Crenshaw vs. Dominguez a Real Holiday Treat

No matter how far they go again this season, the boys’ basketball teams from Crenshaw and Compton Dominguez won’t meet in the postseason.

Because the schools compete in different divisions--Crenshaw in Division I and Dominguez in II--there isn’t the opportunity to play each other in the state tournament. The schools won state titles last year.

Basketball fans, however, will get a rare glimpse of these teams squaring off at the third Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Challenge, which will be held on the national holiday Monday at Pauley Pavilion. Tip-off for the Crenshaw-Dominguez game is 6:30 p.m.

The game is one of eight that will be played Monday, including two girls’ games. The Inglewood and Dominguez girls begin the day at 9:30 a.m., and the finale between the North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake and Fairfax boys starts at 8 p.m.

The Challenge had three games the first year and six last year. Increased interest led to the expanded format, and at least 20 schools that wanted to participate this season were turned away.

The event is not a tournament. But fans who buy a ticket can stay for the whole day.

“I wanted to organize something that brought a group of diverse schools together but that wasn’t a holiday tournament,” said organizer Dinos Trigonis, who also coaches the Belmont Shores traveling team. “There wasn’t anything of this magnitude in the city of Los Angeles, so I thought there was a need.”

Several sponsors this year helped cover the expense of the event, including the $15,000 rental fee for Pauley Pavilion. UCLA’s basketball teams also cooperated by agreeing to practice elsewhere that day, allowing for the all-day format.

If things go well, Trigonis is considering expanding the event to two days next year to accommodate more schools. He also plans to rotate the lineup so the same teams won’t be participating each year.

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The Holiday Challenge isn’t the only one being held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The UC Irvine Bren Center is the site of the Pacifica Premier Invitational featuring 14 boys’ and girls’ teams, primarily from Orange County.

The featured game will be between the Irvine Woodbridge and Villa Park boys at 7:55 p.m. The contest is being touted as a showdown between highly touted centers Chris Burgess of Woodbridge and Eric Chenowith of Villa Park. Burgess signed with Duke and Chenowith with Kansas.

The only girls’ game will be between Southland powers Woodbridge and Ventura Buena at 3 p.m.

As is the case with the Holiday Challenge, one ticket allows a fan to watch all seven games, beginning with Cypress and Garden Grove Pacifica at 10:30 a.m.

If attendance is respectable for both events, watch for more next year. Since most schools aren’t in session on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the schedule opportunities are endless.

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The Pyramid at Long Beach State was the site of all the openers for the Moore League boys’ and girls’ basketball teams last Saturday.

The six-game extravaganza began early and ended late, with the crowd growing to more than 2,500 at its peak.

The highlight was a 72-70 victory by the Compton boys over Long Beach Poly. Senior guard Jeff Trepagnier, who scored the winning basket in an upset of Compton Dominguez last month, provided the spark again by finishing with 26 points, including five three-point baskets, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. The Tarbabes improved to 12-4.

Because of the costs, there aren’t plans to hold any more Moore League double-tripleheaders this season.

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Although Santa Ana Mater Dei finished the season as the No. 1-ranked football team in the nation in USA Today, the Monarchs finished second in the state in Student Sport magazine.

Cal-Hi Sports, which handles rankings for Student Sport magazine, led its final state poll with Concord De La Salle, which finished 12-0 after winning the North Coast Section title for the fifth year in a row and eighth time in nine years. De La Salle increased its national-leading win streak to 64 games and will take aim at the national record 72-game win streak established from 1968-75 by Hudson, Mich.

Mater Dei’s Rod Perry Jr. was selected state player of the year. The wide receiver and defensive back helped the Monarchs to undefeated seasons in 1994 and ’96. As a senior, Perry finished with 78 receptions for 1,494 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also intercepted five passes.

For his career, Perry finished with 143 receptions for 4,098 yards and 34 touchdowns. He became only the second player in state history to surpass 4,000 yards and his 28.6-yard per catch average also ranks No. 2 in state history.

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With the national football signing day less than a month away, several of the area’s top players have begun making their intentions known.

Locally, USC has fared well early, receiving oral commitments from running back Malaefou MacKenzie of Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley, linebacker Michael Pollard of Long Beach Poly and defensive back Chris Richard of Gardena Serra.

Newhall Hart wide receiver Cody Joyce and Chino Hills offensive lineman Ed Anderson said they plan to sign with UCLA.