January 2012 Archives

Royal 53
Thousand Oaks 51

Max McCoy scored 17 points and Scott Woods recorded his second triple-double of the season in the tight victory.

Woods had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks.

Nick Creber scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

Weston Park had six assists for Royal.

Royal is 17-6, 9-2

Calabasas 81
Moorpark 49

Sophomore Jeremy Lieberman scored 21 points to lead four players in double figures for the Coyotes (20-3, 10-1).

Spencer Levy scored 19 points, sophomore Austin Smith scored 13 points and Holden Israel scored 10 points for top-ranked team in Div. III-AA.

Viewpoint 54
Yeshiva 41

Sophomore Tim Howell poured in 21 points to lead the Patriots (14-6, 5-2) in a key Liberty League victory.

Viewpoint remains two games behind league leader Providence (20-4, 7-0).

The two schools play next week.

Campbell Hall 79
Sierra Canyon 76 (2 OT)

Freshman Aaron Holiday scored 36 points and Nevada-bound Cole Huff registered a triple-double as the Vikings escaped.

Huff scored 23 points and had 19 rebounds and 10 blocks.

Sierra Canyon coach Ryan Silver was forced to use only four players in the second overtime because so many players had fouled out.

Kendall Frisoli scored 18 points to lead Thousand Oaks to a 59-43 Marmonte Legaue victory against Royal.

The victory moved the Lancers (17-6, 9-2) into a first place tie with Royal with three games remaining for both teams.

However, Thousand Oaks owns the tiebreaker after sweeping the season series.

Katherine Reaves added 10 points and 11 rebounds for Thousand Oaks.

Sydney Perry had a great all-around game with 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Thousand Oaks snapped a two-game losing streak.

Aubree Mittel led Royal (15-8, 9-2) with 13 points.

The best of the best in high school football work all their young lives for a chance to sign an NCAA Division I scholarship, and Wednesday he day. Tomorrow morning marks national Letter of Intent day, as blue-chip prospects finally make their college choices official.

Some have waited a long time after committing more than a year ago, while others, like receiver Jordan Payton from Oaks Christian, put things off until today, as Payton, who first committed to USC, then Cal, changed his mind again and pledged his commitment to Washington less than 24 hours before signing day. UCLA also was in the picture.

"It's a big commitment for Washington," ESPN recruiting director Greg Biggins said. "Jordan Payton is a high-profile player, and Washington is desperate for receivers. They want to sign two or three."

After committing to Cal, Payton (6-feet-3, 200 pounds) followed former Cal assistants Tosh Lupoi and Eric Kiesau, who recently signed on with Washington.

Payton, a three-year standout, caught 61 passes for 840 yards while scoring nine touchdowns this past season. He is also a top defensive back.

Jordan Simmons, a 6-5, 335-pound offensive lineman for Crespi, had more than 30 offers. The five-star recruit finally narrowed his choices down once the season ended, and he gave a non-binding verbal commitment to USC on Jan. 13. Today he becomes a Trojan,, a lifelong dream after growing up in the shadow of the Los Angeles Coliseum.

"It's finally here. I'll now know it's official," Simmons said. "I knew this day would come."

About 40 area high schoolers and JC players are expected to sign a major-college scholarship today, with a few more inking with I-AA schools and smaller universities.

Some, like Moorpark's Grant Rohach, have been itching for a long time. Rohach committed nearly one year ago on March 14, 2011. Unlike others who've rescinded verbal commitments, Rohach never wavered once he gave his word, and he is looking forward to playing at Iowa State because he has family there.

"It's a great feeling. I've been waiting for this day for a long time, and I can't wait to be a Cyclone," Rohach said.

Most scholarships are worth more than $100,000 over a four- or five-year period, so the signed agreement is like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

"It's a great feeling to know I will be playing DI football at a great program. It's a dream-come-true," said Christian Tago, a Highland multi-purpose back set to sign with San Jose State. "All the hard work has paid off, and it's a great feeling knowing that my education will be fully paid for."

With five Foothill League boys' basketball teams still in good contention to win the league title, anyone who can steal a road victory figures to be in good shape.

Canyon took a big step tonight with a 67-50 win at Valencia, as the visiting Cowboys (20-3, 5-2) reached 20 victories for the third season in a row - a first in the Santa Clarita Valley school's 44-year history.

Canyon's Clay Kasdorf scored 22 points, including 15 of 16 free throws, as the Cowboys made 28 of 34 free throws while holding Valencia (15-8, 3-4) to 33 points over the final three quarters.

"We preach defense and rebounding - whatever we've got to do to win," Kasdorf said.
Valencia led by two after the first quarter but fell apart, committing 18 turnovers, getting outrebounded 30-25 and missing a series of open shots down the stretch in losing for the fifth time over the past seven games.

"Valencia might have looked terrible, but that's because we made them look terrible," Kasdorf said. "Valencia is not terrible. They're a good team."

Kasdorf added seven steals, five rebounds and four assists, and Coley Apsay chipped in 18 points, four assists and four steals, and Dean Hendrix-Davis scored 15.

"This is great because we knew this was going to be a tough game," Apsay said. "Our coach preaches confidence - confidence without cockiness."

Falling at home for the first time this season, Valencia was within striking distance midway through the fourth quarter until Canyon went on a 20-5 run, pushing the lead to 64-44 on Kasdorf's four consecutive free throws.

Valencia's Troy Hammel came in averaging 22.1 points - including four 20-point performances over his past six games - but the senior guard was held to 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting. Zach Davis chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds, and Parker Tredick added 10 points.

Valencia made 8 of 13 free throws, as the Vikings were outscored by 20 points at the line.

FOOTHILL
Canyon 15-17-15-20-67
Val - 17-8-10-15-50
Canyon: Clay Kasdorf 22, five rebs, four assists, seven steals; Coley Apsay 18, 4 assists, 4 steals; Dean Hendrix-Davis 15, Veluzat 6, Golden 3, Baldwin 2, Aniezue 1.
Val: Troy Hammel 12, Zach Davis 10, 7 rebs, Parker Tredick 10, Honaker 8, Mike 8, Glass 2.
R: C 20-3, 5-2; V 15-8, 3-4.

With five of six teams still within striking distance of a Foothill League title, every win counts heading into the final stretch.

In a key matchup, Canyon leads host Valencia 32-25 at the half, as Canyon (19-3, 4-2) looks to win 20 games in a season for the third time in a row -- an feat never accomplished in school history.

Canyon's Coley Apsay has 12 points.

Valencia (15-7, 6-3) has lost four of its past six games.

Alemany Showcase
Saturday Feb. 4

Campbell Hall vs. Sylmar, 2:15 p.m.
El Camino Real vs. Renaissance Academy, 3:45 p.m.
Oaks Christian vs. Morningside, 5:15 p.m.
Alemany vs. Price, 6:45 p.m.
Harvard-Westlake vs. Compton Centennial, 8:15 p.m.

Renaissance Academy vs. La Verne Lutheran at Valley College, 7 p.m.
Alemany at Crespi, 7 p.m.
Cleveland at El Camino Real, 5 p.m.

Oaks Christian receiver Jordan Payton just announced live on ESPNU's National Signing Day Preview show that he has verbally committed to play football at Washington.

Jonathan Jerozal, a quarterback for Canyon who has passed for 3,000 yards or more two seasons in a row, has committed to Stetson, a Div. IAA program that's renewing football beginning in two years for the first time since 1956.

"It's like a brand new program," said Jerozal's father, Raymond.

First it was USC, then it was down to three universities before he committed to Cal, and now -- two days for national signing day -- Jordan Payton could end up at Washington, which wasn't even in the picture until recently.

A star receiver for Oaks Christian, Payton's commitment to Cal is officially "soft," so it won't be a big surprise if Payton -- the area's most coveted prospect without a firm commitment -- changes his mind.

"He already took a visit to Washington, then he went back this past weekend on his own dime, so a lot of people think he is going to end up at either Washington or UCLA," said Greg Biggins, ESPN recruiting director.

Through the months, Payton also has been courted by Notre Dame, Michigan and others.

Jeff Coprich, a West Ranch running back who transferred from Golden Valley for his senior season, has committed to Cal.

Cody Tuttle of Westlake was erroneously not credited for throwing an 80-yard touchdown pass on a double pass on the last play of the game Sunday for the North in a 38-20 loss in the California Classic all-star game at Home Depot Center.

Moorpark's Brandon Hughes, a top defensive lineman for Moorpark, has committed to Fresno State as a linebacker.

Canyon's Max Archuleta, one of the area's fastest running backs, has committed to Yale. Also, College of the Canyons offensive lineman Will Latu has committed to Oklahoma.

Meanwhile, Canyon High quarterback Jonathan Jerozal is considering an offer from Div. I-AA program Stetson in Florida, which is planning a return to football for the 2013-2014 season.

Bobby Eckert, a linebacker for Moorpark, has committed to Western State College in Colorado after a visit.

Campbell Hall 47
Louisville 35

Louisville-8 11 7 9=35
Campbell Hall 12 11 14 10=47

Louisville-Nicholle Aston 16, Kaczmarek 8, Cruz 6

Campbell Hall-Nicole Tolbert 21, Caroline Hull 11, Azad 8, Holiday 3, Holoman 2, Canty 2

CH: 17-4, L: 8-11

Renaissance Academy 61
Besant Hill 34

Besant Hill 3 2 14 15=34
Renaissance Academy 14 19 20 8=61

Besant Hill-Lukas Huberman 15, Yuri Howard 12, Metlen 3, Li 2, Kaupenweimer 2

Renaissance Academy-Kevin Dinges 13, Jessy Cantinol 11, Marquis Mosley 10, DeGuzman 6, Fontanilla 5, Uneau 4, Hilaire 4, Joseph 3, Williams 3, Troplent 2

RA: 18-3

Bell-Jeff 43
Antelope Valley 36

Rishonda Napier scored 14 points and Jasmine Smith scored 13 points to lead Bell-Jeff (17-6), which has won 12 games in a row.

Keiona Mathews scored 15 points and Fresno State-bound Destini Price scored all 11 of her points in the second half for Antelope Valley, which had its 11 game winning streak snapped.

Marqueze Coleman scored 36 points, including seven 3-pointers to lead Alemany (20-3).

Alemany only scored six points in the first quarter but surged ahead 30-20 by halftime.

Sophomore Bear Henderson scored 22 points and had seven rebounds.

Max Guercy had 20 points, 10 assists and five rebounds.

Jordan Mathews scored 26 points to lead Santa Monica.

Alemany plays at Crespi Wednesday.

Canyon 49
Fairfax 39

Fairfax 8 14 7 10=39
Canyon 13 15 9 12=49

Fairfax-Byrd 9, Uy De Ong 9, Labey 7, Haley 7, McDaniel 6, Blanc 1

Canyon-Kali Vitallo 15, Alia McCoy 10, Tiffini Stone 10, McCann 6, Ohara 6, Bowers 2

C: 16-6, F: 15-8

Oaks Christian 72
St. Bonaventure 44

St. Bonaventure 14 6 13 11=44
Oaks Christian 12 24 19 17=72

St. Bonaventure-Patrick Weigel 14, Winter 9, Dixon 4, Kenney 7, Smith 4, Quinn 2, Medina 2, Baham 1, Safty 1

Oaks Christian-Chass Bryan 13, Jackson Miller 12, Andre Chevalier 10, Roletti 7, Smith 6, Abrams 5, Ghilarducci 5, Moye 4, Hopkins 3, Owusu 3, Gustavson 2, Harris 2

OC: 17-4, 6-1

Kennedy bounced back from a tough loss against Panorama with a 67-53 victory against Sylmar.

Jordan Taylor scored 31 points to lead Kennedy (15-8, 7-1).

Kennedy has now beaten Sylmar six consecutive times.

Taft 70
El Camino Real 58

Anthony January scored 37 points and had 10 rebounds to lead Taft (19-3, 6-0).

Sophomores Julian Richardson and Maleke Haynes scored 20 and 17 points, respectively to lead second place ECR.

Birmingham 49
Granada Hills 46

Abrionn Webster made some clutch free throws to help the Patriots, who almost lost a 10 point lead in the final three minutes.

