ORANGE COUNTY PREP BASKETBALL : Sunset League : Butler Helps Brighten Picture for Ocean View

Two weeks into the Sunset League boys’ basketball season, Ocean View High School was in trouble. The Seahawks were 1-3 and their playoff future was dim.

But things are looking brighter for Ocean View. The Seahawks defeated league-leading Marina, 89-67, Wednesday night at Ocean View on front of 1,500 for their third consecutive league victory.

Ocean View also moved into a three-way tie for second place with three games remaining. Ocean View, Westminster and Fountain Valley are all 4-3 in league.

Marina, the second-ranked team in the Orange County Sportswriters’ Assn. poll this week, is two games in front with a 6-1 record. The Vikings are 19-3 overall.

“We had a little incentive tonight,” Jim Harris, Ocean View coach, said. “We wanted to re-establish ourselves. This is where we should have been.”

The Seahawks concentrated on getting the ball to Ricky Butler, a senior forward. Butler scored 25 points, had 19 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Ocean View was able to get the ball into Butler at the low post often in the first quarter and he scored 10 points as Ocean View (4-3, 14-5) took an 18-11 lead.

Butler also showed an ability to hit the outside shot, as he picked up a lose ball at the top of the key and made a three-point basket as time ran out in the first quarter.

He was held to 4 points in the second quarter but teammate Desi Hazely scored 8 of his 16 and teammate Doug Rice scored 9 of his 12, including a three-pointer. The Seahawks led at halftime, 42-25.

Butler scored eight in the third quarter including a tip-in at buzzer to give Ocean View a 68-44 lead. Butler made a three-point play early in the fourth quarter before leaving the game.

Edison 52, Westminster 50--Will Foster blocked a shot by Westminster in the final seconds as Edison (3-4, 11-10) held on at home. Edison’s Scott DeStefano scored 13 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter. Westminster is 4-3, 9-9. Chris Tower led Westminster with 16.

Fountain Valley 64, Huntington Beach 57--Tom Rochlen scored 21 points, leading the Barons at Huntington Beach. Jeff Flory scored 19 and Rodney Marx added 14 for the Oilers (0-7 in league). Fountain Valley is 4-3, 10-9.