1990-91: And the Scoreboard Blinked…and Blinked.
The three-point basket, which became a part of the game in 1986, continued to be refined and exploited and teams’ scoring points in the 80’s and 90’s was common. One-hundred-point totals were at a record pace.
Valhalla’s Mark Dillon set a state record with 145 three-pointers and tied the state record with 12 treys in a game in which he scored 50 points.
There were 25 games in which the winning team scored at least 100 and Mountain Empire and La Jolla Country Day along with Rancho Buena Vista and Vista each passed 100 in the same game.
12/1/90
“These guys are all arms and legs…their elbows don’t match their knees, but they get the job done,” San Diego coach Dennis Kane said after the Cavers jumped Montgomery with a 33-8 first quarter en route to a 93-51 victory in the University City tournament.
–Alex Love “was shooting from another area code,” observed Claremont coach Greg Lee after Love scored 30 points in a 76-69 win over Hoover.
–Marian traveled 115 miles north of San Francisco to Booneville, population slightly more than 1,000 and home of the Redwood Classic, in which the Crusaders took a 91-83 loss to Bethune, South Carolina, that state’s top 1-A team.
12/2/90
Jaamar Lavender scored 27 points and added 14 rebounds and 10 rebounds as Morse scored a rare road win in Los Angeles, defeating Wilmington Banning, 83-81.
–Lincoln fouled its way into defeat in the Norsemen-Warhawk tournament as Mt. Carmel converted 33 of 42 free throw attempts and beat the Hornets, 93-67.
–Nine San Diego Cavers, led by Mike Watson’s 17 points, scored in a 99-51 University City tournament win over Castle Park.
12/5/90
Gilberto Gonzalez scored 52 points, the 11th highest single-game total in County history, to lead Mountain Empire to a 105-82 win over Calexico Vincent Memorial.
12/6/90
Ryan Wooton scored 37 points and eight other Mt. Carmel teammates scored in a 110-61 win over Granite Hills.
12/8/90
Domingo Rivera made two technical free throws with two seconds remaining to lift Mount Miguel to a 78-76 win over Lincoln. The Hornets’ Berry Randle, a transfer from Crawford, was T’d after missing a dunk and then hanging on the rim.
–Erik Meek scored 18 of San Pasqual’s 22 fourth-quarter points and 33 for the game as the Golden Eagles overcame Grossmont, 68-62, after trailing by five after three quarters in the Grossmont Tournament.
12/13/90
Six-foot, nine-inch Ramona center Ryan Knight had 33 points, 16 rebounds, and blocked seven shots, and Ramona, racing to a 38-point third quarter, upended Clairemont, 99-66 with the fifth highest point total in school history. The Bulldogs defeated Borrego Springs, 115-49, in 1972-73.
12/21/90
After defeating L.A. Jordan, 82-74, in the opening round of the Los Angeles Invitational, reality set in for Morse, beaten by one of the northern city elite, Fairfax, 83-44.
–Rancho Buena Vista also got a dose of life in the fast lane, falling despite Darryl Parker’s 43 points to Concord de la Salle, ranked 18th in the state, 98-87, in the 30th Lt. Jim Mitchell Memorial Tournament at San Dieguito.
–Erik Meek scored 33 points and had 14 points and 5 blocked shots but San Pasqual dropped a 93-67 decision to 9-1 Los Angeles Manual Arts in the Artesia Gold Cup.
12/22/90
Legendary coach Morgan Wooten’s DeMatha High team of Hyattsville, Maryland, administered additional punishment to Meek and his teammates, winning, 89-48, at Artesia. Erik Meek scored 28 for the Golden Eagles.
–Rancho Buena Vista and Vista became the first teams in which both scored 100 points. The Longhorns prevailed over their neighboring rival, 118-102, in the Jim Mitchell.
–The 44th Kiwanis Tournament, now second tier to the Jim Mitchell and others, was won by Mt. Carmel, 61-57, in overtime over Poway.
12/23/90
Host San Dieguito, playing in the Mitchell championship game for the first time in 13 years, was no match for Concord de la Salle, 69-48. The Spartans’ Drew Barry, son of NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry, scored 19 points and added 12 assists and five steals.
12/27-30
The nationally prominent, post-Christmas Above the Rim tournament at Torrey Pines was a showcase for East Coast teams, while almost all other local squads participated in many events of less attraction.
–Monsignor McClancy of Elmhurst, N.Y., took on two of the San Diego area’s best and defeated Torrey Pines, 75-56, and overcame a 12-point halftime deficit to knock down Lincoln, 88-81.
–McClancy was beaten by St. Raymond of New York’s Bronx borough, 79-62, and Jersey City St. Anthony topped St. Raymond, 83-65, for the championship.
–University surprised the County’s two top-ranked teams, beating El Camino, 64-63, and Mt. Carmel, 59-54, to win the Mt. Carmel tournament.