Cleveland 63
Chatsworth 53

Osamu Igodan scored 21 points and Jason Moore scored 14 points to lead Cleveland, which beat Birmingham in overtime Wednesday.

Montel Shirley scored 30 points to lead Chatsworth but it wasn't enough to keep the Chancellors from losing their 18th game this season.

Simi valley use to dominate the Marmonte League and use to dominate perennial doormat Royal.

Things have changed.

Royal is the top dog now.

Royal earned a 51-45 victory Friday.

Max McCoy scored 21 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter.

It was a big win for Royal after a 75-72 double overtime setback against Calabasas on Wednesday.

Simi Valley led by as many as 13 points early in the game.

Royal outscored Simi Valley 23-11 in the fourth quarter.

Weston Park and Austin Carr did a nice job defensively for Royal.

The duo helped contain Austin Hawk to only 3 points.

Calabasas 77
Agoura 57

Josh Cohan scored 20 points and had 13 rebounds, and sophomore point guard Jeremy Lieberman scored 20 points, had five assists and zero turnovers to lead Calabasas.

The Coyotes (19-3, 9-1) remain in first place, one game ahead of second place Royal.

Calabasas has beaten Royal twice this season.

Freshman Aaron Holiday scored 34 points and Nevada-bound Cole Huff scored 22 points to lead Campbell Hall to a 75-73 Alpha League victory against Brentwood.

Brentwood suffered its second close defeat this week, after dropping a 59-58 decision on Monday against Sierra Canyon.

Loyola 58
Chaminade 53

Jaron Martin scored 26 points and had a shot with 11 seconds remaining that would have tied the score.

Sophomore Jack Williams didn't play for Chaminade. He is nursing a hamstring injury.

Freshman Joel Loth played in his second career varsity game.

Loth had two points, seven blocks and 11 rebounds.

Chaminade is 3-5 in league.

Alemany 76
St. Francis 45

Marqueze Coleman scored 24 points to lead the Warriors (19-3, 8-1).

Max Guercy had 16 points and 10 assists for Alemany.

Sophomore Bear Henderson scored 16 points and Jerico "Cookie Monster" Richardson had 11 points and five steals.

Emerson Castaneda scored 19 points to lead St. Francis (2-7 in league).

Crespi 66
Notre Dame 52

Michael Milligan. Jr. scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Crespi, which snapped a three game skid.

London Perrantes scored 12 points for Crespi (19-4, 6-3).

Johnathon Bell scored 15 points to lead Notre Dame (9-13, 0-8).

The Taft boys' basketball team was not about to let anything happen to its 75 game West Valley League winning streak Friday in a key showdown with El Camino Real for a share of first place.

Anthony January scored 37 points and showed the pro potential he has, as the Toreadors beat the Conquistadores, 70-58.

January was in another world, slashing to the basket, making 3-pointers pulling up for jumpers and grabbing rebounds.

January, whose nickname is 'Dinnertime', was especially hungry after Taft barely squeaked by ECR, 45-44, on Jan. 11.

"We just played real good team basketball," January said. "I hit a few shots and then took over."

Taft raced out to a 15-point lead after one quarter. January and Brandon Perry were tough underneath the basket and ECR was whistled for six early fouls.

ECR cut the deficit to five points in the second quarter on a run fueled by sophomore point guard Maleke Haynes.

However, Taft extended the lead to 19 by the end of the third quarter.

"Rebounding and January made some tough shots", ECR coach David Rebibo said. He was hitting fadeaways, off-balance shots. He was good. Real good. I can't take anything away from him."

Sophomore Julain Richardson led ECR with 20 points and Haynes finished with 17 points.

January was the biggest difference, according to both coaches.

"He played like a monster," Taft coach Jason Hart said. "If he listens, the sky's the limit for that kid."

The Conquistadores (16-7, 4-2) though this might be the year mighty Taft went down in league play.

They will have to wait another year to unseat the defending City Section champion.

"We came close but I like our chances from here on out," Rebibo said. "We have tons of sophomores, we are young and talented."

Anthony January scored 37 points and displayed pro ability as Taft handled El Camino Real, 70-58 in a West Valley League game.

Taft improved to 19-3, 6-0, and has now won 76 consecutive league games.

Julian Richardson scored 20 points and Maleke Haynes scored 17 points to lead ECR.

It is pretty hard to match the top four players from Alemany.

Alemany is thriving this year behind Max Guercy, Marqueze Coleman, Jerico Richardson and Bear Henderson.

Guercy had 27 points, Coleman had 23 points, Henderson had 20 points and Richardson had 17 in a 95-81 Mission League victory against Loyola Wednesday.

The foursome has been putting up big numbers all year.

The only team that has seemed to figure out the Warriors is Crespi, who owns two victories against Alemany.

They are scheduled to play one more time this season.

Westlake defensive lineman Justin Solis and kicker Alex Ball, Crespi lineman Jordan SImmons and Oaks Christian defensive back Ishmael Adams have made the ESPNHS Cal-Hi Sports All-State team.

Marcus LoVett, Jr. has had quite the freshman season for the Providence boys' basketball team.

LoVett, Jr. is now chasing the schools all-time single season scoring record set last year by current teammate Patrick Gonzalez.

Gonzalez scored 929 points in 25 games last year. An average of 37.8.

LoVett, Jr. has 730 points right now in 23 games. He needs a clean 200 to break the record.

Lovett, Jr. will have four more regular season games and some playoff games to break the record.

Providence hosts Yeshiva Monday at 7 p.m.

Taylor Hindy, an offensive lineman for Chaminade, has committed to Washington. Fellow lChaminade ineman Andrew Chen has committed to Utah State.

It is amazing what a few good players can do for a league trying to gain some respectability.

The Liberty League hasn't exactly been a basketball hot-bed the past two decades, but things are changing.

Providence is undefeated behind high-scoring guard Patrick Gonzalez and freshman phenom Marcus LoVett, Jr.

Buckley has Tyler Coppin-Carter and standout freshman Austin Butler.

Viewpoint relies on Jack Borenstein, Jonny Paul, sophomore Tim Howell and freshman Stone Spellman.

Viewpoint beat Buckley twice this season.

Yeshiva is always tough, and features Jack Gindi.

LoVett, Jr. scored 25 points and Gonzalez had 21 points in a 62-54 victory against Holy Martyrs Thursday.

Buckley got a huge win against Yeshiva without Coppin-Carter.

Providence is 6-0, but still has plenty of work to do with games against the other three top teams coming up.

Tonight
Renaissance Academy at Price, 7 p.m.

Friday
El Camino Real at Taft, 7 p.m.

Saturday
Fairfax showcase featuring La Canada, Harvard-Westlake, Notre Dame and Alemany

Monday
Yeshiva at Providence, 7 p.m.

Tuesday
Canyon at Valencia

Thanks to Jeremy Kniffin for passing this along

POMONA-PITZER STAYS IN FIRST WITH ROAD WIN OVER WHITTIER

Whittier, Calif. - Freshman guard Michael Cohen (Tarzana, Calif.) had 23 points off the bench to lead the Pomona-Pitzer Men's Basketball team to a 66-57 win over Whittier in a battle between two of the three teams tied for first place in the SCIAC on Wednesday evening.

With the win, Pomona-Pitzer moves to 10-6 on the year and 5-1 in the SCIAC, maintaining its share of first place in the league with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Whittier slips to 12-5 overall and 4-2 in the SCIAC, falling out of first place after defeating CMS in double-overtime in its last home game on Saturday.

Cohen, freshman forward Jack Klukas (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and freshman guard Kyle McAndrews (Seattle, Wash.) were all in double figures, as the freshman class combined for 46 of Pomona-Pitzer's 66 points. Klukas finished with 13 points and McAndrews added 10.

The Sagehens also held Whittier to just 2-21 shooting from three-point territory, as Drew Menez, who came in leading the SCIAC in scoring (18.7 ppg) had only five points on 2-10 shooting. That came one game after Pomona-Pitzer held then-leading scorer Trevor Woodland of La Verne to only seven points on 2-16 shooting in a 64-57 home win on Saturday.

The Sagehens trailed 34-32 at the half and were down 41-38 with 12:30 to go, before Cohen and graduate student R.J. Maki (Claremont, Calif.) hit back-to-back threes to quickly turn the lead around to 44-41. A pair of foul shots from sophomore forward John Weiss (Cleveland, Ohio) stretched the lead to five, and Cohen hit a running bank shot to make it a 10-0 run and give Pomona-Pitzer a 48-41 lead.

A driving lay-up from Weiss gave the Sagehens a 54-45 lead with 6:05 left, and Cohen pushed the lead to 10 points with his fourth three-pointer of the game to make it 59-49 with 3:20 to go. Whittier answered with a three-pointer (only their second of the game in 19 attempts at that point) and a foul shot to cut it to 59-53. Cohen made two foul shots to push it to eight, before Whittier's Nathan Easterman made two foul shots with 1:16 left to cut it back to six.

However, Klukas then came up big with two offensive rebounds on the same possession, the second coming off his own missed three-pointer with the shot clock winding down. Cohen was fouled, and hit two more foul shots to seal the win, before Klukas went end-to-end off a defensive rebound to finish off his 13-point night.

The start of the game featured a wild change of momentum, as Whittier stunned the Sagehens with a 12-0 run that included three turnovers in the backcourt against the Poets' fullcourt press. However, Pomona-Pitzer regrouped and came right back with a 15-0 run, featuring eight points from Cohen, who started the run with a three-pointer, and ended it with another trey to give the Sagehens the 15-12 lead.

A three-pointer from Maki gave Pomona-Pitzer its largest lead at 22-16, but Whittier was able to quickly get back in it and went into the locker room ahead 34-32 on a lay-up from Easterman.

Easterman matched Cohen (7-12 from the floor, 4-9 from three) for game-high honors with 23 points in a losing cause for the Poets. Weiss was the only non-freshman for the Sagehens to score in double figures with 10 points, while sophomore forward Jake Klewer (Tucson, Ariz.) pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.

Pomona-Pitzer will be back in action on Saturday, when it travels to Occidental to complete the first half of the SCIAC's regular-season schedule.

Some angry parents have raised allegations of misconduct with the Taft football program, particularly that an assistant coach with an alleged felony criminal record is on staff and that at least one Taft assistant allegedly was under the influence of alcohol or drugs during an early Taft game in Utah.

A meeting was held Wednesday night, and some parents aired grievances.

Taft head coach Chris Rizzo and administrator Robert Clarke both said Thursday the allegations are false.

"It's just crazy," Rizzo said. "They say one of the coaches is a convicted felon, and that's not true. They're out to get me."

Rizzo did concede that not every coach submitted fingerprint scans, as per City Section rules.

"I'm a new coach, and it was an oversight. There are eight or nine assistants," Rizzo said.

Clarke said a former applicant whom Rizzo beat out for the head job is responsible for planting the allegations.

"We're looking into it, but this whole thing is because of that aggravated former (applicant)," Clarke said. "He's doing everything he can to hurt the program. It's all untrue. We cleared the air about some things Wednesday, and I think it's all going to go away."

Clarke added that every Taft staff member has undergone fingerprint clearance.

Alemany High has not won a league championship in boys' basketball since 1999, but this looks like the year of the Warriors.

Alemany took a big step towards clinching the Mission League title Wednesday with a 95-81 win at Loyola, snapping the host Cubs' five-game winning streak and putting the perennial league power two games back with four to play before a near-capacity crowd in Los Angeles.

Alemany's Max Guery scored 27 points and dished out several slick assists, Marqueze Coleman added 23 points and Razhaun Henderson chipped in 20, as Alemany, excelling at the transition game and displaying crisp teamwork and fundamentals, scored the most points in a game this season.

"I think we really came to play tonight. This is a big game for us," Guercy said. "The Mission League title always goes through Loyola, so that's why we came to play. We're going to win the Mission League championship."

Guercy scored 11 points in the first quarter to help Alemany to a 24-14 lead after the first quarter. The Warriors led by as many as 13 in the first half, but Loyola chipped away. The Cubs cut the advantage to three early in the fourth quarter, but Alemany turned it on down the stretch.

