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.
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).
1935-36 Basketball, Looking Back: Great Season for Cavers; Strange End for Cardinals B’s.
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.
The 1935-36 Southern California champions pose in front of the City Stadium peristyle, front row (from left): Ernie Mallory, Paul Shea, Roy Cleator, Vance Randolph, Billy Cesena. Middle row, from left: Coach Dewey (Mike) Morrow, Roy Rollins, Judson Starr, Melvin Hendry, Lowell Lee. Top row, from left: Bill Patterson, Bob Barth, Homer Peabody, manager Erickson. Missing, Eddie Preisler, Herman Gatewood.
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’ 17th 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.
San Diego’s Roy Cleator unsuccessfully attempted to block shot of Point Loma’s Joaquin Qualin, while Hillers’ Lowell Lee (13) and Vance Randolph (16) looked on, with Pointers’ Moxon Mixon (40).
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 unbeaten Hoover Cardinals Class B squad. Kneeling, from left: Don DeLauer, Gene McNeal, Milky Phelps. Tommy Johnson, Moore. Standing, from left: Coach Bruce Maxwell, Bob White, Yapp, Dick Mitchell, Monseca, Shepard, manager Kahan.
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.
Ernie Mallory (top) and Bill Patterson propelled Hilltoppers’ attack.
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….
1994-95, Looking Back: McCoy, Others Made for Dynamic Season
Originally posted Dec. 10, 2019.
DECEMBER, 1994
—Six-foot, 11-inch Jelani McCoy started the season with 41 points and set a San Diego Section record with 16 blocked shots in an 85-82 win in the Hilltop/Pizza Hut tournament. El Camino’s Dee Boyer blocked 15 shots in a 1989 game.
—Dimitri Hodgkinson scored 37 points and El Cajon Valley reached triple digits in the Norsemen-Warhawk tournament…and lost! The Braves were edged by Mar Vista, 104-101. Valhalla and Madison were tournament hosts. Sophomore Jorge Salazar had 43 for the Mariners.
—Lincoln’s defending state Division IV champion kept sending El Camino to the free-throw line and the Warriors responded by converting 30×35 attempts and knocked down the Hive, 99-94. Lincoln was 12×22 from the line.
—Lincoln defeated Morse, 110-88, and surpassed the school record of 107 against Granite Hills in 1982-83.
TOURNAMENTS FLOOD SCHEDULE
A dizzying number of events included the 48th Kiwanis, 35th Lt. Jim Mitchell Memorial, and 22nd Francis Parker. Others were played locally, state-wide, in Nevada, and Hawaii. Many were dubbed with the misnomer “classics”.
—Poway (7-2) won the 16-team Kiwanis, 76-52, over Mount Miguel (8-2), capitalizing on a 40-23 advantage in rebounds.
—Jelani McCoy set a section record with 19 blocked shots in a 69-66 victory over Rialto Eisenhower in the first round of the Jim Mitchell.
It’s getting hectic,” said McCoy. “I’m not chasing the record, but when I get close, people remind me.”
NO REST FOR SCRIPPS
—The fifth Above the Rim classic was just that, powerhouse teams soaring on a national level. Teams from throughout the U.S. were at Torrey Pines.
Second-year Scripps Ranch four hours earlier had beaten Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, 75-72, and then gave national power Santa Ana Mater Dei a run well into the third quarter.
Almost 3,000 persons in the 2,500-seat Falcons gym watched with stunned enthusiasm as the Falcons moved to a 41-34 lead with 4:59 remaining.
Monarchs coach Gary McKnight called timeout and switched his team from man-to-man to zone defense. ‘Dei went on a 19-2 run and won, 75-63. Ashante Johnson had 28 points against both Gorman and Mater Dei and Scott Charity had 27 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
–Mater Dei (16-1) defeated Brooklyn Lincoln (9-2) and its all-America guard Stephon Marbury, 92-77, for the championship. Marbury scored 39 points. Schea Cotton had 33 for the Monarchs.
JANUARY, 1995
Home is where the victories are.
Scripps Ranch came into its Western League opener at St. Augustine with a 12-1 record, but the Saints had not lost on their floor since 1991-92.
The result was Western League basketball at its most competitive as the Saints (10-4) pulled out a double-overtime, 77-73 victory.
Jelani McCoy’s two free throws with 10 seconds left sealed the victory. McCoy had 28 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 blocked shots, while Scripps’ Ashante Johnson scored 20 points and pulled 10 rebounds.
