moyer (1 reb).

CHRISTIAN 54, MARANATHA 34 — The Patriots of Christian High traveled to North County and outscored Maranatha across the board in Tuesday’s (Dec. 16) non-league encounter to run its record to 4-1.

JOHNNY PAULSON led the way for the Patriots with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

The victory was the fourth out of five starts for Christian.

Christian: Johnny Paulson 15 (10 reb), Kyle Stowers 9 (7 reb, 7 ast), Trevor Howell 8 (3 ast), Travis Ballard 7 (9 reb), JD Parker 7 (7 stl), Grant Taylor 7 (2 reb).

TORREY PINES 67, STEELE CANYON 35 — The Cougars of Steele Canyon got off to a slow start in Tuesday’s (Dec. 16) Lion’s Club Classic contest, falling behind 17-0 in the first quarter.

"We actually got some pretty good shots but we just missed them," said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS. "In the first quarter we came out and ran our offense pretty well I thought, but our first three possessions we missed our shots. We had at least five open looks but didn’t convert."

JORDAN JOHNSON led Steele Canyon with 11 points but was the only one of the team to score in double figures.

"I think the guys were kinda hyped up," suggested Stephens. "Any time you give Torrey Pines an opportunity they are going to score. We won the second quarter but we had dug too deep a hole. In the third quarter we cut it to 12 points but at the end of the third they hit three 3s and we had some foul trouble."

Steele Canyon: Jordan Johnson 11, Aaron Pisiona 5, Dominick Wood-Anderson 8, Lyndon Newsom 5, Thomas Higginbotham 4, Nick Hodge 1.

MONTGOMERY 52, GRANITE HILLS 46 — The Eagles of Granite Hills travelled to Montgomery Tuesday (Dec. 16) for a non-league contest against the Aztecs, and came up a little short.

CAMERON SPITZER led the Eagles in scoring with 19 points, while ANTONIO READ added 11 points and seven rebounds. DAVID SETTERBERG poured in 10 points and grabbed 10 boards.

Granite Hills: Cameron Spitzer 19 (1 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Antonio Read 11 (7 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), David Setterberg 10 (10 (8 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk), Chris Diaz 6 (3 reb, 1 ast), Ryan Kelly 5 (7 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Wyatt Mason 3, Frankie Lucatuorto 2 (5 reb, 1 blk).

CALVIN CHRISTIAN 68, SANTANA 49 — The visiting Crusaders from North County cruised into town Tuesday (Dec. 16) to take on Santana in a non-league game. They brought their "A" game and stole a victory from the Sultans.

DAULTON BARRY led Santana in scoring with 12 points, while RYAN BRATLIEN chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds.

Santana: Daulton Barry 12 (1 reb, 2 ast), Ryan Bratlien 10 (6 reb, 2 ast), Frankie Gutierrez 7 (1 ast, 2 stl), Mitchell Miller 6 (5 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl), Austin Miller 5 (1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Trent Baugh 4 (3 reb, 1 ast), Anthony Romero 3 (1 reb, 1 ast), Sage Hicks 2 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl).

CHINO HILLS 84, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 73 — At the Tarkanian Classic contest at Las Vegas Bishop Gorman HS, Chino Hills advances to Round two.

T. J. LEAF had 33 points, while LUIS SALGADO added 17 for the Knights.

Chino Hills led 47-37 at halftime, as it was all offense to start. However, midway through the first half, Foothills trailed just 27-26.

Leaf had a pair of free throws that tied the game at 16-16 with 12:33 to go in the first half, as this tournament features no shot clock. Foothills then took a lead 20-18 a few moments later.

The Huskies held a 75-64 lead with four minutes left in the game.

Cougars cruse to victory at Sweetwater

© East County Sports.com
NATIONAL CITY (12-16-14) — Steele Canyon made it look easy Monday (Dec. 15) as the Cougars crunched out a 51-7 half time lead in the Lion’s Club Classic at Sweetwater High.

The Cougars continued to pour it on in the second half and finished with an 85-23 victory.

Five Cougars scored in double figures.

"There’s not a lot to say about this one," said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS.

Steele Canyon: Emari Brooks 14, Dominick Wood-Anderson 13, Jordan Zampetti 13, Lyndon Newsom 13, Tariq Tillman 12, Dylan Hamlet 8, Robert Teo 6, Jordan Johnson 4, Thomas Higginbotham 2.

SERRA 55, HELIX 51 — JORDAN VELASCO scored 16 points, including 6-13 from the field as the Highlanders grabbed the early lead over Serra 14-10 in Monday’s (Dec. 15) Lion’s Club Classic at Sweetwater High.

Helix surrendered its early advantage by halftime and never regained the lead.

One thing the Highlanders had going was a balanced offense.

QRIZJIAH MOBLEY scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Highlanders, while JUSTIN FLISHER also hauled down nine boards.

Helix: Jordan Velasco 16 (1 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Qrizjiah Mobley 12 (8 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Esaiah Blair 7 (1 stl, 2 blk), Justin Flisher 4 (9 reb, 1 blk), Jaylon Arnold 4 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Alex Dumas 2 (3 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Malik Tambwe 2 (5 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Gary Linson 2 (3 reb, 1 stl), Marcus Norris 2 (2 stl), Henry Holtz (1 reb), Dylan Lee (1 stl).

Wolf Pack hold off Pacific Ridge in second-half shootout

By Bill Dickens
© EastCountySports.com
CARLSBAD (12-17-14) — Down two at half time, the West Hills Wolf Pack came out in the second half of Tuesday’s (Dec. 16) non-league game In North County with more intensity and better team play, outscoring the Firebirds team 15-8 and led by five after three quarters, 40-35.

The fourth quarter was a shoot-out as the Pack gave up five 3-pointers but held on to outscore Pacific Ridge 58-52.

"I thought we played well in the second half but they had some kids that shot it well with hands in their face,” said West Hills coach JEFF ARMSTRONG. “We gave up 11 threes tonight. You're lucky to win giving up those kind of numbers."

“Senior THOMAS REANEY continues to be our most consistent performer, scoring 12–10 in the second half (7 for 11 FG'S) and hauling down eight rebounds.

“We got a good effort out of junior KYLE RUIZ as he drew the tough assignment of defending their top scorer and scored nine points himself,” Armstrong continued. “Junior MARCO OVIES got on track in the second half as he dished out 5 assists, helping the Wolf Pack's comeback.

“We received one of senior AUSTIN ALDERSON'S better games of the new season as he scored eight (3 for 4) and had seven rebounds. Virginia transfer junior MIGUEL NAVA is starting to come into his own, figuring his way around the offensive end and helping on the boards (3-rebounds and 2 for 2 from the floor). Miguel played good defense.”

West Hills: Thomas Reaney 14 (9 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Bryce Parsons 9 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Kyle Ruiz 9 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Austin Alderson 8 (7 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Marco Ovies 7 (2 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl), Miguel Nava 6 (3 reb, 1 ast), Issa Ghandour 3 (1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Marquell Cool 2 (3 reb, 2 stl), Chris Moyer (1 reb).

CHRISTIAN 54, MARANATHA 34 — The Patriots of Christian High traveled to NorthCounty and outscored Maranatha across the board in Tuesday’s (Dec. 16) non-league encounter to run its record to 4-1.

JOHNNY PAULSON led the way for the Patriots with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

The victory was the fourth out of five starts for Christian.

Christian: Johnny Paulson 15 (10 reb), Kyle Stowers 9 (7 reb, 7 ast), Trevor Howell 8 (3 ast), Travis Ballard 7 (9 reb), JD Parker 7 (7 stl), Grant Taylor 7 (2 reb).

TORREY PINES 67, STEELE CANYON 35 — The Cougars of Steele Canyon got off to a slow start in Tuesday’s (Dec. 16) Lions Club Classic contest, falling behind 17-0 in the first quarter.

“We actually got some pretty good shots but we just missed them,” said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS. “In the first quarter we came out and ran our offense pretty well I thought, but our first three possessions we missed our shots. We had at least five open looks but didn’t convert.

JORDAN JOHNSON led Steele Canyon with 11 points but was the only one of the team to score in double figures.

“I think the guys were kinda hyped up,” suggested Stephens. “Any time you give Torrey Pines an opportunity they are going to score. We won the second quarter but we had dug too deep a hole. In the third quarter we cut it to 12 points but at the end of the third they hit three 3s and we had some foul trouble.”

Steele Canyon:  Jordan Johnson 11, Aaron Pisiona 5, Dominick Wood-Anderson 8, Lyndon Newsom 5, Thomas Higginbotham 4, Nick Hodge 1.

MONTGOMERY 52, GRANITE HILLS 46 — The Eagles of Granite Hills travelled to Montgomery Tuesday (Dec. 16) for a non-league contest against the Aztecs, and came up a little short.

CAMERON SPITZER led the Eagles in scoring with 19 points, while ANTONIO READ added 11 points and seven rebounds. DAVID SETTERBERG poured in 10 points and grabbed 10 boards.

Granite Hills:  Cameron Spitzer 19 (1 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl), Antonio Read 11 (7 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, David Setterberg 10 (10 (8 reb, 1 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk), Chris Diaz 6 (3 reb, 1 ast), Ryan Kelly 5 (7 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Wyatt Mason 3, Frankie Lucatuorto 2 (5 reb, 1 blk).

CALVIN CHRISTIAN 68, SANTANA 49 — The visiting Crusaders from North County cruised into town Tuesday (Dec. 16) to take on Santana in a non-league game. They brought their “A” game and stole a victory from the Sultans.

DAULTON BARRY led Santana in scoring with 12 points, while RYAN BRATLIEN chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds.

Santana: Daulton Barry 12 (1 reb, 2 ast, Ryan Bratlien 10 (6 reb, 2 ast), Frankie Gutierrez 7 (1 ast, 2 stl), Mitchell Miller 6 (5 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl), Austin Miller 5 (1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Trent Baugh 4 (3 reb, 1 ast), Anthony Romero 3 (1 reb, 1 ast), Sage Hicks 2 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl).

CHINO HILLS 84, FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 73 — At the Tarkanian Classic contest at Las Vegas Bishop Gorman HS, Chino Hills advances to Round 2.

T. J. Leaf had 33 points, while Luis Salgado added 17 for the Knights.

Chino Hills led 47-37 at halftime, as it was all offense to start.

Leaf had a pair of free throws that tied the game at 16-16 with 12:33 to go in the first half, as this tournament features no shot clock.

Cougars cruise at Lions Club Classic

© EastCountySports.com
NATIONAL CITY (12-16-14) — Steele Canyon made it look easy Monday (Dec. 15) as the Cougars crunched out a 51-7 half time lead in the Lions Club Classic at Sweetwater High.

The Cougars continued to pour it on in the second half and finished with an 85-23 victory.

Five Cougars scored in double figures.

“There’s not a lot to say about this one,” said Steele Canyon coach DEREK STEPHENS.

Steele Canyon: Emari Brooks 14, Dominick Wood-Anderson 13, Jordan Zampetti 13, Lyndon Newsom 13, Tariq Tillman 12, Dylan Hamlet 8, Robert Teo 6, Jordan Johnson 4, Thomas Higginbotham 2.

SERRA 55, HELIX 51 – JORDAN VELASCO scored 16 points, including 6 of 13 from the field as the Highlanders grabbed the early lead over Serra 14-10 in Monday’s (Dec. 15) Lions Club Classic at Sweetwater High.

