BATTLE OF THE VALLEY: VALLEY BATTLE SHOWS HOW WEST WAS WON YOUNG, TAYLOR STEAL SHOW WITH SLAM-DUNK PERFORMANCES.

Byline: Ramona Shelburne  Staff Writer

Cleveland of Reseda's Nick Young and Harvard-Westlake of Studio City's Bryce Taylor combined for 55 points and put on a stirring slam dunk competition in the eighth annual Battle of the Valley All-Star basketball game at Cal State Northridge on Saturday night.

Taylor set a new single-game scoring record with 32 points, but his East squad lost 108-101 to Young's West team.

But the real highlight of the night came at halftime as Young won the slam-dunk championship with two incredible dunks. Young jumped from under the basket and put the ball through his legs on one dunk. On another, the crowd of 1,600 exploded as he took off from the free throw line and slammed it home one-handed. Taylor, drew a huge ovation for a dunk in which he jumped over a group of kids, but ultimately finished second to Young.

``That was legit from the free throw line,'' Taylor said. ``He even cocked it to the side.''

After the game, Young was mobbed by a crowd of kids asking for autographs.

``It was just something I pulled off. I didn't expect to jump from the free throw line, it just happened,'' Young said. ``Louis Darby (a former Sylmar star) was judging and that inspired me. He's the dunk champion of the Valley and he gave me 10s every time.''

Loren Leath of Cleveland scored 11 for the West and Chaminade's Adrian Aye-Darko had 13. For the East, Sylmar's Chris booker had 24 and St. Francis' Scott Burton had 10.

--East 97, West 59 Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta's Jeanine Deno and Harvard-Westlake of Studio City's Stefanie Clark each scored 16 points as the East set a new single game scoring record.

Deno, who was the sixth-leading scorer in the state this season, was named the MVP for her team. Clark, who has signed with Washington, provided the highlight of the night with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from five feet behind the arc.

For the West, Clarissa Ricks of Reseda and Canoga Park's Alisha Barfield stood out. Ricks, who has signed with Texas A&M Commerce, was the team MVP after scoring 16 points and grabbing 17 rebounds.

``We lost, but it was still a fun game. My high school season ended too quickly and I'm glad I got to come back out and play in front of a big crowd like this,'' said Ricks, who has gone from playground phenom to Division I-AA college player in just four years.

Barfield, who flew under the radar this season because she played on the third place team from the Sunset Six, rated the weakest league in the City Section this season, was a pleasant surprise. She scored 11 points and was swarmed by junior college and college recruiters after the game.

Ramona Shelburne, [phone]

ramona.shelburne(at)dailynews.com