AROUND THE LEAGUES : Cleveland Finds Inspiration Outside The Walls of Alcatraz

Cleveland High won the championship of the prestigious Amadore basketball tournament in Pleasanton, Calif., last week, and the trip was worthwhile as much for the camaraderie as for the wins. Wearing sweat shirts emblazoned with the Cavalier motto “We take no prisoners,” the team visited the former federal penitentiary on Alcatraz Island. “Once we were on the island, the guys looked around and said, ‘This is for us,’ ” Coach Bob Braswell said. A team picture was taken in front of Alcatraz, which of course has held no prisoners in more than 20 years.

“The guys kept repeating it all night,” Braswell said. “ ‘We take no prisoners.’ ”

The Cavaliers took home the trophy, instead, after defeating St. Joseph, 56-55, on Saturday night. St. Joseph was unbeaten and ranked No. 9 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports. Cleveland (6-0) defeated the No. 7-ranked team in the state, Merced, 83-79, in overtime Friday after falling behind by 18 points in the third quarter. Forward Albert Fann and guards Andre Anderson and Adrian King were named to the all-tournament team.

Final shouldn’t be the Donahue show: UCLA football Coach Terry Donahue attracted attention while standing on the Hart sideline during the Northwestern Conference title game Friday night. Too much attention for Hart Coach Rick Scott. “I wasn’t ready for it,” Scott said. “We worked really hard to get the kids to concentrate, and whether it’s Terry Donahue, Heather Locklear or Farrah Fawcett, if it’s somebody they know, it’s a distraction.”

Donahue attended the game because he is among the many coaches recruiting Hart quarterback Jim Bonds. “I can see a high school quarterback being affected when they found out that the coach of the local college was on the sideline,” Scott said. “I think there’s a way to go about recruiting. And when he calls again, I’m going to let him know I didn’t appreciate it.”. . . . In three seasons under Scott, Hart has won the Northwestern Conference title (1986) and lost in the Coastal Conference final (1985). The Indians’ success should continue because the freshman, sophomore and varsity teams finished a combined 33-1 this season. The varsity’s season-opening defeat to Canyon was the only loss.

Unfriendly reminder: Canoga Park Coach Joey Nakasone won’t have to say much to motivate his basketball team for today’s game against Manual Arts in the first round of the Hamilton tournament. In the opening game of the same tournament last season, Manual Arts beat the Hunters, 117-47. “Hopefully, those guys who were on the team last year will remember what happened,” Nakasone said. “I don’t intend to get blown out again.”

Blue Christmas: North Hollywood basketball Coach Steve Miller can’t wait for New Year’s Day, and it’s not because he’s a college football fan. His Husky teams are 0-11 in the month of December since Miller took over last season. “Hopefully this team can rebound like we did last season,” Miller said of the 1985 team that won 10 of its last 12 and finished second in the East Valley League. “We are definitely slow starters.”

Wrong-way Galloway: After scoring 39 points in two and one-half games last week, you’d think Van Nuys Coach Kevin Duford would be pleased with forward Alonzo Galloway. But it was the half that Galloway missed that drew Duford’s ire. Galloway took the wrong freeway to the Burroughs tournament, got lost, and didn’t show up until the game had started. “But he scored 10 points in the second half,” Duford said. Galloway’s late scoring wasn’t enough as the Wolves lost in overtime to Duarte, 47-45.

PPG, GPA: The Canyon basketball team is 5-0 after winning three games in the La Canada tournament. But Coach Greg Hayes said he is more impressed by his players academic performance. With a team grade-point average of 3.3, nine of Canyon’s 14 players maintain an A average. “I’m honestly more proud of that than I am of our record,” Hayes said. . . . Harvard has backed its claim of placing academics over athletics by barring its teams from playing games during the week of final examinations.

Down and out: Taft forward Quincy Watts will be sidelined up to six weeks with a stress fracture in his right foot. Even if he misses basketball season, Watts will be ready for the track season, according to Taft basketball Coach Jim Woodard. Watts is state 100- and 200-meter champion.

Streakers: A 53-51 win over Glendale by the Canyon girls basketball team last week was its first in 50 games, a span of more than three years. Canyon then extended its winning streak to two games with a victory over Paraclete, 39-33. . . . Grace Community’s girls team broke a 15-game losing streak after beating West Valley, 34-28. It was the first win in the two-year history of the team. Two days later, Grace Community beat L.A. Baptist, 32-28.

For the record: Hart quarterback Jim Bonds passed for 3,197 yards this season, placing him second on the Southern Section record book behind Mike Smith of Los Altos, who passed for 3,437 yards in 1982.

Awards: Crespi swept The Times Valley football awards this season. Bill Redell was Coach of the Year; Russell White was Back of the Year; and Sean Howard was Lineman of the Year.