Dominguez Receives a Pleasant Surprise

After its victory Monday over Westchester, the state’s top-ranked team, it was difficult to tell what made the Compton Dominguez boys’ basketball team happier--the win or the return of senior forward Jason Thomas.

Thomas, who helped lead the Dons to consecutive state Division II basketball championships, suffered an ankle injury during football season. The quarterback/linebacker was still named to the Parade All-American team despite playing in parts of only four games.

Thomas had told teammates that he was not going to play basketball to avoid re-injuring his ankle. But he changed his mind last week before a football recruiting trip to Nebraska.

“I was talking to the guys the day before I left, and I was getting so pumped up, I said, ‘I have to play,’ ” Thomas said after scoring three points and grabbing two rebounds against Westchester. “I just got back [Sunday]. I had to be here.”’

Thomas said rumors that he has committed to USC are not true and that he is still deciding where he will attend college next fall.

“I like [USC] Coach [Paul] Hackett, but nothing is for sure,” Thomas said. “When I went to Nebraska, I had a chance to meet [former Cornhusker Coach Tom] Osborne and had a great time.”

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LeAnne Bennett of Ribet Academy scored 71 points Tuesday in an 81-23 Heritage League victory over Sylmar First Lutheran, the fourth-highest total in Southern Section girls’ basketball history.

Bennett, who played most of the game and was in at the end of the fourth quarter, was 34 points short of the Southern Section record of 105 set by Riverside Poly’s Cheryl Miller in 1981-82. Lisa Leslie of Morningside scored 101 points and Miller also had 77.

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The third annual college preparation seminar for high school athletes and parents will be held Feb. 7 at Diamond Bar High.

The seminar, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., is free and will feature question-and-answer sessions with college coaches, administrators, admission directors and career planners.

Information: (909) 396-5035.