Etiwanda hanging with the biggest of boys
It wasn't planned - a slate of this magnitude is practically something you can't make up - but the Etiwanda boys basketball team's nonleague schedule ended up reading something like a state tournament bracket.
Weschester, Compton Dominguez, Taft - these are the No. 2, No. 5 and No. 7 teams in the STATE, according to Calhisports.com. Etiwanda (No. 8 in Calhisports state rankings) has faced all of them.
The three teams represent each of the Eagles' three losses through 15 games this seaon. But the three losses came by a combined total of nine points.
"Westchester, well they just beat us," Etiwanda coach Dave Kleckner said before the Eagles' 41-point blowout of Rancho Cucamonga Thursday night. "But the other two, we were right in those games, just couldn't finish them."
Here are the scores from each game:
Dec 11. - Westchester 50, Etiwanda 45
Dec. 30 - Taft 63, Etiwanda 61
Jan. 3 - Dominguez 58, Etiwanda 56
Taft is the defending CIF-City Section champ, Dominguez the defending CIF-SS champ (in the largest division) and Westchester has the best record and highest ranking of the three.
Etiwanda, the CIF-SS Division I-A runner up last season, may be better than it was last season. Based on what I saw from the Eagles Thursday night, it would be hard to state otherwise. In my first viewing of the 2009 Etiwanda squad, the Eagles laid a 102-61 beatdown on Rancho Cucamonga.
Rancho, ranked 14th in Division I-A, is hardly a weak opponent. The Cougars were the only team to deal Etiwanda a regular season loss last year. An overtime loss to Riverside King in the CIF title game and a defeat at the hands of Fairfax in the second round of the state tournament were the only other blemishes on Etiwanda's record last season.
We probably can't expect 41-point margins of victory during Baseline League play, but I'm not sure how much Etiwanda will be challenged by the likes of Los Osos, Upland and Alta Loma, which lost its league opener to Etiwanda 52-40 on Jan. 9. I'm sure there will be a close game or two, considering the talent in the Baseline League.
"At times this team has shown signs of greatness," said Kleckner. "But we've had times where we've struggled. It depends on what team shows up."