BOYS' INELIGIBILITY RULING TO BE APPEALED.

Byline: Daily News

Bobby Fullove, the legal guardian of would-be Simi Valley High basketball player Ian Boys, expressed disappointment Friday over Southern Section Commissioner Dean Crowley's decision to deny Boys' hardship waiver to play basketball for the Pioneers.

Fullove, the father of Simi Valley basketball standout Branduinn Fullove, said he will appeal Crowley's ruling before a three-person panel at an open hearing Nov. 5 at the Southern Section office.

Boys, a 6-foot-7 forward, transferred to Simi Valley from Buena this summer. He moved in with the Fulloves, who are longtime family friends.

``I'm disappointed by the decision but not disillusioned about an appeal,'' Bobby Fullove said.

Crowley said he was not able to comment any further on the matter.

According to Fullove, Boys attended classes at Simi Valley on Friday.

``This has nothing to do with (Boys) being a student (at Simi Valley),'' Crowley said. ``This only concerns his athletic eligibility.''

Boys was expected to be Buena's best player this year but surprised coach Glen Hannah when he announced his intentions to leave the school for Simi Valley during the summer.

A future Badger: Royal volleyball player Sherisa Livingston made an oral commitment to play at the University of Wisconsin.

Livingston, a senior outside hitter/middle blocker for the Highlanders, has made marked improvement over the past two years and is the team's main hitter.

Soccer playoffs det: Ventura College will host the community college men's and women's state soccer championships Nov. 30.

The men's final will be at 11 a.m. and the women will follow at 2 p.m. Ventura will also host the women's semifinals today at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The men's semifinals are at Oxnard College on the same day at the same times.

Tickets are $3-$5.

Dunking: Woodland Hills 10-year-old Omid Yousefi will compete in the Hot Shot Kids Slam Dunk world finals today at 11 a.m. The contest pits New York players against Los Angeles-area players and takes place at the Venice Beach Recreation Center at 18000 Ocean Front Walk, Venice.

High ranking: Palmdale senior defensive end Matt Leonard, the top recruit in the Antelope Valley, received a No. 14 ranking in The Sporting News recruiting update for defensive ends.

Leonard, a 6-foot-4, 285-pounder, was credited with a 4.8-second 40-yard dash.

Recruiting analyst Tom Lemming compiled the rankings of the top 25 seniors in the country.

Canel invited: Crespi soccer player Justin Canel has been invited to try out for River Plate, a professional team in Argentina.

Back home: Matt LaCour, who coached Valley North to the American Legion state baseball championship last summer, will be an assistant at Chatsworth, his alma mater.

``I'm very excited,'' LaCour said. ``I don't know if I'm going to keep coaching American Legion. How much further could we go?''

Keeping tabs: Steve Durbin (Harvard-Westlake '96) caught a 12-yard pass - his first career reception - in Harvard University's 52-24 football win over Holy Cross last Saturday in Cambridge.

Renewed rivalry: The U.S. men's water polo team continues its exhibition series with Yugoslavia this weekend, playing at Newport Harbor High School today and at USC on Sunday. The two have a long-standing rivalry, with Yugoslavia edging the U.S. for the gold medal in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games.

Golf: Flintridge Prep's Russell Surber, the Daily News Golfer of the Year, is on an official visit to Texas Christian University. He took a trip to the University of Texas last weekend. Surber is also considering USC.