¶ Far East scoreboard at end of story.

Sidelined for the early part of the season due to an ankle injury suffered in last month’s Far East Class A football championship game, junior guard Zach Latimore has returned to the lineup to give Robert D. Edgren’s boys basketball team a boost.

Latimore scored 15 points and the Eagles won for the first time in seven tries this season, beating Nile C. Kinnick 55-47 on Friday at the Eagles’ Nest.

As exciting as he is on the football field — 745 all-purpose yards and nine touchdowns as the Eagles won the Class A title 23-0 over Osan American — Latimore brings what coach Andre Thibert calls a “calming effect” on the offense.

“He has an excellent ability to get to the basket,” Thibert said of Latimore, who’d only seen limited action in one game prior to Friday. “He shows confidence with his ballhandling to break the press. He has a calming effect. He settles everybody down.”

With only seven players in the lineup due to injuries and ineligibility, it was “doubly important” for Latimore to step up, Thibert said.

Likewise, Kinnick brought only seven players with them; two starters left early for the Christmas holiday break. Worse, the Red Devils shot just 19-for-67 from the field.

“That’s no excuse,” coach Nathan Brewster said, but when a team shoots that poorly, “it’s hard to win.”

Brewster said he was all too aware that Latimore, who was sidelined for all but a few minutes of last weekend’s two-game sweep by Kinnick over Edgren at Yokosuka Naval Base, was back in the lineup and healthy.

“He’s the only person we have to watch for, and we didn’t,” Brewster said. “It’s not a surprise. We came in knowing he was their best player, and we didn’t stop him.”

Taylor, Samurai girls keep winning against AA opponentsAmong the nine victories for the Matthew C. Perry Samurai girls basketball team so far this season are at least one victory against every Class AA DODDS-Japan opponent they have faced.

The latest came Friday when Ashley Taylor scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Perry fended off a second-half rally to outlast Nile C. Kinnick 42-35.

“It feels like the girls are finally getting what they deserve,” coach Nikki Flick said of the Samurai, 9-5 this season after going 2-26 and 13-18 the last two seasons. “They’ve worked hard and they deserve every victory they get.”

Falcons boys falter at home for first time in six seasonsIt seems as if Seoul Foreign has Seoul American’s number.

Twice in the last 10 days, the Crusaders have topped the Falcons’ boys basketball team, this time beating Seoul American 51-41, the Falcons’ first home loss since the 2000-01 season.

“We didn’t answer the call,” coach Steve Boyd said of his Falcons, who on Dec. 6 lost at Seoul Foreign 64-55, snapping Seoul American’s 85-game regular-season winning streak against Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference teams. On Nov. 18, the Falcons bested the Crusaders 79-64.

Boyd blamed mental mistakes and an inability to make plays at crucial times for the latest defeat. Andrew Luna missed two foul shots with 1:39 left and the Crusaders up 49-47, and the Falcons missed five putback attempts as the clock wound down.

“We just got outplayed,” said Boyd, whose Falcons led 24-17 at halftime only to be outgunned 23-8 in the third period. “We just can’t seem to make the big plays when we need to. We’re so young. We’ve been relying a lot on sophomores and they’re just not mentally ready.”

‘Suriben Sandwich’ paces E.J. King girls past CAJNormally, only during Far East Class A tournaments do the E.J. King girls play against international and missionary school teams.

In a rare Friday road game at Christian Academy in Japan, the Cobras needed what coach Bridget Vertin called a “Suriben Sandwich” — freshman Riza and junior Kristia — to force a late steal and a layup that led to a last-second 34-32 win over the homestanding Knights.

Kristia Suriben got the steal and game-winning basket with nine seconds left as the Cobras improved to 11-0, the program’s best record through 11 games in its history.

“This was more of a struggle,” Vertin said, adding that she’d like more opportunities for her girls to play teams such as CAJ during the season.

“They’re more patient, more well-rounded, they’ve got a deep bench, they’re very disciplined and they’re faster than I anticipated,” Vertin said.

