pac-8 1-24-97

SoCal High School & Prep Report

City Section Game Scores and Highlights:
Some More Details--(January 25, 1998)

We've already brought you the highlights of the Grant v. Poly game from Friday night, which was won by Grant, and we've featured the LA High v. Manual Arts game, and have provided most (except one) of the scores for Friday. And just to really overdo it a bit, here are some of the highlights and scoring details from the other LA City Section games played in and around LA, mostly from the Valley area. Why? Because you asked for them.

NORTHWEST VALLEY CONFERENCE GAMES

Granada Hills 68, Cleveland 67

Now this was considered an upset. And a big one. Nick Tarditti's three-point play with four seconds left gave Granada Hills a 68-67 upset of Cleveland Friday night at Cleveland. The Highlanders who improved to 8-10 overall and 2-2 in conference play, employed a box-and-one defense to hold Cleveland guard Kent Dennis, a transfer from Bell-Jeff this year, to seven points. Anselm Brown scored 20 points for Granada Hills. Brian Smith scored 21 points and Kenny Mason added 18 for Cleveland (12-7, 2-2), the fifth-ranked team in The Times' regional poll.

Taft 70, Birmingham 59

Brandyn Fisher had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Amir Bar-Netzer knocked down 21 points and grabbed five steals for the Taft Toreadors, who improved to 10-4 on the season, and 3-1 in Conference play in a game played at Taft. Emmanuel Evans scored 25 for the Birmingham Braves, who dropped to 12-6 overall and 2-2 in Conference play.

San Fernando 71, Kennedy 57

Devin Montgomery had 17 points, five steals and four assists, and Mike Page had 16 points for the San Fernando Tigers, the No. 3 or 2 team in the region (depending on what poll you're reading), as San Fernando improved to 17-2 on the season and 4-0 in Conference play. Kennedy's Sun Kim had 19 points for the Golden Cougars, who dropped to 7-9 overall and who are still winless in Conference play at 0-3.

Chatsworth 81, El Camino Real 62

Montae McFarland had 16 points and Will Ruffin scored 11 for the Chatsworth Chancellors, who bettered their record to 11-7 on the season and 2-2 in Conference play in a game Friday night at El Camino Real. Demond Daniels had 18 points and nine rebounds for the ECR Conquistadores, who dropped to 6-9, and 1-3.

VALLEY PAC-8 CONFERENCE GAMES

North Hollywood 79, Reseda 60

Dejon Lee scored 24 points, Keron Wilkerson added 19 and Jonathan Hicks had 16 for the Huskies. Coach Rob Bloom was happy with the effort, and said that his team is beginning to come together. NoHo improved to 12-7 overall, and 3-1 in Conference play. For Reseda, Victor Koopongsakorn scored 12 points, while Engelberth Alvarez had 10. Reseda dropped to 6-12 overall and 1-3 in Conference play, still a big improvement over last year when they went 0-20 on the year. NoHo will open league play against Grant this coming week, and it should be a great battle.

Monroe 71, Van Nuys 68

In a game played at Van Nuys on Friday night, featuring two of the most under-achieving teams in the Valley, Victor Hall scored 20 points, Damien Ritter added 19 and Eric Bush had 18 for the Monroe Vikings, who "improved" (and we use that term guardedly) to 4-12 on the season, and 1-3 in Conference play. Van Nuys' Jesse Keane scored 17 points and Abe Morabbi had 14 for Van Nuys. Van Nuys has won only one game this season, against a Magnet Conference school, Sherman Oaks CES--not exactly a power school-- in an opening round game in the Van Nuys Tournament held December 5-7. Van Nuys is 1-16 overall and 0-4 in Conference play. We talked to Van Nuys' coach Kevin Kannemura on Wednesday following a tough loss to Grant (in which Gil Arenas had an "off-day" scoring only 21 points), and Kevin was really beside himself about the team's record, but philosophical. "It happens to everyone sooner or later. I just wish it [a losing year] wasn't happening to us now. But League play opens soon, and it's not over until it's over."

Canoga Park 79, Sylmar 77

In a game played at Canoga Park, Jammie Harris scored 39 points, including a 12-foot jump shot with six second remaining for the Canoga Hunters, who improved their losing overall record to 6-12, but who are now 3-1 in Conference play. For Sylmar, T.K. Reed had a chance to win the game, but missed a six-foot shot as the buzzer sounded. Sylmar dropped to .500, 9-9 overall and 2-2 in Conference play. Canoga's Harris also had 13 rebounds and blocked five shots.