Prep Basketball CITY BOYS : Reseda Gym and Team in Haze as Granada Wins It

With five minutes left in Friday night’s Valley 3-A League game between Reseda High and host Granada Hills, a smoke bomb went off in the Highlander rooting section.

As fans fled for the exits, play continued. Three minutes later, smoke hovered over Reseda’s basket so densely that officials finally delayed the action.

It capped the Regents’ night perfectly. Reseda spent most of the night in a haze, losing to the Highlanders, 64-51. The two teams are now tied for the league lead with 7-1 records. Reseda is 13-6 overall, while Granada Hills is 12-5.

Reseda Coach Dennis King benched three starters--Alan Gindlesperger, Reggie White and Jeff Johnson--at the start of the game because two of them arrived an hour and 45 minutes late for practice Thursday and the other missed the session entirely. King declined to say which player didn’t show up.

Granada Hills jumped out to a 22-13 lead after the first quarter and never allowed Reseda to get closer than five points the rest of the night. Desmond Cerceo led the Highlanders with 22 points, while Sergio Peralta had 14 and Gary Gray 12.

Johnson and White entered the game at the start of the second period and led Reseda with 13 and 8 points, respectively. Gindlesperger, the Regents’ leading scorer this season at 14 points a game, made his first appearance with less than seven minutes remaining in the third quarter. He finished with six points.

Chatsworth 40, Canoga Park 38

Chatsworth High played strong defense throughout its victory over Canoga Park, but the visiting Chancellors waited until the last 10 seconds to seal off the Hunters.

Trailing, 39-38, Canoga Park brought the ball downcourt for one shot to win the game. Chatsworth forced an errant pass, however, and took the game along with possession of the ball.

Neil Coffman scored 16 points and Matt Bellers added 13 for the Chancellors, who improved to 4-4 in the West Valley League. They are 7-9 overall.

Lavar Ball scored 17 points for Canoga Park, which fell to 1-6 in league and 3-12 overall.

North Hollywood 41, Grant 36

Grant High remained winless in nine Valley 3-A League games, but the Lancers made a spirited run at North Hollywood. Trailing, 33-24, after three quarters, Grant pulled to within four points before succumbing.

Pookey Comer scored 10 points and Derrick Preston added 9 for North Hollywood. John Mason scored a game-high 11 points for Grant.

The Huskies improved to 4-4 in league and 5-9 overall. Grant is 1-15 this season.

Poly 55, Birmingham 40

Birmingham High fell apart on its home court after taking a 16-8 first-quarter lead against Polytechnic.

Dean Erlich and James Welsh each scored 13 points for Poly and Welsh added 16 rebounds. Mark Harkay added 10 points for the Parrots, who improved to 6-2 in the East Valley League and 9-8 overall.

Malik Clarke scored 14 points and Howard Zuckerman had 13 for Birmingham, which fell to 4-4 in league. It was Zuckerman’s lowest point total of the season.

Van Nuys 97, Verdugo Hills 46

The Wolves are used to getting superlative performances from Anthony Cook--and that was again the case at Verdugo Hills. The 6-8 senior forward had a season-high 33 points and 16 rebounds as Van Nuys clinched at least a tie for the East Valley League title.

He had some help in this victory from teammates Mohamed Marhaba (14 points, 14 rebounds) and Maurice Idolor (14 points, 7 assists).

The win keeps Van Nuys perfect in league play at 8-0. They are 17-2 overall. Verdugo Hills is 0-8 in league.