Falcons showing guests no “Southern” hospitality

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Coach Curtis Hughes and his Santee Falcons are closing in on the Southern League boys’ basketball title and an automatic berth in the City Section Invitational Division playoffs.

The toughest of their three remaining games figures to be today’s 4 p.m. contest against West Adams Prep, which gave Santee all it could handle before falling, 66-64, in the teams’ last meeting on Jan. 16. This time, however, the Falcons are at home, where they are 8-0 this season.

A key matchup is at center, where Santee’s 6-6, 225-pound senior Josh Chatman will guard the Panthers’ 6-7, 280-pound sophomore Ed Lopez, who held Chatman to 12 points in their first encounter.

‘That was our closest league game so far and their kid played Josh as well as anyone has,’ Hughes said. ‘But we’ll be on our home court and you don’t come into our place and win.’

The Falcons have reason to feel confident. They’ve won eight straight games and 13 of their last 14. They’re especially formidable at home, where they’re vanquishing opponents by more than 25 points a game.

‘We just have to play our type of game, keep pressure on ball and keep a body on their big guys,’ Hughes said. ‘If we do everything right we should get at least a 12-point win.’

And the outright league title along with it.

-- Steve Galluzzo

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