SPORTSCOPE : Muir and Bishop Amat to Compete in Shootout

Muir and Bishop Amat high schools, two perennial boys’ basketball powers in the San Gabriel Valley, will compete against a top field in the first Artesia Summer Basketball Shootout Tournament from Friday through Sunday at Artesia and Lakewood high schools.

Westchester, which won the L.A. City title last season, is the top-seeded team in the 24-team field. Other top teams in the field include Lynwood, Long Beach Poly and Crenshaw.

In Friday’s first-round games, Muir will play St. Monica at 12:40 p.m. at Lakewood and Bishop Amat will meet San Marcos at 2:15 p.m. at Artesia.

Muir, which was 23-5 and reached the CIF Division II-AA semifinals last season, has an outstanding contingent of guards led by Jacque Vaughn. As a sophomore, Vaughn averaged 21.3 points, nine assists, four rebounds and four steals.

The Mustangs also feature guards Adrian Gayles, Simaine Stewart and Demetrius Collier and have a good inside player in 6-foot-5 center Donald McIntire.

Bishop Amat finished 18-7 and advanced to the second round of the II-AA playoffs last season and is expected to improve with the return of its seven top players.

Expected to lead the way are 6-3 guard Jelani Gardner, who averaged 18.3 points as a freshman, and 6-5 forward Brandon Lee, who averaged 13.7 points.

Other players returning include forward Scott Fields, guards Karim Webb, Randy Edwards and Rashid Strode and center David Ng. The 6-4 Fields also is a running back for the football team.

Practice for the 12th annual Hall of Fame High School All-Star Football Game is scheduled to start Monday.

The East team, coached by Baldwin Park’s Tony Zane, will train at Baldwin Park High and the West, coached by Cantwell’s Michael Noonan, will practice at Marshall of Pasadena.

The game, which will include many of the top graduated seniors from the San Gabriel Valley, is at 8 p.m. July 19 at Citrus College.

Among the top players expected to compete in the game are wide receiver Demetrice Martin and quarterback Sedrick Thomas from Muir for the West and running back Tyrone Edwards from Nogales and wide receiver Johnny McWilliams from Pomona for the East.