Helix surrendered its early advantage by halftime and never regained the lead.

One thing the Highlanders had going was a balanced offense.

QRIZJIAH MOBLEY scored 12 points and grabbed 8 rebounds for the Highlanders, while JUSTIN FLISHER also hauled down 9 boards.

Helix:  Jordan Velasco 16 (1 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Qrizjiah Mobley 12 (8 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Esaiah Blair 7 (1 stl, 2 blk), Justin Flisher 4 (9 reb, 1 blk), Jaylon Arnold 4 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Alex Dumas 2 (3 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Malik Tambwe 2 (5 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Gary Linson 2 (3 reb, 1 stl), Marcus Norris 2 (2 stl), Henry Holtz (1 reb), Dylan Lee (1 stl).

West Hills defeats Scripps Ranch in marathon game

By Adam Paul
© East County Sports.com
SANTEE, CA (12-14-14) — In what turned out to be a slugfest – and also a four overtime affair – in the Horseman Automotive-Wolf Pack Tournament the Falcons of Scripps Ranch took on the West Hills Wolf Pack Saturday (Dec. 13).

In the end it was West Hills coming out on top 59-54.

From the start the game was a skirmish between the two teams as the first quarter ended with a bang with MARCO OVIES nailing a 30-foot shot to pull the Wolf Pack within three points, trailing 17-14 after one period.

In the second quarter the Falcons were able to put some distance between the two teams and lead at the half 29-19 due to a 12-5 scoring advantage in the 2nd quarter.

The Wolf Pack came out in the second half making some adjustments and were able to finally take the lead 32-31 with only :34 remaining but the Falcons wouldn’t give in and finished up the third, retaking the lead 33-32.

Behind the adjustments made during the half the Wolf Pack outscored Scripps Ranch 13-4 in the third frame.

The fourth quarter started slow at first with no team showing signs of wanting to win the game but the Wolf Pack took the lead 36-35 with 2:55 left in the game. However Scripps Ranch retook the lead and then, with 2:00 remaining, West Hills took a 38-36 lead. It was tied up at 38-38 a few seconds later and both teams would only go on to score three more points apiece.

The final few seconds of regulation were not without a little excitement as West Hills had their opportunity to win it with 5.4 seconds left but couldn’t convert, thus sending the game into the first overtime all tied up at 41-41.

The first period of bonus play saw the Wolf Pack jump out ahead on a 4-0 run to take the lead 45-41 after MARQUELL COOL nailed a jumper and Scripps Ranch was called for a foul away from the play thus sending AUSTIN ANDERSON to the foul line where he sank both shots.

It wasn’t until the 2:30 mark that Scripps Ranch was able to tie up the game at 45-45 and then took the lead 47-45 with 1:45 remaining. However WEST HILLS was able to hang in and tie it up at 47-47 with 13:6 remaining on Ovies’ free throws. Scripps Ranch this time had an opportunity to win the game but couldn’t convert, sending the game into another overtime period.

In the second bonus period both teams failed to score until finally West Hills broke thru on a BRYCE PARSONS layup to go ahead 49-47 with 1:40 remaining. Scripps Ranch retook the lead 50-49 on a three point shot and a few seconds later at the 1:00 mark Ovies put the Wolf Pack up again 51-50 with his free throw conversions.

However that lead wouldn’t last and at the end of the second overtime again it was tied at 52-52. The third bonus frame saw each team scoring only a basket thus sending it to fourth overtime, which would be ultimately the final frame. In the fourth overtime stanza the Wolf Pack jumped out on top, 59-54 thanks to a 5-0 scoring run which they ultimately were able to finish on by shutting out the Falcons in the fourth overtime.

Both teams played a gutsy game but in the end it was West Hills coming out on top thanks to Ovies, who led all Wolf Pack scorers with 21 points including 3-5 behind the arc and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. THOMAS REANEY also chipped in with a double-double of 16 points and 14 boards and blocked two shots. Alderson grabbed 10 rebounds.

West Hills: Marco Ovies 19 (3 reb, 3 ast), Thomas Reaney 16 (14 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk), Bryce Parsons 10 (6 reb, 2 ast, 4 blk), Austin Alderson 6 (10 reb, 5 ast), Kyle Ruiz 4 (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk), Marquell Cool 4 (2 reb, 1 ast), Miguel Nava (3 reb), Chris Moyer (2 reb), Issa Ghandour (1 reb).

EL CAJON VALLEY 61, VINCENT MEMORIAL 53 — RONNE READUS came on strong to lead the Braves in Saturday’s (Dec. 13) Game On Challenge past Vincent Memorial.

The 6-foot-8 Readus scored 16 points and 18 rebounds for the Braves.

"Readus is phenomenal," said El Cajon Valley coach MARTY ELLIS. "He’s going to be the next TOMMY RUTHERFORD (of Grossmont HS).

"The two people who really got us going were Readus, who hit three 3s in the first quarter, and we started RICKY GARCIA today – he came in with 15 points on 5 threes.

"Our guys came out and stepped it up. We were 40-26 at the half."

Not to be overlooked were the 14 points and six rebounds scored by DION DEAN and the 12 added by IBRAHIM ALI who also grabbed six rebounds.

El Cajon Valley: Ronne Readus 16 (18 reb, 3 ast, 5 blk, 3 stl), Richard Garcia 15 (2 stl), Dion Dean 14 (6 reb, 2 stl), Ibrahim Ali 12 (6 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Drake Afaisen 4 (5 reb, 4 stl), Damaje Hodges (7 reb), Brandon Rumley (1 stl).

MISSION BAY 60, VALHALLA 55 — The Norsemen nailed 9 of 11 free throws but the game was not decided from the circle as JACOB HAMMETT hit 14 points and COLE HENDERSON dropped in a dozen in Saturday’s (Dec. 13) Matador Invitational championship game.

JOHN MURAD poured in 11 points and made 11 assists for Valhalla.

The game was tied at 27-all at halftime, but Mission Bay pulled ahead in the 3rd quarter. Valhalla rallied in the 4th quarter but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Buccaneers’ lead.

Valhalla: Jacob Hammett 14 (4 reb, 5 ast, 6 stl), Cole Henderson 12 (8 reb, 1 ast), John Murad 11 (4 reb, 11 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Jake Bassette 8 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk), Trey Schimke 5 (3 reb, 1 ast), Matthew Sako 5 (3 ast), Jordan Ellis (1 reb, 1 ast).

SANTANA 59, SD-SOUTHWEST 14 — In a consolation game of the Game On Challenge Tournament played at Cuyamaca College on Saturday (Dec. 13) the Santana Sultans took on Southwest San Diego and cruised to a 59-14 victory.

The Sultans made this game a no contest after the first period as they dominated the Raiders 28-4 and ultimately led 42-6 after one half.

The entire second half was pretty much played under running clock rules. Every player that got into the game for Santana scored with SAGE HICKS the leading scorer with 11 points.

Santana: Sage Hicks 11 (9 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 4 blk), Austin Miller 10 (8 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk), Frankie Gutierrez 8 (4 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl), Ryan Bratlien 8 (reb 2, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Trent Baugh 6 (2 reb, 1 ast), Anthony Romero 4 (4 reb, 2 stl), Daulton Barry 4 (6 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl).

UNIVERSITY CITY 53, EL CAPITAN 44 — No further details were reported in this Game On Challenge encounter Saturday (Dec. 13).

El Capitan: Andy Casas 18, Kade Kygar 11.

CHRISTIAN 58, BRAWLEY 53 — No further detail reported on the Tiger Classic at Imperial.

Christian: Travis Ballard 25 (10 reb), Grant Taylor 14, Johnny Paulson 11.

Tough start for the Knights as they beat the Knights for the Granite Hills title

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-13-14) — Things did not start well for Foothills Christian on Friday night (Dec. 12). After a 19-6 first quarter in which San Marcos jumped out to a 9-0 lead before the first bucket by Foothills, the Knights, the Foothills Christian Knights that is, were in need of some offense. San Marcos led 21-14 after one.

T.J. LEAF provided the spark for Foothills Christian with 23 points and 23 rebounds, including three treys.

The second quarter looked promising after Foothills cut the San Marcos lead to four after a three by Leaf and a monster dunk from OMAJAE SMITH but San Marcos countered and things were right back where they ended in the first, San Marcos led by seven, with the score at 31-24 going into the half.

San Marcos reached the championship game of the Granite Hills Eagle Invitational with a pivotal fourth quarter run against El Camino on Thursday night (Dec. 11). That fourth quarter started on a 15-0 run and ended with El Camino sinking just one basket in the final frame. Who could have known that the third quarter would treat San Marcos to the same fate on Friday night. Foothills scored the first 13 points of the third and outscored San Marcos 24-2 in the decisive frame.

LUIS SALGADO had two of his six 3-pointers in the third and a key steal from JAVIER GUERRERO got Foothills into scoring mode. OMAJAE SMITH came up big with 10 rebounds for Foothills. Another San Marcos turnover and dish from Leaf to Guerrero seemed to seal the Knights’ (San Marcos Knights, that is) fate before the fourth quarter had even arrived. Foothills led 48-33 by the time the fourth finally rolled around and they were able to polish off San Marcos for the 65-48 victory.

San Marcos looked sluggish and seemed to be working for every point in the second half. A vast difference from their first quarter performance when they drained 75 percent from the field (9-12 and 2-2 FT). Foothills’ defense started forcing tough looks each time down the floor and limited San Marcos star Johnny McWilliams to 19 points, many coming when the game was well in hand for Foothills.

Foothills heads to Las Vegas and the Jerry Tarkanian Classic next where they will face nationally ranked Chino Hills in the 1st round.

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 23 (23 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 7 blk), Luis Salgado 18 (3 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk), Omajae Smith 7 (10 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Nikko Paranada 5 (1 reb, 3 ast), Javier Guerrero 4 (3 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), J.R. Rivera 4 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, Jordan Starr 2 (1 reb, 1 stl,) Kale Baldado 2.

VALHALLA 86, KEARNY 81 (OT) — Valhalla battled Kearny in Matador Invitational action on Friday (Dec. 12) and came away with the overtime victory.

"In the second quarter Kearny came out on fire, shooting and getting to the bucket," said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. "We did a good job answering. Every time they got a lead we found a way to come back. They were a very physical, athletic team. They would go on a run and we would make one back at them."

"In overtime, JORDAN ELLIS had a huge bucket to start the play. Hammett had a block and two points so we were up 4-0 quickly. Our guys were in a little better condition – Kearny got tired.

Valhalla outscored the Komets in the extra stanza 14-9.

"My kids played so hard tonight," Jackson noted. "I thought they played harder than Kearny. It was a big win for us."

"JACOB (HAMMETT - 25 points, seven assists) and COLE (HENDERSON - 21 points, 10 rebounds) were our big guys tonight, and JAKE BASSETTE (14 points) and TREY SCHIMKE (10 points, 15 rebounds) had big games too, did a good job on the boards," Jackson continued.

"Our bench really stepped up when we were in foul trouble in the second quarter," the coach said.

Valhalla will face Mission Bay at noon at Mount Miguel on Saturday (Dec. 13) for the Matador Invitational Championship.

