Providence to Hold Tribute for Sutton

Providence High is holding a memorial night on Saturday for former coach Paul Sutton, who died last August from colon cancer.

The Providence boys’ and girls’ basketball games against Holy Martyrs will be played at Burroughs High, with proceeds from ticket sales going to the Sutton family.

Sutton is survived by his wife, Dana, and children Nate and Ali.

Sutton organized a similar night in 1997 for Ernie Godinez, a Providence student who was killed in an automobile accident.

“Now it’s our turn to do for him what he would have done for us,” said Andrew Bencze, Providence’s athletic director.

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James Jackson, the leading scorer and rebounder for Lancaster, has been placed on academic probation by Coach Travis Brown.

Jackson was held out of three games last week and will not play this week. He could return to the team as early as next week.

“It depends on his progress in the classroom and his grades,” Brown said. “If he’s shown progress in that way, we’ll give him another shot. I imagine he’ll turn things around. And if he does, we will too as a team.”

Lancaster is 8-7.

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For the second time in two years, Highland has ended a long-standing Palmdale streak in girls’ basketball.

Highland (7-9, 1-0) won at Palmdale last week for the first time in the seven-year history of the Bulldog program.

Two years ago, Highland defeated Palmdale to break the Falcons’ 38-game winning streak in league play.

“I guess we jumped in the history book again,” Highland Coach Ron Haywood said.