MidValleySports.Com

Matt Schuler

By Matt Schuler

Covina Christmas Action

Bonita vs. Arroyo (67-38) first round

The Bonita Bearcats advanced their record to 9-2 after dominating Arroyo, 67-38, in the first round of the Covina Classic Monday night at Covina High School.

Jordan Butler and James Northup led the charge for Bonita. Butler finished with a team high 14 points and Northup added 8 points, 3 assists, and 2 steals.

Butler hit two 3-pointers, including one in the first, allowing  the Bearcats to jump out to an early 11-0 lead with 2:10 to play in the opening quarter. The deficit would have been even greater if it wasn’t for Arroyo’s big man and captain Mark Roche, who knocked down a pair of buckets to get the Knights on the board and wake his team up in the early going. Roche led all scorers with 23 points in the losing effort.

The Bearcats made a lot of baskets and Arroyo missed a lot of shots and easy opportunities.

The loss drops Arroyo to 5-7 on the season. Bonita moves on to play Charter Oak in the second round

Bishop Amat vs. South Hills (63-42) first round

The Lancers walked into the  Covina High School gym with a chip on their shoulder; then walked out with their heads held high.

Bishop Amat and Daniel Rodriguez proved their top-10 worth once again in the Mid-Valley, frustrating South Hills, 63-42, Monday night in round one of the Covina Christmas Classic Tourney.

Rodriguez shot 7 of 11 from the field and did most of his damage on the inside, totaling  18 points and 8 rebounds, and was the main reason the Huskies could not play catch up. Rodriguez is among  the leading scorers in the area, averaging 19.6 points per game, landing him 59th amongst all southern section leaders.

South Hills started off slow and only scored 5 first quarter points and 8 in the second, making the score 31-13 at half. The Huskies pumped out 13 points in the third and 16 in the fourth, but it was not enough to overcome the defensive pressure and team play by the Lancers.

The Huskies were led by captains Chris Porter and Mikelle Cortez, who combined for 21 of  S.H’s  42 points, equivalent to exactly 50% of the scoring. Porter hit 3 shots from beyond the arc, Cortez got to the line and knocked in 6 out of 8 free throws, and Darrell Chapman added 9 points.

South Hills tried to stage a rally, but the early hole was inevitably too deep to climb out of. Bishop is now 10-2, while the Huskies fall to 4-5.

Lakers Holiday Blues

Los Angeles superstar and locker room leader, Kobe Bryant, gave his teammates an ear-full as well as coach Phil Jackson after an embarrassing Christmas Day loss to the Miami Heat. Lebron James picked up his 31st career triple double and third of the season on the way to a 96-80 victory over the back-to-back defending champs. James finished his spectacular night with 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists, hitting a season-high five 3-pointers and Miami looked like the team with something to prove. Chris Bosh had 24 points, Dwayne Wade added 18, and the Heat won their 14th game in 15 matches to continue their hot streak.

Revamped Orlando Squad Snapping Streaks

Brandon Bass scored 21 points, the returning Hedo Turkoglu added 15 points and the Orlando Magic snapped the Boston Celtics winning streak at 14 games, defeating their Eastern Conference rivals 86-78. Jameer Nelson (12 points) and J.J Redick (10 points) both hit big shots late in the game to cap another big comeback. This is after Orlando ended San Antonio’s 10-game winning streak.  Kevin Garnett collected 22 points and Paul Peirce added 18, but the injury bug bit the Celtics in the butt and Orlando came out with a win. The Magic recently lost eight of nine games before orchestrating two block buster trades and now they look to be revamped and still a force to be reckoned with in the East.