—Jorge Salazar’s 21 points were augmented with 11 assists as Mar Vista got Harbor League play under way with a 115-78 win over Christian. The Mariners earlier had whipped CETY’s of Tijuana, 117-39.
—Stormy weather and leaky roofs postponed three games: Chula Vista at Eastlake, Kearny at Point Loma, and Ramona at Escondido. Coronado’s game at Crawford was suspended at halftime with the Islanders leading, 30-18.
St. Augustine’s Jelani McCoy tries to block shot by University’s Nate Walton.
—McCoy was held to a season-low 6 points by the policing of 6-6 Nate Walton, a transfer from Torrey Pines, and University topped St. Augustine, 64-49.
—Walton the No. 2 son of former Helix great Bill Walton, scored 20 points with 13 rebounds and declared, “There was nothing like this at Torrey Pines. People on campus talked about (the game) all week. This is the biggest thing I’ve ever been involved in.”
McCOY REAL McCOY
—Two weeks later, McCoy, playing before a raucous home crowd, had 28 points, 26 rebounds, and blocked 11 shots in a 58-46 revenge win. Walton was held to eight points.
“I wasn’t a force the first time,” said McCoy, “and there was some question who was the No. 1 center (McCoy or Walton) after that game.”
—Ashante Johnson drained a three-point attempt with 4 seconds left in regulation and tipped in the winning basket with 4.7 seconds remaining in overtime to get Scripps Ranch past La Jolla, 63-61.
Scoring leaders, unofficial, some games not reported:
NAME
TEAM
GAMES
POINTS
AVERAGE
Jelani McCoy
St. Augustine
29
749
25.82 (5)
Jeremy Killion
Rancho Bernardo
27
712
26.37 (3)
Tim Rabetoy
Julian
23
689
29.956 (1)
Matt Jager
Vista
26
676
26.0 (4)
Sonny Drago
Ramona
27
650
24.07 (7)
Mike McNair
Kearny
27
647
23.96 (8)
Ashante Johnson
Scripps Ranch
32
643
20.09
Al Smalley
Fallbrook
21
608
28.95 (2)
Greg Clark
Grossmont
24
595
24.791 (6)
Will Goodloe
Mar Vista
27
566
20.96
Jared Evans
Helix
25
563
22.52 (10)
Harres Karim
Mira Mesa
24
550
22.91 (9)
Daral Guthro
Chula Vista
25
541
21.64
Lee
Point Loma
26
539
20.73
Louther
San Marcos
27
537
19.88
Robinson
Southwest
26
530
20.38
Jamie Hooper
La Jolla Country Day
25
526
21.0
Swanson
Tri-City
24
500
20.83
Miller
San Diego
24
475
19.79
Paris Corner
University City
23
472
20.52
J.B. Haskett
La Jolla
26
471
18.1
Van Hoeve, Covenant, 17×359, 21.1. Miller, El Cajon Valley, 21×429, 20.4.
Chula Vista’s Darel Guthro, fighting his way through Vista defenders, was a top 20 scorer.
—El Camino took out its frustrations on Escondido, 109-54, after an upset, 64-59 loss to Torrey Pines. Four Wildcats scored at least 15 points.
—Scott Charity adhered to the maxim that it is better to be late than never, scoring 23 of his 25 points in the second half as Scripps Ranch beat Mission Bay, 76-61.
—Kearny’s Mike McNair and Point Loma’s Eric Bell matched four, three-point baskets, but McNair outscored his opponent, 34-18, and Kearny won, 63-55.
—Eastlake (7-0) stayed unbeaten in the Metropolitan League when Rusty Skinner dropped in an 18-foot jumper to get the Titans past Chula Vista, 54-52.
KOMETS’ MARK FALLS
Mike McNair scored 47 points to break Wilburn Strong’s school record of 42 points, set in 1968-69, and led the Komets to an 84-74, Eastern League win over Serra.
—Harres Karim scored with eight seconds remaining and then blocked a shot as Mira Mesa nudged San Diego, 48-47.
Al Smalley of Fallbrook had second highest average.
FEBRUARY, 1995
Matt Jager scored 40 points, but Poway’s Steve Francis was dominant in the Titans’ 79-74, double overtime win over No. 8-ranked Vista. Francis had 33 points and six three pointers and made a three with one second left to force a first overtime.
