North Hollywood Starts Where It Left Off, by Overwhelming League Foe Birmingham

Six weeks have passed since the North Hollywood High boys’ basketball team played its last Valley Pac-8 Conference game.

Not much has changed.

The only difference in North Hollywood’s conference matchup against visiting Birmingham on Wednesday was the Huskies’ margin of victory--or, perhaps, degree of rout.

North Hollywood came out looking sluggish against the Braves, but the lethargy didn’t last long enough to matter. The Huskies won easily, 79-51.

It was the third rout in as many conference games for the Huskies (15-1, 3-0), top-ranked by The Times. North Hollywood has outscored three conference opponents, 288-158, posting winning margins of 44, 58 and 28 points. Birmingham, The Times’ No. 8 team, fell to 9-5 and 2-1.

The Huskies have come to expect blowouts in conference play.

“We want to play the tough teams day in and day out, but we can’t,” Fantasia Johnson said. “This is the league we’re in.”

And Johnson showed little mercy on the outmanned Braves, scoring 14 of his game-high 21 points in the first half. He shot 71% (10 of 14) from the field and was the catalyst behind the Huskies’ 33-21 halftime lead.

“When he gets on a roll, he makes things happen for us,” North Hollywood Coach Steve Miller said.

Johnson and the Huskies’ full-court press were the keys. North Hollywood forced 26 turnovers, nine of which were converted into baskets. Johnson scored off three.

The Huskies opened with a 6-0 run before taking a 13-2 lead on a short jumper by junior center Damon Ollie--his only basket in the first half.

The Braves closed to within six points at the end of the first quarter. But the Huskies’ 12-6 run to start the second period increased the deficit to 12 points and, Birmingham never threatened again.

Ollie, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound junior, shook loose the cobwebs in the second half and finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Getting Ollie motivated for opponents of average talent is a chore for Miller.

“He looks at the opponent and when the opponent doesn’t turn him on, he plays lackadaisical,” Miller said.

Ten of Birmingham’s 11 players scored, but only Raffi Kassabian (10 points) reached double figures.