Jack Pollon: February 2012 Archives

Bishop Amat 44
Oak Park 30

Bishop Amat 15 10 16 3=44
Oak Park 10 3 5 12=30

Bishop Amat-Paulina Santana 14, Dagmar Ramirez 10, Tayag 9, Powell 5, Yamamoto 3, Chamois 3

Oak Park-Kelsey Haines 20, Bucknovitz 7, Wing 3

BA: 21-11, OP: 21-9

Bishop Amat 25
Oak Park 13

Halftime from Anaheim Convention Center

Kelsey Haines has eight points to lead Oak Park, which is finding the defensive pressure very troublesome from the Lancers.

It took Oak Park 3:35 to score it's first points of the game.

Then, in the second quarter, Oak Park didn't record a single points until Haines made a 3-pointer with one second remaining.

Bishop Amat 15
Oak Park 10

End of one quarter.

Bishop Amat scored the first seven points of the game and seems in control.

Kelsey Haines and Sarah Bucknovitz each scored five points to lead the Eagles

Campbell Hall 66
Brentwood 27

Natalia Azad scored 22 points, including six 3-pointers to lead the Vikings (24-6) in a rout from start to finish.

Nicole Tolbert scored 19 points and six rebounds, and UCLA-bound Lauren Holiday had 16 points, 18 rebounds, eight assists and six steals.

Between the first and third quarters, a span of 11:36, Brentwood missed 16 consecutive shots and the lead grew from seven to 28 points.

Campbell Hall 54
Brentwood 17

It is a rout from the Anaheim Convention Center.

Lauren Holiday is dominating.

Campbell Hall 32
Brentwood 10

Lauren Holiday has 12 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead the Vikings.

Nicole Tolbert has 10 points.

There is two minutes remaining in the first half in the Div. 4A championship game at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Campbell Hall leads Brentwood, 30-9.

It is not even close.

Lauren Holiday had eight points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals in the fourth quarter.

Brentwood is on the verge of going scoreless in the second quarter.

The Harvard-Westlake baseball team still needs to win two games today and Thursday, but would have ace left-hander Max Fried ready to go for a championship game start Saturday in the final of the Southern California Showdown tournament.

Coach Matt LaCour will have Lucas Giolito start today against El Camino Real and will go with sophomore Jack Flaherty in a semifinal game Thursday against Loyola or West Ranch.

Giolito only threw 44 pitches Friday against Burroughs. He is ready to go 6 or 7 innings today, setting him up nicely for next Tuesday's Mission League opener against Alemany.

Fried threw six solid innings last Saturday against Saugus.

Fried will have had six full days of rest before a championship game start Saturday.

Northeastern Univ. has offered Alemany point guard Max Guercy a scholarship.

Guercy now has offers from Hartford, Hawaii and Northeastern

Cal-Hi Sports has released it's preseason Top 20 teams in the state.

Three local programs made the cut.

No. 12 Camarillo, No. 15 Simi Valley and No. 17 Valencia.

Oaks Christian, which won the Southern Section Div. III championship last year was listed on the bubble.

Camarillo graduated only three seniors from a team that won the Southern Section Div. II championship.

Senior pitcher Sarah Shadinger, Bianca Noriega and sophomore Shelbie Franc are back for the Scorpions, whose championship was the first title since 1991.

Simi Valley will look to win the Marmonte League behind pitcher Lauren Soles and middle of the lineup threat Jenn Soria.

Soles was 8-1 in the circle a year ago and Soria batted .500 with nine home runs.

Valencia finished third in the Foothill League last year, but looks to rebound with Carly Mortensen in the circle and Karlie Habitz in the lineup.

Oaks Christian returns several key players such as Nicole Leonard, Kelly Spear and Savannah Carpenter, but will be hard-pressed to beat Chini Hills and left-hander Nikki Innamorato, along with talented sophomore Patricia Parks.

West Ranch vs. Lancaster, 9 a.m., field 3
St. Bonaventure vs. Moorpark, 9 a.m., field 4
Highland vs. El Camino Real, 11 a.m., field 3
Canyon vs. Chaminade, 11 a.m., field 4

Camarillo vs. Chatsworth, 11 a.m., field 1
Agoura vs. Golden Valley, 11 a.m., field 2
Schurr vs. Oxnard, 9 a.m., field 2
Newbury Park vs. Hart, 9 a.m., field 1

The Mission league will be well represented this week in the quarterfinals of the Easton Southern California Showdown tournament.

Two of the areas top teams, Harvard Westlake and Alemany, along with Loyola and Chaminade will represent half of the eight teams looking to win the season opening tournament.

Chaminade's 2-0 start, behind a 3-0 shutout of Simi Valley, who is ranked eighth in Division I, is impressive considering the Eagles graduated 14 seniors last year.

Don't be surprised is Harvard-Westlake baseball coach Matt LaCour decides to pitch Lucas Giolito Tuesday in an Easton Southern California Showdown tournament quarterfinal against El Camino Real.

Giolito only went four innings, throwing about 40-45 pitches Friday in a 13-5 victory against Burroughs.

If Giolito can throw another efficient four or five quality innings with a low pitch count, he could come back to start Saturday's championship game.

Of Course, left-hander Max Fried would have to win his start Thursday in a semifinal, but the way the Wolverines are pitching and hitting, everything should work out.

Here are the 16 teams scheduled to participate in the Thousand Oaks tournament on April 21 and 28.

Thousand Oaks
Hart
Oak Park
La Reina
Granada Hills
Chatsworth
Kennedy
La Canada
Downey
Burbank
Rio Mesa
St. Jospeh/Santa Maria
Oxnard
Chaminade
Camarillo
Dos Pueblos

There are three outstanding freshmen in the area to check out this year.

Rachel Garcia from Highland, Caitlin Brooks from Burbank and Amanda Lorenz from Moorpark.

Garcia and Brooks are pitchers, and Lorenz plays center field.

Garcia throws 65-67 mph and has been offered by Washington, UCLA, Florida and Tennessee.

She has not thrown a high school pitch, but could lead Highland to the Golden League championship and a deep playoff run in the Div. III playoffs.

Garcia plays club ball for the Corona Angels

There will be four championship division games Tuesday in the Southern California Showdown tournament. All 8 teams went 2-0 on Friday and Saturday.

Newbury Park at Alemany
Chaminade at Valencia
Loyola at West Ranch
El Camino Real at Harvard-Westlake

All games 3 p.m. Tuesday

The Westchester boys' basketball team had a 17-point lead in the first quarter against Dorsey and was well on it's way to an easy victory at Cal St. Dominguez Hills Saturday in a City Section Div. I semifinal.

Then, Dorsey came alive.

The Dons came all the way back and used a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter to go onto a surprising 62-59 victory.

Dorsey led 62-53 at one point, for a crazy 26-point turnaround after trailing 20-3 in the first quarter.

Taft will play Dorsey next Saturday at 8 p.m. at Cal St. Dominguez in the Div. I championship game.

"These are kids, they lose focus," Taft coach Jason Hart said. "I am surprised, but Westchester didn't have a go-to-guy to get a bucket."

A huge victory for Dorsey, who lost guards Andre Edwards and Brandon Baker to Crenshaw when school started in September.

The Dons also had Alemany guard Marqueze Coleman for his freshman and sophomore years.

It just goes to prove players can transfer out and teams can still win with hard work, discipline and determination.

"It will be a tough game next week," Hart said. "Inner-city kids never quit. That's the first thing they teach you when you are little. That is where I am from. I know first-hand."

Taft 64
Crenshaw 63

Crenshaw 7 14 20 22=63
Taft 23 13 16 13=64

Crenshaw-Andre Edwards 17, Birdel Hodge 14, Winn 9, Baker 8, Garrett 7, Davis 5, Young 3.

Taft-Anthony January 25 and 12 rebounds, Kris Yanku 14, Steven Jones 14, Perry 6, Henderson 3, Gentle 2.

T: 28-3, C: 25-5

Fairfax 44
El Camino Real 37

El Camino Real 2 14 2 19=37
Fairfax 7 10 14 13=44

El Camino Real-Shannon Kingery 14 and 8 rebounds, Cora Chan 14, Tanner 7, Yap 2.

Fairfax-Jonette Uy de Ong 12, Haley 9, Byrd 8, Blanc 8, Laury 4, McDaniel 3.