Valhalla: Jacob Hammett 25 (5 reb, 7 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Cole Henderson 21 (10 (5 ast, 1 stl), Jake Bassette 14 (6 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk), Trey Schimke 10 (15 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Jordan Ellis 9 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), John Murad 5 (4 reb, 2 ast), Matthew Sako 2 (2 reb), Nathan Yousif (1 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl).

HILLTOP 60, MONTE VISTA 52 — Monte Vista took the early lead, stretching out to six points past Hilltop in the first quarter of Friday’s (Dec. 12) Hilltop Tournament contest.

By halftime the Lancers had gained a two point advantage over the Monarchs, with the score standing at 32-30. Monte Vista trailed by 10 at the end of the third quarter and was unable to overcome the deficit.

DEVRON YOUNG paced the Monarchs with 20 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

Monte Vista: Devron Young 20 (7 reb, 3 stl), Saiyeed Mershon 8 (2 reb, 1 stl), Terry Bone 7 (7 reb, 4 stl, 1 blk), Tre Owens 7 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), Raymone Funk 4 (3 reb), Bohanon Rankins 2 (2 ast, 6 stls).

WESTVIEW 40, HELIX 37 — Westview jumped out to a 17-12 lead over Helix in the first quarter of Friday’s (Dec. 12) Hilltop Tournament action, and by halftime had stretched its advantage to 30-18.

In the third quarter the Highlanders could draw no closer than 36-28, but in the fourth managed to close the distance to within three points before the buzzer sounded.

MALIK TAMBWE scored 10 points and had three rebounds for the Highlanders but the rest of the crew was held to single digits.

Helix: Malik Tambwe 10 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl 1 blk), Jordan Velasco 8 (5 reb, 1 ast, Justin Flisher 5 (1 ast, 1 stl), Alex Dumas 4 (5 reb, 6 ast, 4 stl, 2 blk), 2 stl), Dylan Lee 4 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Qrizjiah Mobley 2 (6 reb, 2 ast), Esaiah Blair 2 (2 reb), Luke Holloway 2 (1 reb), Henry Holtz (2 ast, 1 blk), Jaylin Arnold (2 stl), Gary Linson (1 reb, 1 ast).

LINCOLN 68, MOUNT MIGUEL 64 — The Mount Miguel Matadors lead for all but the final 74 seconds of the game, as Lincoln hit on four consecutive trips down the floor to secure a 68-64 victory in the Mount Miguel Invitational on Friday (Dec. 12).

DONNELL PAYNE scored a game-high 28 points to go along with his six rebounds, two blocks and two steals. RICKY HARVEY also chipped in with 14 points, three rebounds, and a pair of both steals and assists. Normally, this would spell a victory, however when the top three players on your squad foul out it becomes a free throw shooting contest.

"We had our best three players foul out," head coach JAY ROWLETT said afterwards. "It is really difficult to win on this level, or any level, when your three best guys foul out. We played hard though. I›m proud of ’em, we just let the game get away."

That is exactly the recipe that baked up in the fourth quarter. Lincoln went 10-of-14 from the charity stripe, and 23-of-30 for the entire 24 minutes.

Mount Miguel: Donnell Payne 28 (6 reb., 2 blks, 2 stls), Ricky Harvey 14 (3 reb., 2 stls, 2 asts), Nate Gilbert 8 (4 reb., 2stls, 1 ast), Darian Norwood 6 (2 blks, 1 reb.), Trevon Allen 2 (4 reb., 1 blk, 1 ast), Gary Lofton 2 (2 reb., 2 blks, 1 ast), Taj Tucker 2 (1 stl), Cesar Sigala 2, Trannell Hudson (1 reb., 1 stl, 1 ast).

— Chris Davis

MISSION HILLS 54, WEST HILLS 51 — Mission Hills got the early jump on West Hills in Friday’s (Dec. 12) Horsman Automotive-Wolf Pack Tourney contest, but the Wolf Pack rebounded in the second quarter and led by three points in the third quarter.

"Another great game, we just came up short again," said West Hills assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG. "We had a chance to knock off a good Mission Hills team."

"We had too many turnovers late in the 4th quarter, and poor perimeter defense cost us down the stretch."

"No RICARDO BARAJAS again tonight (injured), although THOMAS REANEY had a great game for us again with a team-leading 16 points and 11 rebounds."

BRYCE PARSONS and MARQUELL COOL each scored 10 points for the Pack.

"We had a great second quarter (17-5)," recalled Armstrong. "But we let one get away."

West Hills: Thomas Reaney 16 (11 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Bryce Parsons 10 (6 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk), Marquell Cool 10 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Kyle Ruiz 5 (1 ast), Austin Alderson 4 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Issa Chandour 2 (1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Miguel Nava (5 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), Marco Ovies 2 (1 reb, 5 ast), Chris Moyer 2 (1 reb, 1 stl).

CHRISTIAN 49, IMPERIAL 41 — No details were provided for this Tiger Classic game in the desert.

Valhalla continues their hot start

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-12-14) — The Valhalla Norsemen outscored visiting Vista across the board Thursday (Dec. 11) in the Mount Miguel Invitational on its way to a 52-48 victory.

COLE HENDERSON popped in 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Norsemen’s charge.

JACOB HAMMETT added 13 points, four rebounds and six assists.

"Henderson is a tough kid and he carried us in 3-point shots and inside and outside the key," said Valhalla coach KEITH JACKSON. "He wasn’t afraid to put the ball on the floor and shot 36 percent from the field."

"Hammett is a good combination with Henderson," the coach added.

Valhalla: Cole Henderson 22 (12 reb, 2 slt, 3 blk), Jacob Hammett 13 (4 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl), Jake Bassette 6 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk), Jordan Ellis 6 (4 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), John Murad 5 (1 reb, 1 ast), Nathan Yousif 4 (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Matthew Sako 4 (1 reb), Trey Schimke 2 (1 reb).

CHRISTIAN 47, SHADOW HILLS 26 — Christian traveled to the desert to face Shadow Hills in the Tiger Classic on Thursday (Dec. 11).

"It was our first win for our new head coach BRAD BRISTOL," said Patriots assistant coach TIM BROWN. "That’s what made it special."

"We were up 27-10 at the half so we pretty much led with a quick start."

LAYNE LARSON had eight of his 11 points in the first quarter for Christian.

JOHNNY PAULSON paced the Patriots with 12 points and nine rebounds, while TRAVIS BALLARD added 11 points and nine rebounds.

Christian will meet Imperial on Friday (Dec. 12) at 8 p.m. on the Tigers’ court.

Christian: Johnny Paulson 12 (9 reb, 2 ast), Travis Ballard 11 (9 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Layne Larson 11 (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Kyle Stowers 7 (3 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Dominic Bristol 4 (1 reb), Grant Taylor 2 (6 reb, 1 stl), Garrett Neilsen (2 reb, 1 stl), Josh Sprague (1 stl), Jack Mason (1 stl).

RAMONA 67, MOUNT MIGUEL 60 — Mount Miguel’s DONNELL PAYNE scored 31 points for the Matadors in the Mount Miguel Invitational, including four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s (Dec. 11) contest.

NATHANIEL GILBERT added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Matadors and RICKY HARVEY chipped in with 11 in a losing effort by Mount Miguel.

At halftime the score stood at 28-23 in Ramona’s favor.

Mount Miguel: Donnell Payne 31 (3 reb), Nathaniel Gilbert 13 (8 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, Ricky Harvey 11 (3 reb, 4 stl, 2 ast), Darian Norwood 4 (4 reb), Taj Tucker 1 (1 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Trevon Allen (3 reb), Gary Lofton (2 reb), Trannell Hudson (1 stl), Cesar Sigala (1 reb).

Valhalla doing well despite tough preseason schedule

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (12-11-14) — Valhalla has loaded up its preseason schedule with tough tournaments and even tougher opponents.

Even though the early tournament and non-league games will be tough, or even tougher, than their early schedule so far, the Norsemen certainly are building confidence after another win on Wednesday night (Dec. 10), improving to 3-0 with a 72-64 win against visiting Ramona.

The Norsemen rolled over the Bulldogs in the third quarter, after trailing 31-28 at halftime, as they pulled away for a win at the Mount Miguel Invitational.

COLE HENDERSON led Valhalla with 28 points, nine rebounds and three steals, while teammates JORDAN ELLIS and JACOB HAMMETT contributed 16 and 15, respectively.

Hammett did a little of everything for the Norsemen, added 11 rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

Valhalla outscored the Bulldogs, 24-11, in the third quarter.

Valhalla: Cole Henderson 28 (9 reb, 2 blk, 3 stl), Jordan Ellis 16 (2 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Jacob Hammett 15 (11 reb, 7 ast, 2 blk, 4 stl), Matthew Sako 4 (1 reb), Jake Bassette 4 (7 reb, 3 blk, 2 stl), Trey Schmike 2 (4 reb, 2 ast), John Murad 3 (1 reb, 1 ast), Nathan Yousif (1 reb, 1 ast).

MONTE VISTA 69, HELIX 52 — The neighborhood rivals squared off in a Hilltop Tournament game Wednesday (Dec. 10), battling throughout, but the Monarchs came out on top.

"It was a close game at halftime (30-27, Monarchs leading)," said Monte Vista coach MIKE TULLY.

"Any team that JOHN (SINGER) has is tough. It was a good win for us. I thought the kids played harder then they did the night before – and that made the difference."

DEVRON YOUNG scored a game high 31 points, including four treys and 7-of-11 free throw shooting for the Monarchs, and SAIYEED MERSHON rolled a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds. TERRY BONE punched in 12 points for Monte Vista.

For Helix QRIZJIAH "Q" MOBLEY poured in 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Highlanders. There was balanced scoring throughout the rest of the Helix crew.

Monte Vista: Devron Young 31 (2 reb, 4 stl), Saiyeed Mershon 16 (12 reb), Terry Bone 12 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Ray Funk 4 (5 reb, 1 ast), Tre Owens 4 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Bohanon Rankins 2 (4 reb).

Helix: Qrizjiah Mobley 15 (8 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Esaiah Blair 6 (5 reb), Dylan Lee 6 (3 reb, 2 ast), Malik Tambwe 5 (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Alex Dumas 4 (4 reb, 5 ast), Jaylen Arnold 3 (1 reb), Jordan Velasco 2 (4 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl), Marvin Roberts 2 (3 reb), Justin Flisher 1 (4 reb, 1 stl), Luke Holloway (1 reb, 1 stl), Henry Holtz (1 reb).

SERRA 55, GRANITE HILLS 33 — The Eagles of Granite Hills flew too low in Wednesday’s (Dec. 10) Granite Hills Eagle Invitational and were never able to overcome the Serra Conquistadors, trailing in every quarter.

"Turnovers and poor shooting in the first and second half hurt us," said Granite Hills coach RANDY ANDERSON.

"Bottom line is we have a young team. We have to work on our consistency."

The Eagles were led by ANTONIO READ with 11 points and nine rebounds, while FRANKIE LUCATUORTO pitched in with nine points and eight rebounds.

Granite Hills: Antonio Read 11 (9 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Frankie Lucatuorto 9 (8 reb, 1 stl), Cameron Spitzer 4 (6 reb), Ryan Kelly 3 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Chris Diaz 2 (2 reb), Mario Meza 2, Wyatt Mason 2, David Setterberg (5 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk, 3 stl).

