WINTER : Boys Basketball

At the beginning of the season, Greg Herrick said his 1984-85 Cleveland team could be among the best high school teams ever assembled. As it turned out, the Cavaliers weren’t even the best in the City.

Cleveland went undefeated in league and entered the City 4-A playoffs seeded No. 2 behind Crenshaw. But an anticipated showdown between the Cavaliers and the Cougars fizzled when Banning upset Cleveland, 81-80, in the quarterfinals. Cleveland, which held an eight-point lead entering the final quarter, finished the season 22-2.

Van Nuys, under first-year Coach Jeff Halpern, made it to the 3-A semifinals, where the Wolves lost to San Pedro, 77-69. Reseda and Granada Hills shared the Valley 3-A League championship, both teams compiling 9-1 marks in league. Both teams were also eliminated in the quarterfinals of the 3-A Division.

Crespi won the Del Rey League championship for the second straight year, but a one-point loss to Serra kept the Celts from reaching the semifinals of the Southern Section’s 5-A Division. James Moses was one of the most influential freshman the Valley has ever seen. But the Alemany guard suffered a broken left wrist early in league play, and did not return until the playoffs.

Camarillo gave eventual 4-A champion Glendale all it could handle in the second round of the playoffs, before losing, 61-56. The Scorpions, led by Steve Banales, captured their second straight Marmonte League championship and finished the season 19-6.

Steve Armstrong stepped off the football field and onto the basketball court to lead Agoura to the 2-A semifinals. The Chargers were 11-11 in the regular season and finished third in their league. They advanced to the fourth round of the playoffs, where Santa Clara posted a 57-47 win. Santa Clara went on to capture the 2-A crown.

Big Todd Bowser (6-8, 270 pounds) was the main reason Montclair Prep reached the 1-A semifinals. But even his 30 points and 13 rebounds were not enough to prevent the Mounties from losing to Crossroads, 75-64. Girls Basketball

Kennedy went 10-0 in league to extend its winning streak in league to 70 games. The Golden Cougars, with just one senior in the starting lineup, advanced to the City 4-A finals, where they lost to Locke, 47-38. Kennedy shot a miserable 35% in the final and committed 29 turnovers.

Marianella Cruz hit an 18-foot jump shot with four seconds left to give Louisville a 57-55 win over Alemany and the San Fernando Valley League championship. Louisville’s victory ended a streak of 14 straight years in which Alemany won or shared the league title.

Michelle Stevens of Westlake came back from a broken hand suffered in the preseason to lead the Warriors to the Marmonte League crown. Stevens, who was named 4-A co-Player of the Year and The Times’ Valley Player of the Year, averaged 19.1 points a game. Westlake made it to the quarterfinals, before falling to Compton, the eventual champion.

Wrestling

Three Valley wrestlers came away with individual Southern Section championships. Erin Milsap of Royal was the winner in the 4-A Division at 101 pounds. Keith Harvey of Newbury Park won at 122 pounds, and Simi Valley’s Frank Blessing (194) was also crowned champion.

San Fernando finished second in the team competition at the City finals. The Tigers lost out on the title to Franklin. Canoga Park was third.

Boys Soccer

Kennedy and Jefferson hooked up in a City semifinal playoff game that lasted two days. The game was scoreless after regulation and 10 overtime periods when it was called because of darkness on the first day. When action was resumed the next afternoon, Greg Friedman scored in the 18th overtime to send Kennedy to the final, 1-0. Friedman’s goal came after 168 minutes 44 seconds of scoreless play.

In the final against Garfield, Kennedy did not score during regulation, nor the two 10-minute overtime periods. But neither did Garfield. The two teams were declared co-City champs.

Agoura dropped a 2-0 decision to Valley Christian in the Southern Section 1-A title game.

Girls Soccer

In the girls’ 3-A Division, Simi Valley suffered just one loss all year. But that came in the title game, 1-0, to La Quinta. The Pioneers’ season record was 24-1-2.