With one second remaining in the first overtime, Francis was fouled attempting a half-court shot. He made three successive free throws to force a second extra session, in which Poway outscored Vista, 8-3.
—University City sophomore Paris Corner threw up a 70-foot prayer that drained the bottom of the net as the Centurions (10-15) upset Scripps Ranch (19-5), 59-58.
“When you start the second half with a technical foul, you let the other team back in the game,” said Lincoln coach Charlie Paulk of the T the Hornets’ received for a slam dunk basket during warmups before the third quarter.
The Hornets led, 36-24, at the start of the third quarter but Jelani McCoy led the Saints on a 23-14 run with five, thunderous slams that brought the visitors back into the game.
Lincoln held on for a 69-66 win despite McCoy’s 34 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 blocked shots.
—Rancho Buena Vista clinched its first Palomar League championship in the school’s eight-season history with a 72-70 win over runner-up Rancho Bernardo. Tim Giles’ basket with three seconds left pulled out the win for the Longhorns.
CENTURY CLUB
TEAM
OPPONENT
SCORE
Horizon
Midway Baptist
119-30
Mar Vista
Tijuana CETY’s, Mexico
117-39
Mar Vista
Christian
115-78
El Camino
Oceanside
115-50
Lincoln
Clairemont
114-38
Lincoln
Morse
110-88
El Camino
Escondido
109-54
West Hills
El Cajon Valley
107-74
Mar Vista
El Cajon Valley
104-101
Mar Vista
El Cajon Valley
102-92
Mar Vista
Marian
102-76
Mar Vista
Crawford
101-66
Mar Vista
Clairemont
101-51
El Camino
Carlsbad
100-57
Tri-City
Midway Baptist
100-20
1969-70: Game by Game With Highlanders’ and Walton’s 33-0.
Looking Back: The narrative originally was posted on Nov. 25, 2018.
Walton’s and Helix’ historic season, game by game, with quotes and attributions by and to Bill Center of The San Diego Union:
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 1969.
HELIX 74, MADISON 60.
Mike Dupree scored 28 and Walton 24, off-setting a 30-point performance by Dave Smith, whose Warhawks were down, 57-36, in the third quarter.
Thursday, Dec 4, 1969
HELIX 78, MORSE 49
Leading only 32-25 at halftime, the Highlanders unleashed a withering, 27-6 third quarter. Walton scored 30, Dupree 22.
Tuesday, Dec. 9, 1969.
HELIX 78, LINCOLN 56
The well-regarded, Eastern League Hornets were in the game, trailing at halftime, 33-27, but fell behind, 54-37, and never got closer.
One blowout and near blowout, and a cruise against three of the city’s best s
Walton (No. 33) and teammates may have been able to beat any high school team, but their season ended with the San Diego Section championship.
Friday, Dec. 12, 1969
HELIX 90, HILLTOP 53.
Walton still was growing, now listed in local newspapers as 6 feet, 10 ½ inches. He was 10×12 from the field, retrieved 20 missed shots, and scored 24 points. Dupree was 11×15 from the field and scored 25.
Saturday, Dec. 13, 1969
HELIX 92, CASTLE PARK 60.
“That was the first time we haven’t seen a zone (defense),” Helix coach Gordon Nash said after Walton had torched Castle Park with 46 points (18×21 from the field) and pulled down 28 rebounds. “They used a man-to-man defense and we worked the ball into Bill. He got a lot of points off the offensive boards but was doing well from anywhere.”
Nash added that he didn’t think the Highlanders would “see many more man-to-mans.”
Walton broke the school scoring record of 44 points, set by Jim (Bones) Bowers in the 1959-60 season.
Wednesday, Dec. 16, 1969
HELIX 78, CHULA VISTA 43
Another good team taken apart. The Scots led, 72-28, when Walton, Dupree and the other starters departed early in the fourth quarter.
“We were so concerned with what Walton could do that we forgot what we could do,” said Spartans coach Bob Korzep.
“I can’t say whether or not they will be undefeated this year, but I do know that as long as the big kid’s in the middle I’m not betting against them,” said Korzep.
Chula Vista would get closer later but still fall short.
KIWANIS TOURNAMENT
Thursday, Dec. 18, 1969
HELIX 76, PATRICK HENRY 43
The score was 43-18 at the half and 59-26 after three quarters. Walton scored 36 points and eight others made the box score.