With Alemany (18-3, 7-1) up by seven points midway through the fourth quarter, Guercy took over. He twice hit jump shots plus two free throws, then came through with a steal and an assist, then another steal and a fast-break assist off the backboard into the waiting hands of Coleman, whose dunk extended the advantage to 87-70 to put a lid on any comeback hopes for Loyola (16-3, 5-3).

"My coach told me he wants the ball in my hands at the end. He believes in me," Guercy said. "I think this was our best shooting night of the year. We really prepared for this game, and we came to compete and ending up winning the game."

The win was Alemany's second over Loyola following a six-point victory Jan. 6.

"We just didn't play very good defense," Loyola's Thomas Welsh said. "We've just to win the rest of our games and hope Alemany loses."

Alemany still has to face Crespi -- which was upset Wednesday by St. Francis -- and Harvard-Westlake, but the Warriors lead both by two games, so Alemany is in good shape heading into the final stretch.

Loyola standout Justin Childress injured his elbow early in the second half and did not return, finishing with six points. Teammate Julian Harrell scored 24, and Jacob Hazzard and Parker Jackson-Cartwright both scored 13.

Alemany 95, Loyola 81

Alem - 24-22-22-27-95
Loy - 14-27-17-23-81

Alemany: Marqueze Coleman 23, Jerico Richardson 17, Boyd 3, Max Guercy 27, Bear Henderson 20, Anderson 4, Gomez 1.

Loyola: Childress 6, Julian Harrell 24, Parker Jackson-Cartwright 13, Oh 1, Jacob Hazzard 13, Bedart-Ghani 6, trey Mason 11, Armour 7.

Royal 36
Calabasas 32

Scott Woods and Nick Creber had the hot shooting touch early for Royal.

The Highlanders raced out to a 19-6 lead.

However, Calabasas was red-hot in the second quarter.

Spencer Levy and Jeremy Lieberman hit a barrage of 3-pointers to make things interesting.

The winner moves into first place in the Marmonte League.

Stay tuned.....

Both teams really came to play tonight at Loyola, where Alemany leads the host Cubs 46-41 at halftime in a key Mission League showdown.

Alemany, hoping to take a big step toward winning its first league title since 1999, led by as many as 13 points, but Loyola came roaring back.

It's anyone's game, and the near-capacity crowd is rowdy and ready for more action from these two closely-matched powers.

Sierra Canyon continues to make strides and surprise all at the same time.

One week, the Trailbazers lose four consecutive games.

The next week, the Trailblazers lose a tight one to Windward.

Jahmel Taylor is coming around, Jesse Howell has been playing better, Robbie Feinberg is tough underneath the basket and coach Ryan Silver is keeping the troops in line.

Brandon Perry scored 21 points, Kris Yanku scored 18 points, Anthony "Dinnertime" January scored 12 points and Steven Jones had 10 points to lead Taft to an 80-57 West Valley League victory at Chatsworth.

The Toreadors (18-3, 5-0) were sluggish, but used a big third quarter run to pull away.

Taft has won 75 consecutive league games on the court.

Taft has a big test Friday at home against El Camino Real.

Terrell Funches scored 17 points to lead Chatsworth (9-17, 1-4)

Jerico Richardson just hit a 3-pointer early in the second quarter to give Alemany a 27-14 lead over host Loyola.

It's a big night in the Mission League, as Alemany takes on host Loyola in a key showdown that can all but wrap up the league championship if the visiting Warriors (17-3, 6-1) can prevail over the host Cubs (16-2 5-2).

Alemany defeated Loyola 69-63 on Jan. 6, but Loyola has since won five in a row.

Burbank guard Austin Pope has left the school and transferred to fifth-year program La Jolla Prep.

Pope was one of the top players for Burbank with Andre Spight.

"He left at the semester break," Burbank coach Jose Hernandez said. "We haven't had him all of league. That is why we have been struggling to finish games."

Former Major League Baseball players Glendon Rusch and Matt Whisenant are hosting the 1st annual Full Count baseball Academy golf tournament Monday Jan. 30 at Oakmont Country Club in Glendale.

Ruch and Whisenant started the Academy, which includes lessons, instruction, skill work and travel teams.

As many as 40 former and current players are scheduled to compete.

The event is open to the public.

Cost is $275 per individual or $1,000 for a foursome.

Contact fullcount5633@aol.com for more information

Calabasas coach Jon Palarz will be going after victory No. 300 tonight.

Calabasas hosts Royal in an important Marmonte League game.

Sierra Canyon quarterback Tyler Stewart has committed to Nevada, picking the Wolfpack of Hawaii and San Jose State.

"I'm excited for him. I think it's a great fit for him," Sierra Canyon coach Jon Ellinghouse said.

Fresh off leading Westlake to a Southern Section Northern championship and being named Daily News Player of the Year and Northern Player of the Year, junior quarterback Justin Moore has shocked the local football world by quitting the sport and transferring to Royal this past Friday.

"Justin made a decision that football is not in his future," Westlake coach Jim Benkert said. "Sometimes kids decide not to keep playing for a variety of reasons, but obviously with someone of the magnitude of Justin Moore, considering what he has accomplished and the scholarship offers and everything else, it's pretty surprising. But the only thing I can do is support his decision."

This is a developing story. A message has been left on Moore's cell.

Alex Ball, a Westlake kicker who had 19 field goals this season, is headed to Lamar in Texas.

"I'm going to be a Cardinal," he said.

Four days ago, Crespi High's boys' basketball was sitting pretty.

The Celts were in sole possession of first place in the Mission League, ranked No. 8 in the state by Maxpreps, and by most accounts brimming with momentum heading into the final stretch.

But now Crespi has lost two in a row after falling to league rival Harvard-Westlake by one point Friday, followed by a 70-52 loss Monday at Loyola in another Mission League showdown that has all but forced Crespi to win its final five league games to win the league championship.

Crespi has coped with a height disadvantage against most opponents, but taller Loyola proved too much inside for the visiting Celts, who were missing standout forward Michael Milligan.

"We didn't play as a team, and we didn't fight until the end," Crespi's Christian Johnson. "We definitely missed Michael Milligan, but if we play as a team, I think we can win the rest of our games. We still have a good chance to do that."

In addition to Milligan's injury, Tyler Foreman is hobbling around with a sore knee, and London Perrantes is limited by a shoulder injury.

"We've got to come back real strong," Foreman said. "I don't think we should worry about first place. We just need to get the job done."

Crespi did not shoot well, and that's a no-no for a team trying to succeed without an inside player taller than 6-foot-3.

Still, it was a one-point game early in the second half before Loyola went on an 8-0 run to pull ahead 38-27 midway through the third quarter; Crespi never got closer than eight.
Crespi's Carter Gallo scored 16 points, and Perrantes added nine. Justin Childress and Jacob Hazzard both scored 17 for Loyola.

The loss dropped Crespi (18-3, 5-2) into a tie for second with Loyola (16-2, 5-2), one game behind xxxxAlemany (17-3, 6-1). The Celts had defeated Loyola by two points on Jan. 4.

It's a good idea for the Celts to put this one behind them because there is still work to be done including league matchups with Alemany, Chaminade and Harvard-Westlake.

The win was Loyola's fifth in a row since a two-game league losing streak of its own.

"We just need to keep going forward and keep playing the right way," Loyola's Khaliq Bedart-Ghani said. "I didn't really look at the game as us having a height advantage. But we did have one, so Crespi needed to hit their outside shots, and they didn't do that tonight."

Loyola 70, Crespi 52
Crespi 12-12-9-19-52
Loyola 12-16-19-23-70
Crespi - Davison 7, Ephraim 4, Johnson 7, Gallo 16, Perrantes 9.
Loy - Justin Childress 17, Harrell 6, Cartwright 10, Oti 8, J. Hazzard 17, Bedart-Ghani 4, Kovacs 4, Bowles 2, Armour 2.
R: C 18-3, 5-2; Loy 16-2; 5-2.

Get ready for a Mission League showdown between Crespi and host Loyola, as a big crowd is already filling up the gym here in Los Angeles for what's expected to be a to-the-wire challenge between two of the Southland's top programs.

Crespi, ranked No. 8 in the state by maxpreps, is 18-2, 5-1 including a two-point win over Loyola on Jan. 4. The host Cubs, ranked No. 5, are 15-2, 4-2, having won their first 13 games before the Crespi loss.

Jahmel Taylor scored 21 points and Jesse Howell scored 14 points to lead Sierra Canyon to a 59-58 Alpha League victory against Brentwood at Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch.

Taylor missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw situation with 1.5 seconds remaining and the Trailblazers survived a Ountae Campbell desperation heave at the buzzer.

Leland King scored 18 points, Tra Holder scored 13 points and Yonathan Napoleon had 13 points to lead Brentwood (12-7, 1-3).

Brentwood lost its fifth consecutive game while Sierra Canyon won its third in a row.

"We are playing a lot better," Sierra Canyon coach Ryan Silver said. "Jahmel is finally starting to get healthy. We are excited about our momentum moving forward."

Brentwood 19 10 12 17=58
Sierra Canyon 14 15 14 16=59

Brentwood-Leland King 18, Tra Holder 13, Yonathan Napoleon 13, Campbell 6, Shapiro 4, Rubin 2, Gardiner 2

Sierra Canyon-Jahmel Taylor 21, Jesse Howell 14, Spencer 9, Ifekeniguwe 9, White 6

SC: 13-9, 1-2, B: 12-7, 1-3

After denying Friday he was transferring from Crespi to Chaminade, sophomore quarterback Brad Kaaya officially applied to Chaminade on Sunday, according to a Chaminade source.

However, Kaaya had yet to show up for classes today at Crespi but has not de-enrolled and has not requested transfer documents, Crespi spokesman Paul Rawate said.

There are numerous messages on Kaaya's facebook page about him leaving Crespi.

He is considered one of the San Fernando Valley's top young prospects. Cody Cordell, who started at quarterback over Kaaya this past season, is a junior.

This is a developing story. More details soon.

Eric Rodriguez, a top offensive lineman for Palmdale, has committed to Northern Arizona.

Eliel Swinton, a former Daily News Player of the Year at Montclair Prep who went on to play at Stanford before founding CarPe Diem Sports Academy, a non-profit organization that teaches at-risk youths life skills and provides others services, is hosting a charity dinner Friday.

"It's the first opportunity for me to show all of my friends and family members the organization I have created. I'm truly excited," Swinton said.

Former college coach Tyrone Willingham is the keynote speaker.

Information: coacheswinton@gmail.com

Zach Miller made the winning shot for Chaminade in a 56-54 victory against Notre Dame Saturday.

Chaminade now has good momentum going into a huge showdown with Alemany Monday.

Miller finished with 17 points and sophomore Jack Williams scored 14 points for Chaminade.

Coach Todd Wolfson has done a heckuva job with league victories against Harvard-Westlake, St. Francis and now Notre Dame.

The Eagles were 0-6 through the first round a year ago.

Marqueze Coleman scored 28 points and had 10 rebounds, and Max Guercy scored 21 points and six assists to lead Alemany in a Mission League game.

Harvard-Westlake couldn't continue the momentum after beating Crespi, 67-66, one night earlier.

Zena Edosomwan scored 27 points for Harvard-Westlake. Edosomwan made the winning putback shot Friday to beat Crespi.

Sophomore Derrick Newton scored 14 points for the Wolverines

Sophomore Bear Henderson scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Warriors (16-3, 5-1).

Jerico Richardson added 11 points in the victory.

Alemany hosts Chaminade at 7 p.m. Monday

Sierra Canyon has been off for a week and the rest did the Trailblazers some good.

Jahmel Taylor scored 25 points, Jesse Howell scored 16 points and Brandon White scored 15 points to lead Sierra Canyon in a 65-59 nonleague victory against Flintridge Prep.

Howell surpassed the 1,000 point mark for his career.

Flintridge Prep was led by the trio of Chad Cosse, Robert Cartwright and Kory Hamane.

Cosse scored 21 points, Cartwright had 14 and Hamane had 11.

