SAN DIEGO HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL : Oceanside Is Back to Winning, Takes Championship

ENCINITAS —  Thanks to its successful football team, the Oceanside basketball squad started the season losing its first five games. With football season finally over, Oceanside is rolling.

The Pirates again used a slow-down game, this time to defeat El Camino, 37-31, in the championship round of the Lt. James Mitchell Tournament at San Dieguito High School.

Tournament MVP Junior Siau scored 20 points to lead Oceanside (4-5), which has won four straight since Siau and Sai Niu joined the team after the San Diego Section football playoffs. Niu hit a 20-foot shot at the buzzer to give Oceanside a 45-43 triple overtime victory over previously undefeated Torrey Pines in the semifinals.

“We just looked to control the tempo,” said Oceanside Coach Don Montamble. “If we don’t like what opponents do offensively, we’ll spread it out.”

El Camino, which dropped to 7-2, was led by Lee Cobb’s 14 points.

“Coming in with an 0-5 record was kind of confusing,” Siau said. “But it was just coming into another challenge. I like to win, so if it has to be slow tempo, we’ll just have to take it that way.”

With the score tied 18-18 at the half, Oceanside pulled out to a 29-26 lead going into the final period and held on for the win.

In other tournament action:

San Marcos 88, Torrey Pines 76--Torrey Pines (8-2) started slow after its triple overtime loss to Oceanside Monday and lost its second straight game. San Marcos, leading 31-29, in the second quarter, scored the final 10 points of the half to win the third-place game. Mike Francis, 19 points, and Mike Peyroux, 18 points, led five San Marcos players who scored in double figures. Scott Thompson paced Torrey Pines with 22 points.

Las Vegas 75, Yuma 55--Eric White scored 22 points to lead Las Vegas, which took a commanding 40-27 lead at the half and finish fourth. Yuma’s Scott Johnson led all scorers with 23 points.

Fallbrook 51, El Centro 47--Mark Ringkamp scored 22 points and had 8 rebounds for Fallbrook (5-5) in the consolation championship. Trailing, 12-7, after the first quarter, Fallbrook went to a full-court press and outscored El Centro (6-3) 26-16 over the next two periods.

Newport Harbor 56, San Dieguito 38--Newport Harbor dominated the first half, taking a 37-14 lead at intermission. San Dieguito, which was missing two starters due to injuries, was led by Jack Minger’s 12 points. Jim Geerlings paced Newport Harbor, which finished sixth, with 14 points.

San Clemente 69, Orange Glen 61--San Clemente took a 40-30 lead and held on for the victory despite 25 points from Orange Glen’s Steve Clinger. Rob Buehler led San Clemente with 19 points.

KIWANIS BOYS’ TOURNAMENT

Unlimited Division

Poway 52, Henry 47--Adam Jones scored 19 points to keep Poway undefeated (5-0). Poway jumped to a 19-5 lead after the first quarter and then held on for the victory. Collis Hunt scored 10 points for Henry.

Mira Mesa 44, Mount Miguel 40--Mount Miguel ran into foul trouble leading 36-30 in the fourth quarter and Mira Mesa converted the free throws to stay undefeated. Ray Rowe scored 13 points to lead Mira Mesa (7-0). Haywood Mathis, who had three fouls in the final period, scored 16 points to lead Mount Miguel (5-4).

Limited Division

Crawford 73, Grossmont 62--James Henry scored 27 points to lead Crawford (1-4) to its first win. Grossmont (3-5) took a 35-34 lead at the half, but Crawford rallied. Jason Foggiano scored 17 points and Lance Williams added 16 to lead Grossmont.

El Capitan 66, Granite Hills 55--El Capitan outscored the Eagles, 25-17, in the second quarter and held on for the win. Shawn Ruff led Granite Hills with 15 points.

Bonita Vista 57, Serra 41--Swingman Martin Gallardo scored 25 points and Randy Burk added 12 to lead Bonita Vista (2-4) to its second straight win. Bonita Vista led 21-16 at the half, but then used a full-court press to outscore Serra 18-10 in the third period. Knight paced Serra with 14.

Chula Vista 67, Valhalla 65--Malcolm McCurty took a half-court pass from Richard Hancock and scored a lay up with 5 seconds left as Chula Vista won at Hoover High. Charlie Foley had 23 points for Valhalla which led until the game’s final 45 seconds. Tony Hyner scored 22 points for Chula Vista, which had five players score in double figures.

La Jolla 57, Helix 44-- Sophomore David Berteaux scored 16 points to lead La Jolla at Serra High. La Jolla (7-3) also got 15 points and 7 assists from junior Charles Huff and 11 points and 9 rebounds from junior Sean Rodgers. Helix (1-7) was led by Robert Ledford’s 14 points.

Briefly--Castle Park 78, USDHS 65; Point Loma 57, Hoover 56.

Classified Division

Clairemont 43, Ramona 35--Jason Deal scored 18 points as Clairemont overcame a Ramona stall to improve its record to 8-1. Clairemont held as much as a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter. John Schweitzer paced Ramona (5-4) with 14 points.

Mission Bay 72, San Diego 39-- Ernest Johnson and Bob Umber scored 12 points each to lead Mission Bay at San Diego High. Umber and brothers Brett and Steve Grebing had 7 rebounds each for Mission Bay (3-2).

St. Augustine 63, San Pasqual 43--St. Augustine overcame an 18-13 first-quarter deficit by outscoring San Pasqual, 17-4, in the second period. Charlie Applegate scored 27 points to lead St. Augustine. Roberto Salas paced San Pasqual (0-5). with 17 points.

Briefly--Marian 46, Lincoln 40.

In girl’s basketball action:

Point Loma 60, Vista 40--Monica Filer scored 20 points to lead Point Loma to its 97th straight victory at home and 34th overall. Terri Mann scored 17 points and had 22 rebounds for Point Loma (9-0) in the Kiwanis Tournament game. Vista dropped to 9-2.

Santana 52, Poway 29--Leslie Ellis led Santana (7-2) with 20 points and 13 rebounds in a Kiwanis tournament game. Barb Bennett added 12 points.