When Chatsworth closed the deficit to five points against big bad Taft midway through the second quarter Thursday, there may have been a glimmer of hope that this would be the day the Chancellors knock off big bad Taft.

And then the trees got in the way.

At least it must have seemed that way for the Chatsworth players, because every time they tried to penetrate, Kevin Johnson, Brandon Perry, Stephen Maxwell, or maybe C.J. Blackwell was in the way to thwart Chatsworth in a 100-74 victory in West Valley League basketball action.

Considering Taft reached the century mark, noting their defense would seem secondary. Yet, it was as if any time a Chatsworth player drove to the basket, he either bounced off the 6-foot-10, 260-pound Johnson, or the 6-5, 245, Perry.

Or he simply couldn’t get around either Maxwell or Blackwell, who are both 6-5. Or maybe it was that he could never get a call.

Not even a career high 33 points from Derrick Hector, Chatsworth’s senior guard, could keep the game close.

“My points helped, but we still lost,” Hector said.

After Chatsworth scored eight straight points, capped by 3-point baskets by Terrell Funches (15 points) and then Hector, to close the gap to 32-27, the Toreadors went on a 21-4 run to take a commanding 55-31 lead shortly before halftime.

Although Hector hit a 3-pointer and was fouled to make it a four-point play with 1.3 seconds left before intermission, Chatsworth (16-5, 0-2) was in too big a hole to come back.

Taft (12-2, 1-0), which came into the contest as the ninth ranked team in the state and first in the City’s Section’s Division I, had a balanced attack.

Johnson led with 16 points and 10 rebounds, Blackwell had 15 points and 10 boards, and Spencer Dinwiddie added 15 points.

Jason Monje, who at 6-5 is Chatsworth’s tallest player, contributed 10 points for the Chancellors.

Chatsworth was playing one day after suffering a brutal West Valley League loss, 57-56, at El Camino Real on Wednesday.

“We played very poorly (against El Camino Real),” said Chatsworth coach Scott Switalla. “I told the guys (that) was the worst loss in the seven years I’ve been here. That was the worst loss I’ve ever had. But we responded OK (against Taft).”

“We’ve got to have a better defensive effort,” Switalla added. “We cannot beat a team when we allow100 points, obviously.”

There was another aspect of the game against Taft that was hard to ignore. It was best exemplified towards the end of the game when Toreadors’ coach Derrick Taylor turned to the crowd behind the scorer’s table and derided the reasoning behind a referee’s call.

No technical was called, even though it clearly called for one. That came with a 30-point lead and seemed to cap what seemed an uneven even job by the officials, particularly on plays where the respective teams drove to the basket.

“I have never, ever, said this in any game – any of my players can say that.” Switalla said. “But I think the referees had a 15, 20-point difference here. They got caught up in the hype of Taft. And that’s just completely inappropriate and immature on their part.

“I mean their chummy, chummy with him (Taylor). That’s just unacceptable. I think that was not professional.”

The Chatsworth coach didn't blame the loss on the refs, however, just the margin of the defeat.

“You’ve still got to play through it,” Switalla said. “We didn’t play well enough to beat a team of that caliber. And we know our best basketball is ahead of us.”

Chatsworth plays Leuzinger in a tournament on Saturday, then returns home next Wednesday in search of its first league win against Cleveland.

“I think it’s a good challenge for us,” Hector said.

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

Taft - 22 - 31 – 22 - 25 - 10o

Chatsworth - 16 - 19 - 15 - 24 - 74

TAFT (100): Blackwell 15, Dinwiddie 15, Maxwell 9, Johnson 16, Williams 11, Efferson 7, Lewis 10, Perry 8, Yanku 6, Jones 3.

CHATSWORTH (74): Flores 2, Hernandez 5, Hector 33, Monje 10, Funches 15, Figueroa 4, Olmos 2, Dabdoub 3.

Records: Taft: 12-2, 1-0; Chatsworth: 16-5, 0-2.