City Tries to Win First in Battle of the Valley

Fifty of the region’s best senior basketball players will be on display at Cal State Northridge tonight when the City Section meets the Southern Section in the Battle of the Valley 2000 all-star games.

The girls’ game begins at 5:30 p.m., with the boys’ game at 7:30.

Vanderbilt-bound guard Russell Lakey of Harvard-Westlake High, The Times’ Valley player of the year, and UC Santa Barbara-bound forward Branduinn Fullove of Simi Valley, the Ventura County player of the year, highlight the Southern Section boys’ roster.

The City has All-Valley selections Gregg Guenther of Taft and Midwin Francis of Granada Hills.

Kate Beckler of Alemany, the Valley player of the year for girls, is among the 10 all-area selections on the Southern Section roster.

Guards Shakaria Jones of Monroe and Leslie Mui of Grant hope to help the City beat the Southern Section for the first time in the four-year history of the event.

A boys’ slam dunk contest and a girls’ shooting contest will also be among the activities.

Admission for both games is $8 for stadium seats, $6 for bleachers. Children under 5 are free.

* Chuck Brown was appointed girls’ coach at Thousand Oaks, returning to the post he relinquished after the 1997-98 season.

BASEBALL

* The Lancaster JetHawks beat Bakersfield, 4-2, in a California League opener Thursday night at Bakersfield.

Jeff Heaverlo struck out 10 in five innings and Peanut Williams hit a two-run home run for Lancaster.

TENNIS

* Bob and Mike Bryan, twins from Camarillo, beat Xavier Malisse of Belgium and Rod Soderling of Sweden, 6-2, 6-2, on Thursday in the second round of the 66th River Oaks International in Houston.

The No. 2-seeded Bryans will meet the winner of the match between Magnus Larsson-Magnus Gustafsson of Sweden and Thomas Blake-James Blake.

No. 1-seeded Jeff Tarango and Richie Reneberg will play in the other semifinal against the winner of Michael Chang-Sargis Sargsian and Stefan Koubek-Roger Federer.

Bob Bryan defeated Paul Goldstein, 6-3, 6-2, in the first round of singles and Sargsian, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the second.

Mike Bryan beat Soderling, 6-0, 6-0, in the first round and No. 1-seeded Koubek, 6-3, 6-7 (7-3), 6-3, in the second.