Chargers bounce back
Since dropping its Sunset League opener nearly two weeks ago, the Edison High boys’ basketball team has been on a roll.
Edison has won two straight since a 61-51 defeat Jan. 8 at Los Alamitos, and gained its second comfortable victory in the process by handling visiting Huntington Beach, 86-55, on Friday. The Chargers never trailed, opened up a double-digit lead late in the first quarter, began to pull away in the second quarter, and then put the game out of reach by dominating the start of the second half.
Edison, ranked No. 2 in CIF Southern Section Division 2AA, previously cruised to an 80-45 win Jan. 13 at Marina. The two wins put the Chargers at 2-1 in league.
The Chargers went from a 30-24 lead with 4:45 remaining in the opening half, to leading by 14 (47-33) at the break.
“Those are dream starts and they don’t happen very often,” Edison Coach Rich Boyce said of his team’s 17-0 run that opened the second half. “Huntington’s very good and they had some shots go in and out, but we had our transition game going. We passed very well and really shared the ball.”
Edison senior guard Nate Matthews led all scorers with 26 points. Junior guard Randall Walker finished with 19 points, senior center Tommy Barlow had 10 points, senior guard Jake Barton, who provided the Chargers with a big boost off the bench, scored eight, and sophomore guard David Atencio, who had several nice assists on the night, scored seven points.
Senior guard Josh Benitez led Huntington (1-2 league, 8-11 overall) with 14 points.
“Edison came out and set the tone right away,” Huntington Coach Billy Thompson said. “They out-rebounded us, we turned the ball over too much, and we didn’t protect the paint.”
The Oilers (1-2 league) previously suffered a 53-40 home league loss Jan. 13 to Newport Harbor. Senior guard Nick Karidakis had a team-high 12 points.
Edison was back in action Monday against Elsinore and scored a 76-58 nonleague win over the Tigers at Estancia High. Matthews poured in a game-high 30 points and Walker scored 23.
The win put Edison, ranked No. 2 in CIF Southern Section Division 2AA, at 16-4 overall.
“After a sluggish and defenseless first quarter, we woke up and played much better,” Boyce said. “ Our defense picked it up and we flowed better on offense.”
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•Fountain Valley was one of three local teams partaking Saturday in the Palm Springs Desert Showcase. The Barons rolled Cathedral City, 66-44, at Palm Springs High. Junior guard Mike Lightbody hit six three-point shots and scored a game-high 20 points for the Barons who improved to 15-5 overall. Junior guard Matt Serven hit four three-pointers and finished with 15 points to go with 10 rebounds, and junior forward Jake Loudenback, who Coach Steve Schultz said had “his best game of the season,” finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Fountain Valley earned its first Sunset League victory Friday by subduing host Marina in overtime, 54-50. Guard Sean Huynh led the Barons (1-2 league) with 15 points and nine rebounds. The junior hit the winning basket with two seconds remaining in overtime, and sophomore guard Jake Bitzer (nine points) made two free throws to seal the win. Sophomore guard Spencer Serven also finished with nine points.
“[Starting guard] Matt Serven fouled out in the fourth quarter and the rest of the team met the moment and found a way to win,” Schultz said. “Marina is much taller and more athletic than we are so I’m very proud of the toughness and teamwork my guys showed in getting that victory in their house.”
Lightbody (five three-pointers) scored 15 points and Matt Serven had 10 points in a 64-48 league loss Jan. 13 to visiting Los Alamitos (No. 9, CIF-SS Division 1AA).
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•Marina was in Palm Springs Saturday for a nonleague game and lost to the host Indians, 67-47, in their Palm Springs Desert Showcase. Freshman forward Jakob Alamudun scored 11 points with seven rebounds and sophomore guard Peter Serour scored 10 points for the Vikings who fell to 11-8 overall.
Marina’s trip to the desert came one day after a Sunset League overtime contest with Fountain Valley, a game won by the visiting Barons, 54-50. Senior guard Braden Meyers, playing in his first game since breaking his foot Dec. 10, hit a pair of big three-point shots down the stretch for the Vikings and finished with 10 points. Alamudun had 19 points and nine rebounds, and senior forward Buzz Stafford 10 points and 15 rebounds as the Vikings went to 0-3 in league.
“We did a great job on their two leading scorers, but their role players stepped up and scored for them,” Marina Coach Nick Racklin said.
Alamudun had 20 points and six rebounds for Marina in its 80-45 loss Jan. 13 at Edison.
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•Ocean View, ranked No. 13 in CIF-SS Division 3A, also was in the desert Saturday for the Palm Springs Desert Showcase and took on Twentynine Palms. Senior guard Zamir Kelly scored 21 points to go with eight rebounds and three assists and was one of five Seahawks scoring in double figures in their 78-67 victory over the Wildcats.
Sophomore guard Paul Head had 15 points, senior forward Andrew Reynolds 14 points and six rebounds, sophomore guard Bryson Betti 11 points, six rebounds and three assists, sophomore center Mehkel Harvey 11 points and seven rebounds, and senior forward Christian Anderson six points and 11 rebounds.
The Seahawks, who improved to 16-4 overall by defeating the fifth-ranked team in CIF-SS Division 4AA, ended the game on a 14-7 run over the final five minutes.
“This was a good game against a quality opponent,” Ocean View co-head Coach Roger Holmes said. “We rebounded strong and shot pretty well. The game got close (64-60, Ocean View) and we locked in on defense and finished the game strong.”
Ocean View took its Golden West League record to 3-0 Friday by romping past host Orange, 67-27. Kelly had 26 points and four steals, Betti 10 points and 10 rebounds, Anderson nine points and five rebounds, and Harvey eight points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
Kelly also had 13 points and Head and Anderson 11 apiece as Ocean View eased past visiting Loara Jan. 13, 75-32.
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•Brethren Christian slipped to 1-3 in Academy League play after dropping two games last week. The Warriors (5-12 overall) were upended, 56-34, Saturday by visiting St. Margaret’s, and lost at Cerritos Whitney Jan. 14, 47-30.
In an 8 p.m. game Thursday, BC hosts Sage Hill at Ocean View High.
In 7 p.m. Sunset League games Friday, Fountain Valley hosts rival Edison, Huntington hosts league-leader Los Alamitos, and Marina visits Newport Harbor.
In a 7 p.m. Golden West League game Friday, Ocean View travels to Santa Ana.
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CIF Weekly Rankings: Edison (No. 2, Division 2AA); Ocean View (No. 13, Division 3A); Brethren Christian (tie-No. 14, Division 5A).
