Two Good Not Enough for Saints

Santa Clara High, expected to skate through the Frontier League en route to a deep run through the playoffs, has fallen through the ice.

The Saints (17-3, 2-2 in league play) have lost two of their last three league games, including a 69-62 loss to Nordhoff on Friday.

Senior guards Nick Jones and B.J. Ward, averaging more than 40 points combined, can’t be blamed. The duo scored 43 of Santa Clara’s 62 points against Nordhoff.

“If it was two-on-two, we’d be undefeated,” Santa Clara Coach Lou Cvijanovich said. “But it doesn’t work that way. It’s a five-man game and the other guys aren’t doing their jobs.”

The Saints lost to Santa Paula on a last-second shot two weeks ago when Jones was sidelined because of illness.

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Numbers can be deceiving.

Just ask Nicholas Curtis of Oxnard.

The 6-4 sophomore is averaging 8.3 points and 6.5 rebounds, but those averages are about 11 points and 10 rebounds since Curtis became a starter 13 games ago.

“He has been a welcome surprise,” Coach Henry Lobo said. “He and [6-7 senior] Gary Eberhardt have given us quite a tandem inside.”

Curtis, co-most valuable player on Oxnard’s freshman-sophomore team last year, was expected to be a seventh or eighth man for the varsity this season. But he worked his way into the starting lineup after injuries sidelined juniors Ricky Hernandez and Matthew Merricks.

Curtis had 16 points in a 64-59 victory over Hueneme last Wednesday, and he had 17 points and 14 rebounds in a 66-60 loss to Dos Pueblos on Friday. Oxnard (14-6) is 10-3 since Curtis became a starter.

GIRLS’ NOTES

Ventura has had enough of “quality” losses.

The Cougars (12-9) have several difficult losses to match their difficult schedule. They lost twice to Ayala, 50-46 and 52-46, in tournament play. They fell to Buena, ranked No. 1 in the region by The Times, 57-48, last Friday in a Channel League game.

Ventura, ranked No. 7 in the region, also suffered a 10-point defeat to San Jose Archbishop Mitty, ranked No. 21 in the nation.

“We just wish we could get over the hump,” Ventura Coach Glenn Gray II said. “I think there’s going to be a time where we mature and can win some of these games.”

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It would’ve been unfair to call Moorpark a one-girl team for most of the season, but the distinction fit last Friday when Pepperdine-bound Damaris Hinojosa had 41 points and 13 rebounds in a 59-53 victory over Royal.

Hinojosa, The Times’ Ventura County player of the year last season, made 16 of 25 shots. She is averaging 25.8 points, 12.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists and six steals.

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All-Foothill League guard Emily Reyna of Hart is scheduled to undergo back surgery today.

Reyna, a senior who had not appeared in a game this season, started Friday night in the backcourt with twin sister Renee against Saugus in Hart’s final home game of the regular season.

The sisters, who will attend Stanford in the fall, have rarely played together in their three-year varsity careers. As sophomores, they saw limited playing time. Last season, Renee was sidelined with back problems.

Emily played 12 minutes and scored two points in a 49-43 victory, which extended Hart’s league winning streak to 43 games.

Valencia, which plays Hart on Friday, also could be without a key senior guard.

Emilie Dearborn was scheduled to be examined Monday after injuring her left knee in a collision with teammate Carly Stirling on Friday against Canyon. Dearborn had missed nine games because of an ankle injury.

Staff writer John Ortega and correspondents Mike Bresnahan and Dave Desmond contributed to this notebook.