The 42nd annual Hilltop Invitational boys basketball tournament wrapped up last Friday with four games, three of which featured South County teams.
In the opener of last Friday’s quadruple-header, Canyon Crest Academy defeated host Hilltop, 70-39, while Eastlake topped Helix 61-53. La Jolla defeated Otay Ranch, 61-49, prior to the championship game pitting Rancho Buena Vista and Westview.
RBV topped Westview, 66-60, to wrap up the week-long event involving eight teams.
Hilltop coach Luke Kelley said the tournament offers a lot of competition opportunities, especially for teams competing at lower classification tiers in the San Diego Section playoffs.
“On the final day we try to match up teams that hadn’t played each other and aren’t from the same league,” Kelley explained. “We’re Division IV and all the teams in the tournament are either Division I or Division II. We don’t have the opportunity to play Division I or Division II teams that much during the regular season, so there’s a lot of good competition in this tournament.
Hilltop finished 0-5, opening with losses to Helix (56-37), Otay Ranch (71-30), Westview (64-35) and Eastlake (57-37) before closing out the tournament against Canyon Crest Academy.
Senior forward Marcos Deanda (6-1, 210) earned representation on the all-tournament team for the host Lancers. He scored 20 points in the loss to Helix while grabbing 13 rebounds.
“He’s our best rebounder and one of our better scorers, too,” Kelley said. “He’s close to having a double-double every game.”
Hilltop finished runner-up in last year’s South Bay League standings to league champion Sweetwater. This year’s league lineup again returns Castle Park, Chula Vista, Mar Vista and Southwest. The new addition is San Ysidro to up league membership to seven teams.
Hilltop tips off league play Dec. 19 at San Ysidro. The Lancers stay on the road for a Dec. 21 league game at Sweetwater prior to the winter break.
The Lancers improved to 3-7 following Wednesday’s 88-51 non-league victory against visiting O’Farrell Charter. Hilltop tipped off 2018-19 season play with a 66-29 non-league win over visiting Bayfront Charter on Nov. 16 and defeated visiting High Tech High Chula Vista, 66-56, in another non-league game on Nov. 26.
Atticus Acosta dropped in 37 points in Wednesday’s win.
Clash of the Titans
Eastlake lost its opening three games of the Hilltop tournament – 52-41 to La Jolla, 70-57 to RBV and 55-52 to Canyon Crest Academy — before recording wins over Hilltop and Helix to finish tourney play with a 2-3 record.
The Titans bounded out to a big lead on the Highlanders in last Friday’s tournament closer, leading 23-9 after the first quarter.
Helix steadily closed the gap over the next two quarters, trailing 34-22 at halftime and 45-40 after three quarters.
But Eastlake pulled away in the final quarter to lead by 10 points before settling for the eight-point non-league win.
“We wanted to keep the ball from Helix and play good defense,” Eastlake coach Marlon King said. “We didn’t want to let Helix’s athleticism beat us.”
Junior Sean Mitchell keyed the Titans with 16 points in the win over the Highlanders while senior Jaylen Reynolds tacked on 14 points.
Senior Kevin Bateman led Eastlake with eight rebounds while junior Gian Balista recorded three steals.
King lists junior Isaac Rodriguez as another top returner on the team along with Reynolds.
Top newcomers include sophomore Alex Crawford as well as Mitchell and Balista.
The Titans finished 6-6 in last season’s Mesa League standings, good for third place behind league champion Mater Dei Catholic (12-0) and runner-up Montgomery (10-2). The Titans finished 15-15 overall, advancing as far as the second round of the Division II playoffs.
King feels this season’s team is a good fit. “Our goal is to be competitive in every game,” the EHS coach said. “We think our league will be very competitive this season and we feel we have the potential to do very well.”
With the loss of San Ysidro to the South Bay League, this season’s Mesa League lineup includes Bonita Vista, Eastlake, Mater Dei Catholic, Montgomery, Olympian and Otay Ranch.
Mesa League play tips off in early January.
Otay Ranch’s Ellijah Johnson drives toward the basket in last Friday’s Hilltop tournament game against La Jolla. Photo by Phillip Brents
Horse power
Otay Ranch finished 18-11 overall last season with a trip to the Division II semifinals. In fact, a 76-74 loss to Francis Parker in the division semifinals was the only obstacle that kept the Mustangs from advancing to the championship game.
