BASKETBALL BEAT HEADED HOME.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore, Ramona Shelburne  Staff Writer

The rocky marriage between Nick Stiggers and Montclair Prep of Panorama City appears to be over.

Stiggers, a multitalented 6-foot-7 forward, returned home to Memphis, Tenn., for the Thanksgiving holiday and never returned. He spoke by phone with Mounties coach Tyrone Fuller on Monday and expressed a desire to be closer to his mother.

Stiggers enrolled at Montclair Prep last year after leaving Memphis. At the time, he felt he was better off away from the difficult environment in which he was living, but his plans changed after his family experienced three tragedies this year.

``He had a really difficult summer,'' Fuller said. ``He had a brother who got shot, his grandfather died and his stepfather died. His mom is all by herself, and Nick wants to stay there with her.''

It's a huge loss for Montclair Prep. Stiggers averaged 27 points and 13 rebounds a year ago and was expected to improve on those numbers this year after improving his conditioning and maturing as a player.

``It's a significant blow, no doubt about it,'' Fuller said. ``Any time you take 27 and 13 out of your lineup, I don't know too many coaches out there who wouldn't say that's a major loss.''

Fuller said Stiggers remains a bright prospect but needs to work on his commitment to the game.

``I've said this before and I'll say it again, he's an NBA-type player,'' Fuller said. ``Now he just needs to work on the other facets of the game.''

THE BIG APPLE

Two years is a long time to be away from the court. And for Sylmar newcomer Dominique Lewis, a transfer from Brooklyn, N.Y., it's been a difficult process.

``It's been too long,'' said Lewis, a 6-foot-5 junior forward who made his Sylmar debut against Inglewood on Wednesday.

Lewis blames himself and the rough surroundings in which he grew up in Brooklyn for derailing his promising playing career.

``I didn't take care of business, and it cost me,'' Lewis said. ``But I learned my lesson.''

Lewis moved to Sylmar recently to live with his aunt and restart his basketball career. Since arriving in California, things have changed dramatically.

``It's just a lot easier to focus here,'' Lewis said. ``Everything is working out.''

Sylmar coach Bort Escoto thinks Lewis has the potential to be an impact player for the Spartans.

``He's got a lot of talent,'' Escoto said. ``We're looking forward to getting him on the court.''

LEARNING CURVE

Sometimes the best lessons are the harshest, which is why Chaminade of West Hills coach Bryan Cantwell wasn't too upset when the Eagles fell behind 31-13 in a recent game against Cleveland of Reseda after spirited performances against Westchester of Los Angeles and Eisenhower of Rialto.

The Eagles eventually collected themselves and crushed Cleveland with a 22-2 run and won the game 67-59.

The victory was nice. But the lesson the Eagles learned served a more important purpose.

``We talk every day about approaching every game with the right mentality,'' Cantwell said. ``But sometimes there's only so much you can say as a coach. Sometimes, they have to see it for themselves.''

The Eagles certainly did.

``At halftime, I asked if anyone was mad, and no one said anything,'' Cantwell recalled. ``So I told them, `That's because you haven't played hard enough to earn the right to be mad.' ''

As usual, Chaminade standouts Marcus Everett and Dion Cook saved the day, combining for 45 points in the second half.

However, the Eagles have been boosted by the play of role player David Havskjold, who is providing hustle, defense and rebounding.

``He's just a guy who understands his role and accepts it,'' Cantwell said. ``We've got guys who can score points, but there are other areas of the game that we need guys to step up in and he's done exactly that.''

YOU AGAIN

Coach Bruce Breeden insists it wasn't intentional, but Crescenta Valley already has played Burroughs of Burbank twice and Canyon three times this season.

``That was some bad scheduling,'' Burroughs coach Doug Nicol said after his team and Crescenta Valley split back-to-back games last week. One of the games was scheduled and the other came at the Crescenta Valley tournament.

Crescenta Valley had even better luck against Canyon, sweeping all three games.

Burroughs is led by junior point guard Tulyah Gaines, who is already being recruited by some of the biggest programs in college basketball. The Falcons were unable to stop Gaines but they think they found a way to contain her.

``I put our little point guards Valerie Veluz and Lindsey Chessum on her and if she got past them, Jeanine (Deno) stepped in,'' Breeden said. ``They both busted their butts guarding her, and Valerie ended up winning the game for us when she stole the inbounds pass with eight seconds left. That was the play of the game.''

Veluz, a senior, stands 4-foot-11. Chessum, a sophomore, is few inches taller.

NORTHERN EXPOSURE

English is the official language in Edmonton, Alberta, but when Quartz Hill High (5-1) traveled to the Jasper Place Rebel Classic there last week, coach Steve Brumwell's players found things were nothing like they expected.

``We didn't get any snow the whole time. The kids were really looking forward to snow but it was like 30 degrees and sunny,'' Brumwell said. ``Then we get back home and there's tornadoes and this huge storm and stuff. They had to close the school on Monday after lunch, it was raining so hard.''

And, the rules of the game in Canada are a little different from those back home. After playing 20-minute halves in Canada, returning to eight-minute quarters will seem like a walk in the park to Quartz Hill.

``It was like playing five quarters for us,'' Brumwell said. ``Needless to say, we got tired and had more foul trouble than we're used to.''

Shooting guard Facion Edwards is averaging 16.5 points a game,including 19 points and 15 rebounds in Quartz Hill's 68-54 semifinal victory over Vancouver (B.C.) Argyle. Point guard Rhiannon McCrumb is averaging 20 points a game.

An unexpected surprise was 5-foot-8 senior post player Blythe Hooyerink, who is averaging 15 points a game.

``She's one of those kids where you see her name in the paper and say, `Who's that?' But she's real strong and physical. She wrestles steers and stuff, she's a real cowgirl,'' Brumwell said.

MY BAD

Sometimes coaches attribute losses to their game plan to take some of the load off their teams. But when No. 9 Antelope Valley lost to No. 5 Royal 53-48 in the championship of the Gold Coast Classic on Saturday, Antelopes coach April Davenport had a more legitimate reason to take the blame for the loss.

``We had a couple of mistakes for us and then I lost the game for us by getting a technical,'' Davenport said. ``All I said to the ref was, `That's not a foul,' but he called the T anyway and Kinsley (Mittel) made all four free throws. We should have won that game.''

Actually, Davenport is only partly to blame. Only one Antelope Valley starter was on the floor in the final minutes of the game because point guard Shaquina Moseley and forward Shakira Autry fouled out, and shooting guard Sheena Crenshaw left with an injured thumb.

MORE MY BAD

After defeating Antelope Valley, Royal of Simi Valley lost to Buena of Ventura 55-48 on Tuesday night. Royal coach Mike Kohl blamed himself for the loss.

``I don't think I coached my best game of the season,'' Kohl said. ``I got away from what I wanted to do because I wanted to win so bad. We've just been trying to improve every game during the preseason but I just got too competitive in this game.''

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Photo:

(1) Nick Stiggers (21), a 6-foot-7 forward, has left Montclair Prep of Panorama City and returned to Memphis, Tenn., to be closer to his mother after his family experienced three tragedies this year.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News

(2) Senior point guard Tulyah Gaines of Burroughs High in Burbank is one of the most heavily recruited basketball players in the area.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

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