SIDELINES : Winning Basketball Title a Routine Matter for Montclair Prep

Not that the Montclair Prep boys’ basketball team is superstitious, but before the Mounties played in the Southern California Division V Regional final they:

Made the trip to Orange County early to watch Harvard-Westlake in the Division III final at the Pond, just as they did last year.

Ate lunch at the same restaurant as last season.

Used the same locker room at Cal State Fullerton as a year ago, even though this time Montclair Prep was the home team.

Celebrated at the same restaurant after a second consecutive victory over San Diego Horizon Christian.

Unfortunately, the Mounties won’t be able to revisit any such places in Northern California. The finals are being held in Sacramento, not Oakland.

Teaching teamwork: Talk about the missing piece to the puzzle.

The Campbell Hall High boys’ volleyball team recently learned a lesson in unity, thanks to a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle.

To help the team to bond, Coach Tim Jensen told his players to piece together a puzzle 48 hours before a match against Crespi.

The 14 members of the team worked almost around the clock and even showed up at the gym at 7 a.m. to put it together.

Mere hours before the Crespi match, they finished it.

And two lessons were learned.

First, team unity works: The Vikings beat the Celts.

Second, get a smaller puzzle.

“I was supposed to get a 500-piece puzzle,” Jensen said. “But I couldn’t find one.”

Movie moment: With a .416 batting average and seven runs batted in in only 12 at-bats this season, Agoura High shortstop Manny Mosqueda doesn’t need any theatrical assistance when he swings his bat.

But he got some anyway Wednesday.

Thunder cracked loudly overhead seconds before Mosqueda hit a home run to left field in the first inning to give the Chargers a 2-0 lead in a rain-shortened game against Montclair Prep,

“We talked about it on the way home,” Agoura Coach Bryan Maloney said. “It was kind of like [the movie] “The Natural,” where Robert Redford hit it into the lights. Manny didn’t hit it as far, but he hit a 330-foot line drive. He hits the ball hard.”

Mosqueda didn’t recall the thunder, probably because he was focused on Mountie pitcher Gus Franco, who was behind 3-and-1 in the count.

“I just wanted to see the ball,” Mosqueda said. “I was looking for anything I could drive.It was a fastball and he left it up there.”

Go Dons: Former Santa Clara High star Damian Cantrell is one of at least three Ventura players former Pirate Coach Phil Mathews wants for his University of San Francisco team next season.

Mathews, who last weekend attended the junior college state championships at San Jose State, said he also is interested in signing guard Gerald Zimmerman. Center Hakeem Ward, the 1994-95 state co-player of the year, has already committed to the Dons.

“I want all of them,” Mathews said of the three Pirates.

Quotebook

“People are coming up to me and saying, ‘You’re supposed to be dead.’ ”

--Cal State Northridge softball Coach Janet Sherman, on her apparent likeness on a stamp commemorating softball in the Olympics. Because the Post Office does not issue stamps honoring people until they are dead, Sherman insists the generic catcher on the stamp is her, and most of her friends agree.

“It’s trial by fire and we’re getting burned real bad right now.”

--Hueneme High baseball Coach Reg Welker, whose young team entered the week at 0-5.

Stats

The Cal State Northridge men’s volleyball team has won six of its last seven matches and the Matadors are ranked third nationally this week. Northridge (11-6, 7-4) is in third place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Mountain Division.

Chad Strickland, an outside hitter on the Cal State Northridge volleyball team, has had 10 or more kills in 15 of 16 matches.

Things to Do

The Cal State Northridge football team will conduct the second of its three spring football scrimmages at 9 a.m. Saturday at North Campus Stadium.

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Contributing: Mike Bresnahan, Fernando Dominguez, Jeff Fletcher, Michael Lazarus, Tris Wykes.