Huskies Take Advantage of Free Throws

Two teams going in different directions met Friday night.

And afterward, each team was much farther down the path from which it came.

Scoring 29 points on free throws, including 19 in the fourth quarter, North Hollywood High routed Canoga Park, 84-60, in a Sunset Six League game at North Hollywood.

Canoga Park (8-10 overall, 1-3), desperate for a victory to stay in the hunt for the league title, trailed only 30-25 at halftime. Even then, it was obvious that Canoga Park Coach Ralph Turner was unhappy with the officiating.

It was only a matter of time before the frustration trickled into the Hunters’ play. And North Hollywood Coach Rob Bloom knew it.

“I said to my players at halftime, ‘They’re going to lose their heads, let’s not lose ours,’ ” Bloom said.

Canoga Park, with five players fouling out, was whistled for 19 of its 31 fouls in the second half. North Hollywood was called for only 13 the entire game.

“There was something else going on there that I don’t want to get into,” Turner said. “The writing is on the wall. Count the fouls.”

The game’s subplot, however, did not overshadow the stellar play of North Hollywood’s Dominic Johnson.

Johnson, a junior point guard who had 21 points, was seven of 11 from the field and made all six of his free throws.

“When Dominic plays like that, we’re tough to beat,” Bloom said.

Johnson’s two free throws with 5:13 left in the game put an end to a 9-0 Canoga Park run that got the Hunters within 58-47. And Canoga Park, which led by as many as four points early in the second quarter, would get no closer.

Johnson, who expected a much closer game, said the Huskies (15-4, 3-1) needed a victory to set the stage for Wednesday’s showdown with first-place Grant.

“Everybody came to play,” Johnson said. “We knew if we lost this one it would put us out of the race [for the league title].”

Leading, 38-31, North Hollywood used a 17-4 run--including four three-point baskets--in the final 3:35 of the third period to claim a 55-35 lead. During the run, Canoga Park’s Tony Moore was ejected for a flagrant foul away from the ball on Nathan Stern.

When the Hunters did put something together and looked as if they were on the verge of a rally, Johnson, who had six steals and four assists, was there to stop it.

“When Dominic is stealing the ball on defense and scoring on offense, the rest of us can just jump on the bandwagon,” Bloom said.

North Hollywood, 19 of 26 at the foul line in the fourth quarter and 29 of 46 overall, had four players in double figures.

Stern scored 16 points, Kenny Hauser added 13 and William Kim had 12.

Despite the resounding defeat, Turner was not discouraged by what he saw in the Hunters’ aggressive play.

“I’m not happy with the outcome, but I’m pleased with the way we played. We played aggressive,” Turner said. “I think if we play like that the rest of the way, we’ll be fine.”

Jammie Harris and Cecil Brown, the only starters who didn’t foul out, had 24 and 22 points.

“They’ve got talent in all five spots but they don’t play like a team,” Johnson said. “They should be blowing teams out. They’ve got the most talent in the league.”