BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Hart Stops Palmdale in Saugus Shootout

Hart High opened its season on a strong note Wednesday night by defeating Palmdale, 79-69, in a first-round game of the Saugus Shootout at Saugus High.

Palmdale, considered a favorite to win the Golden League, trailed by six at halftime and could not mount a comeback. Hart was led by Marty Downen with 23 points and Tony Valenzuela with 17.

In other games:

Canoga Park 59, Belmont 54--Lindsey Dunbar scored eight of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter as host Canoga Park erased a one-point deficit in a nonleague game.

El Camino Real 63, Grant 53--Sam Sarpong scored a game-high 19 points and handed out six assists for host El Camino Real in an opener for both schools.

Notre Dame 49, Burroughs 48--Notre Dame’s G.C. Marcaccini hit a 15-foot jump shot with 15 seconds left in a first-round game of the Burbank-Hoover Tournament.

Calabasas 92, St. Genevieve 51--Chuck Sergis had 29 points and 10 rebounds and Brian Schmidt added 19 points for host Calabasas in a nonleague game.

GIRLS

Hart 49, Alemany 42--Hart opened defense of its Southern Section 5-A Division championship with a nonleague win at home. Carol Gruhlke scored 16 points to lead the Indians.

AREA BASKETBALL TOP 10 Preseason Poll Selected by sportswriters of The Times

Rk Team League 1989 Record 1 Cleveland North Valley 21-5 2 Granada Hills North Valley 17-9 3 Taft North Valley 14-11 4 Notre Dame Mission 15-11 5 Crespi Mission 11-12 6 Hart Foothill 18-8 7 Palmdale Golden 15-11 8 Thousand Oaks Marmonte 12-12 9 Royal Marmonte 20-7 10 Santa Clara Frontier 28-0