F: 22-9, ECR: 18-10

Halftime at Cal St. Dominguez Hills

Taft 36
Crenshaw 21

Anthony January has 13 points
Steven Jones has 11 points, including three 3-pointers
Kris Yanku has eight points.

January is wowing the crowd with his jumping ability.

Two dunks and two more monster near misses.

Fairfax 17
El Camino Real 16

Halftime

ECR is 6 of 25 shooting from the field, but right in the game.

Cora Chan has seven points

El Camino Real made one shot in the first quarter and trails Fairfax, 7-2, in the second semifinal of the City Section Div. I playoffs at Cal St. Dominguez Hills.

Narbonne easily defeated Marine League rival Carson for the third time this season, 72-34, in the first semifinal.

The Oak Park boys' basketball team pulled off what nobody thought was possible Friday in a Div. 3A semifinal against St. John Bosco.

The Eagles (24-7), who beat Oaks Christian twice during Tri-Valley League play, traveled to Bellflower and beat the Braves on their home floor.

Ron Lee scored 27 points and had six assists to lead Oak Park.

Oak Park trailed most of the first half before going on a little run to cut the deficit to 31-28 at halftime.

The Eagles took the lead in the third quarter and led most of the second half.

Jackson Hall made a 3-pointer at the start of the fourth quarter and Oak Park found itself leading by nine points.

The Braves, led by brothers Isaac and Daniel Hamilton, finally started to show some life.

St. John Bosco climbed to within 67-66 with about 30 seconds remaining.

Lee was fouled and missed both free throws, opening the door.

However, Isaac Hamilton pulled up for a 3-pointer from the top of the key with four seconds remaining and missed.

The ball bounced to Hall, who was quickly fouled.

Hall missed two free throws giving the Braves another chance.

St. John Bosco rebounded the second miss with 3.3 seconds remaining but Oak Park literally sent a triple-team at the ball handler as time expired.

Unbelievable win for Oak Park. Great job by coach Aaron Shaw this year.

It is halftime at Cal St. Dominguez Hills and Narbonne leads Carson, 30-15, in the first of two City Section Div. I semifinal games.

Leticia Smith has eight points to lead the Gauchos.

Taylor McCoy has seven points for Carson.

Harvard-Westlake 11
Saugus 2

Max Fried pitched six innings, yielding only two hits and two walks with nine strikeouts.

Fried hit 96 mph on one radar gun and was consistently at 92-93.

Arden Pabst continued his hot start with a grand slam to deep right in the third inning.

Pabst had three doubles and five RBI Friday against Burroughs.

Fried helped himself in the fourth with a two-run double off Saugus starter Eric Little, who lasted 3 2/3 innings.

Chaminade 3
Simi Valley 0

Kevin Lewallayn and Dylan Suppan combined on the shutout for the Eagkes (2-0).

The duo outdueled Nick Vigo and Cody Ramer.

El Camino Real improved to 2-0 after a 2-1 victory against Santa Monica.

Owen Perry picked up the victory and Justin Russell recorded his first save for the Conquistadores.

Southern Section boys' basketball championship games will be played next week.

Locations and times are not set in stone, yet.

Matchups for Divs. III-VI are set.

Div. III-AAA
Pasadena vs. Arroyo Grande

Div. III-AA
Calabasas vs. South Torrance

Div. III-A
Alemany vs. Oak Park (played each other once this season)

Div. IV-AA
Serra vs. La Verne Lutheran

Div. IV-A
Pacific Hills vs. Cantwell Sacred-Heart

Div. V-AA
St. Bernard vs. Ribet Academy

Div. V-A
Providence vs. Holy Martyrs (Both Liberty League teams)

Div. VI
Renaissance Academy or L.A. Adventist vs. California Lutheran

Calabasas 67
Torrance 46

Jeremy Lieberman scored 14 points with six assists and no turnovers to lead Calabasas in a Div. III-AA semifinal.

Josh Cohan scored 12 points, Spencer Levy scored 10 points and Holden Israel had nine points and nine rebounds for Calabasas.

The Coyotes (27-3) led 57-32 at the end of the third quarter.

Crespi suffered very much the same way Oaks Christian lost against La Verne Lutheran Tuesday in a heart-breaking 51-49 setback at the University of La Verne.

The Celts (23-7) trailed 24-17 at halftime and were down 35-23 entering the fourth quarter, before staging a huge rally in the final minute.

Crespi was down by nine points with 1:10 remaining, but somehow managed to get within two points and had the ball with 13.8 seconds remaining.

Outstanding junior guard London Perrantes drove for the tying score off a high pick-and-roll and saw Michael Milligan, Jr. open in the paint.

Perrantes passed the ball to Milligan, Jr. just as a double-team reached Perrantes.

Milligan, Jr. missed a shot from about eight feet away with a defender in his face.

Oaks Christian was tied at halftime at 23-23 with La Verne Lutheran.

The Lions trailed by nine points late in the fourth quarter, only staying in the game thanks to baskets from Chass Bryan and four 3-pointers from Michael Roletti.

Oaks Christian found itself only down 50-48, when the Lions (22-6) stole the ball from Eric Cooper, Jr. in the final 10 seconds, but Bryan just missed a what would have been a game-winning 3-pointer from the top of the key.

Back to Crespi.

The Celts had life when 6-foot-10 McDonald's All-American Grant Jerrett missed two free throws, setting the stage for the final sequence.

Crespi has now lost in the semifinals three of the last four years.

Crespi advanced to the DIV. IV-AA championship game in 2010, beating Alemany.

Each semfinal loss has been painful.

In 2009, Crespi lost to Price at home in overtime.

Last year, Crespi lost to Inglewood on a layup at the buzzer at Morningside High.

Alemany 78
Santa Margarita 67

Marqueze Coleman scored 28 points and had 12 rebounds to lead the Warriors (27-4).

Alemany is in a championship game for the second time in the past three years.

Alemany lost to Crespi in the Div. IV-AA final in 2010.

Max Guercy, who has recently picked up scholarship offers from Hartford and Hawaii, scored 18 points and grabbed five rebounds.

Jerico "Cookie Monster" Richardson had eight points and five steals, hence the nickname.

Razhaun "Bear" Henderson, a sophomore who has already been offered by Colorado, chipped in with eight points, eight rebounds and five assists.

The Warriors will play Oak Park, which upset St. John Bosco.

Alemany has already defeated the Eagles, but that was way back in the middle of December.

Oak Park is clearly a different team, led by sensational junior guard Ron Lee.

Oak Park beat Oaks Christian twice during Tri-Valley League play and is getting top production from Jackson Hall, Brandon Hill and J.D. Slajchert.

Royal 54
Tesoro 49

J.R. Powell scored 18 points to lead four players in double figures to lead Royal.

Scott Woods, Nick Creber and Max McCoy each scored 10 points for the Highlanders (23-6).

Woods had seven blocks.

Royal will host Sunny Hills at 7 p.m. Tuesday

Pacific Hills 76
Campbell Hall 69

Cole Huff scored 33 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and had six blocks, bu tit wasn't enough in a Div. IV-A semifinal against the top seed.

Oak Park 67
St. John Bosco 66

Details have not come in yet, but this is a big upset.

Ron Lee and the Eagles go into Bellflower and knock off No. 2 seed St. John Bosco from the Trinity League.

Stay tuned....

Providence 74
Kilpatrick 61

Freshman sensation Marcus LoVett, Jr. scored 46 points to lead the Pioneers in a Div. V-A semifinal.

LoVett, Jr. now holds the school record for points scored in a single season.

LoVett, Jr. has 956 points.

Teammate Patrick Gonzalez held the previous record with 929 points set last year.

Gonzalez poured in 24 points in the dominating two-man show.

Providence is in its first championship game in school history next week.

The Pioneers will play Liberty League rival Holy Martyrs, a team they have beat twice this season.

The Taft boys' basketball team is two wins away from another City Div. I championship.

The Toreadors have taken care of West Adams Prep, 80-20, and took down Birmingham, 78-56, to advance to Saturday's semifinals against Crenshaw.

Tipoff is at 6 p.m. at Cal State Dominguez Hills, followed by Westchester vs. Dorsey at 8 p.m.

Anthony January has scored 21 points in each of the first two games.

