WINTER SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS : Saugus Advances at Rio Mesa’s Expense, 56-48

After Saugus High earned a moral victory in a two-point loss to highly regarded Crossroads in the first round of the Beverly Hills tournament, the Centurions got the real thing the second time around.

Saugus (2-3) easily handled Rio Mesa, 56-48, in a consolation-bracket game Thursday. And only a late Rio Mesa surge made the final score close.

Saugus jumped out to a 38-20 halftime lead and were coasting by 15 points when Rio Mesa made a gradual comeback with a full-court press at the outset of the final quarter. Eric Thomas, Rio Mesa’s 6-5 freshman forward, scored six points in the quarter and finished with a game-high 18, but it wasn’t enough for the Spartans (1-1).

Greg Weber led Saugus with 15 points. Craig Wong had 13 for Rio Mesa.

Saugus plays Torrance today at 4 p.m. in a semifinal game in the consolation bracket. Thousand Oaks meets North Torrance today at 2:30 in the other consolation semifinal.

Torrance (1-3) received little resistance from Camarillo (1-3) in a 41-32 victory. Camarillo junior Chris Sorich scored a game-high 16 points. John Solato led Torrance with 14.

In other consolation games, Ventura (2-1) ran away from Hart, 73-59. Ventura led from the outset and got 20 points from guard Joe Paul. For Hart (3-4), guard Steve Valenzuela had 21 points, including 14 in the first half to keep the Indians close.

Hart was plagued by foul trouble. The Indians were called for eight fouls in the third quarter, putting Ventura into the bonus midway through the period.

North Torrance (1-3) got by Royal, 58-55, behind 14 points from Chad Etnye. Royal (0-3) managed only seven points in the second quarter as North Torrance pulled away from a 16-16 tie at the end of the first quarter.

In tonight’s championship semifinals, Palisades plays Westlake at 7:30 and St. Bernard will face Beverly Hills at 9.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Moorpark 70, Mira Costa 59--Leading 31-29 at the half, defending champion Moorpark College had to hold off Mira Costa team in the opening game of the Cuesta tournament in San Luis Obispo. Moorpark forward Dave Inemer scored 11 points and had nine rebounds. Moorpark guardBrent Tapia had nine assists. Mira Costa’s John Anderson scored 17 points and had 11 rebounds.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The Master’s 66, Christ 48--Shelmarie Tatum scored 24 points and had 11 rebounds to lead Master’s to an NAIA District 3 win. Master’s improved to 2-5, 2-2 in district. Christ College is 2-5, 0-2 in district.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Alemany 63, Santa Monica 42--Center Bill Lucid hit eight of 10 shots and scored 18 points to lead Alemany (5-1) to the nonleague victory. Fred Dear (17 points), Dave Swanson (14) and Shaun Thomas (12) also scored in double figures for Alemany. Dear scored eight points in the third period as Alemany increased a five-point halftime lead to a 46-33 advantage. Lucid scored eight of his points in the fourth period.

Harvard 39, Leuzinger 37 (OT)--Mike Lowe’s layup with 1:10 remaining in the game was the only basket in overtime, giving Harvard the victory in the losers’ bracket semifinals of the El Segundo Tournament. Lowe led Harvard (2-2) with nine points while Charles Adams, Steve Green, and Charles Patton added eight points apiece. Jim Thomas led Leuzinger with 13 points.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Lompoc 72, Alemany 47--Pam Coffey scored 23 points in the opening game of the Santa Barbara Tournament, as the top-ranked team in the 2-A Division handed Alemany (6-1) its first loss of the season. Andrea Hoffman and Nikki Davis led Alemany with eight points apiece.

Chaminade 61, Westlake (L.A.) 12--Chaminade (4-0) was led by guard Lucy Baker’s school-record 31 points. Chaminade forward Natalie Adomian added 10 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists. The Chaminade defense allowed Westlake (2-2) only two points in the first quarter and held the visitors scoreless in the final period.

Santa Ynez 64, Saugus 21--Saugus (1-2) trailed 16-7 after one period and never drew closer, losing in the first round of the Nordhoff tournament. Forward Dawn Coleman led Saugus with nine points and 13 rebounds. Saugus meets St. Bonaventure today at 4:45 p.m. in the consolation bracket.

Corvallis 56, Alverno 26--Forward Lisa Senette scored 21 points and had 15 rebounds to lead Corvallis (1-2) in the nonleague game. Forward Jeannie Kuse added nine points, and center Ingrid Hillebrand had nine rebounds. Chele Petersen scored 10 points for Alverno.

Oak Park 48, Campbell Hall 33--Trailing 21-16 at the half, Oak Park (3-0) went on to outscore visiting Campbell Hall, 32-12, in the second half to clinch the win. Oak Park center Paula Fraley led all scorers with 19 points and had 13 rebounds. Forward Sharon Carson contributed 12 points and eight rebounds.

Grace Community 32, L.A. Baptist 28--Center Casie Vanderlinden scored half of Grace Community’s points and had six rebounds in the nonleague win. Shannon Hotton and Eleni Nackos added six points apiece, and Carie Vanderlinden had eight rebounds for Grace (2-1).

BOYS SOCCER

Chatsworth 2, Canoga Park 1--David Munoz and Colin Anthony scored goals for Chatsworth (10-0-4, 7-0-3), which clinched the West Valley League title. Canoga Park is 4-3-3 in league.

Westlake 4, Crespi 1--Eric Wynalda had two goals and two assists for Westlake (3-0) in the nonleague game. Cleveland 3, Taft 2--Jon Allee, Oscar Ramirez, and P.I. Friberg scored goals for Cleveland (5-5-4) in the West Valley League game.

Calabasas 4, Burroughs 2--Paul Ratcliffe scored two first-half goals to lead Calabasas (2-1) to a nonleague victory in Burbank. Rob Jetter and Craig Diamond also had Calabasas goals. Burroughs is 2-2.

GIRLS SOCCER

Chaminade 2, Orange Lutheran 1--Carla Coppa scored the match winner with less than a minute to play. Carol Bentley also scored for Chaminade (3-0).