Hart Record for Blocks Comes Tumbling Down

Hart High’s Ali Peek is a big kid on the block.

Peek, a 6-foot-5 senior center, has set a single-season school record with 82 blocked shots, eclipsing his own record of 75, which he set last season. And he has accomplished the feat in only 15 games.

Peek might be the Indians’ best shot-swatter, but not their only one. Matt Steffe and Erik Stephens have recorded 23 and 12 blocks.

As a team, Hart has 144 blocks to just 43 by its opponents. In contrast, Simi Valley, the region’s No. 1-ranked team by The Times, has blocked only two shots.

Hart Coach Greg Herrick said he is concerned about the players engaging in too much block talk, however.

“Ali is a legitimate shot-blocker with that wingspan of his,” Herrick said. “But if the other kids get in the habit, they’ll be leaving their feet and trying to block everything.

“I’d much rather see them take a charge. That way, they get the foul and we get the ball.”

Scoring: It is a boast that few teams can make, irrespective of their division. Not only are all five Faith Baptist starters scoring in double figures, so is sixth man Chae Kemp (10.0 average). Starters Alex Estrada (19.6), Etienne Moore (17.5), Peter Rasmussen (14.4), James DeCarriere (11.6) and Darren Wyre (10.6) also own double-digit averages. . . .

Burroughs’ Phil Hernandez has scored in double figures in eight consecutive games after totaling only 20 points in the Indians’ first three games. Hernandez has scored at least 23 points in five of the past eight games, including a career-high 33 against San Diego Castle Park in the Rancho Bernardo tournament three weeks ago. He is averaging a team-high 18 points a game and is shooting 56% (88 of 157) from the field. . . .

Notre Dame (6-7) will play its first home game Friday night against Alemany, but it might do so without standout forward Monte Marcaccini, who sprained a knee in practice this week. How important is Marcaccini, a 6-5 junior, to the Notre Dame offense? In last week’s 63-47 loss to Crespi, Marcaccini scored 26 points and took 22 of the team’s 48 shots from the field. . . .

UCLA-bound Marquis Burns of Reseda averaged 37 points and 11 rebounds in three games of the Birmingham tournament. . . .

Verdugo Hills junior guard Eddie Powell is averaging 25.8 points and 4.3 assists. . . .

Palmdale’s Erick Stone is averaging a team-high 24.3 points after scoring 97 points in four games in the Hart tournament. . . .

Simi Valley junior guard Ryan Briggs is shooting 39.1% from three-point range (nine of 23). Teammate David Quitazol, a junior guard, is 14 of 20 (70%) from two-point range and 15 of 23 (65.2%) overall.

Free throws: Simi Valley senior forward Danny Alexander has made 38 of 43 (88.4%), including 18 of his past 20. Briggs is 42 of 52 (80.8%) for Simi Valley, which is 151 of 217 (69.6%) as a team. . . .

Bell-Jeff’s Bryan Camacho is shooting 86.2% (56 of 65). . . . Moorpark’s Ryan Huisenga is shooting 78.8% (26 of 33). . . .

Girls’ basketball: Westlake’s Lauren Goldstine set a school record when she scored 41 points in a 67-42 victory over Hart in the third-place game of the Simi Valley tournament two weeks ago. Goldstine, a 6-foot senior headed for UC Santa Barbara next fall, has helped the Warriors to an 8-3 record by averaging 24 points and 11 rebounds. . . .

Ventura snapped Buena’s 15-year, 44-game winning streak in the Buena tournament with a 49-40 victory Dec. 14 in the championship game. It was Buena’s first loss ever in the tournament.

Boys’ soccer: San Fernando’s Favian Galvan scored eight goals in five games at the Simi Valley tournament last week. Galvan had three goals in a 4-1 victory over Agoura and three more in a 6-2 win over Moorpark as he led the Tigers to sixth place in the 32-team tournament. . . .

A total of 13 games in the Simi Valley tournament were decided by penalty-kick shootouts. West Bakersfield won four of its five games by shootout to win the title, connecting on 19 of 20 penalty kicks.

Regional Basketball

Top 10 Selected by sportswriters of The Times

Lst. Rk Wk Team League Record 1 1 Simi Valley Marmonte 10-2 2 2 North Hollywood Mid-Valley 15-1 3 3 Santa Clara Frontier 11-3 4 5 Ventura Channel 10-2 5 4 Taft North Valley 9-3 6 6 Saugus Golden 11-4 7 7 Chatsworth West Valley 9-4 8 8 Kennedy North Valley 11-5 9 10 Buena Channel 7-4 10 9 Glendale Pacific 10-6