SAN BERNARDINO – Competitive inequity and fairness again became issues this week in high school sports in the Inland area after an usually lopsided nonleague girls basketball game between San Bernardino Arroyo Valley and Bloomington on Monday night.
Arroyo Valley defeated Bloomington by the score of 161-2 in a game the Hawks led 104-1 at halftime.
That score, as one might expect, has raised eyebrows around the region’s basketball community and created some angst for Arroyo Valley and coach Michael Anderson.
“I have had a conversation with my coach about it and that kind of thing,” said Arroyo Valley athletic director Matt Howell, who was out of town Monday and did not attend the game. “It’s not going to happen again.”
Both Anderson and Bloomington coach Dale Chung said that they met before the game. Anderson said he told Chung he wanted to run his full offense for a half, and that Chung agreed. Anderson said the game was his final nonleague tuneup before the San Andreas League schedule began next Wednesday, and he wanted to prepare his players.
“This was our last game before we started league, and we were going to come out playing hard,” Anderson said. “I wanted to let him know there was no harm intended, and that if he had any ideas or concerns just to let me know. We were going to play a half of basketball, at least. … And he seemed fine with that.”
Such lopsided scores seem to be on the rise in the Inland area this season. There have been a number of 70-plus-point margins involving many other area teams.
Anderson concedes his team plays an aggressive style, and that he expects big scoring and has won several large-margin games, but nothing like Monday’s, which was the second-largest margin of victory in girls basketball in Inland-area history.
Arroyo Valley’s program has enjoyed a renaissance under Anderson, winning who won a Southern Section championship with Rialto in 2011. The Hawks are 14-1, ranked ninth in the CIF Southern Section’s Division 1-A, and entered the week ranked No. 3 in team scoring in the state, according to maxpreps.com.
Chung said his team, at 0-9, is struggling and he has only one player with experience. The Bruins’ best scoring output on the season is 17 points, and the team has been blown out in each of its losses this year.
While he’s not happy with Monday’s result, Chung said he still shook hands with Anderson afterward, and his team kept a good spirit.
“At the end of the day, what (Anderson) does, I can’t control,” Chung said. “I can only try and control my girls.”
Anderson said he did approach the referees with about six minutes remaining in the third quarter to begin a running clock, but, in accordance with high school rules, officials did not use the running clock until the fourth quarter. He said he benched his starters at the half and instructed his players not to shoot the ball until the shot clock got inside of 7 seconds in the third and fourth quarters.
Anderson said his bench performed better than expected, and he did not expect his team to score 160.
Howell didn’t rule out disciplinary action against Anderson but also voiced support for his coach. He said he will discuss the matter with assistant principal Ray Gallardo.
“It wasn’t a good feeling (afterward),” Anderson said. “It’s not something I’m proud of. It’s not something I would put on a mantel. …
“(Next) Wednesday,” he added, “can’t get here soon enough.”
Contact the writer: lnegri@pressenterprise.com
