If you sit close enough to Etiwanda girls basketball coach Stan Delus, you will hear a running commentary of likes and dislikes.
“Bang,” he yells out when he thinks one of his players is going to make an outside shot.
“Ball on the floor,” he yells when he expects his players to hustle for a loose ball.
“Oh my goodness,” he complains after a defensive letdown.
The coach of the two-time defending state champion Eagles was in a good mood Wednesday in his team’s season-opening game at the Harvard-Westlake tournament. Missing three potential starters, the Eagles still cruised to a 68-24 victory over Corona Centennial, showing off strong shooting and a strong defense.
Shaena Brew, who broke her ankle last December, looked healthy and confident, finishing with 20 points. Arynn Finley had 17 points.
“I really like this group,” Delus said.
Two transfers still need to become eligible and point guard Aliyahna Morris was held out while nursing an injury.
The players appreciated Delus being more calm than normal. “He was actually more chill today,” Brew said.
Sage Hill 69, Windward 58: Sophomore Kamdyn Klamberg scored 20 points and point guard Amalia Holguin added 18 points in a Harvard-Westlake tournament win for Sage Hill. Freshman Eve Fowler added 12 points. Olivia Lagao had 26 points and freshman Amel Cook added 15 points for Windward, which closed to within six points in the fourth quarter after trailing by as many as 16 points.
Campbell Hall 75, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 70: Freshman Hamiley Arenas, the sister of Chatsworth’s Alijah Arenas, had 27 points and 13 rebounds for Notre Dame in her high school debut.
Boys basketball
Bishop Montgomery 78, Palm Desert 37: Coach Doug Mitchell picked up win No. 800 in his 36 years as head coach. Terron Williams scored 20 points and Kyle Sanders had 13 points and 16 rebounds.
Loyola 48, Trabuco Hills 46: Quincy Watson contributed 14 points for the Cubs.
Harvard-Westlake 68, La Salle 36: Nik Khamenia had 17 points and Dominique Bentho contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Wolverines (2-0).
Crespi 63, Westchester 56: Peyton White finished with 21 points for the 2-0 Celts.
Viewpoint 80, Hueneme 30: Luke Jacobs had 20 points for Viewpoint.
St. Anthony 73, Leuzinger 55: Aman Haynes had 21 points and 12 rebounds for 2-0 St. Anthony.
Chatsworth 79, Agoura 57: Alijah Arenas had 21 points and Taj Unuakhalu added 10 points and 18 rebounds for 3-0 Chatsworth.
Crean Lutheran 73, Oakwood 44: Jacob Majok scored 22 points and had 12 rebounds.
Los Alamitos 88, Long Beach Wilson 45: Tyler Lopez led Los Alamitos with 15 points.
Inglewood 76, Mayfair 51: Jason Crowe Jr. scored 27 points in his Inglewood debut.
Crescenta Valley 62, Royal 54: Vaughn Zargarian finished with 34 points for the Falcons. Ace Arnold had 23 points for Royal.
Foothill 62, Downey 51: Kai Nixon had 17 points for Foothill.
Westlake 104, Ventura 49: Trey Kostenuik had 28 points and Austin Maziasz 20 points for Westlake, which might be the best team in Ventura County this season.
Cleveland 69, Maranatha 66: Roman Finney scored 20 points for the Cavaliers.
Brentwood 82, Golden Valley 49: Freshman Shalen Sheppard scored 20 points, freshman Ethan Hill had 11 points and Shane Frazier also had 11 points for Brentwood.
San Gabriel Academy 64, Saugus 60: Bryce Mejia led Saugus with 23 points.
Arcadia 61, West Covina 21: Noa Eteuati Edwards had 19 points for Arcadia.