Mayo Superb but Walker Steals Show

O.J. Mayo? How about Bill Walker?

Mayo, the high school phenom from Cincinnati North College Hill more than lived up to his billing Thursday night at Cerritos College, scoring 30 points in an 89-62 victory over North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake.

But it was Walker, a fellow junior for the Trojans who wowed the crowd with thunderous dunks and complete control of the paint, which also included Harvard-Westlake center Alex Stepheson, a North Carolina bound senior.

Walker, ranked No. 2 in the nation in his class behind Mayo, finished with 34 points and 15 rebounds. His three highlight reel dunks in the third quarter helped North College Hill outscore Harvard-Westlake, 24-18, and take a 63-47 lead.

“We were just trying to get a win,” said Walker, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound forward. “We knew they were a quality team.”

Mayo, a 6-4 guard who has been starring for his high school team since the seventh grade, was hot early, making five of 10 shots and scoring 15 points in the first half to help the 7-0 Trojans, ranked No. 5 in the nation by USA Today, to a 39-29 lead.

Walker started slowly, missing his first five shots from the field before scoring on a three-point play early in the second quarter to tie it at 20-20. Walker then scored 11 points in the third.

“Once he gets in the paint, he’s strong,” Stepheson said. “It’s hard to stop him. We tried our best but we couldn’t; he’s just a good player.”

Stepheson finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, and Ryan Merkle made four three-point baskets and scored 14 points for Harvard-Westlake (7-2), ranked No. 9 in the Southland by The Times.

North College Hill returns to Cerritos College tonight to play Compton Dominguez at 8:30. Dominguez is ranked No. 4 by The Times.

-- Dan Arritt

Girls’ Basketball

Fullerton Troy bounced back after losing the night before to Student Sports’ No. 1 team in the country with a decisive 61-31 victory over Beaverton (Ore.) Southridge, the No. 2-ranked team, to finish third at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Chandler, Ariz.

Less than 20 hours after making only 15 of 40 shots from the field in a 44-36 loss to Queens (N.Y.) Christ the King, Troy (7-1) converted 21 of 39 from the field.

Rheya Neabors scored 12 and had nine rebounds for Troy, and Lauren Sims had 13 points in 10 minutes in only her third game back this season. Sims, who had a stress fracture in her foot, returned this week after missing three weeks. She was four for five from the field.

Sara Yee added seven points and six assists.

-- Martin Henderson

Football

Lakewood, better known for its defense in recent years, hired Thad MacNeal, offensive coordinator at Los Alamitos for the last eight seasons, as its head coach.

MacNeal takes over for Mike Christensen, who resigned after a disagreement with school administrators. Lakewood and Los Alamitos each finished 8-3.

-- Martin Henderson

Jurisprudence

The son of former Dodger pitcher Steve Howe was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of possession of steroids and alcohol, sheriff’s officials said.

Brian Howe, 18, a senior at Valencia and a member of the varsity baseball team last season, was arrested Dec. 9 after sheriff’s deputies spotted Howe and two juveniles loading alcohol into a vehicle near a drug store in Castaic, officials said.

After stopping the car, deputies found containers of alcohol and a vial containing a liquid they believed to be steroids. Howe was briefly jailed, received a misdemeanor ticket and appeared in court three days later.

Steve Howe earned NL rookie-of-the-year honors for the Dodgers in 1980 and later played for the New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers.

He was suspended seven times for drug-related issues, the first time in 1984.

-- Dan Arritt

Girls’ Volleyball

Taylor Carico, the senior setter for Manhattan Beach Mira Costa who was the undisputed leader of the best girls’ volleyball team in the Southland this season, is The Times’ girls’ volleyball player of the year.

An athletic, 5-foot-11 left-hander, Carico helped the Mustangs (35-2) win the Southern Section Division II-AA championship -- their third section title in a row in their fourth consecutive appearance in a final -- and keyed their second consecutive state championship.

A member of the U.S. Youth national team for the last two years, Carico has signed to play for USC.

-- Lauren Peterson