KING OF THE HILLSecluded from other Westside...

KING OF THE HILL

Secluded from other Westside prep schools, Pacific Hills has dominated the Southern Section lower divisions in boys’ basketball.

Pacific Hills, formerly called Bel-Air Prep, won the Southern Section Division V championship during the 1992-93 season. Now the 100-student upper grade school located in West Hollywood is beating other schools with 10 times its enrollment.

Saturday, Westley Allen made a five-footer with five seconds left as the Bruins beat Mira Costa, 47-45, to win the El Segundo Tournament at El Segundo.

Allen, a 6-foot-1 swingman who was voted the tournament’s most valuable player, had 22 points and nine rebounds in the championship game.

“This is a major upset,” Pacific Hills Coach John Bobich said. “I think we were eighth seeded entering the tournament.”

Allen scored 28 points and had 13 rebounds as the Bruins beat Campbell Hall, 70-60, in the semifinals. In that game, the Bruins held Washington-bound 6-10 center Alex Lopez to six points. The Bruins also beat Mary Star and North Torrance in the first two rounds.

In the final, the Bruins switched to a half-court trap and forced Mira Costa to lose the ball out of bounds with 20 seconds left. After a timeout, the Bruins cleared out the middle for Allen, who drove through the lane. He pulled up and made a five-footer.

The Bruins are 7-1 entering this week’s games. Their only loss was to Workman in the Charter Oak Tournament.

“This is a special team because we have players who have been with us since the 10th grade,” Bobich said. “We chose to play a tougher schedule so these guys can play against a higher level of competition. We could easily be 2-6 right now.”

Allen is averaging 20 points and eight rebounds a game. He is getting help from 6-4 forward Bryan Sterling (18.1 points and 11 rebounds) and Danny Brummel (14.3 points).

PASS THE ROLAIDS

Fairfax is off to a perfect 4-0 start after beating Carson, 76-66, in double overtime Friday.

Terryl Woolery, who was fouled during a three-point attempt, made three free throws with four seconds left to send the game into a second overtime. The Lions then outscored Carson, 14-4, to win the game.

Woolery finished with 27 points and 15 rebounds.

On Dec. 4, the Lions beat Crossroads, 65-41, to win the St. Monica tournament. Woolery, who recovered from an off-season wrist injury, was named tournament MVP.

SECOND PRIZE

St. Bernard Coach James McClune calls his team “consolation kings” after his team won the seventh-place consolation championship in the El Segundo Tournament on Saturday. The Vikings also were consolation champions in the Pacific Shores tournament.

The Vikings are 6-2 and need only four more wins to reach the mandatory minimum of 10 wins to be considered for the playoffs.

“We found a new and faster way to win 10 games and qualify for the playoffs,” McClune said.

LINEUP CHANGES

Murphy (2-4) is still reeling from the last-minute decision by football players Gibbons St. Paul, Danny Ragsdale and Howard Henry to forgo the basketball season. St. Paul said he will use his time to work out in the weight room and try to earn a football scholarship, according to basketball coach Andrew Hunter.

Ragsdale and Henry, both juniors, also quit to work out.

“Danny and Howard seemed to follow Gibbons’ lead,” Hunter said. “We do have a solid starting five, but the bench really is thin.”

However, shooting guard Aaron Zeleya will become eligible to compete with the Nobles when they host Culver City on Friday. Zeleya averaged 9.5 points last season.

For Culver City Coach Jeff Perry, the addition of football players Aki Wilson, Damon Williams and Chris Ellison will help the Centaurs (3-4), who competed in two tournaments with only seven players.

Ellison, who averaged 12.5 points and 8 assists last year, suffered from a bruised thigh during the playoffs and is still recovering. Ellison was selected to the Southern Section Division III second team last season.

INJURY REPORT

Yeshiva’s David Perl, a senior point guard who made the Liberty League team last season, suffered a season-ending dislocated ankle in practice Monday, according to Panther Coach Ed Gelb. Perl averaged 12.3 points for Yeshiva (1-2).

Santa Monica girls’ basketball player Monyka Johnigan, a 5-foot-11 senior center-forward suffered a knee injury in the season opener. Johnigan, who averaged 12 points a game last season, may be suffering from a torn cartilage and will undergo a magnetic resonance imaging examination today .

BUG IN THE WORKS

Although limited to six players due to injuries and the flu, the Windward boys’ basketball team defeated Ojai Valley on Saturday, 35-24, for their first win. The Wildcats are 1-3.

“It was all the more remarkable with so many guys having to play out of position,” Coach Ken Asher said. “And at best, we only shot around 30%. Otherwise we would have won by at least 25 points.” Senior forward Daniel Treiman led the team with 17 points. The Wildcats open Liberty League play this weekend at Avalon on Friday and Saturday.

Six University boys’ basketball players missed last week’s game with the flu as the Warriors lost to Grant, 69-35. The Warriors are 1-5.

“We had to make a lot of adjustments just to finish the game,” said Coach Jim Nakabara, whose Warriors were down, 40-9, at halftime.

BOARD STRENGTH

Windward (2-1) may be averaging only 27 points a game since the opener, but the Wildcats have three freshmen averaging double figures in rebounds, with Brooke Woosley (13.0), Kearney Visser, (12.0) and Julie Speyer (10.0).

LOSING PAINS

Immaculate Heart suffered three consecutive losses. But nothing hurt the Pandas (1-4) more than the loss of Nikki Rebong and Unayzah Beliz.

The two sophomore guards suffered injuries during a 38-37 loss to Flintridge Prep. Rebong left midway in the first half with a knee injury, and Beliz left in the third quarter with the Pandas holding a 12-point lead. Immaculate Heart scored only four points in the fourth quarter and two in overtime to lose the game.