Boys basketball: Making the master proud

Barry Faulkner

NEWPORT BEACH - With two coaches who learned the game from the same

mentors, knowing what to do wasn’t the issue when Newport Harbor High

boys basketball team hosted Rancho Verde Wednesday night.

So, execution was the key in this pool-play matchup of the Bill

Reynolds Classic, and the Sailors executed more effectively, particularly

when it counted, to earn a 73-60 victory.

“I’m not sure there was a turning point, but the key for us coming out

on top was about a two-minute stretch in the fourth quarter when we

called six plays and executed five of them,” Sailors Coach Larry Hirst

said.

The aforementioned 162 seconds, after the Moreno Valley-based Mustangs

had trimmed a 16-point third-quarter deficit to 52-47 with 7:18 left in

the game, saw the Sailors (4-1) outscore the visitors, 11-1, to secure

their second pool play conquest.

The Tars will play Upland, which won the CIF Southern Section I-AAA

championship last season, tonight at 7:30 for the right to represent Pool

A in Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. tournament title game at Newport Harbor.

Harbor’s defensive presence was also noteworthy during the

game-turning sequence, during which Ranch Verde (0-3) committed five of

its 19 turnovers, including four on successive possessions.

Newport’s defense also came up big near the end of the first quarter

and midway into the second. With 6-foot-8 sophomore center Jamie

Diefenbach swatting shots in the lane, the Sailors held the Mustangs

scoreless for a span of 5:32, turning a 13-9 Harbor deficit into a 28-13

bulge.

A pair of three-pointers by senior Erik Peterson, as well as field

goals by five other Sailors punctuated the run.

It was a heroic effort by Peterson, said Hirst, who noted the

returning starter arrived an hour later than his teammates, because Hirst

wanted him to try and combat a severe cold with some extra sleep.

“I kind of wish Erik would get sick more often,” Hirst quipped, after

Peterson pumped in a career-high 19 points.

Senior Tony Melum, who hit two of his three three-pointers and added a

traditional three-point play in the fourth quarter, finished with a

game-high 24 points. Melum also added seven rebounds and five steals.

Diefenbach collected eight points, six rebounds and five blocks, while

starting guards Chase Cameron and Andre Pinesett added seven and six

points, respectively, for the winners.

Hirst squared off against Rancho Verde Coach Randy McAllister, with

whom he played for former Southern California College men’s coach Bill

Reynolds, the tournament’s namesake. McAllister and Hirst also coached

together at Edison High, as assistants under former Chargers head man Jon

Borchert.

“We played together, coached together and we play in each other’s

tournaments during the summer so (McAllister) knows me as well as

anyone,” Hirst said. “He came in with a plan tonight.”

Reynolds was on hand to watch his former players compete against one

another.

BILL REYNOLDS CLASSIC

Pool play

Newport Harbor 73, Rancho Verde 60

Score by Quarters

Rancho Verde 13 10 21 16 - 60

Newport Harbor 20 15 17 21 - 73

Rancho Verde - Winston 16, Roselle 5, Tillman 7, Brown 13, Nogueira 1,

Singfield 8, Green 6, Jones 2, Williams 2.

3-pt. goals - Singfield 2, Brown 1.

Fouled out - Brown.

Technicals - none.

Newport Harbor - Melum 24, Peterson 19, Diefenbach 8, Pinesett 7,

Cameron 6, Melgar 5, Pajevic 2, Louvier 2, Rorden 0, Glassic 0, Fortier

0, Tully 0, Boyd 0.

3-pt. goals - Melum 3, Peterson 2, Melgar 1.

Fouled out - none.

Technicals - none.