BASKETBALL BEAT BOYS MORE THAN ENOUGH INCENTIVE.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore and Ramona Shelburne  Staff Writers

Campbell Hall of North Hollywood has plenty of motivation to beat annual power Crossroads tonight when the teams meet in Santa Monica.

For one, Campbell Hall never has beaten Crossroads, and this year marks the first time in a while that the Vikings (19-1, 6-0 in Delphic League) have a chance. Then there is all that Crossroads history - the Roadrunners have illustrious alumni, led by Baron Davis (UCLA/New Orleans Hornets) Austin Croshere (Providence/Indiana Pacers) and Isaiah Fox (University of Arizona).

But mostly, the Vikings have a little payback in mind. That's because their former point guard, Robert Locke, happens to be the point guard at Crossroads.

``I think kids these days enjoy that sort of challenge,'' Crossroads coach Terry Kelly said. ``We want to win for a lot of reasons. but I'm sure they'll go out of their way to try and shut Robert down, too.''

As far as challenges go, Campbell Hall has met just about every one it has faced, save for a loss to Oaks Christian in the final of the Oaks Christian tournament. And that's surprising considering the Vikings start four sophomores and bring another off the bench in a sixth-man role.

Senior Darryl Harris is the only upperclassman in the starting lineup. He's surrounded by sophomores Steven Tolbert, Jason Heard, Joe Ford and Sam Handler. Sixth-man Conner Turley, another sophomore, has been a key contributor off the bench.

``I got a sense we'd be a good team over the summer when we went 23-3 and played mostly Division I teams,'' Kelly said. ``But I can't say I'm not surprised sitting here at 19-1 because that's quite an achievement.''

BIG WIN

Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks pulled off a stunner by beating Harvard-Westlake of Studio City 75-72 in overtime Monday.

Harvard-Westlake (18-6, 7-2) was the Daily News' top-ranked team coming into the game, and after beating powerhouse Loyola of Los Angeles last week, there was no reason to think the Wolverines would fall to the Knights.

Notre Dame has had played well, but not well enough for anyone to think it would beat Harvard-Westlake. Especially on the road.

But Notre Dame had a vision going in, and it nearly played out to perfection. The Knights' goal was to keep Harvard-Westlake star Bryce Taylor to 29 points and the rest of the Wolverines to 30, figuring if they gave up 59 points they'd have a shot at winning.

At the end of regulation, Taylor, who finished with 40 points, had 30 and the other Wolverines combined for another 30.

``That's pretty much exactly where we wanted them to be,'' Notre Dame coach Rob Kurowski said. ``If we let them score 80 points, we had no chance. But we could deal with 60.''

Notre Dame tied it with three seconds left on Orlando Baeza's desperation 3-pointer to send it to overtime then took a quick seven-point lead in the extra quarter to put the game away.

Danny Callin, a 6-foot-8 center, led four Knights in double figures with 21 points. Taylor was the only Harvard-Westlake player to score more than 10.

``That was the key,'' Kurowski said.

MAKING ADJUSTMENTS

Monroe of North Hills forward Dawin Whiten feels like a boomerang after leaving Monroe to move to Cerritos two years ago to live with his father, only to return to North Hills this year after he decided he was better off living in the Valley.

But it has paid off for the junior forward, who has helped the Vikings (12-5, 5-1) develop into a strong contender for the Valley Mission League title.

But it has been an adjustment coming back. At Cerritos, Whiten was the primary scorer and he got used to having the ball fed to him. At Monroe he's one of many options.

``It took a while to get used to that just because at Cerritos I was the main guy,'' Whiten said. ``But the situation is better here because we have so many guys who can score and so many options that it makes us much more versatile.''

- Vincent Bonsignore

GIRLS

ONE-GIRL TEAM

It's easy to ignore Burbank, which is 1-6 and in last place in the Foothill League.

But when almost every opposing coach in what is easily the toughest league in the area keeps mentioning their top player, Christine Kepenekian, there's reason to listen.

Kepenekian is averaging 24.7 points and 13 rebounds a game and has led her team to huge victories over No. 4 Royal and No. 5 Valencia this season.

``She killed us,'' Royal coach Mike Kohl said.

Valencia's Jerry Mike, who saw Kepenekian hit a turn-around buzzer beater from 40 feet to give Burbank a 52-49 victory three weeks ago, added: ``She's just so strong.''

``To her credit, she hung in there for all four years when we didn't have a lot of team success,'' Burbank coach Rick Hawthorne said. ``She could have gone somewhere else and got a lot more exposure.''

YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO TUNE IN

Fans of the Fox television show ``24'' might want to start attending Chaminade girls' basketball games.

That's because the Emmy-winning writer/creator/executive producer of the show is Bob Cochran, the father of Chaminade sophomore center Kelly Cochran.

``I know everything that's going to happen,'' Kelly Cochran said. ``But of course I'm sworn to secrecy.''

Though her friends and teammates have given her the nickname ``24,'' Cochran has been making her own name on the basketball court as one of the area's top young post players. But with seniors Christina Zdenek and Liz Trent grabbing most of the attention and taking most of the shots, Cochran's name rarely is among the scoring leaders.

But watch out for her next year, especially if she moves to the top level of her club team ``Swish'' this summer. Hart of Newhall's Ashlee Trebilcock, one of Cochran's closest friends, plays for the team, as did Montclair Prep of Panorama City senior Eshaya Murphy, the returning Daily News Player of the Year, who has signed with USC.

NO. 4 CURSE:

Thirteen usually is the number people associate with bad luck. But this year, four has been the unluckiest number.

Only two teams, Chaminade of West Hills and Royal of Simi Valley, have been able to hold down the fourth position for two consecutive Daily News polls this season. And Royal suffered the curse of No. 4 when it returned to that spot last week, losing to Newbury Park.

STAYING POSITIVE

Montclair Prep (15-3, 6-0) was banned from postseason competition by the Southern Section last week but Eshaya Murphy, who has signed with USC, has taken a fatalistic attitude.

``We don't know anything for sure, so we're just playing like we're going to playoffs and if not, we'll just end as league champs,'' Murphy said.

Either way, it won't be the last time Murphy puts on a Montclair Prep uniform because she plans to play softball in the spring for the first time since her freshman year.

``I can't hit really well,'' Murphy said. ``I was a great practice player, but I mostly just ate sunflower seeds in the dugout during games.''

- Ramona Shelburne

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1) Campbell Hall of North Hollywood is looking forward to shutting down Crossroads and their point guard and former teammate Robert Locke. The men's team includes (from left) Joseph Ford, Steven Tolgeet, coach Terry Kelly, Darryl Harris, Sam Handler and Jason Heard.

(2) Christine Kepenekian's strong shooting led her struggling Burbank High team to two huge upsets this season.

Gene Blevins/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) DAILY NEWS TOP 10

(2) SEVEN-DAY FORECAST