MISSION BAY 75, MOUNT MIGUEL 48 — The Matadors battled and got better in every quarter of Wednesday’s (Dec. 10) Mount Miguel Invitational game, but could never best the Buccaneers in any quarter.

"They jumped on us at the start," said Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT. "We had a slow start and couldn’t recover. It’s early so we have to bounce back tomorrow (against Ramona at Montgomery)."

"We can’t dwell on a loss, can’t celebrate a "W,"" Rowlett stated.

The Matadors were paced by DONNELL PAYNE with 14 points and six rebounds, while NATHANIEL GILBERT added 13 points.

Mount Miguel: Donnell Payne 14 (6 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Nathaniel Gilbert 13 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Darian Norwood 7 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Ricky Harvey 7 (3 reb, 1 stl), Cesar Sigala 3 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Trevon Allen 2 (3 reb, 1 ast. 1 stl), Gary Lofton (1 reb, 2 ast), Taj Tucker (1 ast).

ORANGE GLEN 61, EL CAJON VALLEY 51 — El Cajon Valley travelled to North County to face the Orange Glen Patriots Wednesday (Dec. 10) in a Game On Challenge contest.

After a slow start the Braves made a big comeback in the second quarter to lead 33-26.

"We had an 11 point lead at the start of the fourth quarter and lost it," lamented El Cajon Valley coach MARTY ELLIS. "Our second quarters are always beautiful – 22-7 in this game – but we can’t maintain in the third quarter."

"RONNE READUS busted his butt tonight," Ellis continued. "He’s a college prospect. He works hard, didn’t come out of the game, even though he got tired there at the end."

IBRAHIM ALI led El Cajon Valley in scoring with 15 points, while RONNE READUS added 13 and pulled down 20 boards for the Braves. DION DEAN contributed 13 points and DEMAJE HODGES grabbed eight rebounds.

"The coaches knew how important this game was, but I don’t think the guys did. These are the guys that stole our Division IV championship,” Ali said after the game.

El Cajon Valley: Ibrahim Ali 15 (4 reb, 3 ast), Ronne Readus 13 (20 reb, 4 blk), Dion Dean 13 (4 reb, 2 stl), Demaje Hodges 6 (8 reb, Brandon Rumley 4 (4 reb).

HORIZON CHRISTIAN 58, WEST HILLS 51 (OT) — West Hills played one of its toughest battles Wednesday (Dec. 10) when they faced Panthers in a Horsman Automotive-Wolf Pack Tourney contest.

"It was a tough loss," said West Hills assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG. "We didn’t have RICARDO BARAJAS tonight (injured). We came out flat and went down early. Battled back and cut it to five at half time."

"We were up four going into the fourth quarter then things got interesting," Armstrong said. "We had 12 fouls in the fourth quarter, refs calling all the ticky tack fouls."

"Refs have been inconsistent this year. One game they let them play, the other game it’s called tight. Tough for the kids to adjust on a game-to-game basis."

"Regardless we were down 1 with 2.5 seconds to go. THOMAS REANEY got fouled, missed the first and made the second to force overtime."

"In overtime we got seven more fouls called against us….long story short Horizon wins by seven and only makes ONE field goal the entire second half – 26 points from the free throw line in second half for Horizon….tough way to lose."

"Thomas Reaney had a solid all around game with 11 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocks."

MARCO OVIES added 11 points to the Pack’s cause.

West Hills: Thomas Reaney 11 (10 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl, 3 blk), Marco Ovies 11 (4 reb, 2 ast), Bryce Parsons 9 (3 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk), Marquell Cool 8 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Austin Alderson 4 (4 reb, 1 ast), Chris Moyer 2 (1 reb), Kyle Ruiz 2 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Miguel Nava 2 (4 reb), Issa Ghandour 2.

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 85, SAN YSIDRO 59 — No further information reported for this Granite Hills Eagle Invitational game.

Eagles flying high over the Longhorns

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com

EL CAJON (12-9-14) — The Granite Hills Eagles flew out on top in every quarter but the last one, leading to a Granite Hills Eagle Invitational victory over visiting Rancho Buena Vista 65-51 on Monday (Dec. 8).

"We’re getting better every game," said Eagles coach RANDY ANDERSON.

ANTONIO READ paced Granite Hills with 17 points. CAMERON SPITZER added 15 and RYAN KELLY chipped in with 10.

Anderson had special comment for Spitzer, noting "Spitzer excelled with 13 of his 15 points in the second and third quarters."

Granite Hills: Antonio Read 17 (6 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Cameron Spitzer 15 (7 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Ryan Kelly 10 (7 reb, 2 ast), Chris Diaz 8 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), David Setterberg 8 (7 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Frankie Lucatuorto 3 (9 reb, 1 ast), Michael Ledesma 2 (3 reb), Blake Branvall 2 (1 reb), Wyatt Mason 1, Erin Swinson (1 reb).

MOUNT MIGUEL 74, CLAIREMONT 60 — The Mount Miguel Matadors held on to win an opening round victory of the Mount Miguel Invitational on Monday (Dec. 8) by leading Clairemont in every quarter.

"We should be better than last year," said Matadors coach JAY ROWLETT. "We had three guys foul out tonight so we have to play hard defense and play without fouling."

DONNELL PAYNE led the Matadors in scoring with a double-double of 24 points and 13 rebound, while DARIAN NORWOOD also had a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds.

NATHANIEL GILBERT pumped in 19 points for the Matadors.

Mount Miguel: Donnell Payne 24 (13 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl), Nathaniel Gilbert 19 (7 reb, 2 ast), Darian Norwood 11 (11 reb, 4 blk, 1 stl), Ricky Harvey 9 (2 reb, 2 ast), Taj Tucker 7 (1 reb, 1 ast), Trevon Allen 4 (1 reb, 2 stl), Trannell Hudson (1 ast, 1 stl).

VALHALLA 79, SWEETWATER 73 — The Valhalla Norsemen won a high-scoring affair from previously undefeated Sweetwater in the opening round of the Mount Miguel Invitational Monday (Dec. 8) at Mount Miguel.

JORDAN ELLIS paced the Norsemen with a triple-double of 17 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists.

COLE HENDERSON also rolled a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds, as did JACOB HAMMETT with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

JAKE BASSETTE was big on the boards with 11 rebounds.

Valhalla: Jordan Ellis 17 (10 reb, 12 ast, 1 stl), Cole Henderson 15 (14 reb, 4 blk), Jacob Hammett 14 (10 reb, 6 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Matthew Sako 9, John Murad 8 (7 reb), Jake Bassette 6 (11 reb, 3 blk), Nathan Yousif 6 (2 reb, 1 stl), Trey Schimke 4.

LA JOLLA 66, EL CAPITAN 45 — The La Jolla Vikings came over the hill and pounded on El Capitan in Monday’s (Dec. 8) Game on Challenge action.

El Capitan led in the first quarter but the Vaqueros offense faded after that – trailing 30-5 in the second quarter – even though they raised a small rally in the final two quarters. It wasn’t enough.

"We just did not play in the second quarter," said Vaqueros coach JASON CAVAZOS, referring to the lop-sided second quarter.

"We got out-rebounded, and we got in foul trouble – our two big guys both got in foul trouble."

"We have to play as a team and rebound as a team. We have to play hard – we didn’t play hard in the second quarter. We’re still playing shorthanded (with several team members on the CIF championship football team)."

ANDY CASAS led the scoring for the Vaqueros with a double-double of 26 points and 11 rebounds.

El Capitan: Andy Casas 26 (11 reb, 2 ast), Bryant Irvin 6 (2 reb, 1 ast), Kade Kygar 5 (4 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Brian Ballo 2 (5 reb, 1 ast), Austin Fry 2 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Michael Burke (1 reb).

MADISON 65, SANTANA 55 — The Santana Sultans made a good run at it but came away the loser in Monday’s (Dec. 8) non-league game against the Madison Warhawks in Santee.

RYAN BRATLIEN led the Sultans in scoring with 21 points, and SAGE HICKS tossed in 14 points for Santana.

Santana: Ryan Bratlien 21 (5 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Sage Hicks 14 (1 reb, 1 ast), Trent Baugh 6 (1 reb), Frankie Gutierrez 4 ( 3 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Austin Miller 4 (5 reb, 5 ast, 1 stl), Daulton Barry 2 (7 reb), Anthony Romero (3 reb, 1 st).

Steele Canyon enjoys the Wine Country

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com

CHULA VISTA (12-7-14) — Steele Canyon traveled to Napa Valley and wound up taking the Wine Valley Classic championship for the second year in a row, defeating Buchanan of Clovis 70-63 in double overtime.

"We came out kind of sluggish (trailing by 8 points after the first quarter) but came back," said Cougars coach DEREK STEPHENS. "It was a successful trip and the kids had a great time. We won the tournament last year, and this year the teams were more competitive."

"With 10 seconds left we called a time out and ran a play and GAGE SANDERS hit a 3 to put the game into overtime," Stephens said. "In the first OT we were trailing by 2 points then would go ahead by 2. Then Sanders had an assist to DOM WOOD-ANDERSON and he scored a bucket and got fouled with 20 seconds left. He missed the free throw, which put us into the second OT."

"In the second OT we had a couple of steals and Dom had a layup, then NICK HODGE had a layup and from there we were in the driver’s seat."

Steele Canyon: Dominick Wood-Anderson 22, Dylan Hamlett 12, Emari Brooks 9, Gage Sanders 9, Aaron Pisiona 7, Jordan Johnson 3, Nick Hodge 2, Tariq Tillman 2, Thomas Higginbotham 2.

GROSSMONT 49, MIRA MESA 34 — The Foothillers of Grossmont High dribbled their way to the championship of the Eagle Classic at Olympian High victory over the Marauders of Mira Mesa High.

It wasn’t an easy task to accomplish for Grossmont as they only led 16-8 after the first period and extended their lead to 25-12 at the half.

"After a slow start we started to put our game together. We’ve played better but never as well as today," Foothillers coach FRANK FOGGIANO said.

The Foothillers were able to achieve the crowning victory behind the efforts of many players who each contributed in their own way including HUNTER GAINES who had 3 rebounds along with his four points and his multiple assists.

Besides GAINES another contributor to the crown was JACOB DENSON who finished the night with seven rebounds along with his four assists and four points.

As usual the big man in the middle, TOMMY RUTHERFORD cashed in with another double-double polishing off a fantastic tournament with 26 points which included an 8-10 effort from foul line and 21 rebounds.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 26 (21 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Jeremiah Appleton 5 (1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Jacob Denson 4 (7 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Hunter Gaines 4 (3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Branik Brown 3 (1 reb), Cameron Henderson 3 (4 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl).
– Adam Paul

HELIX 46, EASTLAKE 39 — Helix has won their first two games of the season in the Hilltop Tournament, landing their last one on Saturday (Dec. 6) over Eastlake at Hilltop High.

QRZJIAH MOBLEY led the Highlanders in scoring with 15 points, seven rebounds and five steals. GARY LINSON grabbed seven rebounds for Helix.

The rest of the squad turned in balanced scoring.

The Highlanders trailed by two points at halftime and eight points by the end of the third quarter. But in the final quarter Helix rallied to take the lead and kept it.

