Basketball Titles of Several Leagues Hinge on Finales

A handful of boys’ basketball league championships will be decided this weekend, and the schedule includes some interesting regular-season finales. (League records are in parentheses. Barring postponements because of the weather, and unless noted, all games are at 7:30 p.m.):

* Entering Mission League play tonight, St. Bernard and Crespi are tied for first place at 8-3. With a victory at home over St. Paul, Crespi can clinch a share of its first league title since 1985-86. St. Bernard will play at Chaminade (0-11).

* In the Foothill League, Hart, Alhambra and Schurr enter tonight’s games with records of 7-2. Hart, the defending league champion, can clinch a co-championship by defeating host Burroughs. Schurr will play at Alhambra and the winner will clinch a share of the title.

* In the Golden League, Quartz Hill (8-1) will play host to Ridgecrest Burroughs (7-2). Quartz Hill, the defending champion, has clinched at least a share of the title. Quartz Hill defeated Ridgecrest Burroughs, 51-49, in double overtime Jan. 24.

* In the Channel League, Buena (10-1) can win the championship outright with a victory over visiting San Marcos. San Marcos is 10-2 in league play and has a make-up game scheduled against host Oxnard on Saturday at 11 a.m.

* In the Marmonte League, Thousand Oaks (11-2) has clinched its second consecutive co-championship and can win the title outright with a victory over host Westlake.

If Thousand Oaks loses, Simi Valley (9-3) must beat visiting Camarillo tonight and host Newbury Park on Saturday at 2 p.m. to earn a share of the title.

TALE OF THE TAPE

Drip, drip, drip . . .

Coach Dick Crowell is getting tired of the pitter-patter on the San Fernando basketball court.

Crowell said Tuesday that he was forced to place 15 trash cans on the floor to prevent rainwater--falling through a porous roof--from ruining the hardwood. “We have janitors running around all over,” he said.

Truth be told, all Crowell and his helpers were doing was preventing further damage. The heavy rainstorms that pelted the area one month ago also left their mark. Areas on the court where water had dripped from the leaky roof recently were sanded to eliminate warpage.

Included are two patches of hardwood inside the three-point arc. Since the paint also was removed during sanding, Crowell said the gym floor now has a 10-foot strip of black tape marking the three-point line at one end of the floor and a 20-foot section of tape at the other.

BIRTHDAY BASHINGS

At Taft, they prefer to have their cake and eat it too.

A pair of senior starters for the Toreadors have had superlative games on their 18th birthdays. Senior forward Larry Schneider scored a season-high 20 points in Taft’s 95-75 win over Granada Hills on Wednesday.

On Jan. 31, senior forward Miguel Carrillo scored Taft’s final eight points as the Toreadors stole a 68-67 decision from Chatsworth. Carrillo finished with 21 points.

Vince Kowalick and staff writers Steve Elling and Jeff Riley contributed to this notebook.