The High Schools : Snyder’s Prophecy Delivers Unto Providence a Landmark Win

Providence High guard David Snyder approached his coach and announced rather boldly that Friday would indeed be his night, but Paul Sutton just nodded knowingly and went about his pregame preparations for the Pioneers’ game against Buckley.

“David told me before the game, ‘I feel good, I’m going to score a lot,’ ” Sutton said. “But he says that before every game.”

This time, however, the boy who cried hot hand turned out to be telling the truth.

Snyder, a senior playing varsity for the first time, went into the game averaging 4.7 points a game. He made 5 of 5 3-point shots in the second quarter and 7 of 8 in the game to finish with a career-high 21 points and lead Providence to a 53-51 win, its first in the Delphic League after 23 consecutive league losses.

Before Friday’s game, Snyder had scored in double figures only once, and the last time Providence won a league game was 2 years ago in a 26-25 decision over Faith Baptist.

Hicksville: Matt Hicks’ 3-point shot at the overtime buzzer Friday night that beat Channel Islands, 48-46, was all well and fine for Royal’s Joe Malkinson, but what the second-year coach needed moments earlier was a handy electrician.

As time ran out in regulation and with Channel Islands trailing by 2, the Raiders’ Walter Matthews tipped in a missed shot to tie the score, 42-42. Malkinson was, shall we say, skeptical that the tip beat the buzzer.

“The first shot rolled off the rim, time ran out and I turned away, so I didn’t even see the tip-in,” he said.

After conferring with the timekeeper and between themselves, the referees counted the basket and the Marmonte League game went into overtime.

The problem might have been that the red light mounted behind the backboard, which is supposed to illuminate when time expires, failed to do so.

Malkinson saw red.

“Unfortunately, (the overtime) should have never taken place,” Malkinson said.

It did, and after Jerry Santiago hit a pair of free throws with 8 seconds left, Channel Islands led, 46-45.

Malkinson called a timeout with 5 seconds left and designed a play to free J. P. Ouellette for a 17-foot jump shot. Ouellette found himself covered and passed to Hicks, who was set up 23 feet from the basket on the left wing. Hicks, in true hero fashion, calmly hit the shot.

“It banked in,” Malkinson said wryly.

Add Marmonte League: Parity has been the buzzer-word in a league that could not make such a claim in recent seasons.

Of the 27 league games thus far, 12 have been decided by 5 points or less, 6 by 1 point and 3--including both Royal-Channel Islands games--have gone into overtime.

Royal, in fact, has won its 4 league games by a total of 8 points. On the other side, Thousand Oaks’ 5 losses are by an average of 3.6 points.

“The league, I knew it was going to be like this,” Malkinson said.

At 4-4, Royal finds itself a game behind 5-3 Westlake in the race for third place.

No quarter: When you’ve been coaching boys’ basketball for 12 years, there are few surprises left. The shots, the referees’ calls, the excuses--they can all become mundane. But what Village Christian Coach Mike Henzie experienced Friday night will not be easily forgotten.

The Crusaders, in their Alpha League game against Maranatha, threw a shutout in the first quarter. After 8 minutes, the line score read: Village Christian 11, Maranatha 0.

“I’ve never seen that,” Henzie said. “It’s really amazing.”

Like a pitcher unaware of an impending no-hitter, Henzie said he didn’t know the team was approaching the O-zone until late.

“When there was about two minutes left, we knew then,” he said. “Then we had the attitude, let’s hold it.”

Maranatha scored its first points early in the second quarter and outscored Village Christian in the second and fourth quarters before losing, 42-38.

Bang-bang play: Injuries to starting forwards Craig Ernst and Josh Hawkins have hampered Highland Hall’s basketball team, and, as baseball season approaches, that has not been lost on Dave Desmond, the Hawks’ baseball coach who also assists the basketball team.

Ernst, who injured his right knee in the Westside League opener against West L. A. Baptist, was slated to be the baseball team’s catcher. It is believed that he will not be healed in time for baseball season.

Hawkins, who was thought to have broken his jaw while taking a charge Wednesday against Windward, is the backup catcher. X-rays revealed no break, but it will be some time before Hawkins is at full strength.

“They’re the only two catchers at the school,” Desmond said.

Highland Hall has an enrollment of 68. However, the injuries have not sent Desmond scouring the campus for new recruits.

“I don’t have the guts to tell a kid he’s next in line for catching,” he said. “They’re going down like flies. I think I’m just going to throw the gear at someone right before our first game.”

Lins cap: As Crespi’s new football coach, Tim Lins inevitably will have to answer one question repeatedly: How are you going to replace Russell White, the state’s career rushing leader who graduates this year?

His answer is simple: “You don’t.”

But it must have seemed to Lins that he would never have to mull that one over.

“It seems like Russell has been at Crespi forever,” Lins said. “In my coaching experience at Crespi, it seems like he’s always been there.”

Unfortunately, he was right: El Camino Real senior forward Brent Lofton broke the school scoring record in Wednesday’s 60-57 loss to Chatsworth. Lofton needed 15 points to tie the mark of 824 set by 1987 graduate Sean Davis, now a player at San Jose State.

When informed that Lofton--who was a sophomore on the varsity when Davis was a senior--needed only 15 points to tie his mark, Davis predicted a big night for Lofton.

“He only needs 15?” Davis said. “He’ll probably go out and get 30 just to bury me.”

Close, very close. Lofton scored a game-high 29 points and now has 838 points in his 3-year career.