Pacific Hills 76
Sylmar 41

Pacific Hills-Myles Thomas 19, Brandon Taylor 18, Kidd, Jr. 8, Wright 8, Mills 6, Jackson 6, Plax 5, Ramirez 4, Meadows 2

Sylmar-David Trujillo 16, Jamere Austin 13, Carlos 4, Moore 2, Griffith 2, Baker 2, Connelly 2

PH: 19-3, S: 10-14

Providence 73
Campbell Hall 66

Providence 15 13 17 28=73
Campbell Hall 17 19 15 15=66

Providence-Marcus LoVett, Jr. 45, Patrick Gonzalez 11, Ware-Berry 7, Ly 6, Smith 4

Campbell Hall-Aaron Holiday 27, Cole Huff 21, Kyle Vane 13, Silverstein 4, Griffith 1

P: 17-4, CH: 7-14

Here's something you don't see every day: Taft High did not make a basket in the fourth quarter Saturday at Fairfax but still won the game, escaping with a 44-38 boys' basketball victory over the host Lions in the championship game of the Fairfax City Preview Classic tournament.

"I guess both teams were pretty bad. Neither of us made too many baskets," Taft forward Anthony January said.

In a showdown between two of the City Section's top programs, Taft first-year coach Jason Hart got the best of Fairfax's 31-year coach Harvey Katani.

"I've been around long enough to know a win is a win," Hart said. "Both teams just played really good defense, and Fairfax was the one that slowed it down with a 2-3 zone -- and they wouldn't shoot the ball."

January scored 20 points, 13 in the second quarter to help Taft (17-3) to a seven-point halftime lead.

The visiting Toreadors extended the advantage to 13 after going on a 7-1 run to begin the second half, but Fairfax chipped away. The Lions (13-7) pulled to within 36-34 on a free throw by Brendyn Taylor early in the fourth quarter, but Taft scored the next seven points and never looked back, making 10 of 17 free throws to account for all its scoring in the fourth quarter.

Overall, Taft made 18 of 30 free throws, and Fairfax made 9 of 19, and that was the difference.

Fairfax's Landon Drew, who played at Taft two years ago before transferring, was limited to one point.

"I know all those Taft guys, but I tried to treat this like any other game," Drew said. "I tried to go all out."

The win was Taft's third in a row over Fairfax, though the teams did not face each other the past two seasons.

Taylor scored 24 points but none of his Fairfax teammates scored more than four.
Brandon Perry chipped in 11 points for Taft despite sitting for much of the first half because of foul trouble.

"We played good defense. Overall, we did a good job," Perry said.

In other Fairfax tournament action:

Grant 94, Narbonne 73 - Gor Plavchyan scored a career-high 37 points with 24 rebounds, and Gurgen Harutyunyan added a career-high 31 points to help Grant (17-5) take third place in the four-team tournament.

"I was feeling really good. We were playing with a huge amount of intensity," Plavchyan said. "We had a good game."

Taft 44, Fairfax 38

Taft - 6-17-11-10-44
Fair- 9-7-13-9-38

Taft: Yanku 7, Jones 2, Anthony January 20, Perry 11, Alberto 2, Henderson 2.

Fairfax: Drew 1, Prince 1, Brendyn Taylor 24, Adams 4, Theus 4, Mundy, Hill 4.
R: T 17-3; F 13-7

Taft leads 35-29 after three quarters. Landon Drew has just one point for Fairfax.

Anthony January is heating up for Taft. He has scored 15 points, 13 in the second quarter, to help forget a 23-16 lead at Fairfax in a key City showdown.

January is 6-7 forward with impressive skills and a good feel near the basket. He has scored in a variety of ways -- jumpers, drives, fastbreaks. He is the difference so far.

It's a slow start for both teams, as Taft trails Fairfax 9-6 after the first quarter.

There's a nice crowd here at Fairfax for a City showdown between the host Lions and Taft, as two top programs go head to head.

It's also a chance for former Taft standout Landon Drew, now at Fairfax, to face his old teammates.

St. Lucy's 55
Providence 27

St. Lucy's 10 16 12 17=55
Providence 5 6 10 6=27

St. Lucy's-Savannah Selby 14, Britney Young 15, Kogan 6, Heron 6, Lim 4, Okafor 4, Serdfin 2, Trudo 2, Guillen 2

Providence-Bea Benedicto 13, Saint 5, Glorioso 3, Dabbaghian 2, Gian-Mari 2, Mungues 1, Adraneda 1

S: 13-5, P: 16-3

Sierra Canyon's Tyler Stewart, Andrew Terry and Brian Tucker have been named first team all-state small schools by Cal-Hi Sports.

Here is the complete roster of the 2011 Cal-Hi Sports All-State Small Schools Football Teams:
First Team Offense
WR Deontay Greenberry (Washington, Easton) 6-3, 190, Sr.
WR Kenneth Walker (Kennedy, Richmond) 5-9, 175, Sr.
OL Dave Drain (Rio Hondo Prep, Arcadia) 6-3, 235, Jr.
OL Lucas Govan (Carmel) 6-3, 260, Sr.
OL Leo Koloamatangi (Sacred Heart Prep, Atherton) 6-5, 255, Sr.
OL Kevin Sundberg (Fowler) 6-3, 280, Jr.
OL Freddie Tagaloa (Salesian, Richmond) 6-8, 310, Sr.
OL Andrew Terry (Sierra Canyon, Chatsworth) 6-5, 265, Sr.
QB Shane Dillon (Christian, El Cajon) 6-5, 200, Sr.
RB Josh Miguel (Escalon) 5-10, 175, Sr.
RB Donald Phelps (Washington, Easton) 6-0, 185, Sr.
RB John Wiernicki (Liberty Ranch, Galt) 5-11, 185, Sr.
PK Noah Beito (Scotts Valley) 6-0, 190, Sr.

First Team Defense
DL Scott Batchelder (Orland) 6-4, 265, Sr.
DL Ray Edwards (Highlands, North Highlands) 6-3, 205, Sr.
DL Austin Hoyt (Argonaut, Jackson) 6-7, 260, Sr.
DL Tony Vincent (Escalon) 6-1, 220, Sr.
LB Zack Giuliano (Hilmar) 6-1, 190, Sr.
LB Ray Hecox (Orland) 5-10, 200, Sr.
LB Craig Jones (Central Catholic, Modesto) 6-2, 195, Sr.
LB Brian Tucker (Sierra Canyon, Chatsworth) 5-10, 205, Jr.
DB Connor Moore (Santa Fe Christian, Solana Beach) 6-0, 190, Sr.
DB Rayvon Owens (Christian, El Cajon) 5-10, 180, Jr.
DB Daniel Young (Rubidoux, Riverside) 6-1, 175, Jr.
P Brian Bostrom (The King's Academy, Sunnyvale) 6-0, 170, Sr.

First Team Multi-Purpose
RB/LB Brian Alvarado (Coalinga) 5-8, 200, Sr.
WR/DB Zach Moreno (LeGrand) 6-4, 185, Sr.
QB/RB Devin Pearson (Carmel) 5-10, 175, Sr.
RB/LB Edgar Segura (Mendota) 5-9, 165, Soph.
QB/RB Tyler Stewart (Sierra Canyon, Chatsworth) 6-4, 210, Sr.
QB/RB Jihad Vercher (Salesian, Richmond) 6-0, 185, Sr.

Second Team Offense
WR Cody Hall (Farmersville) 6-1, 165, Sr.
OL Dave Drain (Rio Hondo Prep, Arcadia) 6-3, 235, Jr.
OL Ian Fowler (Bradshaw Christian, Sacramento) 5-11, 280, Sr.
OL Alan Gonzalez (Escalon) 6-3, 250, Jr.
OL Nate Karn (Grace Brethren, Simi Valley) 6-2, 280, Sr.
OL Ryan Wallace (Whittier Christian, La Habra) 6-4, 280, Sr.
QB Nathan Sudfield (Modesto Christian) 6-5, 215, Sr.
RB Collin Corbella (Scotts Valley) 6-0, 190, Sr.
RB Xavier Menifield (Sierra Canyon, Chatsworth) 5-10, 170, Jr.
RB Jacob Taylor (Rim of the World, Lake Arrowhead) 5-11, 170, Jr.
RB Sean Tow (Union Mine, El Dorado) 5-6, 165, Jr.
PK Kurtis Bettencourt (Hilmar) 5-7, 175, Sr.

Second Team Defense
DL Trevor Candelaria (Willows) 6-2, 245, Jr.
DL Dustin Drai (Campbell Hall, North Hollywood) 6-2, 230, Sr.
DL Tyler Juncker (Hilmar) 6-1, 180, Jr.
LB Jake Holguin (Rio Hondo Prep, Arcadia) 6-3, 190, Jr.
LB K.C. Migliore (Washington, Easton) 6-1, 185, Sr.
LB Zach Parella (Valley Christian, Dublin) 6-1, 225, Sr.
LB Bryan Rodgers (Paraclete, Lancaster) 6-2, 205, Jr.
LB Matt Spoelstra (Citrus Valley, Redlands) 6-1, 230, Jr.
DB DeVaughn Gaines (Chowchilla) 5-10, 170, Jr.
DB Philip Robledo (Sutter) 6-0, 205, Jr.
DB Jarrod Watson-Lewis (Santa Fe Christian, Solana Beach) 6-1, 185, Sr.
P Ricky Adams (Foothills Christian, El Cajon) 6-0, 195, Sr.

Second Team Multi-Purpose
QB/RB Chris Cain (Washington, Easton) 6-0, 175, Sr.
RB/DB Daniel Guizar (LeGrand) 5-10, 185, Sr.
RB/DB Marcial Mailic (Salesian, Richmond) 5-6, 160, Sr.
TE/LB John Mundt (Central Catholic, Modesto) 6-4, 220, Jr.
QB/P Hank Trumbull (Chadwick, Palos Verdes) 6-4, 205, Sr.
QB/ATH Austin Young (Colfax) 6-4, 220, Sr.

Comments or corrections? Email Mark.Tennis@espn.com.

Stephen Doerbecker scored 25 points and Aaron Martinez scored 14 points to lead Hillcrest Christian of Granada Hills to a 57-54 nonleague victory against Hillcrest Christian of Thousand Oaks at Taft High.

Martinez added 11 rebounds to help the Eagles overcome a six-point halftime deficit.

Gio Hernandez scored 29 points to lead Hillcrest Christian/Thousand Oaks (3-7).

Teddy Rettinger scored 14 points and had nine rebounds.

Hillcrest Christian/Thousand Oaks 18 11 9 16=54
Hillcrest christian/Granada Hills 13 10 16 18=57

HCTO-Gio Hernadez 29, Teddy Rettinger 14, Owen 4, Shane 2, Dundas 2, Chen 2, Baltau 1.

HCGH-Stephen Doerbecker 25, Aaron Martinez 14, Minassian 9, Shaw 5, Cao 2, Nersis 2.

Rolling Hills Prep 53
St. Genevieve 46

Rolling Hills Prep 17 5 13 18=53
St. Genevieve 16 6 14 10=46

Rolling Hills Prep-Jimbo Lull 17 and 13 rebounds, #5 11 points, Giordano 9, Rogers 7, Williams 7, Ambrose 2

St. Genevieve-Isaace Girley 13, Mark Chin 10, Espana 6, Martin 5, Foy 5, Fugisang 4, Puno 3

RHP: 12-5
SG: 11-9

Rolling Hills Prep 68
Village Christian 32

Rolling Hills Prep 13 26 17 12=68
Village Christian 8 10 2 12=32

Rolling Hills Prep-Mar-Jana Phillips 19, Peyton Langston 19, Beverly Ntagu 13, Bridgette Adams 15, Taylor 2

Village Christian-Chyna Cotangco 14, Pyros 6, Boyajian 6, Temple 4, Phillips 2

RHP: 9-2
VC: 11-7

R.J. Gordon, a quarterback for Campbell Hall, has committed to Winona State in Minnesota, a top NCAA Div. II program.

Sophomore Jeremy Lieberman scored 31 points to lead Calabasas (17-3, 7-1).

Holden Israel and Spencer Levy each added 14 points for the Coyotes.

Max McCoy scored 18 points, J.R.Powell scored 16 points and Scott Woods had 11 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks to lead Royal in a 68-34 Marmonte League victory.

