BOYS' BASKETBALL: PASSING NEEDS TO BE QUARTZ HILL'S FORTE.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

Like most players, Quartz Hill boys' basketball guard Nate Forte likes to shoot the basketball. Forte, a quick, athletic point guard, is averaging 16 points through five games, so not only does he like to shoot, he's also good at it.

Forte also understands his role as point guard. Sometimes that means having to sacrifice shooting the ball to get teammates involved in the offense.

``To me, that's what my role is all about, and it's something I take pride in,'' Forte said. ``I have confidence in my scoring, but I also have confidence in my teammates, so I have no problem getting them the ball. That's the way you win ballgames.''

Most important is getting the Rebels' big men involved, an objective Forte continually tries to achieve.

``I see the big guys working hard on the boards, playing defense and running the floor, and it's important to reward those guys for all the hard work,'' said Forte, a senior. ``As a point guard, it's my responsibility to make sure that happens.''

That means getting the ball to Stephen Spann and Trivoyea Ross, the Rebels' rebounding and blocks leaders.

``The thing is it also builds their confidence when they get involved,'' Forte said. ``Especially in important situations. That's what this point of the season is all about, building confidence. If those guys are getting it done when it counts right now, they'll know they can do it later on in the season. That just makes the whole team better and more confident.''

--Work to be done: Losses to Westlake and Harvard-Westlake last week in the Thousand Oaks tournament hammered home the importance of free-throw shooting and rebounding to Lancaster forward Chad McDaniel.

The Eagles, expected to challenge again for the Golden League championship, were deficient in both areas in the losses, a fact McDaniel isn't likely to forget.

``For us, it just showed that those are parts of the game that we really need to focus on,'' McDaniel said. ``If we had done better, we definitely would have had a better chance to win those games.''

Nonetheless, Lancaster came away confident after the tournament. The Eagles rebounded from the losses to beat Rio Mesa 77-74 and finish the event with a 2-2 record. They're in the Ayala tournament, which runs through Wednesday.

``Just the experience of playing a great team like Harvard-Westlake was a confidence-builder,'' McDaniel said. ``That's a great program with a great history, and we played them close. It's impossible not to come away having more confidence in yourself because you know you can play with them.''

--Iowa State chasing Johnson: Antelope Valley Christian center Chawn Johnson was offered a scholarship to play at Iowa State, according to his former coach Mike Vargas, who now coaches Paraclete.

Johnson, a 6-foot=9 center, is being recruited by several schools.

--This and that: Highland of Palmdale guard Tomoreo Allen scored 38 points Saturday against North Hollywood. He is averaging 30 points through 11 games. ... Despite losing Chawn Johnson on a transfer to Antelope Valley Christian, Antelope Valley (4-2) is off to a strong start under first-year coach Ed Campbell. Mychal Bogan last week hit the winning shot in the Antelopes' 60-59 victory over North Hollywood and scored 27 points in a 70-59 win over Reseda in the Canyon of Canyon Country tournament.

Vincent Bonsignore, [phone]

vincent.bonsignore(at)dailynews.com