Toby Curto

School: Liberty Christian High Sport: Basketball Position: Guard Class: Junior Although school records haven't been meticulously kept during Liberty Christian's 15-odd seasons of varsity basketball, Rudy Sass, the Minutemen's coach since 1982, is certain Curto's performance last week is unmatched. Tuesday, Curto set what was believed to be the school record of 46 points in an 87-69 Academy League victory over Cal Lutheran.

The four-game skid may have ended Friday, but it was Saturday's victory that got the Chapman men's basketball team back on track. Fresh off a 49-point pounding of Cal Maritime, the Panthers faced UC San Diego, the kind of solid team that has been giving them fits, and won, 90-78, in front of 500 at Hutton Center. "We had been in the little funk for a while," senior center Greg Vanden Ordel said. "I knew we needed a big game to turn it around."

The four-game skid may have ended Friday, but it was Saturday's victory that got the Chapman men's basketball team back on track. Fresh off a 49-point pounding of Cal Maritime, the Panthers faced UC San Diego, the kind of solid team that has been giving them fits, and won, 90-78, in front of 500 at Hutton Center. "We had been in the little funk for a while," senior center Greg Vanden Ordel said. "I knew we needed a big game to turn it around."

Toby Curto took the pass on the wing, dribbled to the free-throw line and hit a jump shot so smoothly and quickly that his defender could only look up in exasperation. "I shoot that a lot," he says. "It's my favorite shot. I practiced it a lot last summer." All that work definitely didn't go to waste. Curto, a 5-foot-11 junior forward at Liberty Christian, leads Orange County in scoring with a 28.1-point average and is shooting 55%, which also ranks among the county's best.

Toby Curto took the pass on the wing, dribbled to the free-throw line and hit a jump shot so smoothly and quickly that his defender could only look up in exasperation. "I shoot that a lot," he says. "It's my favorite shot. I practiced it a lot last summer." All that work definitely didn't go to waste. Curto, a 5-foot-11 junior forward at Liberty Christian, leads Orange County in scoring with a 28.1-point average and is shooting 55%, which also ranks among the county's best.

In the Sherman Oaks Buckley championship game: Liberty Christian 65, Sherman Oaks Buckley 50--Tournament MVP Toby Curto scored 31 points and Mike Bahnsen had 14 for Liberty Christian (2-1).

In other nonconference baseball games: Chapman 117, Pacific Christian 97--Toby Curto scored 22 and Stefan Mumaw added 21 for host Chapman (17-7). Charles Ross had a game-high 37 for Pacific Christian (24-13).

La Canada Ribet Academy 84, Liberty Christian 47--Lydell Hill scored 23 points for Ribet Academy (19-6). Teammate Orville Turner scored 19 points. Toby Curto scored 16 for Liberty Christian (18-7).

Liberty Christian's Toby Curto has decided to play basketball for Chapman next season, his father, Tony, said Thursday. Curto, a 5-foot-10 guard, averaged 26 points for Liberty Christian. He has a 3.9 grade-point average and received an academic scholarship.

Guard Toby Curto scored 14 points to lead Chapman past Australian Institute, 71-63, in an exhibition men's basketball game Tuesday at Chapman. Curto, the team's top returning scorer who averaged 12 points last season, helped the Panthers take control in the second half. Chapman's Pete Sverkos, a 6-foot-3 guard from Long Beach City College, scored nine points and Todd Canavan, a 6-6 guard from Las Vegas, had seven points and two three-pointers.

School: Liberty Christian High Sport: Basketball Position: Guard Class: Junior Although school records haven't been meticulously kept during Liberty Christian's 15-odd seasons of varsity basketball, Rudy Sass, the Minutemen's coach since 1982, is certain Curto's performance last week is unmatched. Tuesday, Curto set what was believed to be the school record of 46 points in an 87-69 Academy League victory over Cal Lutheran.

In nonleague boys' basketball: Liberty Christian 112, Glendale Adventist 90--Toby Curto scored a career-high 51 points and Dave Kellams a career-high 31 for visiting Liberty Christian (11-5). Curto made 20 field goals and 11 of 15 free throws, scoring 14 points each in the second, third and fourth quarters. Canyon Wrestling Invitational: Canyon Wins Title--Canyon easily won its tournament for the eighth consecutive year by scoring 222.

Liberty Christian 77, Viewpoint Calabasas 48--Guard Toby Curto, who is averaging 26 points, had 24 for host Liberty Christian (17-5). Teammate Jason Trippet had 12 points, and Mike Bahnsen and center Dave Vaccaro had eight rebounds each. In Division V-AA games: Brethren Christian 84, North Hollywood Oakwood 60--Reggie Davis had 27 points and nine rebounds to lead Brethren Christian (19-7). Scott Thomas added 18 points and Andy Brown had 13 rebounds for the Knights.