Wildcats

BURBANK — The Burroughs High boys' basketball team was probably hoping to ease into its season opener Tuesday. But Renaissance Academy was not going to let that happen. In a pool-play game in the 42nd annual Bulldog Tip-Off Classic, the Wildcats welcomed the Indians to their new campaign with a swarming pressure defense that took Burroughs out of its game. The defensive onslaught helped cause 24 Indians turnovers, allowing the Wildcats to breeze to a 49-25 victory at Burbank High.

PASADENA - With his team up by 45 points midway through the third period of its CIF Southern Section Division 6 quarterfinal game against Arshag Dickranian on Tuesday, Renaissance Academy basketball Coach Sid Cooke called a timeout. Despite being ahead comfortably, Cooke didn't like what he saw after the two teams exchanged a number of baskets during a two-minute stretch. The coach wanted his squad to keep its focus. "I just wanted our kids to keep playing hard," Cooke said.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — The schools are separated by less than 10 miles, and there's a potential rivalry budding up and down the Glendale (2) Freeway. After spending the last several seasons competing in nonleague games, the Renaissance Academy and Ribet Academy boys' basketball teams are now both part of the Harbor League. Renaissance and Ribet met Friday night in the first of two installments and Renaissance got the upper hand, as Jessy Cantinol finished with 20 points and Troy Fontanilla added 16 to lead the Wildcats to a 61-51 home victory.

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE — Behind potent offense and strong defense, the Renaissance Academy boys' basketball team took care of business in the first round and is on to the next in the CIF Southern Section Division 5-A playoffs. The fifth-seeded Wildcats played host to the Calvary Chapel Grizzlies in the opening round Wednesday night, brushed off a hot shooting start for their opponents, and cruised to a 57-37 victory. "Once we made our adjustments, we were OK," said Renaissance Coach Sid Cooke, whose team advanced to the semifinals last season.

BURBANK — It’s been a tough go for Sid Cooke in trying to put the pieces together. With key players having graduated or transferred, the Renaissance Academy basketball coach has found mixing and matching to be a painful process with a lineup that’s been decimated by injuries. “You can see it on the court, but I can live with it,” said Cooke, whose team suffered a 71-55 loss to View Park Prep on Saturday afternoon in the seventh-place contest of the 40th annual Bulldog Tip-Off Classic at Burbank High.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — In its first four matches of the season, the Flintridge Prep boys' soccer team combined to outwork its opponents and attack their weaknesses. That led the Rebels to a four-match unbeaten streak. On Tuesday afternoon, the Rebels strayed from those traits. Flintridge Prep yielded three second-half goals to Cody Kermanian in a 3-0 nonleague loss against Milken Community at the Glendale Sports Complex. "I don't really know if we played hard [Tuesday]

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — For a big reason as to why the Crescenta Valley High baseball team has started off its season on the right note, it needs to look no further then its starting pitching rotation. The Falcons got two reminders Wednesday night why they might be in position to win their first Pacific League championship since 2008. Pitcher Troy Mulcahey showed he could propel the Falcons with his arm and bat. Mulcahey pitched five quality innings and hit a two-run home run to power Crescenta Valley to a 6-1 nonleague victory against Monrovia in the second game of a doubleheader at Stengel Field.

LOS ANGELES - The Renaissance Academy boys' basketball team finally found an opponent that could hang with it in the playoffs on Saturday night - for all of one quarter, at least. Winners of their first three CIF Southern Section Division 6 playoff games by an average margin of 64 points, the top-seeded Wildcats pulled away from host fourth-seeded L.A. Adventist Academy in the second quarter of the semifinal contest, leaving the Eagles as just the latest foe steamrolled, 69-44, on Renaissance's rampage to its first CIF title appearance since 2007.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — The Glendale Community College football team will find out today how much last week's bye will help. Glendale college Coach John Rome said he's intrigued, as the Vaqueros continue their quest of tracking down their first win of the season. "The purpose of the bye is two-fold," said Rome, whose team will meet visiting West L.A. in a Pacific Conference American Division contest at 7 p.m. today at Sartoris Field. "We've been able to get some guys healed, plus we've been able to work on the fundamentals and development.

Following the first round of games in the CIF State Boys' Division V Basketball Championships Southern California bracket, Renaissance Academy Coach Sid Cooke wasn't surprised with some of the upsets that took place. If anything, it made Cooke that more demanding of his players in the Wildcats' quest to win the state tournament for the first time after winning the CIF Southern Section Division VI championship. "Nothing surprises me because it's state and anything can happen," said Cooke, whose third-seeded Wildcats (25-6)

Having won its first-ever NCAA Tournament game on Thursday with an upset of third-seeded New Mexico, Harvard's men's basketball team, with starting center Kenyatta Smith out of Flintridge Prep, was looking for another upset and more history. Sixth-seeded Arizona was having nothing of it, though, as the Wildcats came out strong and never relented en route to a dominating 74-51 victory on Saturday in the round of 32 at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City. Smith, a former All-Area Boys' Basketball Player of the Year and Glendale News-Press Athlete of the Year after leading Flintridge Prep to its first and only CIF Southern Section title, started at center for the Crimson and scored a team-high 10 points, matching his output against New Mexico.

