Simi Valley Sends Message, 62-47

With its resounding 62-47 victory over Chaminade High on Saturday in the championship game of the Simi Valley tournament, Simi Valley is establishing itself as king of the hill in the region.

The Pioneers (4-0) thoroughly dominated the matchup of the top two ranked teams in the area. Simi Valley, ranked No. 1 by The Times, broke out to a 14-6 lead after one quarter and never looked back.

Simi Valley led by as many as 18 points and kept Chaminade (3-1) out of sync most of the way.

Chaminade made only 15 of 53 field-goal attempts (28.3%), including two of 16 in the first quarter. The Eagles also made only 16 of 28 free throws.

“They’re a great team,” Chaminade Coach Jeff Young said. “That’s usually what happens in these games. One team gets the other out of sync.”

The Eagles made a belated comeback, going on a 9-0 run to slice the deficit to 51-43 midway through the fourth quarter.

But Simi Valley responded with a basket by Rafael Berumen and a three-point basket by Branduinn Fullove and Chaminade didn’t threaten again.

“We knew they were going to battle us hard the whole game,” said forward Brett Michel of Simi Valley. “They’re relentless on the boards.”

Michel, who was named most valuable player of the tournament, was pretty effective on the boards, with a team-leading 10 rebounds. He scored 12 points.

The Pioneers were led by Fullove with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Berumen with 13 points and nine rebounds.

Scott Long led Chaminade with 21 points and 11 rebounds, and freshman center Scott Borchart had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

While it was an impressive performance by the Pioneers, Michel said it is too early for them to start measuring ring sizes.

“It’s a good win,” he said, “but we have to try to stay focused and get ready for our next game.”

In other tournament games:

Newbury Park 86, Camarillo 58--Forward Daniel Bobik scored a season-high 32 points to carry the Panthers (3-1) over their Marmonte League rivals in the game for third place.

Bobik, a 6-6 senior who signed a letter of intent with BYU, had nine assists and seven steals.

Mike Meru finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Panthers.

The Panthers clung to a one-point lead, 17-16, after one quarter, but stretched it to 33-25 at the half. They outscored Camarillo, 53-33, in the second half.

Camarillo (2-2) was led by forward Jeff Stuteville with 19 points, including 15 in the second half, and Kyle Lassiter with 11 points.

Hart 60, Santa Paula 57--Jeff Whitmore sank two free throws with eight seconds left and the Indians (3-1) held on for fifth place.

Santa Paula (2-2) had one last opportunity, but Joe Riccio was called for traveling with two seconds left.

Stotts finished with 18 points, and Whitmore and Greg Pitzer each had 13 for the Indians.

David Herrera had 22 points and Moses Gasio added 14 for Santa Paula.

Chatsworth 68, South Gate 58--Montae McFarland scored 15 of his team-high 17 points in the second half and the Chancellors (3-2) came from behind in the game for seventh place.

Chatsworth, which fell behind 10-0 and trailed, 34-27, at halftime, outscored South Gate, 19-7, in the third quarter to go ahead, 46-41. The Chancellors built their lead to as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter.

Mark Cannon scored 14 points for Chatsworth, including three three-point baskets. Ronald Johnson led South Gate (1-3) with 30 points, including 15 on three-pointers.

Notre Dame 68, North Hollywood 62--Cody Pearson scored 15 points and Joe Donnely and Chris each had 14 points and the Knights (3-1) came from behind to win the game for ninth place.

North Hollywood led, 55-49, following a three-point basket by Keron Wilkerson with 6:00 left before Notre Dame rallied behind Donnely, who scored eight of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.

Wilkerson finished with 29 points, including 15 of North Hollywood’s 17 points in the first quarter. Chinua Wright scored 14 points and Dejon Lee had 10 points for the Huskies (2-3).