The Martin Luther King Day doubleheader at Francis Parker produced the best game of the season, St. Augustine’s 79-74 victory over La Costa Canyon, and the Saints are unanimous choices as San Diego’s top team in the UT-San Diego poll.

Trey Kell was brilliant for the winners and scored  37 points, but the tough Mavericks hounded Kell into four turnovers in a highly-charged game in which bodies resounded as they hit the floor and the two game officials “let them play.”

St. Augustine jumped to a 27-15 lead early in the second quarter and was up 48-34 midway in the third, but  La Costa Canyon kept coming and narrowed the gap to 62-61 in the fourth.

Coach Mike Haupt’s team held serve.  The  Saints came up with  late steals and hit most of their free throws in the stretch run.

A full house at Parker included head coach Steve Fisher and assistants Brian Dutcher,  Justin Hutson, and David Valenzuela of San Diego State, and many of the local basketball cognoscenti.

TORREY WINS UNDERCARD

Torrey Pines coach John Olive sauntered along the edge of the court in front of his team’s bench,

seemingly at ease despite’s Francis Parker’s  opening a 10-point lead in the first quarter.

Olive obviously knew better things were in store for his squad.  The Falcons got rolling and were up by 25 points in the second half, then geared down and cruised in with a 62-47 win over the host Lancers.

**Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis

Others receiving votes: Foothills Christian, Grossmont, 8 each; Cathedral, Kearny, Mission Hills, 3 each; Steele Canyon, Morse, 2 each.

Thirteen sportswriters, sportscasters and CIF representatives from throughout San Diego County vote in the weekly poll:
John Maffei, Craig Malveaux and Don Norcross (U-T San Diego);
Terry Monahan (U-T San Diego stringer);
Bill Dickens, Andrew Smith (eastcountysports.com);
Steve Brand (San Diego Hall of Champions);
John Kentera and Jack Cronin (The Mighty 1090);
John Labeta (CIF San Diego Section office);
Rick Smith (Partletonsports.com);
Bodie DeSilva (sandiegopreps.com);
Aaron Burgin (fulltimehoops.tumblr.com).

Lincoln could have used Norman Powell last night at St. Augustine, but Powell is busy rising  at UCLA under first-year coach Steve Alford.

It should have been expected. There’s a connection between Powell and Alford.

That was apparent three years ago at a Lincoln-St. Augustine game in the Saints’ old Daugherty Gym.

The date, Feb. 15, 2011.

Alford, then coaching New Mexico, arrived in town for a game the next day at San Diego State.

The coach first took in the afternoon contest between the Hornets and Saints.

Alford was there to see Powell, who didn’t disappoint,  dunking and breaking away for 35 points on 14 of 19 shooting from the field, harassing the Saints on defense, and leading Lincoln to an 85-53 victory.

Powell didn’t go to New Mexico. He chose UCLA, but it wasn’t until Alford’s arrival on the Westwood campus this season that the 6-foot, 4-inch junior emerged.

Powell scored a season high 19 points earlier this week and was a stout defender as the No. 25 Bruins scored a 69-56 victory at No. 21 Colorado and put themselves firmly in the hunt for Pac-12 Conference and postseason honors.

“I don’t hang my hat on the offensive end,” Powell told a Los Angeles Times reporter. “Defense, defense, defense, defense.  That’s what coach tells us every time we go out to play a game.”

Alford had another view:  “Norman is a load when you give him freedom in the post and on drives to the basket.”

Meanwhile, Lincoln was woeful  in the Western League rivals’ first 2013-14 meeting.  The Saints entertained a full house  of mostly purple-clad fans and dismissed the Hornets, 70-45, after running to a 45-17 halftime lead.

BARNBURNER IN CARLSBAD

Tommy McCarthy drained a three-point looper with 1.3 seconds remaining to give La Costa Canyon a 54-52 victory over visiting Torrey Pines in a battle of North County squads.

La Costa Canyon, ranked third in the U-T San Diego poll, and top-ranked St Augustine will meet Monday evening at Francis Parker in the feature of many Martin Luther King holiday games around the San Diego Section. The undercard  matches  No. 4 Torrey Pines and the host  No. 8 Lancers.

Amid the flourishing mid-season “shootouts” is Point Loma High, among the increasing number of schools hosting all-day, nonleague “showcase” games.

The contests don’t always turn out to be showcases, because games often have to be scheduled a year in advance and teams’ fortunes change, ebbing and flowing for myriad reasons.

The Pointers call their  annual event Saturday, January 18,  the “Bennie Edens Basketball Classic.”

Let’s try that again.

The “Bennie Edens Basketball Classic”.

Yes, that’s what it’s known as.

Edens, who passed away in 2008,  was an outstanding coach at Point Loma from 1955-97. His teams won 239 football games, second highest total in San Diego Section history.

Bennie never  blew a whistle, diagrammed a play, or called a time out in  a high school basketball game.

Or got a technical foul.  At least not on the varsity level.

The Edens name still resonates, but a more likely coach to honor in the basketball context probably would have been  Hilbert Crosthwaite, who holds a singular distinction among all Point Loma hoop mentors.

(Lee Trepanier was a legend among girls’ basketball coaches, most notably with the 32-0 state championship team of 1983-84, led by Terri Mann).

Crosthwaite’s 1959-60 Pointers came out of the weeds to win the Southern California AA championship, the last by a local team before the San Diego Section became reality the following year.

Crosthwaite moved on after the championship run to coach the San Diego Junior College team  and took the Knights to the 1962-63 state championship game, losing to Fresno City, 76-69, and finishing with a 25-5 record.

The San Diego State graduate coached at Point for 11 seasons, from 1947-48 to 1951-52 and for five seasons beginning in 1954-55. Crosthwaite’s overall record at Point Loma was 116-116 and his last squad was playing at that pace for most of the season.

The Pointers tied coach Jim Poole’s Kearny Komets for first in the Western League but were only 12-10 overall when they launched their playoff run.

The Pointers won their opening game at Hemet High against Beaumont, 32-24, then defeated  Yucaipa at Redlands University, 55-23. They followed by knocking off Rosemead Bosco Tech, 54-37, and Lompoc, 54-40, in quarterfinals and semifinals games at home, and San Marino, 52-36, in finals at Los Angeles State.

That Point Loma probably was the school with the largest enrollment in the AA division was not lost on the straight-shooting Crosthwaite.  “We had everything to lose.” he said.  “We couldn’t have walked out of here unless we won.”

Crosthwaite and forward Winston Yetta didn’t have to walk.  They were paraded around the court after the victory on the shoulders of the other Pointers before a crowd of about 5,200.

As Jerry Magee of The San Diego Union said, paraphrasing Winston Churchill,  who spoke after the British Royal Air Force had defeated the more heavily armed German Luftwaffe in World War II: “Winston (Winnie) Yetta enjoyed his finest basketball hour here tonight, collecting 22 points….”

The 6-foot Yetta was joined in the starting lineup by 6-1 Don Sada, 6-2 Larry Moore, 6-0 Mike Dolphin, and 6-0 Doug Lawrence, or 6-6 1/2 Dick Walden.

Meanwhile, action was slow in the UT-San Diego Top 10 last week.  Francis Parker dropped a 53-52 decision to 21-0 Brentwood Buckley and went from sixth to eighth. Eastlake replaced Poway at 10th.

Hoover, apparently gaining traction, elevated to ninth after victories of 71-65 over Serra and 73-65 over Woodland Hills Taft.

*Last week.
**Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis
NR–Not ranked.

Others receiving votes: Cathedral, 6; Foothills Christian, Grossmont, 5 each; Mission Hills, 4; Escondido, 3; Steele Canyon, 1.

Thirteen sportswriters, sportscasters and CIF representatives from throughout San Diego County vote in the weekly poll:
John Maffei, Craig Malveaux and Don Norcross (U-T San Diego);
Terry Monahan (U-T San Diego correspondent);
Bill Dickens, Andrew Smith (eastcountysports.com);
Steve Brand (San Diego Hall of Champions);
John Kentera and Jack Cronin (The Mighty 1090);
John Labeta (CIF San Diego Section office); Rick Smith (Partletonsports.com); Bodie DeSilva (sandiegopreps.com); Aaron Burgin (fulltimehoops.tumblr.com).

Rumblings out of the South Bay have become a roar.

Mater Dei Catholic and Sweetwater barged into the upper half of the ratings in the U-T San Diego poll this week.

Mater Dei, a 26-7 squad and Southern California Division  IV regional semifinalist in 2012-13, is no surprise, posting a 12-2 record and losing only to San Juan Capistrano JSerra and West Hills Chaminade, two schools from higher divisions.

The second-ranked Crusaders received two first place votes and their 118 points are only one less than top-ranked St. Augustine.

Sweetwater’s Running Red Devils went from  unranked to No. 5.

At 12-0, the Red Devils are the only unbeaten team in the top 10 and adamantly made their intentions known in a 91-56 victory over a regarded Poway club last week.

The Red Devils are in their fourth season under coach Jesse Aguirre, who took over a team that was 0-23 in 2009-10.  the Red Devils were  13-11, 17-12, and 12-13 in Aguirre’s first three seasons.

SAINTS RECOVER

Despite two losses in the Under Armour Tournament at Torrey Pines during the Christmas break, St. Augustine  stayed on top.

The Saints regrouped with a 73-63, home victory over La Verne Damien, which was 13-1 coming into the game.

The Saints were muscled in a 66-55 loss to Chino Hills and beaten, 62-61, by a mid-level Lakewood Mayfair squad in the Torrey Pines event.

**Points awarded on 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis
NR Not ranked.

Others receiving votes: Lincoln, Cathedral Catholic, 6 each; Foothills Christian, 5; Mission Hills, Grossmont, 3 each; Escondido, Eastlake, 2 each.

Thirteen sportswriters, sportscasters and CIF representatives from throughout San Diego County vote in the weekly poll:
John Maffei, Craig Malveaux, Don Norcross (U-T San Diego);
Terry Monahan (U-T San Diego correspondent);
Bill Dickens, Andrew Smith (eastcountysports.com);
Steve Brand (San Diego Hall of Champions);
John Kentera and Jack Cronin (The Mighty 1090);
John Labeta (CIF San Diego Section office);
Rick Smith (Partletonsports.com);
Bodie DeSilva (sandiegopreps.com);
Aaron Burgin (fulltimehoops.tumblr.com).

St. Augustine saw an 18-point lead in the third quarter dwindle to 4 but finally put away La Verne Damien, 73-63, as a full house of about 800 persons nervously looked on at St. Augustine Saturday night.

Trey Kell had 22 points for the winners but it was six free throws in the final 38.7 seconds by sophomore Martin Tombe that got the Saints over the finish line against the resilient visitors, who were 13-1 coming in.

St. Augustine, which led 41-25 at halftime and 50-32 midway in the third quarter, improved to 13-2.

Damien formerly was Pomona Catholic and is the alma mater of baseball slugger Mark McGwire and former San Diego State quarterbacks Dennis Shaw and Dan McGwire.

St. Augustine is 10-0  and has a 24-game winning streak after a 65-49 victory over the host team in the first annual Rancho Santa Margarita Tournament today, climaxing a 4-game run through the Orange County event.

The Saints beat Trabuco Hills, 62-61, Seattle Prep, 79-60,  and Alta of Sandy, Utah, 63-56, in earlier games.  Santa Margarita was 7-0 before taking on coach Mike Haupt’s North Park sharpshooters.

Trey Kell led the top-ranked San Diego Section team with 26 points.  Eric Monroe and Danny Caya had 11 each and Martin Tombe  10.

The Saints, ninth in California and 30th in the country in Max Preps‘ ratings,  now gear up for the Under Armour post-Christmas tournament and draw scoreboard blinking Chino Hills in their opening game at 2:15 p.m. on Dec. 26 in the Torrey Pines gym.

Chino Hills is 7-2 and averaging 79 points a game.

The Huskies most recently dropped a 65-63 decision to Etiwanda, ranked fourth in California and 10th in the country by Max Preps. Chino Hills also holds a 121-102 decision over tough Rancho Cucamonga.  Both games were in the Inland Empire Classic at Ontario Colony.

St. Augustine has not lost since dropping a 62-59 decision to Cathedral on Jan. 24, 2012. The Saints won their last 14 in a run that took them to the State III championship and a final record  of 29-4 in 2012-13.