southern section Thursday

SoCal High School & Prep Report

Southern Section Report:
Thursday's Games--(February 13, 1998)

For many, these were final games; some teams still have games scheduled Friday, some Saturday, and a very few have some "makeup" games left from those cancelled or postponed by the storms last week. Our understanding is that CIF rules require that all makeup games be completed by this weekend, so there probably won't be any more regular season games next week at all if our info is correct. Here's what happened Thursday, February 12, 1998. This isn't complete, and will be continually updated as we receive further scores, but for now it's what we've got.

ALPHA LEAGUE

L.A. Baptist 88, Frazier Mountain 66

Frank Vasquez made 11 three-point baskets and scored 50 points for the Knights (10-12, 5-5) in an Alpha League victory.

ARROWHEAD

Loma Linda Academy 61, La Verne 54

La Verne Lutheran trailed by 15 points in the first quarter and couldn't recover in a 61-54 Arrowhead League loss to visiting Loma Linda Academy (10-2 in league). Mike Thomas scored 16 points for the Trojans (11-8, 5-7).

CHANNEL LEAGUE:

Buena 57, Rio Mesa 56

Kurt Probasco hit a game-winning 3-point shot with 25 seconds left for Buena (5-21, 2-12) to cap a fourth-quarter comeback on the road. Trailing 46-36 after three quarters, Buena rode the hot hand of Danny Thompson, who scored 10 of his game-high 22 points in the final period. Thompson added 11 rebounds. Peter Brown added 12 points for Buena. Rio Mesa dropped to 5-8 in league.

CITRUS BELT LEAGUE

Rialto 73, Colton 55

Morris Davis scored 15 points to lead Rialto to a 73-55 win over Colton in a Citrus Belt League game at Rialto. Davis also had five assists and four rebounds while Byron Brock had 12 points and six steals and Marquis Revels added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Knights (14-12, 5-5).

FOOTHILL LEAGUE

Hart 87, Valencia 69

Hart High guard J.T. Stotts hit for 11 three pointers, and finished with a career-high 42 points as Hart claimed its third consecutive Foothill League title and seventh in eight years before a standing-room only crowd at Hart. Leading 43-25 at halftime, Hart scored the first eight points of the second half, capped by a three-point basket by Stotts. Stotts made three more three-point shots in the next three minutes to give Hart (17-9, 8-2) a 68-36 lead. Stotts wasn't the only Indian playing well. David Neill had three three-point baskets and finished with 22 points and nine rebounds. Valencia (20-6, 7-3) was trying for its first Foothill League title in any sport, but the Vikings, ranked sixth in The Times' regional poll, never established a rhythm on offense. Eskias McDaniel scored 21 points and Fabian Leon added 17 and 11 rebounds, but most were scored in the fourth quarter. Stotts and Hart came out strong. After missing his first three-point shot, Stotts finished with 15 points in the first quarter. The Indians scored the first six points and had a double-digit lead by the end of the quarter. After five consecutive turnovers, Jason Richardson hit a three-point shot at the end of the first quarter to cut Hart's lead to 23-12, but the Valencia defense couldn't stop the Indians. Hart made eight of 11 shots in the second quarter, including two more three-point baskets by Stotts, who had 23 points in the half. Jerrohn Jordan, Valencia's leading scorer, had one point in the first half, seven in the game.

LIBERTY LEAGUE

Holy Martyrs 54, Viewpoint 39

George Najarian scored 10 of his 20 points in the first quarter for the Armens in a Liberty League victory at Holy Martyrs. Holy Martyrs (13-8, 7-5) was playing its first home game since junior forward Shant Bronsozian, the team's second-leading scorer, was killed in a car accident Jan. 30.

MIRAMONTE LEAGUE

Garey 65, Charter Oak 52

Trey Cobb finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds while Darvin Means added 10 points, 11 rebounds and 12 blocked shots as Garey (17-9, 8-2) won its Miramonte League finale 65-52 at Charter Oak (5-5 in league). Josh Long added 14 points and Bobby Ward 10 points for the Vikings.

Fontana 94, Redlands 81

Fontana (20-6, 8-2) clinched a share of the Citrus Belt League title with a 94-81 victory over visiting Redlands. Glen Summerall had 25 points and 15 rebounds for the Steelers while Derrick Benjamin had 16 points, six rebounds and six steals and Gary Holmes added 15 points and 10 rebounds. Scott Gray and Eric Siess scored 18 points apiece to lead Redlands (19-7, 7-3), which trailed, 28-10, after one quarter. Fontana tied Eisenhower, an 86-81 winner over A.B. Miller, for the league title.

METRO LEAGUE

Boys Republic 69, Riverside Christian 52

Eric Jackson scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and teammate Tony Jones had 11 points and 21 boards as Boys Republic (14-7, 14-0) completed a sweep of Metro League play with a 69-52 win over visiting Riverside Christian. Jackie Price scored 11 points and Marc Davis pulled down 11 rebounds for the Rams while the Cougars' Nick Page led all scorers with 29.

MT. BALDY LEAGUE

Montclair 66, Alta Loma 58

Daniel Ryan and Garreth Read combined for 39 points and 22 rebounds to lead Montclair to a 66-58 victory over Alta Loma in a Mt. Baldy League game at Montclair. Ryan scored a game-high 23 points while Read had 14 rebounds for the Cavaliers (13-13, 4-6).

