Five Teams Hot on Trail of Boys Basketball League Titles

The midpoint in boys high school basketball league play has arrived, providing coaches and players with the opportunity to think about either staying hot, getting hot or waiting until next year.

The Glendale-area has five teams contending for league titles and seven others still trying to win some confidence.

The second half of Pacific League play gets under way tonight with Crescenta Valley playing host to Glendale at 7:30 in a game that could decide the league championship. Crescenta Valley, Glendale and Muir are all 4-1 and tied for first place.

“I still can’t convince myself that we can win the championship,” Crescenta Valley Coach John Goffredo said. “Realistically, I don’t think that’s going to happen unless this Fantasy Island thing continues.”

Crescenta Valley (13-6) stunned Glendale, 51-49, in the league opener and has been carried by the momentum of that win ever since. The Falcons’ only loss was to defending league and Southern Section 4-A champion Muir.

No one has been hotter than senior guard Barrie Eget, who is averaging 30 points a game in league play. Last week, Eget scored 40 points in the Falcons’ 71-62 win over Pasadena and 47 points in the team’s 75-61 victory over Arcadia. He also had a perfect 21 of 21 from the free-throw line against Arcadia.

Glendale (16-2) has not lost since it’s first game against Crescenta Valley. The Dynamiters have four starters averaging more than 10 points a game.

“We’re still trying to recover from losing that first game,” Glendale Coach Steve Keith said. “That was a great effort by CV, but I thought our kids played very lackadaisically. I don’t think we were in tune mentally. That won’t be a problem this time.”

While Glendale and Crescenta Valley battle for supremacy as the best Southern Section team in the area, Eagle Rock--12-4 overall and 5-0 in the Northern League--is without question the area’s premier City Section team.

Senior forward John Epps is averaging 23 points and nine rebounds a game for the Eagles, who open the second round of league Friday at Belmont. Senior guards Jerry Lew and Emanuael Washington are also playing well.

“This team is as good as the Eagle Rock team that won the league in 1983,” Eagle Rock Coach Bill Whiting said. “Things are going pretty much as I expected.”

The surprise team of the area is La Canada, which finished 13-10 overall but just 3-7 in the Rio Hondo League last season. Before this season, league coaches picked La Canada to finish either fourth or fifth. But at the halfway point, the Spartans are 13-6 overall and 4-1 in league.

La Canada has won four straight games after suffering a league-opening loss to Blair (5-0), the team La Canada will start the second round against tonight at Blair.

“I figured we’d be fighting for third right now,” La Canada Coach Tom Hofman said. “The key for us is that the kids are united and play well together. Last year, that wasn’t the case at the varsity level.”

It was at the junior varsity level, though, where Hofman coached the team to a 10-0 record and league championship.

The nucleus from that team has moved up to the varsity along with Hofman and is in contention for the Spartans’ first league championship since 1982 and first playoff appearance in four years. Sophomore center Chad Givens is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 15 points and nine rebounds a game. Senior forward Matt Moseley is averaging 14 points and nine rebounds a game.

Flintridge Prep, a perennial contender in the Prep League, is having another good season, just as Coach Alex Rivera predicted.

The Rebels are 11-5 overall and 3-1 in the league. Their only loss was a 65-60 defeat to unbeaten defending league champion Chadwick (5-0).

Flintridge Prep, which finished its first-round schedule Wednesday against Rio Hondo Prep, is led by senior center Burt Cooper, who is averaging 20 points and 15 rebounds a game. Junior guard Steve Swain is averaging 17 points and six assists.

“This team is reaching all of my expectations,” Rivera said. “In terms of overall play and being in every game, this is by far the best team I’ve had in eight years. But we need to play smarter against Chadwick in the second round if we’re going to win the championship.”

League titles and winning seasons are just dreams or future possibilities for the remaining schools in the area.

Verdugo Hills Coach Hector Ornelas was optimistic that his team could improve upon last season’s 4-15 overall record and 1-9 record in the East Valley League.

But Verdugo Hills is struggling again with an overall record of 6-8 and 1-4 in league--the only win coming against even lowlier Sylmar.

“We’ve really had problems handling pressure when teams press against us,” said Ornelas, whose team opens the second round of league Friday at home against Grant. “We need to be more patient on offense and play well for the entire game--not just part of it. We still have a chance to knock off some of the teams going for playoff spots.”

Marshall, which won the City 3-A championship last season, will also be relegated to the role of the spoiler if the Barristers don’t start playing consistently during the second half.

Most coaches expected a drop-off at Marshall with the loss of Player of the Year Jerry Simon and the rest of the starting five. But no one predicted the Barristers would be 4-10 overall and 1-4 in league.

Senior center Mike Tozour, who is averaging 17 points a game, has been one of the lone bright spots for Marshall, which opens the second round of league Friday at Wilson.

“Some of the kids are disappointed, but they need to stay motivated,” Marshall Coach Henfred Brard said. “It’s tough for them trying to live up to last year’s team. They just need to settle down and execute things properly. I tell them, ‘If you get into the playoffs, anything can happen.’ ”

St. Francis is a team that knows what it’s like to make the playoffs. The Golden Knights have been to postseason play two years in a row.

But if St. Francis expects the streak to continue, the team is going to have to vastly improve upon its 4-11 overall record and 3-4 showing thus far in the Del Rey League.

“Most of our games have been close and I don’t think anyone can blow us out,” said St. Francis Coach Drew Sorensen, whose team plays at home Friday against Bosco Tech. “We should be a factor this time through league.”

St. Francis senior center Bryan Duffy has been a force all season, averaging 17 points and 13 rebounds a game. Senior guard Greg Forrest, has come back from an early season ankle injury to average 16 points a game.

Franklin and Hoover, teams with a surplus of juniors, are already thinking about next year. At sophomore-laden Pacific Christian, they’re thinking about 1989.

Franklin is 0-13 overall and 0-5 in the Northern League.

“We’re starting four juniors right now and we’ve been in every game this year except two,” said Franklin Coach Chuck Donagho, whose team plays Friday at Belmont. “It looks bad on paper, but the kids seem to be up and still believe in themselves. Who knows? We may win a game this year.”

Hoover, which is 6-11 overall and 1-4 in the Pacific League, also has four juniors in the starting lineup.

Joe Velasquez, a 5-11 junior guard, is averaging 21 points a game for the Tornadoes who play today at Pasadena.

Pacific Christian, which plays Tuesday at Webb, is 1-12 overall and 0-5 in the Prep League.