Prep Basketball BOYS : Larson Leads Poly in 85-73 Upset of Marshall

A strong first half and a balanced scoring attack enabled Polytechnic High to upset Marshall, 85-73, and pull even with the Barristers in the East Valley 3-A League record. Both schools are 4-2.

Marshall played sluggishly early in the second quarter and fell behind, 33-22, by halftime. And despite putting 51 points on the scoreboard in the second half--33 in the fourth quarter--the Barristers couldn’t catch up.

Junior guard John Larson was the catalyst for the Parrots, scoring 12 points and collecting 13 assists. Senior forwards Mark Harkay and James Welsh scored 20 and 17 points, respectively.

Alex Ruzich scored 19 points and had 10 rebounds for Poly. Welsh added 15 rebounds, while Dean Ehrlich, a 5-10 junior, scored 10 points off the bench.

Jason MacKenzie scored 19 points to lead Marshall, which fell to 12-5 overall. Poly is 6-8 for the season.

Canoga Park 41, Grant 39

Kevin Sater scored on a follow shot with three seconds left at Canoga Park to give the Hunters the Valley 3-A League win.

Canoga Park is 1-4 in the league. Grant is 0-5.

Lavar Ball led Canoga Park, scoring 13 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Teammate Dwayne Johnson scored 11 points.

Gene Damino led Grant with 12 points.

Van Nuys 79, Sylmar 44

All-City center Anthony Cook, a 6-8 senior, scored 20 points and grabbed 16 rebounds as Van Nuys romped at home.

Van Nuys remained unbeaten in six East Valley League games. The Wolves are 15-2 overall.

Sylmar is 1-5 in league play.

Van Nuys, which led at halftime, 43-20, also got 16 points and 5 assists from junior guard Pat Meyer and 15 points and 7 assists from senior guard Maurice Idolor.

Birmingham 80, Verdugo Hills 47

Birmingham raced to a 37-15 halftime lead en route to the lopsided victory in an East Valley League game at Birmingham.

Guard Howard Zuckerman scored 19 points and had 4 assists for the Braves, who improved to 7-6 overall and 3-3 in league play.

Birmingham also got 10 points each from reserves Eddie Fischer and Dean Stewart.

For Verdugo Hills, which is 0-6 in the league, Damon Ramsey scored 22 points off the bench, 17 in the second half.

Newbury Pk 62, Thous. Oaks 43

Junior forward Mark Schlegel scored 18 points to help Newbury Park High notch its first Marmonte League victory.

The Panthers broke open a close game by outscoring the Lancers, 20-12, in the third quarter.

Newbury Park is 1-4 in league and 4-10 overall. Thousand Oaks High’s league record dropped to 1-5. The Lancers are 4-13 overall.

Moorpark 60, St. Bonaventure 48

Moorpark High improved its Tri-Valley League record to 6-1 after outscoring the Seraphs in every quarter.

Mike Patrick, a senior guard, scored 23 points and had 7 assists and 4 steals to lead Moorpark. Mike Litel added 12 points and Willie Gutierrez had 11 rebounds and five assists.

Robert Dargatz had 13 points and 11 rebounds for St. Bonaventure, which fell to 3-4 in the league. Moorpark is 10-7 overall.