Inland Area Prep Basketball Top 10
1. Rancho Cucamonga Etiwanda (18-0) — The Eagles are soaring. Dave Kleckner’s team went to Upland for the second time this season and put the Inland Area’s No. 5 team in a headlock for the second time this season. Then Etiwanda capped its week with a come-from-behind victory over Ventura at the MLK Shootout. Watch a youtube.com video of the final moments of that game here.
LAST RANKED: (No. 1). LAST WEEK: d. No. 5 Upland, 53-40, on 1/14; d. Ventura, 52-51, on 1/17.
THIS WEEK: at Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos TONIGHT; at Ontario Colony SATURDAY; at Rancho Cucamonga Alta Loma TUESDAY.
2. Corona Centennial (16-3) — The Huskies are riding a seven-game winning streak going into last night’s game against No. 10 Roosevelt, which pitted the last of the Big VIII League’s unbeatens. Senior G/F Dominique Dunning (6-foot-4, 195 pounds) leads Centennial with 21.2 points per game. He also averages 7.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per contest.
LAST RANKED: (No. 2). LAST WEEK: d. Corona Santiago, 75-49, on 1/18; vs. No. 10 Eastvale Roosevelt on 1/20.
THIS WEEK: at Riverside King TUESDAY; at Riverside Poly THURSDAY.
3. Murrieta Valley (16-3) – Senior forward Justin Gudger (6-4, 215) scored nine points and made five assists in his return to the lineup Wednesday night against Murrieta Mesa. Four days earlier he missed his first game of the season in a lopsided non-league loss to Orange Lutheran on 1/15.
LAST RANKED: (No. 3). LAST WEEK: d. Temecula Great Oak, 64-31, on 1/14; lost to Orange Lutheran, 82-60, on 1/15; d. Murrieta Mesa, 69-34, on 1/19.
THIS WEEK: vs. Vista Murrieta TONIGHT; vs. Temecula Chaparral THURSDAY.
4. Rialto Eisenhower (11-6) – The Eagles’ tough non-league schedule is paying off. Coach Steve Johnson’s squad has begun Citrus Belt League play with three consecutive victories, including an 18-point win over Inland Area No. 9 Redlands East Valley on 1/14.
LAST RANKED: (No. 5). LAST WEEK: d. No. 9 Redlands East Valley, 96-78, on 1/14; d. Redlands, 81-63, on 1/18; vs. Fontana on 1/20.
THIS WEEK: vs. Richmond Salesian SATURDAY; at Yucaipa TUESDAY; at Fontana Miller THURSDAY.
5. Upland (12-6) – The Highlanders drop one spot this week on the heels of three consecutive defeats, including a 13-point loss at home to Inland Area No. 1 Etiwanda on 1/14. John McNally’s team gets a third and possibly final crack at their Baseline League rivals in just a couple of weeks.
LAST RANKED: (No. 4). LAST WEEK: lost to No. 1 Rancho Cucamonga Etiwanda, 53-40, on 1/14; lost to Reseda Cleveland, 51-48, on 1/15.
THIS WEEK: at Rancho Cucamonga TONIGHT; vs. Newport Beach Corona del Mar SATURDAY; at Glendora TUESDAY.
6. Fontana Summit (14-6) – The SkyHawks are scoring points and winning games. Coach Steve Hickey’s team has scored 80 or more points in three of its last four games (all victories), including a 56 (yes, fifty-six)-point rout of Norte Vista on 1/18.
LAST RANKED: (No. 6). LAST WEEK: d. L.A. Windward, 77-61, on 1/15; d. Riverside Norte Vista, 82-26, on 1/18; at Fontana Kaiser on 1/20.
THIS WEEK: at Riverside Patriot TUESDAY; vs. Jurupa Valley THURSDAY.
7. Moreno Valley Rancho Verde (16-3) – The Mustangs are clearly the best team (again) in the Inland Valley League, having defeated every opponent thus far by at last seven points and emassing a 7-0 record.
LAST RANKED: (No. 7). LAST WEEK: d. Riverside La Sierra, 66-44, on 1/14; d. Moreno Valley, 51-35, on 1/19.
THIS WEEK: at Riverside Ramona MONDAY; at Moreno Valley Vista del Lago WEDNESDAY.
8. Victorville Victor Valley (15-3) – The Jackrabbits are up-and-down as of late. A lopsided 30-point loss to Victorville Silverado on 1/12 was bouyed a slim two-point victory over Villa Park on 1/15.
LAST RANKED: (No. 8). LAST WEEK: d. Villa Park, 75-73, on 1/15; vs. Barstow on 1/19.
THIS WEEK: vs. Apple Valley Granite Hills TONIGHT; at Ridgecrest Burroughs WEDNESDAY.
9. Redlands East Valley (15-4) – Each of the Wildcats’ four losses have been to teams currently ranked above them in this week’s Inland Area Top 10. And a loss to No. 4 Eisenhower on 1/14 was their first of 2011.
LAST RANKED: (No. 9). LAST WEEK: lost to No. 4 Rialto Eisenhower, 96-78, on 1/14; d. Fontana, 71-38, on 1/18; vs. Yucaipa on 1/20.
THIS WEEK: at Santa Barbara San Marcos SATURDAY; at Fontana Miller TUESDAY; at Redlands THURSDAY.
10. Eastvale Roosevelt (11-5) — The Mustangs have probably their toughest two-game stretch of the season this weekend. Coach Romone Neal’s team played Inland Are No. 2 Centennial last night, and plays the 2010 San Diego Section champion, Hoover, on Saturday.
LAST RANKED: (Not Ranked). LAST WEEK: d. Santa Monica, 63-42, on 1/18; at No. 2 Corona Centennial on 1/20.
THIS WEEK: vs. San Diego Hoover SATURDAY; vs. Corona Santiago TUESDAY; vs. Norco THURSDAY.
DROPPED OUT: No. 10 Chino Hills (15-4).
JUST MISSED: Corona (12-5), Temecula Chaparral (15-4), Elsinore (15-4).
INLAND FIELDHOUSE 