BHoops: Home Sweet Home in Semis

There are supposed to be alternate sites in the semifinals, but all that really means is if you get a home game, you can play it nearby, which worked out well for Valley fans wanting to watch everyone in the semifinals. Glendora and Damien will switch gyms on Friday. Strange isn’t it? But it works out well for both. Nogales will play at Rowland. BTW, even though Diamond Ranch lost, they might not be out of the state playoffs. Stay tuned. Also, which of these three area games deserves top billing on Friday?

Boys Basketball
Friday’s Semifinals
All games at 7:30 p.m.

Division II-AA
Marina (23-6) vs. Thousand Oaks (27-2) at TBA
Leuzinger (24-5) vs. Glendora (24-7) at Damien H.S.
Division II-A
Eisenhower (26-3) vs. Damien (19-11) at Glendora H.S.
La Mirada (27-3) vs. Loyola (23-5) at TBA
Division III-AA
Anaheim Canyon (23-6) vs. Nogales (24-7) at Rowland H.S.
Arroyo Grande (20-8) vs. Santa Margarita (20-8), TBA
Divisioin V-A
La Verne Lutheran (23-6) vs. California Academy of Math and Science (20-5) at Long Beach Cabrillo H.S.
Buckley (25-3) vs. Windward (24-6) at TBA.

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Boys Soccer: Baldwin Park moves on

Could the Damien soccer team continue on just like basketball? What a surprise. Not surprisingly is finding Baldwin Park, Rosemead, Mountain View and Sierra Vista in the second round, with all four having a great opportunity to advance to Friday’s quarterfinals. La Puente will have a tough time against North Torrance. Hopefully there’s no letdown after their dramatic 4-3 first round win over Bishop Amat.

Game Highlights: The second round of the playoffs sometimes provides a scare for the higher-seeded teams, but the Baldwin Park High School boys soccer team continues getting stronger.
Junior striker Edgar Padilla scored twice, and freshman Ruben Zamarripa added another as the Braves easily disposed of visiting Garden Grove Santiago 3-1 in the second round of the Division V playoffs on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s second round results
Note: All games start at 3 p.m.
Division II

Troy 1, Damien 0
Division IV
North Torrance 2, La Puente 1
Sierra Vista 3, Crescenta Valley 2
Division V
Baldwin Park 3, Garden Grove Santiago 1
Division VI
Mountain View 5, Ontario Christian 0
Silverado 2, Arroyo 1
Rosemead at Milken Community

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GWPolo: Bonita wins, St. Lucy’s ends


Girls Water Polo
Semifinals

Division VI
Bonita 11, Elsinore 3
Game Highlights: Andy Rosenberg has coached the Bonita High School boys water polo team in a CIF-Southern Section championship game, and now he will get the chance to lead the Bearcats girls team in one, too. Amber Pezzolla scored six goals and sister Megan Pezzolla had six saves as the Bearcats advanced to the Division VI championship game with an 11-3 victory over Elsinore at Lakeside High. Bonita, which also got three goals from Meghan Turner, improved to 25-5 and will face either Malibu or Chadwick for the divisional title at 10:40 a.m. on Saturday at Woollett Aquatic Center in Irvine. Elsinore, getting two goals from Holly Thoman, finished 24-6.
“We did a good job on defense,” said Rosenberg, in his first season coaching the girls team after last guiding the boys team, a CIF-SS title game in 2000, “and that’s always going to be the key at this point in the playoffs

Division III
Corona Santiago 9, St. Lucy’s 8
Game Highlights: A thrill ride that went back and forth ended with Corona Santiago sneaking past second-ranked St. Lucy’s 9-8 in the CIF-Southern Section Division III girls water polo semifinals on Wednesday at Mt. SAC, ending the Regents’ hope of playing for their first title in school history. It was a sour ending for ninth-year coach David Miller, who is retiring after leading the Regents (29-3) to their first outright Sierra League title ever, and just their second semifinal since 2003. Sierra Smiley, who led the Sharks with four goals, came up with a huge assist when she whipped a pass in front to Ashley Dorrego, who converted the go-ahead goal to make it 9-8 with 3:05 left. The Regents, getting a team-high four goals from Emily Donohoe and two from Cambria Shockley, had several chances to even it down the stretch. Donohoe sent a shot over the net with 1:19 left, then Donohoe’s steal and quick outlet to Hanna Lancaster on the break ended with a great point-blank save from Sharks goalkeeper Meghan Rowland with 52 seconds left.
In the final seconds it appeared the Regents might tie it after Bianca Adams’ steal and quick pass in front to Shockley, but the horn sounded to end the game before Shockley could pull the trigger. “It shouldn’t of come down to the last couple seconds I guess,” explained Miller. “We had our chances, we had our opportunities, it just didn’t happen.”