Far East H.S. sports scoreboardClick to jump ahead to girls basketball andwrestling

Boys basketballKadena 102, Kubasaki 88

Friday, at Camp Foster, OkinawaKadena..........14 29 26 33—102Kubasaki..........15 16 24 23— 88Scorers-Kadena, Jamil Barney 32 (14-for-21 FG, Shmarua Phelps 32 (28 second half, 13-for-24 FG, 6-for-8 FT), Alex Mierzejewski 10, Rakim West 10. Rebounders-Kadena, Jamil Barney 14 (8 offensive), Alex Mierzejewski 10, Shmarua Phelps 9 (5 offensive), Rakim West 8. Steals-Kadena, Jamil Barney 5.

Edgren 55, Kinnick 47

Friday, at Misawa Air Base, JapanKinnick..........4 17 16 10—47Edgren..........9 18 15 13—55Scorers-Robert D. Edgren, Zach Latimore 15, Kirk Chin 14; Nile C. Kinnick, Larynzo Abernathy 15 (5 three-point goals). Noteworthy-Each team dressed only seven players due to injuries, ineligibility or players gone early for Christmas break.

Zama 61, Perry 21

Friday, at Camp Zama, JapanPerry..........2 11 4 4—21Zama..........22 15 13 11—61Scorers-Zama American, Sean Wise 17 (5 three-point goals), Wilberto Badillo 12, Carlos Walter 10. Rebounders-Zama American, Carlos Walter 8. Steals-Zama American, Anthony Caple 5. Assists-Zama American, Wilberto Badillo 5. Noteworthy-Trojans hit 9 three-point goals as a team.

CAJ 66, E.J. King 60

Friday, at TokyoE.J. King..........14 19 6 21—60CAJ..........13 23 12 18—66Scorers-Christian Academy In Japan, Ben Clark 26, Phil Ellison 13; E.J. King, Dominique Johnson 25, Fernando Rico 14 (11 first half). Noteworthy-Knights outrebounded Cobras 50-33; Knights led by 7 points with 2:30 left, Cobras tied it 60-60 on three straight possessions, then Knights scored twice off press breaks and shut down Cobras the rest of the way.

Seoul Foreign 51, Seoul American 47

Friday, at Yongsan Garrison, South KoreaSeoul Foreign..........9 8 23 11—51Seoul American..........14 10 8 15—47Scorers-Seoul Foreign, George Rudolph 18; Seoul American, Chris Churchwell 21. Rebounders-Seoul American, Andrew Luna 12, Raidion Fails 7.

Yongsan Int’l-Seoul 86, Taegu American 63

Friday, at SeoulTaegu..........9 16 16 22—63YIS-S..........24 22 16 24—86Scorers-Taegu American, Thomas Brooks 19, Wil Galbreath 17. Rebounder-Taegu American, Felix Quinata 12.

Seoul Foreign 55, Osan 22

Wednesday, at SeoulQuarter scores not available.Scorers-Seoul Foreign Ricardo Homan 12, George Rudolph 12. Rebounders-Seoul Foreign, Tom Redmond 7, Pete Nielsen 5, Matt Kearney 5. Steals-Seoul Foreign, Ricardo Homan 6, George Rudolph 5. Assists-Seoul Foreign, George Rudolph 5.

Korea Kent Foreign 53, Centennial Christian 41

Wednesday, at SeoulKKFS..........11 11 13 18—53CCS..........11 6 16 8—41Scorers-Korea Kent Foreign, Akira Takahashi 20, David Lee 12; Centennial Christian, Alex Ko 18, Joseph Kim 16.

Girls basketballKadena 58, Kubasaki 37

Friday, at Camp Foster, OkinawaKadena..........19 9 21 9—58Kubasaki..........6 12 3 16—37Scorers-Kadena, Aja Walker 18 (8-for-8 FT), Stephanie Eik 13; Kubasaki, Kyera Tennyson 10. Rebounders-Kubasaki, Julie Monti 7, Sarah Brubaker 7.

