ROUNDUP : Steele Shows Mettle in Taft’s 69-59 Upset

Forward Ricky Steele scored 26 points to spark Taft High’s 69-59 upset of Thousand Oaks in the Simi Valley tournament quarterfinals Wednesday night at Royal High.

The Lancers (1-1) were ranked second in The Times’ area preseason poll. Taft was unranked.

Steele also had nine rebounds and three steals, and guard Lamont Magee added 24 points. Thousand Oaks forward Jason Hartman had 16 points.

Taft (2-0) will play Hart in a championship semifinal Friday at 6:30 at Simi Valley High.

In other boys’ basketball games

Santa Barbara 55, Santa Clara 50--The Saints rallied from a 33-16 halftime deficit, but could not catch the Dons in a quarterfinal of the Simi Valley tournament. Damien Cantrell led Santa Clara (1-1) with 22 points.

Hart 58, Camarillo 45--Randy Roa scored 15 points to lead the Indians (2-0) in a Simi Valley tournament quarterfinal.

Kennedy 52, Oxnard 51--Nakia Gorden’s 15-foot bank shot as time expired gave the Cougars (1-1) a victory in a Simi Valley tournament consolation quarterfinal.

Highland 75, Hesperia 68--Pharoah Davis scored 33 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, leading the Bulldogs at Highland.

Lee Gilbeau added 20 points and Jamaal Dedeaux had 15 for Highland, which never trailed.

Campbell Hall 86, La Sierra Academy 56--Alex Lopez scored 18 of his 26 points in the first quarter as the Vikings (1-0) outscored the Knights, 34-6, in a nonleague game at Campbell Hall. Simeon Woodall added 18 points for Campbell Hall.

Canyon 58, Quartz Hill 34--The Cowboys jumped to a 31-14 halftime lead in a first-round game of the Saugus tournament. Greg Minor scored 19 points and Charles Woodard added 14 for Canyon, which plays Monroe tonight.

Glendale 64, Antelope Valley 46--The Dynamiters took a 20-5 lead after the first quarter and three players scored in double figures in a first-round game of the Saugus tournament.

Glendale’s Henrik Bandari scored 22 points, followed by James Fuller with 13 and Tamar Iskander with 10.

Harvard-Westlake 63, Brentwood 60--Jason Collins had 22 points and nine rebounds, and Scott Garson added 21 points and six assists for the Wolverines in a nonleague game. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, son of the former Laker, led Brentwood with 18 points.

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

Monroe 54, Cleveland 30--Dimara Haymond had 23 and 24 rebounds to lead the Vikings (1-0) in the first round of the Eagle Rock tournament.

Burroughs 55, South Pasadena 31--Christy Russell had 11 points, six assists and five steals for host Burroughs in a nonleague opener.

Chaminade 39, El Camino Real 35--Katy Bloodgood had 12 points as the host Eagles (2-0) struggled to a nonleague victory.

Quartz Hill 61, Hart 57--Quartz Hill made 13 of 19 free throws while the Indians made only 11 of 27 in a nonleague opener at Newhall. LaCresha Clark scored 19 points for Hart.

BOYS’ SOCCER

Poly 6, Westchester 1--Rafael Cortez scored two goals for host Poly in the nonleague match.

Grant 1, Reseda 0--Ante Bilaver scored the goal on a direct kick.

Sylmar 3, Taft 0--Gubini Cabrera scored a pair of goals.

Hart 2, Highland 1--Rafael Verduzco and Jendry Sonabria scored for the Indians (1-0) in a nonleague match at Highland (0-2).

Burroughs 5, Blair 1--Anthony Perico, Juan Almaguer, Roberto Perez, Eddie Melgar and Oscar Iraheta scored for Burroughs.

Calabasas 2, Chaminade 1--Bhret Haesig scored twice in the first 15 minutes for Calabasas.