Boys Basketball: End of the road for one Golden League co-champ
Jan. 30, 2015
ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press
PALMDALE — Once Ezekiel Hampton-Armstrong fell to the floor and grabbed at his right leg in visible pain as his team faced a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter on Friday night, reality finally started to settle in for defending co-Golden League champion Quartz Hill.
The defense was over.
"Once he came out of the game, I think that was it," Quartz Hill coach Bernard Nichter said.
For the other co-league champ, Highland (13-8, 9-1 GL), the quest for a title repeat was never more alive than after it delivered the knockout blow to its bitter rivals in a 75-59 dismissal at Highland High.
This time the Bulldogs don't intend to share the championship. With Friday being the closest margin of victory during their current four-game win streak, it'll be difficult to stop them.
"Basically we proved to ourselves that we are the best team out here alone," Highland senior Christopher Daniels said.
Daniels scored 10 of his game-high 20 points in a second quarter where the Bulldogs overwhelmed the Rebels (8-10, 6-4) by outscoring them 24-9. That included a 13-2 quarter-ending run that gave Highland a 41-29 halftime lead.
Four other Bulldogs scored in double figures: Deshay Gipson with 17, Kendal Williams and Dominic Gully with 13 apiece, and Kamara Warrent Jr. with 10.
"If we play like that, we are going to be tough," Highland coach Jeff Smith said.
K'Len Preyer and Darrian Hall each had 15 points for the Rebels, who saw a three-game win streak come to an end. Ryan Norris scored 10 points and Hampton-Armstrong added 14 before a layup attempt with 3:53 to go ended up with him on the floor in apparent agony.
The senior, one of the Rebels' most vital players, had to be carried off the court. He was later seen stretching and walking gingerly, the result of a nasty cramp.
"That was scary," Nichter said.
After only knocking down one 3-pointer through three quarters, Quartz Hill, a team that relies heavily on the 3 ball, hit five long balls in the fourth. It wasn't enough. Highland led by at least 12 points throughout the period.
"Quartz Hill is a rivalry for Highland in football, basketball, volleyball," Smith said. "For a rivalry game, we played as well as we can."
The Rebels built an early five-point lead in the first quarter. That came to an end following a thunderous dunk from Warren Jr. to send the Bulldogs into the second down 20-17.
Highland scored nine of the first 11 points in the second period and Quartz Hill never saw the lead again.
"We went through a dry spell and we couldn't recover from that," Nichter said.
After getting off to an average start in league play before putting together a string of quality wins, the Rebels also kissed their title chances goodbye.
"All my years being here (Highland) has been our rival. Losing to them is a big hurt," Preyer said. "This is a big hurt for the whole team, but we just got to go to the next game and get this off our minds."
Quartz Hill is still in solid position to make the playoffs as one of the top four teams in the league. Highland still has its sights set on something bigger.
Next for the Bulldogs is a date against Knight, which is on a 10-game win streak, on Tuesday.
"That's basically going to be for the league title," Smith said.
In a way, that's the same way the Rebels looked at Friday. But goals are still out there to be met.
"Ain't nothing to be ashamed of," Nichter said. "We played hard. (Highland) played well today. They beat us.
"Two teams played hard. They just beat us. They played better."
ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press
PALMDALE — Once Ezekiel Hampton-Armstrong fell to the floor and grabbed at his right leg in visible pain as his team faced a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter on Friday night, reality finally started to settle in for defending co-Golden League champion Quartz Hill.
The defense was over.
"Once he came out of the game, I think that was it," Quartz Hill coach Bernard Nichter said.
For the other co-league champ, Highland (13-8, 9-1 GL), the quest for a title repeat was never more alive than after it delivered the knockout blow to its bitter rivals in a 75-59 dismissal at Highland High.
This time the Bulldogs don't intend to share the championship. With Friday being the closest margin of victory during their current four-game win streak, it'll be difficult to stop them.
"Basically we proved to ourselves that we are the best team out here alone," Highland senior Christopher Daniels said.
Daniels scored 10 of his game-high 20 points in a second quarter where the Bulldogs overwhelmed the Rebels (8-10, 6-4) by outscoring them 24-9. That included a 13-2 quarter-ending run that gave Highland a 41-29 halftime lead.
Four other Bulldogs scored in double figures: Deshay Gipson with 17, Kendal Williams and Dominic Gully with 13 apiece, and Kamara Warrent Jr. with 10.
"If we play like that, we are going to be tough," Highland coach Jeff Smith said.
K'Len Preyer and Darrian Hall each had 15 points for the Rebels, who saw a three-game win streak come to an end. Ryan Norris scored 10 points and Hampton-Armstrong added 14 before a layup attempt with 3:53 to go ended up with him on the floor in apparent agony.
The senior, one of the Rebels' most vital players, had to be carried off the court. He was later seen stretching and walking gingerly, the result of a nasty cramp.
"That was scary," Nichter said.
After only knocking down one 3-pointer through three quarters, Quartz Hill, a team that relies heavily on the 3 ball, hit five long balls in the fourth. It wasn't enough. Highland led by at least 12 points throughout the period.
"Quartz Hill is a rivalry for Highland in football, basketball, volleyball," Smith said. "For a rivalry game, we played as well as we can."
The Rebels built an early five-point lead in the first quarter. That came to an end following a thunderous dunk from Warren Jr. to send the Bulldogs into the second down 20-17.
Highland scored nine of the first 11 points in the second period and Quartz Hill never saw the lead again.
"We went through a dry spell and we couldn't recover from that," Nichter said.
After getting off to an average start in league play before putting together a string of quality wins, the Rebels also kissed their title chances goodbye.
"All my years being here (Highland) has been our rival. Losing to them is a big hurt," Preyer said. "This is a big hurt for the whole team, but we just got to go to the next game and get this off our minds."
Quartz Hill is still in solid position to make the playoffs as one of the top four teams in the league. Highland still has its sights set on something bigger.
Next for the Bulldogs is a date against Knight, which is on a 10-game win streak, on Tuesday.
"That's basically going to be for the league title," Smith said.
In a way, that's the same way the Rebels looked at Friday. But goals are still out there to be met.
"Ain't nothing to be ashamed of," Nichter said. "We played hard. (Highland) played well today. They beat us.
"Two teams played hard. They just beat us. They played better."