Granada Hills Dashes to Victory Against Carson, 93-80

Perhaps it was an involuntary motion, but Granada Hills High basketball Coach Bob Johnson rubbed the back of his neck as he analyzed his team’s performance at Carson on Wednesday.

Have an ounce of pity for Johnson, because if this is the pace his team is going to motor up and down the floor all season, he will almost certainly need a chiropractor. Or at the very least, a chair that swivels.

“We happen to be able to score, I guess,” Johnson said with a sly grin. “That’s helpful.”

The Highlanders, ranked No. 1 in the region by The Times, again helped themselves to a ton of points, rolling to a 93-80 victory over Carson in a nonleague City Section game. Granada Hills (7-1) now is averaging a shade under 87 points a game--and it would be higher if the Highlanders weren’t being victimized by their own fast-breaking effectiveness.

The score ping-ponged so rapidly during one breathtaking stage of the second quarter that the Carson scoreboard operator fell behind and the Granada Hills tally had to be adjusted upward by two points at halftime. Carson (4-4) and Granada Hills combined for 53 points in the quarter.

Over the final three minutes of the second quarter, Granada Hills scored on seven consecutive shots from the floor to open a 53-38 lead at halftime. The Highlanders made 20 of 33 shots in the half (60.6%).

“We work hard and never let down,” said senior swingman Gene Barshtak, who scored a team-high 24 points, mostly on back-door layups. “This is a good team this year. We’re not going to lose again.”

Except maybe a bucket or two. Another scoring snafu awaited the Highlanders entering the fourth quarter, when the scoreboard operator shorted Granada Hills a basket. Despite scoring 20 points in the third quarter, the Highlanders were credited with 18. When the discrepancy was pointed out to the officials, rather than again sort through the mess, they let the score stand as posted: Granada Hills 71, Carson 55. Highlander forward Adrian Sellers, who scored 16 points, was officially credited with 14.

Not that it really mattered. The Highlanders led, 34-14, with 6 minutes 15 seconds left in the second quarter. By then, the Carson crowd started chanting, “Fooooootbaaaaall,” in reference to Carson’s 57-13 playoff shellacking of Granada Hills last Friday.