THOUSAND OAKS TOURNAMENT : Westlake’s Challenge Is Just a Bit Too Tall : Basketball: Warriors play No. 1 Harvard-Westlake even until falling back in the final minutes, 62-49.

Out with the old, in with the bold. Life can’t get more challenging for a multi-sport athlete than it has been for Steve Aylsworth the past four days.

The Westlake High senior injured both shoulders in the Southern Section Division III football game Saturday night against Newbury Park that ended the Warriors’ season. X-rays were negative but Aylsworth remains sore.

Normally, this wouldn’t present a problem on a Tuesday night, but he did a lot more than work the TV remote control.

Aylsworth, an All-Southern Section guard, tried to lead Westlake past Harvard-Westlake, the No. 1-ranked team in The Times’ area poll, in the first round of the Thousand Oaks basketball tournament.

Harvard-Westlake prevailed, 62-49, at Thousand Oaks High but Aylsworth and four teamates making the transition from football gave it a gallant effort. The score was tied, 47-47, with four minutes to play before the Wolverines pulled away.

“I must have cramped every muscle in my body,” Aylsworth said of the football game in which he played both offense and defense. “One day of basketball practice and here we go.”

The going was made more difficult because of juniors Jason and Jarron Collins, Harvard-Westlake’s towering twins.

Jason had 23 points and 13 rebounds.

Jarron scored 14 points and played defense on the perimeter, closing off Westlake’s three-point shooting opportunities. Aylsworth did not make a basket, scoring five points on free throws.

Harvard guard Leo Da Costa made key shots down the stretch and scored all of his 11 points in the second half.

“It was a typical first game, at times as sloppy as our worst nightmare of what a first game would be,” Harvard Coach Greg Hilliard said.

This also was a first for 6-foot-8 Westlake center Jeremiah Nesbitt, a senior transfer from Thousand Oaks. He probably would have rather opened in a different gym against a different team.

His introduction was greeted by scattered boos from Thousand Oaks fans and he appeared intimidated by the Collins twins early in the game, scoring one point in the first half. However, Nesbitt scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, twice powering past Jason Collins for layups.

Jason Gaines scored Westlake’s first nine points and finished with 14. Nesbitt had 12 and Stewart added 10.

In other tournament games:

Rialto 92, Cleveland 74--Cleveland, feeling the absence of guard Tony Hoggatts, was never in the game against the Knights.

The eligibility of Hoggatts, a 6-6 senior, is being questioned by the City Section and he cannot play until the situation is resolved.

Mike Schultz, a 6-8 center, had 29 points for Cleveland (2-1). Donald Holt added 17.

Dewayne Taylor had 22 points and Dwain Gaines had 18 for the Knights (1-0).

Santa Barbara 48, Grant 46--The Dons’ Mike Garrett dribbled away the final seconds before scoring with two seconds to play.

Garrett missed his first shot, grabbed the rebound and scored from the lane.

Trailing the entire game, Grant (1-2) pulled even, 46-46, with 1 minute 33 seconds to play on a three-point play by Jon Brand.

Santa Barbara (3-2) held the ball until calling a timeout with 33 seconds left, then put the game in Garrett’s hands.

Donald Patterson scored 19 points for Grant.

Washington 80, Newbury Park 71--The Panthers (2-4) could not match up inside with Washington (1-4), which got 19 points from center Daniel Moore.

Newbury Park’s 6-9 David Erickson is out with an injury and 6-8 Jim Newton is on the football team, leaving only 6-6 Charles Stanton in the middle. Stanton had 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Guard Brent Bush had 29 points for Newbury Park.