THE ROB STONE SPORTS SCOUTING REPORT:
USD TAKES DOWN GONZAGA; KEARNY KOMETS WIN CIF
By Rob Stone
Six-foot junior Johnny Dee demonstrated a nice shooting touch, finishing with a team-high 16 points as the University of San Diego (USD) Toreros came up with their biggest win of the season, taking down the No.25 Gonzaga Bulldogs 69-66 in a West Coast Conference (WCC) men’s basketball matchup played at the Jenny Craig Pavillion (JCP) on the campus of USD in Linda Vista on Saturday evening, February 22.
Dee shot 42 percent from the field (five out of 12), while also enjoying a perfect night tickling the twine from the free throw line (four out of four) and was followed in the Toreros scoring column by six-foot-five-inch sophomore Duda Sanadze (15 points and five rebounds), 6-foot-11-inch senior Dennis Kramer (nine points and seven rebounds), six-foot-nine-inch sophomore Jito Kok (nine points, five rebounds, two steals, and one blocked shot), and five-foot-seven-inch junior guard Christopher Anderson (seven points, six assists, and four steals).
Two evenings earlier, USD completed a season sweep of Portland, pouncing on the Pilots by a final score of 61-59.
Once again, the Toreros triumph was paced by the performances of Dee (15 points, two rebounds, and one steal), Sandaze (15 points and two blocked shots), Anderson (nine points, five assists, three rebounds, and two steals), Kramer (seven points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals), and Kok (six rebounds and two blocked shots).
Unfortunately for USD, they were clawed 78-70 by the Brigham Young University (BYU) Cougars on Saturday afternoon, March 1.
After being beaten by BYU, the Toreros suffered a tough 69-60 loss at the hands of the University of San Francisco (USF) Dons in the WCC Tournament at The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday afternoon, March 8.
“Our defensive effort in the second half was phenomenal,” said USF coach Rex Walters. “It’s hard to beat a good team three times. San Diego is a good team and they are only going to get better.”
LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL ACTION BY THE NUMBERS:
73 points scored by the second-seeded Kearny Komets in their 73-58 shellacking of the top-seeded Sweetwater Red Devils in the championship game of the C.I.F. San Diego Section Division III playoff brackets on Friday afternoon, March 7 at the JCP.
19 points and 18 rebounds from Ben Moa to lead Kearny in their 19th consecutive victory against previously unbeaten Sweetwater, followed by Austin Knox (16 points and 7 rebounds), Takoda Browne (11 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals), Xavier Browne (10 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals), Jeremiah Jordan (9 points), Rashad Russell (4 points and 5 assists), Wilton Guillory (2 points), and Robby Robinson (2 points and 9 rebounds).
62 points tallied by the sixth-seeded Komets in their 67-62 defeat to the St. Francis Golden Knights from La Canada, California in the first round of the C.I.F. Southern California Regional playoff brackets on Wednesday evening, March 12 at Kearny.
2 C.I.F. San Diego Section titles for the Komets program since 1979.
1 football scholarship awarded to Moa from Boise State University.
46 points scored by the second-seeded Francis Parker Lancers in their 55-46 loss to the top-seeded Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders in the championship game of the C.I.F. San Diego Section Division II playoff brackets on Friday evening, March 7 at the JCP.
38 points tallied by the seventh-seeded Lancers in their 55-38 defeat to the tenth-seeded Foothill Knights from from Santa Ana, California in the first round of the C.I.F. Southern California Regional Playoff brackets on Wednesday evening, March 12 at Francis Parker.
21 points scored by Evan Fitzner to lead the Lancers against Foothill.
1 basketball scholarship awarded to Fitzner from Saint Mary’s College.
59 points tallied by the fifth-seeded Horizon Christian Academy Panthers in their 71-59 loss to the fourth-seeded Foothills Christian Knights in the quarterfinals of the C.I.F. San Diego Section Division III playoff brackets on Saturday evening, March 1 at Foothills Christian.
64 points scored by the Panthers in their 64-59 swashbuckling of the Oceanside Pirates in the first round of the C.I.F. San Diego Section Division III playoff brackets on Wednesday evening, February 26 at Horizon.
63 points tallied by the tenth-seeded Clairemont Chieftains in their 74-63 defeat to the second-seeded Tri-City Christian Eagles in the quarterfinals of the C.I.F. San Diego Section Division IV playoff brackets on Saturday evening, March 1 at Tri-City Christian.
1 player of the game awarded to Clairemont’s Julian Diaz against the Eagles.
52 points scored by the Chieftains in their 52-31 scalping of the seventh-seeded Maranatha Christian High Eagles in the first round of the C.I.F. San Diego Section Division IV playoff brackets on Wednesday, February 26 at Clairemont.
1 player of the game awarded to the Chieftains Shane Ray against Maranatha Christian.
42 points tallied by the tenth-seeded Madison Warhawks in their 55-42 loss to the seventh-seeded Del Norte Nighthawks in the first round of the C.I.F. San Diego Section Division III playoff brackets on Wednesday, February 26 at Del Norte.
MARCH MADNESS FINAL FOUR FORECAST BY THE NUMBERS:
4 teams in the NCAA Final Four bracket of Rick Steckel, bartender at Peter D’s, (Michigan State Spartans, Louisville Cardinals, Florida Gators, and Wisconsin Badgers) with Sparty toppling the house of Cards!
4 teams in the bracket of Keith Zeek, bartender at The Watering Hole, (Michigan State, Louisville, Florida, and the Arizona Wildcats) with Michigan State winning it all over the Ville!
Rob Stone is a life-long resident of the Clairemont Mesa/Kearny Mesa area and is also a certified talent scout through Sports Management Worldwide. If you would like a professional scouting report written up on your favorite athlete, you can feel free to contact him directly. He may be reached at http://www.highvoltigesports.blogspot.com, http://www.smwwscout.com/rob-stone, rstone@smww.com, Sportsguyrob@att.net, or 1 (619) 871-7024.
