HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL THOUSAND OAKS TOURNAMENT : Simi Valley Takes a Tumble, 87-69

Simi Valley and St. Monica highs both came crashing back to earth Wednesday in the Thousand Oaks basketball tournament.

Simi Valley, a surprise in winning its first five games, was felled by St. Monica, 87-69, in a championship quarterfinal game at Agoura High.

St. Monica (3-2) simply came down, time and again, after soaring to easy baskets or grabbing yet another rebound. Superior front-line play helped the Mariners get several inside shots. St. Monica was 35 of 56 (63%) from the field.

The Mariners outrebounded Simi Valley, 36-18. Senior forward Jahi Bacon did most of the damage inside with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Senior forwards Jarrett Wendt (game-high 26 points) and Justin Snowden (16) also dominated underneath, helping St. Monica to overcome poor ballhandling. The Mariners committed 24 turnovers, including five in a one-minute span in the fourth quarter that enabled Simi Valley (5-1) to cut a 19-point deficit to 73-60 with 4 minutes 37 seconds left.

But St. Monica again went to its front-line players, who scored six points during a 10-0 run that gave St. Monica a 23-point lead with 2:17 left. The Mariners advanced to a semifinal game against Agoura on Friday at 7 p.m. at Thousand Oaks High.

“Our full-court pressure gave us some good opportunities,” Simi Valley Coach Dean Bradshaw said. “But we broke down too often with our defense on their big guys. They had a lot of second and third shots.”

Senior guard Gordon Stolla, who missed three games because of an ankle injury, scored 24 points to lead Simi Valley.

In other games:

Thousand Oaks 82, Alemany 64--Senior guard Andrew Borg scored 23 points and senior center Shane Graham added 22 to lead Thousand Oaks (2-0) in the championship quarterfinal. Borg has 54 points in two games.

Agoura 63, Crescenta Valley 53--J.C. Padilla scored 19 points and Eddie Corridori added 18 to lead Agoura (2-0) in a championship quarterfinal at Agoura.

Josh Willis scored 20 points to lead Crescenta Valley, which tied the score, 45-45, before Agoura went on an 18-8 run.

Vermont (Australia) 64, Hart 62--Ali Peek and Matt Steffe combined for 40 points and 26 rebounds for Hart (3-3), but the Indians couldn’t overcome a 12-point second-half deficit in the championship quarterfinal. Vermont is 3-2.

Oxnard 93, Moorpark 55--Five Yellowjacket players, led by Brian Gallardo with 15 points, scored in double figures in a consolation quarterfinal.

Antelope Valley 57, Calabasas 30--Troy Coutee scored 16 points and Kevin Kirkland scored 15 for the Antelopes (3-3) in a consolation quarterfinal.

Faith Baptist 73, Newbury Park 66--Etienne Moore had 26 points and 24 rebounds, and Peter Rasmussen added 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Contenders (4-2) in a consolation quarterfinal.

Hueneme 67, Palmdale 65--Wendell Nunnery hit two free throws with five seconds left to give the Vikings a consolation quarterfinal win.