PREP BASKETBALL BELL-JEFF TOURNAMENT : North Hollywood Remembers, Routs Campbell Hall

Robert Hill remembers as if it were yesterday.

A year ago, Campbell Hall High beat North Hollywood on C. J. Thompkins’ three-point basket at the buzzer for a one-point victory in the semifinals of the Bell-Jeff basketball tournament.

Friday night, Hill and the Huskies took revenge by spanking Campbell Hall, 68-47. Ironically, the victory came in a semifinal game of the same tournament.

The win by North Hollywood (12-2) didn’t have half the drama of last year’s win by Campbell Hall (5-4).

“For the players, it was like, ‘We’re going to get you guys this time for beating us last year,’ ” Hill said.

Hill exacted the greatest toll by scoring a game-high 20 points, 13 in the second half.

“They were giving me the drive, and I’ll take whatever they give me,” Hill said.

Teammate Damon Ollie, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound sophomore was also in the taking mood. He made seven steals, blocked three shots, grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds and dominated inside. He finished with 11 points.

“He just knows what has to be done, and he just does it when you need it,” North Hollywood Coach Steve Miller said.

Campbell Hall’s Alex Lopez, a 6-10 sophomore, tried to contest Ollie underneath, but Ollie seemed to get the best of each situation.

Ollie outrebounded his underclassman rival, 14-7. Lopez finished with 10 points and five blocked shots.

“We had to play near-perfect to win, and we played just OK,” Campbell Hall Coach Jon Palarz said. “(North Hollywood is) an excellent team--great depth and a good blend of talent.”

North Hollywood, which will play Faith Baptist at 8 tonight in the championship game, jumped to a 9-0 lead midway through the first quarter and didn’t let the Vikings back into the game.

North Hollywood took its biggest lead (52-28) on consecutive baskets by reserve Anson Credille late in the third quarter, the first of which invoked the loudest cheer from Husky fans. Credille stole the ball at midcourt and finished the play with a two-handed slam.

DeShawn Harvey scored 13 points in the first half and finished with 17 for North Hollywood.

Austin McKellar and Lee Sprague each scored 12 for the Vikings.

In other games:

Faith Baptist 69, Bell-Jeff 68--Etienne Moore made a free throw with five seconds to play to help Faith Baptist (9-3) reach the championship game.

Peter Rasmussen scored 23 points and had 20 rebounds for Faith Baptist.

Downey 83, Oak Park 29--Eric Pryor scored 15 points for the Eagles, but it wasn’t nearly enough to stop Downey’s scoring onslaught in a consolation semifinal.