Damien High School

NEWPORT BEACH - Damien High School had ventured into the CIF-SS boys basketball semifinals three times during the past four seasons only to have it end in heartache.

That disappointment ended Friday.

Jeremy Hemsley scored 25 points and Jared Dizon had 15 and the Spartans advanced to the finals for the first time with a 61-53 victory over host Corona del Mar in a Division 3AA semifinal.

The Spartans improved to 24-6 and will face Santa Margarita, a 65-59 winner over Leuzinger, in the finals next week at either Anaheim Arena or Mater Dei High School. The date and time will be announced later.

Blake Grable scored 23 points for the Sea Kings, who dropped to 21-10.

"It feels great," said Hemsley, who finished it off with a dunk at the buzzer. "This was our goal. We worked hard all season. I think we really deserve it." ...

Once again Damien fans Friday's Damien vs Corona del Mar CIF Division 3AA 7pm semi-final contest information will be on Max Prep's Quixscore at the following link:

http://t.maxpreps.com/Yz9K1t

Enjoy the contest. Let's go Spartans to the CIF Finals!

LAKE ELSINORE — Everywhere the Lake Elsinore Temescal Canyon boys basketball team turned on offense, it seemed there was already a defender — or two, or three — waiting, happy to relieve a Titan player of the ball.

That defensive effort, by visiting La Verne Damien, quickly put an end to Temescal Canyon’s CIF-Southern Section playoff run.

Second-seeded Damien pressured and harassed Temescal Canyon into a passel of turnovers in the early going and went on to beat the Titans 62-32 in a Division 3AA quarterfinal.... 

On Wednesday February 27th Chili's in La Verne will donate 15% of all sales in support of Cameron Mitchell. Click HERE to print out the flyer that you'll need to bring with you. Please share this with as many people as possible.

Congratulations to our soccer team which defeated Tesoro in the first round of CIF Playoff.

Damien senior midfielder Ben Jimenez scored all three goals for the Spartans.

After trailing 1-0, Jimenez scored in the 30th minute to tie the score.

Then, Jimenez took over in the second half as he scored goals in the 43rd and 60th minutes.

Damien improved to 15-3-3 while Tesoro finished its season 6-9-7.

Damien will face the winner of the Palos Verdes/St. Francis game in the second round on Wednesday.

LA VERNE - Damien sophomore point guard Jeremy Hemsley watched the lane open up late in the second quarter and took off just inside the free-throw line, falling inches short of delivering a monstrous dunk in the Spartans' easy 60-45 victory over Wilson in the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 3AAA boys basketball playoffs Friday.

On a night that got easier by the quarter for the second-seeded Spartans, that qualified as a highlight as Damien advanced to the quarterfinals for the fifth straight season.

"I thought I had it," said Hemsley, who dunked on a break minutes earlier. "My eyes got wide."

Damien (22-7) advances to face unseeded Temescal Canyon, a 67-61 winner over seventh-seeded Temple City, on the road Tuesday....