SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Basketball

2003-04 Metro Conference Basketball Report

Traveling Titans excel on the court

The Eastlake High School boys basketball team has made a tradition of traveling during the season to such places as Hawaii and Florida — and this season was no different.

After advancing to the semifinals in their own season opening Titan Tip-Off Classic and winning the consolation championship title in the Sweetwater Lions Invitational, the traveling Titans took their road show to the nation’s capitol for the Mt. Vernon tournament in Alexandria, Va., during the holiday break.

The Titans left for Washington D.C. on Christmas night to play in the tournament Dec. 26-29.
Mt. Vernon High School sits on property originally owned by George Washington.

Eastlake lost the tourney opener to Thomas Edison, 45-49, in overtime. All-league returnee Craig Jackson led the Titans with 16 points in a losing effort.

The Titans bounced back the following day with a 78-64 victory against West Potomac as sophomore Steven Carr led the team with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Eastlake defeated the host school, 39-38, on a last-second lay-up by Jackson to claim the consolation championship title. Carr was named to the all-tournament team.

While in the area, the Titans were able to make sight-seeing excursions around the capitol.
Visits included the National Mall, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, the White House and the Capitol building. The team also had a chance to visit the Smithsonian, aerospace, natural history and American history museums. The team also visited the Holocaust Museum and Arlington National Cemetery. Along with taking in a Washington Wizards NBA game, the Titans rang in the new year before returning home with a 9-3 overall record.

Eastlake dropped a 61-59 non-league decision to Poway on Jan. 3 before opening Metro Conference play with victories against Marian Catholic, Hilltop, Castle Park, Southwest, Mar Vista and Montgomery to hike its mark to 15-4.

Jackson led the Titans with 19 points in a 72-31 victory at Mar Vista on Jan. 16 while Elias Alarcon scored 14 points to key Eastlake to a 48-18 win at Montgomery on Jan. 23 to jump-start the teams’ Mesa League slate.

Southwest had joined Eastlake among a handful of Metro teams to get out to strong starts this season, and the two squads paired up Jan. 14 in the Titans’ gym.

The high profile showdown — won 63-54 by the hosts — proved that the Titans could close the door on opponents. Eastlake led by four points when 6-foot-9 Jesse Hamilton fouled out with 3:51 remaining in the game but the Titans finished strong to win by nine points. The victory was impressive in that it came against a Raider team ranked third best in the section in overall defense (45.3 points). Eastlake, which had not beaten Southwest in two years, was ranked seventh in point-scoring defense (47.4).

The Titans had all five scorers chip in with points to form a balanced attack. Jackson led Eastlake with 19 points, followed by Alarcon with 14 and Hamilton with 13. For the Raiders, who fell to 11-6 overall, 3-1 in conference play with the loss, Lamar Thomas led all scorers on the court with 29 points while Allen Cortez scored 19 points.

Titan Tip-Off Classic
Eastlake jump-started the season with victories against Orange Glen (58-44),Grossmont (71-54), Crawford (64-45) and Mira Mesa (56-39) before suffering a 55-51 loss to eventual tournament champion Hoover in the semifinals. Elias Alarcon earned selection to the all-tournament team for the Titans. Hoover — paced by tournament MVP JayDee Luster — defeated Grossmont, 66-60, in the championship game while Mt. Miguel defeated Mira Mesa, 51-40, to cap the third-place game.

Sweetwater Lions tournament
After a 53-48 loss to Tesero (Canada) to open tournament play, the Titans followed with victories against Kearny (61-41), Oceanside (62-28) and El Capitan (60-47) to capture the consolation title. Morse defeated Tesero to win the championship title.

Hilltop Tournament
Sweetwater’s Andy Silveyra, Chula Vista’s Andrew Singleton and Hilltop’s Luke Kelly earned selection to the all-tournament team. Tournament MVP Tim Island helped lead University City to the team championship via a 52-49 victory against Helix.

Metro notepad
Bonita Vista advanced to the semifinals of the Maui Christmas Classic in Hawaii, dropping a 62-48 decision to Half Moon Bay in boys holiday tourney action.

Titans on quest for fourth straight league title

The Eastake Titans boys basketball team is on a quest for its fourth consecutive league championship — a feat that has not been accomplished in the South Bay since the Sweetwater Red Devils ran off nine straight league championships from 1979-1987.

The Titans will first have to find a way to replace 6-7 standout Keith Spencer, a two-time league MVP who is now at Humboldt State on a full scholarship. The Titans will ask another two-time first team all-league standout, Craig Jackson, to step up and lead the team.

The Titans return eight seniors from last year’s squad that shared the Mesa League title with Chula Vista. Returning starters include seniors Elias Alarcon and Justin Omalev. The Titans will rely on sharp shooters Diante Hall, Ben Perry and Alex Garibay to add a scoring punch.
Sophomores Marlon King and Steven Carr are expected to step up from a 25-1 junior varsity squad.

The Titans opened up the season in the CIF Tip-off Classic, where they dropped an exhibition game to the USDHS Dons 53-48, and are now in the midst of their own Titan Tip-off Classic that winds up with championship round action this Saturday. The junior varsity/varsity tournament includes 10 schools from around the county.

Eastlake will also play in the Sweetwater Tournament before traveling to the nation’s capitol to play in the Mt. Vernon holiday tournament.

For more information, visit the team’s official Web site at www.eastlakebasketball.com.

High School Basketball Scoreboard

Metro Conference
Boys standings
Mesa League
League Overall
School W-L W-L
Eastlake 6-0 15-4
Chula Vista 4-1 10-9
Bonita Vista 2-2 6-11
Sweetwater 1-4 1-12
Montgomery 1-5 1-14

South Bay League
League Overall
School W-L W-L
Southwest 5-1 13-6
Hilltop 3-3 10-8
Marian Catholic 2-2 2-9
Castle Park 2-3 4-10
Mar Vista 0-6 0-14

Friday, Jan. 23
Eastlake 48, Montgomery 18
Chula Vista 58, Sweetwater 33
Southwest 69, Hilltop 62
Marian Catholic 50, Mar Vista 40
Friday, Jan. 16
Castle Park 74, Sweetwater 37
Southwest 75, Montgomery 32
Hilltop 50, Bonita Vista 49
Eastlake 72, Mar Vista 31
Chula Vista 71, Marian Catholic 58

Metro Conference
Girls standings
Mesa League
League Overall
School W-L W-L
Eastlake 6-0 14-4
Bonita Vista 5-0 9-9
Montgomery 4-2 9-11
Chula Vista 3-2 7-13
Sweetwater 1-4 3-10

South Bay League
League Overall
School W-L W-L
Southwest 3-2 9-10
Marian Catholic 2-3 6-6
Hilltop 1-4 2-12
Mar Vista 1-4 4-16
Castle Park 0-5 2-16

Friday, Jan. 23
Eastlake 55, Montgomery 34
Chula Vista 43, Sweetwater 22
Southwest 65, Hilltop 34
Friday, Jan. 16
Montgomery 48, Southwest 35
Bonita Vista 55, Hilltop 34
Sweetwater 45, Castle Park 35

2003-04 Schedule
Friday, Jan. 30
Sweetwater at Eastlake
Wednesday, Feb. 4
Eastlake at Bonita Vista
Friday, Feb. 6
Montgomery at Eastlake
Monday, Feb. 9
Eastlake at Chula Vista
Wednesday, Feb. 18
Eastlake at Sweetwater
Friday, Feb. 20
Bonita Vista at Eastlake

Girls varsity games at 5:30 p.m.
Boys varsity games at 7 p.m.