Damien-Cantwell photo gallery

Saturday’s SoCal Shootout Results
At Azusa Pacific University
Rowland 55, Flintridge Prep 46
Walnut 73, Villa Park 60
Diamond Bar 77, Mission Viejo 39
Corona Santiago 61, Colony 49
Glendora 74, Los Osos 52
MLK 51, Los Altos 46
Etiwanda 63, Gahr 62
Damien 63, Cantwell 49
La Canada 57, Claremont 56

By Stephen Ramirez
AZUSA — Who is the best high school boys basketball team in the San Gabriel Valley Newspapers coverage area?
For one night, the mythical crown goes to Damien.
Senior Jeremy Hemsley scored 27 points and Bryce Peters had 17 as the Spartans, ranked No. 1 by the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, beat Whittier Daily News No. 1 Cantwell Sacred Heart of Mary, 63-49, in a Southern California Shootout game at Azusa Pacific.
Damien, also getting eight points from Malik Fitts, improved to 20-2. Gligorije Rakocevic had 27 points and 15 rebounds for the Cardinals, who slipped to 12-10.
“It means a lot to win this game,” Hemsley said. “They are a very good team, so this was a game we needed to play well in. We needed to just get back to our old ways, because we hadn’t played well this past week. This is a big win for us.”
The key moments for Damien, which made 19 of 47 shots, came at the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third. The Spartans, getting 11 points from Hemsley and nine from Peters, closed the half with a 17-8 surge to lead 29-20.
Damien then opened the third quarter with a 9-5 spurt to go up 38-25 at 4:28 following a Hemsley putback and a 3-pointer by Fitts.
“We knew we could put them away in the second half,” Hemsley said. “I think we did a good job of keeping the lead and playing together as a unit.”
Cantwell, getting consecutive baskets from Luka Radovic and Rakocevic, closed to within 48-42 with 3:40 left. But Damien countered with 3-point plays by Peters and Hemsley and a 3-pointer by Micah Robinson for a for a 58-47 cushion with 1:17 left.
“We played hard,” Cantwell coach George Zedan said. “We had some guys we were counting on who didn’t play well. It was a little frustrating with that. But they are a good team, ranked No. 8 in the state.
“When you have opportunities to score and you don’t make them, this is what happens against good teams. It was a tough matchup for us.”

Photo gallery from Friday’s All-Star game

Editor’s note: To the players, thanks for the memories and best of luck in the future!

PHOTO GALLERY

Different boundaries, different result.

The tweak in geographic areas to pool talent from for the West team in the SGV Hall of Fame All-Star Game for high school football seniors paid big dividends on Friday night.

The West ended a seven-game losing streak in the series with a 31-14 win over the East in the game’s 36th renewal. The East still leads the all-time series 23-11-2.

With the West struggling in recent years, game organizers changed the borders used to pool talent from previously the 605 Freeway to now Azusa Ave. The game was also moved from late spring/early summer to January in an effort to help players get some last-minute recruiting attention before signing day next week.

The West held up much better in the trenches than in year’s past and that’s all its offense needed to put up big numbers. Maranatha quarterback Eli Snyder threw two touchdown passes, both to Crescenta Valley receiver Jordan Lobianco.

Muir defensive back Brian Reyes had two interceptions, one of them he returned for an 82-yard touchdown in the second half to give the West a 31-7 lead. It was part of a dominant effort by the West defense.

The West lead 10-0 at halftime thanks to a 38-yard field goal by Montebello’s Enrique Lozano and a 22-yard touchdown pass from Snyder to Lobianco. Reyna hit UCLA-bound Monrovia receiver Octavius Spencer on a 53-yard touchdown pass and it was 17-0 early in the third quarter.

The East got a little momentum after a turnover lead to a 1-yard touchdown run by Bonita’s Angel Verdugo. Another West turnover gave the East more hope, but the West clamped down and didn’t allow any points.

Snyder’s 27-yard touchdown pass to Lobianco on the ensuing possession made it 24-7. The East tried to answer and was driving when Reyes made his second interception of the night and took it back for a score.

La Mirada quarterback Christian Lara hit Pomona’s Manny Luna midway through the fourth quarter to close out the scoring for the East.

Boys Basketball
Rowland 56, Nogales 47 — Earl Allen earned a double-double with 14 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Raiders to a Valle Vista League victory. Tyler Gachett and Junior Hernandez had 11 points each and Derek Ohara added 10 points.
San Dimas 66, Northview 53 — Joey Erickson recorded 14 points, 23 rebounds, and four assists in the Saints’ Valle Vista League win over Northview (8-14, 2-4). Omar Nasri led San Dimas (9-13, 3-3) in scoring with 23 points and also had a double-double with 12 rebounds. Ryan Ocampa added 16 points and four assists. Northview was led in scoring by Ulysses Aparicio and Adam Winiecki, who each had 11 points.
South El Monte 55, El Monte 38 — Alejandro Berber scored 17 points to help the Eagles hand the Lions just its third loss in the Mission Valley League. Adrian Diaz added 14 poitns and Alex Hernandez had 10 for South El Monte (8-7, 4-3). Justin Lamb had 17 points and Edward Dominguez had eight for El Monte (13-10, 5-3).
Girls Water Polo
St. Lucy’s 19, Glendora 3 — Sabrina Garabet scored nine goals to lead the Regents to a blowout victory over the Tartans at the Bonita Tournament. Hilary Adkins and Seinna Jagieslski each added four goals for St. Lucy’s, and Devin Holcomb had two.
St. Lucy’s 13, Righetti 3 — In the second round of the Bonita Tournament, the Regents earned another comfortable win with six goals from Sabrina Garabet, who also had four assists and three steals. Hilary Adkins had four goals, and Devin Holcomb had two goals and three assists for St. Lucy’s.

El Monte’s Jesus Garcia, top, scores past Mountain View goal keeper Michael Garcia (74) in the first half of a prep soccer match at South El Monte High School in El Monte, Calif., on Thursday, January 29, 2015. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/ Pasadena Star-News)

By Jared Pine
EL MONTE — After tying its previous meeting with Mountain View this year, the El Monte High School boys soccer team defeated the Vikings 2-1 with a goal from Ramon Rodriguez in the 77th minute for the Mission Valley League victory at home Thursday afternoon.
The win gives El Monte (10-6-2, 7-1-1) a game and a half lead over Mountain View (9-6-3, 5-2-1) in the league standings. The two teams were nearing their second 1-1 tie this season, but with just three minutes left in the game, El Monte earned a corner kick. The Spartans directed the kick out of the box, but when the ball came back in, Rodriguez was there and put his head on the ball amidst the Vikings’ defensive scramble, knocking the ball just over the line for the go-ahead goal.
Mountain View had a chance to answer in the final minute after Mauricio Rodriguez got a yellow card just outside the box on the goalkeeper’s left side. Valera Moises took the free kick for the Vikings, which was punched out by goalkeeper Jose Paredes. The ball was controlled by Roberto Alvarez, who took one dribble to control the ball and lifted it toward the goal. Paredes jumped up for the floater and knocked it over the cross bar, and Mountain View couldn’t get a shot off on the ensuing corner kick right before time expired.

St. Paul players celebrate their win over Bishop Amat after their Del Rey girls basketball game at St. Paul High School in Santa Fe Springs on Thursday January 29, 2015. St. Paul defeated Bishop Amat 53-38. (Photo by Keith Durflinger/Whittier Daily News)

By Stephen Ramirez
SANTA FE SPRINGS — There was no league title at stake when the St. Paul High School girls basketball team hosted Bishop Amat on Thursday. It just seemed that way.
That’s what sweeping your rival for the first time in nearly three decades will do for you, especially one that has had the upper hand in the series.
Clarissa Perez scored 19 points and Adrianna Gonzalez had 14 as the Swordsmen beat the Lancers for the second time, scoring a 53-38 victory in a Del Rey League game at St. Paul.
St. Paul, which won at Amat (69-45) on Jan. 13, improved to 14-10 overall and 2-3 in league play. Bishop Amat, getting 14 points from Jurhandi Molina, slipped to 7-15 and 0-5.

