Warriors

Mamadou Ndiaye stands head and shoulders - sometimes a foot, even half a torso - above most players on the court. Literally. In two weeks, the 7-foot-5 junior - believed to be the tallest high school player in the country - could be standing tall at center court with his Brethren Christian teammates. Brethren Christian, which last week captured its fourth straight Academy League championship in boys' basketball, is in the CIF Southern Section Division 5AA playoffs this week.

The Brethren Christian girls' volleyball team will play for the CIF Southern Section Division 4AA championship this weekend. The Warriors earned a 1 p.m. Saturday date at Cypress College (Gym 1) with Academy League rival St. Margaret's by defeating visiting Serra, champion of the Camino Real League and the division's No. 3-seed, 25-23, 17-25, 28-26, 25-23, in a tight semifinal match Tuesday at Liberty Christian High in Huntington Beach. Randi Braak had 17 kills, Rebecca Rudd eight kills and Meghan Haney and Brooke LaPierre both had six kills for the Warriors.

Brethren Christian girls' volleyball Coach Patricia Daugherty knew it would take an all-around performance by her team Saturday if it hoped to knock off top-ranked St. Margaret's in the CIF Southern Section Division 4AA championship match. The Warriors played well in spurts but weren't completely on their game and St. Margaret's got the best, once again, of their Academy League rival. The Tartans won in a sweep, 25-8, 25-18, 25-14, to improve to 3-0 this year against the Warriors.

The Warriors continued their winning ways in National Junior Basketball action by defeating the Heat, 43-35, in a boys' Division 3 game. Brett Bonnani paved the way in the win with 15 points. Zack Gates' big game included 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds. In addition to the Warriors' double-figure scorers, Andrew Bogard scored seven points, Tyler Hammock scored three points, Peter Russo had two points, Michael Meagher scored a point, Jonathan Lai had a pair of rebounds and Jake Wilson scored two points late in the game to seal the victory.

HUNTINGTON BEACH - All week long at practice, the Sage Hill School boys' basketball team had worked on a game-plan that had to do with stopping, well, attempting to contain, perhaps, Brethren Christian's Mamadou Ndiaye. When the Lightning arrived Friday at Ocean View High for their Academy League encounter with the Warriors, it was then that Coach Jeff Beeler learned that BC's star 7-foot-5 center didn't suit up for the game. The UC Irvine signee, he was told, was out with the flu. Ndiaye, who is averaging 25 points and 13 rebounds a game, hadn't practiced all week due to illness, Brethren Christian Coach Jon Bahnsen said.

The Warriors won for the sixth time in eight outings in North Huntington Beach National Junior Basketball play by defeating the Avalanche, 55-22, in a Division 3 game. Tucker Piluka scored a game-high 21 points, which included a pair of three-point baskets. Tyler Hammock led the Warriors in the rebounding department with 11 and also scored four points. Zachary Gates hit double figures in scoring with 11 points and added seven rebounds, Peter Russo scored five points, Andrew Bogard and Brett Bonnani each scored four points, Jake Wilson hit a basket, Jonathan Lai has six rebounds and Michael Meagher had a rebound and steal for the Warriors.

Fun in the Hawaiian sun is over. But boy, what a trip. The Brethren Christian boys' basketball team returned home to Huntington Beach late-last week with a championship trophy by winning its division at the World Youth Basketball Tournament at Kona, Hawaii. The Warriors took the title by defeating the host school, Kealakehe, 56-37, in the final. "Team defense led the way," said BC Coach Jon Bahnsen whose squad gave up an average of 38 points in four tournament games. Senior guard Riley Thomas averaged 19 points per game and senior guard Daniel Healy averaged 11.8 points per game, 7.5 rebounds per game, 6.3 assists, 4.8 steals per game and was 22 of 25 (88%)

HUNTINGTON BEACH — Huntington Beach, as expected, took care of business Friday night. Now, the Oilers can turn their full attention to El Toro. Huntington set up an early-season showdown in the chase for first place in the Sea View League Friday by defeating visiting Woodbridge. The Oilers used a big second half to pull away from the Warriors to win for the fourth time in as many league starts, 62-48. The victory put Huntington at 17-3 overall and sends the Oilers onward to a Wednesday game against defending league champ El Toro.

“Ten million is a number I still find hard to fathom,” chuckles Victoria Holmes, a.k.a. Erin Hunter, as she swiftly signs her name in her trademark purple ink inside the stacks of “Warriors” books on the table beside her. As hundreds of young fans gather upstairs at the Bella Terra Barnes & Noble, my 13-year-old daughter Claire and I are with Holmes in the store’s private conference room, listening as, in a proper...

CYPRESS — Brethren Christian girls' volleyball coach Patricia Daugherty knew it would take a solid all-around performance by her team Saturday if it hoped to knock off top-seeded St. Margaret's in the CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA championship match. The Warriors played well in spurts but weren't completely on their game and St. Margaret's got the best, once again, of their Academy League rivals. The Tartans won by sweep, 25-8, 25-18, 25-14 to improve to 3-0 this year over the Warriors.

