David Felton: February 2012 Archives

Lynwood High's girls basketball team will make its first CIF Southern Section divisional final since 2006 on Friday, playing J.W. North of Riverside in the II-AA final at 3:30 p.m. at Anaheim Arena.
The fifth-seeded Knights improved to 24-4 overall with Tuesday's 62-60 victory over No. 1 Mark Keppel. Lynwood's 2006 finals appearance - a victory over Poly in Division I-AA - was the last of its run of seven consecutive that began in 2000. During that span, the Knights won five I-AA crowns, including four in a row from 2001-2004, as well as two state Division I championships (2002, 2003) and a national title in 2002.
North brings a 29-4 record into the game and is seeded third in the division.

For the second consecutive season, Poly High's girls basketball team has been kept short of the CIF Southern Section Division I-AA title game, this time after a 49-43 loss to Brea Olinda on Tuesday at Anaheim Arena.
The top-seeded Jackrabbits pulled within two points twice in the fourth quarter and had a chance to tie with under a minute to play. But Destiny King's shot missed and the Wildcats closed out the game with four late points.
King scored 18 points to lead Poly (28-3), and had seven of the Jackrabbits' 11 fourth-quarter points as they tried to rally from a nine-point deficit. Keyla Morgan added 10 points and scored twice in the fourth to pull Poly within two points. No other Jackrabbit scored more than five.
Poly allowed 19 points in the second quarter for the second game in a row. Against Etiwanda in the quarterfinals, the Jackrabbits trailed 27-19 at halftime and needed a fourth-quarter rally to pull out a 53-48 triumph.
Despite the loss, Poly's season is not over, By reaching the divisional semifinals, the Jackrabbits will advance to the CIF Southern California Regionals, and they still have a chance to compete for the state Division I title. But they'll almost certainly open on the road against a high seed.[ep
Poly was not so lucky last year, when a I-AA quarterfinal loss at home to Santa Monica brought its season to an abrupt end.
Taylor Spears led Brea (24-5) with 14 points, and scored a crucial bucket late in the fourth quarter after rebounding her own miss. Keitra Wallace added 13 points.
Brea will face Orange County rival Mater Dei in Friday's final. The same teams met in last year's I-AA final, with Mater Dei earning a 63-54 victory.

Only Poly, Downey, Lynwood and Avalon are among the area girls basketball teams still alive in the CIF Southern Section playoffs after Wednesday night. Millikan, Wilson, Gahr, St. Joseph and Whitney all saw their seasons come to an end.
Top-seeded Poly (27-2) will visit No. 8 Eitwanda on Saturday for a Division I-AA quarterfinal game. With second-round losses from Wilson (17-11) and Millikan (17-10), Poly is the only Moore League team left playing and is the only local squad remaining in I-AA.
Downey (19-9) made its free throws down the stretch vs. Katella in Division I-A on Wednesday and will host No. 1 Summit in the quarters Saturday.
Lynwood (22-4) reached Saturday's II-AA quarterfinal round, where it will visit Anaheim Canyon.
In Division V-A, Avalon (18-4) has reached the semifinals and will host Desert Christian on Saturday.
Gahr (III-AAA) and Whitney (IV-A) both suffered tough two-point losses to keep them out of the semifinals. Gahr finished the season at 20-9 while Whitney was 24-4. St. Joseph's season ended at 19-10 with its III-A quarterfinal loss to visiting Bishop Amat.

The girls basketball teams from St. Anthony, Norwalk, Gahr, Artesia and Whitney all survived Thursday's first round of the CIF-SS playoffs and will return to action Saturday.
With its road victory in Division IV-AA, St. Anthony (15-11) will host Muir in the second round. Artesia will hit the road for the second round of the III-A playoffs, but it won't have to go very far. The Pioneers (11-16) visit St. Joseph (18-9), which drew a first-round bye.
In Division III-AAA, Norwalk and Gahr will play road games Saturday. The Lancers (20-7) travel to Esperanza while the Gladiators (19-8) visit South Torrance. In Division IV-A, Whitney (23-3) travels to Immaculate Heart.
Cerritos (III-AAA), La Mirada (III-AA), Firebaugh (III-A), Centennial (IV-AA) and St. Matthias (V-AA) all saw their seasons come to an end Thursday.
First-round play in I-AA, I-A, II-AA, II-A and V-A begins Saturday. Poly, Wilson and Warren (all I-AA), Lynwood (II-AA), Mayfair (II-A) and Avalon (V-A) all have home games.

St. John Bosco receiver Bryce Treggs stuck with his initial commitment and announced Wednesday on live TV he'd sign with Cal.
Treggs committed to Cal over the summer, but UCLA - and later USC - made a strong late push. Treggs said on Prime Ticket he stuck with Cal because he was taught by his mother to be "a man of my word."

Long Beach City offensive tackle Justin Aysse signed with San Diego State on Wednesday, the first day most high school and community college football players can sign a national letter of intent.
Aysse is a 6-6, 280-pound former Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Offensive lineman Brock Ane signed with NAIA school McPherson College in Kansas and receiver Sean Morris signed with West Texas A&M, where LBCC teammate Travon Payne is already enrolled.
Cerritos cornerback Tommy Elliott signed with Southeast Louisiana on Wednesday and ECC Compton offensive lineman Rodney Donaldson signed with Benedict College in South Carolina.