Not Lonely at Top: Calabasas Hoops Among 3 Tied for First in Marmonte

There is a logjam at the top of the Marmonte League boys basketball standings, with three teams tied for first heading into the final three-week stretch of the regular season.

The good news is Calabasas (16-3, 6-1) is among the leaders, along with Westlake (17-5, 6-1) and Royal (14-5, 6-1).

The Coyotes, coming off a 78-46 win Friday over Thousand Oaks, have a light schedule this week because of final exams, as the team has six days off before resuming this coming Friday at Simi Valley. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m.

“We had a great practice Saturday. We’re all in a great frame of mind,” guard Spencer Levy said. “After that win over Thousand Oaks, I feel like we’re playing at our highest potential. We keep getting better.”

Simi Valley (10-9, 3-4) is struggling under new coach Chris Printz, but the defending league champion Pioneers have to be considered a scary opponent – especially in their own gym – after winning 20 games or more five times over the past seven seasons.

“Simi Valley at their place is a rough one, but if we stick together and play as a team, we should be OK,” Levy said.

Calabasas defeated Simi Valley by 22 points the first time the teams met on Dec. 15.

Meanwhile, Calabasas never had a proper holiday break because the Coyotes played in two winter tournaments. This week marks the first time Calabasas will have gone more than five days without playing a game.

“I don’t think we’ve had a break since the seventh grade,” Levy said with a smile. “I don’t remember ever having a week off.”

VIEWPOINT HOOPS READY TO MAKE MARK IN LIBERTY LEAGUE

Like the Marmonte League, the Liberty League also features several top boys basketball teams all fully capable of winning the league title, as five of six have a winning percentage of .625 or better.

Viewpoint (10-5, 1-1) sits in fourth place, but there is a lot of basketball still to be played, and the Patriots still feel like they’re among the favorites.

“I think we’re doing great. I’m really happy with where we are right now,” coach J.J. Prince said.

Viewpoint came through with perhaps its biggest win of the season Jan.4 with a 45-41 upset over visiting Buckley, considered the league favorite, but just when the Patriots were ready to harness the momentum, a 10-day winter break was in the way.

After the break, Viewpoint returned to the floor Saturday with a 77-76 league loss at Yeshiva. But the good news was how Viewpoint lost. The Patriots were down by 17 points with five minutes left before mounting a furious comeback that fell short.

“We came storming back,” Prince said.

Jack Borenstein scored 17 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, including four 3-pointers, but it was not quite enough.

“Honestly, we did play hard,” Borenstein said. “When we came back, the bench was really into it. We played well together, the whole team.”

Viewpoint has not won or shared a league title since 2006, but this could be the year of the Patriots – though  it won’t be easy.

“In the Liberty League, every team has an opportunity to beat each other. It just depends on the night,” Borenstein said.

Viewpoint should expect no favors from a revenge-hungry Buckley team.

“I think it was a shock to everyone when we beat them last time because we were the underdogs,” Borenstein said. “Buckley is going to be very hungry on Thursday.”

Prince calls the Buckley rematch “a huge game.”

“They key to winning the league title is to win road games like this,” Prince said.

CALABASAS LOOKS FOR GIRL POWER

There figured to be growing pains for Calabasas’ girls basketball team, as the Coyotes are playing under their third coach in three years – Joe Heredia – and their fifth over the past six seasons.

Calabasas (6-14, 1-6) has lost five in a row heading into a Marmonte League game Friday against visiting Simi Valley. Tipoff is 7 p.m.

Jaclyn Goodman, a 5-foot-8 junior, leads the team with an 11.0 scoring average.