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By RICH GREENE DN Sports Editor In the end Bren Haley had the last laugh. After an early air ball, the Pleasant Valley senior heard the best the Spartan student body could shout his way on his way to a scoreless first period. Haley then rebounded in the final three quarters, to put up a game-high 18 points and saved his biggest come- back blow for when the Vikings need- ed it the most. With 1:05 remaining in the game, Haley sliced through the Red Bluff defense to score the final and decisive bucket in a 53-52 Pleasant Valley win. Both teams are now 8-8 on the sea- son. Pleasant Valley improved to 2-2 in the EAL and Red Bluff fell to 1-3. It was the second home league game the Spartans dropped in the wan- ing minutes after falling to Chico in their league opener. "It's just a mentality to finish, whether it be a missed free throw, a lay- up, a turnover," coach Stan Twitchell said of what his Spartans need to do to take the next step. The Spartans raced out to an early six-point lead, but from there the game tightened up with neither team able to maintain momentum. Grant Blaser scored 10 of his team- high 16 points for the Spartans in the second quarter, but outside of his con- tributions the Spartan offense was fail- ing to create any open looks at the bas- ket. Meanwhile, the Vikings rallied back to tie the game 26-26 at halftime, behind strong rebounding play on the offensive glass. The Vikings finished with 10 offen- sive rebounds and Jaycob Velasco pulled down a total of 12 boards for Pleasant Valley. In the third quarter, the Red Bluff offense started clicking again, as Cody Gappa was able to step outside the post and hit a pair of jumpers from the top of the key. Red Bluff had a four-point lead until Pleasant Valley's Jordan Rodrigues made a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Vikings back on top 42-40 entering the fourth quarter. With just over two minutes to go Trevor Capik blocked what appeared to be an easy bucket for Logan Valen- cia and Blaser raced down to the other end and tied the game at 51-51. Following a missed Viking 3-point- er, the Spartans fought hard for two possessions on their next offensive trip as Trevor Miller and Devin Shoop dove onto a loose ball to earn a jump ball possession for the Spartans Gappa was fouled on the resulting inbound play and put the Spartans on top 52-51 with a free throw. But despite a strong defensive play by Miller on Pleasant Valley's next possession, Haley eventually weaved his way through the Spartan defense for the winning basket. The Spartans final trip down the floor resulted in a miscommunication and an errant pass going out-of- bounds. Miller finished with 14 points and Gappa had 11 points and nine rebounds. Shoop was effective when the Spar- tans found him in the post and finished with 10 points. Rodrigues had 11 and Logan Valen- cia 10 for the Vikings. Both teams shot 8-for-11 from the free throw line. The first 31 minutes of Wednes- day's game, once again showed the Spartans could be better than their 8-8 record suggests. Coach Twitchell said he's pleased with the Spartans progress at this point in the season. "I think we're right on the brink of something really good," he said. Red Bluff hosts Foothill tonight. Sports 1B Friday January 22, 2010 Friday Boys Basketball — Foothill at Red Bluff, 7:30 p.m. Boys Basketball — Los Molinos at Hamilton, 5:30 p.m. Boys Basketball — Yreka at Corning, 7p.m. Girls Basketball — Yreka at Corning, 7 p.m. Wrestling — Corning, Red Bluff at Tim Brown Memorial in Sacramento NBA — Kings at Magic, 4 p.m., CSNCA PV slips by Spartans Daily News photo by Rich Greene Spartan guard Trevor Miller lays in a basket, Wednesday. The final opportunity to register for American Legion baseball will be Saturday with tryouts scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. at the Red Bluff High School baseball field. All players must be pre-registered and have paid their $50 fee before tryouts begin. Fees will be refunded to players who fail to make a team. If it rains Saturday, the tryouts will be rescheduled for Jan. 30 at the same location and time. Those unable to make the tryouts must call Mike at 736-0520 or Jim Bonomini at 736-9968. Updates can also be found at www.redbluffbaseball.com. American Legion tryouts Cox a Top Fueler Courtesy photo Tyler Cox qualified over the weekend for the Nor-Cal Tournament of Champions scheduled for March 13 in Sacramento. Cox and other Top Fueler wrestlers competed in the Orland qualifier. Wrestlers needed to place in the Top 3 to move onto the Sacramento competition and Cox placed second in the 122-pound division. There will be three more opportunities for Top Fuelers to qualify this year. Scoreboard Scoreboard NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE Pacific Division W L Pct GB Lakers 32 10 .762 — Phoenix 24 18 .571 8 Clippers 18 22 .450 13 KINGS 15 25 .375 16 WARRIORS 12 27 .308 18.5 Southwest Division W L Pct GB Dallas 27 14 .659 — San Antonio 25 15 .625 1.5 Houston 23 18 .561 4 Memphis 22 18 .550 4.5 New Orleans 21 19 .525 5.5 Northwest Division W L Pct GB Denver 26 14 .650 — Portland 25 17 .595 2 Okla. City 23 18 .561 3.5 Utah 23 18 .561 3.5 Minnesota 9 33 .214 18 EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W L Pct GB Boston 27 12 .692 — Toronto 21 21 .500 7.5 New York 17 24 .415 11 Philadelphia 13 27 .325 14.5 New Jersey 3 37 .075 24.5 Southeast Division W L Pct GB Atlanta 26 14 .650 — Orlando 26 15 .634 .5 Miami 21 19 .525 5 Charlotte 20 19 .513 5.5 Washington 14 26 .350 12 Central Division W L Pct GB Cleveland 33 11 .750 — Chicago 18 21 .462 12.5 Milwaukee 16 23 .410 14.5 Detroit 14 26 .350 17 Indiana 14 27 .341 17.5 Thursday's results Cleveland 93, L.A. Lakers 87 L.A. Clippers at Denver, late Today's games Sacramento at Orlando, 4 p.m., CSNCA New Jersey at Golden State,7:30 p.m.,CSNBA Miami at Washington, 4 p.m. Milwaukee at Toronto, 4 p.m. Dallas at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. Charlotte at Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. Portland at Boston, 4:30 p.m. Oklahoma City at Memphis, 5 p.m. New Orleans at Minnesota, 5 p.m. Indiana at Detroit, 5 p.m. L.A. Lakers at New York, 5 p.m., ESPN Houston at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. Chicago at Phoenix, 7:30 p.m., ESPN Wednesday's results Atlanta 108, Sacramento 97 Denver 123, Golden State 118, OT Charlotte 104, Miami 65 Dallas 94, Washington 93 Detroit 92, Boston 86 L.A. Clippers 104, Chicago 97 Milwaukee 113, Toronto 107 New Orleans 113, Memphis 111 Oklahoma City 94, Minnesota 92 Orlando 109, Indiana 98 Phoenix 118, New Jersey 94 Portland 98, Philadelphia 90 Utah 105, San Antonio 98 NCAA Thursday's Top 25 result No. 15 Gonzaga 91, Pepperdine 84 Today's Top 25 games No games scheduled Wednesday's Top 25 late games No. 3 Kansas 81, No. 25 Baylor 75 No. 4 Villanova 94, Rutgers 68 N.C. State 88, No. 7 Duke 74 No. 11 West Virginia 68, Marshall 60 No. 14 BYU 81, Wyoming 66 No. 18 Wisconsin 54, Michigan 48 No. 22 Mississippi 66, South Carolina 57 NHL Thursday's results Anaheim at San Jose, late Carolina 5, Atlanta 2 Columbus 3, Boston 2 Detroit 4, Minnesota 3, SO N.Y. Islanders 2, Florida 1, SO Ottawa 3, St. Louis 2 Philadelphia 2, N.Y. Rangers 0 Tampa Bay 3, Toronto 2, OT Washington 6, Pittsburgh 3 Buffalo at Los Angeles, late Chicago at Calgary, late Dallas at Vancouver, late Nashville at Phoenix, late Today's games Montreal at New Jersey, 4 p.m. Nashville at Colorado, 6 p.m. Dallas at Edmonton, 6 p.m. Wednesday's results New Jersey 2, Florida 0 St. Louis 4, Montreal 3, OT Vancouver 3, Edmonton 2, OT Don't blame it on the rain Daily News photo by Rich Greene Los Molinos soccer players huddle with fans, Thursday, minutes before their anticipated rematch with Mercy was cancelled. The game was not called off due to the weather, but because only one official showed up, who was not qualified to referee the game by herself. Players from both schools had warmed up for about 30 minutes in the heavy rain with about two dozen fans waiting in attendance. Oakland 3B Chavez ready for any role this season OAKLAND (AP) — Eric Chavez is a l r e a d y embracing his new role with the Oakland Athletics this season: back- up and utilityman. The six-time Gold Glove third baseman has ordered himself a first baseman's mitt and one to play the out- field, too. ''I'm going to have to get a bigger bag,'' Chavez said. He's not going to be picky about where he plays — he's just happy to be returning to the A's at all following season-ending back surgery last June. Chavez has undergone five operations since Sept. 5, 2007, including two microdiscectomy surgeries in different spots in his back. ''So, how's my back feel, right?'' Chavez asked with a grin as he sat down with reporters Thursday at the Coliseum. The 32-year-old Chavez, limited by injuries the last three years, has been taking swings for three weeks now and is eager to test his body with the daily rigors of spring training next month. At 210 pounds, Chavez is 10 pounds lighter than his 2009 playing weight. He hopes the hard work on his fitness this winter will help his cause. A's manager Bob Geren figures Chavez will make the opening-day roster. Chavez enters the final sea- son of a $66 million, six- year contract extension he signed in March 2004 that includes a 2011 club option. ''I'm sure he just wants to get out there and play,'' Geren said. ''His health and performance will dictate how much he plays. He looks great. He's in really good physical shape and he's smiling, happy. If he can work hard in a part-time role and he embraces it, his chances of staying on the field go way up.'' Chavez appeared in only eight games in 2009. He had one hit in his last 22 at-bats and was in an 0-for-15 stretch. He hit .100 with one RBI. That's after he played in only 23 games in 2008, and 90 in '07. 49ers hire Solari as offensive line coach SANTA CLARA (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers hired Mike Solari as their new offensive line coach, replacing Chris Foerster. Foerster was hired by the Washington Redskins on Thursday. Solari had been the tight ends and assistant offensive line coach in San Francisco under assistant Bob McKittrick from 1992-96. He has spent more than 20 years in the NFL, most recently working the past two seasons in Seattle. Solari worked with Niners offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye for three seasons in Kansas City. Solari also spent one season as offensive coordinator of the Chiefs.