Baseball bat controversy continues as well.
It's rather ironic that
Granite Hills (El Cajon) senior
Garrett Larch-Miller scored a career-high 45 points without making a single 3-pointer – as the Eagles came from behind to beat Bonita Vista 68-54.
Presently the Grossmont Conference scoring leader with 409 points and a 25.6 average, the 6-foot-2 Larch-Miller nailed 23 of 26 free throws against Bonita Vista. He has clicked on 41 of his last 45 charity shots (91.1 percent) over the last three games and is 124 of 160 for the season (77.5 percent).
Realizing that this was not his finest night shooting from the field — he was 11 of 26 — the usually long range Larch-Miller moved his game closer to the glass. It proved to be a wise move.
"I've never shot that many free throws in a game before," Larch-Miller admitted. "The refs called a lot of touch fouls in the second half. I tried to take advantage."
The Eagles' sharpshooter added, "I still can't believe I did not make a single 3 in the game."
Larch-Miller missed only two of 20 free throws in the second half as Granite Hills (12-4) erased a 31-25 halftime deficit. He made 9 of 10 in the final period as the Eagles expanded a one-point edge.
"Garrett was really aggressive going to the basket in the second half," said Eagles coach Randy Anderson. "They couldn't stop him without fouling him."
Granite Hills used a 9-0 run to overtake Bonita Vista to start the third quarter.
"I guess the bottom line is the guys were getting me the ball all night," said Larch-Miller. "I was having a good time out there tonight."
Larch-Miller also led the Eagles with 15 rebounds and five assists.
THERE'S NO CORRALLING RBV'S JOHNNY DEE
When it comes to scoring, Rancho Buena Vista's
Johnny Dee takes a backseat to no one in the San Diego CIF.
Dee scored a CIF-SDS high and Rancho Buena Vista record 47 points as the Longhorns whipped Carlsbad's Army-Navy Academy 81-71. All but 13 of Dee's record scoring stream came in the second half. Included in Dee's totals were four 3-pointers.
It was the fourth time that Dee has broken the 40-point barrier. He has tallied a minimum of 30 points in 11 games this season.
POTEET IS ANYTHING BUT LITTLE IN UCLA'S BASEBALL PLANSEl Cajon Christian pitcher-infielder
Cody Poteet may test his talents in the world of professional baseball before he steps onto a college campus. If the 2013 draft does not reap the awards he's seeking, the hard-throwing Patriots right-hander does have a nice alternative in that he has verbally accepted a baseball scholarship to UCLA.
Chosen to the Team USA 14-and-Under baseball team before making his first pitch in high school, Poteet has been an MLB scout magnet ever since. But he says he can see himself wearing the Bruins blue and gold right out of high school.
UCLA coach John Savage, who has guided the Bruins to the postseason four of the last five years, told Poteet he would be "their Friday night starter."
Poteet, who was 9-1 with a 1.56 ERA as a freshman, said he hopes to help the Bruins on the offensive end as well. He was also recruited by Oregon, Arizona State, Arizona and the University of San Diego.
LA COSTA CANYON GUARD IS A UNIQUE MAVERICKSenior guard
Jen Dumiak of La Costa Canyon punched in 73 points as the Mavericks rolled to three straight wins. Dumiak tallied 27 points against Mission Hills, 24 against Rancho Bernardo and 22 points in a 90-53 victory over Torrey Pines.
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OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES* With a scholarship to the University of San Francisco in hand, 6-foot-4 La Costa Canyon post
Madisen Irwin scored 42 points on 18 of 21 shooting from the field and grabbed 20 rebounds against Torrey Pines. It was her second double-double of the week, following a 17-point, 16-rebound effort against Mission Hills.
* Perhaps it was the strength he gained from playing water polo for four years, but
San Marcos senior Drasko Bogdanovich was a force in the annual Jim Londos Wrestling Tournament. Competing at 160 pounds, Bogdanovich pinned four opponents en route to capturing the upper-weight Most Valuable Wrestler award.
