The so-called “Maffei Madness” San Diego Section poll, conducted by the very sane John Maffei of the Union-Tribune:

First-place votes in parenthesis. Previous ranking in italics.
Cal-Hi Sports rankings are by Mark Tennis, the newsletter’s publisher, with contribution from statewide correspondents.
Max Preps essentially relies on individual school representatives.

TEAM	RECORD	POINTS	PREVIOUS	MAXPREPS.COM	CAL-HI SPORTS
1. Santa Fe Christian	19-2 (14)	174	1	17 (18)	29 (28)
2. Victory Christian	16-4 (3)	162	2	34 (38)	NR (Not Ranked)
3. Francis Parker	12-9	143	3	67 (78)	30 (On Bubble)
4. San Marcos	16-5	114	(7)	57 (72)	NR
5. Cathedral	14-8	89	5	101 (100)	NR
6.Mission Bay	14-8	72	(4)	84	NR
7. Olympian	17-4	68	(8)	72	NR
8.Mira Mesa	16-6	51	(9)	83	NR
9. Torrey Pines	11-10	49	(10)	129 (144)	NR
10. La Costa Canyon	16-6	48	(6)	78	NR

Others receiving votes: Montgomery (16-5, 10 points), St. Augustine (11-11, 7), Poway (15-7, 3) Army-Navy (15-7, 1), Calexico (16-4, 1), Christian (14-8, 1) 3) Brawley (14-4, 1), Madison (14-5, 1),
VOTING PANEL (18)
John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
Aaron Burgin (Full-Time Hoops),
Steve Brand, Bodie DeSilva (Union-Tribune freelance contributors).
Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (San Diego Section honchos).
Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference).
Joe Evangelist, Rex Johnson (San Diego Section Advisory Committee).
Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
Braden Surprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
Dennis Ackerman, Steve (Biff) Dolan, John (Coach) Kentera, Adam Paul, Tom Ronco, Eric Williams (freelance contributors).

 

 

Tayden Bryant of Ramona set a school record of 51 points in a 77-43, Valley League victory over San Pasqual last week.

Fifty points was once an extremely rare accomplishment.

There have been many games of 50 points or more by an individual player since St. Augustine’s Tom Shaules scored 60 in the 1957-58 season against Crawford, years before the three-point field goal came into play.

The innumerable number of games and points and lack of sustained record keeping, or reporting, in earlier years make basketball a most challenging sport when it comes to posting stats of the “most”.

The table, which begins decades after the game came to San Diego, lists an evolution of individual high scoring.  Additions, corrections welcomed:

YEAR	NAME	TEAM	POINTS	OPPONENT	SCORE
1939-40	Bud Ingle	Coronado	35	La Jolla	57-16
1943-44	Ivan Robinson	San Diego	38	Kearny	70-25
1950-51	Paul Lockridge	Fallbrook	47	Brown Military	90-31
1956-57	Tom Shaules	St. Augustine	49	Helix	86-72
1957-58	Shaules		60	Crawford	102-38
1969-70	Rob Petrie	Julian		Mountain Empire	115-76
1976-77	Mitchell Lilly	Madison	61	San Diego	118-84
1989-90	Tony Clark	Christian	64	La Jolla Country Day	103-65
2004-05	Tyrone Shelley	Crawford	76	Burlington Central, Canada	138-29
2019-20	Mikey Williams	San Ysidro	77	Kearny	116-42

The so-called “Maffei Madness” San Diego Section poll conducted by the very sane John Maffei of the Union-Tribune:

First-place votes in parenthesis. Previous ranking (if changed) in italics.
Cal-Hi Sports rankings are by Mark Tennis, the newsletter’s publisher, with contribution from his statewide correspondents.
Max Preps essentially relies on individual school representatives.