Royal is 15-5, 7-1
Moorpark is 12-8, 2-6

Julian Richardson made a 20 foot fadeaway jumper with 1.7 seconds remaining to help El Camino Real in a 57-55 West Valley League victory against Granada Hills.

El Camino Real is one game behind Taft.

Harvard-Westlake defeated Crespi 67-66, as Zena Edosomwan scored a rebound basket as time expired. H.W.'s Derrick Newton scored 26 points and Zena had 18.

The great ones love to have the basketball in their hands in the waning moments, and Ron Lee thrives on the pressure.

The Oak Park High junior scored 30 points Friday, including five points in the final minute, as the visiting Eagles blew a 17-point lead but survived a 61-60 victory over Oaks Christian in a key Tri-Valley League showdown before a near-capacity crowd at Oaks Christian.

Lee, a 6-foot-2 junior, is the son over former NBA player Ron Lee, and the youngster looks like he has learned well from the master.

"I knew there was pressure, so I had to step up," Lee said. "I thought it was pretty even, and we got some stops when we needed to. Once we got the lead, we knew Oaks Christian was going to come back hard."

Oak Park (16-6, 5-0) went nearly the entire fourth quarter without a field goal, as Oaks Christian continued to chip away.

Oaks Christian's Chass Bryan's three-point play tied the score at 51 with just over four minutes remaining. But Oak Park's J.D. Slajchert answered with an inside basket, followed by a Trevor Darling free throw to push the lead to 54-51 with two minutes left, and Oaks Christian could not come through with one last rally.

"We played tough defense, but the refs called all the fouls on us whenever Ron Lee did anything," Bryan said. "He's a good player, but he got the calls tonight."

Lee made 16 of 21 free throws, and overall Oak Park converted 23 of 33 compared to 16 of 21 for Oaks Christian.

"Ron Lee was the man, plain and simple," Oak Park's Jackson Hall said. "He put us on his back at the end, but I had confidence in the whole team because we knew Oaks Christian was a good team and that they had a run in them."

Bryan made two 3-pointers in the final 45 seconds, including a 30-footer at the buzzer, but it was not enough, as Oaks Christian lost a league contest for the first time in 15 games since coach Andre Chevalier took over last season.

"I think we're in a pretty good position now," Lee said. "We're playing well. We just have to keep it up."

Brandon Hill added eight points for Oak Park. Oaks Christian's Mike Roletti scored 18, and Jackson Miller chipped in 12 points and nine rebounds.

OAK PARK - 20-12-14-17-61
OAKS CHRISTIAN: 8-11-19-22-60
OP: Hall 7, Welti 2, Flashner 3, Lee 30 (16 of 21 FTs), Darling 3, Hicks 2, Kaufman 2, Brandon Hill 8, Slajchert 4.
OC: Smith, Roletti 18, Bryan 18, Ghilarducci 2,Miller 12 and 9 rebs, Chevalier 1, Abrams 9.
R: OC 15-4, 4-1; OP 16-6, 5-0.

Oak Park got off to a great start, reeling off the first 13 points in a Tri-Valley League game at Oaks Christian with first place on the line.

Oak Park, led by Ron Lee Jr. (16 points), leads 32-19 at the half.

It's a big night for high school basketball in Westlake Village, as Oaks Christian and visiting Oak Park face off soon in a Tri-Valley League showdown between two neighborhood rivals tied for first.

Oaks Christian, led by Chass Bryan, is 15-3, 4-0, and Oak Park, led by Ron Lee Jr., is 15-6, 4-0.

The gym at Oaks Christian is already filling up. This is going to be a good one.

Michael Silva, a West Ranch pitch who threw just five innings last year but throws 90 mph, has committed to LMU.

2012 War on the Floor Extravaganza
Saturday January 21 at Taft High in Woodland Hills, CA.

Girls :: Village Christian vs. Rolling Hills Prep, 11:00 a.m.
Boys :: Rolling Hills Prep vs. St. Genevieve, 12:30 p.m.
Boys :: Hillcrest Christian of Granada Hills vs. Hillcrest Christian of Thousand Oaks,
2:00 p.m.
Girls :: Providence vs. St. Lucy's, 3:30 p.m.
Boys :: Pacific Hills vs. Sylmar, 5:00 p.m.
Boys :: Campbell Hall vs. Providence, 6:30 p.m.
Boys :: Sierra Canyon vs. Flintridge Prep, 8:00 p.m.

Robert Hernandez, a promising sophomore defensive back at Crespi, has transferred fo Chaminade.

Also, another varsity sophomore returning player might also be transferring to Chaminade, according to multiple sources.

This is a breaking story. Stay tuned.

Chris Richards is the new coach at Sylmar, which means he is taking over a program that has not won a playoff game in six years. That's no easy job, yet Richards, a former star running back at San Fernando High and Cal, says he feels like he's coming home.

"I was raised in Pacoima. This is an opportunity to help kids from my neighborhood," Richards said.

The coach has a talented returning multi-purpose back in Jamere Austin, but otherwise Sylmar, 3-7 last season under Andrew Kasek, is building from the ground up.

"It starts with discipline and organization. Those are basics," Richards said. "Sylmar has a lot of tradition. That's a good starting point."

It is official.

The Viewpoint School in Calabasas is leaving the Liberty Lague and joining the Gold Coast Conference, which is comprised of the Alpha and Delphic Leagues.

Viewpoint has simply outgrown the Liberty League.

The Patriots football team also will leave the Prep League.

Viewpoint has had great success in girls' volleyball, girls' tennis, boys' volleyball, boys' tennis, swimming, baseball, softball and the football program has been making strides.

"It was time to move on," athletic director Patrick Moyal said. "We are excited about the challenges in front of us."

The Liberty League will add Pacifica Christian next year.

However, the league could be dwindling.

Buckley and Providence have explored other avenues and the remaining schools don't offer all the same sports.

Yeshiva has a limited sports program and Oakwood competed free-lance in boys' basketball this year.

Chaminade 55
St. Francis 48 overtime

Jaron Martin scored 18 points and had six assists to lead Chaminade.

Sophomore Jack Williams scored 14 points and had 14 rebounds.

Alemany 85
Notre Dame 62

Jerico Richardson had 19 points, 10 rebounds and 11 steals to lead the Warriors.

Marqueze Coleman scored 22 points in the victory.

Max Guercy scored 17 points and had six assists.

Brandon Boyd scored 11 points.

Alemany is 15-3, 4-1.

Alemany plays at Harvard-Westlake at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Fans were going crazy Thursday at the Roy Disney Pavilion on the campus of The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks.

There might not be better small-schools game this year.

Jack Borenstein scored 21 points and Matt Pournazarian scored 20 points, including six 3-pointers to lead Viewpoint to a 68-65 Liberty League overtime victory against host Buckley.

Viewpoint grabbed a three point lead on a Jonny Paul shot and free throw, only to see Buckley comeback and take a 65-63 lead on a Tyler Coppin-Carter basket.

Borenstein answered for the Patriots with a lone-range 3-pointer.

Borenstein had a chance to put Viewpoint up by three points but missed two free throws.

Buckley had a chance to go ahead but Chase Holliday missed a wide open layup with eight seconds remaining.

Pournazarian made two free throws and Coppin-Carter missed a good look at a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Viewpoint was darn lucky to get overtime.

Buckley needed a win desperately after a 1-3 start to league competition. The Griffins had a home crowd on its side and were ringing in a brand new hardwood floor.

It looked good when Buckley took a 51-43 with under five minutes remaining in regulation.

However, Pournazarian made two deep 3-pointers from the right corner in the final 2:15 and Borenstein connected on a layup with 16 seconds remaining to force the extra period.

Coppin-Carter finished with 32 points and made his first 11 free throws.

Freshman Austin Butler had 18 points for Buckley.

Viewpoint improved to 11-5, 2-1.

Buckley is now 11-7, 1-4.

The results got in too late, but Quartz Hill beat Littlerock 67-15 in a dual match and then defeated Antelope Valley 60-12.

No other details are available.

Several Rebel wrestlers will compete in the Sam de John Tournament at San Fernando High on Saturday. Other teams that will compete include San Fernando, Crespi, Sylmar, Chatsworth and some members of the Royal team, among others.

In another dual match, San Fernando defeated Panorama 63-12 at home. The Tigers will travel to Monroe for their next match.

Leah Purvis drained a 3-pointer from the right wing with one second remaining to give Buckley a 40-39 Liberty League victory against Viewpoint.

Purvis' shot capped a wild fourth quarter comeback for the Griffins (7-7, 2-3).

Viewpoint beat Buckley on Jan. 4, 45-36.

The Patriots dropped to (7-8, 1-2).

Justin Moore, a Westlake quarterback, has named Player of the year in the Southern Section Northern Division, as the All-CIF teams have been released.

It will be interesting to see how Stuart and Marina Scamman will align their support at 7:30 p.m. Thursday when daughters Kim and Stephanie -- both Montclair Prep graduates -- square off for the first time in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball showdown at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

Kim, a freshman guard for CMS, will take on older sister Stephanie, a junior guard at Occidental.

Kim Scamman is averaging 10.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.1 steals for the Athenas (9-6, 3-1), who have won five of six. She scored a career-high 22 points in a 57-53 victory Jan. 12 at Cal Lutheran.

Stephanie Scamman is averaging 6.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals in 22.7 minutes per game for the Tigers (12-2, 4-0), who have won five in a row and share the SCIAC lead with Redlands (10-5, 4-0). She has scored 11 points twice this season, with her career-high of 15 points coming last year against Cal Lutheran.

Big news in Chatsworth: With national signing day looming in less than two weeks, Tyler Stewart, the star quarterback for Sierra Canyon, has decommitted from San Jose State.

He is now choosing between Nevada, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawaii and Indiana.

Abel Deharo, an L.A. Valley College offensive lineman from Canoga Park High, has committed to Nevada.

Notre Dame graduate Kody Burke, a sophomore at North Carolina State, scored a career-high 26 points to go along with eight rebounds, four blocks and three steals Monday to lift the Wolfpack to a 75-66 Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball victory at Wake Forest.

Burke, who has started all 18 games for North Carolina State (12-6), is averaging 11.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.6 steals in 24.3 minutes.

Burke's previous career-high was a 21-point effort in a 66-59 victory Dec. 18 over Vanderbilt.

Freshman Marcus LoVett, Jr. is having quite a freshman year for Providence.

Here is his game-by-game scoring output:

Nov. 30 vs. Wildwood (24)
Dec. 1 vs. Calvary Baptist (22)
Dec. 2 vs. St. Genevieve (39)
Dec. 3 vs. San Marino (37)
Dec. 10 vs. Orange Lutheran (29)
Dec. 17 vs. St. Joseph of Santa Maria (57)
Dec. 19 vs. Fremont of Los Angeles (24)
Dec. 20 vs. Nipomo (26)
Dec. 21 vs. Pacific Hills (28)
Dec. 22 vs. Mt. Carmel (44)
Dec. 26 vs. Eastside Catholic (Wash.) (41)
Dec. 27 vs. Bonita (20)
Dec. 28 vs. Kennedy (28)
Dec. 29 vs. Golden Valley (31)
Jan. 4 vs. Yeshiva (34)
Jan. 6 vs. Buckley (30)
Jan. 7 vs. Bell Jeff (32)
Jan. 12 vs. Glendale Adventist (29)
Jan. 13 vs. Holy Martyrs (20)
Jan. 16 vs. Morningside (29)

624 points, 20 games

An average of just over 31 points per game.

Morningside 71
Providence 70

Providence 14 22 19 15=70
Morningside 13 29 12 17=71

Providence-Marcus LoVett, Jr. 29, Patrick Gonzalez 16, Christian Ware-Berry 11, Ly 9, Sarenas 3, Smith 2

Morningside-D.J. Harris 19, Jonathon Franklin 12, Kyle Mitchell 12, Hickmon 9, Conner 7, Freeman 4, Wilson 4, Blackmon 2, Agee 2.

M: 8-9
P: 16-4

Ribet Academy 86
Campbell Hall 52

Campbell Hall 9 16 16 11=52
Ribet Academy 15 21 25 25=86

Campbell Hall-Aaron Holiday 31, Huff 8, Vane 4, Silverstein 3, Shuper-Womack 2, Rice-Simplis 2, Ressler 2.

