Fullerton Clinches League Title

Two of the state’s top shot blockers went head to head Tuesday night, but only one remained standing.

Brett Hoerner, a 7-foot senior center for Fullerton, outdueled La Habra’s 6-9 senior center, Matt Border, to help the host Indians to a 53-43 victory and their second consecutive Freeway League title.

Hoerner, who signed with San Diego State, had 14 points, nine rebounds and four blocks while playing the entire game against the Highlanders (20-7, 7-2).

Border came into the game with a state-leading 142 blocks for a 5.5 average. He also led the team in scoring at 14.5 points and 7.1 rebounds. But he was held to eight points, no rebounds and two blocks after getting into early foul trouble against Fullerton (21-4, 9-0).

Border picked up a technical foul a little more than two minutes into the game for slapping the backboard after a dunk, which produced La Habra’s first points of the game.

“That was purely out of habit,” Border said.

After scoring two more baskets, he was called for a second personal foul with 1 minute 30 seconds left in the first quarter and went to the bench for the rest of the half.

Border returned in the second half but played tentatively. Hoerner, meanwhile, scored eight points in the third quarter, including an offensive-rebound basket at the buzzer that gave the Indians a 38-26 lead.

“We got fired up in the locker room at halftime,” said Hoerner, who came into the game averaging a team-high 16.7 points, nine rebounds and 5.5 blocks. “So we came out strong.”

Border then picked up his third and fourth fouls in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter and sat for another five minutes. “It has been a while since I’ve come close to fouling out,” Border said. “This was not the game to come close.”

Dan Arritt

*

Girls’ Basketball

It probably will be standing room only tonight at 7:30 when Ventura Buena, ranked No. 15 in the Southland by The Times, plays at No. 6 Ventura in a game that will decide the Channel League champion. It may also be a preview of the Southern Section Division I-A championship game in a few weeks, as Ventura is currently ranked second in the division and Buena is ranked fourth.

Ventura (23-2, 7-0) has beaten Buena (19-6, 6-1) three times this season -- in each team’s tournament final and once in league -- and is trying to come back from a 55-46 nonleague loss Saturday at Santa Ana Mater Dei.

Buena (19-6) also lost on Saturday, 51-38, to Etiwanda, but the Bulldogs played on Monday at Santa Barbara and won, 60-28.

“Buena had to play and we are able to have two very focused days of practice,” Ventura Coach Ann Larson said. “I was very pleased when I saw the schedule.”

Joe Vaughan, in his 31st season as Buena’s coach, reached a milestone when he walked off the floor at Etiwanda. It was the 100th loss of his career.

“I don’t like losing,” said Vaughan, the winningest girls’ basketball coach in state history with a 714-100 record. “Hopefully, it will pay off, but I never liked to lose.”

Soccer

Beginning with the 2005-2006 season, taunting will result in a more serious penalty as a result of a rule change made recently by the National Federation of State High Schools Assns.

Since 1994, if a player was called for taunting or degrading an opponent in some form, he received a yellow/red card, which disqualified him for the remainder of the game but allowed for a replacement.

The rule change will result in the player receiving a red card, which will not only disqualify him for the remainder of the game as well as all of the next game, but also not allow for a replacement, forcing his team to play down one player.