It's a Big Weekend for Basketball as Chatsworth, Sierra Canyon Look to Win Section Titles

After losing in a City Section football final in December, Chatsworth High has another chance to win a section title at 8 p.m. Saturday in the City Division III basketball championship against Garfield of Los Angeles at Roybal High in L.A.

The Chancellors (24-9) are top-seeded, and a championship victory would be historic, as Chatsworth has never won a City basketball title in the school’s 48-year history.

“We’ve prepared hard, and we expected to be here,” coach Scott Switalla said. “We respect Garfield, and we know they play hard as a team, but we know as the No. 1 seed we’re favored, and we expect to go out and play well.

“To win would be a nice accomplishment because coming in second does not mean anything. No one who is competitive wants to lose, so we’re going down there expecting to win the championship.”

Switalla is hoping for a productive outing from Terrell Funches, Chatsworth’s leading scorer who is coming off an eight-point performance in a 68-53 semifinal win over Hamilton of L.A. – only the second time all season Funches has been held to fewer than 10 points.

“Terrell was pretty distraught. I think he is going to step forward and have a much better game,” Switalla said. “He does a little bit of everything for us, not just scoring. He’s one of our best rebounders, he can shoot, and he just does a little bit of everything. I’m expecting a good game from him.”

Funches, a 6-foot-2 junior, averages 17.8 points and 6.4 rebounds while shooting 55 percent from the field. Chatsworth’s other key players include point guard Derrick Hector (14 points, 4.4 assists, 2.9 steals) and forward Jason Monje (10.2 points, 4.6 rebounds).

“Derrick Hector is a really good offensive player who can really shoot the ball, and he’s really fast and just makes our team go,” Switalla said. “He also creates a lot steals defensively.”

Chatsworth is not 33-0, but most of the losses have come to tough opponents, including City Division I finalist Taft (twice), Crespi and Leuzinger – all top programs.

An X factor could be Frankie Flores. He’s coming into his own after joining the team right before the season opener after not participating during the summer and fall because of personal hardship issues.

“Frankie has had a solid season for us, and he’s starting to play better and better,” Switalla said.

Garfield (21-6), coached by Ricardo Rivas, has won 17 of the past 18, including a 67-65 semifinal win over Grant of Van Nuys. The Bulldogs could have the crowd advantage because the school campus is eight miles away from Roybal – 30 miles closer than Chatsworth.

LITTLE SCHOOL LOOKS TO DO BIG THINGS

Also qualifying for a section basketball final is Sierra Canyon, as the Trailblazers face Alpha League rival Montclair Prep of Van Nuys in the Southern Section Division V-A championship at 5 tonight at Mater Dei High in Santa Ana.

Sierra Canyon (24-5) split two games with the Mounties during the regular season, losing 66-54 on Jan. 12, then defeating the Mounties 68-51 on Feb. 8 in a contest Sierra Canyon led by as many as 32 points.

“I’m very excited to play for a CIF championship,” Sierra Canyon coach Ryan Silver said. “It’s exciting for the kids, and it’s exciting for the schools.”

Two of the San Fernando Valley top guards face off, as Sierra Canyon’s Jahmel Taylor goes head to head with Montclair Prep’s Trey Dickerson. Taylor, a sophomore, averages 21.6 points and 5.7 rebounds, and he’s shooting 38 percent on 3-pointers and 81 percent from the line.  Dickerson, a junior, averages 17.6 points and 6.9 assists, and he’s shooting 35 percent on 3-pointers.

“Montclair Prep is good, and Dickerson is a very good point guard,” Silver said.

Added Montclair Prep assistant Howard Abrams: “It’s a classic matchup between those two, and both will eventually be playing in college.”

Montclair Prep has won four titles, and Sierra Canyon is looking for its first after losing in the finals last season.

“We’re trying to get to the promise land,” Silver said. “We’re trying to be No. 1, and it’s exciting for the kids.”

CHATSWORTH FOOTBALL COACH RESIGNS

After guiding Chatsworth to a football final this past winter and helping to orchestrate a turnaround that saw the Chancellors finished 11-3 compared to 2-8 in 2009, coach Jason Camp resigned Thursday for personal reasons.

“I’ve been a walk-on coach for two years, and they just don’t have a job on campus for me, and it’s too difficult not being on campus,” Camp said. “I can’t manage the program and my personal life at the same time. By not being on campus, it was too hard to form the relationships I needed to form.”