Prep Basketball BOYS : Clutch Jumper by Peralta Wins Game for Granada Hills

Senior guard Sergio Peralta hit a 13-foot jumper with five seconds remaining in overtime to lift Granada Hills High to a 52-50 victory over host Canoga Park Friday night.

The win improved the Highlanders’ record to 2-0 in league, 6-4 overall, while the Hunters fell to 0-1, 2-8 overall. Canoga Park’s first Valley 3-A League game with Grant High, which was to be played Tuesday, has been rescheduled.

With the score tied at 50-50 with a little less than a minute remaining in the fourth period, the Highlanders missed five shots from under the basket. While both teams battled for rebounds, time expired. Peralta’s game-winning shot was the only score in overtime.

Granada Hills, favored to win the Valley 3-A League title, had leads of eight and nine points but the Hunters took advantage of careless Highlander turnovers and closed the gap late in the fourth period.

“We just couldn’t pull away from them,” Granada Hills Coach Bob Johnson said. “We had the same problem at North Hollywood Tuesday.” The Highlanders beat the Huskies, 60-57, in that contest.

“We go through phases where we play really well and we go through phases where we play terribly,” Johnson said. “We’re a good team but if we could just play well consistently, we’d be a really good team.”

All-City forward Desmond Cerceo continued to pace the Highlanders as they began their quest for their first league title in Johnson’s six-year reign. Cerceo led all scorers with 21 points and had 16 rebounds. Cerceo, who is 6-5, scored 13 of the Highlanders’ 15 first-quarter points.

“It’s the best Cerceo has played all season,” Johnson said. “After the first period, I think he got tired and I didn’t take him out and he started getting cold.”

Senior forward Lavar Ball led Canoga Park scoring with 18 points, while teammate Andrei McDonald, an all-league selection last season, had eight points. Peralta had nine points, while senior Jack Peterson added seven. Kennedy 52, Taft 50 Kennedy held off a furious fourth-quarter rally by host Taft for its second Valley 4-A League win.

Taft, which fell to 0-2 in league, trailed, 42-35, entering the fourth quarter, but almost tied the game as the final buzzer sounded.

The Toreadores were down, 52-49, with two seconds left, but had guard Bobby Green at the line with a one-and-one free throw situation.

Green, who had 11 points, made the first shot and purposely missed the second. Teammate Paul Moskovitz grabbed the rebound, but missed a shot that would have tied the game as time ran out.

Kevin Franklin joined Green in double figures for Taft, with 17 points.

Forward Tony Dodson led a balanced Cougar scoring attack with 13 points, while guard Titus Randle and center Marcus Napper added 12 each.

Kennedy is 7-4 overall, while Taft fell to 3-8. Cleveland 86, Monroe 40 Visiting Monroe postponed the inevitable by trying to stall early in the game, but Cleveland’s tough defense didn’t take long to blow the game open.

The Cavaliers shut out the Vikings, 12-0, in the first quarter and Cleveland led, 30-10, at the half.

Trevor Wilson once again led Cleveland in scoring and rebounding. The 6-7 junior poured in 21 points and had 13 rebounds. He was joined in double figures by guard Kevin Stafford and forward Anthony Kidd, who each had 13. Forward Antonine Shosher had 11 points and Tyrone Mitchell had 11 assists for the Cavaliers, who improved their overall record to 14-1, 2-0 in the Valley 4-A League.

Monroe, which fell to 0-2 in league, 3-9 overall, was led by Warlett Brown and Wendell Williams, who each had nine points. Chatsworth 58, Grant 45 Chatsworth ran off to an 18-5 first-quarter lead and evened its Valley 3-A League record at 1-1 with a victory over visiting Grant.

Four players scored in double figures for the Chancellors, who improved their overall record to 5-6.

Matt Bellers, a 6-5 senior forward, led the winners with 14 points and seven rebounds. Darren Weiss (11), Neil Coffman (10), and Paul Bedigian (10) also scored in double figures for Chatsworth, which shot 58% (24 of 38) from the floor.

Grant was led by guard Mark Kaufman, who had 10 points.