BOYS' BASKETBALL; LITTLEROCK, QUARTZ HILL BOYS GET READY FOR THE BIG ONE.

Byline: Chris Cocoles Staff Writer

Someone asked Littlerock High boys' basketball coach Ben Dale to give some kind of forecast for the Lobos' game at Quartz Hill on Friday.

``I said whoever scores the most points,'' Dale said.

That was not meant to be a smart-aleck remark. Dale was just being honest about a toss-up game, one that will have a major impact on the Golden League championship race.

``I really feel it could come down to whoever has the ball at the end of the game and takes that last shot,'' Dale said. ``This is a big game.''

Littlerock (15-6, 5-0), a 67-64 winner over the Rebels (14-6, 4-1) in the Jan. 7 league opener, has a precarious one-game lead over the defending league champions.

Quartz Hill has remained a title threat despite the loss of four starters. The Rebels' key has been steady guard play despite losing three key seniors. Senior Kevin Johnson, junior Tony Johnson and sophomore Mychael Williams combine for a three-headed backcourt that causes havoc on defense.

Throw in 6-foot-9 big bodies up front in the lone returning starter Sahael Almuallem and Jared Copenring, and the Rebels can beat you both ways.

``We've got some really good quickness. When our guards are playing hard and we're trapping and running our press, we're tough,'' Quartz Hill coach Bernard Nichter said.

``Because if you beat us, we've got big kids underneath. So even if you beat us out of our traps, you're going to have to make jump shots. . . . The teams that have beat us have shot the ball well.''

The Lobos know all about that task when it comes to beating Quartz Hill. In two losses to the Rebels last season, the Lobos had dreadful shooting nights.

In winning this year's first meeting, Littlerock had a bad night at the foul line (9 for 18), but scored 35 fast-break points.

Dale doesn't expect the Lobos to dictate any tempo this time around with Quartz Hill playing on its home floor.

``I also expect them to shoot the ball pretty well at their gym too,'' Dale said. ``The only way it's not going to be a very tight game is one of us has a really bad game shooting the ball. I have a feeling we're going to have to play one of our best games of the year.''

The Lobos' transition game depends on grabbing defensive boards, and putting pressure on double-digit rebounders Brandon White and Franklin Robinson to box out the taller Almuallem and Copenring.

The Rebels' task, besides controlling the aforementioned rebounding, is containing Lobos senior forward Gene Myvett, averaging 30.6 points per game in Golden League play. The 6-foot-5 Myvett had 31 in the first game.

But the Rebels were effective in a 2-3 zone the second half of the first game between the teams and probably won't hound Myvett with the same treatment they used on Palmdale senior standout Eric Brown.

Williams guarded Brown in a box-and-one defense, but the zone silenced Myvett in the third quarter on Jan. 7, when he went scoreless before coming on strong again in the fourth quarter.

``A lot of times when you put a defender on somebody they come in there with a certain amount of intimidation on the other person's abilities,'' Nichter said. ``They think about how good they are. There's a whole mental thing that goes on.''

Dale said his team, as it has all season, is practicing with poker faces in preparation for such a huge game. A win will all but wrap up Littlerock's first league title in basketball.

And Dale probably won't know what to expect until both teams take the floor Friday and play at least a quarter.

``We really have very similar teams,'' Dale said. ``When I look at what I need to do I almost look at Bernard and what he's going to need to do.''

Oh Myvett: Palmdale's high-scoring Brown has made a claim for league MVP honors, but Myvett's buzzer-beating 3-pointer to beat Palmdale 72-69 last Friday might have cemented the award.

Dale had waited for his star to take the last shot three previous times this season. He didn't and the Lobos lost to Burroughs-Ri ``All the games he had the ball and it seemed like with the clock winding down at six, five, four he passed it off to someone else,'' Dale said.

``Maybe it was something as simple as him worried about getting a five- second call. He have might have thought `I better get rid of it now.' ''

In the waning seconds of the Palmdale game, Myvett had just crossed halfcourt when he passed off to teammate Jason Smith.

Dale signaled for a timeout, but Myvett wasn't about to let his coach down again. Smith quickly passed back.

``(Myvett) took the dribble, set up and he shot it. He was at least a foot-and-a-half behind the NBA 3-point line,'' Dale said of Myvett's game-winner.

``We haven't showed much emotion after any game all season, but we kind of got caught up in the moment this time.''

Odds and ends: Lancaster had a tough week and saw its lead for third place and the Golden League's final playoff spot reduced to a single game over Palmdale. The Eagles were 3-0 but lost on the road by a combined nine points to Littlerock (55-51) and Quartz Hill (60-55).