Larch-Miller and Dee lead San Diego basketball scoring spree

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 ATTRACTIONS
There 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' DEALINGS
The 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.