Newport Harbor boys’ basketball on track to win first league title since 2002

Coach Bob Torribio isn’t thinking about a Sunset League championship, but his Newport Harbor High boys’ basketball team is one victory away from claiming at least a share of the title after grinding its way to a 58-44 triumph Tuesday night at Marina.

Zack Swies scored three baskets in a 10-0 run that gave the Sailors (20-6, 7-2 in league) command, and Brad Siegel scored nine of his 15 points as they staved off Marina’s late effort to clinch a berth into the CIF Southern Section Division 2A playoffs.

A bonus arrived later, with word that Edison (19-7, 7-2) had dropped a 77-62 decision at Fountain Valley — the Chargers’ second straight loss — to fall back into a tie with Newport Harbor atop the standings.

The Sailors, who lost both meetings to Edison, will be co-champions, at the least, with a victory Thursday night at home against Los Alamitos (10-16, 6-3). The Griffins also clinched a playoff berth with a 67-53 win over visiting Huntington Beach. Edison finishes on the road against the Oilers, who are winless in league play.

“We can’t worry about [winning a league title],” Torribio said before learning the Edison result. “We’re just trying to finish in the top part of the league now and see what happen in the playoffs.”

The Sailors, ranked No. 12 in the Division 2A poll, hope to enter the postseason with their first league title since the 2001-02 season.

Swies and Dayne Chalmers helped get them closer. Swies scored on a drive from the right, an off-balance bank shot, and on a fastbreak layup, and Chalmers grabbed two offensive rebounds and went for a layup after stripping Marina star Jakob Alamudun at midcourt as Newport Harbor turned a one-point advantage into a 41-30 lead.

The Vikings (14-11, 4-5), with Alamudun scoring their final six points, pulled within seven three times in the fourth quarter. But they missed all four of their shots and turned the ball over twice in the final 80 seconds as Newport Harbor pulled away.

The loss means Marina, ranked No. 12 in Division 3A, can finish no higher than fourth, and coach Nick Racklin says there doesn’t look like there are any available at-large spots in Division 3A. He’s holding out hope.

“We have to win [Thursday at Fountain Valley]. [A] 15-11 [record] is not bad with our schedule,” Racklin said. “We’ve only not had a fourth-quarter lead in three games all year, and we’ve played a tough schedule. So I’m hoping for an at-large bid. ... If we get in, great. If we don’t, then we’ve got things to improve on for next year.”

The first quarter was played at a relatively blistering pace. There were nine lead changes as Newport Harbor took a 20-18 lead. Marina made just seven of 35 shots the rest of the way, scoring only 13 points over the second and third quarters.

“I thought we did a great job giving them one shot [on most possessions],” Torribio said. “I really thought their height was a definite advantage for them. We’re going to give them a shot, but we’re only going to give them one shot, and I thought we did a great job rebounding the ball.”

Jake Bashore grabbed a game-best 10 rebounds for Newport Harbor, and Chalmers pulled down six in the second half to go with 14 points for the game. Sam Barela also scored 14, and Swies added 10.

Alamudun scored 20 points, including 11 of Marina’s 18 in the second half, and grabbed nine rebounds.

Torribio thinks his team can do something once it gets to the playoffs, which will begin next week.

“They’ve done a great job this year,” he said. “Not many teams win 20 games at Newport Harbor. I think we’re the eighth team ever to do it. ... I love this team, and I think they want to keep playing. We’ll take our show wherever it needs to go.”

*

Newport Harbor 58, Marina 44

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Newport Harbor 20 – 10 – 12 – 16 — 58

Marina 18 – 8 – 5 – 13 — 44

NH – Siegel 15, Barela 14, Chalmers 14, Swies 10, Bashore 4, Harvey 1.

3-pt. goals – Barela 2, Siegel 1, Chalmers 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

M – Alamudun 20, Babish 8, Serour 7, Keeler 6, Barnella 3.

3-pt. goals – Serour 1, Barnella 1, Alamudun 1.

Fouled out – Serour.

Technicals – None.

SCOTT FRENCH is a contributor to Times Community News. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottJFrench