Prep Basketball : Sunset League : Marina Makes Change to Beat Fountain Valley

When Marina High School fell behind Fountain Valley in the third quarter Friday night, jeopardizing the Vikings’ hold on the second-place Sunset League playoff spot, Marina Coach Steve Popovich had to make an adjustment.

And it was only fitting that the key to the coach’s change was Steve Guild, a four-year varsity starter playing his last league game.

Guild was moved to the inside in the fourth quarter, and in the final period, he scored 9 of Marina’s 22 points as the Vikings defeated Fountain Valley, 69-57, at Marina.

Guild led all scorers with 20 points.

The victory clinched the second playoff spot for Marina, finishing behind league-champion Ocean View. Fountain Valley’s loss, coupled with Edison’s victory over Huntington Beach, forces a tiebreaking game for the third-place playoff spot. Edison and Fountain Valley will play at Huntington Beach tonight at 7:30.

“It freed me up a little bit,” Guild said of the fourth-quarter adjustment. “And I was able to do more defensively.”

The Vikings, who had led most of the game, were up, 39-34, at halftime, but Fountain Valley’s triangle-and-two defense shut down Guild and David Yamate in the third quarter. The Barons outscored Marina, 16-8, and gained a five-point lead.

But after Popovich’s adjustment, the game was all Marina’s, which opened the fourth quarter with a 15-3 run.

Freshman center Cherokee Parks played a key role in the victory, scoring 10 points, getting 10 rebounds and blocking 4 shots. He also helped control Kevin Andersen, Fountain Valley’s leading scorer, who finished with 12 points.

Edison 65, Huntington Beach 61--Alvin Loftis scored 24 points to lead Edison (15-10, 5-5) at Huntington Beach. The victory tied Edison with Fountain Valley for third playoff. After Edison took a 38-23 halftime lead, Huntington Beach rallied and drew within 61-59, with less than two minutes to play. But Edison guard Dirk Paul and forward Chip Hanlon each made two free throws each down the stretch. David Bonaparte led Huntington Beach (2-8 in league) with 13 points.

Ocean View 66, Westminster 63--Ocean View, which had not lost a game since the league opener, was looking at defeat with 30 seconds to play. Host Westminster led by two points and had an open shot but lost the ball out of bounds. Craig Rice, who led Ocean View with 15 points, scored and was fouled. He made a free throw, and Ocean View (14-7, 9-1) had the lead for good. Chris Tower led Westminster (2-8 in league play) with 26 points and Eric Kutas scored 15.