N. Hollywood Wastes No Time in Easy Victory

It was supposed to be one of the best Valley Pac-8 Conference boys’ basketball matchups of the season: North Hollywood High, a proven City Section 4-A Division team, versus Monroe, an upstart 3-A team with promise and talent.

Eight minutes into Friday’s game, however--with Monroe trailing by 19 points--it was obvious that the Vikings were out of their league.

It was simply another day at work for North Hollywood, as the Huskies’ up-tempo offense ran Monroe out of its own gymnasium, 89-54, in front of about 250.

North Hollywood, an East Valley League team ranked No. 1 in the region by The Times, improved to 16-1, 4-0 in conference play. Monroe, a Mid-Valley League title contender and The Times’ No. 7 area team, fell to 13-3, 4-1.

As North Hollywood blowouts go, this one was not up to standards. The Huskies, undefeated in conference play last season, have won four conference games by an average of 41.3 points.

But despite their domination--both past and present--of conference opponents, the Huskies did not want to overlook Monroe. Last season Monroe gave North Hollywood its toughest conference game, losing by five points. North Hollywood Coach Steve Miller made sure the Huskies remembered it.

“I like to use motivational tools before each game and that was it,” Miller said. “We raised our level of intensity.”

And it showed. North Hollywood led, 14-8, midway through the first quarter before going on a 13-0 run.

“It got out of hand early,” said Monroe forward Kenyatta Niles, who scored a game-high 22 points. “They came in here and ran us out. They just hit us at home. I give them all the respect.”

In the second quarter, the Huskies increased their lead to 24 points on a free throw by Damon Ollie (12 points, 16 rebounds), and to 32 points on an Anson Credille jump shot at the halftime buzzer.

Momentum stayed with North Hollywood in the second half.

The Huskies increased their lead to 70-30 to start the fourth quarter on a Marcus Sanders jumper, two minutes before the Husky starters began exiting.

North Hollywood’s Arthur Lee and Fantasia Johnson stole the show in the backcourt, scoring 18 and 16 points, respectively, in slightly more than three quarters.