Old Neighbors to Meet After a Lengthy Hiatus

It’s a cross-town rivalry with virtually no history. Tonight, that will change.

Bell-Jeff High plays host to Providence in a Southern Section Division IV-A first-round playoff game at 7:30 p.m., bringing together two private Burbank schools--two miles apart--for a boys’ basketball game for the first time in 15 years.

“It’s kind of strange that we’re so close and we haven’t played each other,” said Coach Paul Sutton, in his 13th season at Providence. “It’s one of those games that haven’t taken place that everyone has talked about.”

Bell-Jeff once was much larger than Providence, but its enrollment has been shrinking for years. Each school has about 520 students.

Tonight, Providence (13-9), which finished third in the Liberty League, is the underdog to Ruben Douglas and No. 3-seeded Bell-Jeff (15-12), which finished tied for second place in the Santa Fe League and has won six of its past seven games.

Arizona-bound Douglas is the region’s leading scorer, averaging 34.4 points. Teammate Mike West is averaging 21.1 points.

Sutton, anticipating a playoff with Bell-Jeff, scouted the Guards five times during the regular season and is focused on giving Douglas and West plenty of attention.

“We’re going to do what we can to slow the pace down,” Sutton said.

“We’re looking for a tight game, a real emotional game.”