January had 13 rebounds against Birmingham.

Brandon Perry scored 21 points and Kris Yanku added 17 points.

Taft will face guards Brandon Baker and Andre Edwards, but should have a big advantage in the paint with January and Perry.

Jason Hart could win a City title in his first season, and what is also expected to be his last season coaching the Toreadors.

The Kennedy boys' basketball team was hoping for a City Section Div. II semifinal showdown with El Camino Real, but it won't come to fruition after the Golden Cougars were defeted, 58-47, by Narbonne in the quarterfinals.

"Narbonne is a very good team and we hung with them for three and a half quarters," associate head coach Dick Dornan said.

Kennedy had a breakthrough season with a share of the Valley Mission League championship earned in the final regular season game against Panorama.

The Golden Cougars will welcome back top guard Dom Vargas next year

Harvard-Westlake baseball coach Matt LaCour confirmed in a text message Lucas Giolito will be the starting pitcher in the Wolverines season opener Friday at 3 p.m. at Burroughs.

Max Fried, a left-hander who pitched at Montclair Prep last season will get the nod Saturday at 11 a.m. in a home game against Saugus.

Things are going great for the El Camino Real boys' basketball team.

The top-seeded Conquistadores advanced to Friday's semifinals against Narbonne with an easy 72-39 victory Wednesday against No. 8 San Pedro.

ECR crushed Van Nuys, 62-21, in the first round.

Michael Thomas, a junior transfer from Taft, scored 19 points Wednesday.

Cris Francis added 14 points.

The good thing for ECR is it's getting solid production from players other than sophomore standouts Julian Richardson and Maleke Haynes.

ECR plays Narbonne Friday at 8 p.m. at Venice High. The winner advances to the championship game.

ECR could face West Valley League rival Granada Hills, a team it beat 64-39 to end the regular season, which takes on Garfield at 6 p.m.

Richardson scored 17 points in that game and Haynes had 10 assists.

With the victory against San Pedro, in which the Conquistadores earned their 20th win of the season (first time since 1989), ECR held the Pirates to only 12 points in the first half.

"The defense was suffocating," assistant athletic director Vinnie Orlando said.

Sixth-seeded University's 46-43 victory over No. 3 Kennedy was part of a night of quarterfinal upsets in the City Section Div. III girls' basketball playoffs, with No. 9 Marshall knocking off top-seeded Gardena 58-36, No. 7 Bell defeating second-seeded Garfield 56-43 and No. 5 Cleveland rallying for a 32-29 win over fourth-seeded Banning.

So, with the top four seeds all losing, the semifinal matchups Saturday at Venice High School look like: Bell vs. University at noon, followed by Marshall vs. Cleveland at 2 p.m.

Campbell Hall 73
St. Joseph 62

Freshman Aaron Holiday scored 28 points to lead the Vikings, who are having a great playoff run after finishing the regular season with a record well below .500.

Cole Huff scored 15 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for Campbell Hall.

Calabasas 70
Lakeside 56

Holden Israel scored 27 points with 10 rebounds, Jeremy Lieberman scored 17 points, Spencer Levy scored 14 points and Josh Cohan grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the streaking Coyotes.

Calabasas plays Friday against Torrance, a 50-45 winner over West Valley.

Alemany used a 27-7 run in the seocnd quarter to blow the game open.

Marqueze Coleman led the attack with 17 points and seven rebounds.

Jerico Richardson had 15 points, six steals and five assists.

Max Guercy had 14 points and six rebounds.

Alemany is 26-5.

The Warriors host Santa Margarita in Friday's semifinals at 7 p.m.

La Verne Lutheran 50
Oaks Christian 48

Grant Jerrett, a 6-foot-10 McDonald's All-American scored 21 points to lead the Trojans (22-6).

Jerrett was 11 of 13 from the free throw line.

Lutheran shot 32 free throws. Oaks Christian attemopted six free throws.

Chass Bryan scored 18 points and Michael Roletti scored 18 points to lead the Lions (22-6).

Bryan missed a straight ahead 3-pointer from the top of the key with two seconds on the clock.

"I thought it was a good look," coach Andre Chevalier said.

La Verne Lutheran will host Crespi, a 73-67 winner against Bishop Montgomery, on Friday at 7 p.m. at the University of LaVerne

Royal 59
Villa Park 47

Max McCoy scored 22 points with six steals and four assists to lead Royal, which is in the quarterfinals for the second straight year.

J.R. Powell scored 21 points.

Royal will host Tesoro, a 62-56 winner against Canyon (Canyon Country).

Friday, 7 p.m.

Tesoro 62
Canyon 56

Coley Apsay scored 22 points to lead Canyon

Alek Golden scored 18 points, including six 3-pointers.

"It was a fun run but Tesoro's two 6-foot-8 beats were too much to handle," coach Chad Phillips said.

Providence 59
Shalhevet 54

Freshman Marcus LoVett, Jr. scored 22 points.

LoVett, Jr. now has 910 points this season.

Shalhevet, which played Monday night in Lancaster was only down 56-54 when Jojo Fallas missed a layup that would have tied the game.

Cantwell Sacred-Heart 70
Viewpoint 65

Div. 4A quarterfinal

Sophomore Tim Howell scored 22 points and had six assists.

Jonny Paul scored 13 points and had six rebounds.

The Patriots were up by one points with 40 seconds to go.

"We just didn't finish," Viewpoint coach J.J. Prince said via text.

Prince has done a great job in his third season coaching at Viewpoint.

In 2010, Viewpoint won four games.

In 2011, Viewpoint won 12 games and lost in the first round of the playoffs.

This year Prince guided the Patriots to 18 wins and the first ever quarterfinal appearance in school history.

Viewpoint, along with Providence have given the Liberty League a huge push it desperately needed.

Eight time league champion Buckley rarely had much competition.

That has changed.

Here is a quick list of players to watch out for from our coverage area.

Lucas Giolito, Harvard-Westlake, Sr., P
Max Fried, Harvard-Westlake, Sr., P
Trey Williams, Valencia, Sr., 3B
Hunter Virant, Camarillo, Sr., P
Cody Ramer, Simi Valley, Sr., SS
Luke Dykstra, Westlake, So., SS
Peter Van Gansen, Alemany, Sr., SS/P
Kiefer Kofman, Chatsworth, Sr., 1B
J.C. Cloney, West Ranch, Sr., P
Chris Mallon, Kennedy, Sr., C
A.J. Balta, Valencia, Jr., OF
Nick Vigo, Simi Valley, Sr., CF
Luke Persico, Hart, Jr., CF
Cody Thomspn, Alemany, Sr., P
Arden Pabst, Harvard-Westlake, Jr., C
Joe Corrigan, Harvard-Westlake, Jr., 1B
Jack Flaherty, Harvard-Westlake, So., 3B/P
Raul Camas, Chatsworth, Jr., OF
Justin Chamberlain, Camarillo, Sr., P
Phil Bickford, Oaks Christian, Jr., P
Luke Eubank, Newbury Park, Sr., P
Colin Yelich, Westlake, Sr., C
Kevin Lewallayn, Chaminade, Jr., P
Nick Lovullo, Newbury Park, Sr., SS
Chris Nicholson, El Camino Real, Sr., INF
Cole Rutherford, Chaminade, Sr., 3B
Joe Moran, Chaminade, Sr., CF
Corey Sims, Alemany, Sr., OF
Billy Frederick, Golden Valley, Sr., OF
Jordan Guerrero, Moorpark, P

Providence freshman guard Marcus LoVett, Jr. moved into 8th place on the schools all-time scoring list with 32 points in a 47-33 Div. 5A first round victory against New Roads.

LoVett, Jr. is now only 41 points away from breaking Patrick Gonzalez's single-season record of 929 set last year.

LoVett. Jr. has 888 points this season and is on pace to shatter the career record for most points scored.

LoVett, Jr. will get a chance to surpass Gonzalez Tuesday in a quarterfinal game against Shalhevet.

Shalhevet 64
Lancaster Baptist 40

Jojo Fallas led four Shalhevet players in double figures with 15 points in the Div. 5A second round victory.

Shalhevet plays at top-seeded Providence at 7 p.m. Tuesday in a quarterfinal game.

Matt McDaniel scored 20 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter to lead the Eagles (14-5).