TEAM	RECORD	POINTS	PREVIOUS	MAXPREPS.COM	CAL-HI SPORTS
1. Santa Fe Christian	18-2 (11)	170	1	18 (12)	28 (Not Ranked)
2. Victory Christian	16-4 (4)	160	2	38 (47)	Not Ranked
3. Francis Parker	10-9	135	(5)	78 (99)	On Bubble
4. Mission Bay	13-7	116	(3)	68 (84)	NR
5. Cathedral	13-7	95	(4)	99 (100)	NR
6. La Costa Canyon	16-5	83	(9)	61 (71)	NR
7. San Marcos	13-5	81	(8)	72 (94)	NR
8. Olympian	16-4	51	(10)	86 (83)	NR
9. Mira Mesa	15-5	36	(Not Ranked)	82	NR
10. Torrey Pines	9-10	22	(6)	159 (144)	NR

Others receiving votes: Madison (14-5, 18 points), Montgomery (14-5, 6), Brawley (14-4, 1), Pacific Ridge (16-4, 1), Rancho Buena Vista (11-10, 1).
VOTING PANEL (18)
John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
Aaron Burgin (Full-Time Hoops),
Steve Brand, Bodie DeSilva (Union-Tribune freelance contributors).
Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (San Diego Section honchos).
Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference).
Joe Evangelist, Rex Johnson (San Diego Section Advisory Committee).
Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
Braden Surprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
Dennis Ackerman, Steve (Biff) Dolan, John (Coach) Kentera, Adam Paul, Tom Ronco, Eric Williams (freelance contributors).

First-place votes in parenthesis. Previous ranking (if changed) in italics.
Cal-Hi Sports rankings are by Mark Tennis, the newsletter’s publisher, with contribution from his statewide correspondents.
Max Preps essentially relies on individual school representatives.

TEAM	RECORD	POINTS	PREVIOUS	MAXPREPS.COM	CAL-HI SPORTS
1. Santa Fe Christian	17-1 (18)	180	1	12 (15)	28 (Not Ranked)
2. Victory Christian	13-4	1552	2	47 (42)	Not Ranked
3. Mission Bay	13-5	134	(4)	84 (68)	On Bubble
4. Cathedral	12-6	117	(3)	100 (89)	NR
5. Francis Parker	8-8	98	5	99 (119)	NR
6. Torrey Pines	8-9	67	(7)	144 (165)	NR
7. Madison	13-3	59	(6)	89 (57)	NR
8. San Marcos	11-5	48	8	94 (101)	NR
9. La Costa Canyon	13-5	42	(NR)	71	NR
10. Olympian	14-4	40	(NR)	83	NR

Others receiving votes: Mira Mesa (13–5, 30 points), St. Augustine (8-8. 11), Montgomery (13-5, 5), Morse (15-0, 4), Calexico (12-3, 1), Westview (14-3, 1).

VOTING PANEL (18)
John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
Aaron Burgin (Full-Time Hoops),
Steve Brand, Bodie DeSilva (Union-Tribune freelance contributors).
Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (San Diego Section honchos).
Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference).
Joe Evangelist, Rex Johnson (San Diego Section Advisory Committee).
Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
Braden Surprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
Dennis Ackerman, Steve (Biff) Dolan, John (Coach) Kentera, Adam Paul, Tom Ronco, Eric Williams (freelance contributors).

 

Originally posted June 22, 2017.

Coronado paid an old debt.

Hoover’s playoff advance was halted at the foul line.

Merrill Douglas ended a great run at San Diego High.

Lincoln showed that patience had virtue.

—John Kovac was a football coach who happened to come along at the right basketball time at Coronado.

The dour Kovac without prompting often recalled that he coached future NFL stars Lenny Moore and Roosevelt Grier when Kovac guided the Penn State freshmen team.

Relocating to San Diego’s trans-bay community in the early ‘fifties, Kovac still saw football in his future but found himself directing the Islanders’ basketball program, with stunning success.

Kovac’s teams posted a three-season, 63-13 record with players who weren’t very tall but had roadrunner speed and swarmed on defense.

