HIGH SCHOOL NOTEBOOK

Six weeks ago, the North Hollywood boys were 12-3 and playing like, well, a league champion.

Then Sunset Six League play began and the Huskies looked like anything but a team that finished third in a Las Vegas tournament.

“If we were playing like we played in Vegas, we would have won the league,” Coach Rob Bloom said. “But we peaked too soon. It’s a young team and they’re not used to knowing what winning the league [title] means.”

North Hollywood (19-7) lost four of its first nine league games, forcing Bloom back to the drawing board entering the City Section playoffs.

“I kind of let up at practice and we took a couple of days off to make sure we had some legs [for the playoffs],” Bloom said. “We tried to make practice more fun. Less structure, less running.”

The Huskies, who host Hamilton in a City Invitational quarterfinal tonight, upset Grant, 48-47, in a league finale and defeated University, 71-59, in a first-round game.

“The guys are very positive, very upbeat,” Bloom said.

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San Fernando (15-10) could be the surprise team of the boys’ City Invitational playoffs after winning six of seven games.

The Tigers, with Maike Hernandez averaging 22.8 points, won five of six Valley Mission League games to make the playoffs.

San Fernando’s only loss in that span was by two points to Monroe.

The Tigers, who upset Sylmar, 61-58, in a league finale, will be tested tonight in a quarterfinal against No. 2-seeded Manual Arts.