Glendale Rally Beats Huntington Beach

Steve Keith, Glendale High School basketball coach, said he was starting from scratch this season after his five starters had graduated from the Dynamiters’ 4-A division championship team.

Point guard Rich Grande & Co. may have departed, but the Dynamiters showed they still know the way to win in a 64-61 victory over host Huntington Beach Monday night on the opening of the 1985-86 season.

The victory was the 29th straight for the Dynamiters over the past two seasons and, if nothing else, showed that Glendale will be a competitive team once again. Center Geoff Foote and forward Steve Acton combined to score 41 of Glendale’s 64 points.

But it was the play of point guard Mike McDowell, who gets the unenviable task of trying to replace Grande, that helped Glendale erase a 48-42 deficit in the last quarter. McDowell scored seven points in the last period, including a jump shot in the center of the lane with 1:38 remaining that pushed Glendale ahead, 61-54, to seal the victory.

Huntington Beach, considered one of the favorites in the Sunset League, was outscored, 12-2, midway through the last quarter. The Oilers had a 52-47 lead early in the period, but nine turnovers proved to be costly.

“I thought we played well for 24 of the 32 minutes,” said Roy Miller, Huntington Beach coach. “Glendale got us rattled, and we committed three or four turnovers in about a minute.

“I wasn’t pleased with our guard play, and we got hurt on the offensive boards. Glendale was a little hungrier and they took better care of the ball.”

Center Steve Pemper was the most impressive player for the Oilers. The 6-foot 7-inch senior scored 20 points and had 10 rebounds. He displayed a nice shooting touch, making 8 of 11 field goal attempts.

But Pemper was also a defensive liability and was repeatedly burned by Foote for easy inside shots. Darren Snow, a starter last season, has been moved to a reserve role and was scoreless in the second half after opening with six points.

The Oilers’ starting guards-Shane Pariseau and Ken Kao-were primarily guilty of the turnovers down the stretch and had only four points each in the second half. Huntington Beach travels to Pasadena to meet Muir Wednesday night before opening against Long Beach Millikan in the Fountain Valley Tournament next week.

GLENDALE (64)--Acton 21, Sepulveda 3, Foote 21, McDowell 14, McHale 2, Porter 4.

HUNTINGTON BEACH (61)--Jensen 11, Kao 6, Pemper 20, Vitz 4, Pariseau 8, Snow 6, Bettis 4, Lane 2.