Despite starters Charlie Love, Willie Dickey, and Roger Nix returning from the 21-4 squad in ’54-55, Kovac’s preseason appraisal was loaded with typical coach speak:

“We will be very short and not nearly as fast or sharp as last year.  We hope we’re not in for a long year.”

Coronado raced through the Avocado League schedule, finishing 12-0 and winning by an average score of 65-40.  They were 27-1 overall, losing only to Hoover, 49-45, in an early December game.

Love, Dickey, Nix, Jon Crawford, Steve Solier, and Dennis (Swede) Grimaud, none taller than Nix’s 6-feet, 1 inch, were the principals as the Islanders won their last 25 and the CIF Southern Section Southern Group (small schools) championship.

As one of the top seeds, the Islanders had a first-round bye in the playoffs and then blew out Tustin, 75-55, with a 28-13 fourth quarter on the neutral Sweetwater floor as  Herman Wright led all scorers with 25 points. Charlie Love added 16, and Roger Nix 15.

They sweated out  a 55-50, semifinals victory over San Jacinto, after having built a 34-19 halftime lead at neutral Hemet High and then seeing top scorer Roger Nix foul out midway through the second half.

(“Neutral” courts, as mandated by the CIF, meant that host teams usually played at venues close to home.  Hemet was less than three-and-a-half miles from the Tigers’ facility.)

Nix and his teammates then surprised and silenced most of the 2,300 persons in attendance at Azusa College with a 60-54, championship game victory over Azusa Citrus and high scoring Billy Kilmer.

Winning on the road was the sweetener.  Citrus had beaten Coronado, 63-58, in the finals the year before as the visiting team at Point Loma High.

Kovac left Coronado and moved to Hoover as an assistant football coach in 1956.

Two years later the transplanted Pennsylvanian joined the staff at San Diego Junior College and became the Knights’ head coach in 1961.  Kovac started the new Mesa College program and posted a 30-14-2 record from 1964-68.

CARDINALS HAVE HUGE RESUME

Hoover won the postseason Beverly Hills Tournament title in 1944-45 when there were no CIF playoffs because of World War II.  The East San Diego squad had not gotten that far before or since.

Three days prior to their win over Coronado, the Cardinals came from behind in the fourth quarter for a  41-39 win at Long Beach Poly, giving them victories over two of the three eventual Southern Section champions in less than a week.

Poly won the Central Group (large) playoff championship, defeating Montebello, 74-63, after the Oilers had beaten Hoover, 69-57, in the semifinals.

Hoover was 11-1 in the City Prep League and opened the postseason with a 63-52 win at Point Loma over Newport Beach Newport Harbor, which had knocked out Helix, 66-60, in the first round.

Next was a quarterfinals test at Manhattan Beach Mira Costa against nearby Redondo Beach Redondo Union.

Hoover led, 54-47, with 2:45 remaining.  Redondo went into a press.  Rex Hughes, who had 28 points and 15 rebounds, scored with 46 seconds left to forge a tie at 54.

The Seahawks stole a pass as Hoover attempted to get the ball down court after Hughes’ basket.  Traveling was called on Redondo.  Hoover inbounded again, Walt Baranski to Larry Elliot, who passed crosscourt, where Bill Landry drained a 15-foot jump shot with 15 seconds remaining for a 56-54 win.

The Cardinals were eliminated in the semifinals before an overflow crowd at Long Beach City College by Montebello and jump-shooting Jerry Pimm, whose lovely floaters and 28 points kept the Cardinals at a distance and in foul trouble.

Pimm found the range firing behind screens as Hoover’s man-to-man defenders, trying to keep up with Pimm, constantly bumped into one of Pimm’s teammates, usually center Bill Doner.

HOOVER’S EDGE IN FIELD GOALS

The Cardinals outscored the Oilers, 46-40, from the field, but the winner had an 18-point advantage at the free throw line, converting 29 of 39 attempts, 10 by Pimm, and 13 by Doner.  Hoover was 11×23.

