BASKETBALL HIGHLIGHTS : Birmingham Closes Book on University

Center Keith Owens scored 18 points and Charles Johnson added 16 to lead Birmingham High to a 77-56 victory over University at home Friday.

Birmingham (5-1) led, 15-6, at the end of the first quarter and was never threatened.

“We got a chance to use some people that we hadn’t used in a while,” Birmingham Coach Jeff Halpern said. “We were also able to rest some people who have been sick.”

The Braves also received strong efforts from Ennerea Maxwell, who had 12 points and nine rebounds, and Adam Zuckerman, who had 11 assists.

“I didn’t know what to expect before the season,” Halpern said. “Each game seems to show me a little bit more. I’m optimistic, but still guarded.”

Burbank 54, Hoover 45--Senior forward Chris Buck scored 18 points and six rebounds as Burbank posted the nonleague victory at Hoover.

Abo Velasco scored 13 points and Bryan Chandler added 10 for Burbank (3-2). Joe Velasquez led Hoover (3-3) with 19 points.

Burbank outscored Hoover, 14-8, in the first quarter and stretched its lead to 16 points in the third quarter. Hoover trailed by more than 10 points throughout most of the fourth quarter.

Saugus 56, Torrance 52--Jackson Clark scored 13 points and Jeff Borst added 11 as Saugus won the consolation semifinal of the Beverly Hills Tournament.

Saugus was ahead, 52-50, with less than a minute remaining when Darrin Newberry and Clark each hit a pair of free throws to clinch the win.

Jeff Cummins led Torrance with 17 points. Saugus (3-3) will face Thousand Oaks in the consolation final today at 1:30.

Grant 49, Monroe 37--Mike Parker had 13 and 10 rebounds while Jason Schirn had eight points and 16 rebounds in the nonleague game at Grant. Roosevelt Johnson led Monroe (2-2) with 12 points.

Quartz Hill 66, Harvard 49--Despite 25 points from senior guard Steve Green, Harvard was unable to overcome a significant height disadvantage in the consolation championship at the El Segundo tournament.

Harvard trailed by seven points at halftime, but twice moved within three in the third quarter. Mike Lowe had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Saracens (2-3).

Hamilton 71, El Camino Real 65-- Brian Green scored 31 points to lead Hamilton to the Valley League win at Hamilton.

El Camino Real (1-2, 0-2 in league) was led by Nick Warner, who scored 16 points, and Sean Davis, who had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Hamilton (1-5, 1-1) shot 65%.

Paraclete 55, Oakwood 54--Phil Barbuscia made a free throw to complete a three-point play with three seconds left in the game to give Oakwood the nonleague victory at home.

Paraclete trailed by 12 points at halftime and and did not take its first lead until there were four minutes left. The comeback was led by Pete Perey, who had 16 points, and David Deisinger, who had 11.

Mitchell Butler, a sophomore forward, paced Oakwood (2-3) with a game-high 32 points.

L.A. Baptist 49, Fillmore 46--Point guard Steve Kim made 6 of 7 free throws in the last two minutes to lead L.A. Baptist (3-0) in the nonleague game at Fillmore.

Kim, who made 10 of 11 free throws and had seven assists, led the Knights with 12 points. The Knights made 23 of 32 free throws while Fillmore did not a free throw. Jim Roberts had a game-high 16 points for Fillmore (3-2).

Webb 52, L.A. Lutheran 48 (3 OT)--Webb took advantage of its free throw opportunities in the third overtime to score the nonleague victory Friday night at Webb.

L.A. Lutheran was led by Jeff Young, who scored 19 points.

Canyon 85, La Canada 72--Greg Paskwietz scored 29 points and and had 11 assists, and Stuart Sayre added 13 points and 15 rebounds to give Canyon (5-0) the championship of the La Canada tournament Thursday.

Canyon’s Larry Allbritton scored a career-high 24 points. Canyon advanced to the final with a 51-50 victory over Crescenta Valley on Wednesday when Sayre converted two free throws with no time left in the game. Paskwietz is averaging 25 points a game.

Calabasas 73, Newbury Park 57--Forward Steve Ward’s 41 points and eight rebounds paced Calabasas to the nonleague victory at Newbury Park.

Calabasas (5-3) put the game away in the third quarter when it scored nine straight points to extend its lead to 17 with two minutes left in the quarter. Newbury Park (2-3), which was playing without two starters because of injuries, received 14 points from Wayne Cook and 10 from Sean Doyle.

