ORANGE HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT : Foothill Stretches Winning Streak

It’s not often one loses a 6-foot-7 center and goes on a winning streak, but that’s what Foothill High School has done since Jamal Duff quit the team two weeks ago.

Foothill rolled to its seventh consecutive victory since Duff’s departure, defeating Orange Lutheran, 65-41, in the opening round of the 25th Orange Holiday Tournament Tuesday at Chapman College’s Hutton Sports Center.

Foothill (7-3) went on an 11-1 run to open the second half and break open a close game. Forward Fred Amos tipped in an errant shot at the buzzer to end the third quarter and push Foothill ahead, 48-29.

Mark Wilkinson scored 21 points, and Coach Jim Reames credited Wilkinson’s move to the inside as the key to Foothill’s turnaround after losing its opening three games.

“He scored 14 points in our first two games, and he’s averaged 27 points in our last six games,” Reames said. “When Mark moved from the perimeter to the inside, that’s when we started winning. He plays much better with his back to the basket.”

Amos also has been playing well after struggling early, averaging 10 rebounds a game. He is shooting only 33% from the field, but the 6-6 forward often gets the rebounds of his missed shots.

“We’re not very pretty, but we’ve been getting the job done,” Reames said. “I told the team to start going inside and we turned the game around in the third quarter.”

In other first-round games:

Marina 86, Orange 48--Center Cherokee Parks had 26 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks for Marina (7-4). Parks made 11 of 15 shots before leaving with six minutes remaining.

Marina made 36 of 68 shots and had four players with five or more rebounds. Carlos Duran led Orange (5-4) with 17 points.

Saddleback 75, Kennedy 59--Guard Andre McFarlane and forward Elton Moore each scored 18 points for Saddleback (8-4). Jim Barker had 16 points for Kennedy.

El Toro 95, Composite 32--El Toro breezed to its ninth consecutive victory and came close to breaking the tournament’s single-game scoring record of 103 points against the team from Alberta, Canada.

Mater Dei 79, Long Beach Wilson 31--Mater Dei forced 25 turnovers and made 33 of 56 shots. Danny O’Neil made all four of his shots in the first quarter as the Monarchs opened a 24-8 lead.