Ribet Academy-Tyler Dorsey 21, Loic Vaugirard 20, Brandon Robinson 16, Cedric Ranaivo 13, Diallo 8 and 18 rebounds and six blocks, McGill 4, Cors 2.

RA: 10-6
CH: 7-12

Chaminade linebacker Sam Hardy has committed to Wyoming.

The first week of the new year was not a good week for the Sierra Canyon boys' basketball team.

The Trailblazers lost four consecutive games against Cantwell Sacred-Heart, Campbell Hall, El Camino Real and Pacific Hills.

However, Sierra Canyon got back on the right track with an 89-62 victory against A.G.B.U. of Pasadena last Friday.

Jahmel Taylor scored 25 points to lead the Trailblazers.

"We will be fine," Sierra Canyon coach Ryan Silver said. "I think we got through our rough patch."

L.A.C.E.S. 69
Salesian (Los Angeles) 49

Beverly Hills 64
Diamond Ranch 39

Legacy (Las Vegas) 70
Dominguez 63

Renaissance Academy 64
Brentwood 47

Washington Prep 69
Central (Fresno) 53

Pacific Hills 57
Ribet Academy 43

Price 49
Serra (Gardena) 47

Dorsey 74
Durango (Las Vegas) 69

Despite multiple personal fouls and ejections on both sides in the second half, the East relied on the efforts of game MVP Christian Tago from Highland and team MVP De'Jon Coleman of Arleta to defeat the West 31-7 in the 16th annual Daily News high school football all-star game at College of the Canyons.

It marked the fifth consecutive victory for the East, which evened the annual series at 8-8.

Tago passed for 94 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 31 more yards, with Coleman rushing for 64 yards on eight carries and a touchdown.

West MVP Chris Harper of Crespi caught nine passes for 115 yards, with Sierra Canyon's Tyler Stewart completing 13 of 18 passes for 161 yards, along with rushing for a team-high 19 yards. Hart's Tim White caught the lone touchdown pass from Stewart for 24 yards.

In a game becoming defined more by penalties than the talent on the field, the East still leads the 16th annual Daily News high school all-star football game 31-7 entering the fourth quarter at College of the Canyons.

The East's' Xavier Canada of Campbell Hall and Crespi's Mike Davison from the West were ejected following a scuffle with 4:02 left in the third.

Following a West punt, the East needed only three plays to march 40 yards, capped by a 1-yard touchdown run from Paraclete's Ryan Davis with 7:01 remaining in the third quarter.

Notre Dame's Dylan Pritchard remains perfect on extra-point attempts and the East leads 31-7 in the 16th annual Daily News high school all-star football game at College of the Canyons.

Taking advantage of three lost fumbles by the West, the East converted every turnover into points and leads 24-7 at halftime of the 16th annual Daily News high school all-star football game at College of the Canyons.

Highland's Christian Tago has two touchdown passes, Arleta's De'Jon Coleman added a touchdown run and Notre Dame's Dylan Pritchard has a 33-yard field goal for the East.

Hart's Tim White caught a touchdown pass from Sierra Canyon's Tyler Stewart for the West's lone touchdown.

The East has won four in a row in the annual series.

Notre Dame kicker Dylan Pritchard helped the East take advantage of a fumble recovery by Campbell Hall's Xavier Canada to kick a 33-yard field goal to increase the lead to 24-7 with 1:25 remaining in the second quarter in the 16th annual high school football all-star game at College of the Canyons.

East coach Russ Gordon reached deep into the playbook to regain the advantage in the 16th annual Daily News high school all-star football game at College of the Canyons.

Canyon's Jonathan Jerozal tossed a lateral to Highland quarterback Christian Tago, who hit a wide open Isa Bey of Golden Valley on a 47-yard touchdown pass with 4:43 left in the second quarter.

Notre Dame's Dylan Pritchard added the extra point for a 14-7 lead.

After St. Francis' Tyler Marona recovered a fumble by Chaminade quarterback Logan Scott, the East used a similar play with Jerozal and Tago orchestrating a double handoff on an end around, resulting in a 27-yard touchdown pass from Tago to Highland's Hunter Sharp. Pritchard's point-after attempt was successful and the East stretched the advantage to 21-7 with 3:37 remaining.

Sierra Canyon's Tyler Stewart, who led the Trailblazers to Southern Section East Valley and CIF state Div. IV bowl championships, connected with Hart's Tim White on a 24-yard touchdown pass with 8:36 remaining in the second quarter for the West's first touchdown in the 16th annual Daily News high school football all-star game at College of the Canyons.

Hart's Rhett Almond added the extra point to tie the score at 7-7.

The East still leads 7-0 at the end of one quarter in the 16th annual Daily News high school football all-star game at College of the Canyons.

The West is starting a drive at its own 44-yard line.

Arleta running back De'Jon Coleman, who set the City Section record with 47 touchdowns this past season, put the East team ahead on a 9-yard score with 4:18 remaining in the first quarter in the 16th annual Daily News all-star game at College of the Canyons. Notre Dame's Dylan Pritchard added the extra point for a 7-0 advantage.

After Sierra Canyon's Tyler Stewart fumbled the ball into the end zone on an attempted quarterback sneak on the West's first drive that was recovered by Saugus' Tyler Watt, the East marched 80 yards in 11 plays, with Coleman gaining 49 yards on five carries.

Highland's Christian Tago had three carries for 23 yards and completed a 9-yard pass to Golden Valley's Isa Bey on the drive.

Stewart completed two passes for 46 yards on the West's first drive, which marched to the 1-yard line in four plays, before the fumble turned the ball over to the East.

El Camino Real placed 6th as a team at the Santa Ynez High School, two-day, 32 team tournament.
The second-placers were Josh Adad (120) and Shayan Shahangian (152).

Michael Henderson (195) and Guy Shamam (160) placed 4th. Pasha Sabet (126) finished fifth, Kenny Lemus (220), Saam Shahrokhi (145), and Sean Polakov (113) placed 6th and Seamus Sullivan (170) was 7th.

Oaks Christian 73
Village Christian 61

Village Christian 14 17 8 22=61
Oaks Christian 22 16 17 18=73

Village Christian-Marsalis Johnson 21, Marquis Salmon 15, Skye Isle 13, Robles 3, Ahanmisi 3, Shahaty 3, English 3.

Oaks Christian-Chass Bryan, Mike Roletti 16, Miller 8, Abrams 5, Hopkins 5, Ghilarducci 4, Moye 2, Gustavson 2, Owusu 2.

OC: 14-3
VC: 18-2

Sophomore standout Bryan Alberts did not play for Village Christian

Alberts had a bout of food poisoning and has been in the hospital.

Diamond Ranch 42
Sierra Canyon 37

Toni Oni 11 points and six rebounds

Freshman Kennedy Burke 10 oints and five rebounds

Devin Stanback nine points and 13 rebounds

Cheyanne Wallace 0 points and 12 rebounds

The game was tied with 1:30 remaining.

Sierra Canyon missed two 3-pointers down the stretch.

San Fernando is the only local team competing in the two-day Temecula Valley tournament.

Fourth-seeded Sergio Mendez is still active in the championship round and Johnny Parada lost once and is now in the consolation round, but still competing.

Crespi and Royal are two area schools competing in the 5-Counties Tournament in Fountain Valley, which started Friday and continues Saturday.

Blayne Briceno, Carlos Lazo, Adrian Manzo and Richard Ortiz won all of their matches on Day One and continue in the championship bracket on Saturday.

Nathen Ruiz, Taylor Amic and Jon-Bert Dones of Royal also haven't lost yet and move forward in the championship bracket. Cody Goshman, Deric Ginther, Grant Goldberg, Colton Wergryzn, Tristan Lyga, Ryan Blomquist, Bryson Stikkleman and Tomas Castillo have all lost once and are still alive in the consolation bracket,

Canyon 61
Valencia 47

Canyon improved to 17-1 and 2-0 with the important Foothill League victory.

Clay Kasdorf scored 25 points and Coley Apsay scored 16 points to lead Canyon, which led by only one point at halftime.

Troy Hammel scored 23 points and Zach Davis added 15 points for Valencia (13-4, 1-1).

Oaks Christian 75
Santa Clara 60

Jason Ghilarducci scored 16 points, Jackson Miller scored 14 points and Anson Moye chipped in 11 points to lead Oaks Christian (13-3, 3-0)

El Camino Real 73
Cleveland 46

The visiting Conquistadores (10-6, 1-1) used a convincing 22-0 second quarter to take control in the lopsided victory.

Cleveland is 13-8, 1-1.

Birmimgham 79
Chatsworth 60

The Patriots are 2-0 in the West Valley League after the easy win.

Andrew Estes scored 18 points, including three 3-pointers for Birmingham.

Payam Ahmadi scored 17 points for Birmingham.

Campbell Hall 59
Cathedral 43

Freshman Aaron Holiday scored 18 points and had seven steals in the nonleague victory.

Nevada-bound forward Cole Huff had 14 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.

Campbell Hall is 7-11.

Crespi 71
Chaminade 54

The Celts are 17-1 and 4-0 in Mission League competition.

Michael Milligan, Jr. and London Perrantes each scored 16 points to lead Crespi.

Perrantes had seven assists.

Jack Williams scored 15 and Jaron Martin scored 13 points to lead Chaminade (11-5, 1-3).

Taft 60
Granada Hills 39

Brandon Perry scored 16 points, Anthony January scored 14 points and had 14 rebounds and Kris Yanku added 10 points for the Toreadors.

Taft is 13-3 and 2-0.

Taft won it's 71st consecutive West Valley League game on the floor.

Westlake 53
Simi Valley 48

Royal 50
Newbury Park 24

J.R. Powell scored 12 points to lead 10 players who scored for Royal.

Max McCoy and Austin Carr sat out nursing injuries.

Royal is 14-5 and 6-1.

Newbury Park is 4-15 and 0-7.

Calabasas 79
Thousand Oaks 46

Jeremy Lieberman scored 27 points to lead the Coyotes.

Josh Cohan scored 12 points and had 10 rebounds.

Calabasas led 39-16 at halftime and 58-26 at the end of three quarters.

Oak Park 79
St. Bonaventure 40

Ron Lee, Jr. scored 22 points, Jackson Hall scored 16 points and J.D. Slajchert scored 16 points to lead Oak Park.

The Eagles are looking forward to a Friday night showdown with Oaks Christian next week.

Playing in its first match since goalkeeper Francisco Rodriguez was killed Wednesday outside his Winnetka home, the visiting El Camino Real boys' soccer team received goals from Lucas Ladek and Josh Cohen and leads West Valley League rival Cleveland 2-0 at halftime Friday.

There was a 26-second moment of silence before the match to honor Rodriguez, whose No. 26 jersey lay next to the El Camino Real bench.

El Camino Real also started the match with 10 field players and no goalkeeper as a tribute to the 17-year-old Rodriguez.

Former Montclair Prep boys' basketball standout Rocky Steryo has started a new website with the athlete in mind.

Steryo has launched www.athletesway.com

It is sort of like facebook, twitter and YouTube all wrapped up into one.

The website is designed to put all content related to a certain athlete in one place.

Stats, stories, video, etc...

All organized neatly in one central location for friends and college coaches to check out.

Sign up is free.

There will be many items about wrestling in tomorrows paper, but we ran out of room for the results of San Fernando dual meet

Tigers 57, Vaughn 3.

No other details are available at this time

In other scores.
Simi Valley 41, Moorpark 31 (Marmonte League)
Crespi 35, Bishop Amat 33 (Mission)
El Camino Real 62, Cleveland 3 (West Valley)
Monroe 42, Panorama 39 (East Valley)
Newbury Park 35, Agoura 26 (Marmonte)

Simi takes the lead in the Marmonte League - and sets up a season-ending match with crosstown rival Royal for the title - and Crespi has positioned itself to potentially win the Mission League - after beating last year's champion.