Friday, Dec. 19, 1969
HELIX 89, EL CAJON VALLEY 56
Ten players scored, led by Walton’s 30 and Dupree’s 17. John Singer, who came off the bench for six points, would become a legendary Helix basketball coach.
Walton stretched and snared rebound from Madison’s 6-foot-6 Rich Hastings in Kiwanis Tournament game.
Saturday, Dec. 20, 1969
HELIX 87, MADISON 65
Walton’s 35 gave him 101 in three games, threatening the Kiwanis record of 120 in four games by Granite Hills’ Bob Lundgren in 1962 and equaled by El Capitan’s Blaine Bundy in 1966.
The Scots led, 39-34, at the half and 61-42 after three quarters, and essentially traded hoops with the Warhawks in a 26-23 last quarter.
The win was Helix’ 25th in a row over two seasons, leaving them 10 behind Mount Miguel’s County record.
Monday, Dec. 22, 1969
HELIX 89, SAN DIEGO 45
“We will try a couple new things,” said San Diego High coach Pete Colonelli, who replaced Bill Standly and whose Cavemen carried a 9-2 record into the Unlimited Division final in Peterson Gym. Tipoff was late, 9:15 p.m. after late-running consolation bracket games.
Helix savaged the Cavers with a 19-0 run after a 16-16 first quarter. Walton took a seat with 3:08 remaining in the game after scoring 31 points and hauling in 31 rebounds.
Bill Center’s game story pointed out that “when Helix was running wild (in the second quarter), Walton had 6 points and 11 rebounds in four minutes.” Dupree was the usual target for Walton’s outlet passes and scored 25.
Walton finished the tournament with 132 points, which would have been the record but Madison’s Dave Smith had 149.
COVINA TOURNAMENT
Friday, Dec. 26, 1969
HELIX 90, RANCHO CUCAMONGA ALTA LOMA 35
Back in the eras of Bob Divine and Bob Speidel, Helix coaches often filled the post-Christmas week by taking the team to the Fillmore Tournament in Ventura County. Gordon Nash this year opted for Covina, one of the nation’s leading events and requiring the champion to win 5 games.
Walton & Helix took to the big stage in Covina.
A 22-0 run in the third quarter was just part of the wreckage of Alta Loma. Helix led the Braves, 26-5, 50-11, and 77-14, at various junctures. Walton scored 24, Dupree 16, and Mike Honz and Race (Butch) Paddock, 10 each.
Saturday, Dec. 27, 1969
HELIX 72, MONTEBELLO 48
Walton had 31 points and Dupree 15 for 12 wins in a row this season and 28 consecutive over the last two seasons.
Monday, Dec. 29, 1969
HELIX 92, EL MONTE ARROYO 57
Shock! Helix trailed, 35-31, at the half.
Awe! The Scots’ full-court press drummed the Knights into submission. They outscored their opponents, 61-22, in the second half. Walton contributed 26 points and 22 rebounds. Dupree added 20 points and Mike Honz 19 points and 14 rebounds.
Tuesday, Dec. 30, 1969
HELIX 71, LONG BEACH MILLIKAN 49
This victory may have been the most significant of the Walton era.
The Millikan Rams compiled a 28-3 record and won the Southern Section major championship over Monrovia, 68-37, after knocking out 26-0 Santa Barbara, which featured Walton’s future UCLA teammate and NBA star Keith Wilkes, in the semifinals, 64-49.
Millikan’s other losses were to Inglewood Morningside, 69-63, and Long Beach Wilson, 70-61.
Wrote Ken Pivernetz of the Long Beach Press-Telegram: “Millikan committed 20 turnovers, scored only twice off the fast break, and was without the full service of (6-5 ½) all-City player Dave Frost, who twisted a muscle in his back and played only half the game.”
Pivernetz gave Walton mild praise.
“The talented Walton, the best prep player in the Border City, intimidated the Rams at times, by blocking eight shots, grabbing 23 rebounds, and scoring a game high 22 points.
After an 11-11 first quarter, Helix led, 32-27, at the half and blew it open with a 20-6 third quarter.
Dupree had 19 points and Randy Madsen 10.
Wednesday, Dec. 31, 1969
HELIX 110, PASADENA 68
Bill Center recounted from colleague Steve Bisheff an exchange between UCLA assistant coach Denny Crum and Crum’s boss, Bruins head coach John Wooden, after Crum returned from Helix’ tournament championship.