Etiwanda 95, Chaffey 58

Etiwanda (20-6, 10-0) became the first Mt. Baldy League team to go undefeated in league play with a 95-58 win over visiting Chaffey. Matt Donahue made a school-record eight 3-pointersand scored 28 points to lead the Eagles. Corey Landrum scored 17 points, Rudy Simpson had 12 and 10 rebounds and Gary Colbert added 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for Etiwanda.

NON-LEAGUE

Wilson Creek 64, Calvary Baptist 60

Yucaipa Wilson Creek defeated Calvary Baptist 64-60 in a nonleague game. Ryan Gillian led the Cougars with 14 points and 21 rebound and Emad Mahli added 14 points and 10 rebounds.

PACIFIC LEAGUE

Crescenta Valley 67, Hoover 66

Mark Hull had 32 points and 12 rebounds, and Zareh Avedian added 22 points and 14 rebounds but the Tornadoes (16-9, 6-4) lost a Pacific League game at Hoover.

RIO HONDO LEAGUE

La Canada 70, Temple City 57

Having already clinched its 11th consecutive Rio Hondo League boys' basketball title, La Canada High seemed to have little to play for Thursday night in its regular-season finale against Temple City. Except revenge. Senior center Matt Moore had 37 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists to help the Spartans avenge their only league setback, 70-57. The Spartans (22-5, 9-1 in league play), ranked No. 2 in the Southern Section Division III-AA poll, were assured a first-place finish Tuesday when Temple City lost to South Pasadena. The last time these two teams played, TC won 69-50. In that game, Moore scored 41 points but no teammate had more than three. Moore didn't dominate this time, but he got some help: Reserve guard Bryan Stevens scored 13 points and Ian Sullivan's third three-point basket gave La Canada a 66-54 lead with a just over a minute remaining. Temple City (14-11, 6-4) pulled to within 36-34 on a four-point play by Josh Johnson midway through the third quarter. Moore's dunk kept La Canada ahead, 46-44, entering the final quarter. It was La Canada's 59th consecutive league victory at home.

SAN GABRIEL VALLEY LEAGUE

Lynwood 55, Gahr 47

Lynwood's zone defense, a 1-2-2 trapping zone defense, paid off as Lynwood upset Gahr 55-47.Gahr (16-9, 7-3), which had already clinched second place in the San Gabriel Valley League, got four 3-pointers from guard Anthony Davis (12 points) and a pair from Michael Williams. The Gladiators shot 18 for 52 from field goal range, only 35%. Gahr led early in the fourth quarter, 40-39, as Davis hit a pair of long 3's. But Lynwood, with great outside shooting by Keyawn Floyd, who had 13 points, including three 3-pointers, and the inside play of Kelvin Chesman, who hit for 12 points, went on a 11-2 run over a 3 1/2 minute span to take a 50-42 lead with 3:41 to play. Gahr never got any closer than seven points the rest of the way. The victory could be a big one for the Knights (15-11, 5-5), who may be on the bubble for the CIF Division 1-AA playoffs. Pairings will be announced on Sunday. Gahr may be a "bubble" team, and will probably have to go as an "at-large" berth team, which will be decidedly more difficult than going as a third place team. Right now, it'll be up to the CIF committee.

Warren 78, Paramount 48

Eric Kelly scored 20 points, Brandon Valsonis had 16 and Branko Kovacic had 12, combining for 48 points as the Bears (19-7 overall, 5-5 in league) jumped out to a 22-3 lead over the visiting Pirates (1-9 league) and never looked back.

Dominguez 96, Downey 51

Senior guard Mike Carson came off the bench to hit four 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 18 points as the Dons (20-4, 10-0) wrapped up their third consecutive unbeaten league campaign. Walter Small (16 points), Tyson Chandler (15 points, 4 blocks), Keith Kincade (14 points) and Keith Brooks (10 points, 8 rebounds) also starred for Dominguez. Eric Saldana led Downey with 13 points.

SUBURBAN LEAGUE

Artesia 90, La Mirada 58

Jason Kapono had 25 points and Jack Martinez pulled down a career-high 29 rebounds as the Pioneers (25-1, 10-0) crushed the host Matadores (4-6 league) to win their 44th straight game in league.

Bellflower 70, Mayfair 61

Cedric Lusk scored 16 points and Isaac Brooks had 11 of his 13 points in the second half to help the Buccaneers (21-5, 7-3) maintain their lead over the host Monsoons (7-3 league). Both teams tied for second place in league.

Glenn 79, Norwalk 69

George Caballero scored 22 points but it wasn't enough as the Lancers (7-17, 1-9 fell to the host Eagles (2-8 league).

VALLE VISTA LEAGUE

Covina Northview 46, Ganesha 42

Ganesha ended the regular season with a 46-42 loss to Covina Northview. The Vikings (13-13, 7-5), who finished third in the Valle Vista League, were led by Mau Uiagalelei with 10 points and Eric Manuel with seven points and 14 rebounds.

San Dimas 55, West Covina South Hills 54

D.J. Hackett's basket with 12 seconds remaining lifted San Dimas to a 55-54 win over West Covina South Hills in a Valle Vista League game at San Dimas. Hackett scored a game-high 26 for the Saints (22-4, 12-0), who fell behind 11-0 in the opening minutes.

WESTSIDE LEAGUE

Milken 61, Le Lycee 23

Jon Sher and Mike Hanasab each scored 13 points to help Milken (12-7, 11-1) clinch its second consecutive Westside League title.