Mater Dei Loses to Oak Hill

Josh Smith, a 6-foot-8 forward from Smyrna, Ga., who has committed to Indiana, scored 21 points to lead Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy to a 69-53 victory over Santa Ana Mater Dei on Friday night in the Primetime Shootout in Trenton, N.J.

Oak Hill Academy (24-0), No. 1 in the nation in most rankings, also defeated the Southland’s No. 1-ranked team, Westchester, this season.

Mater Dei (20-3), ranked No. 3 in the Southland, was led by Mike Gerrity’s 14 points and Chris Henry’s 13.

-- Jim Carr

Girls’ Basketball

Judith Smith and April Phillips each scored 20 points to lead No. 2 Long Beach Poly (20-1, 10-0) to a 57-43 victory over No. 13 Long Beach Millikan as the Jackrabbits clinched a fourth consecutive Moore League title.

The Jackrabbits caught a flight after the game to Oakland, where they are scheduled to play today against Piedmont, the state’s third-ranked team.

It will be Poly’s fifth game in a seven-day span that already has included victories over No. 16 Harbor City Narbonne and No. 4 Long Beach Wilson.

Poly defeated Piedmont earlier this season, 56-53, after trailing by 17 in the third quarter at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Arizona.

-- Martin Henderson

Boys’ Soccer

Huntington Beach Edison will have a chance to conclude a perfect season in the tough Sunset League with a victory against Fountain Valley on Wednesday.

The third-ranked Chargers saw to that Friday by beating visiting Anaheim Esperanza, 2-0.

Junior Ian Cone scored at the 15- and 25-minute marks for Edison (20-1, 9-0).

Esperanza, ranked fifth by The Times, is 19-4-2, 5-3-1.

-- John Ortega

Wrestling

Rosemead is expected to be the favorite at the Mission Valley League individual qualifying tournament today at San Gabriel Gabrielino.

The Panthers (9-0, 5-0 in league) won their fourth consecutive league title with a 69-9 victory over Gabrielino on Tuesday. They were bolstered by pins from sophomores Jonathon Flores (103 pounds) and Brian Godinez (112) and seniors Henry Chan (140), Luis Holguin (125) and Phoung Thong (145).

The top three finishers in each weight division today advance to the Southern Section divisional tournament on Feb. 21.

-- Rafer Weigel

Track and Field

Kacey Lundgren of Atascadero, the runner-up in the girls’ pole vault at the 2002 state track and field championships, has committed to Arizona.

Lundgren pulled out of the Masters Meet last spring because of a broken toe.

-- John Ortega

Miscellany

A proposal that would allow sections to continue to sell title sponsorships without restrictions will be presented for a first reading Saturday, the final day of the State Federated Council’s two-day meeting in San Jose.

The state CIF office originally opposed such a marketing strategy, creating friction with the Southern Section -- largest of the state’s 10 independent sections with 541 schools -- which recently renewed its $165,000-per-year title sponsorship deal with Toyota.

The proposal is said to include many of the suggestions presented in December to the executive council by an independent firm hired by the state office to review section marketing strategies.

According to sources, however, the proposal also calls for the return of 5% of the revenue gained by section sponsorships to the state office for disbursement among all sections.

A final vote is expected in May.

-- Paul McLeod