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Brothers Court Success

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<i> From Staff Reports</i>

Big brother is watching Pat Dornan and Clint Hamblin.

Dornan and Hamblin, starting guards at Crespi and Village Christian high schools, are dribbling under the watchful eye of not only their coach but their oldest sibling.

Dick Dornan, 30, in his second season as coach at Crespi, and Pat Hamblin, 23, in his first season at Village Christian, have the unusual distinction of coaching their youngest brothers.

“It’s definitely unique,” Dick Dornan said. “He calls me coach, even at home.”

Said Pat: “At first, I thought it might be kind of weird, my older brother coaching me. But once I step on the floor, it’s a player-coach relationship.”

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Both sets of brothers describe their relationships as extremely close with a lot of talking basketball.

The Dornans drive to school together. The Hamblins spend weekends watching basketball on television at Pat’s apartment.

“I think it’s really cool now that I get to spend a lot of time with him,” Clint Hamblin said.

The coaches acknowledge the situation invites the question of playing favorites. But the players’ performances justify their playing time.

Pat Dornan is averaging 5.7 points and 3.7 assists. Clint Hamblin is averaging 10.9 points and last week made a school-record six three-point baskets in a game.

“Without him, we wouldn’t be where we are,” Dick Dornan said. “There is no question he is the best point guard on the team. If he wasn’t, I wouldn’t be playing him.”

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Pat Hamblin said he guards against over-disciplining his brother.

“I have to watch myself,” he said. “Otherwise, I end up pushing him harder. He gets enough pressure around school. People saying, ‘You’re only playing because your brother is coaching.’ ”

That goes with the territory, Clint said. But it’s not that bad.

“I just tell them, ‘Hey, you come out and watch me play.’ ”

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Simi Valley trounced Marmonte League nemesis Newbury Park for the second time this season, all but sewing up the league title.

But the Pioneers must win their final four league games to maintain a high ranking in the Southern Section Division I-A poll and secure a top seeding in the playoffs.

“We’ve got a lot more going besides the league title,” Coach Dean Bradshaw said. “There are four games that will give us a little more time to prepare [for the playoffs]. That’s how we’re looking at them.”

Simi Valley is ranked No. 2 in Division I-A. Glendora is ranked No. 1 and Mater Dei is No. 3.

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Paul Tait probably will finish his four-year varsity career at Village Christian as the school’s all-time leading rebounder.

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Tait, a 5-11 guard, needs 12 rebounds to break the mark of 371 set by David Gustafson, a 1995 graduate. Tait is averaging 4.5 rebounds.

As for Gustafson’s career scoring record of 1,336 points, Tait likely will fall short.

Tait, who averages 16.4 points, ranks second with 1,148 points. He must average more than 30 points in the Crusaders’ remaining games to approach the record.

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Three-point records were tied last week by Clint Hamblin of Village Christian and Glenn Jones of Paraclete in Paraclete’s 76-73 Alpha League victory.

Jones, who scored 26 points, made seven three-pointers--including the game-winner with 22 seconds to play--to tie his school single-game record. It raised Jones’ career total to 108, tying a school record.

Hamblin, who had 19 points, tied a school single-game record with six three-pointers.

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Former starters Jeston Thompson and Robert Arceneaux have quit Reseda’s team for personal reasons.

GIRLS’ NOTES

The view from the new league in Ventura County isn’t so clear any more.

Channel Islands, expected to breeze to a title in the first year of the Pacific View League, lost to Oxnard last week, throwing preseason prognostications for a loop.

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Oxnard then lost to Camarillo, further complicating the situation.

Oxnard is in first with a 4-1 league record, Channel Islands is 3-1 and Camarillo is 3-2.

“We’re the kind of team that’s very unpredictable,” Oxnard Coach Ryle Lynch-Cole said.

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Janet Esber, a sophomore guard who was averaging 18 points and 4.3 assists for Desert Christian, attended her first classes at Crescenta Valley on Monday.

Esber, who made six three-point baskets last week in her final game for Desert Christian, will be eligible to play once Crescenta Valley processes her transfer paperwork, Coach Damian Scribner said.

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Lexi Phelps of Saugus, the No. 2 scorer in the Foothill League, will miss the remainder of the season because of a fractured left foot. Phelps, a junior forward, was averaging 14.7 points and 8.9 rebounds.

Staff writer Vince Kowalick and correspondents Mike Bresnahan and Dave Desmond contributed to this notebook.

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