La Canada vs. El Camino (Oceanside), 10:30 a.m.
Notre Dame vs. Francis Parker (San Diego), 12 p.m.
Alemany vs. Santa Monica, 1:30 p.m.
Harvard-Westlake vs. Torrey Pines, 3 p.m.
Price vs. Windward, 4:30 p.m.
Fairfax vs. Serra, 6:30 p.m.
Loyola vs. Orange Lutheran, 8 p.m.

Fairfax High is hosting a small four team tournament Saturday

Taft vs. Grant, 5 p.m.
Fairfax vs. Narbonne, 7 p.m.

The winners will meet Sat. Jan. 21 at 7 p.m.
The losers will play at 5 p.m.

Crespi 60
Alemany 55

London Perrantes and Michael Milligan, Jr. each scored 15 points in the key Mission League victory for the Celts, who beat Alemany, 59-54, Dec. 21 in the championship game of the San Fernando Valley Invitational.

Marqueze Coleman scored 14 points for Alemany (14-3, 2-1)

Crespi is 16-1, 4-0

Birmingham 66
Granada Hills 55

Andrew Estes scored 30 points, including six 3-pointers for Birmingham.

Westlake 51
Calabasas 50

Grant Lozoya made the winning shot for Westlake.

Calabasas led 43-28 in the third quarter.

Westlake outscored Calabsas 20-7 in the fourth quarter.

Westlake is now 15-6, 4-2

Calabasas is now 15-3, 5-1

Jaron Martin made a 30-footer with 2.9 seconds remaining to give Chaminade a 44-42 upset victory against Harvard-Westlake.

Martin, a 5-foot-9 junior guard, scored 30 points.

A source has confirmed Harvard-Westlake is down to three applicants for its new head football coach.

An announcement could come this week.

Windward's Scott Napier, St. Bernard's Larry Muno and a current assistant coach are the three top choices.

No one will ever admit it, but it is very clear the divisions for boys' and girls' basketball are basically separated by public schools and private schools.

The top 16 polls came out Monday and the statistics are staggering.

Divisions 1 through 3 are almost comprised of all public schools.

Divisions 4 through 6 are almost comprised of all private schools.

Here is a breakdown:

Div I-AA: 14 public, 2 private
Div. I-A: 15 public, 1 private
Div. II-AA: 16 public, 0 private
Div. II-A: 16 public, 0 private
Div. III-AAA: 15 public, 1 private
Div. III-AA: 15 public, 1 private
Div. III-A: 10 public, 6 private
Div. IV-AA: 2 public, 14 private
Div. IV-A: 2 public, 14 private
Div. V-AA: 1 public, 15 private
Div. V-A: 1 public, 15 private
Div. VI: 16 private

Might as well just go ahead and totally separate all public and private schools and just get it over with.

The brainchild behind this plan was Glendora boys' basketball coach Mike LeDuc, a high-ranking official with SCIBCA.

Several schools in Div. IV-AA are some of the top teams in the state.

It is a shame some very talented teams will not be representing the section in the state playoffs.

Instead, some very mediocre schools will advance to the state playoffs because of the playoff division configuration.

This new system was adopted by the Southern Section without any vote from coaches or member schools.

There hasn't been too much to get excited about in the West Valley League boys' basketball race in recent years.

Taft has dominated.

The Toreadors have not lost a league game on the floor since 2005.

El Camino Real will have its best chance to unseat Taft today in a 5 p.m. tip-off.

Taft has Brandon Perry, Anthony January, Steven Jones, Kris Yanku and Jayvone Gentle.

ECR counters with Maleke Haynes, Julian Richardson, Evan Wardlow, Julian Rochelin and sharp-shooter Mason Pollock.

Oak Park 48
St. Bonaventure 45

Sarah Bucknovitz scored 20 points with 14 rebounds for Oak Park.

Kelsey Haines scored 11 points and Erin Matsumoto scored 10 points.

The teams played five overtimes Dec. 10 at the Bishop Diego tournament.

Oak Park won, 98-90.

Canyon 76
Saugus 59

Canyon-
Clay Kasdorf 28 points
Coley Apsay 21 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals
Alek Golden 9 points, including three 3-pointers

Saugus
Jeremy Gatewood 19 points
Matt Coleman 18 points
Chris Lockwood 14 points

Canyon had a 42-24 halftime lead.

Canyon 16-1 and 1-0

Saugus 10-7 and 0-1

Longtime Campbell Hall football coach Russell Gordon is the new head coach at La Salle of Pasadena.

"It was time to move on," Gordon said. "I think I did all I could do at Campbell Hall."

Royal 61, Westlake 52

Scott Woods scored 20 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had four blocks for Royal (12-5, 4-1 Marmonte).

Nick Creber had 15 points, 11 rebounds and five steals for the Highlanders.

Joshua Brooks led Westlake with 18 points and Grant Lozoya added 13 points.

Calabasas 71, Newbury Park 46

Holden Israel cored 23 points to lead the Coyotes (15-2, 5-0 Marmonte).

Jeremy Lieberman scored 13 points and had six assists for Calabasas.

Calabasas plays host Wednesday to Westlake.

Grant 87, Sun Valley 41

Gor Plavchyan scored 14 points and had 10 rebounds in an easy East Valley League victory. Travis Wilson added 24 points for the Lancers (12-4, 1-0).

Sun Valley's Chris Isaak scored 30 points.

Alemany 79, St. Francis 69

Marqueze Coleman scored 26 points and had 10 rebounds for Alemany (14-2, 3-0 Mission).

Sophomore Razhaun Henderson had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Max Guercy scored 16 points and Jerico Richardson had 15 points for Alemany, which faces Crespi (15-1, 2-0) on Wednesday.

After Christmas comes the league dual matches and Alemany continued through its schedule, defeating Harvard-Westlake 60-15 at the Wolverines gym. Alemany remains undefeated in league play so far.

In the Mission League schedule, Alemany hosts Crespi on Feb. 2 after the Celts go against Bishop Amat in La Puente on Thursday.

The Sierra Canyon girls' basketball team had no problems with Pacific Hills in a 52-17 Alpha League victory Monday at Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch.

Toni Oni had 12 points, six rebounds and three assists for the Trailblazers (11-6, 1-1).

Devin Stanback added six points and 12 rebounds for Sierra Canyon.

One team that has flown under the radar in the Alpha League is Pacific Hills.

No longer.

The Bruins improved to 14-3 Monday after an easy 69-25 league victory against Sierra Canyon at Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch.

Brandon Taylor scored 27 points to lead Pacific Hills, coached by former Bruins standout Ivan Barahona.

Pacific Hills has impressive victories against Harvard-Westlake, Bakersfield and Central (Fresno).

Pacific Hills also has talented guard Marcus Jackson.

The Bruins are ranked No. 1 in Div. IV-A and have squarely put themselves in the conversation with Windward for the league championship.

Pacific Hills will be in the region Saturday Jan. 21 at Pierce College for a showcase game against Sylmar.

Jahmel Taylor led the Trailblazers (10-9) with 12 points.

Sierra Canyon has lost five consecutive games, including its last two by 36 and 44 points.

Boys' Basketball Showcase @ El Camino Real H.S.
January 14, 2012

9:30am El Camino Real v. Ventura (frosh/soph)

11:00am Chaminade v. Viewpoint (frosh/soph)

12:30pm Oaks Christian v. Buckley (frosh/soph)

2:00pm Oaks Christian v. Village Christian (7th grade)

3:30pm Oaks Christian v. Village Christian (8th grade)

5:00pm Oaks Christian v. Village Christian (JV)

7:00pm Oaks Christian v. Village Christian (Varsity)

Saturday January 14, 2012 @ LACES High School

Johnnie L Cochran Jr Basketball Classic

10:00 am Salesian v LACES

11:30 am Diamond Ranch v Beverly Hills

1:00 pm Legacy (Las Vegas) v Dominguez

2:30 pm Durango (Las Vegas) v Dorsey

4:00 pm Renaissance Academy v Brentwood

5:30 pm Central (Fresno) v Washington Prep

7:00 pm Ribet Academy v Pacific Hills

8:30 pm Serra (Gardena) v Price

Teams in Bold are designated Home team.

Event Director - Coach Ernest Baskerville

Monday January 16, 2012 @ Price and St. Bernard High Schools

MLK Day Hoops Showdown

@ Price High School

12:30pm Campbell Hall v Ribet Academy

2:00 pm Dominguez v Dorsey

3:30 pm Providence v Morningside

5:00 pm Palm Springs v Price

6:30 pm Mayfair v Washington Prep

8:00 pm Santa Monica v Serra (Gardena)

@ St Bernard High School

11:00am Perris v Fremont

12:30 pm Elsinore v Leuzinger

2:00 pm Renaissance Academy v View Park

3:30 pm LACES v St Monica

5:00 pm Beverly Hills v Brentwood

6:30 pm Culver City v St. Bernard

Teams in BOLD print are the home team and wear the light(White) uniform.

Event Director - Ernest Baskerville

Monday, Jan. 9
Pacific Hills vs. Sierra Canyon at Shepherd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch, 4 p.m.
Royal at Westlake, 7:30 p.m. (also St. Francis at Alemany, 7 p.m.)

Wednesday, Jan. 11
Taft at El Camino Real, 5 p.m.
Crespi at Alemany, 7 p.m. (also Westlake at Calabasas, 7:30 p.m.)

Sierra Canyon 51
Granada Hills 38 (girls)

Renaissance Academy 66
Chino 36

Chaminade 63
El Camino Real 46 (girls)

El Camino Real 81
Sierra Canyon 45

Marshall (Pasadena) 62
Serra (San Diego) 40

Hart 74
Corona del Mar 67

Pacific Hills 55
Central (Fresno) 29

Valencia 73
Ribet Academy 64

Flintridge Prep 61
Campbell Hall 60

Providence 77
Bell-Jeff 71

Freshman Marcus LoVett, Jr. scored 32 points.

Chaminade 63
El Camino Real 46

Chaminade-Annie Tarakchian 15, Kylie Fandino 14, Robyn Brown 10, MacLeod 9, Wright 8, Gan 4, C. Fandino 3

ECR-Cora Chan 23, Shannon Kingery 10 and 6 rebounds, Rodriguez 5, Halloran 4, Tanner 2, Barber 2.

C: 14-2
ECR: 7-8

Renaissance Academy 66
Chino 36

Chino 11 10 4 11=36
Ren. Acad. 22 25 16 3=66

Chino-Garnica 12, Castaneda 6, Garcia 5, Oliver 5, Viguilla 2, Sedillo 2, Mendez 2, Whooper 2

Renaissance Academy-Jessy Cantinol 16, Nick Troplent 13, Rick Hilarie 12, Fontanilla 8, Uneau 7, Dinges 3, DeGuzman 3, Magloire 2, Williams 2.

Ren. Acad: 14-2

Sierra Canyon 51
Granada Hills 38

Granada Hills-Ward 11, Villegas 7, Wong 6, Pinela 5, Tate 6, Nishimoto 2

Sierra Canyon-Toni Oni 9 and 8 rebounds, Cheyenne Wallace 19 and 5 blocks, Zoe Goss 8, Stanback 7, Lozano 2, Burke 6 and 7 rebounds

SC: 10-6, GH: 6-5

It will be the Christian vs. Christian battle Saturday Jan. 14 at El Camino Real.

Oaks Christian, ranked No. 6 by the Daily News will take on surprising Village Christian, ranked No. 7 by the Daily News in an attractive neutral site showcase game.

Seniors Chass Bryan, Michael Roletti, Jason Ghilarducci and Scotty Hopkins will try and use their experience against sophomores Bryan Alberts and Marsalis Johnson.

Village Christian also features senior Marquis Salmon, one of the most underrated players in the region, and junior Andrew English.

Alberts and Johnson transferred from Sierra Canyon and English came in from Alemany.

The trio has definitely boosted the team and expectations are high for a Div. V-AA championship.

Oaks Christian features a trio of youngsters, too.

Freshman K.J. Smith (dad is former NBA star Kenny Smith), Tyler Harris and Andre Chevalier, II have all seen significant playing time for the defending Southern Section Div. IV-A champions.

It should be an outstanding day of basketball.

The lower-level frosh-soph and J.V. teams are playing, along with two junior high games between the two schools.

