Notre Dame Alone in First After Victory Over Bell-Jeff

It began like a horse race, evolved into a prize fight and ended with Notre Dame High hitting the jackpot.

The Knights held all the winning numbers Saturday night, and the prize was sole possession of first place in the San Fernando Valley League as Notre Dame rolled over Bell-Jeff, 87-71, before a jam-packed Bell-Jeff gym.

Ken Hicks and Brian Jones--take your Division I pick--dominated the showdown, scoring 35 and 31 points, respectively, while conducting a 3-point-shot seminar.

Hicks, on his way to Stanford next season, made 4 of 10 3-point shots while Jones, who has drawn interest from Baylor, Pepperdine and Texas El Paso, made 5 of 8.

Notre Dame (10-8, 4-0 in league play) made 31 of 55 shots overall (56%), including a sizzling 10 of 11 in the final period.

“This game, I’d say definitely, I was pumped,” Hicks said.

Bell-Jeff, meanwhile, was deflated. The Guards (15-2, 3-1), who entered the game with 4 players averaging in double figures, kept 3-point pace in a quick first quarter, taking a 21-20 lead at the break.

But before the game’s final buzzer, 3 of the 4--Nick Sanderson (24 points, 4 3-point baskets), Chris Dyer (17 points) and Ray Witt (8 points)--had fouled out, and the fourth, Joe Dunn (14 points), was teetering with his fourth foul.

The game also featured a brawl that resulted in the ejection of 2 players and a Notre Dame fan.

Things became so chaotic at one point that an official inquired at the scorers’ table if there were any police present.

“The cheap shots,” a disgusted Notre Dame Coach Mick Cady said, “the people don’t come out here to see that. Really, you want to play good, hard basketball. All this bush-league stuff is on the side.”

With 2:51 remaining in the third quarter, Notre Dame’s Pico Sandoval and Bell-Jeff’s Matt Corse were ejected after coming to blows during a stoppage in play.

Tempers had already flared under both baskets and tempers continued to heat up even after the skirmish, which drew a fan from the stands and created a 15-minute delay.

“Corse is our best defensive player,” said Bell-Jeff Coach Joe Dunn, who conducted a 30-minute, closed-door team meeting after the game. “If he was guarding me and in my face all the time, I’d be angry, too.

“We lost more than they did.”

Hicks set the first-half tempo with a 3-point swish before the game was 5 seconds old.

Hicks hit another 3-point shot and Jones and Mike Rimkunas each connected from long distance. But Bell-Jeff answered with 3 3-pointers from Sanderson to take an early second-quarter lead.

Sanderson’s first 3 baskets were 3-point shots, including a cruise missile from well behind the perimeter line at the top of the key.

Notre Dame continued the long-distance shooting in the second half, parlaying a 16-4 run into a 46-35 halftime lead.

Hicks made 2 more 3-point shots and scored 10 points, and Jones, hitting from everywhere, scored 11 points in the quarter.

Bell-Jeff never came closer than 63-57 with 6:42 remaining in the third quarter. Hicks scored 15 and Jones 13 in the second half. The pair also teamed for a Jones-breakaway-hit-Hicks-the-trailer-for-a-monster-jam that iced the game, 81-65, with 2 minutes to play.