Larry Elliot, Hoover’s all-City forward and second-team all-Southern California selection, scored 22 points, 14 in the second half, but Elliot fouled out, as did guards Bill Landry and Walt Baranski.

Landry actually held Pimm scoreless for the game’s first seven minutes, but acquired three personals during that time.

Hoover defeated Glendale Hoover, 57-53, the following evening for third place and a final, 25-5 record.

HORNETS STEP UP

Lincoln, 2-18 and 6-16 with virtually the same squad in its first two seasons, reaped the fruits of their sometimes painful development, which originated with games on the Hornets’ outdoor, asphalt court and in Municipal Gym.

Coach Don Smith’s club, with City League player of the year and three-year starter Bob Mendoza leading the way, were 10-2 in the league and 20-4 overall.

A 62-46 loss to Hoover in the first round of play was erased with a 56-43 victory before a packed house in Lincoln’s new gymnasium in the second round of CPL play.

The Hornets’ foray into the playoffs started with a 62-54 win over Grossmont.

The postseason ended quickly and with finality in a 71-52 loss to Long Beach Poly, led by the  Southern California player of the year, 6-foot, 7-inch Jim Hannah.

Two busloads of Lincoln students arrived at Long Beach Jordan at halftime of the second-round contest.  Poly led, 36-23.

The seemingly awestruck Hornets were outnumbered everywhere. Poly had more cheerleaders than Lincoln had players and the Jackrabbits’ bench was a long, green and gold line.

“We were like a bunch of elementary school kids (in that environment),” said Hornets guard Brad Griffith.

DOUGLAS MOVES ON

—Merrill Douglas, who succeeded Bill Schutte as head coach in 1940-41, stepped down at San Diego High and moved across Russ Boulevard to San Diego Junior College.

Douglas, who missed three seasons serving in the military in World War II,  guided teams that averaged 19 wins and posted a 236-76 (.756) record in 12 seasons.

The San Diego Junior College Knights won the Metropolitan Conference championship in Douglas’ first season.  He also served as the school’s athletics director and took the same position when Mesa College opened in 1964.

Olympians teams and high schools eventually would play football and compete in track and field and soccer in the Merrill Douglas Stadium on campus.

DAVEY, DAVEY…?

No, not Davey Crockett, but La Jolla had a couple sharpshooters by the same name. Clyde Crockett led City Prep League scores with 209 points in 12 games, a 17.4 average. Crockett’s younger brother, Doug, had 94 points and a 7.8 average.

Mission Bay’s Leroy Brandt (15.2) was runner-up to Clyde in league scoring, followed by Jim Gilchrist (14.0) of San Diego, Lincoln’s Bob Mendoza (13.6),  Willie West (13.2) of San Diego, Bill Landry (11.7) and Larry Elliot (11.3) of Hoover, and Brad Griffith (10.8) of Lincoln.

Helix’ Gael Barsotti led Metropolitan League scorers with an 18.4 average in eight games. Chula Vista’s Bill Collins (15.8), Helix’ Ronnie Mulder (15.4), and Grossmont’s Lowell Raper  (12.5)  followed.

Prep writers of the day did not list scoring beyond league play and Avocado and Southern League scorers, such as Coronado’s Roger Nix and others, were not listed at all.

NORMANS DEFEND

Beverly Hills defeated Hoover, 45-42, for its second consecutive Kiwanis Tournament Unlimited Division title.

San Diego, waiting on several players still playing football, surprised Inglewood Morningside, 51-46, in the first round. Months later Morningside scored a 64-62 win over Beverly Hills for the CIF Northern Group (small schools) playoff title.

Mar Vista’s Larry Boyd, who earned all-Southern California second-team honors in 1954-55, scored 99 points in four games to break the Kiwanis scoring record of 96, set  the year before by Morningside’s John Arrillaga.

