Trib Wins! Chris Reyes scores 21 to lead Tribune boys to a 105-102 victory over the Star-News

Boys all-star photo gallery

Game Story: Chris Reyes could only watch, with a grimace, as Blake Hamilton sent up an off-balance 25-foot shot at the buzzer.

Recap: Pasadena’s Blake Hamilton scored a game-high 33 points, but he missed a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer, allowing the Tribune to celebrate a 105-102 victory over the Star-News. The Tribune’s Chris Reyes won Tribune MVP honors finishing with a team-high 21 points. South Hills big-man Corey Serna helped bring the Trib back from a seven-point halftime deficit, scoring 10 of his 14 points in the second half. Northview’s Treavon Francis finished with 13 points, Claremont’s Kyle Maloof had 11 and Bonita’s Matt Adamo had 10 to give the Trib five players in double figures. The Star-News leads the overall series with the Tribune, 5-4, but the Tribune has won the past three games to close the gap.

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It’s Miller Time: Star-News girls all-stars ride Pas Poly’s Michelle Miller’s 39 points to 91-81 win over the Tribune …

Girls all-star photo gallery

Game Story: It was a good thing for the Star-News girls team that Pasadena Poly High School’s Michelle Miller worked the Tribune/Star-News All-Star Classic into her busy schedule on Saturday.

Star-News 91, Tribune 81: Michelle Miller scored 39 points en route to earning Star-News team MVP honors and the Star-News proved stronger down the stretch to up its series lead to 6-3. The game was tied at 74-74 with 5:40, but big 3-pointers by Monrovia’s Gina Henderson and Miller helped the Star-News pull away. Diamond Ranch’s Chelsea Barnes scored 22 points and was named Tribune team MVP.

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Ninth Annual Tribune/Star News All-Star Basketball Classic tonight at Damien High School

9th ANNUAL STAR-NEWS/TRIBUNE ALL-STAR GAME
Tonight at Damien High
Girls game, 4 p.m.; Boys game, 6 p.m.

LAST YEAR
Boys: Tribune 98, Star-News 87, Star-News leads series, 5-3.
Girls: Tribune 80, Star-News 69, Star-News leads series, 5-3.


Above: Northview’s Treavon Francis could have a big night for the Trib

By Aram Tolegian, Staff Writer
Exactly which side of the Valley has the best prep basketball talent will be decided tonight at Damien High School when the Tribune/Star-News All-Star Classic conducts its ninth renewal.

Tipoff for the girls game is at 4 p.m. The boys game will follow, at approximately 6 p.m.

A revenge setting is what the Star-News boys and girls teams find themselves in after the Tribune produced a clean sweep of the event last year. However, the Star-News still holds the lead in both series with identical 5-3 records.

“We’ll win this year,” Star-News coach Tim Tucker said. “We’re more prepared. Practice is more intense.”

If things are going to change this year in the boys game, the Star-News will need to find answer for the Tribune’s sizable front court tandem of Damien’s 6-foot-7 Chris Reyes and South Hills’ 6-9 Korey Serna.

Adding to the Tribune’s prowess are All-Area standouts Garrett Horine of Bonita and Treavon Francis of Northview.

The Star-News team will be no slouch and with Pasadena’s Tim Tucker as coach, there’s no doubt the all-stars from the west will be playing to win. Tucker has plenty of talent to work with, led by the Pasadena duo of Blake Hamilton and John Haywood. Muir’s Dion Nelson is another weapon at Tucker’s disposal, and there’s no doubt the game has special meaning to Nelson after Muir’s season was cut short right before the playoffs due to an illegal transfer.

“When I start to really think about it it hurts a little bit,” Nelson said of his year being cut short. “When I reminisce how good we were, it actually stings a little bit. I got over it. It was just fun to come back and play again.”

The Tribune coaching tandem of Covina’s Will Bissman and Wilson’s Jason Rochwerg know that despite their size edge inside, being able to handle Pasadena’s quickness and defensive pressure may very well be the key to victory.