Shalhevet used a 26-2 run in the second quarter to take control.

The Firehawks (12-5) made nine 3-pointers.

Shalhevet lost in the Div. 6AA quarterfinals against Bishop Diego in overtime a year ago.

The Firehawks will have their hands full with freshman sensation Marcus LoVett, Jr.

Four leagues with several local teams have been thriving in the playoffs.

Let's start with the Mission League. We all knew this was a strong league.

Loyola, Alemany, Crespi and Harvard-Westlake are still alive.

Chaminade, Notre Dame and St. Francis all won one playoff game before losing Friday.

The whole league made the playoffs. Pretty good in my book.

Loyola and Alemany are expected to win Tuesday, while Crespi and Harvard-Westlake will have more of a challenge trying to beat Serra and Bishop Montgomery, respectively.

Like the Mission League, every team from the Alpha League made the playoffs, and all won at least one playoff game.

Pacific Hills, Windward, Campbell Hall and Brentwood are still alive.

Sierra Canyon beat Malibu, before losing Friday to Crespi.

Top-seeded Pacific Hills is expected to make the Div. IV-A championship game, Windward has a tough road at Price, Campbell Hall could beat St. Joseph/Santa Maria and Brentwood could beat No. 2 Ontario Christian.

Oaks Christian, Oak Park, St. Bonaventure and Santa Clara are alive from the Tri-Valley League.

Nordhoff, an at-large entry, lost to Milken Community, in the first round. Fillmore was the only team not to qualify.

Oaks Christian won a thriller at Chaminade Friday. The Lions used runs of 16-0 in the second quarter and 11-0 in the third quarter to turn back the Eagles in their own gym.

Oak Park is expected to advance to the Div. III-A semifinals where it will encounter St. John Bosco and former Taft coach Derrick Taylor.

The big surprise has been St. Bonaventure.

New coach Nate Nylander, a former Oaks Christian assistant has been doing an unbelievable job with the Seraphs.

Nylander guided St. Bonaventure to an upset of Oak Park in Tri-Valley League play, and the Seraphs have knocked off Lancaster Desert Christian and Fairmont Prep in the first two rounds of Div. IV-A competition.

A big test lies ahead Tuesday against top-seeded Pacific Hills.

Santa Clara has also been a huge surprise.

The Saints, who were routed 74-18 by Oaks Christian have regrouped for victories against Flintridge Prep and Bloomington Christian.

Santa Clara plays at Mission Prep in what will be a much more stiff contest Tuesday.

The Liberty League also has several teams still alive.

Providence, Viewpoint, Holy Martyrs and Yeshiva. Yeshiva played late Saturday night against Downey Calvary Chapel, winning 78-47.

Buckley made the Div. IV-A bracket, but suffered a 62-59 overtime loss against San Marino.

Glendale Adventist was the only school not to qualify.

Providence is expected to win the Div. V-A championship, Viewpoint has rolled to two victories and Holy Martyrs squares off Tuesday against Rio Hondo Prep.

Yeshiva will face No. 3 Ribet Academy in the quarterfinals.

Former Sierra Canyon coach Colin Jamerson is now coaching at Shalhevet, and he has the Firehawks in the second round of the Div. V-A playoffs.

Shalhevet plays at Lancaster Baptist at 7 p.m. Monday.

The game was scheduled for Friday, but Shalhevet is an orthodox Jewish school and can't play after sundown Friday until sunset Saturday night.

Driving from Los Angeles to Lancaster would have been too much of a hassle Saturday.

The winner gets No. 1 Providence on Tuesday.

Shalhevet is 11-5 and owns an impressive victory against large-school Buena.

Lancaster Baptist is 14-4.

DIV. I QUARTERFINALS
No. 8 Birmingham at No. 1 Taft
No. 5 Crenshaw at No. 4 Palisades
No. 6 Washington Prep at No. 3 Westchester
No. 7 Dorsey at No. 2 Fairfax

DIV. II QUARTERFINALS
No. 8 San Pedro at No. 1 El Camino Real
No. 5 Narbonne at No. 4 Kennedy
No. 11 Reseda at No. 3 Granada Hills
No. 7 Carson at No. 2 Garfield

DIV. III QUARTERFINALS
No. 9 Chatsworth at No. 1 Grant
No. 5 Roosevelt at No. 4 Banning
No. 6 Hamilton at No. No. 3 Locke
No. 10 Los Angeles at No. 2 Bell

SMALL SCHOOL QUARTERFINALS
No. 8 Animo South L.A. at No. 1 LACES
No. 5 Douglass at No. 4 SOCES
No. 22 Harbor Teacher Prep at No. 3 Northridge Academy
No. 7 Huntington Park College Ready at No. 2 View Park Prep

City Section playoff schedule for Tuesday

DIV. I QUARTERFINALS
No. 8 Chatsworth at No. 1 Narbonne
No. 5 Carson at No. 4 Taft
No. 6 Washington Prep at No. 3 El Camino Real
No. 7 Crenshaw at No. 2 Fairfax

DIV. II QUARTERFINALS
No. 9 North Hollywood or No. 8 Venice at No. 1 Palisades
No. 5 Granada Hills at No. 4 Roosevelt
No. 6 Eagle Rock at No. 3 L.A. Jordan
No. 7 Westchester at No. 2 Monroe

DIV. III QUARTERFINALS
No. 9 Marshall at No. 1 Gardena
No. 5 Cleveland at No. 4 Banning
No. 6 University at No. 3 Kennedy
No. 7 Bell at No. 2 Garfield

SMALL SCHOOL QUARTERFINALS
No. 9 Mendez at No. 1 Elizabeth Learning Center
No. 5 Fulton Prep at No. 4 Animo South L.A.
No. 6 Vaughn at No. 3 SOCES
No. 10 New Millennium at No. 2 Lou Dantzler Charter

Coach Nick Hauselman has Birmingham in the City Section Div. I quarterfinals Wednesday at West Valley League rival and top-seeded Taft.

The Patriots narrowly edged University, 57-56 on Friday, while Taft crushed West Adams Prep, 80-20.

"It was a crazy game," Hauselman said.

About Taft, Hauselman had this to say by text.

"It is hard to beat a team three times in a row. We were only down eight points with four minutes to go at Taft last time."

Birmingham has been making a living winning close games this year.

The Patriots edged Ribet Academy, 67-65, Dec. 3 at the Pasadena tournament.

Birmingham beat Chatsworth on halfcourt 3-pointer at the buzzer, escaped against Cleveland, 70-67, in the last regular season game and pulled off the one-point victory Friday against University.

Andrew Estes scored 21 points and had six rebounds, four blocks and four steals in the Cleveland win.

Marcus Harris scored 19 points with seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals.

Abrionn Webster scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Taft should have no problems as long as it isn't a one possession game late in the fourth quarter.

Chaminade 69
Sierra Canyon 44

Annie Tarakchian scored 23 points, grabbed 20 rebounds and had four assists to lead the Eagles (24-4).

Chaminade hosts Bell-Jeff Wednesday at 7 p.m. in a quarterfinal in Div. IV-AA.

What a wonderful job J.J. Prince is doing at Viewpoint.

The 30-year-old Montclair Prep alum has the Patriots rolling.

Viewpoint has advanced to Tuesdays Div. IV-A quarterfinals after a 77-58 victory against Milken Community.

Sophomore Tim Howell scored 31 points and had eight assists to lead the Patriots.

Jack Borenstein scored 19 points and had eight assists.

Michael Dix had eight points, 12 rebounds and six blocks.

Viewpoint will get tested against third-seeded Cantwell Sacred-Heart.

Jose Estrada poured in 49 points in a victory against St. Anthony Friday.

But, let's get back to Viewpoint.

Prince guided the Patriots to a second place finish in the Liberty League and won both games against eight-time league champion Buckley.

Howell is only a tenth grader, Stone Spellman is a rising freshman and Prince has the youth and enthusiasm to build a contender.

On Tuesday, Viewpoint won it's first playoff game in six years with a 56-47 victory against L.A. Baptist.

Kennedy 65
South Gate 35

Danny Jiron scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Kennedy (20-8).

The Golden Cougars are on a collision course to meet El Camino Real in the Div. II semfinals Friday at 8 p.m. at Venice High.

