BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK: LITTLEROCK BIG TIME NOW.

Byline: Gideon Rubin Staff Writer

LITTLEROCK - Nobody has to feel sorry for the Littlerock High boys' basketball team anymore.

The defending Golden League co-champions returned just two seniors after being decimated by graduation and the Lobos' inexperience showed as they lost their first six league games. But on Tuesday, the Lobos scored a stunning 68-55 upset victory over Highland High, which entered the game tied with Quartz Hill for second place.

``I've had some big wins in my career, but none sweeter than this one,'' said Littlerock coach Ben Dale, who led the Lobos to the first playoff victory in the school's history last season.

Tuesday's victory was especially rewarding for Dale because the day before his team played Highland, the Lobos spent the first hour of their practice addressing a situation he called a ``minicrisis.''

According to Dale, Jason Smith and Darryl Edwards, the team's only seniors, confronted him on Monday before practice regarding their status on the team. Both players were benched early on Friday afternoon in a lopsided loss to Quartz Hill and they wanted to know what place they had on the team for the remainder of the season.

Dale has made clear since the Lobos fell out of contention for a league title that his main focus is to prepare his team for next season, and said the concerns expressed by Smith and Edwards were understandable.

After the team meeting, Dale told the two seniors that he wanted them to assume more leadership on and off the court, and as long as they did, they wouldn't spend the remainder of the season on the sidelines. Smith and Edwards responded to Dale's call and were the unsung heroes in the Highland game.

Smith, the team's starting point guard, had six assists in the game, and showed great composure down the stretch amid intense defensive pressure. Edwards scored 13 points and had six of his eight rebounds in the fourth quarter in an effort Dale said was ``huge.''

Sophomore Tim Anderson led Littlerock (1-6, 7-16) with 18 points.

Highland (11-11, 4-3), which which plays host to first-place Lancaster at 7:30 tonight, fell into third place.

--Comeback kids: The never-say-die Lancaster Eagles used a 20-0 run in the fourth quarter to rally from a 15-point deficit Tuesday in a 58-57 victory over Palmdale.

The Eagles (17-5, 6-1), who remained in sole possession of first place as a result of the victory, have come from behind in the fourth quarter in four of their six league wins.

Crucial to their most recent comeback was an unusual five-point play, which came midway through the fourth quarter when Jason Samuel was fouled on a tip-in basket and was awarded a one-and-one free throw. Samuel made the first shot but missed the second, and Steve Thornton got a rebound basket.

As has been the case throughout the season, Lancaster came out flat, scoring just three points in the first quarter on a Samuel 3-pointer. But in the fourth quarter, Samuel, Mike Webb, and Ryan Jefferson keyed a standout defensive performance that limited the Falcons to seven points.

--Falcons' quest: Tuesday night's tough loss to Lancaster notwithstanding, Palmdale (10-12, 3-4) enters tonight's game against second-place Quartz Hill (15-5, 5-2) - which it defeated in the league's first round-robin - trailing third-place Highland by just one game with three remaining.

Jason Chambers scored 19 points to lead the Falcons to a 60-49 victory over Highland on Friday and had 13 points in the Lancaster game.