Wilson’s Kyle Price (3) drives to the basket past San Dimas’ Omar Nasri (50) in the first half of a prep basketball game at Wilson High School in Hacienda Heights, Calif., on Friday, Jan. 31, 2014. (Keith Birmingham Pasadena Star-News)

By Stephen Ramirez
@SteveRRamirez on Twitter
HACIENDA HEIGHTS >> Wilson High School began the season as the favorite to win the Valle Vista League boys basketball title, and the Wildcats will likely live up to that preseason billing.
Kyle Price scored a game-high 19 points and Kevin Price had 16 and 12 rebounds and host Wilson solidified its hold on first place with an 82-47 victory over second-place San Dimas on Friday.

The Wildcats, also getting nine points from Eric Lee and eight each from Justin Lee and Justin Chan, improved to 15-7 overall and 8-0 in league. San Dimas, getting 12 points each from Ryan Ocampo and Omar Nasri, slipped to 10-10 and 6-2.
Wilson, keyed by the inside play of Kevin Price and some cluth 3-point shooting from Li, put this one away after using runs of 11-1 and 14-6 in the third quarter to go up 53-33. The Wilcats then outscored San Dimas, 28-11 to win by 35.

Wilson coach Willie Allen: “It was huge and the boys knew it. They knew how big this was. They didn’t want to share any league title. They wanted to make sure we won this outright.
“We had a good game at San Dimas (earlier this season) that was close, and we wanted to send a message to the rest of the league.”

San Dimas coach Bruce Robbins: “We didn’t respond very well being down. Since we made the switch (to an up-tempo attack), we hadn’t been behind. Our kids just didn’t respond, or we didn’t respond to when we missed shots. When we missed shots, our heads went into the toilet somewhere. I guess I could have done something to slow the game down, but I really didn’t want to do that because we’re trying to get a certain way to playing in our kids’ minds that we think in the long run is better for us. I kept us playing the way we want to play, and Wilson did a nice job.”

Kevin Price: “We just (keep) our composure. (Basketball) is a game of runs. They had theirs and we had to stop it and get ours.”

MORE FROM COACH BRUCE ROBBINS

Check out Amanda Ball’s 30-yard goal and her celebration dance with Ashley Gonzales …

You be the judge … Was this a deserving red-card given to South Hills goalkeeper Alyssa Lopez on a breakaway foul taking out Chino Hills’ Ashley Gonzales?

Friday’s girls soccer results: Chino Hills 3, South Hills 0; Ayala 2, Claremont 1; St. Lucy’s 3, Charter Oak 2.
Friday’s boys soccer results: Chino Hills 3, South Hills 0; Damien 3, Charter Oak 2, Claremont 0, Ayala 0.

By Fred J. Robledo
COVINA — Chino Hills midfield attacker Amanda Ball scored two late goals in the 78th and 79th minutes to seal the deal against host South Hills, moving the CIF-Southern Section’s fourth-ranked girls soccer team a step closer to the Sierra League title after a 3-0 victory.

“Playing with 11 we had to have the perfect game plan against them,” South Hills coach Scott Mocabee said. “To have a player sent off put my girls in a tough spot.

Will the Palomares and Hacienda league be in the same playoff division? Will the Valle Vista and Rio Hondo, which have dominated the Mid-Valley Division with Monrovia and San Dimas combining to win the past five titles, be sent to a tougher playoff division and perhaps in the same division with the Palomares and Hacienda? Former Charter Oak athletic director and now Southern Section assistant commissioner Glenn Martinez will announce his proposals on March 14. Whatever happens, expect no complaints from Charter Oak, Glendora and South Hills, who will be happy to beat up on local schools again now that they’re not in the Baseline and Sierra, respectively, and especially the Inland Division.

By Aram Tolegian
March 14.
That’s the date when area fans, players and coaches of high school football will find out just how much the local landscape will change as it pertains to the playoffs.
On that day, the CIF-Southern Section will make public the new football playoff division proposals by Southern Section assistant commissioner Glenn Martinez.
And as of now, questions abound about the fate of several local teams and leagues. Some teams could be in for a serious boost in competition by being placed in new divisions. Others could see their chances at championship glory improve greatly with the removal of powerful leagues from their current divisions.
If it sounds like we’re talking about Monrovia, it’s because we are. The Wildcats won three consecutive Mid-Valley Division championships between 2010-13 and were heavy favorites to win a fourth last season before being upset by Paraclete in the semifinals.
Will that setback be enough to keep Monrovia and the Rio Hondo League in the Mid-Valley Division? Or is Martinez about to move the league into tougher surroundings to ratchet up the competition?

