Ranger cagers second
By Jesse Phelps

Even without its starting point guard, the Nordhoff basketball team performed admirably in last week's 61st annual Nordhoff Boys' Varsity Basketball Tournament, beating Channel Islands and Kilpatrick before losing to a skilled Hueneme team, 61-54, in the final.

Rangers forward Ben Bower and center A.J. Maulhardt earned all-tournament honors. Maulhardt averaged 23 points and 12 rebounds over the three games, turning it up a notch in the final game, in which he scored 25 points and secured 15 boards.
Nordhoff played the tournament without five of its regulars, who were still competing in the CIF football play-offs, including starting point guard Ryan Whitcomb.

Against the Vikings, the Rangers could have used him. Nordhoff jumped out to a 6-2 lead early on, employing a 2-3 zone to stifle Hueneme's half-court game. But a series of turnovers, including two steals by all-tournament guard DeShion Inniss that led to breakaway lay-ups, put the Rangers in an 11-9 hole heading into the second period.

Nordhoff briefly took the lead again in the second but Inniss answered with a three-pointer. Then the Hueneme pressure defense really began to bother the Ranger guards, and the Vikings went on an 11-0 run. Rahim LeBlanc's three-pointer at the buzzer gave Hueneme a commanding 33-17 lead heading into the half.

Maulhardt's interior presence proved a boon for the Rangers in the second half. His three-point play with a minute left in the third cut the Viking lead to 46-35. Bower, who hit nine of 10 free throws on the night, kept the Rangers in it in the fourth, but Hueneme employed a mini-four-corner stall tactic to slow the pace of the game and the Rangers never got closer than seven the rest of the way.

Bower finished with 13 points and five rebounds. Forward T.J. Murphy finished with four points, seven rebounds and four nice assists, three to Maulhardt on pretty interior passes.

"He's a good postplayer, one of the best centers in the county, so we try to get him the ball," said Murphy of his connections with Maulhardt.
Bower said the Rangers, playing with just three returning players from last season, felt good about their second-place showing. "It's as close as we've come to beating these guys in about 10 years, so we're definitely satisfied," he said.

Hueneme, which repeated as tournament champs, was led by Inniss' 16 points. All-tournament selection Charles Dillon added nine, including a breakaway dunk, and Josh Pinkard scored 10. He also made the all-tourney team.

Nordhoff's varsity boys' basketball squad is currently playing in the Fillmore tournament through Saturday and will play at Santa Ynez next Wednesday.

Nordhoff's 23rd annual Frosh/Soph Tournament will be held Dec. 26, 27 and 29 at home.

© 2003 The Ojai Valley News

Back to sports

Back to the news