WHITTIER - It was a play the Crescenta Valley High girls' water polo team wasn't expecting to run. The Falcons hadn't run anything like it all season, but when they did - with about four minutes to go in the CIF Southern Section Division V semifinal match with Redlands East Valley - it showed just how in control they were. On both ends of the pool and in every fashion imaginable, Crescenta Valley bested the Wildcats en route to a 14-4 victory at Whittier College Wednesday to stamp its ticket into the program's first-ever championship game Saturday.

LA CRESCENTA - As the Crescenta Valley High boys' basketball team made its lengthy playoff run, capped by an appearance in the state tournament, last season, Nick Springer spent most of the time on the bench waiting his turn. Springer envisioned stepping into the starting lineup and helping the Falcons win a playoff game. Springer's chance came Friday night and he backed it up with a sterling performance. Springer finished with a career-high 32 points to help fourth-seeded Crescenta Valley register an 80-42 home victory against Paloma Valley in a CIF Southern Section Division I-A opening-round contest.

GLENDALE - Subpar first-half shooting put the Glendale College women's basketball team in a hole it couldn't emerge from, as it dropped its fifth straight Western State Conference game Saturday afternoon. The Lady Vaqueros showed more efficiency and confidence in the second half against visiting West Los Angeles College, but succumbed to clutch baskets on the other end and fell, 59-48, at home. “We were getting good looks, just not finishing,” said Vaqueros Coach Carrie Miller, whose team of all first-year players has lost seven of its last eight games.

GLENDALE - Every match wrestled ended in a pin at Hoover High when the Tornadoes hosted Monrovia High in a Rio Hondo League dual meet Thursday. Hoover Coach Mark Bitetti, who saw all but two of his wrestlers pinned in a 60-18 loss, had two explanations for the prevalence of the pinfall. “It's a result of inexperience and lack of fight is a part of it,” Bitetti said. “Inexperience is part of it, but you've got to fight to get off your back. They did stupid things to get on their back and when they did they couldn't get out of it.” The Tornadoes (1-3 in league)

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE - On the doorstep of adulation, riding a tidal wave of momentum, it all slipped away for St. Francis High's football team in gut-wrenching fashion. With just over one minute remaining, the Golden Knights trailed Monrovia by four points, but a clutch Jared Lebowitz fourth-down conversion pass to John Carroll put St. Francis on the Wildcats' one-yard line with time, opportunity and the momentum to go ahead and likely claim victory. But the ensuing play saw a quarterback sneak fumbled into the air before coming to rest on the ground in the grasp of Monrovia, leading to a 17-13 victory for the Wildcats and a bitter loss for the host Knights on Friday night at Friedman Field.

WOODLAND HILLS - There's help coming for the Renaissance Academy basketball team. In all likelihood, the Wildcats are not going to have to play a regular season game with just six players when competition begins in the winter. But that's what Renaissance Academy was burdened with in Sunday's quarterfinal game of the 17th annual War on the Floor Tournament at Los Angeles Pierce College. Four of its players had never played on the varsity level during the 2011-12 campaign, and of the two who had, one was at Temple City before transferring to Renaissance Academy.

WOODLAND HILLS - It's often been said that one of the benefits of participating in summer league basketball for a prospective team is an opportunity to see an array of different squads and coaching styles. For the Renaissance Academy boys' basketball team, though, playing in Saturday's second day of the War on the Floor Showcase at Los Angeles Pierce College presented the chance for a small Wildcats squad to showcase its own talents. Six-man Renaissance, which was missing three players due to transfer, continued to impress in holding off Los Angeles City Section Dorsey High, 49-41, in Saturday afternoon's pool play finale.

WOODLAND HILLS - In looking to overcome a late deficit, the short-handed Renaissance Academy basketball team needed somebody to take charge and handle the assignment with composure. With just six players on board, the Wildcats sought Marquise Mosley to tackle the task Friday night. Mosley scored 15 points, including the game-winning shot with 32 seconds left, to give Renaissance a 40-39 victory against Palmdale in a pool-play game of the War on the Floor Tournament at L.A. Pierce College.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE - With storm clouds gathering on the horizon, the baseball teams of Glendale Community College and West Los Angeles were in a hurry to get Thursday afternoon's Western State Conference game at Stengel Field underway. Already moved up a half hour on Wednesday from its originally scheduled 5:30 p.m. start time, the game was moved up twice more on Thursday, starting just after 4:15. The Vaqueros' offense seemed to be intent on beating the rain, as well, pounding out eight runs in the first three innings, most of which was just icing on the cake with Glendale starting pitcher Alonzo Gonzalez dealing a two-hit shutout over six innings en route to getting the win in the 11-3 final.