DECISIVE NIGHT FOR FOOTHILL LEAGUE ON THE COURT VALENCIA FIGHTS FOR THE EDGE.

Byline: Scott Magoloff Staff Writer

VALENCIA - Tonight's Foothill League boys' basketball games will finally set apart some teams, all of whom have 1-1 league records.

Thus the theory of congruence fails to work, at least at this point in the season. Burroughs of Burbank beat Valencia, which plays at Hart of Newhall tonight. Hart lost to Burroughs in the season opener. Does this mean that the Vikings should be considered favorites over the Indians?

Not by a long shot. This season the only factors that matter are those that occur on the basketball court during games.

``I've always said if anyone is stupid enough to make predictions this year, it should be that the league is unpredictable,'' Hart coach David Montgomery said.

A perfect example lies in Hart's 46-44 victory over Canyon on Tuesday. It was just one of many close games this season that came down to making a game-winning shot or missing it in the closing seconds.

In this instance, Hart held a three-point lead and Canyon had possession of the ball. Montgomery, recalling a late-night, early-morning vision, chose to foul. Canyon purposely missed the second free throw and Hart rebounded the ball and ran out the clock for the victory.

``I woke up the night before and said if I had a three-point lead against Canyon with less than 10 seconds left, they're not even going to attempt (a 3-pointer),'' Montgomery said. ``If a situation like that presents itself, as a coach, you don't even question it. You just go with your instincts.''

--Triangular: Valencia coach Gary Spindt cringes when he hears how his Vikings are running the triangle offense - a complex system revolutionized by Lakers coach Phil Jackson while he was winning NBA championships with the Bulls.

Valencia runs a guard-oriented system mainly in motion sets, although there is a play he installed that is referred to as the triangle.

``It has some components of the triangle offense but you can't run the whole thing,'' Spindt said. ``It's just a play we run.''

--Done: Canyon forward John Divon, the team's best defender in the front court, will miss the rest of his senior season. MRI results on Wednesday confirmed that Divon tore his anterior cruciate ligament. He played in only three games this year.

``We knew it wasn't good, especially the way he went; being sore all the time and not being able to walk up stairs,'' coach David Humphreys said. ``We always kept our hopes up as far as getting him back for the second round of league.''

Humphreys also learned of more bad news when another forward, Thomas Kemp, suffered a sprained ankle in the Hart game. Kemp, who averages eight points and eight rebounds per game, is expected to be out for a week.

As shorthanded as the Cowboys are, Humphreys said the task to win at Burbank tonight will be more difficult than under regular circumstances. He considers Burbank and Burroughs the two toughest places to win games in the Foothill League.

Sophomore Jeremy Haggerty should expect an increase minutes played. Although Divon will be sorely missed for his leadership, Haggerty offers a more well-rounded game offensively.