Quite a Scare for Oak Park at Bishop Diego’s House of Horrors

Oak Park High boys’ basketball Coach Rob Hall dreads playing each season at Bishop Diego’s ancient, dimly lit gym, and after the Eagles escaped with a Tri-Valley League victory earlier this winter he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Anyone walking up to that gym thinks, ‘Wow! This is right out of ‘Hoosiers,’ ” Hall said of the brick gym. “The stands are wooden and come right down to the edge of the court on one side and there’s a stage on the other side.

“The rims have no paint on them and it’s dark so it’s an awful place to shoot, and they’ve got a band in the stands with a full drum kit and a kid pounding away on it all night. It’s just a classic place and it’s gotta be worth six to eight points a game to [Bishop Diego].”

Just ask Fillmore and St. Bonaventure: both have lost there this season.

Movin’ on up: The two teams picked to finish at the bottom of the West Coast Conference men’s basketball standings are making moves under first-year coaches with ties to the region.

Pepperdine, the consensus last-place pick, is only two games out of first after ending a five-game losing streak with road victories over Santa Clara, 72-69, and St. Mary’s, 88-78, last weekend. The Waves, 9-9 overall and 2-4 in conference play, are tied for sixth with St. Mary’s and San Diego.

Pepperdine is 2-1 under interim Coach Marty Wilson, a former Simi Valley High standout.

“We keep building confidence,” Wilson said after Saturday’s victory at St. Mary’s. “We have been talking about staying positive. As long as it works, we’re going to keep putting it on the blackboard.”

San Francisco, meanwhile, moved into a three-way tie for first with Gonzaga and Santa Clara after beating San Diego, 52-41, Saturday. The Dons (11-7, 4-2), the consensus pick for seventh in the eight-team conference, held San Diego to 29.8% shooting.

“Our defense was very, very impressive,” Coach Phil Mathews, a former Ventura College coach, told the San Francisco Examiner.

Don forward John Duggan, listening nearby, wasn’t buying Mathews’ praise.

“Wait until he sees the film,” Duggan said of the demanding Mathews. “The defense won’t be so good then.”

San Francisco is 9-0 in games in which it has held the opponent to fewer than 60 points.

Mother of invention: Credit Canyon High girls’ soccer Coach Michele Braceros with being one of the most creative coaches around.

Braceros, who has organized parties on long bus rides and held dribbling practice in the locker room on rainy days, recently revealed that the Cowboys occasionally play something called “soccer tennis.”

This involves knocking a soccer ball back and forth over a tennis net with one’s feet. It is strictly a doubles affair, with one pair “serving” by chipping a stationary ball from the back line. Shots are allowed to bounce only once before being returned but may be passed back and forth in midair among teammates as many times as desired.

“The kids laugh a lot and enjoy it,” Braceros said. “But it helps as far as juggling and volleying the ball and getting into position under it.”

Honors

Pepperdine guard Gerald Brown was named West Coast Conference player of the week for the second time this season after helping the Waves to road victories over Santa Clara and St. Mary’s last weekend. Brown had 49 points--on 63% shooting--16 rebounds and seven assists in the two games. The 6-foot-3 junior leads the conference in scoring, averaging 18.8 points, including a 22.2 average in conference games.

Quotebook

“It’s a definite possible win.”

--Cal State Northridge assistant women’s basketball Coach Jeanette Armentano, on the Matadors’ game Thursday against Cal State Los Angeles. Northridge’s only victory last season was against Cal State L.A.

“His nickname is 911. Whenever we need help or a big basket he gets it for us. But after he got hurt, he’s the one who needed 911.”

--Providence High basketball Coach Paul Sutton, describing forward Juan Martinez, who suffered an ankle injury.

Stats

When Leo Gorauskas of The Master’s College made three of eight shots in a 96-53 victory over La Sierra on Saturday, it ended a 12-game streak in which the 6-9 junior center had shot 50% or better from the field.

Master’s Coach Bill Oates notched his 675th victory, against La Sierra. Oates, who is in his third season at Master’s and the 33rd of his career, has an overall mark of 676-266 after Monday’s 94-67 victory over Holy Names.

The Cal Lutheran men’s basketball team (13-4) has forced 106 turnovers and committed 64 during its current five-game winning streak.

Things to Do

Cal State Sacramento (4-14, 0-1) meets Cal State Northridge (4-14, 0-1) in the Matadors’ American West Conference men’s basketball home opener at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Contributing: Rob Fernas, Jeff Fletcher, John Ortega, Bryan Rodgers, Tris Wykes.