Boyd scored 25, but the Mariners couldn’t overcome the 19 each by Jon Crawford and Willie Dickey, who led Coronado to a 53-49 triumph in the Limited final.

ABOVE THE TREE LINE

Helix reportedly had 14 players on varsity and JV, standing at least 6-3.  The varsity measured 6-6 Bill Turpin, 6-5 Ronnie Mulder, and 6-5 Mel Robinson.

Tallest Metro Leaguer was Grossmont’s Lee Carick, a 6-9 reserve center.

Andy Dunn, a reserve forward at Point Loma, and Lincoln backup center Bill Beatty stood highest in the City League, each at 6-5.

JUMP SHOTS

Julian was ousted from the playoffs for the smallest schools, 78-43, by Brea-Olinda…Grossmont won a coin flip with Helix to determine playoff pairings after the teams tied for the Metropolitan League title…Lincoln topped the Foothillers at Hoover behind 20 points by Bob Mendoza and 14 by Brad Griffith…Helix led Newport Harbor, 17-12, after one quarter at Garden Grove High, but Ronnie Mulder was sidelined for long periods with 4 fouls…Lincoln’s first victory over San Diego in football or basketball was a 55-53 thriller in which the Hornets overcame a six-point San Diego lead in the fourth quarter…Mendoza’s two free throws, after a layup by Griffith, put Lincoln in front, 54-51, in the final minute…San Diego coach Merrill Douglas surprised Lincoln in the league opener with a zone defense that stymied the Hornets, 35-30…late-arriving football stars Willie West (guard) and Deron Johnson (center) were starters for the Cavemen…Escondido made 29 of 44 free throw attempts in a 65-59 win over Vista…the Cougars and Panthers committed 46 fouls in the 32-minute game …Coronado set an Avocado League points record in an 81-55 victory over Escondido…Helix posted the highest total in the Metropolitan League in a 79-50 conquest of Sweetwater…Coronado’s starters played all but two minutes in a 71-32 rout of Escondido…La Jolla’s George Graham set a City League Class B record with 33 points in a 68-46 win over Kearny…San Diego’s sophomore team, paced by Edward Lee Johnson’s 17.2 average, was 20-0…Vista played in the post-Christmas Banning tournament and Helix was in the Fillmore event…Chula Vista topped Bell Gardens, 50-46, for the consolation title at Chino….

We bided our time for several weeks before tuning in to the Union-Tribune writer’s 2025-26 season weekly poll, which he began weeks earlier.   That explains our Week 1 designation for winter Maffei Madness.

So far, other than a few intersectional victories along the way, it’s been a relatively quiet season in the San Diego Section.

Two small private schools, Santa Fe Christian in Solana Beach and Victory Christian in Chula Vista, are holding sway; traditional big shots Mission Bay and Cathedral have represented, but Torrey Pines and St. Augustine are treading water.

Things should change in the next several weeks. The season is at about the halfway juncture.  League play now is paramount, along with the occasional weekend “classics”.

Cal-Hi Sports, which publishes a top 50 in football, so far has scaled basketball down to 30, without a single San Diego Section team in the mix.  Santa Fe, Mission Bay, and Francis Parker are on Cal-Hi’s bubble.

First-place votes in parenthesis.
Points awarded on  10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
Cal-Hi Sports rankings are by Mark Tennis, the newsletter’s publisher, with contribution from his statewide correspondents.
Max Preps essentially relies on various school representatives.

