Marlborough Coach Suspended

Los Angeles Marlborough girls’ basketball Coach George Quintero has been suspended for the remainder of the season, Athletic Director David Colicutt said Saturday.

Colicutt cited repeated rules violations by the coach, whose team won the Southern Section Division IV-AA title last season and is ranked No. 1 in the division and No. 22 in the Southland by The Times.

Colicutt would not elaborate on other violations, but the most recent one stemmed from Quintero’s appearance at his team’s 34-33 loss Tuesday to Los Angeles Marymount. The coach had been ejected from the Mustangs’ previous game, and according to Southern Section rules, should not have attended the next game. Quintero was not on the bench but watched from a nearby room.

Quintero will be replaced by Steve Burnett, coach of Marlborough’s middle-school team. A decision on Quintero’s future with the program will be made at the end of the season.

“I do apologize for any embarrassment I forced on the school and I’m sorry I was unaware that watching through the weight room window would constitute a violation,” Quintero said.

For years, Long Beach Poly has been in the shadow of Harbor City Narbonne and Lynwood.

Long Beach Poly always was good, but to gain recognition as one of the elite programs in the state, it needed to get over the hump against teams that have set the standard for Southland dominance.

It did that Saturday, when senior guard Judith Smith led a fourth-quarter stand that gave Poly a 52-44 victory over Narbonne in an intersectional game at Long Beach Poly.

“There’s no doubt that you have to beat the Narbonnes and Lynwoods,” Poly Coach Carl Buggs said. “We tried to downplay the game, but we know they’re Narbonne.”

Poly (18-1), ranked second in the Southland by The Times and as high as No. 4 nationally, held off No. 16 Narbonne (11-8), which began the season ranked second by The Times but fell when point guard Camille LeNoir injured her ankle.

LeNoir, who sat out 10 games, including five Narbonne losses, was in the lineup against the Jackrabbits and made a 15-foot jump shot that tied the score at 42 with 2 minutes 7 seconds left, but Smith drove the floor and answered 14 seconds later to squash any momentum.

Smith scored 27 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, and had eight of Poly’s 10 points after LeNoir’s tying basket. Narbonne had come back from a 41-33 deficit.

“Judith didn’t have a particularly good all-around game, but she made plays down stretch,” Buggs said. “And that’s what good players do.”

LeNoir finished with nine points but was rusty in her first week back. Monique Alexander had 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Gauchos.

April Phillips, who transferred from Narbonne to Poly, had six points, seven rebounds and four steals.

-- Martin Henderson

Boys’ Basketball

Alex Jacobson, a 7-foot-1 freshman center at Bellflower St. John Bosco High, is expected to enroll Monday at Santa Ana Mater Dei and would be eligible to play basketball immediately if he moves.

St. John Bosco Coach Randy Held said Saturday he had heard rumors of Jacobson’s possible move but could not comment.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Boys’ Soccer

Senior Mateo Moreno, a starting midfielder for Simi Valley Royal, will sit out the rest of the season after breaking his right wrist Wednesday in the Highlanders’ 3-1 Marmonte League victory at Agoura.

Kyle Taylor, a junior midfielder, sprained his left ankle in the same game but may return this week.

-- John Ortega

Wrestling

San Clemente clinched the South Coast League title with a 66-9 dual meet victory over host Lake Forest El Toro on Thursday night to give the Tritons their first league title since 1997.

San Clemente (15-3, 5-0) defeated Dana Point Dana Hills, Mission Viejo, Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills, Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley and El Toro by a combined score of 280-62. San Clemente also recorded 29 pins against league opponents, including a season-high 10 against El Toro by Brandon Cunningham (103), Nathan Nauta (112), Matt Harschorne (125), Garrett Troffer (135), Isaac Leland (140), Joe Foss (145), Nick Baker (152), David Dill (160), Enrique Lagunas (171) and Adrian Martinez (275).

-- Rafer Weigel