Chatsworth Plays an Eye-Opener, 70-50

A revitalized Chatsworth High boys’ team served notice in its opener Tuesday night it might have the hustle, height and bodies to wipe away the memories of a last-place finish in the West Valley League last season.

Senior guard Montae McFarland scored 27 points, including 15 in the second quarter, and the Chancellors routed Canoga Park, 70-50, in the first game played with a 35-second clock at Chatsworth.

They could have used a 15-second clock the way both teams were throwing up shots.

McFarland missed three layups in the early going before taking charge in the second quarter, when Chatsworth outscored the Hunters, 21-4, to open a 48-21 halftime lead.

Canoga Park badly missed All-City guard Carloes Harper, who has moved on to Cal State Northridge.

Chatsworth has six players 6-foot-5 or taller, and the Chancellors might have the chemistry Coach Fluke Fluker has been seeking.

“These are my players,” Fluker said. “They’ve been with me for a minimum three years. I have no refugees left over. We went from one of the lowest team GPAs in the school to one of the highest.”

For a team that finished 1-9 and in last place in the West Valley last season, the Chancellors had to be encouraged.

McFarland demonstrated maturity by not losing his composure when he missed those layups.

“I was a little frustrated,” he said. “I just calmed down.”