Highland Hall 71, Baker Valley 24--Dax Tobin scored 17 points and had 14 rebounds to lead Highland Hall (1-2) in the semifinal game of the Baker Valley Tournament. Teammates Kory Kipp and Wes Parrish scored 16 and 10 points, respectively.

Kennedy 59, Reseda 46--Marcus Malone scored 12 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter to lead Kennedy in the Valley League game. Teammate Clarence Williams added 15 points. Kennedy (2-0 in league) took a 22-11 halftime lead. Forward Robert Stepner lead Reseda with 14 points.

California Christian 46, Grace Community 38--Jason Boling scored eight of his 14 points in the fourth quarter.

California Christian (3-2), which led by two after three quarters, scored six unanswered points during the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Reseda 58, Granada Hills 34--Angie Smith collected 20 points and 16 rebounds to lead Reseda to the nonleague win at Granada Hills.

Reseda (4-0) led from the beginning and opened up a 16-point lead by halftime. Center Aggie Garcia had 18 rebounds for Reseda.

Sandy Kuranishi had nine points for Granada Hills (2-1).

Birmingham 69, Cleveland 56--Shaggara Lattin scored 22 points and Tenita Bennett added 18 to lead Birmingham to the nonleague victory at Cleveland.

Cleveland (1-3) was led by Nancy Nicholls, who had 14 points, and Nicole Hanchett, who had 12. Birmingham is 6-3.

Taft 54, San Fernando 48--Freshman Julie Koppekin scored 16 points and Tracy Wilson added 14 as Taft held off a late San Fernando charge for the nonleague win at Taft.

Taft (4-0), which led by as many as 12 points, also got 11 points from Kana Snider. Wilson also had 14 rebounds to lead Taft.

Alemany 71, Dos Pueblos 65--Jenny Beubis had 22 points and seven rebounds to lead Alemany to the win in a consolation semifinal at the Bishop Diego tournament.

Alemany led by 12 points at halftime, but Dos Pueblos cut the deficit to four at the end of third quarter and tied the game with three minutes left. But Alemany pulled the game out behind the play of Jennifer Kroll, who had 16 points, and Andrea Hoffman, who had 15 and a team-high eight rebounds.

El Camino Real 58, Grant 37--Melissa Guidi scored 16 points and had 7 rebounds while teammate Kerrie Marshall had 12 points and 16 rebounds to lead El Camino Real to the win at home.

El Camino Real (3-1) led, 27-20, at halftime and then outscored Grant, 18-8, in the third quarter. Marissa Benetua led Grant (1-2) with 17 points.

Burroughs 63, Notre Dame 18--Jenny Stoll scored 12 points and Debbie Penney added nine to lead Burroughs to the nonleague win at home.

Burroughs (3-0) utilized a full-court press to take a 30-10 halftime lead and then outscored the Knights, 36-4, in the second and third quarters. Notre Dame drops to 2-2.

Saugus 78, St. Bonaventure 37--Debbie Ramsey scored 23 points and Ellen Dinsenbacher added 18 as Saugus won the consolation semifinal in the Nordhoff tournament.

Saugus (2-2) led, 24-2, at the end of the first quarter. Saugus will play L.A. Baptist in Saturday’s consolation final at 2:30 p.m.

Holy Martyrs 43, Brentwood 24--Ayline Amirayan scored a game-high 29 points and Maral Boghosian added eight rebounds for Holy Martyrs (3-0) in the nonleague game at Brentwood. Brentwood drops to 0-4.

St. Genevieve 52, Agoura 40--Elizabeth Morelos scored 10 of her game-high 20 points in the third quarter to lead St. Genevieve to the nonleague win. Ann Baida scored 15 points for the Valiants (3-0), who outscored Agoura in the third quarter, 17-8, after leading by two points at halftime. Agoura made only 4 of 22 free throws while St. Genevieve scored on 18 of 35.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Golden West 52, Valley 51--Geannie Battaglia made a off-balance 20-footer as time ran out to lift Golden West to the nonconference victory Friday night at Valley.

Valley guard Bernadette Tillis missed the front end of a one-and-one situation with 15 seconds left to set up Battaglia’s game-winning shot.

The win improved Golden West’s record to 9-0. Valley, which dropped to 8-2, was led by Tracy Atkins, who had 16 points.