Helix: Qrizjiah Mobley 15 (7 reb, 2 ast, 5 stl, 1 blk), Jordan Velasco 6 (1 reb, 1 ast), Esaiah Blair 5 (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl), Gary Linson 5 (7 reb, 1 stl), Malik Tambwe 4 (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Dylan Lee 3 (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Justin Flisher 2 (5 reb, 1 stl, 2 blk), DaJuan Roberts (2 reb), Alex Dumas (1 reb).

TORREY PINES 66, WEST HILLS 41 — Playing in their second game of the Horsman Automotive-Wolf Pack Tournament, West Hills trailed in all four quarters.

"Torrey Pines is a very, very good team," noted Wolf Pack assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG. "(Falcons coach) John Olive does a great job with his squad and they play tremendously hard for him. It's hard to beat an open division team that plays so well together."

"Our kids had their hands full tonight."

"BRYCE PARSONS played very hard for us on both ends of the floor, and RICARDO BARAJAS led us in scoring for the second straight night," Armstrong said.

"We competed for awhile tonight but this game definitely exposed some of our weaknesses. It was a good test for us early on in the season against one of San Diego's finest teams."

West Hills: Ricardo Barajas 14 (2 reb, 2 stl), Bryce Parsons 8 (2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 4 blk), Marco Ovies 7 (1 reb, 2 ast), Kyle Ruiz 5 (4 reb, 1 stl), Miguel Nava 4 (1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Austin Alderson 2 (4 reb, 1 ast), Thomas Reaney 1 (3 reb, 1 ast), Marquell Cool (1 reb, 2 stl), Chris Moyer (2 reb), Issa Ghandour (1 reb), Sahil Alami (1 reb).

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 72, POWAY 35 — No further information was reported for this Granite Hills Eagle Invitational game.

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 30, Nikko Paranada 12, Omajae Smith 10, Luis Salgado 10.

MONTE VISTA 87, HOOVER 61 — No further information was reported for this Hilltop Tournament game.

Monte Vista: Devron Young 23, Saiyeed Mershon 20, Bohanon Rankins 14, Terry Bone 11.

Cougars listening to the Eagles as they take down the Jaguars

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com

NAPA (12-6-14) — Visiting Vallejo Bethel took Steele Canyon to the limit in Friday’s (Dec. 5) tournament game in Napa before the Cougars claimed a 57-56 victory.

DOMINICK WOOD-ANDERSON paced Steele Canyon with 19 points and 11 rebounds, including three 3-pointers.

DYLAN HAMLETT punched in 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Cougars.

Steele Canyon will face Clovis Buchanan on Saturday (Dec. 6) to close out the tournament.

Steele Canyon: Dominick Wood-Anderson 19 (11 reb), Dylan Hamlett 15 (12 reb), Jordan Johnson 9, Emari Brooks 7, Aaron Pisiona 3, Gage Sanders 3, Lyndon Newsom 1.

GROSSMONT 62, DEL NORTE 33 — Grossmont dribbled into the Eagle Classic semifinals at Olympian Friday (Dec. 5), moving the Foothillers into the championship game of the tournament on Saturday when they will face Mira Mesa.

CAMERON HENDERSON directed the Foothillers attack with 12 points and 10 assists, while TOMMY RUTHERFORD led the team in scoring with 19 points and 23 rebounds and HUNTER GAINES contributed 12 points.

"Henderson played point guard tonight and threw a lot of really good back door layups," said Foothillers coach FRANK FOGGIANO. "We run a motion offense so different people are in different spots."

"I thought JACOB DENSON rebounded very well tonight (11 boards)," he added.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 19 (23 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Cameron Henderson 12 (4 reb, 10 ast, 3 stl), Hunter Gaines 12 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Thomas Ferri 6 (4 reb), Jeremiah Appleton 5 (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jacob Denson 4 (11 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Branik Brown 2 (2 reb, 1 stl), Jacob Niskey 2 (2 reb).

HELIX 57, HILLTOP 45 — Helix rolled over Hilltop in the Hilltop Tournament Friday (Dec. 5) as MALIK TAMBWE led with 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and four blocks.

QRIZJIAH MOBLEY grabbed nine rebounds, while the rest of the scoring was balanced.

Hilltop led 28-25 at the half but Helix picked up their game in the third quarter and finished strong.

Helix: Malik Tambwe 12 (7 reb, 3 ast, 4 blk, 2 stl), Qrizjiah Mobley 8 (9 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Justin Flisher 9 (6 reb, 1 blk), Jordan Velasco 8 (2 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl), Esaiah Blair 8 (6 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Alex Dumas 4 (4 ast, 2 blk), Gary Linson 4 (1 reb, 1 stl), Marvin Roberts 2 (2 blk), Dylan Lee 2 (2 reb), Henry Holtz (2 reb).

EL CAJON VALLEY 57, UNIVERSITY CITY 34 — El Cajon Valley led University City in all but the third quarter of Friday’s (Dec. 5) Game On Challenge contest, only trailing by one point in that stanza.

"RONNE READUS was huge for us tonight," said Braves coach MARTY ELLIS. "He really protected the paint – protected our home base. He just now is getting out of his shell. This is his first year being on varsity."

RICHARD GARCIA rolled a double-double of 13 points and 14 rebounds plus four blocks for the Braves, while SYON HICKS popped in 11 points and IBRAHIM ALI added 10.

"University ran a small zone. I think my guys came out playing defense tonight. We came out ready to play," Ellis added.

El Cajon Valley: Richard Garcia 13 (14 reb, 4 blk, 1 stl), Syon Hicks 11 (5 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl), Ibrahim Ali 10 (5 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl), Dion Dean 8 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Brandon Rumley 7 (3 reb), Damaje Hodges 2 (3 reb, 1 stl), Drake Afaisen (5 reb, 3 stl), Ahmad Sulyman (2 ast).

WEST HILLS 57, PATRICK HENRY 42 — West Hills came on strong in their first game of the Horsman Automotive-Wolf Pack Tournament on Friday (Dec. 5), leading in every quarter but the last.

"I don’t think anyone expected us to win by as much as we did," noted West Hills assistant coach LUCAS ARMSTRONG. "We held them to single digits in the first three quarters."

"RICARDO BARAJAS led us in scoring with 10 of 12 field goals," he added.

Barajas finished with 25 points to lead the Wolf Pack, while the rest of the team contributed with enough firepower to help claim the victory.

West Hills: Ricardo Barajas 25 (4 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl), Austin Alderson 9 (4 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk), Chris Moyer 6 (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Marco Ovies 5 (5 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl), Thomas Reaney 4 (7 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk), Issa Ghandour 3 (2 stl), Kyle Ruiz 3 (2 reb), Sahil Alami 2 (1 reb, 1 ast), Miguel Nava (5 reb, 1 blk), Bryce Parsons (4 reb, 1 ast), Marquell Cool (1 reb).

EL CAPITAN 66, SD-SOUTHWEST 24 — ANDY CASAS rolled a double-double of 29 points and 13 rebounds for the Vaqueros in Friday’s (Dec. 5) Game On Challenge contest. BRIAN BALLO also had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

KADE KYGAR, playing with a probable broken pinkie finger, still managed to toss in eight points and grab six rebounds, make three assists and grab five steals.

"We were better than they were," said El Capitan coach JASON CAVAZOS. "We did what we were expected to do. We try to get better every single game but lop-sided games are hard to get better on."

El Capitan: Andy Casas 29 (13 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Brian Ballo 16 (11 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Kade Kygar 8 (6 reb, 5 ast, 5 stl), Bryant Irvin 7 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Austin Fry 4 (4 reb, 1 ast), Jacob Jenkins 2 (2 reb), James Stevens (1 reb, 2 ast).

ARMY-NAVY 82, MONTE VISTA 45 — Top 10 ranked Army-Navy overpowered Monte Vista in the Hilltop Tournament on Friday (Dec. 5) with apparent ease. However an injury to the Monarchs’ point guard ADAM WALLACE didn’t help Monte Vista’s cause.

"Army-Navy is a real big team with a strong defense – they’re ranked in the Top 10," said Monte Vista coach MIKE TULLY. "It’s early in the season and our intensity isn’t here as it should be yet. We just didn’t shoot at a high percentage tonight."

"Our point guard Adam Wallace slipped and hurt himself midway through the second quarter. That hurt us. We needed a game like this so we can figure out what it is like to play a good team early."

DEVRON YOUNG led the Monarchs in scoring with 23 points.

Monte Vista: Devron Young 23 (2 reb, 2 ast), Adam Wallace 6 (2 ast), Shai Stevenson 5 (2 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk), Saiyeed Mershon 5 (2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Terry Bone 4 (2 ast, 1 blk, Trevon Owens 2.

MADISON 57, SANTANA 34 — No further details were available for this Game On Challenge contest.

Foothills Christian overpowers Hoover at Granite Hills Invitational

©EastCountySports.com
SAN DIEGO (12-4-14) — This was a very different Hoover team than Foothills Christian has ever run into before. Foothills led from start to finish in Wednesday’s (Dec. 3) Granite Hills Eagle Invitational, with the Knights winning 79-31.

T.J. LEAF had 28 points on 12 of 14 shots from the field including a series of dunks to which Hoover had no answer.

LUIS SALGADO hit 4 of 8 threes on the game to go along with 5 rebounds, 4 assist and 4 steals.

Hoover never scored double digits in a quarter and Leaf played just about 20 minutes. There was a running clock in the 4th quarter as Foothills Christian led by more than 40. Hoover is an Open Division team but there is talk that playoffs for the Open Division will be selected at the end of the year like the Southern Section does, which would make more sense.

Leading 30-7 in the 2nd quarter, coach BRAD LEAF called his only timeout of the game after a number of sloppy passes by the Knights led to turnovers. Foothills then went on a 14-4 run which included 2 steals by Salgado and 3 dunks from Leaf.

This game saw some definite positives including an 8 rebound performance from J.R. RIVERA and a few minutes of point guard play for DANIEL HOFFMAN as early as the 1st quarter. KALE BALDADO had 3 early rebounds and 3 assists in a starting role but took no shots on the night. OMAJAE SMITH was a force inside once again but also sat the 4th quarter with Leaf.

The Knights will need to cut down on turnovers (12) against more solid Poway, who the Knights will face this Saturday night (Dec. 6) at 5:00 PM at Granite Hills.
Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 28 (4 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 1 ast), Luis Salgado 18 (5 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl), Omajae Smith 17 (5 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), J.R. Rivera 8 (8 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk, 2 stl), Jordan Starr 4 (5 reb, 2 stl), T.J. Lowery 3 (1 reb, 1 stl), Jordan VanOmmering 1 (2 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl), Kale Baldado (5 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk), Javier Guerrero (2 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Daniel Hoffman (3 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Connor George (3 reb).

GROSSMONT 65, OLYMPIAN 43 – The Grossmont Foothillers rolled their record to 3-0 as they stuffed host Olympian in the Eagle Classic at Olympian on Wednesday (Dec. 3).

High scorer TOMMY RUTHERFORD, who punched in 29 points and grabbed 26 rebounds, got two fouls in the first half and sat almost the whole 2nd quarter.

“We were rushing things in the first half so we were down by 4 points at halftime,” Foothillers coach FRANK FOGGIANO said. “In the second half we slowed down and ran our offense.”

In a balanced attack JACOB DENSON buried 13 points and snatched 12 rebounds for the Foothillers.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 29 (26 rebounds, 7 ast, 3 stl), Jacob Denson 13 (12 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Jacob Niskey 7 (5 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jeremiah Appleton 7 (2 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Cameron Henderson 5 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Hunter Gaines 4 (2 reb, 1 stl), Branik Brown (3 reb, 1 ast).