TEAM	RECORD	POINTS	PREVIOUS	MAXPREPS.COM	CAL-HI SPORTS
1. Santa Fe Christian	15-1 (18)	180	1	15	Not Ranked
2. Victory Christian	10-4	145	5	42	NR
3. Cathedral	11-5	132	3	89	NR
4. Mission Bay	12-5	109	4	68	NR
5. Francis Parker	7-8	113	2	119	NR
6. Madison	12-2	92	6	57	NR
7. Torrey Pines	7-8	56	10	165	NR
8. San Marcos	11-5	41	9	101	NR
9. Mira Mesa	13-5	38	8	108	NR
10. St. Augustine	8-7	33	7	146	NR

Others receiving votes: La Costa Canyon (11-5, 26 points), Olympian (12-4, 15) Rancho Bernardo (8-6, 4), Army-Navy (10-5, 2), Morse (14-0, 2), Poway (12-5, 2), Calexico (11-2, 1).

VOTING PANEL (18)
John Maffei (San Diego Union-Tribune).
Aaron Burgin (Full-Time Hoops),
Steve Brand, Bodie DeSilva (Union-Tribune freelance contributors).
Todd Cassen, Ron Marquez (San Diego Section honchos).
Rick Smith (partletonsports.com).
Tom Helmantoler (Southern Conference).
Joe Evangelist, Rex Johnson (San Diego Section Advisory Committee).
Christian Pedersen (San Diego Sports Association).
Braden Surprenant (97.3-FM The Fan).
Dennis Ackerman, Steve (Biff) Dolan, John (Coach) Kentera, Adam Paul, Tom Ronco, Eric Williams (freelance contributors).

 

 

Originally posted Dec. 18, 2017.

Unlikely season, unlikely conclusion.

—A rare playoff run by San Diego teams in the Southern California playoffs.

—San Diego High marched through four rounds to win its only CIF Southern Section championship, along the way setting a school single-game scoring record…maybe.

—Hoover’s  Class B team blitzed opponents in an attempted sequel to championships in 1931-32, 1933-34, and 1934-35,  but there was no championship hardware and no satisfaction.

FAST START

San Diego entered the season with four lettermen starters, Ernie Mallory, Melvin Hendry, Vance Randolph, and Lowell Lee, and picked up a fifth, Bill Patterson, who transferred in from Frankford, Indiana.

Alhambra and Long Beach Poly were favored to fight it out for Coast League laurels.  The Hilltoppers were 6-8 overall the previous year, 3-7 in league play, and 0-4 against the Moors and Jackrabbits.

San Diego showed early  that it was vastly improved, sweeping Class A (a more preferred nomenclature than “varsity”) competition on the Hilltoppers’ home floor in the 13th annual San Diego County Interscholastic Tournament that opened the season in December.

With Mallory leading, Coach Mike Morrow’s squad whipped through Grossmont, 48-13, Point Loma, 36-14, and Ramona, 54-15.

Alhambra was the visitor in the league opener and went home a stunned, 31-28 loser after trailing, 15-9, at halftime.  Mallory led the winners with 13 points.

The San Diego-Alhambra contest was played on a Friday afternoon at 3:30 instead of at the usual 7:30 p.m. because the Moors didn’t want to be headed home at night with the threat of fog on the Coast Highway .

Travel and its various inconveniences always were a nemesis for the far-flung Coast League squads.

 

COAST IS CLEAR

The visiting Hilltoppers led Long Beach Poly, 18-17, at the end of three quarters in their next game but couldn’t hold on and dropped a 21-19 decision.  It was the Jackrabbits’ 17^th victory in the 19 games between the teams since they first met in the 1920-21 season but also San Diego’s last loss in the 15-1 season.

A 40-18 victory at Santa Ana was followed by a 29-23 win at Alhambra, setting up another big game with Poly at San Diego.  The Hillers prevailed, 29-25, as Vance Randolph, who would be lost to the team at midterm graduation, scored 11 points.

Randolph and acting captain Eddie Preisler were scheduled to participate in cap-and-gown ceremonies but opted to stay with the team and make their final appearances at Santa Ana.  A 37-29 victory over the Saints clinched the Hilltoppers’ first outright league championship.  They had tied for first with Poly in 1932-33.