Francis Parker topped second-seeded Christian, 69-52, in the division final. Otay Ranch lost by just two points to the eventual division champs.
The Mustangs are off to a 5-4 start this season after finishing 2-3 in the Hilltop tournament,
Otay Ranch tipped off tournament play with a 58-50 overtime loss to Westview on Nov. 30, defeated Hilltop by 39 points, was edged by Helix by a 67-64 score in overtime and won by 10 points, 63-53, to Canyon Crest before dropping a 12-point contest to La Jolla.
“Not bad,” veteran Otay Ranch coach Howard Suda said.
Top returners on this season’s Mustang squad include seniors Diego Sanchez and Ray King.
King averaged 8.9 points per game last season to rank third on the team behind since graduated seniors Chris Stanek (17.0 ppg) and Tariq Deadmon (15.3 ppg). Sanchez ranked fourth in team scoring in 2017-18 with an 8.7 average.
“They’re providing pretty good leadership for us right now,” Suda said of Sanchez and King. “We’re getting better every game. These tournament games are helping out with top competition.”
Otay Ranch is headed for more tournament competition in the upcoming Sweetwater Host Lions Tournament in National City. The Mustangs will tip off play Saturday, Dec. 15, against Central Union and will also meet Crawford, Lincoln and Kearny in pool play.
“We’re hoping to be right in the mix again,” Suda said of competing in the 2018-19 divisional playoffs.
Free throws
Patrick McLaughlin led RBV with 18 points while teammate Jason Danso poured in 17 points to lead the Longhorns to the championship game win over Westview. Jack Bailey and Noah Fields added 12 and 10 points, respectively, for RBV in the win.
Fields had eight rebounds.
Among Mesa League teams, Olympian is off to a 7-1 start to the new season. The Eagles finished 4-1 in the Grossmont Tournament Nov. 20-24.
Junior Gio Martinez tops Olympian in early season scoring with a torrid 18.3 ppg average, followed by seniors Eldon Baptist (15.0 ppg) and Sean Hernandez (10.4 ppg) and sophomore Steven Deutsch (9.6 ppg).
The Eagles will host Tri-City Christian and Mount Miguel in tournament competition Dec. 14-15, respectively, at Olympian High School.
42nd Annual Hilltop Invitational
BRACKET PLAY
Green Division
Westview 3-0
Helix 2-1
Otay Ranch 1-2
Hilltop 0-3
Black Division
Rancho Buena Vista 3-0
La Jolla 2-1
Canyon Crest Academy 1-2
Eastlake 0-3
TOURNAMENT SCOREBOARD
Friday, Nov. 30
Rancho Buena Vista 51, Canyon Crest Academy 48
Westview 58, Otay Ranch 50 (OT)
La Jolla 51, Eastlake 41
Helix 56, Hilltop 37
Saturday, Dec. 1
Otay Ranch 71, Hilltop 30
Rancho Buena Vista 70, Eastlake 57
Westview 54, Helix 51
La Jolla 65, Canyon Crest Academy 61
Tuesday, Dec. 4
Helix 67, Otay Ranch 64 (OT)
Rancho Buena Vista 64, La Jolla 45
Canyon Crest Academy 55, Eastlake 52
Westview 64, Hilltop 35
Wednesday, Dec. 5
Consolation Bracket
Eastlake 57, Hilltop 37
Otay Ranch 63, Canyon Crest 53
Championship Bracket
Semifinal 1: Rancho Buena Vista 57, Helix 45
Semmifinal 2: Westview 66, La Jolla 59
Friday, Dec. 7
Consolation Games
Canyon Crest Academy 70, Hilltop 39
Eastlake 61, Helix 53
La Jolla 61, Otay Ranch 49
Championship Game
Rancho Buena Vista 66, Westview 60
Helix hoop men are Grossmont Conference’s road warriors for 2018-19 season
The Helix High School boys basketball team tipped off the 2018-19 season on the road and the Highlanders will remain there throughout the rest of the season due to the school’s gymnasium undergoing refurbishing.
All indoor sports will be affected during the current winter sports campaign. This includes girls basketball as well as wrestling.
