Ocean View boys’ basketball stays alone in first with win at Westminster

By Matt Szabo

Los Angeles Times

Jan. 16, 2019 10:40 PM PT

“This is our house” was the chant by Ocean View High supporters on Wednesday night, but it hasn’t always been that way.

Ocean View’s last loss in Golden West League boys’ basketball play came at Westminster on Jan. 23, 2015.

The Seahawks still shared the league title with the Lions that season. Since then, they had won 39 straight league games heading into Wednesday night’s showdown, again at Westminster.

Ocean View is searching for its fifth consecutive league title and fourth straight outright crown. The Seahawks took a big step toward those goals with a big road victory.

Senior guard Carson Nguyen scored a season-high 32 points, and the Seahawks beat the Lions 58-49, staying undefeated halfway through the league campaign.

Nguyen poured in 14 points in the fourth quarter to help the Seahawks (14-8, 5-0 in league) stay ahead of Westminster (9-12, 3-2). Included in that tally was a rare four-point play with 2:39 remaining. The three-pointer and free throw, which came with the shot clock running down, gave Ocean View a 51-44 lead at the time.

“I know that Westminster has been publicizing this game,” Nguyen said. “We wanted to take control and show that we’re still league champions … I just knew that I had to be aggressive. They were taking all of the other guys away, so I knew I just had to step up.”

Senior forward Vincent Caiazzo added eight points and senior guard Devon Vu scored six for the Seahawks, who both started and ended the game strong.

The score was tied at 39-39 entering the fourth quarter, but Ocean View started it off with a three-pointer by sophomore Slater Miller and never looked back.

Caiazzo drew a charge on Matthew Brookins in the final minute with Ocean View up five points, helping Ocean View stay on top.

Senior forward Ryan Phung led Westminster with 14 points.

“They were shadowing [Ocean View senior guard Kurtis Vu, who scored five points] everywhere,” said Seahawks coach Jimmy Harris, whose team plays at Western on Friday at 7:15 p.m.. “To his credit, he turned his game to defense, but so did a lot of guys. Devon Vu was unbelievable. Daniel Bartle was unbelievable. He came in late and impacted the game so positively. If we want to win games deep into league, especially with a really competitive league now, we’ve got to have guys who come off the bench and impact the game.”

Golden West League

Ocean View 58, Westminster 49

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Ocean View 18 – 6 – 15 – 19 — 58

Westminster 10 – 16 – 13 – 10 — 49

OV – Nguyen 32, Caiazzo 8, D. Vu 6, K. Vu 5, Miller 5, Bartle 2.

3-pt. goals – Nguyen 2, Caiazzo 2, K. Vu 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

W – Phung 14, I. Lee 12, J. Lee 9, Brookins 8, Vu 4, Aguilera 2.

3-pt. goals – Phung 2, I. Lee 1.

Fouled out – None.