Simi Valley Has a Walk in Park This Time, 77-47

NEWBURY PARK — The monkey on the back of the Simi Valley High boys’ basketball team is gone.

Finished. History.

The Pioneers saw to that with a 77-47 victory over Newbury Park in a Marmonte League game on Wednesday night.

Newbury Park won five of its previous six league games against Simi Valley over the last three seasons, but the Pioneers were simply too big, too talented and too fundamentally sound for the Panthers this time.

Simi Valley (12-2, 1-0 in league), the No. 1-ranked team in the region by The Times, made 32 of 62 shots, including 31 of 57 by its front-line players.

Newbury Park, led by then-senior Daniel Bobik, posted a 14-0 record in league play last season, but trailed by as many as 34 points this time when Simi Valley’s starters all scored in double figures.

“We said since before the season started that we wanted to play well as a group,” Coach Dean Bradshaw of Simi Valley said. “And I think that’s what you saw tonight.”

Newbury Park, ranked No. 9 in the region, defeated favored Simi Valley, 73-71 and 51-44, in league games last season, but the Panthers (9-4, 1-1) made only 16 of 61 shots (26.2%) this time.

“I thought that if we shot the ball well, we had a chance to win,” Coach Steve Johnson of Newbury Park said. “But that didn’t happen and I think they had something to do with that. They had some big hands in our faces at times. I think we also got frustrated.”

Simi Valley, whose only losses this season have come in the championship games of tournaments in Florida and San Diego, led, 18-13, after the first quarter, but went on an 8-0 run to start the second to take a 26-13 lead with 6:06 left.

Anthony Foli’s basket cut Newbury Park’s deficit to 11 points, but Simi Valley countered with a 13-6 run for a 39-21 lead with 1:09 left.

Brett Michel, who scored 20 points, started the run with a layup with 5:32 remaining and capped it with a three-pointer at the 1:09 mark.

Simi Valley sank eight of 11 shots in the quarter at that point.

“When a team that talented plays that well, they’re awfully hard to beat,” Johnson said. “They executed their plays so well. It didn’t seem like they made a quick strike. It was an agonizing thing where they were just really methodical in running their plays.”

It’s all about being unselfish, according to Simi Valley’s Branduinn Fullove, who had 17 points.

“All we’re trying to do is play well as a team,” Fullove said. “We’re not concerned with playing well as individuals.”

Rafael Berumen, the Pioneers’ 6-foot-9 New Mexico-bound center, had 14 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, despite fouling out with 4:47 left in the game.

Dustin Villepigue, a 6-8 sophomore forward, scored 13 points for Simi Valley and Shaun Michel, a sophomore point guard and Brett’s brother, had 10 points.

Brian Polen scored 16 points for Newbury Park and Brian Bobik, Daniel’s brother, scored 10 points but he made only four of 18 shots. Bobik’s two free throws with two seconds left gave the Panthers a 73-71 victory over Simi Valley last season, but he struggled in this game after hitting a three-pointer on his first shot of the game.