Div. IAA
Palmdale at Mater Dei
Long Beach Poly at Knight

Div. 1A
Glendale at Mission Viejo
Edison (Huntington Beach) at West Ranch
Crescenta Valley at Warren

Div. 2AA
Ocean View at Thousand Oaks
Royal at Villa Park
Canyon at Tesoro

Div. 3AA
Lakeside at Calabasas
La Canada at South Torrance

Div. 3A
Alemany at Bishop Amat
Oak Park at Northview or Atascadero at Oak Park

Div. 4AA
Serra at Harvard-Westlake
Bishop Montgomery at Crespi
La Verne Lutheran at Oaks Christian

Div. 4A
St. Joseph (Santa Maria) at Campbell Hall
Cantwell Sacred-Heart at Viewpoint or Milken Community

Div. 5AA
Village Christian at Brethren Christian

Div. 5A
Providence vs. Shalhevet or at Lancaster Baptist
Kilpatrick vs. Newbury Park Adventist or Pacifica Christian
Holy Martyrs vs. Valley Torah or Rio Hondo Prep

Div. 6
Renaissance Academy at Dickranian

Providence 57
New Roads 43

Freshman Marcus LoVett, Jr. scored 31 points and sophomore Christian Ware-Berry scored 21 points to lead Providence.

LoVett, Jr. now has 887 total points this season.

Calabasas 53
Palos Verdes 38

Josh Cohan scored 14 points, Holden Israel scored 13 points and Jeremy Lieberman scored 11 points for the top-seeded Coyotes.

Matt Costa scored 11 points for Palos Verdes.

Royal 65
A.B. Miller 38

Scott Woods scored 19 points and 14 rebounds and four blocks.

Max McCoy scored all 13 of his points in the second half. McCoy had five assists.

J.R. Powell scored 12 points.

Royal will play at Villa Park at 7 p.m. Tuesday

Chatsworth went 9-22 this year and finished last in the West Valley League.

The Chancellors played a tough schedule and were limited because their gym was undergoing renovations through November and December.

Chatsworth could be the surprise team in the City Section after a 73-68 victory against Panorama.

Chatsworth won the championship last year and has top players Terrell Funches and Montel Shirley playing well at the right time.

Alemany 90
Azusa 45

Marqueze Coleman scored 17 points, Max Guercy and K.J. Moffett each had 12 points, and Razhaun Henderson chipped in six points and 18 rebounds.

Guercy had six assists.

Alemany had a 29-8 run in the first quarter.

Alemany had a 30-9 run in the third quarter.

Jordan Blackburn had 14 points to lead Azusa.

Alemany plays at Bishop Amat Tuesday.

Amat beat Wilson of Hacienda Heights, 66-61 in overtime

Birmingham 57
University 56

Birmingham led by nine points at halftime but had to hold off a rally.

Birmingham at Taft on Wednesday

Taft easily beat West Adams Prep, 80-20

El Camino Real 62
Van Nuys 21

The Conquistadores advance easily in the City Section Div. II bracket.

Maleke Haynes scored 16 points and had eight assists to lead ECR.

Michael Thomas scored 14 points with eight rebounds.

ECR played without Julian Richardson, Chris Francis and Mason Pollock.

All were dinged up with injuries but should be ready to go Tuesday against San Pedro.

Campbell Hall 82
St. Genevieve 63

Cole Huff had 33 points and 27 rebounds in an easy Div. IV-A victory.

Freshman Aaron Holiday scored 25 points.

Kyle Vane had 19 points and 13 rebounds.

City Section Small-Schools boys' basketball playoff games

Second round, Friday, 7 p.m. scheduled start times. Check with host school to verify

No. 17 New Designs at No. 1 LACES

No. 9 Community Harvest at No. 8 Animo South Los Angeles

No. 12 New Millennium at No. 5 Douglass

No. 20 Sun Valley at No. 4 SOCES

No. 14 Mendez at No. 3 Northridge Academy

No. 22 Harbor Teacher Prep at No. 6 Vaughn

No. 10 Port of Los Angeles vs. No. 7 Huntington Park College Ready at South Region No. 2

No. 15 Lou Dantzler Charter at No. 2 View Park Prep

Div. I-AA
Alhambra at No. 16 Palmdale
Quartz Hill at No. 5 Oxnard
Highland at No. 11 Silverado
Knight at No. 15 Los Alamitos
Div. I-A
Diamond Bar at No. 16 Glendale
Paramount at No. 9 West Ranch
Colton at No. 4 Crescenta Valley
Burbank at No. 7 Chino Hills
Div. II-AA
No. 15 Thousand Oaks at Mark Keppel
No. 13 Saugus at Inglewood
Simi Valley at No. 3 J.W. North
A.B. Miller at No. 7 Royal
Godinez at No. 2 Canyon/Canyon Country
Div. II-A
Moorpark at No. 1 Mayfair
No. 12 Westlake at Dominguez
No. 15 Mira Costa at Camarillo

City Section small-schools girls' basketball playoff games for Thursday Feb. 16
Second round, Thursday, 7 p.m. unless noted

No. 16 LACES at No. 1 Elizabeth Learning Center

No. 9 Mendez vs. No. 8 Central City Value at Shatto Recreation Center, 4 p.m.

No. 12 Foshay at No. 5 Fulton Prep

No. 13 Harbor Teacher Prep at No. 4 Animo South Los Angeles

No. 14 Port of Los Angeles at No. 3 SOCES

No. 11 Northridge Academy at No. 6 Vaughn

No. 10 New Millennium vs. No. 7 Stern at El Sereno Recreation Center, 3 p.m.

No. 15 Camino Nuevo vs. No. 2 Lou Dantzler Charter at Westchester, 5 p.m.

San Marino 62
Buckley 59 (overtime)

After advancing to the Div. IV-A championship game a year ago, Buckley will not be making another championship run in 2012.

The Griiffins were eliminated from the playoffs in a 62-59 overtime setback against San Marino Wednesday.

Jasper Hwang scored 19 points, including a basket as the regulation buzzer was sounding to send the game to a four-minute extra period.

Jordan Dang scored 16 points for the Titans, who improved to 15-11.

Buckley was playing with strong emotions after classmate Steven Yampolsky passed away Tuesday night after a long battle with cancer.

Tyler Coppin-Carter scored 20 points and freshman Austin Butler scored 17 points to lead Buckley.

Kris Gullatt is the new girls volleyball coach at Royal High.

Gullatt has been an asst. coach to George Hees at Oaks Christian for several years.

Gullatt takes over for Heidi Buonauro.

Oak Park 63
Littlerock 24 (Div. III-A)

Ron Lee scored 21 points and Jackson Hall had 14 points to lead Oak Park (21-7).

Lee added eight assists and seven rebounds.

Chaminade 71
Morro Bay 52 (Div. IV-AA)

Jack Williams had 19 points and 11 rebounds. Jaron Martin had 25 points and five steals.

Justin Eisen scored 13 points for Chaminade.

Sierra Canyon 64
Malibu 53 (Div. IV-AA)

Jahmel Taylor scored 23 points and had seven assists to lead the Trailblazers.

Brandon White added 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Crespi 84
Rosamond 45 (Div. IV-AA)

Michael Milligan, Jr. scored 15 points to lead the Celts (21-6). Rosamond dropped to 15-8.

Campbell Hall 64
Kern Valley 48 (Div IV-A)

Cole Huff scored 22 points and had 13 rebounds to lead Campbell Hall.

Freshman Aaron Holiday scored 16 points for Campbell Hall.

Huff was called for two fouls in the first six minutes and Holiday had two fouls in the first half.

Alemany 87
Artesia 61

13 different players scored to lead the Warriors.

Marqueze Coleman and K.J. Moffett each scored 14 points.

Razhaun Henderson scored 12 points, Jerico Richardson scored 11 points and Max Guercy scored 10 points.

Congratulations are in order for the L.A. Baptist boys' basketball team and first-year coach Renard Beavers.

The Knights were selected as an at-large team in the Div. IV-A playoffs.

Not bad for a program that was winless a year ago, 2-15 in 2010 and 4-22 in 2009.

L.A. Baptist opens with a road game at much improved Viewpoint from the Liberty League.

The Knights are 8-15 and may have not won an Onlympic League game, but made strides under Beavers and top players Mike Otazu and Andrew Davis.

