Irvine World News Tournament : Irvine Cruises Past Savanna and Wins Title

The championship game of the Irvine World News tournament Saturday night in the Bren Center was played out at a downright dull pace.

That suited Irvine High School, though, as the Vaqueros walked off with a 47-35 victory over Savanna in front of 1,007.

Irvine (7-0) got out in front of Savanna early and seized control of the pace and never let go. The Vaqueros’ plodding, passing-game offense and a swarming defense contributed greatly to the slow pace and to the Rebels’ demise.

“Once they get the tempo going their way, it’s tough to get them out of it,” Savanna Coach Tom Gregory said. “It gets you in a trance until you lose your concentration.”

Savanna suffered through 38% shooting for the game and never got closer than 6 points in the second half. The Rebels trailed, 24-15, at halftime after shooting just 29%.

Irvine made 9 of 12 shots from the field in the second half, which was one reason Savanna (9-1) was unable to rally. The Vaqueros shot 52% for the game.

Irvine center Raphael Molle, the tournament MVP, had a game-high 17 points and made 7 of 10 from the field and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line. Bryan Allred and John Molle had 13 each for the Vaqueros.

Mustapha Abdi led Savanna with 10 points.

“It was pretty ugly out there, but we kind of survived it,” Irvine Coach Steve Keith said. “I think the two teams mirror each other. Both have good man-to-man defense and patient offenses.”

Raphael Molle got Irvine started by hitting his first 2 jumpers and the Vaqueros never trailed. Despite his large, 6-foot 5-inch, 265-pound frame, Molle showed a remarkably soft touch on his jumpers.

He also was able to control the key area and kept Savanna’s front line under wraps.

Center Tim Tillman had just 2 points and reserve forward Eric Preuss added 6, thanks to Molle’s fine defense.

Abdi was the only Rebel who seemed to be able to dent the Vaqueros’ pressure defense. But he had just 4 points, all in the fourth quarter, in the second half.

And while Molle patrolled the inside, Allred and point guard Steve Dunmeyer ran the offense and helped break Savanna’s pressure defense.

That the Rebels reached the title game was an unexpected bonus for Gregory, who figured it would take longer for the team to jell.

“I had made other plans for (Saturday night),” Gregory said. “I didn’t expect to be here at all.”

Keith, too, expressed surprise at reaching the final.

“If you can survive a 32-team tournament, it’s an accomplishment,” Keith said. “There aren’t any important games in December, but still winning this is an accomplishment.”

In other Irvine tournament games:

University 59, Kennedy 56--Kennedy’s Jim Barker missed a 3-point jumper with 2 seconds left that would have sent the game into overtime as University hung on to win the third-place game.

Pat Farrell led University with 12 points, 6 in the fourth quarter. Junior Oliver and Erik Glassen added 8 each for the Trojans. Oliver’s layup with less than a minute to play gave University a 59-56 lead.

Barker led Kennedy with 15 points. Mike Pettengill and Greg Hansell had 10 apiece for Kennedy.

Millikan 63, Marina 54--Cherokee Parks, Marina’s 6-10 sophomore center, had a game-high 25 points, but it wasn’t enough in the fifth-place game. Demetrius Mayhand had 18 points to lead Millikan.

Saddleback 76, Riverside North 46--Craig Marshall had a game-high 20 points to lead Saddleback to the seventh-place game win. Tony Agnew added 14 and Sean Simon 13 for the Roadrunners. Aaron Butler had 18 points to lead North.

Long Beach Poly 77, Brea-Olinda 73 (OT)--Poly overcame a 35-point performance by Brea’s Keith Walker to take the ninth-place game. Melvin Jones led Poly with 21 points.

Santa Ana 43, Foothill 37 (OT)--Santa Ana held Foothill scoreless in the overtime and won the 11th-place game. Mike Zamora had 22 points to lead Santa Ana. Foothill’s Mark Wilkinson had 14 points.

Dana Hills 38, Edison 36 (3 OT)--John Lloyd had 16 points to lead Dana Hills to the consolation title. Tom Tyler had 11 points and Steve Thobe 10 for Edison.