St. Paul, after falling behind, 16-7, after the first quarter, put together a 14-minute stretch in the second, third and four quarters where it outscored the Lancers, 27-4, for a 45-28 advantage late in the fourth. The stretch included keeping Bishop Amat scoreless for more than eight minutes over the final seven of the third and the first of the fourth.

St. Paul’s Clarissa Perez: “It’s a great feeling to sweep Amat. Coach (Robert Miller) said its the first time in 24 years we’ve swept Amat. It’s a great win for us, and I’m very proud of all my teammates.”

Sierra Vista has won the past seven Montview League girls titles.

Duarte last won the league title in 2008, but the Falcons took a big step in their 3-2 win over the Dons earlier this week, Duarte’s first win against Sierra Vista since that ‘08 season.

“It was a big boost to our confidence, but that game is over,” Duarte coach Chris McMahon said. “We have to beat Baldwin Park for (the win over) Sierra Vista to even matter.”

See story: www.sgvtribune.com/highschool-sports

Boys soccer
Nogales 1, Rowland 0 — Goalkeeper Christian Salas recorded a shutout and Jonathan Ortiz scored a goal with an assist from Anthony Dominguez to lead the Nobles (9-3-4, 4-1-1) to the Valle Vista League victory.
Girls soccer
Charter Oak 3, Diamond Ranch 1 — Maggie Brown scored three goals to lead the Chargers (9-9-2, 3-2-1) to the Hacienda League victory. Taylor Salgado, Sammie Morales and Diana Barbone each had an assist and Bria Salazar had 20 steals, Amber Alveraz had 15 steals and goalie Riley Barbatoa had four saves for Charter Oak.
San Dimas 5, Northview 1 — Cheyenne Cepeda scored twice and Haley Milano and Ryan Craig each scored a goal for the Saints (7-10-2, 6-1) in Valle Vista League win.
Rowland 1, Nogales 0 — Goalie Victoria Miranda recorded a shutout to lead the Raiders (6-3, 4-2) to the Valle Vista league victory.
Bishop Amat 10, St. Pias X-St. Matthias 0 — Hanna Armendariz scored four goals and Jamie Peters scored twice to lead the Lancers (15-6, 4-0) to the Del Rey League victory and to their eighth straight shutout. Danielle Herrera, Karissa Serna, Caitlyn Gladysz, and Sarah George each scored a goal for Bishop Amat.
Duarte 4, Baldwin Park 0 — Stephanie Flores scored three goals and goalie Alexa Moreno recorded a shutout to lead the visiting Falcons (9-4-1, 5-1) to the Montview League win and to their fifth straight victory. Jackie Hurtado scored a goal for Duarte.
Girls water polo
Charter Oak 15, Webb Schools 7 — Sarah Adams had six goals, two steals and an assist and Katie Fugit had five goals, fives assists and two steals to lead the Chargers (16-4, 5-1) to the Hacienda League win. Also contributing to Charter Oak’s victory were Savannah Austria who scored twice and Juliana Martinez who scored a goal and had three assists and two steals.
St Lucy’s 18, Etiwanda 7 — Sabrina Garabet had six goals, four assists, and four steals and Devin Holcomb had five goals, seven steals and three assists to lead the Regents (14-6, 6-1) to the Baseline League win. St. Lucy’s Katie Cook had three goals, an assist and a steal and Hilary Adkins scored twice and had three assists.
San Dimas 6, Rowland 3 — Alondra Reynoso scored three goals and goalie Shelby Garcia had nine saves to lead the Saints (12-7, 5-0) to the Valle Vista league victory. Paige Whipp, Natalie Molloy, and Madi Egan each scored a goal for San Dimas.