ORANGE LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Savanna Loses Its Hold on Brea

Brea-Olinda ended a four-game losing streak against Savanna with a 64-45 victory Wednesday night in an Orange League basketball game at Savanna.

The Wildcats took charge of the game when senior forward Keith Walker got untracked in the second quarter.

Walker, who entered the game averaging 34.6 points, was held scoreless for the opening seven minutes. But he got hot in the second quarter, scoring 15 points to lead Brea-Olinda to a 29-14 halftime lead. He finished with 32 points and 12 rebounds.

Brea-Olinda (17-3, 5-0) completed a perfect first half of league play by making Savanna work for its shots, then limiting its opponents to only one shot. Savanna (13-8, 3-2) made only 14 of 45 field goal attempts and forward Ben Smith was the team’s only effective offensive weapon.

Smith temporarily revived a sluggish Savanna offense by making three straight three-point shots and then added a 12-foot jumper to cut Brea’s 15-point lead to 37-29 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.

“We knew Smith was a streak shooter, but I liked our response when they got close,” said Rick Jones, Brea-Olinda coach. “The whole thing (league play) starts over again, and it’s going to be tough, but I’m happy where I’m at.”

Walker made 11 of 19 shots from the field and hit 7 of 9 attempts at the free-throw line.

Smith led Savanna with 18 points, including four three-point shots, and had eight rebounds.

“This game was very typical of our season . . . very inconsistent,” said Tom Gregory, Savanna coach.

In other league games:

Valencia 74, Anaheim 62--Richard Tibbie scored 30 points and Jason Bay added 20 to lead host Valencia (8-12, 2-3) over Anaheim (6-10, 1-4).

Western 98, Magnolia 54--Forward Robbie Shelton scored 26 points and had 15 rebounds to lead host Western. Sam Sabbara returned after missing three games and added 21 points for Western (13-5, 4-1).