L.A. Baptist played a great game against Maranatha two weeks ago, losing narrowly in overtime.

Div. I

West Adams Prep at Taft
Sylmar at Crenshaw
Cleveland at Dorsey
Poly at Westchester

Div. II

Van Nuys at El Camino Real
Gardena at Granada Hills
South Gate at Kennedy
Reseda at Venice
Verdugo Hills at Carson

Div. III

Bravo at Grant
Chatsworth at Panorama

There was a clean sweep for City Section boys' basketball teams from the region when playoff pairings were released Saturday at Roybal High in Los Angeles.

Taft, El Camino Real and Grant were awarded the top-seed in Div. I, Div. II and Div. III, respectively.

And, all are favored to win City championships.

The playoffs begin Friday ans continue with quarterfinal games Feb. 22.

"I think the San Fernando Valley is really starting to get some resepct," ECR coach David Rebibo said. "It is more spread out now. There really aren't just a few good teams anymore. There are good players everywhere. I would love the opportunity to play in Div. I."

Taft will have the toughest road because of the depth of its division.

Fairfax, Westchester and Palisades took the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 spots. Undefeated Coliseum League champion Crenshaw was seeded No. 5 and Marine League champion Washington, which owns an impressive victory against Crespi took No. 6

The Toreadors open Friday with No. 16 West Adams Prep and could face West Valley League rival No. 8 Birmingham, which really helped itself with a 70-67 victory Friday against Cleveland to claim third place in League.

Birmingham hosts No. 9 University in the first round Friday.

No. 10 Cleveland opens at No. 7 Dorsey. The Cavaliers hosted the Dons in last years first round and won a thriller after erasing a 19-point lead.

If Cleveland can pull off the upset things won't get easier with a potential quarterfinal matchup against Fairfax.

"I am going back to my home," Cleveland coach Damon Charlot said. "That's where i came from."

No. 14 Poly opens at No. 3 Westchester. The Parrots are not expected to shock the world.

ECR will host outmanned No. 16 Van Nuys in the first round.

An interesting game could happen in the semifinals when ECR could host No. 4 Kennedy in a matchup of two up-and-coming programs in the area.

The Conquistadores feature sophomores Julian Richardson, Maleke Haynes and Evan Wardlow.

Kennedy clinched a share of the Valley Mission League championship Friday and features juniors Dom Vargas, Jordan Taylor and Danny Jiron.

Granada Hills was seeded No. 3 and could face No. 2 Garfield in the semifinals before a possible all-valley championship game with ECR or Kennedy.

Grant easily took the top spot in Div. III, and should hardly be challenged.

The Lancers finished 23-5 and 12-0 in East Valley League play.

Grant features 6-foot7 forward Gor Palvchyan, Tullio Parry and Gurgen Harutyunyan.

Grant hosts No. 16 Bravo Medical Magnet in the first round.

The Lancers will play the winner of No. 9 Chatsworth at No. 8 Panorama in the quarterfinals.

Chatsworth finished the regular season 9-22 but could surprise because they have played a tough schedule.

1. Grant
2. Bell
3. Locke
4. Banning
5. Franklin
6. Hamilton
7. Huntington Park
8. Panorama
9. Chatsworth
10. Los Angeles
11. Marshall
12. Roosevelt
13. Jefferson
14. Wilson
15. Lincoln
16. Bravo

Fri. Feb. 17

No. 16 Bravo at No. 1 Grant
No. 9 Chatsworth at No. 8 Panorama
No. 12 Roosevelt at No. 5 Franklin
No. 13 Jefferson at No. 4 Banning

No. 14 Wilson at No. 3 Locke
No. 11 Marshall at No. 6 Hamilton
No. 10 Los Angeles at No. 7 Huntington Park
No. 15 Lincoln at No. 2 Bell

City Div. 2 playoff seedings

1. El Camino Real
2. Garfield
3. Granada Hills
4. Kennedy
5. Narbonne
6. Venice
7. Carson
8. San Pedro
9. L.A. Jordan
10. Verdugo Hills
11. Reseda
12. Torres
13. South Gate
14. Gardena
15. Belmont
16. Van Nuys

Fri. Feb. 17

No. 16 Van Nuys at No. 1 El Camino Real
No. 9 L.A. Jordan at No. 8 San Pedro
No. 12 Torres at No. 5 Narbonne
No. 13 South Gate at No. 4 Kennedy

No. 14 Gardena at No. 3 Granada Hills
No. 11 Reseda at No. 6 Venice
No. 10 Verdugo Hills at No. 7 Carson
No. 15 Belmont at No. 2 Garfield

1. Taft
2. Fairfax
3. Westchester
4. Palisades
5. Crenshaw
6. Washington
7. Dorsey
8. Birmingham
9. University
10. Cleveland
11. Fremont
12. Sylmar
13. Manual Arts
14. Poly
15. Roybal
16. West Adams

There it is.

Friday Feb. 17

No. 16 West Adams Prep at No. 1Taft
No. 9 University at No. 8Birmingham
No. 12 Sylmar at No. 5 Crenshaw
No. 13 Manual Arts at No. 4 Palisades

No. 14 Poly at No. 3 Westchester
No. 11 Fremont at No. 6 Washington
No. 10 Cleveland at No. 7 Dorsey
No. 15 Roybal at No. 2 Fairfax

Harvard-Westlake 69
Sierra Canyon 58 (7th grade championship game)

Sierra Canyon 78
Campbell Hall 35 (8th grade championship game)

Seventh-grader Cody Riley (6'7) scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Sierra Canyon.

Devearl Ramsey scored 16 points and had 12 assists.

Trevor Stanback grabbed 18 rebounds. Stanback is the younger brother of former Fairfax and current UNLV standout Chase Stanback.

Adam Seiko, whose future may lie more in football had a good all-around game

Calabasas 65
Westlake 61 overtime

Sophomore Jeremy Lieberman scored 26 points, and Josh Cohan had 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Coyotes 923-3, 13-1).

Calabasas won the league championship.

Grant Lozoya ld Westlake with 24 points, including making a 35-footer at the regulation buzzer to send the game into the extra four minute period.

Royal 78
Agoura 55

J.R. Powell scored 24 points, including seven 3pointers to lead the Highlanders.

Scott Woods scored 15 points and had four blocks.

Nick Creber scored 10 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Weston Park chipped in eight rebounds and six assists.

Max McCoy had six assists.

Royal won it's 20th game of the season, a new school record.

Providence completed an undefeated run through the Liberty League after a 67-60 road victory against Buckley Thursday.

Freshman Marcus LoVett, Jr. scored 30 points to lead the Pioneers (23-4, 10-0).

LoVett, Jr. fouled out with 41 seconds remaining, but Justin Sarenas made two key free throws down the stretch and made a layup off of a steal.

LoVett, Jr. raised his season total to 856 points.

He is only 74 points away from breaking the school single season record help by current senior Patrick Gonzalez.

Gonzalez left Thursday's game in the first quarter with a hurt foot.

Viewpoint finished second in league.

Buckley finished third.

Buckley had won the previous eight league championships.

The wacky Mission League stayed true to form Wednesday.

Two days after losing at home to Crespi, Harvard-Westlake went on the road and beat one of the hottest teams in the state.

Sophomore Derick Newton scored 22 points to lead the Wolverines (17-8, 7-5).

Alemany, Loyola, Harvard-Westlake and Crespi take the four automatic playoff spots.

Chaminade, St. Francis and Notre Dame will have to go the at-large route.

Panorama 61
Sylmar 51

The Pythons are 11-0 in league with only a Friday night road game against Kennedy left on the regular season schedule.

Kennedy 60
Canoga Park 37

Dom Vargas scored 18 points to lead the Golden Cougars (18-8, 10-1).

Taft 63
Birmingham 47

Brandon Perry scored 21 points to lead the probable top-seeded Toreadors for the Div. I playoffs.

Kris Yanku scored 11 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out seven assists.

El Camino Real 68
Chatsworth 43

Sophomore Julian Richardson and Maleke Haynes were the stars for the Conquistadores.

Richardson scored 19 points and Haynes had 12 points and 12 assists.

I head a report Granada Hills upset Cleveland, but it has not been confirmed.

