Bishop Amat Shows Cage Power in Rugged L.A. Games

It is early in the summer season but Bishop Amat High of La Puente is showing signs of emerging as a CIF Southern Section power in boys basketball.

The Lancers were the most impressive San Gabriel Valley team at the L.A. Games over the last two weekends, reaching the fourth round of the 128-team tournament before losing on a last-second basket to Cleveland, 54-53.

It was no disgrace losing to Cleveland because the Cavaliers, who finished second in the L.A. City 4-A Division last year and are one of the favorites again, wound up winning the L.A. Games with victories in their last three games.

Bishop Amat (17-10 last season) should even be better once two of its top front-line players, 6-7 forward Geoff Lear and 6-5 forward Mike Conness, recover from ankle injuries. Lear, the team’s leading scorer last season with a 16-point average, has missed most of the summer season because of the injury although he played against Cleveland.

With front-line players hurting, the Lancers have relied mostly upon the strong play of guards Stephon Pace, who scored 87 points in his first three L.A. Games contests, and twins Clarence and Terrence Lamb (both 5-11).

Muir High’s performance at the L.A. Games did little to diminish its reputation as one of the top athletic programs in the Southland.

The Mustangs made perhaps their biggest impression in girls basketball, reaching the semifinals before losing to powerful Santa Barbara (43-40). That followed Muir’s win over perennial power Buena, 62-50, in the quarterfinals.

That should signal a good year for the Mustangs, who slumped to a 15-10 record last season after going 102-6 the previous four years. The Mustangs are led by their top two players from last season, 6-3 All-CIF center Tasha Bradley and 5-10 guard Angela Grant. Bradley averaged 24.7 points and 20.3 rebounds last season and Grant 15 points and 10 rebounds.

The Muir boys, who have won back-to-back Pacific League titles and captured the CIF 4-A title in 1986, reached the fourth round of the L.A. Games before dropping a 62-59 decision to strong Verbum Dei.

The Mustangs have only one starter from last year’s 20-4 team, 6-8 forward Wayne Womack, who averaged 12 points and 9 rebounds last seasons. But Muir has its usual size with 6-7 forward Daryl Scott also on the front line.

Muir also made an impact in girls track, finishing among the leaders in several events. Muir, which figures to be one of the best teams in the CIF Southern Section next season, was led by Akua Sutherland in the hurdles. Sutherland won the 100- and 300-meter lows.

Other standouts for the Mustangs included Carlene Turner, who won the shot put and finished second in the long jump, and Rhonda Robinson, who placed second in the 800- and 1,500-meter runs.

The Mustangs also played well in seven-man passing football and water polo. Muir was edged by Antelope Valley, 8-7, in the third round of football competition and was beaten by eventual champion Riverside Poly (10-6) in the water polo semifinals.