Roosevelt wins basketball rivalry game against Garfield

There are many things you come to expect when Roosevelt plays Garfield in a sports competition, starting with real passion from fans and participants. You’ve heard the term once a Bulldog, always a Bulldog? Once a Rough Rider, always a Rough Rider?

That kind of expected loyalty made the scene on Friday night at Garfield a little strange, because suiting up for Roosevelt’s basketball team were Michael Ramirez and Joseph Garcia, who happened to play for Garfield last season.

“They showed up the first day of school. I was surprised,” Roosevelt coach Emmanuel Medina said. “I couldn’t believe it.”

That’s like a Bruin suddenly becoming a Trojan after three years. There’s always a reaction. Luckily for Ramirez and Garcia, attendance was limited Friday, so Garfield fans were on their best behavior except when one shouted, “Traitor!” A Roosevelt fan responded, “Scoreboard!”

Roosevelt won the Eastern League battle 62-34 and the Rough Riders (16-4, 5-0) are on the path to being the No. 1 seed of the City Section Division II playoffs.

Senior guard Jonathan Gomez, a member of the championship team from 2020, is the player to watch. He scored 26 points. Keven Lopez added 13 points. Sophomore Jayden Barnes scored 18 points for Garfield. Afterward, security had to halt a scuffle among Garfield fans.

Ramirez said, "It was intense," then had to hustle to the locker room during the disturbance. All was good, though. He could be seen shaking hands and smiling with a former Garfield teammate. When the game ends, the communities come together — until the next game.

Boys' basketball

La Canada Flintridge St. Francis 62, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 59: The Golden Knights handed Notre Dame its first Mission League defeat in overtime. Buckley Dejardin scored 21 points and Jake Goldberg had 18 points for St. Francis.

Studio City Harvard-Westlake 51, Encino Crespi 45: Brady Dunlap scored 15 points for Harvard-Westlake, which is tied for first place with Notre Dame.

West Hills Chaminade 51, Mission Hills Bishop Alemany 44: Nick Marchand had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Eagles.

Woodland Hills El Camino Real 53, Lake Balboa Birmingham 52: The Royals pulled off the upset in a West Valley League game. Karson Pheffer had 20 points for El Camino Real. Tyson Jackson had 21 points for Birmingham.

Woodland Hills Taft 77, Reseda Cleveland 55: AJ Johnson scored 28 points and Keyon Kensie had 24 points and 12 rebounds for Taft.

Chatsworth 56, Granada Hills 46: The Chancellors won the West Valley League game.

Sun Valley Poly 69, Van Nuys Grant 61: The Parrots pulled off the upset to take a big step toward winning the East Valley League championship. MarQues Graham had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Nicolas Romeo Mendoza finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds to help Poly improve to 5-0 in league play. Jeremiah Windham scored 23 points for Grant.

Fairfax 57, Palisades 56: The Lions stayed unbeaten in the Western League. Tyler Bey had 20 points for Fairfax.

Rancho Cucamonga Etiwanda 45, La Verne Damien 39: The Eagles sit in first place in the Baseline League thanks to a stellar defensive performance. Jacob Barcelo finished with 12 points for Etiwanda.

Chatsworth Sierra Canyon 113, Lancaster Paraclete 45: The Trailblazers improved to 19-2. Shy Odom scored 20 points and Kijani Wright 19.

Santa Ana Mater Dei 61, Bellflower St. John Bosco 59: The Monarchs stayed unbeaten in the Trinity League behind Zack Davidson, who had 20 points.

Orange Lutheran 62, Anaheim Servite 59: The Lancers hung on for the Trinity League win.

Santa Margarita 69, San Juan Capistrano JSerra 45: Rockwell Reynolds scored 22 points for the 16-1 Eagles.

Sun Valley Village Christian 88, Whittier Christian 45: Powel Mousaian had 24 points for the Crusaders.

Brentwood 78, Crescenta Valley 53: MJ Coleman contributed 28 points for Brentwood.

Simi Valley 82, Moorpark 74: Angel Navarro finished with 27 points for Simi Valley.

Compton Dominguez 88, Downey Warren 64: Franklyn Chambers scored 30 points and Takhari Carr added 17 points for Dominguez.

Paramount 68, Lynwood 64: The Pirates won in overtime. Marques Calcote Jr. had 17 points and Cam Norman 15.

Hacienda Heights Los Altos 64, Diamond Bar 58: Jazz Gardner finished with 25 points for Los Altos.

Saugus 79, Santa Clarita Hart 61: Davis White had 25 points for Saugus.

Girls' basketball

Sierra Canyon 87, Paraclete 16: Sofia Ruleas had 18 points and Juju Watkins 17 points for Sierra Canyon.

Granada Hills 48, El Camino Real 41: Marianne Boco led the Highlanders with 20 points.

Birmingham 58, Cleveland 27: The Patriots improved to 2-0 in the West Valley league. Janna Holley had 17 points.

Palisades 64, Fairfax 34: The Dolphins won the Western League game.

Camarillo 65, Royal 26: Gabriela Jaquez continued her consistency with a 34-point effort for Camarillo.

Boys' soccer

Servite 3, Orange Lutheran 1: Lucas Gimenez, Luke DaVanon and Jordan Rodriguez scored goals for the Friars (13-2-1, 6-0).

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.