All home matches will be played on the road.
“We will play two games at the site of the other team in league play,” veteran Helix boys basketball coach John Singer said.
In other words, it is what it is.
Despite being handicapped by practicing at a local youth rec centers and playing all their games at away venues this season, the Scotties have had a reasonably good start to the boys hoops season, all things considered.
Helix topped Lincoln, 45-42, to win Monday’s Sweetwater Host Lions Club Classic game in National City. With the win, the Highlanders improved their season record to 4-5.
Helix tipped off the season by competing in the San Diego Tip-Off Challenge, defeating Christian while dropping match-ups against St. Augustine and Montgomery.
The Scotties finished 2-3 in the 42nd annual Hilltop Invitational, scoring victories against Hilltop (56-37) and Otay Ranch (67-64 in overtime) while coming up short against Westview (54-51), Rancho Buena Vista (57-45) and Eastlake (61-53).
The Highlanders have four guaranteed pool games in the Sweetwater tournament, which runs through this weekend.
Helix was scheduled to meet Kearny, Bonita Vista and South Granville (Creedmore, N.C.) through the end of tourney play.
The Highlanders tip off against the North Carolina visitors Thursday, Dec. 20, at 8 p.m., to wrap up pool play.
All tournament games are played at Sweetwater High School.
Following the Christmas holiday, Helix is scheduled to compete in the Southern California Holiday Prep Classic, drawing match-ups against San Pasqual and Morse on Dec. 26 and Modesto on Dec. 27.
The Highlanders play at Monte Vista on Jan. 4 and tip off Grossmont Hills League play Jan. 8 at Grossmont.
League opponents this season include Grossmont, Steele Canyon, West Hills and Mount Miguel.
Top players for Helix this season include Samuel Stewart and Maurice Holmes.
Holmes stands 6-6 while Stewart is 6-2.
Both are returners off last season’s team that finished 8-2 in league play, 19-10 overall.
Singer said this year’s team will need to improve over the second half of the season in order to match those lofty numbers.
“We’re very average and have a lot of work to do,” Singer said up front.
While the Highlanders may have some talented players, trying to find a place just to practice has to be disruptive.
“We have to work through this stuff,” Singer said. “We hope we can improve and get there.”
Boys Basketball Photo Gallery by Phillip Brents
GIRLS BASKETBALL:
Bonita Vista, Mater Dei Catholic could face competition from Otay Ranch, Olympian in chase for Mes League title
The Bonita Vista and Mater Dei Catholic high school girls basketball teams paired up in a memorable season-ending finish that saw Bonita Vista outlast Mater Dei Catholic, 68-59, to win last season’s San Diego Section Division I championship title in a game played at SDSU’s Viejas Arena.
Both teams lost players to graduation. Bonita Vista was impacted most as star Shyla Latone is now playing at Cleveland State University.
Latone set a single-game section scoring record by dropping in 76 points in a game against Hilltop last season.
Fast forward to this season and Bonita Vista is 5-4 behind top scorers Anneth Grijalba, Keyanna McCoy and Julia Cosalan.
Grijalba, a senior, is averaging 14.3 points per game while McCoy, a sophomore, is averaging 11.3 points per game. Cosalan is averaging 11.1 points per game.
McCoy is averaging 10.9 rebounds per game while Grijalba is averaging 8.9 rebounds per game.
Mater Dei Catholic, which avenged its section finals loss to Bonita Vista by advancing to last season’s Southern California regional finals, is 3-3 behind top scorers Chloe Webb and Marissa Sanchez.
Webb, a senior, is averaging 16.8 points per game while Sanchez, a junior, is averaging 13.3 points per game.
Webb leads the Crusaders with an 8.4 rebounding average.
Both Bonita Vista and Mater Dei Catholic could be in for some competition in upcoming Mesa League play with Otay Ranch off to a fast 5-0 start and defending Division II champion Olympian not far behind with an early season 6-2 non-league record.
Juniors Cierra Martinez (19.0 ppg) and Lynette Garon (16.0 ppg) have blasted opponents on the scoreboard to lead Otay Ranch to its undefeated start.
Genevive Cunanan (11.5 ppg) held the early season team scoring lead for Olympian.
