Etiwanda gets past Upland

Clay Fowler, Staff Writer

Article Launched: 01/22/2008 10:43:48 PM PST

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - With the first half of league play over as of Tuesday night, Etiwanda boys basketball coach Dave Kleckner knows the typically parity-ridden Baseline League is far from decided.

But after a 53-39 win over Upland on Tuesday, 21 games into the season, parity has yet to reveal itself to Kleckner's Eagles.

Etiwanda (21-0, 5-0) used superior athleticism to more than offset an Upland size advantage in a game they led by at least eight from halftime on.

As many accomplished opponents as CIF-SS Division I-A No. 1 Etiwanda has tackled this season, fourth-ranked Upland (18-4, 4-1) is about as tough as they come.

"We've got a long way to go," Kleckner said. "We're in the drivers seat after the first half of league play. We're not feeling too comfortable but we're happy with where we are."

Etiwanda's Erick Ellis had a game-high 16 points and three steals.

The senior point guard led the way to his team's 47 percent shooting performance from the field.

Defensively, the Eagles were just as impressive.

Etiwanda managed to consistently double-team Upland guard Danny Redmon while keeping the ball from 6-foot-8 post man Kevin Bradshaw, who finished with 11 points and six rebounds, well under his averages of 19.2 points per game and 8.4 boards.

Redmon (17.5 ppg) scored nine on a dismal shooting night in which Upland shot 39 percent from the field.

"It was not a typical Danny Redmon performance,"

Upland coach John McNally said.

Etiwanda attacked the Upland zone from the inside, but not before it built an early lead from the outside.

Ellis' first-quarter 3-pointer - one of three from beyond the arc in the period - sparked a 12-1 Etiwanda run that gave the Eagles a 17-6 lead by the 7:40 mark of the second quarter, their largest lead of the first half.

After a 1-for-8 shooting performance in the opening quarter, a gritty second quarter kept Upland in the game. Zach Robbins, at 6-foot-9, took advantage of a smaller Etiwanda lineup to score four points off the Highlanders' bench in the period.

Upland limited the Eagles to one 3-pointer in the second quarter but faced a 10-point deficit at the half. Bradshaw scored five in the first half while 6-6, 245-pound Thomas Colbert failed to register a point.

"We've got to beat everybody we play inside," McNally said. "They're more athletic than us so it makes it tough."

Redmon's fast-break lay-up cut the Etiwanda lead to 30-22 with 4:41 remaining in the third quarter but that is as close as Upland would get.

Ellis led an 8-2 run to end the quarter, slashing inside for a couple of lay-ups after draining a 3-pointer.

"We couldn't have asked for much more from (Ellis) tonight," Kleckner said. "He was hitting his shot and he put the ball on the floor and attacked amongst the trees."

Upland got no closer than 10 in the fourth quarter. The 6-2 Ellis added an exclamation point to the win with a fast-break dunk just in front of Bradshaw's block attempt that made the score 51-37 with 1:49 to play.

"We've got to win the next one," McNally said, "when we get them at our place."