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BHoops: Glendora, Damien, Nogales survive; DRanch, Bonita, Northview gone


Above: Nogales coach Ricky Roper all smiles after Nogales’ 50-47 win over Palm Springs.

Tuesday’s Quarterfinal Results
Division II-AA

Glendora 68, West Ranch 51
Thousand Oaks 62, Edison 45
Marina 71, Huntington Beach 70
Leuzinger 88, Valencia 66

Division II-A
Damien 66, Mayfair 64
Eisenhower 77, Loara 69
Loyola 88, Simi Valley 74
La Mirada 68, Ayala 48

Division III-AA
Nogales 50, Palm Springs 47
Anaheim Canyon 70, Hart 47
Santa Margarita 64, North Torrance 63
Arroyo Grande 49, St. John Bosco 44

Division III-A
Gahr 63, Diamond Ranch 62
Harvard-Westlake 63, Bonita 49
Golden Valley 75, Foothill 72
Sonora 49, Apple Valley 47

Division IV-AA
Inglewood 77, Northview 47

Bishop Montgomery 58, Atascadero 53
Ocean View 70, San Luis Obispo 56
Gardena Serra 60, Compton Centennial 50

Division V-A
La Verne Lutheran 75, Faith Baptist 41


Glendora’s Calvin Smith scored 19 points in the Tartans’ victory

I was covering Glendora, here are the highlights
Glendora High School boys basketball coach Mike LeDuc finally broke a smile, looking almost like a proud father explaining how the Tartans went all the way to Valencia West Ranch, and did it again. Junior guard Calvin Smith was the big difference, breaking past the Wildcats’ constant pressure on his way to 19 points and five rebounds. Senior Kos Russell also scored 19, and Brad Gatlin had one of his finest games of the season, chipping in with 18 points as the Tartans outlasted the Wildcats 68-51 in Tuesday’s CIF-Southern Section Division II-AA quarterfinals.
“We knew we were facing a great defensive team,” Smith said. “They put a lot of pressure, but our guys kept moving and made it easier for me to find them.
“And when I had an opening I was able to knock down a few shots. But again, it was another total team effort.”
The third-seed Tartans (24-7) advanced to the semifinals for the second consecutive season, where they will face third-seed Leuzinger, an 88-66 winner over Valencia, on Friday at Damien High School. LeDuc tried explaining how the magic continued.
“Our team has a high level of competitive spirit,” LeDuc said. “I know a lot of teams do also, but they seem to rise up to the occasion and take a lot of pride in the tradition we have. When they get an opportunity, they look forward to it, they don’t back away from it. I think that’s the difference.”

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GSoccer: Valley goes one and four in PK’s

While it was a tough day for most area high school girls soccer team in the penalty shootout, Diamond Ranch came out on top. The Panthers pulled off the upset of the day, shocking top-ranked and undefeated Santa Ana Valley in penalty kicks after eighty scoreless minutes of regulation and two overtimes in Tuesday’s CIF-Southern Section Division IV second-round game. The Panthers (13-7-4) defeated Santa Ana Valley (23-1-1) 4-2 in penalty kicks to move to the quarterfinals on Thursday against either St.Joseph’s or California. “I’m really excited, that was the top team in our division and nobody had done this to them all year,” Panthers coach Victoria Hentges said. “They were an amazing team, it was so hard fought, I’m just so glad to get through it and move on, because we’ve never gone this far in the playoffs.”

Tuesday’s Second Round
All games at 3 p.m.
Division II
Crescenta Valley 1, South Hills 1, CV wins on PK’s, 4-2
Division IV
Diamond Ranch 0, Santa Ana Valley 0, DRanch wins on PK’s, 4-2
Santa Ynez 0, Bishop Amat 0, Santa Ynez wins on PK’s, 4-3
Cathedral City 1, Los Altos 1, Cathedral City wins on PK’s, 4-3
Division VI
Milken Community 1, San Dimas 0
Division VII
Saddleback Valley Christian 0, Sierra Vista 0, Saddleback wins on PK’s, 5-4
CAMS 1, Arroyo 0
St. Genevieve 1, South El Monte 0

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