EL CAJON VALLEY 79, LA JOLLA 68 – The El Cajon Valley Braves took on the Vikings of La Jolla High in the second game of their pool in the Game On Challenge tournament in front of a semi-packed house of adults and a great student crowd on Wednesday (Dec. 3).

In what was considered to be the best game of the evening featuring an East County team, the Braves defeated the Vikings 79-68 in a game that was highly contested until the final minutes of the last period.

Everyone who attended got their monies worth as both teams went at it back and forth in the first half. At the end of the first period the Braves led 19-14 and at the half trailed La Jolla 33-31 as the Vikings stormed their way into the lead.

The second half started with a bang as the Braves’ sharp shooter IBRAHIM ALI drilled a 3-pointer from the mid-corner to take the lead for El Cajon Valley.

However the Vikings would chip at the lead as they would have their say with the game tempo, not letting the Braves extend their lead to larger than 4 at any point in the third quarter.

When it was all said and done in the third quarter the Vikings would lead 53-52, as they were able to take the lead behind their sharpshooters.

However in the fourth stanza the Braves would retake the lead and never look back. The fourth quarter between the two teams went back and forth for about three minutes before the Braves were able to take their largest lead of the game of 8 points with about five minutes remaining.

The Vikings would close the gap to 7 points with 2:45 to go in the game but would get no closer. In fact the lead for the Braves would grow to the largest of the game at 12 points with :35 to go. La Jolla would go on to hit a free throw and make it an 11 point game, which in the end would be the final margin.

Overall the game was very physical with the officials calling fouls on both teams but in the end it would be the Braves who would have the advantage at the charity stripe, shooting 25-27 for 93 percent compared to only 14-16 for 88 percent for the Vikings.

Helping the Braves shoot the astounding percentage would be the trio of Ali, who was 12-12, DION DEAN 7-8 and SYON HICKS who was 6-6. In fact it wasn’t just from the line that these three contributed the most.

El Cajon Valley: Ibrahim Ali 34 (4 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Syon Hicks 19 (1 reb,), Dion Dean 14 (1 reb, 1 ast, 5 stl), Ronne Readus 8 (9 reb, 2 stl, 4 blk), Drake Afaisen 4 (2 stl, 1 blk).

— Adam Paul

OCEANSIDE 48, GRANITE HILLS 38 – The Oceanside Pirates out-muscled the Eagles in the Granite Hills Eagle Invitational Wednesday (Dec. 3).

The pivotal period of the contest was the third quarter when the Eagles gave up a 20-8 spread. It got worse in the fourth as the Pirates extended their advantage 21-7.

CAMERON SPITZER was the high scorer for Granite Hills with 17 points, while DAVID SETTERBERG recorded 10 rebounds the Eagles.

Granite Hills: Cameron Spitzer 17 (6 reb, 2 stl), David Setterberg 9 (10 reb, 1 ast, 2 blk), Ryan Kelly 9 (8 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk), Chris Diaz 2 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Michael Ledesma 2 (4 reb), Frankie Lucatuorto (3 reb, 1 ast), Noor Noory (1 stl).

BISHOP’S 78, SANTANA 46 – No further information was provided for this Game On Challenge encounter.

EL CAPITAN at VINCENT MEMORIAL – No report on this Game On Challenge contest.

Sultans storm past Pats in second half, put returning coach back in win column

By Adam Paul
© EastCountySports.com
SANTEE (12-3-14) — In first round of pool play action of the Game On Challenge tournament Monday (Dec. 1) the Santana Sultans took on the defending Division IV champions Orange Glen Patriots. In front of a pretty decent sized crowd along with the raucous Santana student section known as “Purple Rain” the Sultans would win an exciting game at the buzzer 63-62.

Making his return to coaching the Sultans was JOHN BOBOF, who last paced the sidelines at Santana back in 1994. The triumphant return was almost for naught as the Patriots raced to a first half lead of 40-28.

However in the second half the Sultans would scrap their way back into the game as Orange Glen couldn’t get it together at the charity stripe, shooting a paltry 7 of 22 or 32 percent as a team. The Sultans took full advantage, cutting the Patriots’ lead to 6 with about 1:43 left in the 3rd quarter and would only trail 45-40 at the end of three.

The second half scoring belonged to the Sultans as they outscored Orange Glen 35-22.

The 4th quarter proved to be fast and furious as both teams traded baskets. The Sultans would finally take the lead with about 4:30 left in the period. The game itself was very physical and the officiating called the game very evenly and the very first team to lose a player via foul out was Orange Glen.

Mike Diaz, who was 6 of 10 shooting on the night and finished with 14 points, was the first casualty at the 4:10 mark. Despite Diaz fouling out The Patriots stayed with the Sultans. Santana took a 5 point lead, 60-55, with about 3:09 left. Orange Glen would then scrap back into the game, taking advantage of the Sultans clock management issues and finally would retake the lead 61-60 on a 3- pointer with 44.3 seconds left in the game.

The Sultans called a timeout after inbounding the ball but were called on a 5-second violation which gave Orange Glen the ball back. However the Sultans were able to gain back the ball after a Patriot missed a second foul shot.

Immediately the Sultans called timeout with about 11.4 seconds left and inbound the ball at the opposite end down 62-60. ANTHONY ROMERO inbounded the ball and was given the ball back, which he dribbled up the court and with time running out he took a 25 foot 3-pointer from the right diagonal side of the arc and “swish,” the ball went in with no time left on the clock thus giving the Sultans the one point victory. The crowd went absolutely crazy and the entire student section ran onto the court and mobbed Romero.

Overall the Sultans shot the ball very well finishing 21 of 43 for 49 percent from the floor and 14 of 22 from the free throw line for 64 percent. On the other side the Patriots shot 24 of 54 for 44 percent from the floor and again a paltry 7 of 22 from the foul line for 22 percent. Santana out-rebounded Orange Glen 35-20.

Next up for the Sultans will be an away game against The Bishop’s on Wednesday (Dec. 3) at 7:30.

Santana: Anthony Romero 16 (5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Sage Hicks 15 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Ryan Bratlien 13 (9 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk), Mitchel Miller 9 (7 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Austin Miller 6 (6 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl), Trent Baugh 2 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Daulton Barry 2 (2 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl).

GROSSMONT 77, CHULA VISTA 45 – Grossmont’s 6-foot-10 junior center, TOMMY RUTHERFORD slammed Chula Vista with a double-double of 27 points and 24 rebounds in Tuesday’s (Dec. 2) Eagle Classic at OlympianHigh School.

In a two-game sweep thus far the Foothillers have outscored their opposition 146-81 on their way to a 2-0 start.

There were plenty of co-stars for the Foothillers, including CAMERON HENDERSON who dropped in 15 points and snagged 5 rebounds, while JACOB DENSON rolled a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Henderson and Denson each hit four 3-pointers.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 27 (24 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Cameron Henderson 15 (5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Jacob Denson 11 (11 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Hunter Gaines 6 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Thomas Ferri 6 (2 reb), Jonah Heibel 6 (1 reb), Jeremiah Appleton 4 (1 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Branik Brown (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Jacob Niskey 2 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl).

EL CAPITAN 60, BISHOP’S 44 – The El Capitan Vaqueros, who played with half of their squad still involved in the San Diego CIF football playoffs, nailed 7 3-pointers to sideline Bishop’s in Monday’s (Dec. 1) Game On Challenge action.

This was no one-man show, however, as ANDY CASAS came up big for the Vaqueros. He recorded a double-double of 24 points – hitting 8 of 9 from the field and 10 free throws – in addition to crashing the boards for 11 rebounds.

KADE KYGAR also rolled a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds, while BRYANT IRVIN scored 12 points and BRIAN BALLOW grabbed 18 rebounds.

“We have seven guys on the team that are still out for football (in the CIF finals) – out of 13 on the team,” noted Vaqueros coach JASON CAVAZOS. “Playing shorthanded is kinda difficult. Bishop’s had eight guys.

“Rebounding is important for us. We did a good job at that tonight,” Cavazos continued. “Rebounds are going to win games for us.”

El Capitan: Andy Casas 24 (11 reb, 2 ast), Kade Kygar 16 (12 reb, 5 ast), Bryant Irvin 12 (1 reb, 1 ast), Brian Ballo 8 (18 reb, 2 ast), Austin Fry (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jacob Jenkins (1 ast, 1 stl).

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 66, MT.CARMEL 37 – Six-foot-10 junior T.J. LEAF dominated the Granite Hills Eagle Invitational encounter against Mt.Carmel on Monday (Dec. 1) with a game-high 31 points and 12 rebounds.

OMAJAE SMITH punched in 19 points, including 11 rebounds and one 3-pointer.

JAVIER GUERRERO added 8 points and 8 assists as the No. 2 ranked Knights made it look easy against the Sundevils.

Foothills Christian: T.J. Leaf 31 (12 reb, 4 ast, 3 blk, 3 stl), Omajae Smith 19 (1-3) (11 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl), Javier Guerrero 8 (2 reb, 8 ast, 1 stl), T.J. Lowery 6 (2-3), Kale Baldado 2 (2 reb, 1 ast), Luis Salgado (6 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Jordan Starr (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), J.R. Rivera (1 reb).

MADISON 63, EL CAJONVALLEY 59 – Madison buried 10 three-pointers and that was too much for El Cajon Valley to overcome in Monday’s (Dec. 1) Game On Challenge contest.

IBRAHIM ALI tried to counterpunch with 23 points for the Braves, who also received 14 points, 8 rebounds and 8 blocks from RONNE READUS.

El Cajon Valley: Ibrahim Ali 23, Ronne Readus 14 (8 reb, 8 blk), Brandon Rumley 6 (1 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl), Demaje Hodges 5 (3 reb, 6 ast), Drake Afaisen 4 (4 ast, 3 stl), Dion Dean 4 (4 reb, 4 stl), Syon Hicks 3 (1 reb, 1 ast).

Rutherford double-double in opener leads Hillers to Olympian tournament win

©EastCountySports.com

EL CAJON (12-02-14) — Six-foot-9 junior TOMMY RUTHERFORD rolled off 19 points and grabbed 21 rebounds as the Foothillers opened the season by clipping Castle Park 69-36 in the Olympian Eagles Classic Saturday (Nov. 29) in South Bay.

JACOB DENSON served up a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds for Grossmont.

The Foothillers will take on Chula Vista at Olympian on Tuesday (Dec. 2) at 3:30.

Grossmont: Tommy Rutherford 19 (21 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl), Jacob Denson 17 (14 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Jeremiah Appleton 8 (1 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl), Cameron Henderson 8 (3 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl), Hunter Gaines 7 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Branik Brown 3 (4 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl), Jacob Niskey 3 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Thomas Ferri 2 (1 reb, 2 ast), Deshaun Hillman 2 (2 reb), Jonah Heibel (1 reb), Ryan Shirley (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl).

Leaf commits to national powerhouse Arizona

(c)EastCountySports.com
EL CAJON (11-22-14) - Foothills Christian, 6-foot-9, junior T.J. LEAF has committed to the University of Arizona and will play under coach Sean Miler.

A Five-star 2016 forward, Leaf committed to Arizona last Wednesday. UCLA, Gonzaga, Cal, and San Diego State were also considered by the Foothills Christian star.

