Big Cats’ tandem prove too much for Ballers

Collin Pipkin and Connor Kincaid teamed up to help lead the Newport-Mesa Big Cats to a 51-26 win over the host Chino Valley Ballers in a fifth-grade All-Net boys’ basketball game.

Pipkin scored 15 points, while Kincaid finished with 14 points, four rebounds and three steals.

Mitch Haly and Matthew McDonald added eight points each. Chase Garbers, Will Ueberroth, Jake Jones, Will Rodosky and Luke Valvedis also scored for the Big Cats. Garbers led the team with six rebounds.

Chase Furey did not play as he was sidelined with an injury.

— Reader Submission

Bomb blows up Sparks

Coming off of a loss from the prior week to Huntington Beach, the Newport Beach NJB seventh-grade girls’ team, also known as The Bomb, came away with a 28-18 victory over the Sparks last weekend.

Kierstyn Yardley led The Bomb with six points. Paige Migliori, Grace Emmel, Brittany Rodriquez, Anna Hancock and Mackenzie Gaddis scored four points each. Erin Stefano and Bailey Super (two points) played solid defense that kept the game tight until The Bomb broke away at the end of the third quarter to take a four-point lead. Brittany and Brianna Rodriquez (two points) both played well, were strong in rebounding and made several assists to their teammates.

The team as a whole hustled on the court and used a full-court press to create several steals and breakaway offensive opportunities.

“The girls played well today,” said Joe Stefano, coach of The Bomb. “Effort was evenly distributed and I am proud of them. This game helped us prepare for the games in the coming weeks.”

— ML Gaddis

Heat keeps improving

The Heat continued to show improvement in their game Sunday against the Spartans and came away with a 29-23 victory in a Newport-Mesa NJB boys’ game.

Gianluca Vassalli and Patrick Jennings took turns at point guard for the first time for the Heat and handled the position well. Derek Mathuny and John Holland controlled the boards with seven rebounds apiece. Mathuny fed John and Alex Nguyen with nice passes for assists and drew tough defensive assignments. Mitch Dean was strong in the middle and Krishan Arora contributed screens and points. Brett Super had a few steals, hit his free throws and played shut-down defense in the fifth period. Drew Johnston played team defense, was perfect from the free-throw line and led the team in bad-luck fouls and in scoring.

The Heat hit two-thirds of their free throws and had seven of nine players reach the scoring column.

— Greg Super

Tar Heels top Hornets

The Tar Heels (5-2) cruised past the Hornets, 40-20 at Champan University in a battle of league contenders in a boys’ seventh-grade Newport-Mesa NJB All-Net game.

Logan Miller (seven points, four rebounds), Cole Norris (seven points, six rebounds) and Hagen Truninger (six points, four rebounds) led the team in scoring, while Max Stanley added three assists and played great defense. Charlie Evans, Kevin Fults, Max Kline, Brett Greenlee, Grady Kimme and Riley Gaddis all scored for the Tar Heels.

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Tar Heels go 2-0 on day

The Tar Heels won the second game of a double-header at Newport Coast, 49-39, over the Shock.

Cole Norris had his best game of the season with 19 points, nine rebounds and two steals, while Max Kline added 11 points and three steals. Grady Kimme hit two big three-pointers in the game to open the lead in the second period and Max Stanley added a key three-pointer and an assist to extend the lead going into the third period. Kevin Fults (eight rebounds), Riley Gaddis (five points, three steals, three assists), Charlie Evans (five rebounds), Hagen Truninger (three rebounds), Brett Greenlee (four steals) and Logan Miller (three steals, three rebounds) all played well in the victory.

— Reader Submission

Bulldogs edge Bruins

The Bulldogs (5-1) handed the Bruins (5-1) their first loss of the season with a 50-46, come-from-behind victory on Sunday in a Newport-Mesa NJB boys’ seventh- and eighth-grade game.

Coach Karamardian was proud of his team’s effort in the big win and praised all of the players for their determination. Down 19 in the third period, the Dogs clamped down on defense and hit some timely three-pointers to drop the Bruins. Michael Karamardian, who hit six three-pointers and finished with 24 points, Jay Damon, who had a double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds, and Augie Miller, who had 10 rebounds and four blocks, led the team.

Alex Asdourian, David Karamardian and Chris King played excellent defense. The Bruins held the game close with strong play from Patrick Halle, Justin Hess, Jack Molnar and Areya Aresh.

— Reader Submission

Hawkeyes top Blue Devils

The surging Hawkeyes beat the Blue Devils, 40-37, in a matchup of league contenders in the Newport-Mesa NJB boys’ seventh- and eighth-grade division.

The Hawkeyes improved to 4-2, while the Blue Devils dropped to 3-3.

The “battle of the backcourts” featured the Hawkeyes’ Kavi Sakraney, who had 17 points, six assists and four steals, vs. the Devils’ Sam Younesi, who had 15 points, seven rebounds and four steals, in a game that was tightly contested until the final seconds. Sam Silverman opened and closed the Hawkeyes scoring with a layup in the first period and a free-throw in the final seconds. David Bruno added 11 points and five rebounds.

Quinn Bassler, Caleb O’Neil and Joey Cooper all played well in the loss for the Devils.

— Reader Submission

Wildcats stay strong to win

The Wildcats beat the Spartans, 56-54, in a hotly-contested game in the Newport-Mesa NJB boys’ seventh- and eight-grade division.

The Wildcats improved to 2-4 and the Spartans dropped to 2-4.

Ryan Kleinman (18 points, five assists, four rebounds) and Shane Silver (10 points) led the Wildcats, while Ryan Farhat, Grant Nutt and Cole Collins played tough defense throughout.

The Spartans were led by the strong play of Robbie Bracho, Chad Redfearn, Will Van Dalsem, Trent Dill and Cameron Hook.

— Reader Submission

Blazers nab second win

The Blazers improved to (2-4) on the season with a 35-14 win over the Tigers in the Newport-Mesa NJB boys’ seventh- and eight-grade division.

— Reader Submission