Crum: “I just saw the greatest high school player I’ve ever seen.”
Wooden, looking over his spectacles: “Better than Lewis (Alcindor)?”
Crum: “Yeah.”
Wooden: “Keep your voice down and close the door.”
Comparisons to Alcindor, almost unthinkable, were spoken in private, in hushed tones.
Alcindor, who had changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, arguably was the greatest collegiate player of all-time and the leader of the Bruins’ three consecutive, recent national championship teams.
Walton, whose older brother Bruce was on campus and playing for the Bruins’ football team, had been on Wooden’s radar, but the coach wanted to hear more from Crum, who would carve his own, legendary coaching career at the University of Louisville.
Walton dismantled the 12-2 Pasadena Bulldogs with 50 points, 34 rebounds, and nine blocked shots. He made 18 of 24 shots from the floor and converted 14 of 16 free throw attempts. Dupree added 24 points.
It was 29-10 after one quarter, 51-28 at the half, 78-45 after three, followed by a 32-23 final eight minutes of garbage time.
Helix coach Gordon Nash had few moments of apprehension.
The Highlanders did not press as they opened their 19-point lead in the first quarter. Coach Gordon Nash left Walton and the rest of the starting five in the game until the final 1:25.
Walton would “go national”, earning an item in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd.”
I also “owed” the Helix senior $50, which was what Eleanor Milosovic, the magazine’s director of correspondents, paid me for nominating Walton as a candidate for the publication’s weekly feature.
Walton had scored 451 points and was averaging 30.1. Helix had an 83.7 team average and was holding its opponents to 52.2.
Helix stood 15-0 and had won 31 in a row as the calendar turned to January.
Tuesday, Jan. 6, 1970
GROSSMONT LEAGUE
HELIX 67, MONTE VISTA 61
The visiting Monarchs, who, at 2-10, had stunned the Scots, 58-52, the previous season, came into the game with an 11-2 record and brought the game to Helix, double- and triple-teaming Walton as Helix struggled to put the game away. The Highlanders finally broke it open in the fourth quarter, stretching a 51-44 lead to 67-55.
“They forced us into a lot of mistakes and we didn’t play very well,” said Nash, who was not enamored of the officiating around the basket.
“They (officials) watch what takes place in the air, but not what happens with the body,” said Nash. “Billy was manhandled out there pretty good.”
Despite the Monarchs’ physical approach, Walton scored 31 points and took down 22 rebounds. Mike Dupree added 14 points and Mike Honz 11.
Friday, Jan. 10, 1970
HELIX 68, EL CAPITAN 44
Guards Steve and Wade Vickery kept the ball outside the key much of the game, inviting a Helix press which effectively nullified the Vaqueros, who trailed only 12-7 at the end of the first quarter. Walton had 21 points, Dupree 17, and Randy Madsen 10.
Tuesday, Jan. 13, 1970
HELIX 86. EL CAJON VALLEY 49
“We won’t hold the ball or slow the game down, but we’ve got a couple things up our sleeve that we’ll try to work,” said El Cajon Valley coach Jack Lasley.
The Braves worked hard to muscle Walton away from the basket and twice knocked him to the floor (Walton slightly turned his ankle the second time, bringing gasps from Helix partisans).
Walton had 20 points in 23 minutes and 30 seconds. He also had 22 rebounds and nine blocked shots. Dupree followed with 19 points, Madsen 17, and Honz 14, plus 18 rebounds, as Helix enjoyed a 61-24 advantage on the boards.
“No one I know is going to beat them,” said the El Cajon Valley coach, who added that “defensively he intimidated us to the extent we wouldn’t run anything.”
Friday, Jan. 16, 1970
HELIX 97, GROSSMONT 74.
The Highlanders tied Mount Miguel’s County record of 35 wins in a row with their 19th straight this season behind Walton’s 37 points and 24 rebounds. Mike Dupree, 12×22 from the floor, added 27 points as the Highlanders shot 58 per cent.
Walton towered over Castle Park standout Elias Delgadillo as teammate Mike Dupree (21) observed from afar.
Tuesday, Jan. 20, 1970
HELIX 89, GRANITE HILLS 32
Dupree scored 28 points while Walton had a season low 15 as Helix began with a 20-6, first-quarter, led, 71-23, after three, and set a County record with win No. 36 in a row.