Mamadou Ndiaye sat out game action last week due to illness. On Tuesday, with his health returned, he returned to the Brethren Christian lineup in a big way. The 7-foot-5 senior center scored a career-high 45 points and secured 15 rebounds, and sophomore guard Brandon Bryson turned in a strong, all-around performance, to help guide the Warriors' boys' basketball team to a 76-55 Academy League victory over host Oxford Academy of Cypress. Ndiaye didn't suit up Friday when BC took on league foe Sage Hill.

HUNTINGTON BEACH - All week long at practice, the Sage Hill School boys' basketball team had worked on a game-plan that had to do with stopping, well, attempting to contain, perhaps, Brethren Christian's Mamadou Ndiaye. When the Lightning arrived Friday at Ocean View High for their Academy League encounter with the Warriors, it was then that Coach Jeff Beeler learned that BC's star 7-foot-5 center didn't suit up for the game. The UC Irvine signee, he was told, was out with the flu. Ndiaye, who is averaging 25 points and 13 rebounds a game, hadn't practiced all week due to illness, Brethren Christian Coach Jon Bahnsen said.

Brethren Christian turned up for the start of the upcoming Academy League boys' basketball season by winning a championship during holiday tournament play. The Warriors were in Palm Springs last week for the MaxPreps Holiday Classic. They won all four games they played and sewed up the title in their division by defeating Canyon Crest of San Diego, 77-70, in the title game Saturday. In the final, UC Irvine-bound center Mamadou Ndiaye poured in 40 points. The senior also pulled down 17 rebounds and blocked six shots.

HUNTINGTON BEACH — For the first time in three games, the Brethren Christian High football team took an early lead on an opponent. But, just as they had in the past three weeks, the Warriors had to play from behind most of the way. Brethren Christian, a team beset by injuries, took a 6-0 lead on Heritage Christian only to succumb to a big third quarter by the visitors from North Hills, and dropped a 44-35 nonleague game at Ocean View High....

In Pat McInally's first year as head coach last fall, Brethren Christian finished second in league and qualified for the CIF playoffs. This fall, McInally and his staff head into the new campaign with plenty of optimism that the Warriors can match or better last year's performance. Brethren Christian welcomes back six all-Academy League players from a 6-5 team that reached the CIF East Valley Division playoffs. A solid returning nucleus of varsity players, mixed with players who tasted success at the junior varsity level a year ago, helps take the sting out of losing six players who achieved all-league status last year.

Mamadou Ndiaye stands head and shoulders - sometimes a foot, even half a torso - above most players on the court. Literally. In two weeks, the 7-foot-5 junior - believed to be the tallest high school player in the country - could be standing tall at center court with his Brethren Christian teammates. Brethren Christian, which last week captured its fourth straight Academy League championship in boys' basketball, is in the CIF Southern Section Division 5AA playoffs this week.

Brethren Christian boys' basketball Coach Jon Bahnsen was expecting a battle Tuesday night. Instead, his Warriors won in a blowout. Brethren Christian took a giant step forward in its bid to claim a fourth consecutive Academy League championship by blitzing past visiting Crean Lutheran, 65-38, at Ocean View High. The win kept the Warriors alone in first place at 7-0. The Saints, who had a chance to move into a first-place tie with a win Tuesday, fell to 5-2 in league and 14-6 overall.

James Pribram is at it again. Laguna Beach's own "Eco-Warrior" soon will embark on another environmental rescue, this time in Bali, Indonesia. Pribram sent me an email this week that read: "I will be leaving Oct. 17 for Bali in an effort to help clean up 20 to 30 tons of raw waste that is being dumped in a ravine on the cliff top overlooking Uluwatu," he wrote. "This is happening due to a lack of water, proper bathrooms and sewage system. As you may know, Uluwatu is regarded as one of the best surfing waves in the world.

This week marks the midway point of the 2011 prep football regular season and because of a rare oddity in scheduling, five of the six local teams are off. The lone local taking the field this week is Brethren Christian, which on Saturday travels north to face Los Angeles Baptist at 1 p.m. at L.A. Baptist High. The Warriors head into the nonleague clash coming off perhaps its most impressive showing to date. Last Friday at Ocean View High, Brethren Christian paired its highest-scoring offensive output of the season with a defense that yielded its fewest points, and the two-sided effort resulted in a one-sided victory, 40-7, over St. Anthony of Long Beach.

When the Brethren Christian football team steps onto the field Thursday to open its 2011 season, it'll do so under the guidance of a new head coach. Pat McInally is the program's leader but no stranger to Warriors football. For the past three years, he served as the team's receivers coach under head coach Bruce Eien. McInally's first squad includes 14 returners from 2010 and will don a new look. The Warriors, who relied mostly on their running game last year, will feature more of a balance between the run and pass.