Boys Hoops on a chilly Wednesday evening … Chino Hills takes control of the Sierra

By Fred J. Robledo Staff Writer
Glendora game story:
If ever the Chino Hills high school boys basketball team needed a stop-the-bleeding 3-pointer, it came with just under three minutes left with host Glendora on the verge of rallying from 20 points down in the fourth quarter.
The coolest kid in the building didn’t panic, waving off coaches trying to set up a play while the Tartans cheering section turned up the decibels. (To continue, click thread)

Sierra League
Chino Hills (17-2, 2-0) at Glendora (13-4, 1-1), 7 p.m.
Chino (8-10, 0-2) at Damien (13-4, 1-1), 7 p.m.
Ayala (11-8, 1-1) at Diamond Bar (3-14, 1-1), 7 p.m.
Notes: The league is rooting for the Tartans, who can create a mess at the top with a win over Chino Hills at home, potentially creating a three-way tie for first should Damien and Ayala win as expected.

San Antonio League
Nogales (12-7, 0-1) at Walnut (11-6, 2-0), 6:30 p.m
Rowland (6-12, 0-1) at West Covina (1-15, 0-2), 6:30 p.m.
Non: South Hills (13-3, 2-0) at Los Altos (10-9), 6:30 p.m.
Notes: Walnut can really put defending champ Nogales in a hole tonight, and more important, a win sets up a meeting at South Hills on Friday for first place.

Valle Vista League
Pomona (1-10, 0-1) at Northview (12-7, 2-0), 6:30 p.m.
Baldwin Park (15-2, 1-1) at Ganesha (1-12, 0-1), 6:30 p.m.
Covina (7-7, 1-1) at San Dimas (10-8, 1-1), 6:30 p.m.
Notes: Assuming confidently that Northview, Baldwin Park and San Dimas all win, Baldwin Park will host Northview on Friday, which could create a three-way tie for first if the Braves win. Otherwise, the Vikes are well on their way to fours straight league titles.

Mission Valley
Arroyo (7-7, 2-0) at South El Monte (8-7, 2-0), 6:30 p.m.
Mountain View (6-8, 1-1) at Gabrielino (2-15, 0-2), 6:30 p.m.
Rosemead (1-8, 1-1) at El Monte (5-13, 0-2), 6:30 p.m.
Notes: Quite simple, Arroyo and South El Monte meet for sole possession of first, and it appears there are no real challengers so tonight is the game of all games in the MVL


That guy would be Chino Hills’ smooth-shooting lefty Derek Brown, who swished a 3-pointer with 2:41 left that stopped a 14-0 Tartans run, enabling the Huskies to sneak away with a 55-48 victory after leading 45-25 going into the fourth quarter.
Brown, who finished with a team-high 16 points, stared at his bench after hitting it, nodding his head to let his teammates know he wasn’t going to let them down.
“It was big shot because we needed it real bad,” Brown said. “Coach (Don Grant) told me to set up the play in stuff, but I wanted to take it in my own hands. I wanted to win the game, I wasn’t going to let us lose after the lead we built.”
Thanks to some interesting calls from the officials, the Tartans were able to sneak back in it at the free throw line, attacking the basket and getting to the stripe, hitting eight-of-nine from the foul line to start the fourth quarter, quickly trimming the Huskies’ lead to 47-33 without much time coming off the clock.
Then the Tartans got hot.
After Jon Healy missed a free-throw that would have given the Tartans a 3-point play, Calvin Smith was there for the putback, cutting the Huskies’ lead to 47-37 with 3:45 left.
After Michael Doering hit one-of-two free throws to trim the lead to 47-40 with 3:04 left, Brown responded with his 3-pointer that pushed the lead back to ten points.
Smith, who finished with a game high 26 points with seven rebounds, hit a banker and converted a back-door-pass from Doering to cut the Huskies’ lead to 50-46 with 50 seconds left, but the Huskies nailed 3-of-5 free throws down the stretch to close it out.
Even though the Tartans outscored the Huskies 23-10 in the fourth, it wasn’t enough to overcome a lot of missed shots early, particularly from Smith, who missed all eight of his 3-point attempts.
“It would have been nice if we could play like we did at the end the first three quarters,” Smith said. “Coach (Mike LeDuc) told us in the fourth quarter to attack, attack, attack. We made a run, but it was a lot to overcome, and they’re a very good team, you have to give them credit.”
The victory gives the Huskies (18-2, 3-0) early control of the Sierra League while dropping the Tartans (13-5, 1-2) two games back just three games into league action.
“Every league win is a big win,” said Brown. “We want to go 10-0, it’s not a secret. We don’t want to finish second, we don’t want to tie for first, we want to win them all, so yeah, every game is a big game.”
Erik Ligans and Chris Collins each had seven points for the Huskies and Healy finished with 12 for the Tartans.
[TAG1]fred.robledo@sgvn.com
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