BOYS’ BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Ian Long Plays Hero’s Role for Newport Harbor

Center Ian Long made two free throws with one second remaining to give Newport Harbor High School a 63-62 victory over Saddleback Tuesday night. The outcome kept his team in a first-place tie with Estancia and Corona del Mar in the Sea View League with one game remaining.

Long was fouled after grabbing an offensive rebound and his team trailing, 62-61. Long, a 260-pound center who is being recruited by several Division I colleges to play football, showed he’s adept in a pressure situation by calmly making both shots.

“I couldn’t hear while I was shooting,” Long said. “When I made the first one, the pressure was off because I knew the worst we could do was overtime. I knew if I made the second one, the game was over and I would be the hero.”

Saddleback (15-10, 4-5) overcame a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter by scoring 28 points and held a one-point lead with 12 seconds remaining. Newport Harbor (17-7, 6-3) missed the front end of four one-and-one free-throw opportunities in the final two minutes.

“We took a chance and started fouling them in the fourth quarter and it worked for a while,” Saddleback Coach Pat Quinn said. “This game was indicative of our season.”

Reserve Huy Nguyen scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half to lead Newport Harbor, missing only one shot. Nguyen was the leading scorer and most valuable player on Newport Harbor’s junior varsity team last season.

“Our last four games have been like this,” said Bob Sverum, Newport Harbor’s first-year coach. “We tried to give it away, but Ian came through.”

In other Sea View League games:

Estancia 53, Tustin 52--Torrey Hammond made a 10-foot jump shot with seven seconds remaining to give Estancia (15-8, 6-3) a come-from-behind victory. Estancia trailed, 52-49, with 37 seconds remaining when Hammond made two free throws to cut the deficit to one point. Tustin (18-6, 5-4) called a timeout with three seconds remaining but Phuong Tran’s three-point shot bounced off the remain at the buzzer.

Corona del Mar 72, University 53--Warren Johnson and John Paulson each had 16 points and Jeff Jackson added 10 to lead host Corona del Mar (15-9, 6-3). Klaus Perwas had 29 points for University.

In the Academy League:

Cal Lutheran 85, St. Michael’s 38--Brad Pluckhan had 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists and Rob Hasty had 20 points for visiting Cal Lutheran (10-7, 6-3). Jocques Wright had 18 points for St. Michael’s.

St. Margaret’s 71, Heritage Christian 33--Ryan Westendorf had 23 points and 20 rebounds as host St. Margaret’s (16-4, 9-0) clinched the league championship and won its 13th consecutive game. Dann Campaigne added 20 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter for St. Margaret’s, ranked second in the Southern Section Small Schools Division.

In the Olympic League:

Santa Margarita 85, Whitney 45--Dan Bathey had 28 points, Chris Stone 16, Jeff Layne 10 and Mike Guevara had four points and nine assists to lead host Santa Margarita (10-12, 7-6).

Orange Lutheran 71, Capistrano Valley Christian 54--Daryl Cole had 19 points for visiting Orange Lutheran. Jason Rodarmel had 13 points for Capistrano Valley Christian (8-12, 2-11).