BHoops: LeDuc becomes Mr. 700

Glendora High School has been the face of Valley basketball for more than two decades.
The Tartans’ rosters have featured a who’s who of the area’s best, whether it be Tracy Murray in the 1980s, Cameron Murray and Casey Jacobsen during the 1990s and Davon Roberts, Dominic Tiger-Cortes and Kos Russell this decade.
But the one constant has been coach Mike LeDuc and Wednesday night the Valley’s most-successful mentor scored a magical number.
Russell had a game-high 21 points and senior center Brian Downard had 10 points and 11 rebounds as LeDuc earned his 700th career victory with Glendora’s 49-37 victory over visiting Diamond Bar in a key Sierra League game.
To continue reading, click thread


Above Glendora coach Mike LeDuc, looking for win No. 700 tonight

Results of those who called in scores
Sierra League
Glendora 49, Diamond Bar 37
Chino Hills 67, Damien 52
Ayala 87, Chino 49
Miramonte League
Diamond Ranch 64, Bonita 55
Del Rey League
Bishop Montgomery 57, Bishop Amat 49
Mission Valley League
South El Monte 61, El Monte 42
Mountain View 64, Arroyo 63, 2OT
Montview League
Sierra Vista 75, Bassett 44
San Antonio League
Nogales 70, Walnut 61
Rowland 63, West Covina 53
Valle Vista
Northview 76, San Dimas 74
Baldwin Park 71, Pomona 50
Nonleague
South Hills 65, Los Altos 55

But more importantly, Glendora remained in the hunt for a league title after improving to 19-6 overall and 6-1 in league play. Diamond Bar, getting 12 points from senior Joel Baez, slipped to 15-10 and 4-3.
“I’m so appreciative of all my assistant coaches for all these years,” said LeDuc, who received a standing ovation from the crowd after the game. “They’ve been awesome, and made me look good, and they deserve an awful lot of the credit.”
The Tartans also made LeDuc look good Wednesday, coming up with another solid defensive effort.
Glendora, which held Damien to 30 percent shooting in a 54-40 victory last week, did the same to Diamond Bar, which made just 15 of 43 shots.
“We’ve been playing really good defense for quite a while,” LeDuc said.
The Brahmas, who had won five consecutive games, looked early on like they might spoil the celebration. Diamond Bar, which also received nine points from Terrin Clark and 8 from Kacy Barlow, kept it close early before using back-to-back baskets by Baez for a 17-13 lead late in the second quarter.
But then Russell, who didn’t score in the first quarter, broke free. He hit consecutive 15-footers to give Glendora a 20-19 edge with 38 seconds left in the half before he blocked an inside shot that led to an easy layup by the senior for a 22-19 advantage with 14 seconds left in the half.
Russell, who had 12 points in the second half, then pushed it to 24-19 on a 16-footer to begin the third quarter before he turned a Diamond Bar turnover into an easy deuce for a 30-23 lead with 1:05 left in the quarter.
“We were really passive and tentative (during) the first half,” said LeDuc, whose team hosts Chino Hills on Friday in a battle for first place. “We got more aggressive in the second half. I was really pleased that we got a lot more aggressive and more comfortable in the second half, offensively.”
Diamond Bar made several runs at the Tartans, but the closest the Brahmas could get was 38-31 with 4:25 remaining following a layup by Clark.
Downard then followed up a Russell miss with an easy tip-in to make it 40-31 with 2:49 to play before Juan Martinez followed a defensive stop with a 3-pointer to give Glendora a 43-31 edge with 2:39 left.
Russell and Brad Gatlin then combined on making six free throws to seal it.
steve.ramirez@sgvn.com

(626) 962-8811, Ext. 2296

Facebook Twitter Plusone Digg Reddit Stumbleupon Tumblr Email