Unbeatens Norcom, Etiwanda go down

By Jason Hickman Jan 30, 2011, 12:04am

Perfect records shattered for two nationally-ranked teams.

A pair of unbeaten and nationally-ranked powers fell Saturday night in local showdowns.

In Virginia, Booker T. Washington (Norfolk, Va.) snapped No. 5 Norcom's 24-game win streak. Loyola (Los Angeles) followed suit several hours later in California with a rally that shattered No. 19 Etiwanda's 21-0 record.

Larry Rubama of The Virginian-Pilot has the story on Norcom's bitter night.

QuaShawn Valentine and Quinton Upshur combined for 30 points as Booker T. Washington upended the Greyhounds 59-54.



Virginia Tech signee Dorian Finney-Smith had 21 and 16 rebounds for Norcom (17-1), ranked No. 5 in MaxPreps.com's Xcellent 25.

According to Eric Sondheimer of the Los Angeles Times (blog and video), a late run spurred Loyola to a 70-64 win over previously-undefeated Etiwanda at the Fairfax State Preview Classic in Los Angeles.

Etiwanda entered the game sporting a 21-0 record and received 30 points from USC signee and All-American candidate Byron Wesley.

In another key game pitting Chicago rivals, No. 3 Simeon dominated Whitney Young 60-39 behind 14 points and 10 rebounds from 6-foot-7 junior Steve Taylor.

No. 6 Milton (Ga.) will likely climb after beating Wheeler (Marietta) 77-59.

No. 11 Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) took care of business at the Montverde Academy Invitational, beating Huntington Prep (Huntington, W.Va.) 48-39 in the championship of an eight-team event.



No. 16 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) avenged one of two losses this season, blowing out league rival Orange Lutheran 84-61.