The UT-San Diego boys’ basketball ratings deadline came a few hours early yesterday.  Disaster struck a little later for the No. 1,  and No. 5 teams.

Cathedral Catholic was stunned by No. 6 Army-Navy, 67-61, as 7-foot, 1-inch Cheikh (Chay) Ndiaye (En-die) dominated the shorter but quick Dons with a 25-rebound-22-point-10-blocked-shots performance in the Martin Luther King Showcase at Hoover.

Hoover, No. 5, was shocked by Horizon, 91-90, in overtime.

More upheaval is possible Thursday night at Point Loma Nazarene University, where No. 1 Cathedral and No. 2 St. Augustine collide.

First place votes in parenthesis.

Others receiving votes: Westview, 14-5 (5); Morse, 17-5 (5); Francis Parker, 10-5 (4); Santa Fe Christian, 111-5 (1); Helix, 13-5 (1).

The play on words certainly was not original.

Roger Conlee and I referred to Bob Speidel as “The Watchman”, in reference to his last name and to the company that made millions of timepiece wrist bands.

But Speidel was in the forefront of basketball coaches in the early years of the San Diego Section.  He guided Helix to championships  in  1964 and 1966 in the pre-Bill Walton era.  A basketball lifer, Speidel had several other stops along the way and never left the game.

According to Bill Dickens of U-T-San Diego, Speidel  most recently was a San Diego State season ticket holder with friend and former Monte Vista and Grossmont College coach Felix Rogers.

Speidel passed away on Jan. 6, 2013, at age 80 from complications of lung cancer.  “What is really strange is that he never smoked a day in his life,” Rogers told Bill Dickens.

I was a prep writer for the Evening Tribune in 1964 when Helix  took on La Jolla for the San Diego Section title.  It was the first finals matchup between  city and  county squads. Hoover won in 1961 and ’62 against city opponents and Crawford defeated a city opponent in 1963.

La Jolla had been extended in a 78-70 semifinals win over Lincoln the night before and Helix had struggled but eliminated Chula Vista, 49-43.

La Jolla was 29-0 and featured a pressing defense and up-tempo offense that had run off  30 straight victories dating to the 1962-63 season.  Helix was taller and, at 25-3, a formidable opponent but slight underdog.

With 6-6 Al Skalecky, 6-3 Jim Sunderman, and 6-1 Ron Slocum in the front line (Slocum was injured early in the game and replaced by Larry Bailey), the Highlanders were taller but  not as quick as the Vikings’ 6-3 Rick Eveleth, 6-1 Bill Canning, and 5-10 Charlie Buchanan.

Helix turned the game into a 76-56 rout with a 15-2 run in the second quarter before about 3,300 persons at Cal Western University’s Golden Gym.

“Our strategy was to run on their press and get the ball downcourt,” said Speidel.  “We got off a lot of shots without setting up.

“I knew we had a size advantage,”  Speidel added, not expecting the Highlanders’ 46-22 advantage in rebounds.

“I’ve seen Helix three or four times and they never played that well,” said the stunned La Jolla coach, Bill Reeves.

Two seasons later, led by John Skalecky, John Ugrin, and Rick Barnes, Speidel’s Helix squad defeated Chula Vista 51-41.

“Bob and I co-owned a mountain cabin near Julian in the ‘seventies and ‘eighties,” said my Evening Tribune colleague and Helix graduate Roger Conlee.

“We spent some good times there around a blazing fire talking–what else?–basketball,” said Conlee.  “He loved the game and was a great student of the game.”

CATHEDRAL UNANIMOUS NO. 1

U-T Sportswriters-Sportscasters poll
First-place votes in parenthesis

After five weeks of nonleague games and tournaments in far-flung locations, San Diego Section basketball teams begin the run to the playoffs in earnest this week.

Cathedral emerged as the frontrunner in the third UT-San Diego poll with all 13 possible first-place votes.  The Dons got a head start on most other clubs when they opened the Eastern League season last Friday with a win at home over St. Augustine 67-64.

No. 2 Hoover beat Canyon Country Canyon 78-55 on Saturday.  No. 4 Army-Navy dropped a 62-55 decision to Foothill of Henderson, Nevada, in the host school tournament.  No. 5 La Costa Canyon won its division of a Palm Desert tournament by knocking off unbeaten Mission Viejo 70-58.