Action starts at 2 p.m.

The varsity game is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Birmingham 81
Grant 72

Junior Payam Ahmadi scored 21 points, including 13 in a row in the third quarter to lead the Patriots (7-7) to the upset victory.

Gor Plavchyan scored 31 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Grant (11-4).

Royal 55
Simi Valley 41

Scott Woods recorded a triple-double with 15 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks.

Providence 69
Buckley 53

Buckley's Tyler Coppin-Carter led all scorers with 31 points and 15 rebounds.

Buckley is 0-2 in league for the first time since starting the 2007 season 0-3.

However, the Griffins went on to win 15 in a row that season and advance to the Southern Section Div. IV-A championship game against Twentynine Palms.

Alemany 69
Loyola 63

Max Guercy scored 21 points and played great defense on Parker Jackson-Cartwright.

Campbell Hall 73
Sierra Canyon 71 in overtime

Freshman Aaron Holiday scored 24 points and Cole Huff scored 21 points in the victory.

Jahmel Taylor scored 21 points for Sierra Canyon.

Providence 69
Buckley 53

Freshman Marcus LoVett, Jr. scored 30 points and Patrick Gonzalez scored 28 points.

Buckley is in an unfamiliar position at 0-2 in league.

Tyler Coppin-Carter led all players with 31 points and 15 rebounds.

Crespi 71
St. Francis 50

Michael Milligan, Jr. scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Celts (15-1, 2-0).

Crespi at Alemany Wednesday. Wow.

Calabasas 69
Agoura 41

Josh Cohan scored 17 points, Holden Israel scored 16 points and Jeremy Lieberman had 10 points and five assists for Calabasas (14-2).

Oaks Christian 77
Fillmore 26

Jackson Miller and Mike Roletti each scored 12 points to lead the Lions (11-3, 1-0)

University 68
Reseda 58

at the Huntington Park tournament

Malik Spears scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead University (10-7).

Teddy Linn led Reseda (9-10) with 15 points.

The Cleveland boys' basketball team gave Windward all it could handle Thursday in its final tuneup before starting West Valley League play next week.

However, Jordan Wilson converted a layup with 3.6 seconds remaining in overtime to give Windward a 66-65 nonleague victory.

Nick Stover scored 21 points and freshman Mason Sheperd scored 17 points to lead Windward (11-5), which edged Campbell Hall, 67-61, on Tuesday.

Jason Moore scored 19 points to lead Cleveland.

J.R. Williams and Osamu Igodan each scored 17 points for Cleveland (12-7).

In a call that came into us slightly too late to make the newspaper, Moorpark defeated Agoura 55-16: in Marmonte League competition Jake Ruth (106 pounds), Richie Vaillancourt (120), [BODY]Oran McMichael (126)[/BODY], Vincente Avila (132), Ryan Thompson (152), Tyler McManus (170) and Bryan Spencer (182) all won matches for the Musketeers.
Kyle Bischoff was the lone bright spot for Agoura (0-4, 0-3) with a 13-5 decision over Kevin Vega.

Former Taft coach Derrick Taylor is getting things done at St. John Bosco.

The Braves (10-2, 1-0) are ready to compete in the Trinity league behind Crenshaw-tranfers Isaac and Daniel Hamilton, and received great news Thursday.

Devin Burleson, a 6-foot-9 sophomore forward has enrolled from Clark High in Las Vegas.

Burleson briefly attended Price and Pacifc Hills last year before relocating to Las Vegas with his mother.

The addition of Burleson could put the Braves ove the top in Div. III-A.

Bosco is expected to be challenged by Alemany.

Alemany 72
Chaminade 53

Max Guercy scored 30 points, had five assists and five steals to lead the Warriors to a Mission League victory.

Sophomore Bear Henderson scored 15 points, Marqueze Coleman scored 12 points and Jerico Richardson added 10 points and seven steals for Alemany.

Alemany hosts Loyola Friday at 7 p.m.

Alemany: 12-2, 1-0
Chaminade: 10-4, 0-1

Crespi 75
Loyola 73

Loyola 23 21 13 16=73
Crespi 18 24 9 24=75

Loyola-Julian Harrell 19, Parker Cartwright-Jackson 15, Justin Childress 13, Jacob Hazzard 11, Bedart-Ghani 8, Mason 3, Oti 2, Armour 2.

Crespi-London Perrantes 17, Michael Avery 14, Christian Johnson 14, Milligan. Jr. 9, Rubia 8, Ephraim 5, Davison 4, Gallo 2.

Crespi: 14-1, 1-0
Loyola: 11-1, 0-1

Viewpoint 45
Buckley 41

Tim Howell scored 12 points, Jonny Paul scored nine points and Jack Borenstein had seven points to lead the Patriots to a huge Liberty League opening upset against defending Div. IV-A finalist Buckley.

Providence 71
Yeshiva 66

Freshman Marcus LoVett, Jr. scored 34 points and Patrick Gonzalez had 24 points to lead the Pioneers.

Crespi 75
Loyola 73

London Perrantes scored on a 10-foot floater in the lane with 2.9 seconds remaining to give Crespi the upset win against the previously undefeated Cubs (11-1, 0-1).

Perrantes scored 17 points, Michael Avery and Christian Johnson each scored 14 points and Michael Milligan, Jr. added nine points and 16 rebounds for Crespi.

Julian Harrell scored 19 points for Loyola.

Calabasas 66
Moorpark 64

Spencer Levy scored 20 points to lead four players in double figures for the Coyotes (13-2, 3-0).

Holde Israel scored 16 points, Josh Cohan had 12 points and nine rebounds and Jeremy Lieberman had 12 points and nine assists.

Royal 52
Thousand Oaks 40

Scott Woods scored 19 points, had 13 rebounds and eight blocks to lead Royal.

J.R. Powell scored 15 points, including three 3-pointers.

Powell broke the school all-time record for most 3-pointers in a career.

Powell has 155 and counting.

He broke Matt Padavick's record of 152.

University 61
Chatsworth 55

Chatsworth blew a 13 point first half lead in the setback.

Breamon Richard scored 26 points, including six 3-pointers to lead University.

Terrell Funches scored 30 points to lead Chatsworth.

Oak Park 65
Saugus 55

Ron Lee scored 34 points to lead the Eagles, who are readying for Tri-Valley League competition.

Jackson Hall scored 20 points for Oak Park, which trailed 31-19 at halftime.

Oak Park and Oaks Christian figure to be the top two teams in the Tri-Valley League

3rd annual Girls' Basketball Public vs. Private school showcase Jan. 14th

Beverly Hills High School Site
10 a.m. Venice vs St Monica
11:30 a.m. Beverly Hills vs Archer
1 p.m. Horizon vs Antelope Valley

St Bernard High School Site
10:30 a.m. Diamond Ranch vs Sierra Canyon
12 p.m. Monroe vs J Serra
1:30 p.m. Harvard-Westlake vs Westview
3 p.m. Ventura vs Bell-Jeff
4:30 p.m. Chatsworth vs Brentwood
6 p.m. Keppel vs La Jolla Country Day
7:30 p.m. Canyon vs St Bernard
9 p.m. Etiwanda vs Alemany

A four-year football standout at one of California's top programs, Jordan Payton makes one last hurrah on Saturday.

After reaching a Southern Section final at Oaks Christian every season - winning two -- the Oaks Christian High receiver is playing Saturday in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, televised by NBC beginning at 10 a.m.

The event is the nation's most prestigious All-Star showcase, and Payton says he can hardly wait.

"I'm excited. It's always fun to play against the best players in the country," Payton said. "I'm out here, and I'm working hard. I'm excited for Saturday. It's going to be a pleasure to represent Oaks Christian one last time, plus represent California and the whole west coast."

Payton, a 6-foot-3, 200-pounder who caught 61 passes and scored 11 touchdowns this past season, is among the game's few marquee players who've yet to announce their college choice. Payton has narrowed it down to three universities - Cal, Notre Dame and newcomer UCLA - and he'll make the choice Saturday as part of the national broadcast.

"I'm still considering all three," Payton said. "I'm going to decide Monday morning, and the only people I'm going to tell is my family and Oaks Christian coach Bill Redell. I'm going to call Redell in the morning before the game but I'm going to swear him to secrecy."

Louisville (7-5) will enter Mission League play this Thursday against Alemany (14-1) without returning leading scorer Andrea Duva.

Duva was a second-team All-Mission League selection who averaged 12.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game last season.

Louisville coach Bob DaCorsi said, "It's a big disappointment."

Duva is pursuing a tennis scholarship and was given permission by DaCorsi to spilt time between the two sports, but was dismissed from the team late last week.

DaCorsi described her dismissal as "failing to hold up her end of the bargain."

Duva played in only three games this season.

Louisville has played well this year without Duva and could easily be 10-2.

"We have lost games by 2, 3 and 4 points, and were close in all the other contests." DaCorsi said.

The bright light at the end of the tunnel was a three point overtime loss to traditional Orange County power Rosary, who was ranked No. 9 in Division 4-AA at the time.

Emerging junior forward Nicholle Aston is a big part of the Royals revival.

She is averaging 22.7 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks and three steals.

Aston has been selected all-tournament at both the Nordhoff and Providence tournaments.

Saturday January 7, 2012 @ Providence High School

Pioneers Hoops Showdown

10:00 am Campbell Hall v Flintridge Prep (JV)

11:30 am Serra (San Diego) v Marshall (Pasadena)

1:00 pm Corona del Mar v Hart

2:30 pm Central (Fresno) v Pacific Hills

4:00 pm Valencia v Ribet Academy

5:30 pm Salesian v St Francis

7:00 pm Campbell Hall v Flintridge Prep

8:30pm Bell Jeff v Providence

Jose Estrada gave Sierra Canyon a dose of its own medicine Monday in a nonleague game at Sheperd of the Hills Church in Porter Ranch.

The 6'3 junior guard scored 47 points to lead Cantwell Sacred-Heart to a 76-70 victory against the Trailblazers (10-6).

Estrada had 26 points by halftime and his layup with under one minute remaining extended a slim one point lead after Sierra Canyon rallied from a 47-29 deficit early in the third quarter.

Junior guard Jahmel Taylor is usually the one having large scoring outbursts for Sierra Canyon.

Taylor scored 20 points but the Trailblazers had no answer for Estrada, who scored in double figures in every quarter.

"He made a statement," Taylor said of the Mexican Junior National team member, who moved in with relatives in the Montebello area over the summer.

Estrada scored 47 points against Ocean View earlier this year and it was the third time he has gone over the 40-point threshold.

The new year is here and there are plenty of intriguing basketball games this week.

Tuesday Jan. 3
Windward at Campbell Hall
Oak Park at Saugus

Wednesday Jan. 4
West Ranch at Village Christian
Loyola at Crespi
Alemany at Chaminade
Buckley at Viewpoint
Royal at Thousand Oaks
Moorpark at Calabasas

Thursday Jan. 5
Cleveland at Windward

Fri. Jan. 6
Westlake at Moorpark
Buckley at Providence
Loyola at Alemany

Sat. Jan. 7
Games all day at El Camino Real showcase
Chino vs. Renaissance Academy
Bell-Jeff vs. Chaminade
El Camino Real vs. Sierra Canyon

SAN FERNANDO VALLEY HOOPS SHOWCASE EVENT

SATURDAY JANUARY 7, 2012.
SITE: El Camino Real High in Woodland Hills

THE MATCH-UPS:
ALL GAMES, ONE SITE

Chaminade vs. El Camino Real (JV girls) 10:00 a.m.
El Camino Real vs. Sierra Canyon (JV boys), 11:30 a.m.
Cleveland vs. Oaks Christian (JV boys), 1:00 p.m.
Sierra Canyon vs. Granada Hills (girls var), 2:30 p.m.
Chino vs. Renaissance Academy (boys var) 4:00 p.m.
Chaminade vs. El Camino Real (girls var), 5:30 p.m.
El Camino Real vs. Sierra Canyon (boys var), 7:30 p.m.

Chaminade quarterback Logan Scott has committed to Columbia. In the meantime, he is scheduled to play quarterback for the West in annual Daily News All-Star Game on Jan. 15 at College of the Canyons.