With time before the beginning of the playoffs, the Hillers took on the touring Knapps Grocery Stores squad from Oakland.  The 51-25 rout was part of a doubleheader in which Coach Ed Ruffa’s B team, playing an independent schedule, defeated the Markel-Johnson Poultry House, 31-28.

BEERKLE LOOKING FOR EDGE IN PLAYOFF?

Point Loma, 7-0 and Metropolitan League champion after a 24-16 victory over 6-1 Escondido, was the Hillers’ first playoff opponent.

The Pointers did not have a gymnasium (one newspaper reported the Pointers defeated their alumni, 38-28, “on an outdoor court made soggy by the rains”) and even used the Hillers’ gym in preparation for the game.

Pointers coach Joe Beerkle also bemoaned the fact that he had players who were “on call” to the tuna industry.

Beerkle said that if a fishing boat came in, starters Gil Gonsalves and Joaquin Qualin would have to forego the playoff encounter and help off-load a vessel.

There apparently were no arrivals at the Embarcadero, but the Pointers still were outmanned and lost, 32-18.  San Diego the next night took on barnstorming Phoenix Union and beat the Coyotes, 45-35.

WHAT’S THE SCORE?

Morrow’s club met visiting Huntington Beach in the quarterfinals and scored a 73-45 victory.  Or was it 82-45?

The San Diego Union noted the upcoming game early in the week but then ignored the usual day-of-game advance and did not report on the Saturday night contest.

The rival Evening Tribune printed a very short Monday afternoon story that San Diego had won, 73-45. That score also was corroborated by Don King’s Caver Conquest, with attribution to The Russ, San Diego High’s newspaper.

Ernie Mallory’s 18 points represented the only individual total in the Tribune.

The account seemed all well and good until the Los Angeles Times’ result showed a Huntington Beach dateline and a different score.

The Times’ story presented an editorial slant toward the losing team and essentially was a wrap on the Oilers’ Orange League championship season, but the text was accompanied by a comprehensive box score, which showed that San Diego exploded for 53 points in the second half and won, 82-45.

Mallory was credited with 18 points, followed by 15 each from Bill Patterson and Melvin Hendry, 2 by Lowell Lee, and 9 by the fifth starter Roy Cleator.  Substitutes included Billy Cesena (2), Herman Gatewood (6), Mike Shea (4),  and Bob Barth (2).

A player named “Peder” also was credited with 9 points. There was no record of such human, but there was a Homer “Peabody” on the squad.

CIF Southern Section playoff results for the season also honored the 82-45 score.

The Times’ box score still begged the question.  Why no definitive story and complete box score in the San Diego publications?

We’ll have to go with the locals’ 73-45 count until hearing otherwise and with their subsequent 34-32 win over Santa Barbara and 47-35 championship game victory over Bonita.  Semifinals and finals were played at La Verne College.

RARE OUTBURST

What makes the San Diego-Huntington Beach score enticing is that San Diego’s point total, 73 or 82, was 40 to 50 points above normal for the era. Basketball was a slow-moving, low-scoring, and slowly evolving game offensively, although San Diego somehow scored 76 points in the 1916-17 season against Escondido, which scored 23.

If 82 was correct in San Diego’s progression of high-point totals, the 80 against Grossmont in 1952-53 would be invalid.  The issue became moot in 1957-58, when San Diego outscored La Jolla, 86-40.

RIVALRY ON HIATUS

The lede (first paragraph) on an article in The San Diego Union on Jan. 15, 1936:

“Though coaches and principals of both schools are anxious for the series to continue, it now appears that students of San Diego and Hoover Highs will be without their annual Hilltop-Cardinal cage titanic, yearly the high spot of the basketball programs of the rival city schools.”

Hoover had become a member of the Bay League and played league games on Friday.  San Diego played Coast League games on Tuesdays and Fridays.  Coaches Mike Morrow of San Diego and Bruce Maxwell of Hoover looked for loopholes in their schedules.