Preseason No. 1 Lincoln lost star player Tyree Robinson for the season with a broken foot.  The Hornets were blown out in two of four games in the Westlake Village Oaks Christian tournament and are 6-5.

Others receiving votes: San Marcos (12-3,  7 points), Eastlake (8-5,  3), Santa Fe Christian (9-4,  3), Morse (13-3,  2), Parker (7-5,  1).

St. Augustine scored an impressive victory but San Diego teams lost three of four games  in the Long Beach Jordan-hosted Public-vs.-Private showcase Saturday  at Long Beach City College.

The Saints defeated high-scoring Riverside JW North, 63-54.  Cathedral was beaten by Etiwanda, 60-54.  Santa Monica topped La Jolla Country Day 60-39, and Corona Santiago edged Army-Navy, 58-53.

A 26-14 second quarter propelled the Saints (5-1) to a 10-point halftime lead over the North Huskies, who were 10-1 coming into the game  and who had averaged 88 points in the previous four games, with only a 100-86 loss to Mt. Vernon, N.Y.

Cathedral (8-2) trailed Etiwanda (8-2) 38-29 at the end of three quarters and outscored the Eagles 25-22 in the fourth quarter  but shot only 35 per cent overall on 17 of 49 field-goal attempts.

Army-Navy (6-1) could not overcome a 34-13 blowout in the second and third quarters as the Santiago Sharks moved to 8-3.

Santa Monica improved to 8-3 and La Jolla Country Day fell to 2-2.

Lincoln remained first in the second UT-San Diego basketball poll despite losing in the Drew Gooden Showcase in El Cerrito Saturday night.

San Jose Mitty, defending state champion in Division II, defeated the Hornets 71-60 in the event named for Milwaukee Bucks NBA player Gooden, who starred at El Cerrito High, near Oakland.

It was the end of a grueling trip for the Hornets, who rode north Friday in two 15-passenger vans. They returned Sunday afternoon.

Lincoln (5-2) received 10 first-place votes in the poll of 14 sportswriters and sportscasters.  Cathedral Catholic was second with four first-place votes.

SAN DIEGO TEAMS IN LONG BEACH

After a 76-62 victory at Pasadena, Cathedral gears up for the Long Beach Jordan-hosted, 14-team Public-vs-Private Showcase Saturday at Long Beach City College. Three other San Diego teams will participate.

The Dons take on the tough Etiwanda Eagles at 6:30 p.m. Other games:  Army-Navy- Corona Santiago, 12:30; La Jolla Country Day-Santa Monica, 2; Jordan-L.A. Price, 3:30; Montebello Cantwell-Rancho Cucamonga, 5: Riverside J.W. North-St. Augustine, 8.

OREGON TRAIL NO FUN

Two traditionally solid San Diego-area teams were schooled by Portland-area powerhouse and nationally respected Lake Oswego.  Helix fell 68-27 at a tournament in Chico and El Camino sustained its only loss in 10 games, losing 60-36 in a non-tournament contest at the Oregon  school.

Lake Oswego is the alma mater of  Minnesota Timberwolves star Kevin Love, son of former NBA player Stan Love, who is the brother of “Beach Boys” founder Mike Love.

STILL GOING

The 66th annual San Diego Kiwanis tournament, once a premier Southern California event, opened this week.  Eight boys teams and 20 girls teams will be competing.

1–Lincoln (10); 5-2; 131; 1.
2–Cathedral Catholic (4); 8-1; 127; 2.
3–Hoover, 5-1; 93; 3.
4–Army-Navy, 6-0; 88; 5.
5–St. Augustine, 4-1; 82; 7.
6–El Camino, 9-1; 60; 8.
6–Mission Hills, 4-1; 60; 6.
8–LaCosta Canyon, 7-3; 50; 4.
9–San Ysidro, 5-1; 42; 8.
10–Torrey Pines, 2-3; 10; T10.
Place–Team (First-place votes); Team record; Points; Last Week

Others receiving votes:
San Marcos (9), Eastlake (6), Mount Miguel (5), Morse (4), Helix (1), Santa Fe Christian (11), Valley Center (1).