Boys’ basketball: Things are crowded atop Foothill League

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The Foothill League boys’ basketball race is as wide open as ever when you consider the recent developments at Hart, which dismissed its star player, Mike Montgomery, from the team for an incident last week. Needless to say, there will be plenty of scoreboard watching tonight/Friday as every program will be in action, each given new life in the hunt for a championship.

There’s presently a four-way tie for first place, and if I had to pick a favorite at this point, Saugus would be my choice. We’ll see if the Centurions can take the first step towards proving me right by making a statement with a victory over Canyon, a team that’s always prepared with Coach Chad Phillips at the helm.

Mind you, I left Hart Coach Tom Kelly a message this afternoon hoping to find out his side of the story involving Montgomery, but didn’t receive a call in return, which is odd because he’s typically good about that kind of stuff. Perhaps Kelly is worried about West Ranch, as he should be, or merely hasn’t had the time to get back to me. If the Indians lose tonight, they’ll drop two full games behind the front-runners.

Valencia is also in the mix and shouldn’t have to much trouble with last-place Golden Valley. Honestly, I’m not sure what to make of this whole mess. And make no mistake, it is a mess. Click here and vote if you have a clue. One thing is certain, there’s a league title at stake and you better believe that there are plenty of hungry teams in search of it.

-- Sean Ceglinsky