SportsScope : Muir’s Showing in L.A. Games Could Be Harbinger of Strong ‘89-90 Season

If the first weekend of the 22nd annual Los Angeles Games are indicative, the 1989-90 school year could be very good for Muir High School of Pasadena.

The Mustangs made the biggest impression of any San Gabriel Valley school, advancing to the final rounds in boys and girls basketball and football.

In Saturday’s games, Muir will face Manual Arts in the fourth round of boys basketball at 11 a.m. at North Torrance High; the Mustangs will meet Fontana in the quarterfinals in girls basketball at 9 a.m. at the El Camino College south gym, and Muir will play Lincoln in the third round of seven-man passing football at 8:45 a.m. at North Torrance.

Perhaps most surprising has ben the play of the Mustangs in boys basketball, who have reached the final 16 of the 128-team tournament. It has been surprising because Muir struggled to a 10-12 record last season.

However, Muir’s roster consisted primarily of sophomores and juniors last season and the Mustangs have traditionally had one of the top programs in the valley.

The Mustangs advanced to the final 16 by defeating Newbury Park, 57-36, in the first round of the tournament; Crescenta Valley, 55-52, the second round, and Hawthorne, 60-47, in the third.

Muir was led in the win over Hawthorne by guard Phil Turner and forward Jerome Davis. Each scored 12 points. The Mustangs also have two other outstanding frontline players in LaDay Smith (6-5) and Erid Scott (6-6).

But Muir figures to receive a strong test against Manual Arts, a L.A. City Section power and the top seeded team in the tournament. the winner faces the winner of the Fremont-Granada Hills game in the quarterfinals at 3 p.m. Saturday. The semifinals and final are Sunday at El Camino.

Muir’s play in girls basketball has not been as surprising, considering that the Mustangs have 12 of their 14 players returning from a team that reached the Southern Section 4-A Division finals and state regional semifinals last season.

Muir has lost All-Southern Section center Lisa Salsman to graduation but still returns two All-Pacific League standouts in Rose Jong, (5-2) at guard and Karen Banks (5-10) at forward.

The Mustangs have been impressive in allowing only 44 points in their first three games in the tournament. They defeated Foothill, 31-13; Esperanza, 37-15, and Crenshaw, 38-16.

But the competition should get tougher for Muir in the quarterfinals against Fontana, which reached the Southern Section 5-AA final last season. The semifinals and finals are Sunday at El Camino’s north gym.

In football, Muir qualified for the final 16 with a 14-13 win over Belmont in the record round last week. the Mustangs will face a Lincoln squad that rolled over Washington, 33-7, in the second round.

The winner advances to the quarterfinals at 11:10 a.m. at North Torrance. The semifinals and final are Sunday at El Camino.

Arcadia has also performed well in the L.A. Games in soccer and volleyball.

The Apaches have advanced to the championship in girls soccer against Hawthorne at 10 a.m. Sunday at El Camino. Arcadia advanced to the final with a 1-0 win over South Pasadena last week while Hawthorne defeated Chaminade by the same score.

Arcadia also reached the finals in boys volleyball last week, dropping a 15-7 decision to Mira Costa in the title game.

Two valley teams, Glendora and Duarte, have reached the quarterfinals in baseball.

In quarterfinal games Saturday, Glendora faces Los Alamitos at 9 a.m. and Duarte meets Huntington Beach at noon. The winners meet in the semifinals at 3:30 p.m. and the final is at noon Sunday. All games are at El Camino.

Mark Massey, women’s volleyball coach at Northeastern University in Boston the last four years, has been named women’s volleyball coach at Cal State Los Angeles.

Massey, 33, helped transform Northeastern from an NCAA Division II team into one of the top Division I programs in the New England region. He guided the Huskies to a 23-16 recor and second place in the East Coast Athletic Conference Division I Championships last season.

In his four years as coach, Massey posted a 98-42 record including a 72-36 mark in Division I.

“We are very pleased to have Mark join us,” said Carol Dunn, Cal State Los Angeles athletic director. “He comes to Cal State L.A. with excellent credentials and is motivated to help build our women’s volleyball program.”

Massey will direct a Cal State L.A. team that finished 9-13 overall and was 4-8 and fourth in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. But Massey said he has high hopes for the program.

“I like the challenge of developing a top 20 volleyball program and I’m not completely unfamiliar with the area or the conference,” Massey said. “I’ve watched the CCAA for quite some time and it consistently has put three or four teams in the top 20 nationally. I think it’s the toughest Division II conference in the nation.

He said he is not worried about recruiting against conference powers Cal State Northridge and UC Riverside.

“I am familiar with the best West Coast high school and club programs,” he said. “I know where to find competitive student-athletes, how to sign them, and have a reputation for doing so honestly and ethically.”