Friday, Jan. 23, 1970
HELIX 93, MOUNT MIGUEL 61
The winning numbers now read 21 for the season and 37 overall. Walton scored 41 points and three others were in double figures.
John Slater, son of Kearny High football coach Birt Slater, led the Matadors with 21. Mount Miguel was a shadow of its great team of 1967-68, 1-5 in league play and 2-14 overall.
Tuesday, Jan. 27, 1970
HELIX 81, SANTANA 47
Walton still was feeling the effects of an apparent week-long stretch of flu but hammered the 14-6 Sultans with 32 points on 13×15 shooting, 21 rebounds and eight blocked shots. Mike Honz had 15 rebounds and Helix blocked 17 Sultans field-goal attempts.
“I thought if we could hit forty per cent today we’d beat ‘em,” said Santana coach Tom Curran. The Sultans were 22×82 for 27 per cent.
Friday, Jan. 30, 1970
HELIX 94, MONTE VISTA 51
Perhaps aroused by its fairly close call in the league opener, the Scots knocked down 15 of their first 20 shots, creating a 33-11 first-quarter lead. Twenty-two points came on point-blank layups. Four field goals were ignited by Walton’s outlet passes to either Mike Dupree, who matched Walton’s 26 points, or to Dan Coleman, who had a season high 14. Mike Honz added 14.
The Monarchs, another good Grossmont League squad, fell to 15-6.
Tuesday, Feb. 3, 1970
HELIX 93, EL CAPITAN 49.
Now listed at 6-feet-11 in most newspaper articles, Walton scored 30 and Helix eased to its 40th win in a row.
Saturday, Feb. 6, 1970
HELIX 102, EL CAJON VALLEY 72
Imagine, scoring in the seventies, more than any other Highlanders opponent, and still losing by 30 points. That was the fate of Jack Lasley’s Braves. Walton led the way with 29, followed by Dupree’s 22, Honz’ 21, and Coleman’s 15.
Tuesday, Feb. 10, 1970
HELIX 104, GROSSMONT 48
Walton scored 31 points for a season total of 764, moving past Crawford’s Larry Blum (737 in 1962-63) into second place all-time, 10 points below the mark set by Kearny’s Wilburn Strong in 1968-69. Honz (19), Coleman (15), Dupree (13), and Madsen (12) also got into the action.
Thursday, Feb. 12, 1970
HELIX 107, GRANITE HILLS 44
Helix had 52 points at the half, enough to win. Walton’s 34 points gave him 798, a County record. Helix won its 43rd in a row and 27th this season. Honz added 19 and Dupree 15.
Tuesday, Feb. 17, 1970
HELIX 127, MOUNT MIGUEL 31
Nash’s starters stayed in long enough to score 119 points, led by Dupree’s career high 43. Walton had 24 and Coleman sniped for a career high 22. Madsen contributed 16 and Honz 14.
The single-game scoring record for large schools had been Mount Miguel’s 121 against Santana in 1967-68. Marian held the overall record with 124 against San Marcos in 1966-67.
Perhaps most illuminating was Mount Miguel’s sudden fall from the top. It was the Matadors who doled out this kind of punishment two seasons before.
Transfers of convenience to favored teams were not common. Coaches took the hand they were dealt.
Mount Miguel’s cupboard was bare.
Friday, Feb. 20, 1970
HELIX 94, SANTANA 58
Domination indeed…a 36-point win over a team that was 11-2 in league play and 19-8 overall. The scoring order: Walton, 30, Dupree, 18, Honz, 16.
The Scots finished the regular season with a 29-0 record and with a winning streak of 45. The 29 victories was a County record. San Diego had set the standard when it posted a 28-6 record in 1946-47.
Walton, cutting down net after championship, infrequently had to look up.
CIF PLAYOFFS
“This is a very good team and our record proves it,” Walton said. “One player couldn’t account for the season we’ve had. If we’d made a lot of mistakes we’d lose, but I don’t think we will. When one player is going bad someone else jumps in and we’re pretty deep.”
Walton described Dupree and Madsen as “two of the best guards around” and with Mike Honz and Butch Paddock “no one is stronger at forward.”
Tuesday, Feb. 24, 1970
HELIX 109, EL CAJON VALLEY 47.
Thirteen players scored and the Highlanders broke the single-game playoff record that Grossmont had set in a 93-36 win over Julian the previous season. A 48-29 halftime lead was followed by a scalding, 30-5 third quarter. Mike Dupree led with 23, followed by Walton (21), Dan Coleman (16), and Mike Honz (15).