“We just think they’re going to be very athletic and we know Tucker is going to coach them up to try and win the game,” Bissman said. “That’s all we expect from them. We’re definitely mentioning to the kids that the Star-News is up 5-3 in the series and how we want them to end their careers by shortening that lead.”

In the girls game, fans will be treated to a battle of two of the CIF-Southern Section’s top scorers in Pasadena Poly’s Michelle Miller and Workman’s Evelyn Herrera. Miller averaged 32.5 points per game this season. Herrera averaged 26.7.

As good as Miller and Herrera are, the talent runs much deeper on both rosters. The Tribune team boasts the Diamond Ranch duo of Chelsea Barnes and Tyvette White. Bonita’s Brianna Kennedy, a 6-foot-3 center, will play next season at Loyola Marymount. Bishop Amat’s Kaysee Tayag and Covina’s Ashli Baddorf give Tribune coach Nick Masi even more scoring options.

“We’re trying to score 100 points in this game,” Masi said. “I think our guard play is the strength of this team. We’re going to be trying to get up and down the court.”

The Star-News appears up to the challenge of a shootout. In addition to Miller, the team has another dynamic scorer in Monrovia’s Gina Henderson.

The Star-News will be coached by Keppel’s Hon Trieu and Poly’s Kim Weber.

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Softball: Bonita’s Sanchez steady in 6-2 win over West Covina; Next up, Los Altos on Tuesday


Check out Keith Birminghmam’s photo gallery

By Fred J. Robledo, SGVN, twitter@sgvtribpreps

Bonita is usually one of those high school softball teams that bursts out of the gate.

But adjusting to life after departed seniors Courtney Gano and Breeanna Sandoval
created some growing pains for the young Bearcats.

The player that needed to step-up the most and regain some of that swagger was sophomore pitcher Anissa Sanchez, and she was all that for Bonita in a 6-2 win over West Covina on Friday to keep the Bearcats’ bid for a third straight league title in check.

After Sanchez gave up two runs in the first inning she was steady the rest of the way. She gave up five hits, but never more than one in any inning — no easy task against the hard-swinging Bulldogs.

“What’s so hard is I’ve turned over the reigns of pitch-calling to them (Sanchez and catcher Michelle Whitt),” Bonita coach Ken Carlson said. “I’m letting them manage their games and they’re doing a good job.

“I’m freaking out in the dugout while it’s going on, but I have to give Anissa a lot of credit. She’s battling every inch of the way and doing a great job for us.”
Bonita (14-6, 7-1) moved into a first-place tie in the Hacienda League with Los Altos (15-6, 7-1) while dropping West Covina (12-8, 7-2) a half-game behind. (To continue click thread).

Continue reading “Softball: Bonita’s Sanchez steady in 6-2 win over West Covina; Next up, Los Altos on Tuesday” »

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Softball: Charter Oak drops South Hills, 5-1

Sophomore pitcher Brooke Clemetson gave her Charter Oak High School softball team the inside track for the third CIF-Southern Section playoff spot from the Sierra League with a 5-1 win over South Hills on Friday.

The win gave the Chargers (12-7, 3-3) a sweep of the season series and broke a third-place tie with the Huskies (15-8, 2-4).

Clemetson struck out eight, including the final four batters, to earn her ninth win of the season.

“I was hitting my spots pretty good today,” she said. “Even when I missed, my defense was really on.”

The Chargers scored first, getting an unearned run when the normally solid Huskies defense committed a pair of errors in the bottom of the third inning.

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La Salle beats Bishop Amat again, 3-2

The baseball fiefdom of the Del Rey League is controlled by a new group of Lancers.

La Salle High School handed Bishop Amat its second consecutive defeat on Friday, scoring a 3-2 victory at Citrus College.

“To beat them again is so huge,” La Salle’s Bowdien Derby said. “I feel like a king now. Everyone knows we took down the league champs.”

The La Salle Lancers, who had never beaten the Bishop Amat Lancers in a league game until this week, now control the Del Rey, although technically they are still half a game behind Bishop Amat.

“We’re not done,” La Salle coach Harry Agajanian said. “We still have some work to be done. We still have to play with composure.”

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