PREP BASKETBALL : Boys’ Roundup : Foothill Denies Tustin, 71-58

Dan Abel followed Leo Parker just about wherever he went in Foothill High School’s 71-58 victory over Tustin Tuesday night before a near-capacity crowd at Foothill.

Abel, a burly 6-foot 5-inch Foothill forward, denied Parker the ball continually and pestered him when he did get it.

Parker--Tustin’s leading scorer, who had 27 points against Huntington Beach in his last game--missed his first five shots before he made a short jumper late in the second quarter. A 6-6 center, he finished with 14 points.

“Our coach (Jim Reames) said if we stopped Parker from scoring we would win the game,” said Abel, who also scored 14 points.

Foothill (4-1) started out in a zone, but the Tillers’ B. LeSean London, Brad Cantrell and Cheavly Ly started hitting from the three-point line.

London had two three-pointers and Cantrell and Ly one each as Tustin (5-3) led, 20-14, at the end of the first quarter.

Foothill took the lead for good, 25-24, on a jumper by Bill Peckham with 5:08 left in the half. Foothill led, 42-30, at halftime.

Finally, Tustin began to get the ball to Parker and forward Lunyon Maxwell, and the Tillers crept close at 48-47 with 1:55 left in the third quarter.

The Knights began to pull away midway through the fourth quarter, though. The big breakaway came when Foothill forward Greg Rieber drove for a fastbreak layup.

Though he missed the shot, Rieber was fouled--intentionally, the officials ruled--by Cantrell. Tustin called time after the play, and Tiller Coach Tom McCluskey was slapped with a technical foul for arguing the call.

Rieber, who had a game-high 23 points, then went to the line and made the two free throws on the shot, then sank the two technical shots. The shots pushed the Knight lead from 61-53 to 65-53 and the Tillers never recovered.

In an Express League game:

Claremont 64, Pioneer Baptist 58--Guard Tom Patrow scored 23 points and had 18 rebounds for Claremont (4-3, 1-0) at Norwalk.

Liberty Christian 42, Newport Christian 41 (OT)--Rick Hills led Liberty Christian (5-1) with 16 points and guard Steve Shappell had 12, as Liberty Christian won its Academy League opener.