Roundup : Mira Mesa Gives Morse First League Defeat

Despite going 5-0 through the first round of City Eastern League play, Coach Ron Davis was not optimistic that his No. 3-ranked Morse High School boys’ basketball team could go through the league unbeaten.

“This league is so tough,” Davis said. “There’s not a weak team or easy game around. Plus, we’ve got a young team, and it’s difficult to play well every time you go out (on the court). Our goal is to win the league and get to the playoffs. Going unbeaten would be something special.”

It would have been something special. No. 9 Mira Mesa upset Morse, 60-49, Tuesday afternoon at Mira Mesa and in doing so made the league race interesting again.

The victory moved Mira Mesa (3-3, 13-7) back into the playoff picture and allowed Serra and Pt. Loma to climb within one game of league-leading Morse (5-1, 13-4).

Morse led, 13-9, after the first quarter, but it was all Mira Mesa after that. The Marauders led, 27-19, at half time, and 41-30 after three quarters. Then the Marauders scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter. Their lead eventually reached 59-36 with four minutes left when both clubs cleared their benches and the Morse subs outscored Mira Mesa, 13-1.

“Any time you beat Morse it’s an uplifting experience,” Mira Mesa Coach Tim Cunningham said. “We had to have this one to have any chance at the playoffs. We’ve still got a ways to go, but at least we’re back in it.

“Today we shot much better perimeter than we did the first time we played them. We also got better play from our inside guys.”

Mira Mesa, which lost to Morse, 46-42, last Tuesday, was led by Sean Carter, who scored 12 points. He was shut out in the first game against Morse. Dwayne Odom added 10 points for the winners.

Rey Parsons led Morse with 16.

In other City Eastern League play:

Serra 58, Patrick Henry 56--No. 4 Serra (4-2, 16-3) led by as many as 21 points in the first half, then had to survive a furious rally by the Patriots to gain a win at home. The Conquistadors raced out to a 26-12 lead after the first quarter and were up 37-20 at half time. Serra led, 52-37, after three quarters when the Patriots started their comeback. Henry (1-5, 8-8) closed the gap to 56-54, but Serra answered with a basket to make it 58-54. The Patriots made it 58-55 and finally 58-56 on a free throw with no time remaining. Serra’s Deven Moran led all scorers with 23 points and Steve Smith had 20. Oscar Mcrae led Henry with 20 points and Marvin Lane added 15.

Pt. Loma 58, Madison 48--The Pointers (4-2, 13-8) outscored visiting Madison, 19-7, in the fourth quarter to put themselves in the thick of the title and playoff race. Ken Dunaway led No. 8 Pt. Loma with 15 points, Arlondo Hill scored 12 and Dale Bryant added 10. Madison (1-5, 10-8) was led by Eric Jackson’s game-high 17 points.

In the City Central League:

Lincoln 53, Hoover 46--Omar McDade and Shelby Hall each had 14 rebounds as the Hornets (6-0, 11-6) grabbed their sixth league victory at Hoover. Anthony Johnson led Lincoln with 14 points. McDade scored 13 and Hall added 11. Ken Matthews led Hoover (3-3, 8-12) with 14 points. He was the only Cardinal in double figures.

St. Augustine 67, Christian 44--Charley Applegate scored 21 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to lead the Saints (4-2, 10-8), who moved into sole possession of second place at St. Augustine. Tony Evenson and Joe Shandley each scored 16 for the winners, who turned the game into a rout in the fourth quarter by outscoring Christian, 25-12. Steve Jeremiah scored 11 points for Christian (2-4, 11-8).

Crawford 60, San Diego 49--Crawford guard Pat Reyes scored 18 points and teammate Dondi Bell added 14 points and 13 rebounds as the Colts (1-5, 8-10) defeated San Diego (2-4, 4-11) at Crawford. Besides being the game’s high scorer, Reyes was instrumental in containing the Cavers’ Shawn Perkins, who had been averaging 16.9 points a game. Perkins scored nine points, all in the first half, and fouled out in the fourth quarter. Crawford shot 57% from the field, led by Bell, who was 7 for 10.

In the City Western League:

La Jolla 72, Clairemont 48--Yancey Brown scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half as the host Vikings (4-2, 9-5) beat the Chieftains. La Jolla led by seven, 34-27, at half time, but used its fast break and pressure defense to outscore Clairemont 16-8 in the third quarter and break the game open. Brown had eight points in the third period. La Jolla’s Tim Snead led all scorers with 18. Junior Jason Deal had 16 points for Clairemont (0-6, 1-18).

Kearny 60, University City 45--The host Komets (5-1, 14-8) remained one game behind league-leading University with a convincing win at home over the Centurions (1-5, 3-16).

In the Grossmont League:

Grossmont 56, Valhalla 43--Buoyed by a balanced scoring attack and an effective full-court press, Grossmont (7-4, 10-5) had no trouble sinking the Norsemen (5-7, 9-10) at Valhalla. The Foothillers led by nine at the half and had stretched their lead to 18 midway through the fourth quarter. Jason Foggiano was the leader among the four Grossmont scorers in double figures. Kerry McIntyre added 12 points and 10 rebounds. The bulk of Valhalla’s scoring came from Dan Chase with 14 and Troy Toolson with 13.

Monte Vista 70, El Cajon 57--Trailing 30-28 at half time, the Monarchs shot 57.6% in the second half to defeat the Braves (3-8, 6-13) at Monte Vista. Chris Marshall, who sat out most of the first half with three fouls, scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half. Monte Vista shot only 40% from the floor in the first half, but got hot and sank 57.6% of its field goal attempts in the second half. Melvin McFarlin also had 19 and James Gotell added 15 for the Monarchs (8-4, 9-9). Craige Walker led El Cajon with 18.

Helix 39, Santana 22--Although the Sultans (3-9, 5-14) were able to stall Helix for two-and-a-half quarters, the host Highlanders (6-5, 8-9) wasted no time putting points on the board late in the game. Santana’s slowdown tactics held Helix to a 12-10 lead at the half. However, Eric Mobley -- playing only the final 11 minutes -- scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Mt. Miguel 80, Granite Hills 56--The Matadors (9-3, 12-7) held onto second place with an easy win over Granite Hills (1-11, 1-1) at Miguel.

Girls

Crawford 67, San Diego 29--Shawndell Reddick scored 37 points to lead the Colts to an easy win at home in the City Western League. Carmela Hicks had 15 points for the winners. Kosha Thompson led San Diego with 19. Crawford led, 20-0, after the first quarter and 36-4 at half time.