High School Basketball Roundup : Sweetwater Falls Far Back Early, Loses First of Season to University City

University City led, 41-18, at the half and routed previously undefeated Sweetwater, 74-56, in the first round of the Baron Optimist tournament Tuesday night at Bonita Vista.

University outscored Sweetwater (11-1), 23-8, in the first quarter. Sweetwater was just 8 of 41 from the field in the first half.

“We just pushed the ball up the court, and they were a little slow getting back on transition, and we took advantage of that,” said Tom Medigovich, University City coach. “Plus they weren’t shooting too well.”

Jerome Price scored 20 points, and Anthony Hill and Ray Hooper Jr. added 17 apiece for University City (8-3), which led by as many as 30 in the third quarter.

Cortez Rice scored 12 points, and Carlos Campbell added 14 for Sweetwater.

In other Baron Optimist tournament games:

Crawford 85, Bonita Vista 59--Chris Johnson (35 points) and Tracy Halton (25) combined for 60 points as Crawford improved to 9-1. Johnson had 14 rebounds and Halton added 11 assists.

Mt. Carmel tournament

Poway 74, Woodbridge 63--Poway went on a 14-0 run to finish the game. Woodbridge led, 63-60, with 4:30 remaining. Jay Blankenbecker led Poway with 20 points, and Gabby Awbrey added 19. Greg Sorrell added 12 points and 7 steals, and Jon Culbertson and Adam Jones had 10 points apiece for Poway (9-0). Joe Cohen led Woodbridge with 27 points.

Oceanside 58, USDHS 48--Oceanside turned a 2-point lead into a 12 points midway through the second quarter by forcing USDHS into six consecutive turnovers at Mt. Carmel. Greg Frazier and Lee Strain each scored 16 points for Oceanside, which led 33-20 at the half. Peter Ellis scored 12 points for USDHS (3-3). Fred Dunn had 11 rebounds for Oceanside, which had a 35-20 advantage on the boards.

Rohr Aztec tournament

Christian 64, Castle Park 51--Christian, playing for the first time in 10 days, had four players score in double figures in the first-round victory at Montgomery High. Darrell White led Christian (6-2) with 21 points and 12 rebounds, Tim Barkett added 16 points, David Jeremiah 11 and Brad Fox 10. Christian will play Montebello in today’s semifinals.

Las Vegas Basic 62, El Cajon Valley 54--Basic outscored El Cajon Valley, 31-17, in the first half and coasted to the victory at Montgomery. Bruce Snyder led Basic with 18 points, and Kevin Davis had 21 for El Cajon Valley.

Montebello 68, San Dieguito 41--Mando Rios scored 19 points as Montebello, from the Los Angeles area, routed San Dieguito. Matt de La Pena led San Dieguito with 21 points.

Dimond, Alaska, 62, Montgomery 32--Bryan Anderson scored 14 of his 19 points in the first half as the visitors from Alaska took a 30-7 halftime lead in the rout at Montgomery High. Alberto Maldonado, the only returning letterman from last year’s Metro Conference champions, led Montgomery (0-7) with 19 points.

Santana tournament

Lincoln 91, Southwest 74--Lincoln had a 36-31 lead at the half, then used its press in the fourth quarter to wear the Raiders down and score 30 points. Lincoln’s Joe Temple scored a game-high 36 points and added 17 rebounds and 7 assists. Darryl McMillan and Arron Wilhite had 15 rebounds each for Lincoln (10-1).

Madison 58, Chula Vista 33--Robby Robinson scored 21 points, and Brad Eaddy had 15 for Madison at Santana High. Madison, which held a 23-20 halftime lead, outscored Chula Vista 35-13 in the second half.

Clairemont 60, Grossmont 43--Ray McDavid scored 26 points and had 11 rebounds to lead Clairemont (7-5). Alex Love added 17 points for Clairemont, which held Grossmont to single-digit scoring in all but the third quarter.

Santana 73, Hilltop 61--Dean Thrall had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Matt Panebianco had 19 points and 8 rebounds for Santana. Paul Newark added 13 points for Santana (6-1), which took a 33-28 lead at the half and was not challenged in the second half. Chad Boyd led Hilltop with 13 points.

Palms tournament

Torrey Pines 84, Avon Park (Fla.) 57--Courtie Miller had 29 points and 13 rebounds to lead Torrey Pines in the first round victory at Ft. Myers, Fla. Kevin Flanagan added 27 points and 7 rebounds for Torrey Pines (11-0), which plays Stuart Martin County (8-2) in today’s quarterfinals. Torrey Pines took a 24-14 lead after the first quarter and expanded its 11-point halftime lead with an 18-8 third quarter. Some of the top teams in the country are at the tournament, including traditional powers Dunbar from Baltimore and Camden from New Jersey.

Girls’ basketball

Ben Fisher tournament

Point Loma 63, Serra 8--Point Loma routed Serra behind Tyeast Brown, who had 17 points and 17 rebounds. Monica Filer collected 15 points and 13 assists.

Point Loma 93, San Marcos 37--Monica Filer’s 42 points helped boost Point Loma (10-0) to its 140th consecutive victory at home. Filer sunk three 3-pointers and Tyeast Brown tallied 24 points. Susie O’Brien scored 33 points for San Marcos.

Patrick Henry 44, Oceanside 34--Patrick Henry maintained the 10-point lead it had at halftime. Rachel Johnson (26) and Suril Epps (12) combined for 38 of Patrick Henry’s points. Oceanside was led in scoring by Kecha Fowlkes’ 10 points and in rebounding by Mildred Conston’s 12. Oceanside (5-3).

Bonita Vista 51, Chula Vista 43--Bonita Vista sent in their reserves in the third quarter, enabling Chula Vista (4-4) to score 21 points to close the gap. Marcey Wolf led all scorers with 26 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter. Stacy Eklund led Bonita Vista (8-10) with 11 rebounds.

Chino 43, Poway 30--Poway led, 19-18, at the half but couldn’t handle Chino’s size and physical game in the second half. Chino outscored Poway, 17-7, in the third quarter. Dawn Gigstad led Poway with 11 points. Chino was 11 of 16 from the line; Poway was 4 of 11.

Rohr Aztec tournament

Lincoln 36, Carlsbad 17--Lincoln led, 11-10, after the first quarter and then routed Carlsbad. Sheila Dixon led Lincoln with 13 points and Sarah Balkas had 4 for Carlsbad.

El Centro Central 50, Valhalla 30--Lisa Trujillo scored 15 points to lead El Centro. Janet Best had 14 points for Valhalla.

El Cajon Valley 49, Montgomery 42--El Cajon outscored Montgomery, 30-21, in the third quarter and Debbie Duhaney scored 19 points in the victory. Monica Vargas had 16 points for host Montgomery.