The series could be played on Wednesday or Thursday, but this would have put Morrow’s players at the disadvantage of two league and one bragging rights game in one week.

The Cardinals and Hillers, who first played in 1933-34, would resume their rivalry in 1936-37 and played at least once a season until 1976-77.

SWARM OF BEES

Hoover’s powerful Class B team, won the County tournament by defeating Grossmont, 37-4, San Diego, 30-26, and Sweetwater, 37-7, and, led  by future San Diego State legend Milton (Milky) Phelps, left their new Bay League rivals reeling.

The Cardinals won league games by scores of 61-24, 49-7, 43-25, 59-27, and 51-14.  Santa Monica came closest but still was a well-beaten 35-19.  The Cardinals rolled in the playoffs, running Carpinteria off the court, 60-12, and swarming San Luis Obispo, 66-30.

The B playoff semifinals and final rounds were at El Monte High.

Hoover’s opponent in the finals was well regarded South Pasadena, a 32-31 winner over El Monte and the team the Cardinals defeated at San Diego State, 36-22, in the 1934-35 championship.

The venue essentially represented a home game for the Tigers. The distance of about 14 ½ miles from South Pas to El Monte was in contrast to the 120 miles that Hoover had traveled to get to the final four site.

OH, OH!

The dispatch from El Monte following the semifinals was curious:  “Some doubt remains as to where the final game will be played, although Coach Bruce Maxwell has been advised to report to the El Monte gym here tomorrow afternoon with his Hoover team for the finale.”

Maxwell and his team arrived on time and the team was on the court and waited more than an hour, but South Pasadena didn’t show, announcing that it would play only on its home court, apparently because the Tigers were the visiting team at Hoover in the 1934-35 title game.

No forfeit.

The CIF bulletin of April, 1936, announced that the executive committee unanimously voted that no champion be declared since “a disagreement had developed over the place of playing the final game in Class B basketball.”

The committee also passed a resolution ending existing playoff arrangements in Classes B, C, and D and allowing league champions to host at least one interleague championship game.

HILLTOP BEES ALSO STUNG

Competing as an independent team and holding wins over Long Beach Poly and Santa Ana, Coach Ed Ruffa’s San Diego High B team was rebuffed in its attempt to gain a playoff berth.

CIF boss Seth Van Patten suggested that the Hillers’ B squad take on Hoover’s super team in a best, two-of-three series, with the winners being admitted to the postseason.  Since Hoover already had won its league and was in the playoffs, the idea died a quiet death.

FAVORED FLOOR

The San Diego High gymnasium, when not used for practice by the Hilltoppers’ teams, was in play virtually every day of the week.

Point Loma and Sweetwater moved their Metropolitan League opener up one day in order to play on the San Diego court.  The teams didn’t want to use Sweetwater’s outdoor court.

San Diego’s playoff with Point Loma was rescheduled for the afternoon.  Hoover earlier had requested and was granted use of the San Diego gym for that night.

Metropolitan League teams came from long distances to play games at San Diego High.  Army-Navy, Coronado, and Escondido were the only other schools to have gyms.  Oceanside’s building was almost complete.

SET SHOTS

Ernie Mallory, one  of the  top players of the first half-century in the County, and Vance Randolph of San Diego were on the all-Southern California first team…a second-team guard was Pasadena Muir Technical’s  Jackie Robinson…Point Loma coach Joe Beerkle, short of players, moved varsity standout Joaquin Qualin to Class B and Qualin scored 12 points in a 40-12 win over Army-Navy…Ramona won the Southern Prep League championship by defeating runner-up Julian, 43-8…Hoover fielded five teams, Varsity, Class B and C, junior varsity and junior varsity B…Hoover’s Class C squad nosed out Memorial Junior High,15-13…after players had dressed and departed for home it was discovered that Memorial had scored an additional two points…the teams agreed to play another game the next week…Dickie Tazlear scored 16 as Hoover prevailed, 30-24….