CENTURY LEAGUE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Santa Ana Shows Its True Colors With 72-61 Victory Over El Modena

It has taken nearly two months for Santa Ana High School’s basketball team to live up to preseason expectations, but the wait appears to be over.

Santa Ana, playing its best game of the season, rolled to a 72-61 victory over El Modena Friday night in a Century League tripleheader at Century High School.

Santa Ana (8-11, 3-3) opened the second half of league play by avenging a two-point loss to El Modena and serving notice that it will be a force in its final four games.

El Modena missed its opening eight shots and never recovered, falling behind, 8-0, before Coach Tim Tivenan could call a timeout. El Modena staged a late rally, moving to within seven points, 54-47, when Greg Gottlieb made a three-point shot with 3 minutes 9 seconds remaining. But Santa Ana guard Octavio Medina responded with two consecutive baskets to hold off El Modena. Medina finished with 20 points, including three consecutive shots to open the second half that gave Santa Ana a 10-point cushion.

“Medina hurt us,” Tivenan said. “That wasn’t the same team we played in the first round. They shot the ball better and played harder on both ends of the court.”

Gottlieb led El Modena (11-9, 3-3) with 24 points and made four three-point shots. He missed all three of his shots in the first quarter but was El Modena’s only consistent scorer the remainder of the game.

Afterward, Santa Ana Coach Nash Rivera seemed a bit relieved following seven weeks of frustration. Santa Ana won 19 games last year and was expected to contend for the league title.

But forward Chauncy Woolridge missed two games for personal reasons and Oscar Wilson was slow to make the transition from football to basketball. Predictably, the Saints have struggled.

“It was nice to see the players loose tonight,” Rivera said. “The tempo was conducive to our style of play. We actually got into a running game and the players off the bench helped.

“I think we could have been 5-1 if we didn’t lose Chauncy. I just hope we continue to play like we did tonight.”

Medina provided the spark, hitting a three-point shot, a 12-foot jumper and then scoring on a layup in about 90 seconds to open the second half. Medina’s layup moved Santa Ana ahead, 44-29.

In other league games:

Foothill 66, Villa Park 32--Center Fred Amos scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as Foothill won its sixth consecutive game.

Foothill (14-6, 6-0) had a 36-17 rebounding advantage and had a 63-28 lead with three minutes remaining when Coach Jim Reames emptied his bench.

“Fred Amos played great,” Reames said. “We’re playing well, but we can play better. We’ve got the size to play with anybody, the key for us is the point guard position.”

Canyon 51, Santa Ana Valley 42--Forward Kevin Wilborn scored 15 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as Canyon (11-9, 4-2) moved into sole possession of second place in the league.

Santa Ana Valley (4-12, 1-5) held a 12-8 lead at the end of the first quarter but committed 10 turnovers in the second quarter as its lead disappeared.

Santa Ana Valley committed 25 turnovers, had three starters foul out and another benched in the final minute of play for unsportsmanlike conduct.