High School Basketball : Helix Slows Pace, Upsets Valhalla

John Singer, Helix High School boys’ basketball coach, admits that there is no way his team can keep up with No. 8 Valhalla’s speedy offense.

Helix’s only hope was to run a slow-down offense, and that it did, to perfection, outscoring Valhalla, 2-0, in the first quarter en route to a 27-24 victory Tuesday night.

Helix was 15 of 17 from the free-throw line. Damon Roach and John Pressler scored six points each for Helix (14-7, 8-6).

Valhalla (13-6, 11-2) was led by Rob Tubman and Dan Chase, with eight points each.

Helix gained sole possession of third place as Grossmont lost to Monte Vista.

In other Grossmont League games:

Monte Vista 75, Grossmont 62--Monte Vista was led by Scott Winne’s 34 points and 9 rebounds. Monte Vista (9-10, 6-7) outrebounded Grossmont, 30-22. Lance Williams scored 32 points, including 6 three-pointers, to pace Grossmont (11-10, 7-7).

Santana 64, Mt. Miguel 57--Domingo Rivera scored 21 points to lead No. 7 Santana (18-2, 12-1). Tim Barry scored 20 points for Mt. Miguel, including all nine points in the first quarter.

CITY CENTRAL

Lincoln 88, San Diego 65--Joe Temple had 17 points and 8 blocked shots for No. 2 Lincoln (20-2, 8-0), which clinched a first-place tie in the City Central League. Lincoln was without leading scorer Carl Gaines, who had the flu. San Diego is 11-8 and 5-3.

Crawford 80, Christian 65--Lamont Grove, the county’s leading scorer, had 31 points and 10 rebounds for Crawford (12-8, 6-2), and held Christian’s David Jeremiah, the county’s fourth-leading scorer, to just 9. Crawford was 10 of 10 at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. Christian is 10-11 and 3-5.

St. Augustine 85, Hoover 65--Doug Carter scored 35 points, including 4 three-pointers, in St. Augustine’s first league victory. Mike Mossuto added 19 points and 5 steals and teammate Mark Strawbridge had 14 points and 12 rebounds for St. Augustine (6-15, 1-7). Darnell Raney scored 18 for Hoover, which was outscored in the second quarter, 24-13.

CITY EASTERN

Serra 71, Mira Mesa 63--Serra scored 35 points in the first three quarters, but it outscored Mira Mesa, 36-14, in the fourth. Mira Mesa led, 54-43, with six minutes to play. It still led, 59-56, with 2:50 to play. Desi Dixon made a three-point basket and was fouled after the shot. He made both free throws and the first of two technical foul shots to give Serra the lead, 62-59. Dixon scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, including all three of his three-pointers. Keith Ladue scored 22 for Serra (8-12, 3-6). David Lee led Mira Mesa (9-11, 1-7) with 20 points.

CITY WESTERN

Kearny 75, USDHS 60--Guard Chris Ortiz scored 20 points as No. 6 Kearny (19-4, 6-2) took a 39-23 halftime lead. Kearny outrebounded University of San Diego High, 34-22. USDHS fell to 6-13 and 2-6.

La Jolla 57, Mission Bay 48--David Berteaux scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, including a 6-for-6 performance from the line to help give La Jolla a comeback victory. La Jolla (14-7, 6-2) outscored Mission Bay, 21-7, in the fourth quarter. La Jolla held a 44-43 lead with 2:49 remaining, then went on an 8-2 run to secure the victory. Berteaux finished with 18 points, all in the second half. Scott Grebing had 12 points for Mission Bay (9-14, 4-4).

University City 71, Clairemont 57--Pat Tabor scored 34 points on 15-for-20 shooting for University City (11-8, 5-3). Clairemont trailed by six, 56-50, with five minutes to play, but it missed the front end of three one-and-one situations and University City scored at the other end each time. Ray McDavid scored 22 points and had 11 rebounds and Lamont Jackson added 17 points for Clairemont (5-16, 1-7).

METRO SOUTH BAY

Castle Park 89, Mar Vista 55--Six players scored in double figures as Castle Park won its third straight South Bay League title in a game played at Hilltop High. John Stanton, who scored 12 points, set a school record with 15 assists for Castle Park (16-7, 10-2). Mike Vallarelli scored 9 of his 17 points in the second quarter when Castle Park outscored Mar Vista, 21-8. Kirk Bradford scored 20 points for Mar Vista (7-13, 4-8).

GIRLS

CITY CENTRAL

Our Lady of Peace 50, Hoover 19--Callie Palen scored 14 points and April Velk 12 as Our Lady of Peace (10-13, 6-2) took a 16-4 first-quarter lead and was never threatened. Hoover is 1-15 and 0-8.

Crawford 70, Christian 38--Terri Butler and Ericka Kiser scored 26 points each for Crawford (12-8, 7-1), which raced to a 36-14 halftime lead. Erika Jonte had 16 points for Christian (7-11, 2-6).

GROSSMONT

Monte Vista 49, Grossmont 39--Diana Clough scored 16 and Danise Myers had 13 points and 15 rebounds for Monte Vista (14-6, 10-3). Vicky Cavadias scored 15 for Grossmont (10-9, 9-4). A full-court press helped Monte Vista pull away after leading by five in the third quarter.

Santana 85, Mount Miguel 13--Leslie Ellis scored 32 points in the first three quarters and Barb Bennett added 21 to pace top-ranked Santana (19-1, 13-0). Mount Miguel (2-19, 1-13) was scoreless in the fourth quarter.

PALOMAR

Fallbrook 49, Poway 47--Sherri Duffy hit a 12-footer from the baseline with one second left for Fallbrook. Poway led, 47-42, with 1:32 to play. But Duffy hit a three-pointer and Terri Pearson made a 12-footer to tie the score. Lisa Reinstra scored 18 and Pearson 14, including 8 in the fourth quarter, for Fallbrook (12-7, 6-4). Poway is 11-10 and 5-5.

Vista 64, Orange Glen 41--Chris Enger, the county’s leading scorer, had 22 points, 12 rebounds and 8 blocked shots for third-ranked Vista (19-5, 10-0). Brooke Risner added 16 points and Kelli Schott 13 points, 8 steals and 8 assists for Vista. Laura Hughes led Orange Glen (12-9, 3-6) with 22 points.

FO Peter Harris of University High School tries to get off a shot over defensive pressure of John Williamson of Kearny Tuesday.