FV Dukes are winners again

The Fountain Valley National Junior Basketball Division 1 Dukes continued their strong play Sunday by defeating the Tar Heels, 50-40.

The victory was the fifth in the last six games for Coach Bill McWhorter’s team.

The Dukes turned an early first quarter deficit into a nine-point lead at the end of the first half. With solid half-court defense and bruising inside play by the Dukes’ big men, they maintained a double-digit lead for most of the second half.

The Dukes were led by Brock Lundquist, who posted another double-double with 20 points and 15 rebounds.

Johnny McWhorter (14 points, seven rebounds, six assists) and Keven Johnson (nine points, five rebounds) also continued their strong play.

Also contributing to the victory were Eamon Smythe (three rebounds and one assist), Brandon Lynch (three points, one block and one steal), Calvin Bui (four rebounds, one assist and one block), JT Bebout (one rebound and one steal), Cal Dornbush (two points, one rebound and one steal) and Nick Calnon (two points and two rebounds).

Huntington Beach NJB: The Boilermakers and the Cornhuskers met Sunday in a Huntington Beach National Junior Basketball boys’ Division 1 game at Huntington Beach High, and it was the Boilermakers who came out on top, 44-23.

The Boilermakers got off to an early lead as the Cornhuskers were struggling from the get-go trying to contend with the Boilermakers’ size. By the end of the first period, the Boilermakers were up, 12-2.

They extended their lead to 25-7 at halftime.

In the third period, the Cornhuskers failed to move the ball around, missed scoring opportunities and were the victims of several steals. At the end of the period, they trailed, 36-7.

The Boilermakers were led in scoring by Jonathan Carlson, who had a game-high 11 points.

Jose Holguin and Gabe Copper both had eight points and Patrick Poss had eight assists.

The Boilermakers are in second place in the division with a 7-1 record.

“Currently, we have the best defense in the league,” Boilermakers Coach Chuck Poss said. “We are able to move the ball around and have good perimeter shooting. We need to work on boxing-out our opponent and just play in-your-face defense.”

— Tamer Omran