Oak Park won the Tri-Valley League championship Wednesday after a 63-52 victory against Oaks Christian.

Oak Park swept the season series for the first time since 2007.

Ron Lee scored 20 points, Jackson Hall scored 18 points and Jared Kaufman scored 12 to lead the Eagles (20-7, 9-1).

Chass Bryan scored 22 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter to lead Oaks Christian (20-5, 8-2).

Oaks Christian trailed 34-28 late in the third quarter when Hall and Kaufman each made 3-pointers to extend the lead to 12.

In the fourth quarter, unsung hero J.D. Slajchert nailed a 3-pointer with Oak park clinging to a 48-42 lead.

The shot extended the advantage to nine points and Oaks Christian felt the urgency from there on out.

No other player than Bryan scored more than six points for the Lions.

Oak Park looks ahead to the Div. III-A playoffs.

The Eagles have a good chance to advance to the semifinals.

Alemany and St. John Bosco are the favorites.

Simi Valley at Thousand Oaks

Thursday, 7:30 p.m.

The winner gets the leagues final automatic playoff berth. The loser will have to apply for an at-large bid.

"Simi vs. Thousand Oaks is always a big game because of the history of both programs," Simi Valley coach Chris Printz said. "This one is for a guaranteed playoff spot, so it has a little added excitement. We know now they are playing better than the first time we met them. We are excited for the challenge."

Alemany 48
Chaminade 46

Clarissa Larios made two free throws with 1.4 seconds remaining to give the Warriors a wild 48-46 Mission League victory Tuesday.

Larios was fouled by Robyn Brown as she was setting up to take game-winning 3-pointer.

Hannah Johnson scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead Alemany.

Leslie Lopez-Wood scored eight points.

Mi'Chael Wright scored 20 points to lead Chaminade (21-4, 8-1).

Annie Tarakchian was held to three points for the Eagles.

Tarakchian missed two free throws and she and Wright both missed easy shots in the paint with under 20 seconds remaining.

"We couldn't get a rhythm going," Chaminade coach Kelli Dimuro said.

Chaminade had beaten the Warriors (25-2, 8-1), 65-42, on Jan. 20.

Royal 67
Westlake 60

Scott Woods scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds.

J.R. Powell scored 14 points.

Max McCoy scored 13 points and had six assists.

Nick Creber scored 10 points and had seven rebounds.

Royal will be cheering for Westlake on Thursday.

Westlake hosts Calabasas.

A Westlake victory would mean a co-championship in the Marmonte League.

Coach Ernest Baskerville and freshman Marcus LoVett, Jr. have turned things around at Providence in a short time.

Both have only been associated with the school for a few months and already the boys' basketball team has a league championship.

Providence beat Viewpoint, 69-63, Tuesday.

LoVett, Jr. scored 29 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter.

Viewpoint was leading 61-57 with three minutes remaining.

LoVett, Jr. was held to only 13 points through three quarters, but exploded in the fourth.

He now has 826 points this season.

Providence is 22-4, 9-0

Matt Pournazarian scored 19 points and Tim Howell scored 18 points for Viewpoint, which has secured second place, provided it beats Holy Matyrs Thursday.

Buckley had won the last eight league titles.

The Griffins, who reached the Div. IV-A championship a year ago could finish tied for second if they beat Providence Thursday and Viewpoint loses at Holy Martyrs

It is not out of the question to think Taft, El Camino Real and Grant could all win City championships in boys' basketball.

Taft is expected to receive the No. 1 seed in Div. I Saturday when playoff pairings are announced at about 10:15 a.m. at Roybal Learning Center.

Taft is 22-3, should finish West Valley League play undefeated again and owns important victories against Fairfax and Windward.

El Camino Real is the favorite in Div. II.

Coach David Rebibo has sophomore standouts Maleke Haynes, Julian Richardson, Evan Wardlow and Julien Rochelin.

The Conquistadores (16-7) have only lost to Taft during league play.

Grant is a top contender in Div. III.

The Lancers are 22-5, undefeated in the East Valley League and feature 6-foot-7 forward Gor Plavchyan.

Calabasas 68
Newbury Park 53

Jeremy Lieberman scored 17 points, Holden Israel scored 14 points and Spencer Levy scored 10 points to lead the Coyotes (22-3, 12-1).

it all comes down to one game Wednesday night for the outright Tri-Valley League championship.

Oaks Christian at Oak Park. Tip-off is 7 p.m.

Oak Park upset the Lions 61-60 on Jan. 20.

The Eagles jumped out to a 17-point lead before Oaks Christian battled back to tie the score at 51-51.

Oak Park made a few more plays down the stretch to squeeze out a great road victory.

Oaks Christian will rely on point guard Chass Bryan, and fellow seniors Michael Roletti, Jason Ghilarducci and Scoty Hopkins. Junior Jackson Miller could also play a key role for the Lions.

Oak Park counters with the trio of Ron Lee, Jackson Hall and J.D. Slajchert.

Lee scored 30 points in the first meeting and went to the free throw line 21 times.

Alemany 78
Notre Dame 61

Alemany won the league championship for the first time since 1999.

Max Guercy and Marqueze Coleman each scored 21 points to lead the Warriors (22-3, 10-1).

Guercy had five assists and five steals.

Coleman made five 3-pointers.

Sophomore Razhaun Henderson scored 13 points for Alemany.

Kennedy Edwards scored 28 points to lead Notre Dame.

Notre Dame dropped to 9-16, 0-11.

Despite not having a league victory, the Knights are expected to qualify for the Div. IV-AA playoffs.

Crespi 63
Harvard-Westlake 57

London perrantes scored 22 points, Michael Avery scored 15 points and Michael Milligan, Jr. scored 11 points to lead the Celts (20-6, 7-5) in their final regular season game before the playoffs.

Zena Edosomwan scored 24 points to lead the Wolverines (16-9, 6-5).

Dave Winfield scored 15 points for Harvard-Westlake.

Harvard-Westlake concludes the regular season at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Alemany.

Chaminade 48
St. Francis 39

Zach Miller scored 12 points and sophomore Jack Williams had 10 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Eagles (16-9, 5-6).

Alemany 82
Price 76

Price 14 24 23 15=76
Alemany 15 17 22 26=82

Price-Kahlil Johnson 29, Trey Dickerson 12, Chance Murray 12, Skylar Spencer 10, Martin 6, Green 6

Alemany-Max Guercy 19, Rahzaun Henderson 17, Jerico Richardson 16, Marqueze Coleman 15, Brandon Boyd 15

A: 21-3, P: 18-6

Yes, there was a shot clock.

Viewpoint 41
Holy Martyrs 19

Jonny Paul scored 13 points.

Michael Dix had eight rebounds and eight blocks on senior night.

Viewpoint hosts Providence Tuesday.

Viewpoint needs to win and hope for Providence to lose Thursday for a co-championship in the Liberty League.

Oaks Christian 48
Morningside 43

Morningside 11 8 9 15=43
Oaks Christian 17 11 13 7=48

Morningside-Jonathon Franklin 17, D.J. Harris 10, Hickmon 9, Mitchell 4, Blackmon 3

Oaks Christian-Chass Bryan 15, Roletti 9, Ghilarducci 5, Harris 4, Abrams 3, Flannery 3, Chevalier 2, Moye, 2, Miller 2, Gustavson 2, Owusu 1

OC: 20-4, M: 10-15

The Lions led by 16 points before the Monarchs mounted a late rally.

Morningside scored 11 consecutive points to close within five points, but Chass Bryan made a 15-footer and the Lions escaped.

It wasn't the most beautiful effort from the El Camino Real boys' basketball team, but the Conquistadores did just enough Saturday to outlast Renaissance Academy, 57-54, in a nonleague game at Alemany High.

Maleke Haynes made two free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining and Renaissance Academy's Jessy Cantinol missed a desperation 3-pointer from half-court at the buzzer.

Julian Richardson led ECR (16-7) with 21 points.

Michael Thomas added 13 points for the Conquistadores.

Vince DeGuzman scored 24 points to lead Renaissance Academy (19-5), which is the top-ranked team in Div. VI.

Kevin Dinges made a basket and Cantinol had a 3-point play to cut the deficit to 51-49 with four minutes remaining.

However, Richardson and Julien Rochelin each made baskets to stretch the lead six points.

