West Valley shocks highly ranked Gahr

10:00 PM PST on Monday, January 21, 2008

By ERIC-PAUL JOHNSON
The Press-Enterprise

RIVERSIDE - The Hemet West Valley boys basketball team had two golden opportunities this past week to make its mark and prove to the skeptics it is a solid program.

The Mustangs were unable to beat Sunbelt League rival Perris last Friday, but they didn't miss out on their second chance.

Eric Lawton scored a game-high 31 points as West Valley stunned Cerritos Gahr, the state's No. 17-ranked team, 107-85, at the Martin Luther King Jr. Inland Invitational at Riverside King.

"This is huge for our program," Mustangs coach Chuck Peebles said. "My guys played their hearts out, and I am proud of them and proud of my coaching staff."

West Valley (15-2) jumped out to a quick double-digit lead in the first half and maintained it through the fourth quarter.

With a 17-0 run, Gahr (14-6) cut a 27-point Mustangs lead to nine points in four minutes of the fourth quarter.

West Valley was able to regroup, however, as Lawton scored 14 points in the final period.

Junior center Joseph Burton scored 24 points and senior guard John Balwigaire added 18 points for the Mustangs.

Casper Ware scored 25 points to lead Gahr.