STORY: The El Monte High School boys soccer team felt it let one get away a few weeks back at Arroyo, losing its only game of the season 1-0 after missing a penalty kick in the final minutes that would have tied it.
El Monte was ready for the rematch on Thursday for sole possession of first in the Mission Valley League. It wasted no time winning every loose ball and racing to a 3-0 lead in the first 20 minutes before settling on a 4-2 victory to improve to 11-1 overall and 5-1 in the MVL. Arroyo, which lost earlier in the week 3-2 to Mountain View, dropped to 12-2-4 and 4-2.
“They came out like a hurricane,” Arroyo coach Frank Raygoza said. “They’re a great team, let’s give them credit. We knew they were going to come strong and we thought we were prepared for it. I just felt they were a better team today.”

Continue reading “El Monte boys soccer dominates rematch with Arroyo, winning 4-2 to take over sole possession of first in the MVL” »

By Stephen Ramirez
@SteveRRamirez on Twitter
WALNUT >> Kevin Smith’s debut as Mt. San Antonio College’s baseball coach didn’t go as planned on Thursday.
Nick Padilla hit a three-run double in the 11th inning and visiting Glendale spoiled Smith’s first game with an 8-4 victory over the Mounties at Mazmanian Field.
The Vaqueros, who won their first game after opening with losses to Oxnard and Cypress, also got two hits each from Jerry Ismerio and Jay Sheeley. Richie Rollice (South Hills High School) Kolby Oriti (Northview) and Carlos Martinez (Nogales) had two hits each for Mt. SAC.
Glendale didn’t waste it’s chance in the 11th. The Vaqueros loaded the bases with one out following to hit batters and a throwing error. Padilla then doubled down the right field line to score all three for a 7-4 lead.
Sheeley followed with an RBI single to make it 8-4.
Mt. SAC, which fell behind 4-0, tied it at 4 in the seventh. Richie Rollice (South Hills), Kolby Oriti and Carlos Martinez (Nogales) had singles before Edgar Cabral (La Puente), Dustin Fraley and Nico Contreras (South Hills) followed with RBI walks to make it 4-3. Boomer Baker then hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Cabral and tie it at 4.
Mt. SAC coach Kevin Smith: “It’s a little bit quicker, pitchers throw a little bit harder and the game is a little bit faster (at this level), but baseball is baseball. If you catch and throw and hit the baseball in key situations you win. On the other hand, if you don’t, you’re going to lose. We didn’t do all the things we needed to do to win. I am happy with the effort the guys gave us tonight. They never gave up, worked hard. We’re OK.”

STORY: Chino Hills manhandled Damien in Wednesday’s Sierra League battle for first place. Chino Hills raced to a 29-point first-half lead and never looked back, winning 85-53. Chino Hills freshman LiAngelo Ball, the brother of UCLA sophomore commit Lonzo Ball, finished with 17 points with Bishop Mency and KC Cyprian scoring a game-high 18 each. Oh yeah, Lonzo Ball finished with 11. Malik Fitts led Damien with 16 and super junior Jeremy Hemsley was held to just 10.

South El Monte’s Enrique Duarte (2) scrambles for the loose ball with Gabrielino’s Eli Peters, left, and teammate Gary Hawkins in the first half of a prep basketball game at South El Monte High School in South El Monte, Calif., on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014. (Keith Birmingham/Pasadena Star-News)

By Stephen Ramirez
@SteveRRamirez on Twitter
SOUTH EL MONTE >>The race for the Mission Valley League boys basketball title is Gabrielino High School’s to lose.
Eli Peters scored a game-high 23 points and had eight rebounds and Gabrielino took over first place with a 58-43 victory over host South El Monte on Wednesday.
Grant Kirchhoff had 18 points and 12 rebounds and Bryan Phan had 13 points for Gabrielino, which improved to 17-3 overall and 5-0 in league play. South El Monte, getting 18 points from Eduardo Hernandez and 12 from Alex Ortiz, slipped to 10-5 and 4-1.

The key for Gabrielino on Wednesday, like it was in its 67-45 victory over El Monte last week, was the third quarter. Gabrielino was 10 of 15 from the floor during that stretch and opened the quarter with a 16-9 surge to go up 42-28 following three inside shots by Kirchhoff and a 10-footer by Peters.

Gabrielino coach John Carney: “It’s nice. We’ve talked before that its another step in the process, where we want to go and how we want to get there. But I was telling the guys, the second half of league is going to be tougher than the first half. We’re where we want to be, but it’s going to be harder than the fist half.”
Eli Peters: “We definitely got more intense (during the second half). We had that fire. We just kept rolling.”