ECR was not out of the woods.

The Wildcats cut the deficit to one point and had the ball, but Troy Fontanilla had a turnover and Haynes made both free throws in the waning seconds.

"It was a good win for us because of the way we finished and get the job done," ECR coach David Rebibo said. "I would have like us to play better and smarter."

Cantinol scored 15 points for the Wildcats, who have lost three of five games, but are playing top competition.

"I am not overly concerned with the losses," Renaissance Academy coach Sid Cooke said. "We scheduled tough games late in the season for the chance to get better and test ourselves."

El Camino Real 57
Renaissance Academy 54

ECR-16 14 13 14=57
Renaissance Academy 15 7 17 10=54

ECR-Julian Richardson 21, Michael Thomas 13, Haynes 7, Rochelin 5, Conway 9, Francis 2

Renaissance Academy-Vince DeGuzman 24, Jessy Cantinol 15, Kevin Dinges 11, Uneau 2, Troplent 2

ECR: 16-7, RA: 19-5

Sylmar 69
Campbell Hall 66

Sylmar 14 16 19 20=69
Campbell Hall 13 20 11 22=66

Sylmar-Earl Baker 20, David Trujillo 15, Travis Moore 13, Larry Williams 10, Austn 8, Carlos 3

Campbell Hall-Aaron Holiday 34, Cole Huff 24, Simplis 8

S: 14-14, C: 9-16

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.

Kennedy 72
Reseda 26

Dom Vargas scored 19 points and had eight rebounds and seven assists to lead the Golden Cougars (17-8, 9-1).

Kennedy has a showdown with undefeated Panorama next week.

A share of the league title will be on the line.

Friday at 7 p.m. at Kennedy

Taft 67
Cleveland 57

Taft 8 23 20 16=67
Cleveland 20 10 9 18=57

Taft-Perry 19, January 17, Jones 11, Yanku 12, Henderson 2, Avila 2, Gentle 4
Cleveland-Dees 16, Moore 11, Johnson 13, Williams 9, Igodan 8

Taft 21-3, 8-0
Cleveland 15-12, 3-5

Taft 51
Cleveland 39 at the end of three quarters

Cleveland was up 14 in the first half before Taft came all the way back and led 31-30 at halftime.

Cleveland led 20-6 at one point.

Brandon Perry was a beast down low.

El Camino Real 61
Birmingham 49

Michael Thomas scored 23 points and Maleke Haynes scored 14 points to lead the City Section Div. II favorite.

Pacific Hills 64
Campbell Hall 50

Cole Huff scored 17 points and freshman Aaron Holiday poured in 16 points for Campbell Hall.

The biggest upset of the night.

Simi Valley 60
Westlake 57

One word. Wow.

Calabasas 48
Thousand Oaks 45

Holden Israel scored 20 points, Jeremy Lieberman scored 10 points and Alex Monsegue grabbed 10 rebounds in the victory.

Calabasas is 21-3, 11-1.

Eric Greene scored 19 points to lead Thousand Oaks.

Royal 48
Newbury Park 39

Max McCoy scored 15 points and dished out five assists in the victory.

Nick Creber scored nine points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Creber also took two charging fouls.

Creber has 37 career charges taken. That is a new all-time career record at Royal.

Royal is 18-6, 10-2

Newbury Park is 5-19, 1-11

Loyola 77
Harvard-Westlake 74

It wasn't as close as the score indicated.

Loyola took control with a 25-7 second quarter.

Sophomore Derick Newton scored 26 points to lead Harvard-Westlake.

Zena Edosomwan scored 24 points and Utah-bound guard Josh Hearlihy scored 16 points.

Harvard-Westlake got little production elsewhere.

Julian Harrell scored 23 points to lead Loyola, including 15 in the first half.

Harrell is going to Penn next year.

Loyola led by 12 at halftime and was ahead by 12 midway through the fourth quarter.

Loyola is 20-3, 8-3

Harvard-Westlake is 15-8, 6-4

Chaminade 66
Crespi 57

Jaron Martin scored 16 points with seven assists.

Zach Miller scored 20 points.

Sophomore Jack Williams scored nine points and grabbed 15 rebounds.

Chaminade is 15-9, 4-6

Crespi is 19-6, 6-5.

Crespi has lost five of six games.

Clearly not the same team that beat Loyola the first week of January.

Things could change in the playoffs. Coach Russell White should have the troops ready.

London Perrantes scored 17 to lead Crespi.

Valley Torah 52
Shalhevet 51

Nathaniel Liberman scored 23 points and Jake Stibelman scored 11 points to lead the Wolfpack (11-10) at Los Angeles High.

Shalhevet is ranked No. 5 in Div. V-A.

Shalhevet is coached by former Sierra Canyon coach Colin Jamerson.

Jamerson led Sierra Canyon to the Div. V-A championship game in 2010.

Tim Gilmore scored 21 points and Ryan Wright scored 17 points to lead Palmdale to a 52-49 victory against Knight.

Palmdale moved two games in front of Knight and can clinch a share of the league title with a victory Friday.

The Falcons went on an 11-0 run, and held Knight scoreless for more than five minutes in the fourth quarter to get the huge road victory.

Providence 92
Glendale Adventist 33

Freshman Marcus LoVett, Jr. scored 32 points and Patrick Gonzalez scored 29 points in the easy victory.

Providence is 21-4, 8-0

Providence has two big road games next week at Viewpoint and Buckley.

Lovett, Jr. now has 797 points this season.

He is 133 shy of breaking the single season record.

Alemany 78
Crespi 60

Marqueze Coleman scored 27 points and had 10 rebounds to lead the hottest team in the region.

Alemany has won seven in a row and faces Price on Saturday in the Alemany showcase.

Game time is 6:45 p.m.

Harvard-Westlake 48
Chaminade 45

Oaks Christian 74
Santa Clara 18

St. Bonaventure 60
Oak Park 57

A huge loss for Oak Park.

A Feb. 8 game with Oaks Christian will likely decide the outright league champion.

Oak Park coud have finished at worst with a co-championship had it beaten St. Bonaventure.

Oak Park upset Oaks Christian, 61-60 on Jan. 20

Oak Park led St. Bonaventure, 49-48 at the end of the third quarter.

St. Bonaventure took a 56-55 lead with 50 seconds remaining.

St. Bonaventure was leading 57-55 with 22 seconds remaining and 58-57 with 14 seconds remaining.

Patrick Kenney made one of two free throws with 12 seconds remaining for a 59-57 lead.

Ron Lee dribbled the ball off his foot and St. Bonaventure recovered it with four seconds left.

St. Bonaventure made one of two fee throws and Jackson Hall missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer for Oak Park.

Birmingham 64
Chatsworth 61

Andrew Estes made a half-court shot at the buzzer to lead Birmingham.

El Camino real 62
Cleveland 53

Sophomore Julian Richardson scored 25 points to lead second place ECR.

Taft 69
Granada Hills 51

Steven Jones scored 14 points and Anthony January scored 12 points and 11 rebounds for Taft.

There is only two weeks before the playoffs start and Sylmar is still waiting for sophomore transfers Nick Howard (Knight) and Devenir Duruisseau (Palmdale) to be cleared.

Coach Bort Escoto is not happy the City Section has dragged the situation out all season.

Howard and Deruisseau normally would have fallen under the one-time free transfer rule for freshman to sophomore year.

However, a letter was sent to the athletics office citing undue influence and the players have not been granted eligibility at Sylmar.

"We have just received excuses why they can't play," Escoto said. "More paperwork needed, more signatures needed. We proved the allegations of recruting were untrue with club team rosters, no records of permits that the club team practiced at Sylmar. I am upset that proper procedures haven't been followed. An official complaint with proof of any wrongdoing has never been turned in."

Escoto also indicated another school in the Valley Mission League has meddled with the situation.

"I don't appreciate the fact that Kennedy High jumped in something they have nothing to do with. Kennedy turned in film in an attempt to show something that is really not the case."

The film contains footage of a former player, who is a club coach, attending games at the Moorpark tournament in December.

Sylmar also has juniors Cody Rodino and Ashton Anderson from Highland.

The duo has decided to sit out this season.

Rodino and Anderson should be eligible next year.

The Spartans could be one of the top teams in the City for the 2012-2013 season.