Wednesday, Feb. 25, 1970
HELIX 92, HILLTOP 60
The quarterfinals victory on the Metropolitan League team’s floor was Helix’ 31st of the season and 47th in a row. Walton “settled” for 21 points, “missed several layups and once was called for goal tending.” Honz, Dupree, and Madsen had 20, 15, and 12 respectively.
Friday, Feb. 27, 1970
HELIX 75, CASTLE PARK 54
The Midway district Sports Arena was host for the semifinals and finals and the Highlanders seemingly breezed, leading, 55-35, after three quarters, but the Trojans, led by husky Elias Delgadillo, who had 21 points, played the Helix starters almost evenly in a 20-19 fourth quarter.
Walton scored on seven consecutive possessions and blocked five shots in the last eight minutes. He finished with 33 points and 23 rebounds as a crowd of 5,789 looked on.
Saturday, Feb. 28, 1970
HELIX 70, CHULA VISTA 56
Walton’s 31 points, despite converting only three of 11 free throws, and his 31 rebounds reaffirmed for the turnout of 6,451 persons that they were witnessing a player and team that might never be matched in the San Diego area.
“It’s been a long season, especially for the players,” said Coach Gordon Nash. “Thirty-three games is an awful lot. But there will never be another year like this one. I don’t think there will be another player like Billy for some time.”
“For the time being I’m going to relax,” said Walton. “I’m a little tired and I want to take it easy.”
Monday, March 2, 1970
“He proved a big man can make a team great if he sacrificed personal gains,” said Nash in Bill Center’s post mortem. “Billy could have scored a lot more. Everyone knows that. But he sacrificed and he did it without any second thought that I know of.”
“I’m going to miss playing for Helix,” said Walton. “At the end of the year I started to realize totally how great it was.”
UCLA would welcome this player who set records of 29 points a game (957) and 22.4 rebounds (739) and the Bruins would continue ruling college basketball as had Helix this unforgettable season.
2024-25 Basketball Playoffs Week 4A: Rancho Bernardo, Mater Dei Fall Short
GIRLS
STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
DIVISION II
SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 2 P.M.
7 Rancho Bernardo 37 (26-8), vs. 1 Caruthers, Central, 56 (26-6), @Sacramento Golden 1 Center.
D-III
FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2 P.M.
5 Mater Dei 38 (21-14), vs. 3 Kentfield Marin Catholic, North Coast, 48 (26-11), @Sacramento Golden 1 Center.
5 Mater Dei (21-13) 51, @2 Woodland Hills El Camino Real, L.A. City, 38 (16-15).
2024-25 Playoffs Weeks 3-4: Leave the Regionals to the Girls
Two San Diego Section girls teams are still standing: Number seven seed Rancho Bernardo and No. 5 Mater Dei.
The Bronchos and Crusaders will take underdog status on the road again in the State CIF Southern Regional Division II and III finals Tuesday, March 11.
R.B. (25-7), after a five-hour, 287-mile jaunt and 44-37 victory at D-II No. 6 Arroyo Grande, has a 272-mile trip to Porterville and home of the No. 1, 25-8 Monache Marauders of the Central Section.
Porterville is about 65 miles north of Bakersfield and 70 miles southeast of Fresno, located at the base of the Sierra-Nevada mountains on the eastern fringe of the San Joaquin Valley.
Monache is no hick school in the boondocks. It has an enrollment of almost 2,000 students and Porterville is a city of more than 60,000 residents, according to Wikipedia.
The Broncos and Marauders have one common opponent. Monache defeated Arroyo Grande, 57-46, in a home game in January.
ANOTHER HIGH SEED
Mater Dei’s travel itinerary is less daunting than Rancho Bernardo’s. The Crusaders went north 150 miles and defeated D-III top seed L.A. Palisades, 57-55, at Lake Balboa Birmingham in the San Fernando Valley and now take on No. 2 Woodland Hills El Camino Real, 155 miles away on U.S. 101.
The Crusaders (20-13) also defeated No 12 Bakersfield Liberty, 66-48, and No. 4 Carlsbad, 59-52, along the way. The El Camino Real Royals (16-14) dispatched No. 15 Shafter, 54-50, No. 10 Culver City, 65-45, and No. 3 Los Angeles Garfield, 64-47.