E.J. King 34, CAJ 32

Friday, at TokyoE.J. King..........4 9 8 13—34CAJ..........6 2 16 8—32Scorers-E.J. King, Arlexia Gray 14, Yudia Johnson 11; Christian Academy In Japan, Kelsey Masuda 14. Noteworthy-Cobras guard Kristia Suriben stole the ball and drove for the game-winning layup with 9 seconds left.

Perry 42, Kinnick 35

Friday, at Yokosuka Naval Base, JapanPerry..........11 11 7 13—42Kinnick..........9 5 14 7—35Scorers-Matthew C. Perry, Ashley Taylor 15, Kiara Lacey 10. Rebounder-Matthew C. Perry, Ashley Taylor 10. Assists-Matthew C. Perry, Kiara Lacey 5.

Yokota 44, Edgren 32

Friday, at Yokota Air Base, JapanEdgren..........12 2 15 3—32Yokota..........4 20 6 14—44Scorers-Yokota, Lauryn Thomas 10; Robert D. Edgren, Britni Bledsoe 15.

Seoul American 54, Seoul Foreign 37

Friday, at Yongsan Garrison, South KoreaSeoul Foreign..........9 12 4 10—37Seoul American..........18 10 16 10—54Scorers-Seoul American, Chrystal Pryear 13, Alyssa Gray 11, Avianca Manning 10, Angye Law 10. Rebounders-Seoul American, Erica Anglade 7, Avianca Manning 5.

Taegu American 59, Yongsan Int’l-Seoul 34

Friday, at SeoulTaegu..........14 14 14 17—59YIS-S..........4 9 13 8—34Scorers-Taegu American, LaShae Denson 23, Sarah Eades 14. Rebounder-Taegu American, LaShae Denson 10. Assists-Taegu American, Sarah Eades 9.

Seoul Foreign 40, Osan American 22

Wednesday, at SeoulOsan..........3 2 11 6—22Seoul..........9 10 17 4—40Scorer-Seoul Foreign, Todd 10.

Korea Kent Foreign 12, Centennial Christian 6

Wednesday, at SeoulKKFS..........6 0 4 2—12CCS..........2 2 2 0— 6

WrestlingKinnick 50, Zama 15

Wednesday, at Camp Zama101 pounds-Byron Stipe, Kinnick, by walkover108-Brandon Woodcock, Kinnick, by walkover115-Lloyd Stipe, Kinnick, by walkover122-Josh Thornton, Kinnick, pinned Michael Palomino, 1:17129-Harvey Gonzales, Kinnick, superior decisioned Sloan, 2-0 (6-0, 8-0)135-Phillip Bayani, Kinnick, pinned Rodrigues, :47141-Terrence Sanders, Kinnick, pinned Ryan Clack, 1:08148-Adam Godfrey, Zama, pinned Chris Santos, 3:54158-Grant Rodgers, Kinnick, pinned John Leipheimer, 1:14168-Daniel Polaski, Zama, by walkover180-Tim Campbell, Zama, pinned Britton Brown, 2:47215-Chris Sanders, Kinnick, by walkoverHeavyweight-Phil Ergus, Kinnick, by walkover

St. Mary’s 46, CAJ 18

At Tokyo101 pounds-Shuma Kinjo, St. Mary’s, by pin, 3:32108-Sho Yoshida, St. Mary’s, by walkover115-Mickey Langley, St. Mary’s, by walkover122-Mikey Guilfoile, St. Mary’s, by walkover129-Shintaro Saito, St. Mary’s, by walkover135-Alex Craney, St. Mary’s by pin, 1:10141-James Kumate, CAJ, pinned Taka Kurihara, 1:55148-David Rudd, CAJ, decisioned Massa Komatsu, 2-0 (6-3, 4-1)158-Stephen Yosypiw, CAJ, pinned Sung Park, 2:53168-Brian Stenson, St. Mary’s, by walkover180-Steve Hederstedt, CAJ, pinned Chris De Paiva, 2:28215-Simon Ruiz, St. Mary’s, pinned Sho Hamano, 3:08Heavyweight-Sam Shobieri, St. Mary’s, by walkover

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