Harvard’s Robbins Gives ‘Off the Scoreboard . . .’ Carom a Shot

Harvard-Westlake High senior guard Ben Robbins said he would have no problems adjusting to the enormousness of the Pond of Anaheim. Robbins, though, isn’t used to scoreboards hanging from the rafters.

As time expired in the first half of the Southern Section Division III-A championship game Saturday, Robbins heaved a desperation shot from the backcourt that slammed into the underside of the scoreboard.

It was one of the few miscalculations Robbins would make. He made three three-point shots in the Wolverines’ 56-46 victory over Dos Pueblos.

Off night: James Mosley, The Master’s College’s leading scorer during the regular season with an average of 18.4 points a game, had a season-low five points and made only one of 12 shots in the Mustangs’ 107-99 overtime victory over Western New Mexico in the NAIA Far West Region Independents championship game at Chapman University on Monday night.

But teammate Mike Penberthy expects Mosley to bounce back with a big effort in the opening round of the NAIA championships in Tulsa, Okla., beginning next Tuesday.

“James didn’t have a great game offensively,” Penberthy said after recording career highs of 37 points and 13 assists against Western New Mexico. “But he’ll be back. I expect him to have a great game the next time out.”

Penberthy, who averaged 17.3 points and 6.3 assists in the regular season, raised his game to another level at the regional tournament.

Penberthy had 68 points, 24 assists, seven rebounds, five steals and two blocked shots in two tournament victories. He make 22 of 43 shots, including 14 of 28 from three-point range, and committed only seven turnovers.

Roadblock: Camarillo High’s Eleazar Hernandez, the fifth-place finisher in the Foot Locker national cross-country championships in December, most likely will attend an NAIA school in the fall, according to his coach.

Hernandez is regarded as an NCAA Division I prospect, but he probably will not be eligible to compete at the Division I or II level as a freshman because he does not meet certain academic requirements.

In the past, the NCAA required that athletes complete a minimum of 11 core-curriculum classes in high school to compete at the Division I or II level. That number will increase to 13 in the fall, leaving Hernandez two classes short.

“We talked about him taking a couple of night courses this spring, but we decided that that might be asking a little too much of him,” Camarillo Coach Mike Smith said. “He already has a full schedule of classes at school.”

Second home: If an area team plays Brentwood in the semifinals of the Division V-AA boys’ basketball playoffs next season, it might want to consider Harvard-Westlake as a home court.

In 1994, Campbell Hall beat Brentwood by two points in the semifinals at Harvard-Westlake.

Last week, Brentwood won a coin flip to play host to Montclair Prep and elected to play at Harvard. Although Brentwood was seeded No. 1, the Mounties came from behind in the fourth quarter for a 73-71 victory, making the Harvard gym a personal house of horrors for the Eagles.

Quotebook

Hueneme High baseball Coach Reg Welker, whose team has 15 players this season after having only 11 players--and on one occasion eight--last season: “It’s crowded out there. I had to keep telling guys to get out of the way because I can’t see. It was a new experience.”

Stats

The Master’s College baseball team, an NAIA member, is 5-1 against NCAA Division II schools this year. The Mustangs beat Cal State Los Angeles, swept three games against Cal Poly Pomona and took two of three from Cal State San Bernardino.

Things to Do

The Cal State Northridge baseball team (12-8) will play at home for the first time since Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. today in a nonconference game against Cal State Los Angeles. The Matadors don’t have another home game until March 21.

Compiled by Rob Fernas. Contributing: Michael Lazarus, John Ortega, Jeff Fletcher.