HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL : Dade Gets No. 1 El Camino Off to a Strong Start in Victory Over Banning

El Camino’s full-court pressure and physical play underneath was too much for Wilmington Banning High in the second round of the Apple Valley Tournament, and the top-ranked Wildcats cruised to a 86-62 victory Friday night.

The tone of the game was set early by El Camino’s Chris Dade, who stole the ball on Banning’s first three possessions and single-handedly gave El Camino a 6-0 lead.

Dade finished with a game-high 22 points.

Also in the first quarter, senior Russell White, a 6-foot-6 center, was active on offense, grabbing eight rebounds and scoring eight points.

White finished with 12 points.

The first quarter ended with El Camino up, 24-16, and firmly in control.

Eight points are rarely insurmountable in basketball, but Banning was having difficulty in all phases of its game, committing turnovers against the Wildcats’ full-court pressure and watching as El Camino’s more physical players muscled inside and controlled the boards, even on the offensive side.

Damion Wade finished with a game-high nine rebounds, and Tyrone Butler pulled down six more.

Also hot on the boards was the Wildcats’ Clarence Martin, who finished with eight rebounds, all in the final quarter. He also finished with 10 points.

In that final quarter, El Camino went mostly with its second string and still outscored Banning, which retained its starting five, 20-17.

El Camino had four players in double figures. Sky Harrison finished with 15, and Butler with 14.

The Wildcats improved to 2-0, both victories coming in the tournament, and will play Apple Valley High in the championship game at 7:30 tonight. Banning is 1-1 in the tournament.

Vista Tournament

Morse 65, Southwest 52--On Friday the 13th, Morse got a pair of 13-point performances from Bunche Tavrun and Byron Steel en route to a 13-point victory over Southwest in a Tip-Off Classic Tournament game.

At halftime the score was tied at 31, but Morse outscored Southwest 18-8 in the third quarter to go ahead.

Southwest scored 13 points in the fourth quarter.

Rancho Bernardo 74, Mission Bay 36--Rancho Bernardo, which opened its season with an upset of Morse, continued to vent its frustration for being left out of preseason top 10 polls.

Again, it did so with full-court pressure and finished with 24 take-aways, including 16 in the first half.

Rancho Bernardo also outrebounded Mission Bay, 42-28.

Bill McMahon led the way with 14 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and five steals.

David Santos finished with a game-high 16 points, teammate Greg Hanson added 14 and Kirk Hipple scored 13 and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Fallbrook 54, Elsinore 37--Fallbrook was able to lap Elsinore by halftime, 28-14, after outscoring the Riverside County team, 14-4, in the second quarter. Chris Miller, one of the top players in San Diego, led the seventh-ranked Warriors (2-1) with 24 points and 12 rebounds.

Hilltop Tournament

Chula Vista 68, Point Loma 59--Alberto Marzan pulled down 17 rebounds and scored 20 points as Chula Vista won its first game after three defeats. Tied at the half, 32-32, Chula Vista went up 53-48 by the end of the third quarter then held off the Pointers in the fourth quarter. Chula Vista’s Jerome Green led all scorers with 27 points, converting three of three three-point attempts. He also grabbed six rebounds. Justin Miller had four three-pointer and finished with 14 points for Point Loma. Ken Campbell led the Pointers with 20 points.

Rancho Buena Vista 49, Mira Mesa 46--The Longhorns outscored the Marauders, 16-15, in the final quarter to win and advance to face Kearny in today’s final. Evan Osmundson had 18 points, 10 in the first quarter, to pace RBV, and Mira Mesa got 15 from Ryan Cunningham.

Bishop’s Small School Tournament

Parker 70, Marian 52--Wing man Scott Schneider hit five three-point baskets, including four early in the second quarter, as Parker ran to a 49-33 halftime lead. Forward Scott Levin paced the winners with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Schneider added 15 points, all on three-pointers, and seven assists.

Nonleague

Lincoln 72, Ramona 55--Ramona (1-1) had a 31-27 halftime lead thanks in large part to the strong play of 6-7 Rusty Hoss and swingman Cody Cunningham. Cunningham led the Bulldogs with 18 points, and Hoss’s interior play kept Lincoln at bay in the first half. When both players took to the bench with four fouls apiece in the second half, however, fifth-ranked Lincoln pulled away for the victory.

The Hornets outscored Ramona, 26-13, in the third quarter. Lincoln forward Berry Randle led all scorers with 21 points. Point guard Archie Robinson had three three-pointers, and forward Hosa Baker added 20 points.

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

Bronco Invitational

Poway 66, Rancho Bernardo 32--Using a tough man-to-man defense, top-ranked Poway (2-0) forced 24 turnovers to advance to tonight’s championship game. Allison Brady led the Titan attack with 23 points and seven rebounds. Robin Blalock had 13 points for fourth-ranked Rancho Bernardo (1-1).

Kearny 63, La Jolla 43--Twin sisters Melissa Krause and Shelli Krause scored 18 and 17 points, respectively, and Shona Jones added 10 to pace Kearny (7-2). Shelli Krause also had eight rebounds, six assists and four steals. Lauren Andrade (21 points) scored nearly half of La Jolla’s points.

Point Loma “T” Tournament

Point Loma 53, Rancho Buena Vista 36--Lisa Griego scored 21 points and added five steals to lead Point Loma. Tori Anderson had 16 for Ramona.

Fallbrook 46, San Pasqual 39--Seventh-ranked Fallbrook was paced by Stacey Fordice’s 17 points. Valerie Ryan had 11 for San Pasqual.

Runnin’ Rebel Classic

Torrey Pines 61, Los Amigos 19--The Falcons (4-3) routed Los Amigos in Anaheim behind 11 points from Nada Tomic, and 10 each from Katrina Berger and Carole Livingston.