The tall, skilled player had been a target of Indiana University, and he was thought earlier in the process to have significant interest in the Hoosiers because his family is from Indiana.

Louisville also offered a scholarship over the summer..

Leaf, considered a top-20 national prospect, is the first pledge in the 2016 class for Arizona, which also has the top recruiting class in 2015. Jerry Meyer of 247Sports.com compares Leaf to Chandler Parsons and Kyle Singler.

"So excited to have this opportunity!" Leaf said on Twitter last week.

© 2014 East County Sports
Email us: ramon@eastcountysports.com
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2014-15 BOYS STANDINGS
As of 3/12/15 12:30 am
Grossmont Valley League
School
W
L
W
L
El Cajon Valley
10
0
25
6
Valhalla
6
4
22
10
El Capitan
4
5
11
18
Santana
4
6
6
17
Granite Hills
2
7
9
19
Monte Vista
3
6
9
18

Grossmont Hills League
School
W
L
W
L
Grossmont
7
1
21
5
Helix
5
3
17
12
Steele Canyon
4
4
17
9
West Hills
4
4
17
10
Mount Miguel
0
8
12
16

Central League
School
W
L
W
L
Kearny
12
0
23
7
Coronado
8
4
18
7
Christian
7
5
16
10
Madison
6
6
11
18
Point Loma
4
9
9
17
Crawford
3
9
4
19
Clairemont
2
10
4
24

*Crawford received a forfeit victory from Pt. Loma.
Coastal League
School
W
L
W
L
Foothills Christian
11
1
24
7
Army-Navy
9
3
23
5
Parker
8
4
18
7
Bishop’s
8
4
18
10
Horizon
2
10
10
15
Santa Fe Christian
2
10
12
15
La Jolla Country Day
2
10
12
17
Foothills Christian was forced to forfeit their Non-Conference wins vs. Rancho Buena Vista and San Ysidro by CIF-SDS.
Foothills Christian has received a forfeit win from Chino Hills.

CIFSDS RANKINGS

2014-15 EAST COUNTY PREP BOYS BASKETBALL
SCHEDULES & SCORES

STATE CIF FIRST ROUND
Wed. Mar. 11
OPEN DIVISION

(6) Foothills Christian at (3) Etiwanda, 7

DIVISION III
(12) Valhalla at (5) Sonora, 7
(10) Corona del Mar at (7) El Cajon Valley, 7

OPENING NIGHT!!!
Mon., Dec. 8
Granite Hills Eagle Invitational

Granite Hills 65, Rancho Buena Vista 51

Game On Challenge
La Jolla 66, El Capitan 45

Mount Miguel Tournament
Mount Miguel 74, Clairemont 60
Valhalla 79, Sweetwater 73

Non-League
Madison 65, Santana 55

Tue., Dec. 9
Granite Hills Eagle Invitational

Foothills Christian 83, Rancho Buena Vista 33

Tiger Classic
Valley Center 64, Christian 61

Mount Miguel Tournament
Mount Miguel 65, Crawford 46
Valhalla 74, Montgomery 46

Hilltop Tournament
At Hilltop:

Westview 49, Monte Vista 46
Otay Ranch 55, Helix 46

Wed., Dec. 10
Granite Hills Eagle Invitational

Serra 55, Granite Hills 33
San Ysidro 1, Foothills Christian 0 (Forfeit)

Mount Miguel Tournament
Mission Bay 75, Mount Miguel 48
Valhalla 72, Ramona 64

Hilltop Tournament
At Hilltop:

Monte Vista 69, Helix 52

Game On Challenge
Orange Glen 61, El Cajon Valley 51

Horsman Automotive-Wolf Pack Tourney
Horizon Christian 58, West Hills 51 (OT)

Thurs., Dec. 11
Mount Miguel Tournament

Ramona 67, Mount Miguel 60
Valhalla 52, Vista 48

Tiger Classic
Christian 47, Shadow Hills 26

Fri., Dec. 12
Granite Hills Eagle Invitational
At Granite Hills:

Foothills Christian 65, San Marcos 48

Tiger Classic
Christian 49, Imperial 41

Mount Miguel Tournament
Lincoln 68, Mount Miguel 64
Valhalla 86, Kearny 81 (OT)

Hilltop Tournament
Hilltop 60, Monte Vista 55
Westview 40, Helix 37

Horsman Automotive-Wolf Pack Tourney
Mission Hills 54, West Hills 51

Sat., Dec. 13
Tiger Classic

Christian vs. Brawley 58, Imperial HS 53

Mount Miguel Tournament
Championship game

at Mount Miguel
Mission Bay 60, Valhalla 55

Game On Challenge
At Cuyamaca College:

University City 53, El Capitan 44
El Cajon Valley 61, Vincent Memorial 53
Santana 50, SD-Southwest 14

Horsman Automotive-Wolf Pack Tourney
West Hills 59, Scripps Ranch 54 (4OT)

OPENING NIGHT
Sat., Nov. 29
Eagle Classic at Olympian

Grossmont 69, Castle Park 36

Mon., Dec. 1
Granite Hills Eagle Invitational
At Granite Hills:

Foothills Christian 66, Mt. Carmel 37

Game On Challenge
Madison 63, El Cajon Valley 59
El Capitan 60, Bishop’s 44

Horsman Automotive-Wolf Pack Tourney
Dec. 1–15 – at West Hills High

Non-League
Santana 63, Orange Glen 62

Tue., Dec. 2
Eagle Classic at Olympian

Grossmont 77, Chula Vista 45

Wed., Dec. 3
Granite Hills Eagle Invitational

Oceanside 48, Granite Hills 39
Foothills Christian 79, Hoover 31

Eagle Classic at Olympian
Grossmont 65, Olympian 43

Game On Challenge
El Cajon Valley 73, La Jolla 62
Bishop’s 68, Santana 38
Vincent Memorial 62, El Capitan 53

Thur., Dec. 4
Granite Hills Eagle Invitational

Granite Hills 55, Hoover 51

Non-League
Steele Canyon 81, Vintage (Napa) 71 (OT)

Fri., Dec. 5
Eagle Classic at Olympian

Grossmont 62, Del Norte 33

Hilltop Tournament
At Hilltop:

Army-Navy 82, Monte Vista 45
Helix 57, Hilltop 45

Game On Challenge
El Cajon Valley 57, University City 34
El Capitan 66, SD-Southwest 24

Horsman Automotive-Wolf Pack Tourney
West Hills 57, Patrick Henry 42

Non-League
Steele Canyon 57, (Vallejo) Bethel 56

Sat., Dec. 6
Granite Hills Eagle Invitational
At Granite Hills:

Foothills Christian 72, Poway 35

Eagle Classic at Olympian
Championship:

Grossmont 49, Mira Mesa 34

Hilltop Tournament
Helix 46, Eastlake 39
Monte Vista 87, Hoover 35

Horsman Automotive-Wolf Pack Tourney
Torrey Pines 66, West Hills 41

Wine Valley Classic
Steele Canyon 70 (Clovis) Buchanan 63 (2OT)

Mon., Dec. 15
Lion’s Club Classic
At Sweetwater:

Steele Canyon 85, SD-Southwest 23
Serra 55, Helix 51

Tue., Dec. 16
Tarkanian Classic
At Las Vegas Bishop Gorman HS:

Foothills Christian 2, Chino Hills 0
(Lost on the court 73-84)

Lion’s Club Classic
At Sweetwater:

Torrey Pines 67, Steele Canyon 35

Non-League
West Hills 58, Pacific Ridge-Carlsbad 52
Christian 54, Maranatha Christian 37
Calvin Christian 68, Santana 49

Wed., Dec. 17
Lion’s Club Classic
At Sweetwater:

El Camino 68, Helix 56

Thurs., Dec. 18
Lion’s Club Classic
At Sweetwater:

Madison 67, Steele Canyon 64

Tarkanian Classic
At Las Vegas Bishop Gorman HS:

Foothills Christian 88, Constitution (PA) 60

Non-League
West Hills 61, Bishop’s 60

Fri., Dec. 19
Las Vegas Foothill Holiday Classic
At Henderson, NV:

Valhalla 59, Del Sol (Nev.) 54
Arbor View (Nev.) 59, Mount Miguel 31
Desert Oasis (Nev.) 75, Granite Hills 30

Tarkanian Classic
At Las Vegas Bishop Gorman HS:

Foothills Christian 71, Lone Peak (UT) 66

Lion’s Club
At Sweetwater
Helix 72, Hoover 63

Winter Classic
At Cuyamaca College unless noted
Olympian 62, Santana 55
El Cajon Valley 44, Scripps Ranch 43
Monte Vista 74, Hilltop 60
Rancho Bernardo 49, El Capitan 39
Morse 71, Grossmont 66

Coronado Holiday Invitational
At Coronado:

West Hills 73, Clairemont 33
Christian 56, Guajome Park 38

Sat., Dec. 20
Las Vegas Foothill Holiday Classic
At Henderson, NV:

Granite Hills 55, El Dorado 51
Granite Hills rec. a forfeit win
Spring Valley (Nev.) 61, Mount Miguel 31
Mount Miguel 69, Southern (Australia) 33
Valhalla 62, Cimarron (Nev.) 54
Valhalla 53, Rancho (Nev.) 47

Tarkanian Classic
At Las Vegas Bishop Gorman HS:

Long Beach Poly 66, Foothills Christian 59

Winter Classic
At Cuyamaca College unless noted

El Cajon Valley 93, Imperial 42
Monte Vista 56, Scripps Ranch 51
El Capitan vs. Valley Center, No Score Reported
Hilltop 47 Santana 44
Grossmont 60, University City 51

Coronado Holiday Tournament
At Coronado:

Ramona 72, West Hills 62
Christian 62, Preuss UCSD 45

Lion’s Club
At Sweetwater

Helix 57, Point Loma 48
Steele Canyon 98, Bonita Vista 86

Mon., Dec. 22
Las Vegas Foothill Holiday Classic
At Henderson, NV:
Championship Game:

Green Valley (Nev.) 59, Valhalla 57 (OT)
Granite Hills vs. Western (Nev.), No Report
Mount Miguel 54, El Dorado (Nev.) 42

Winter Classic
At Cuyamaca unless noted
Monte Vista 75, Imperial 44
Valley Center 58, El Cajon Valley 50
El Capitan 65, Olympian 50
Scripps Ranch 60, Santana 42
at Grossmont 56, Patrick Henry 36

Coronado Holiday Tournament
At Coronado:

West Hills 57, San Diego 52
Coronado 58, Christian 48

Lion’s Club
At Sweetwater

Helix 81, Madison 41
Steele Canyon 63, Abbotsford (Canada) 46

Tue., Dec. 23
Winter Classic

At Cuyamaca College unless noted
Valley Center 52, Monte Vista 34
El Cajon Valley 56, Olympian 39
Hilltop 45, El Capitan 22
Rancho Bernardo 54, Santana 22
at Grossmont 63, Oceanside 45

Coronado Holiday Tournament
At Coronado:

West Hills 61, Christian 48

Fri., Dec. 26
Granite Hills Holiday Classic
At Granite Hills:

Valhalla 85, Point Loma 57
Granite Hills 66, LA Matheson 49

Spartan Classic
At Chula Vista:

Lutheran 56, Grossmont 55

Aztec Holiday Classic
At Montgomery:

Mount Miguel 65, Hilltop 58
El Cajon Valley 73, Castle Park 31

Under Armour Tournament
At Torrey Pines:

Foothills Christian 67, LA Winchester 49

Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic
At Mt. Carmel:

Orange Glen 62, Monte Vista 36
Fallbrook 46, Steele Canyon 44
Cerritos 59, Helix 53

Sat., Dec. 27
Granite Hills Holiday Classic
At Granite Hills:

Mira Mesa 73, Valhalla 61
Granite Hills 52, Calipatria 42

Spartan Classic
At Chula Vista:

Grossmont 63, Central Union 58

Aztec Holiday Classic
At Montgomery:

Mount Miguel 79, EC-Southwest 59
Vista 50, El Cajon Valley 48

Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic
At Mt. Carmel:

Steele Canyon 77, Monte Vista 57
Helix 54, Del Norte 34

Mon., Dec. 29
Granite Hills Holiday Classic
At Granite Hills:

Valhalla 54, Calipatria 43
Morse 66, Granite Hills 56

Spartan Classic
At Chula Vista:

Grossmont 60, Lincoln 45

Aztec Holiday Classic
At Montgomery:

Mount Miguel 55, Valley Center 54 (OT)
Eastlake 66, El Cajon Valley 51
Bonita Vista 56, El Capitan 27

Monte Vista Christian Tournament
At Watsonville:

Christian 52, Yosemite 34

Under Armour Tournament
At Torrey Pines

NY-Thomas Jefferson 77, Foothills Christian 47

Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoops Classic
At Mt. Carmel:

Otay Ranch 53, Monte Vista 52
Steele Canyon 66, Rancho Bernardo 64 (OT)
Whittier Pioneer 66, Helix 62

Tue., Dec. 30
Granite Hills Holiday Classic
At Granite Hills:

Valhalla 73, LA Mattheson 58
Granite Hills 64, Hines Creek 44

Spartan Classic
At Chula Vista:
Championship:

Grossmont 58, Seton Hall Catholic 57

Aztec Holiday Classic
At Montgomery:

Vista 77, Mount Miguel 35
El Cajon Valley 60, Valley Center 33

Monte Vista Christian Tournament
At Watsonville:

Woodside 47, Christian 40 (OT)

Mt. Carmel Holiday Hoop Classic
At Mt. Carmel:

San Pasqual 71, Monte Vista 70
Whittier Pioneer 80, Steele Canyon 74
Helix 61, Rancho Bernardo 51

Under Armour Tournament
At Torrey Pines

Foothills Christian 49, La Costa Canyon 47

Wed., Dec. 31
Monte Vista Christian Tournament
At Watsonville:

Christian 47, Liberty 23

Fri., Jan. 2
Non-League

Helix 63, Olympian 52
Monte Vista 77, Castle Park 50

Sat., Jan. 3
Non-League

Helix 64, El Capitan 30
West Hills 50, Clairemont 44

Tue., Jan 6
Central League

Christian 55, Clairemont 45

Coastal League
Foothills Christian 59, Santa Fe Christian 42

Non-League
Grossmont 50, Granite Hills 35
Helix 63, Monte Vista 59
West Hills 58, Santana 35
Steele Canyon 55, El Capitan 43

Wed., Jan. 7
Non-League

Steele Canyon 60, Fallbrook 38

Fri., Jan. 9
Central League

Christian 41, Point Loma 32 (OT)

Coastal League
Foothills Christian 53, Francis Parker 44

Non-League
Santana 65, Health Sciences 11
Grossmont 69, Monte Vista 65
Valhalla 51, Helix 48
Steele Canyon 58, Mater Dei Catholic 43
West Hills 42, El Capitan 39

Sat., Jan. 10
The Challenge

At Cuyamaca College
Steele Canyon 48, Kearny 47 (OT)

Non-League
Mount Miguel 87, Hoover 81 (OT2)
Olympian at Valhalla, PPD/TBA

Mon., Jan. 12
Non-League

Granite Hills 73, Otay Ranch 64

Tue., Jan. 13
Central League

Coronado 48, Christian 46

Coastal League
Bishop's 48, Foothills Christian 42
at Cuyamaca College

Non-League
Helix 67, Granite Hills 35
Valhalla 55, Grossmont 54
El Cajon Valley 65, West Hills 57
Francis Parker 63, Monte Vista 61

Wed., Jan. 14
Non-League

Crawford 63, Santana 60
West Hills 82, Otay Ranch 71 (OT)

Fri., Jan. 16
Grossmont Hills League

Grossmont 52, West Hills 46
Helix 51, Steele Canyon 48

Grossmont Valley League
El Cajon Valley 66, Santana 40
Monte Vista 69, Valhalla 64
El Capitan 60, Granite Hills 44
at Grossmont HS (Old Gym)

Central League
Christian 66, Crawford 53

Coastal League
Foothills Christian 76, La Jolla Country Day 52

Sat., Jan. 17
Non-League

Redondo Union 58, Foothills Christian 57
at Cerritos College
El Cajon Valley 78, Ramona 34

MLK Hoopfest
Lincoln 59, Mount Miguel 56

Tue., Jan. 20
Central League

Kearny 77, Christian 43

Coastal League
Foothills Christian 59, Horizon 43

Fri., Jan. 23
Grossmont Hills League

Grossmont 48, Helix 35
West Hills 57, Mount Miguel 47

Grossmont Valley League
Valhalla 66, Granite Hills 35
El Cajon Valley 62, Monte Vista 40
El Capitan 50, Santana 47 (OT)

Central League
Christian 58, Madison 54

Coastal League
Foothills Christian 76, Army-Navy 59

Sat., Jan. 24
Non-League

Mount Miguel at Morse, Cancelled

Tue., Jan. 27
Grossmont Hills League

Steele Canyon 70, Mount Miguel 57
Helix 55, West Hills 47

Grossmont Valley League
Granite Hills 59, Santana 51
El Cajon Valley 56, Valhalla 40
El Capitan 57, Monte Vista 50

Wed., Jan. 28
Non-League

Helix 56, Serra 46

Fri., Jan. 30
Grossmont Hills League

Grossmont 44, Steele Canyon 38
Helix 66, Mount Miguel 60

Grossmont Valley League
Valhalla 62, Santana 49
Monte Vista 71, Granite Hills 52
El Cajon Valley 64, El Capitan 43

Central League
Point Loma 51, Christian 46

Sat., Jan 31
Coastal League

Foothills Christian 82, Santa Fe Christian 49

City of Angels Showcase
West Hills 81, Montgomery 45

Tijuana Orphanage Classic
Mount Miguel 76, EC-Southwest 55

Tue., Feb. 3
Grossmont Hills League

Grossmont 70, Mount Miguel 55
Steele Canyon 63, West Hills 58
Valhalla 61, El Capitan 56

Grossmont Valley League
El Cajon Valley 54, Granite Hills 44
Santana 55, Monte Vista 53

Central League
Christian 80, Clairemont 52

Wed., Feb. 4
Coastal League

Foothills Christian 77, Parker 44

Thurs., Feb. 5
Non-League

Mount Miguel 62, Crawford 51

Fri., Feb. 6
Grossmont Hills League

West Hills 55, Grossmont 52
Steele Canyon 62, Helix 55

Grossmont Valley League
Granite Hills 41, El Capitan 35
Valhalla 62, Monte Vista 58
El Cajon Valley 58, Santana 53

Central League
Christian 61, Crawford 46

Coastal League
Foothills Christian 75, Bishop's 39

Sat., Feb. 7
Coaches vs. Cancer

At Montgomery:
El Cajon Valley 67, Montgomery 64
Mount Miguel 75, Olympian 56
Steele Canyon 62, Sweetwater 52

Tue., Feb. 10
Grossmont Hills League

West Hills 73, Mount Miguel 45

Grossmont Valley League
Valhalla 71, Granite Hills 49
El Cajon Valley 85, Monte Vista 42
Santana 48, El Capitan 39

Central League
Coronado 57, Christian 53

Wed., Feb. 11
Grossmont Hills League

Grossmont 64, Helix 49

Coastal League
Foothills Christian 75, LJCD 34

Thurs., Feb. 12
Central League

Christian 48, Madison 44

Fri., Feb. 13
Grossmont Hills League

Steele Canyon 61, Mount Miguel 46
Helix 39, West Hills 38

Grossmont Valley League
Santana 63, Granite Hills 60 (2OT)
El Capitan 56, Monte Vista 55
El Cajon Valley 82, Valhalla 73

Central League
San Diego 74, Christian 68 (OT)

Sat., Feb. 14
Coastal League

Foothills Christian 79, Horizon 58

Non-League
Steele Canyon 65, Valhalla 58
Bishop&rsqu;s 60, Mount Miguel 54

Tue., Feb. 17
Grossmont Hills League

Grossmont 69, Mount Miguel 51
West Hills 54, Steele Canyon 43

Grossmont Valley League
El Cajon Valley 60, Granite Hills 39
Monte Vista 60, Santana 46
Valhalla 60, El Capitan 50

Central League
Kearny 81, Christian 53

Wed., Feb. 18
Non-League

Point Loma 59, El Cajon Valley 54
Steele Canyon 66, Valhalla 59

Coastal League
Foothills Christian 46, Army-Navy 42

Fri., Feb. 20
Grossmont Hills League

Grossmont 50, Steele Canyon 43
Helix 55, Mount Miguel 44

Grossmont Valley League
Monte Vista 65, Granite Hills 56
El Cajon Valley 60, El Capitan 51
Santana 72, Valhalla 64

END OF REGULAR SEASON

Grossmont 59, Serra 46

CIF FIRST ROUND
Tue., Feb. 24
DIVISION I

Santa Fe Christian 52, Grossmont 45
Poway 70, Helix 49

DIVISION II
West Hills 60, Otay Ranch 52
La Jolla Country Day 48, Steele Canyon 46 (OT)

DIVISION III
El Cajon Valley 71, Olympian 40
Valhalla 76, Point Loma 42
Coronado 73, Monte Vista 50
Rancho Bernardo 73, Granite Hills 31
Christian 48, Central Union 46

DIVISION IV
Pacific Ridge 45, Santana 34
El Capitan 69, Mar Vista 46

Wed., Feb. 25
DIVISION II

Foothills Christian 77, Patrick Henry 37

CIF SECOND ROUND
Fri., Feb. 27
DIVISION II

Foothills Christian 74, The Bishop's School 52
La Jolla Country Day 64, West Hills 62

DIVISION III
El Cajon Valley 68, Montgomery 43
Valhalla 60, Christian 34
DIVISION IV
El Capitan 58, Bonita Vista 55

CIF SEMI-FINALS
Tue., Mar. 3
DIVISION III

El Cajon Valley 45, Orange Glen 44
Valhalla 56, Rancho Bernardo 53
DIVISION IV
El Capitan 60, Hilltop 51

CIF SEMI-FINALS
Wed., Mar. 4
DIVISION II

Foothills Christian 84, Kearny 44

CIF FINALS
All finals games at USD's Jenny Craig Pavilion
Fri., Mar. 6
DIVISION IV

Pacific Ridge 58, El Capitan 55

Sat. Mar. 7
DIVISION III

El Cajon Valley 61, Valhalla 49

DIVISION II
Foothills Christian 83 Mira Mesa 41