California notebook

AVC Tourney:

#1-ranked Fullerton ran its record to 10-0 by winning the championship of the Rancho Vista Shootout at Antelope Valley this weekend. The Hornets defeated Glendale, 79-59, in the first round and one of the top teams from Northern California, Diablo Valley, 65-53 in the semifinal to reach the championship game.

In the final, power forward Michael Earl had a spectacular game with 26 points and 12 rebounds to lead Fullerton to a 91-82 win over pesky #14 Moorpark (6-4). Earl made 10 of 14 shots from the floor and also blocked 3 shots. Tim Denson, a 6-1 guard forced to play on the wing due to injuries and illnesses on the team, had 15 points in the final and scored in double figures in each of the three games en route to tourney M.V.P. honors.

The Hornets have been fighting the injury/illness bug, with Center Sean Phaler (a Charlotte commit) recovering from mononucleosis, shooting guard Alex Mallari suffering from the flu and several players fighting off various dings and bruises. Also, fearsome forward Roderick Johnson has been away from the team to deal with a family situation, though he should return in a week or so.

That left an 8-man team to take on the Raiders, who play a pressure-oriented, fast-paced style, in the team's third game in three days. But the backcourt tandem of Corey McIntosh (12 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds and 5 steals) and Jibri Taylor (6 points, 6 assists and 4 steals) plus a big-scoring game by forward Phil Jones (20 points) helped the Hornets stay unbeaten. That, and the huge game from Earl, of course.

In the third-place game, #5-North Diablo Valley got past the host team, 65-58. Cedric Hill scored 19 points and Doug Daniels added 17, but by the end of the game both of them had fouled out. Point guard Jalen Todd hit a big 3-pointer to put DVC in control, and backup guard Ross Nakamura made 3 free throws to help seal the win. AVC lost despite another strong game from wing Deonte Huff, who had game-highs of 23 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Gary Thomas also made some noise for the Marauders with 6 3-pointers.

In the consolation game, Marcus Sikes had 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists for #11 Mt. San Jacinto in a 64-55 win over Mira Costa. The Eagles led virtually the whole game, but couldn't pull away from the Spartans. But Sikes made several plays in the final minutes to ensure Mt. San Jacinto came away with the win. The Eagles were without their standout point guard DeWayne Green, who scored 57 points in the first 2 games of the tournament but was held out of the Sunday game for disciplinary reasons.

Other highlights:

Resurgent Cosumnes River improved its record to 9-3 with a surprise championship in its own tournament. Cosumnes River topped #10 Feather River in the final, 63-59, after beating Alameda and Merced in the earlier rounds. Merced had handed previously-unbeaten San Jose its first loss of the season in the opening round, 80-71. But the Runnin' Jaguars recovered to win the consolation championship with a victory over College of the Sequoias. #5 San Joaquin Delta took third place with a win over Merced after losing to Feather River in the semifinals.

In one of the more highly-anticipated individual games, host #3 Ventura topped #8 San Bernardino Valley, 76-73. Charles Dillon had 22 points for the Pirates, while Danny Tavares (l5 points, 10 rebounds) and Danny Mena (10 points, 13 rebounds) both had double-doubles. The game was the now-annual return of coach Phil Matthews, who built Ventura into a dynasty in the 1980's and 90's and now, after a 9-year run at USF, is coaching at San Bernardino Valley.

And there was certainly plenty of scoring in #4 Chaffey's 133-127 win over LA Harbor. The Panthers led 71-49 at halftime, but Harbor fought its way back into the game in the second half before Chaffey held on for the win. Chris Brown led the Panthers with 25 points while T.J. Smith narrowly missed a triple-double (17 points, 10 assists, 8 rebounds). Robbie Kobel had a double-double for the Seahawks with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Thurman Sutton added 26 points.

Coming This Week:

It's the week of Big Tournaments – not just in importance, but in the size of the fields.

At Riverside, there is the annual 16-team Wells Fargo tournament. #1 Fullerton, #3 Ventura, #4 Chaffey, #7 East LA, #8 San Bernardino Valley, #9 Riverside, #10 San Diego City, #11 Mt. San Jacinto and #14 Long Beach City headline the field.

Meanwhile, up in Modesto, #1 (North) Siskiyous, #2 (South) LA City and #5 (North) San Joaquin Delta take on the #6 (North) host Modesto Pirates and eight other teams in a 12-team event.

Back in SoCal, there is a very competitive 8-team field assembled for the Rio Hondo tourney. #6 Compton is the only ranked team, but such perennial contenders as Irvine Valley, Glendale, Cerritos and West LA will also be on hand as well as the much-improved host team.

Also in Southern California, defending state champion Fresno (#7-North) travels to LA Southwest College to take part in a 7-team event that also includes #12 Orange Coast, #14 Moorpark and the #13 host team.

Player Spotlight:

One of the most talented big men in Southern California this year is 6-9, 215-pound Michael Earl of Fullerton. And this weekend, he showed why he is so highly-regarded with a pair of superb efforts at the Rancho Vista Tournament at AVC.

In the semifinal against Diablo Valley, Earl posted game-highs of 22 points and 9 rebounds in the Hornets' 65-53 win. And in the final, Earl made 10 of 14 shots for a game-high 26 points, and also grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked 3 shots in a 91-82 win over Moorpark. Only the fact that he did not play in the first-round game kept him from being named Tourney M.V.P.

Coach Dieter Horton said that Earl has received several offers at the mid-major level, but is also attracting interest at the high-major level. Earl was named first-team all-conference in the tough Orange Empire Conference last year as a freshman.

Recruiting:

One of the most visually impressive players in California is 6-8, 245-pound forward Marcus Sikes of Mt. San Jacinto. In addition to his height, his strength makes him unstoppable down low, and his high skill level and agility around the basket make him a scoring force. Plus, he had an excellent jumper, and showed his range this past weekend with a 3-pointer against Mira Costa. He finished the game with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists in an Eagle win.

Coach Patrick Springer says Sikes plans to sign late, and though he has understandably received a lot of interest, he's currently wide-open.