Youth Scene

The Corona del Mar Plus Team of under-10 boys didn’t let the holidays or a short-handed squad stop them from collecting a tournament championship in soccer.

The team, also known as Beach Cities United, from AYSO Region 57, captured the Costa Mesa Classic title on Dec. 27.

Despite having only one substitute player, the local AYSO Plus team, coached by Greg Shockey and Andrew Nowak, went 3-0-1 in two days capped by a thrilling 3-2 double-overtime victory against North Irvine in the championship game.

The season-ending championship completes the bookend for this team that also won the McMillan Memorial Invitational Soccer Tournament over Labor Day weekend to start the season.

The team included: Josh Kim, Jordan Pratt, Bobby Purcifull, Luke Minck, JT Murphy, JT Schwartz, Dylan Shockey, David Stephenson, Alexander Taxman and Chris Wendland.

— Bob Purcifull

76ers down Lakers

In Newport Mesa National Junior Basketball Division 2 action Sunday, the 76ers downed the Lakers, 27-21.

The 76ers are now 1-0 in conference play and 2-2 overall.

The score was 10-7 in favor of the 76ers at halftime in a low-scoring defensive battle. The Lakers held the Sixers scoreless in the third period to takea 13-10 lead. The Sixers came out with a half-court press in the fourth period and went on to win.

The Sixers were led by Grant Joyce with nine points follwed by Max Nanula with six points. Evan Cleary had five points and several steals. Matt Morton had five points and continued to sweep the boards on both ends of the court. Henry Bagdasar rounded out the scoring with two points.

Mike Brown and Drew Raguse played great defense in the half-court press and Braden Wolfe kept the Lakers at bay under the hoop.

— Reader Submission

Newport Mesa ‘thaws out’

The Newport-Mesa Bruins, a sixth-grade All-Net boys’ basketball team, started the game this past Sunday at Laguna Hills as cold as ice.

The sharp-shooting Laguna Hills team not only was beating the Bruins on offense, but was stifling the them defensively. At the end of the first quarter, Laguna Hills held the Bruins to only two points.

At the quarter break, Bruins Coach Mike Alvarado applied some heat to his team, and the ice started to thaw. The Bruins started to pick up their game and were only behind, 22-15, at halftime.

In the second half, the ice melted behind the hot shooting of Taso Marcopulos who dropped in six three-point shots and ended the game with season-high 22 points.

Newport-Mesa outscored Laguna Hills, 28-10, in the second-half flurry, and won the game, 43-32.

The Bruins were given a boost this week as Nick Premer and Charlie Stassel, who both had been out all season with broken arms, came off the bench to play tough defense and provide overall strong play. The Bruins can expect even bigger things out of these two kids for the balance of the season.

The rest of the team, Joe Alvarado, Nick Bauer, Matt Ctvrtlik, Nate Harding, Sam Kobrine and Carson Poivre, showed great character coming back from a dismal start, and not giving up.

— By Mark Poivre

Sea Kings stop Brea Xcel

The Newport-Mesa Sea Kings fifth-grade boys’ All-Net basketball team defeated Brea Xcel, 44-22, in regular season game play Sunday night.

The Sea Kings, now 3-1, played disciplined offense to overpower Brea early on. Preston Hartsell and Shan Dharodeach each had 10 points in the victory. Chris Cox scored six points, was the Sea Kings’ rebounding leader and received thegame ball from Coach Troy Hall.

The Sea Kings host the Irvine Warriors at 12:45 p.m. Sun., Jan. 10, at the Newport Coast Community Center.

— Reader Submission

Plenty of action in seventh- and eight-grade NJB play

Hawkeyes 61 Spartans 50: The surging Hawkeyes (3-1) beat the Spartans last weekend at Newport Harbor High. Brian Wagner (14 points, 11 rebounds, four assists) and Kavi Sakraney (14 points, two steals), David Bruno (nine points, nine rebounds) and Will Hinkleman (12 points) led the team in scoring, while Ali Amir, Beau Roth, Chris Oh and Sam Silverman played excellent defense. The Spartans were led by the stellar play of Will Van Dalsem (16 points, 12 rebounds, Chad Redfearn (eight points, four steals) and Robbie Bracho (nine points, six rebounds). Chris Munson, Anthony Tsai and Trent Dill all played well in defeat.

Bulldogs 30 Tigers 21: The Bulldogs improved to 3-1 on the season with a tough win against the Tigers. Mike Karamardian led the Bulldogs scoring with 12 points and six steals, while Jay Damon added six points and eight rebounds while playing tough defense. Augie Miller added seven points, four blocked shots and 10 rebounds in the win. The Tigers were led by the hustle and all-around play of Ryan Cargile, Taylor Cortens, Alex Wilde, Clay Woodward and Nolan McCarthy.

Bruins 38 Wildcats 31: The undefeated Bruins (4-0) battled in a tough game Sunday against the Wildcats. Jack Molnar led the Bruins to victory with 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Justin Hess, Patrick Halle and John Wortmann collected 14 rebounds and blocked seven shots. The Wildcats rallied from a 20-point deficit in the final period and cut the game to four with just minutes to go and were led by Ryan Kleinman, Cole Collins, Ryan Farhat, Mark Manchester, Grant Nutt and Grant Morris.

Blue Devils 61 Blazers 40: The Blue Devils (3-1) kept pace with one of the top teams in the league with a nice win over the Blazers last Sunday.

— Reader Submission

Hornets remain undefeated

In a match of undefeated teams, the Hornets beat the Trojans, 35-27. The Hornets were led in scoring by point guard Will Black and forward James McConnaughey. Crafty play by Jack Pitchess down the stretch maintained the victory margin. Solid team defense and strong rebounding by Jake Burri, Aidan Steinke and Michael Ferry helped slow the Trojan scoring and a great individual defensive effort by Alex Rosen against the Trojans’ leading scorers led to the victory. The Hornets have maintained their undefeated season by playing great team defense and running an unselfish offense. Every Hornet player has scored.

— Peter Pitchess