Sports

WARNING SHOT

Heading into his fifth season as the Crossroads boys’ basketball coach, Daryl Roper has an impressive 43-3 Delphic League record. Two of his losses, however, have come against archrival Brentwood.

Crossroads, the area’s fifth-ranked team, will play host to unranked Brentwood Friday night at Santa Monica College. The Eagles, who finished second to Crossroads last season in the Delphic League, are off to an impressive 11-3 start and are led by Teddy Miller, who is averaging 21 points a game.

Is Roper concerned about the Roadrunners defending Miller?

“I think Teddy Miller and the Brentwood gang should worry about stopping us,” he said. “We have a full compliment of players playing well as of late.”

On Monday night, Kejuan Woods had 19 points and nine rebounds to lead Crossroads to a 67-47 victory over Whitney of Cerritos in the Delphic League. Woods has been one of the Roadrunners best shooters along with 6-foot-2 guard John Skinner, who is making 50% of his shots from three-point range.

Miller, a 6-2 senior forward, has scored at least 20 points in the last 13 games for Brentwood. A three-year varsity letterman, Miller has assumed the leadership role once held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Jr., who is red-shirting his freshman season at Valparaiso.

But the Eagles also have an outside threat in 6-1 guard Gerry Washington and an inside threat in 6-7 center Sebastien Saylor.

“Teddy has assumed the leadership role pretty well,” Brentwood Coach Bob Ingram said. “Even last year, he was our most valuable player. But we have some really good players around him. I don’t think we’re a one-man team.”

NEW LEAGUE

Despite winning two consecutive State Division IV titles, the St. Bernard girls’ basketball team has had trouble winning a Mission League title. The Vikings should have an easier time this season in the Del Rey League.

The Vikings have had difficulty keeping pace with Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, which has dominated the old Mission League. St. Bernard won its only league title during the 1992-93 season.

The six-team Del Rey League consists of Bishop Amat, Bishop Montgomery, St. Bernard, St. Joseph, St. Paul and Serra.

“I think Bishop Montgomery and us are pretty equal,” St. Bernard Coach Lori Pawinski said. “I don’t know much about Bishop Amat. The bottom three teams are pretty weak.”

Despite injuring her right ankle last week, point guard Tracie Oaks is expected to be back when the Vikings play host to St. Joseph of Lakewood tonight at 7.

TOUGH LOSS

After losing to top-ranked St. Bernard, 53-44, on Jan. 3, the second-ranked Crossroads girls won consecutive nonleague games over St. Anthony, 79-22, on Jan. 5 and Bell-Jeff, 73-44, last Friday.

Senior point guard Sherrise Smith had 14 assists against St. Anthony and 25 points against Bell-Jeff. Oregon State coaches scouted Smith in the Bell-Jeff game.

Despite the impressive showing by Smith and the two victories, the loss to St. Bernard was on Coach Larry Wiener’s mind.

“We had a two-week layoff and it showed in our timing and in our legs,” Wiener said. “We were a step slow in everything we did. (St. Bernard) made us play at their pace.

“We were outplayed and outcoached.”

HOMELESS

Pacific Hills has been struggling to find a home site for its Delphic League boys’ basketball games. The Bruins played last season at Murphy High and worked their way to a Southern Section Division V-A championship and an appearance in the State Division V finals.

The Bruins, however, were forced to switch games to West Torrance when Murphy was no longer available for rental.

“I guess they needed the gym for an extra bingo night,” Pacific Hills Coach John Bobich said. “That combined with all their teams playing in the gym. It just didn’t work out.”

The Bruins, however, discovered Monday they cannot use the West Torrance gym and were forced to move their home game to their opponent’s gym at Campbell Hall.

Bobich hopes to make arrangements to play the rest of the Pacific Hills home games at either Brentwood or Campbell Hall, both Delphic League rivals.

Hamilton, meanwhile, is waiting for its gym floor to be resurfaced. Yankee Coach Dave Uyeshima said the work was suppose to be completed last week, but vandals broke into the gym and scratched the floor during the holiday vacation.

RECRUITING UPDATE

Although Oregon lost to Penn State, 38-20, in the Rose Bowl, the Ducks may have won the hearts of two prized Westchester football recruits.

Tight end Tony Griffin, The Times’ 1994 Westside lineman of the year, and lineman Travor Turner, who also made the Westside first team, are strongly considering Oregon after making a trip to Eugene during Christmas break, according to Comet Coach Larry Wein.

Griffin also is considering Cal, Colorado and USC. Turner is also interested in Cal and Kansas.

Defensive back Louis Henderson is taking a trip to Hawaii and receiver Courtney Brown is receiving interest from San Jose State.

St. Monica lineman Adrian Klemm has been offered a scholarship to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Klemm, however, will also take a trip to Hawaii before making his decision.

Football signing period begins Feb. 8.

HOLIDAY CHALLENGE

Danny Walker, Ben Sanders and Jason Hart will lead Westchester against Compton Dominguez in the inaugural Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Challenge Jan. 21 at Pauley Pavilion.

The three-game tournament, organized for the Belmont Shore Basketball Club, was originally scheduled to be played at the Long Beach State Pyramid, but was moved because the college prohibits off-campus groups from using the facility.

Long Beach Millikan will play Rowland in the opening game at 5:20 p.m.

Inglewood, featuring Paul Pierce, will play Peninsula at 7 p.m. followed by the Westchester-Dominguez game at 8:40.

ROAD RACING

About 1,000 runners from the L.A. Roadrunners club will sponsor a 20-mile training run as a dress rehearsal for the 10th anniversary of the L.A. Marathon at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Westminster School in Venice.

More than 1,700 runners are expected to participate in the weekly Saturday program.

BASEBALL TRYOUTS

The West Los Angeles Pony League will hold sign-ups from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at the West L.A. Little League fields at Sepulveda Boulevard and Ohio Avenue.

Boys and girls born between Aug. 1, 1980, and July 31, 1982, are eligible to play. Tryouts for new players are scheduled for Jan. 21 and 22.

Registration is $175. Information: Peter Koch-Weser at (310) 836-2202.