More than 300 players had a great hoop season.

The basketball season at the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley came to a close April 24 after four championship games. More than 300 members, ages 7-18, of the Club and Newhall Community Center engaged in the sports league.

     The Sierra Vista team, with a 7-0 record, took on the Newhall Central team, with a 4-3 record, in the first game, played April 21. The 10- to 12-year-old players put on an exciting match until the very end. With the game tied at 31 points and 25 seconds left, Sierra Vista player Chris Wentt dribbled by a Central defender and passed the ball to Taylor Butler, who made a 4-foot bank shot to score 2 of his 25 points to lead Sierra Vista to a 33 to 31 victory. Butler was subsequently named the Most Valuable Player of the game.

   The youngest players, ages 7-9, matched Sierra Vista against the Newhall Community Center and also had a close finish April 22.

     “The teams played very hard and were well represented, both in talent and sportsmanship,” said Jim Walsh, athletic director for the Newhall branch of the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley.  “Like any competitive sporting event, there could only be one ‘winner’ and that was the Community Center by 3 points over the rival Sierra Vista.”

     In the Division 3 game for ages 13-15, Isaac Covarrubias and Brandon Perry scored 51 of the team’s 73 points to lead Sierra Vista to a 73 to 37 win over Newhall Central on April 23.

     Youth ages 15 to 18, from Newhall Central and Val Verde, battled it out in the final Division 4 game on April 24. Max Sommer from Newhall and Gary Bradley from Val Verde lead the scoring for their teams. Val Verde pulled within 4 points in the fourth quarter, but the Central team’s persistent defense was too much to overcome and it prevailed with a final score of 58 to 48.

     The championship games were played at the Newhall and Sierra Vista sites of the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley. All teams will be recognized at an awards banquet in late May.

     The Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley also sponsors leagues in softball, soccer, flag football, indoor baseball, and other sports with an emphasis on teamwork, fair play and sportsmanship.  Other sports activities include volleyball, whiffleball, radical relays and “Girls Only Flag Football” as well as game room activities such as the annual Pinewood Derby, daily ping-pong, pool, air hockey and foosball. 

     The Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley is a member of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, an organization with more than 3,000 clubs nationwide.  The local Club was formed in 1968 by a group of community leaders who recognized the need for high-quality programs and facilities at affordable costs for area young people. The Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley now serves more than 3,500 youth, ages 7-17, at facilities in Newhall, Canyon Country and Val Verde.  Programs engage members in education and career exploration, the arts, sports, recreation and fitness, character and leadership development, and healthy life choices.