arc league finals

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SoCalHoops Fall League News

ARC Varsity League Final
Results--(Nov. 8, 1999)

We weren't there yesterday, but we heard all about the ARC finals from Rich Goldberg, who was in attendance, and that's as it should be because it's his league. For those who don't know much about it, the ARC Fall League is much more abbreviated than the spring session, primarily because there just isn't a lot of time to play between the start of school (which for most is in the middle of September), and the beginning of the official high school season (which for the LA City Section begins today, November 8, after school hours). But still, there were some competitive teams in the league this fall, including North Hollywood, Antelope Valley Christian, Harvard-Westlake, Milken, Buckley, Notre Dame, Burbank, Moorpark, Pacific Hills, LA Poly, Southwestern Academy, Hart, Chaminade, Chadwick, and others (all going under assumed names, of course, as is required by the CIF, and without official coaching, as is also required).

The league was broken down into two groups of 8 teams each, a Varsity I league and a Varsity II league. The first round of playoffs was held a week ago Sunday (Oct. 31), and the remaining games, two sets of semifinals semifinals, and two "Division Championship Games" and then a final "League Championoship" were all held yesterday. North Hollywood ended up playing Notre Dame (aka "Sherman Oaks") for the overall title, and NH won in a great game 48-43. Oh, and don't be fooled by the seemingly low scores. For some reason, evidently the tightness of scheduling gym time, the games are played using ARC's unique "running clock"; only the last two minutes of the game are played using a stop clock, and then only if the game is within 20 points. ARC also requires that teams make manadatory substitutions of players, such that each player gets to play half the game only (subbing occurs every 8 minutes, and only the last 8 minutes are "free subs"). This sometimes makes for some unusual results, and that's why many say that ARC results really shouldn't be used as a gauge of what a team is likely to be able to accomplish during a real season of play under official high school rules. Still, the games are competitive within their own unique format, and as a place to play during the fall, it's still the best option for players in the San Fernando Valley who are limited in their ability to travel to other leagues like Slam N Jam, Ocean View or the Fullerton leauges.

We don't have individual scoring or stats from yesterday's games, but we do have all the final results. Here they are:

Varsity I Division Playoffs

Semifinal 1: Skywalkers (AVC) 52, Wisemen (Milken) 39
Semifinal 2: Sherman Oaks (Notre Dame) 42, The Bank (Burbank) 28

Division Final: Sherman Oaks (Notre Dame) 43, Skywalkers (AVC) 34

Varsity II Division Playoffs

Semifinal 1: Saracens (Harvard-Westlake) 48, MP (Moorpark) 46
NH (North Hollywood) 51, Silver (Pacific Hills) 43

Division Final: NH (North Hollywood) 54, Saracens (Harvard-Westlake) 34

Overall League Championship

NH (North Hollywood) 48, Shermand Oakes (Notre Dame) 43