TRIPLE DIGITS
| Rancho Buena Vista | Vista | 118-102 |
| Mountain Empire | Julian | 115-84 |
| La Jolla Country Day | Mountain Empire | 113-66 |
| Torrey Pines | Ipswich, Australia | 111-36 |
| Lincoln | El Centro Central | 111-63 |
| Mt. Carmel | Granite Hills | 110-61 |
| Rancho Buena Vista | Escondido | 107-75 |
| Christian | Castle Park | 106-23 |
| Mountain Empire | La Jolla Country Day | 106-102 |
| Mountain Empire | Calexico Vincent Memorial | 105-82 |
| University | Ipswich, Australia | 104-42 |
| Valhalla | West Hills | 104-50 |
| Sweetwater | Castle Park | 104-71 |
| San Dieguito | Vista | 104-84 |
| Torrey Pines | Castle Park | 102-46 |
| Bonita Vista | Chula Vista | 102-80 |
| Rancho Buena Vista | Compton | 102-67 |
| El Capitan | Santana | 101-52 |
| Lincoln | Granite Hills | 101-55 |
| Lincoln | Madison | 101-80 |
| San Diego | Madison | 101-63 |
| Calipatria | Victory Christian | 100-27 |
| Helix | Steele Canyon | 100-43 |
| Sweetwater | Mar Vista | 100-79 |
| Valhalla | Ipswich, Australia | 100-80 |
1/5/91
Marlon Wells, a future San Diego Section coach, led San Diego to 75-64 win over Monte Vista with 16 points, seven rebounds, seven steals, and five assists.
–Erik Meek scored 28 points and had scoring help from 11 others, the 4 other starters, and seven-man bench, as San Pasqual cruised, 94-62 over Mt. Carmel.
–“Welcome back, Darnay Scott,” exclaimed Bill Peterson, coach of the 12-1 Kearny Komets, who beat Sweetwater, 74-69, in the Valhalla Tournament. Scott, finally tuned after arriving late following an all-state football season, scored 29 points with 11 rebounds.
1/10/91
For the second time in two seasons, Vista was a three-digit victim of San Dieguito. Sean Miller scored 39 points and the Mustangs out ran the Panthers, 104-84, after setting a school record in a 112-87 win the previous season.
1/12/91
San Pasqual stunned top-ranked El Camino, 68-56, behind Erik Meek’s 34 points and a 20-8 fourth quarter.
1/16/91
Valhalla converted just nine of a Section record-tying 41 three-point attempts and felt the pain, losing, 77-56, to visiting Monte Vista.
–A sore back and the promise of a future major league baseball career forced Castle Park’s Benji Gil, averaging 20.7 points, to withdraw from the Trojans’ squad
1/17/91
This week’s top-ranked team took a fall, following previous No. 1 El Camino’s loss. Visiting Torrey Pines knocked off Mt. Carmel, 65-52. “I still think they’re the best team,” Falcons coach John Farrell said of the vanquished Sundevils.
1/19/91
Chris Miller scored 30 points, including a three-pointer to necessitate overtime and then the winning basket with 36 seconds left in the third extra session as Fallbrook nipped Rancho Buena Vista, 89-88.
1/24/91
Mountain Empire, up there in the mountains on Buckman Springs Road near Campo and Pine Valley, reversed the table on La Jolla Country Day.
Mountain Empire’s starting five all scored in double figures, with no contribution from its bench. Gilberto Gonzalez led with 28 in a 106-102 victory that evened the slate with the Torres, who defeated Mountain, 113-66, in their first meeting.
–Until this season, only one game, Sweetwater 116-114 in 1984-85 over a Yugoslavian club team, possibly not all of high school age, had seen triple digits by both teams.
1/26/91
Lincoln won its 14th consecutive game against San Diego and its 33rd in a row in the Central League, 85-76, over the Cavers. Five-foot-5 sophomore Archie Robinson converted six free throw attempts in the final eight minutes and led the Hornets with 18 points.
2/2/91
Southwest, riding a seven-game winning streak, led Sweetwater, 55-44, with 4:33 remaining in the game when Red Devils coach David Ybarra called time.
The Sweetwater coach looked at his starters and said, “Here’s my best group. My best five. My Top Guns. I’m not going to say another word. You either you do it, or you don’t.”
After trading baskets, Sweetwater scored the last 16 points and won, 62-57.
Said starter Mendel Nafarrete of his coach’s strategy, “I get it now. The silent treatment. Reverse psychology.”
2/12/91
Darnay Scott scored 26 points and retrieved 21 rebounds in an 84-68 win over University. “I like Monday games,” said Scott. “I usually use up a lot of energy in practice the day before (Tuesday) games. Today I felt good.”
2/13/91
Mark Dillon set a state record with 12, three-point baskets and scored 50 points in Valhalla’s 99-61 victory over West Hills. El Segundo’s Chris Hansen first set the record of 11 in January.
“Our game plan was to deny him the threes,” said West Hills coach Brian Daly. “I’ve never seen such a display in high school.” Daly didn’t elaborate whether it was Dillon’s performance or his defense’s.
2/14/91
Lincoln clinched its sixth consecutive Central League championship, 90-60, over Crawford. San Dieguito denied Poway a tie for the Palomar League title, 68-65, as Chris de la Pena scored 30 points, including a 17-footer that iced the game with two seconds left.
–Host St. Augustine broke from a 39-39 tie with Coronado with a 30-16 fourth quarter and 69-55, Harbor League victory.
2/15/91
Valhalla finished the regular season with a school-best 21-6 record and 24 consecutive Grossmont 2-A victories, 87-73 over Grossmont.
2/16/91
Christian couldn’t win a league championship with superstar Tony Clark in 1989-90 but claimed the Harbor title this season, 72-56 over Clairemont behind David Piester’s 40 points. The Patriots’ last league title was in the Central League in 1983-84.
2/17/91
San Diego ended a seven-year, 15-game losing streak to Lincoln, topping the Hornets, 85-79, after getting word the Cavers would forfeit 16 victories by a controversial eligibility rule regarding a player residence’s address. The Dreaded Administrative Glitch issue had gone all the way to San Diego Superior Court before being upheld.