Simi Valley Hands Royal 1st League Loss

This league is your league, Simi Valley Pioneers. From Westlake Village to Channel Islands.

And that includes Royal High, which, after five Marmonte League triumphs without a defeat, learned the hard way that the road to the league title still makes a difficult detour off the Simi Valley Freeway.

The Pioneers circled their wagons Friday night and outlasted Royal, 70-62, at Simi Valley to clip the first-place Highlanders’ two-game lead over Simi Valley (12-7, 4-2 in league play) in half. Royal (16-4, 5-1) is tied for first with Westlake.

It was a must win, to be sure, for the recently awesome but currently struggling Pioneers. Second-year Coach Dean Bradshaw knew it. And so did his players.

“There is a tremendous amount of tradition in this program,” Bradshaw said. “Believe me, every player that plays here is aware of what has gone on here in the past.”

Specifically, that’s four consecutive league titles, six league titles in the 1980s, a Southern Section 4-A Division championship in 1988 and an unblemished league record at home since 1985.

Senior guard Steve Carnes, the last remaining member of the 1988 championship team, echoed Bradshaw’s sentiments.

“(The league) does belong to us,” said Carnes, who scored 27 points to tie teammate Mike Wawryk for game-high honors. “It’s belonged to us the past four years and it still belongs to us. It’s really important to us and we still have a chance.”

Carnes scored six points in the final 1:10--including four of four free throws--to stretch a two-point Simi Valley lead into a 68-62 advantage. Wawryk made seven of seven free throws in the fourth quarter, including two with 30 seconds to play to close out the scoring.

Before both players’ heroics, the game was in the balance, the lead having changed hands 13 times.

“They rose to the occasion and did a good job tonight,” Royal Coach Joe Malkinson said of the Pioneers. “They lose this game, they’re not going to the playoffs.”

Senior forward Russell Myers, Royal’s career scoring leader, led the Highlanders with 22 points but was stripped of the ball with 1:20 to play and Royal trailing, 64-60.

“I think we still have the edge,” Myers said. “We’re the ones in control.”