NORTH HOLLYWOOD BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT : Chatsworth Pressed Into Defeat by Huskies

North Hollywood High put Chatsworth in the pressure cooker Friday night and whipped up a 75-52 victory in the championship game of its own boys’ basketball tournament.

Senior center Damon Ollie was the chief chef with 19 points and 12 rebounds, but there were plenty of other cooks in the North Hollywood kitchen. Romain Coleman added 16 points, nine rebounds and five steals and tournament most valuable player Anson Credille scored 11 points.

From the start, the Huskies (10-0) harassed Chatsworth with a trapping, full-court press, forcing 29 turnovers to fuel their fast-break attack.

“That’s the big key to our defense,” Credille said. “We force turnovers and get easy layups. Some teams just can’t adjust to it.”

Chatsworth committed eight turnovers in the first seven minutes alone, allowing the Huskies to build a quick 16-7 lead. The Chancellors (3-6) also slid into early foul trouble, with starters Brady Mertes, Philbert Hernandez and Ternell Floyd sitting out most of the second period with three fouls each. Mertes finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, Floyd had 10 rebounds and Hernandez added six assists.

Their absence left Ollie free to dominate the middle with 15 points as North Hollywood took a 37-18 halftime advantage.

Ollie struggled Thursday night, scoring only 11 points against El Camino Real’s tough zone defense. But he was back in form against Chatsworth’s man-to-man defense.

“I like that much better than the zone, because I know I’ll see the ball,” Ollie said.

What little chance the Chancellors had in the second half disappeared behind the intense defensive pressure of Coleman, Credille, Arthur Lee and the rest of the North Hollywood players.

Lee was particularly impressive, coming away with four of his five steals in the third quarter as the Huskies forced 10 more turnovers.

“Once we got behind, we had to play (North Hollywood’s) game of run-and-gun,” Chatsworth Coach Sandy Greentree said. “They do that much better than we do.”

The Chancellors also were hurt by poor free-throw shooting, missing 10 of 17.

It marks the second consecutive year that Chatsworth has lost to North Hollywood in the tournament final.

Ollie, Coleman and Lee joined Credille on the all-tournament team, along with Mertes and Hernandez of Chatsworth, Kenyth Henry and Markee Brown of El Camino Real, Demond Callahan of Canoga Park and Rick Forscutt of Grant.

El Camino Real 62, Grant 43--Brown hit four three-point shots in the first half and finished with 22 points to guide the Conquistadores (4-1) in the third-place game.

Henry added 18 and Charles Adams had 16 for El Camino Real, which opened a 31-18 halftime lead.

Chi Chen, Marc Scorza and Forscutt each had 10 points for Grant (2-4).

Canoga Park 73, Monroe 65--Callahan scored 24 points and Marcus McMillan added 21 to lead the Hunters (4-3) to the consolation title.

Kenyatta Niles scored 27 and Tweedy Steiner 23 for Monroe (5- 2). Four Canoga Park players scored in double figures, with Glenn Davis (13) and Jody Edington (11) rounding out the quartet.