* Monte Vista (Spring Valley) 5-foot-8 senior guard
Alexandra Ross nailed 10 3-pointers as the Monarchs posted two wins in three starts. Ross has landed 40 treys for the 14-4 Monarchs.
* Six-foot-9 junior
Scott Atkinson rolled a triple-double for the Granite Hills Eagles, tapping in 10 points, bagging 13 rebounds and swatting away 10 shots against Bonita Vista.
*
Alexandria Young of Mater Dei Catholic (Chula Vista) averaged 22 points and 12 rebounds in victories over West Ranch and Patrick Henry. She was 10-for-10 from the free throw line against Patrick Henry.
*
Cheikh Ndiaye, a 7-foot sophomore at Carlsbad's Army-Navy Academy, compiled a double-double of 18 points and 18 rebounds against Rancho Buena Vista.
COMING ATTRACTIONSThere is plenty of big time action to celebrate on the Martin Luther King holiday. The Bennie Edens Classic features four boys basketball teams vying in this one-day extravaganza at Point Loma High School on Saturday. The first game tips off at 1 p.m. when
Scripps Ranch (San Diego) meets
Mater Dei (Chula Vista), followed by
Bonita Vista (Chula Vista) vs.
San Ysidro (San Diego) (2:30),
Mission Bay (San Diego) vs.
Point Loma (San Diego) (4),
University City (San Diego) vs.
Foothills Christian (El Cajon) (5:30) and closes with
Mira Mesa (San Diego) vs.
Dos Pueblos (Goleta) at 7 p.m.
Two days later is the San Diego Elite Eight Showcase at Point Loma Nazarene University on Monday. The schedule begins with a girls game at 1 p.m. featuring the area's top two teams —
San Diego vs.
La Jolla Country Day –followed by four boys' games:
Horizon (San Diego) vs.
Poway (2:30),
Morse (San Diego) vs.
Torrey Pines (San Diego) (4),
Hoover (San Diego) vs.
El Camino (Oceanside) (5:30) and
Parker (San Diego) vs.
La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad) (7).
DICKENS' DEALINGSThe only thing I can say about the restricting of baseball bats is negative.
One injury where a kid was hit in the head by a ball supposedly traveling 100 mph off a metal bat has caused people who don't know squat about baseball to try to revamp the whole game. To me this smacks of a knee-jerk reaction.
First of all, how are the inner city schools going to be able to afford a new arsenal of bats when money is so tight? Matter of fact, many schools facing a budget strain could be forced to drop their baseball program altogether.
Granted, safety is the primary motive for taking the "thunder" out of metal bats. While that is a noble gesture it is a poorly thought out mandate handed down by the powers that be.
While many baseball coaches and parents are outraged by the amount of money required to be spent on non-wood baseball bats – somewhere between $300 to $400 – the game is hardly dangerous compared to other sports.
C'mon. Let's get real. Cold as it may sound, reality is that a few kids die in football every year. But do administrators suggest dropping football? Not when there is so much money at stake.
Whether it is driving in a car, flying in a plane or riding a train, there are risks. Try as we might we cannot eliminate them all.
Although the majority of baseball coaches are angered by having to replace their bat inventory, there are some coaches who are not disturbed by the mandated change.
"I don't care if we all use sticks as long as it's the same for everybody," El Cajon Christian veteran coach Mike Mitchell said. "Just make it equal."
Helix coach Cole Holland voiced similar opinions.
"These new bats (composite BBCor) will certainly take the long ball out of the game," Holland said. "That's OK, because now we can get back to playing old-fashion baseball. You know, when pitching and defense matter most.
"We are a small ball team. Taking the metal bat home runs away from our opponents only evens the playing field."
Sorry Cole, it also makes baseball more like soccer, where there is little to no offense.
