By Fred J. Robledo
After blowing past locals Wilson, Northview and Rowland, Damien took care of business in the championship of the 58th annual Covina High School Christmas Tournament against one of the beasts of the Inland Empire, knocking off Riverside’s J.W. North 53-36 on Thursday.

Damien’s St. Mary’s-bound forward/center Chris Reyes had another
big night, finishing with 19 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks, which included a thunderous two-handed dunk early in the fourth that punctuated his dominating performance around the rim.

“They’re a big, physical team, it was nice playing the way we did against them,” said Reyes, named the tournament MVP. “We played a game like this last year in a tournament against Harvard-Westlake. It’s good playing these type teams.”

Spartans sharpshooter Jared Dizon was deadly too. He buried three
3-pointers and finished with a game-high 20 points.

Damien improved to 13-1 and J.W. North, which received a game-high 15 points from Aaron Peck, dropped to 10-3. (To continue click thread)

Continue reading “Boys Hoops: Damien wins big over J.W. North, 53-36; Chris Reyes named tournament MVP” »

Matching up teams from the same league for a tournament championship can get some surprising results.

“It wasn’t what I expected,” Wildcats coach Tracy Calton said. “They’re very tough inside and they like to drive to the basket. We did a good job of packing in our zone and took that away from them.”

Duarte High School point guard Imari Brown admits she was not on top of her game.

The Falcons took advantage of the Eagles’ lack of height. Wilson scored 27 points with all of her field goals made from underneath the basket. She also had 23 rebounds.

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
It’s difficult to understand why the Duarte High School girls basketball wasn’t ranked in the CIF-Southern Section Division 4AA preseason poll.
All the Falcons did last year was finish 25-3, advance to the divisional quarterfinals, earn an invitation to the state playoffs and return all five starters, including Tribune first-team selection Imari Brown, who nearly averaged a quadruple-double as a sophomore. And despite a sore ankle, the junior is at it again.
Brown finished with 31 points, seven rebounds, eight steals and three assists in Duarte’s 55-37 victory over host Glendora to finish undefeated in Pool B of the Glendora girls basketball tournament on Wednesday, earning the Falcons a ticket to tonight’s championship against Eagle Rock at 7:30 p.m., at Glendora High School. (To continue click thread).

Glendora Girls Basketball Holiday Tournament
Monday’s round-robin results
Eagle Rock 59, La Serna 49
Schurr 40, Claremont 29
Duarte 65, Hoover 32
Glendora 37, Charter Oak 35
Tuesday’s round-robin
Duarte 57, Charter Oak 43
Eagle Rock 44, Schurr 40
La Serna 44, Claremont 39
Glendora 61, Hoover 29
Wednesday’s round-robin
Eagle Rock vs. Claremont, 3 p.m.
Schurr vs. La Serna, 4:30 p.m.
Hoover vs. Charter Oak, 6 p.m.
Duarte vs. Glendora, 7:30 p.m.
Championship on Thursday, 7:30 p.m., at Glendora

Continue reading “Duarte’s Imari Brown scores 31 points to lead the Falcons to a 55-37 win over Glendora to reach Thursday’s championship against Eagle Rock” »

Associated Press photo

As part of our coverage of the 98th Rose Bowl Game, here’s my story on Wisconsin’s Russell Wilson:

LOS ANGELES – There are a lot elements that were key for Wisconsin as the Badgers returned to the Rose Bowl Game
The X-factor is quarterback Russell Wilson, who is not a typical Wisconsin signal caller.
Wilson, a senior transfer from North Carolina State, added athleticism to a position that for years required nothing special, just someone who minimized mistakes while guiding an offense that used its mammoth front line and big running backs such as Ron Dayne and John Clay as focal points.
Wilson, at least for this season, changed that perception.
“The true sign of a great player is someone who can make something out of nothing,” said Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema, whose Badgers face Oregon in the 98th Rose Bowl Game on Monday. “A lot of times it might be a call offensively where the scheme for the success of that play shuts down and you have to make a change.
“Russell has made changes this year on first, second, third and even fourth down that have allowed us to stay alive and make a play.”
Wilson’s biggest audible came not at Camp Randall Stadium, but off the field.
Continue reading “Rose Bowl Updates: Wilson is Badgers’ X-Factor” »

Rowland Girls Basketball tournament
Wednesday’s semifinals
Wilson 55, South Hills 43
Covina 47, Rowland 39
Thursday’s championship
Covina vs. Wilson, 5:30 p.m., Rowland High School

By Fred J. Robledo, Staff Writer
Northview High School boys basketball coach Ron Rice shrugged trying to come up with a reasonable answer. Northview is one of the top teams in the area, but Damien is on another level entirely, which it proved again with a 59-39 victory over the Vikings in the quarterfinals of the 58th annual Covina Christmas tournament on Tuesday.
Damien (11-1) will take on Rowland, a 59-50 winner over California in the semifinals tonight at 7 p.m., at Covina High School. (To continue click thread)

Covina wins on buzzer-beater: The oldest boys basketball tournament west of the Mississippi River has had its share of great finishes, but none arguably were better than a 3-point buzzer-beater by Edgardo Campos that gave Covina a 55-52 win over South Hills in the 58th annual Covina Christmas Tournament on Tuesday night.

The 58th Annual Covina Christmas Tournament began Monday and we will update each morning throughout the tournament.

Tonight’s semifinal games
Rowland vs. Damien, 7 p.m.
Covina vs. J.W. North, 8:30 p.m.

Monday’s first-round results
Top Bracket
California 64, Bosco Tech 37
Rowland 75, Azusa 49
Northview 76, Garey 54
Damien 59, Wilson 42
Bottom Bracket
Bishop Amat 51, Los Altos 45
JW North 69, Charter Oak 49
South Hills 71, Jurupa Hills 49
Covina 66, Sierra Vista 52

Tuesday’s quarterfinals
Top Bracket
Rowland 59, California 50
Damien 59, Northview 39
Bottom Bracket
JW North 54, Bishop Amat 36
Covina 55, South Hills 52
Continue reading “Boys Hoops: Damien too big and too good for Northview again; Rowland fends off California to meet Spartans in Wednesday’s semifinals; Covina beats South Hills at the buzzer” »