Roundup : El Capitan’s Title Hopes Upset by Helix

El Capitan High’s boys basketball team could have clinched a tie for the Grossmont League title Friday night. But Helix had other ideas.

The Highlanders, who were eliminated from the playoff race earlier in the week, upset El Capitan, 64-56, at Helix.

The game wasn’t as close as the score indicated. Helix (8-6 in league, 10-10 overall) led, 32-17, at halftime and led by as many as 17 points in the third quarter.

Eric Mobley led the Highlanders with 24 points, 21 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Mario Baker scored 16 and Robbie Ledford added 10.

“I’m very proud of our kids,” Helix Coach John Singer said. “They played a heckuva game and really took it to them. We lost to them in overtime the first time we played. Tonight, our kids were a little more patient and really did a job.””

El Capitan, The Times No. 9-ranked team, is now 12-2 in league and 16-4 overall.

In other Grossmont League games:

Valhalla 94, Granite Hills 54--The host Norsemen (3-11, 3-18) took an 18-0 lead and never looked back. Sophomores Robert Tubman and Dan Chase scored 23 and 22, respectively, for Valhalla. Jon Tenney had 16 for the Eagles (1-14, 1-21).

Poway 75, Torrey Pines 43--Poway, The Times’ No. 1-ranked team, jumped out to a 41-20 halftime lead at home and was never threatened.

Dominick Johnson led the Titans (10-0, 19-3) with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Jud Buechler, the county’s leading scorer, had 23 points and 8 rebounds and Andy Byrne had 10 points and 9 rebounds. Torrey Pines fell to 3-8 and 8-15.

Briefly--Grossmont 94, El Cajon 57.

PALOMAR Orange Glen 76, Fallbrook 64--Kory Kelly scored a game-high 24 points and Steve Clinger had 22 points and a season-high 17 rebounds to lead Orange Glen (6-4, 10-13) at home.

Fallbrook (3-7, 6-14) had a balanced attack led by Chris Hansen’s 20 points. Loren Tucker and Jeff Work each scored 11 and Mike Weems added 10.

The score was tied 37-37 at halftime, but the Patriots outscored the Warriors, 17-11, in the third quarter and never trailed again.

AVOCADO Oceanside 63, Escondido 56--No. 8 Oceanside (8-3, 18-4) rebounded from Tuesday’s heartbreaking 42-40 loss to El Camino. The win puts the Pirates one-half game ahead of San Pasqual in the race for second place and the league’s other playoff berth. Escondido fell to 3-7 and 9-12.

San Pasqual 56, San Marcos 39--The host Eagles (7-3, 12-7) kept their playoff hopes alive with the win.

San Pasqual, which trails second-place Oceanside by one-half game with two to play, broke the game open in the third quarter, outscoring San Marcos, 16-8. The Eagles’ Leonard Rodriguez scored 17 points and Rich Prusinski added 16.

GIRLS GROSSMONT Monte Vista 69, Mount Miguel 67--Paula Mascari, the county’s leading scorer, had 30 points to help the host Monarchs clinch the Grossmont League title. Nichelle Strachan led the Matadors with 19 points.