Cents buys back some redemption against Ventura

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I have to say I was a little surprised when Saugus hit some speed bumps in the Santa Barbara tournament last week, but it didn’t take long for Cameron Diorio and the gang to make a Centurion comeback.

Thanks to Diorio’s 18-point effort and 12 points by Mario Wright, Saugus buried last week’s disappointing performance with a 59-57 victory Wednesday over a Ventura team fresh off a dominating performance in the Ventura Kiwanis tournament.

I could tell Saugus Coach Jeff Hallman was a little relieved to be reporting in a winner to me, but he’s not expecting things to get any easier when the Centurions tip off against San Fernando Valley Invitational finalist Beverly Hills on Friday in what will be Saugus’ final tune-up before Foothill League play.

“We’re happy with where we are at right now,” Hallman said. “Actually, it’s kind of good we struggled a little bit because we know things are going to be tough in league. Everything is going to be a dogfight and we need to be ready.”

He’s not kidding. Hart proved it’s once again a title contender by winning its own tournament last weekend and Canyon lost to Saugus by only four points earlier this season in an Oak Park tournament final that Hallman said “could have gone either way.” Valencia is no pushover, either.

-- Austin Knoblauch