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Irvine Uses a Second-Half Balancing Act to Stop Marina

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Steve Keith, Irvine High School’s basketball coach, had a simple message for his team at halftime Friday night in the semifinals of the Irvine World News Tournament.

“Well guys, John (Molle) has carried us for a half, now let’s see what you can do,” Keith said.

Molle’s teammates got the message, responding with a total team effort in the second half that gave Irvine a 59-50 victory over Marina and into tonight’s championship game against Capistrano Valley at Christ College Irvine.

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Molle scored 23 of Irvine’s 30 points in the first half, including 15 points in the second quarter, when he made all seven of his shots as Irvine opened a four-point lead. Despite the lead, something was missing offensively.

“John put on a great performance in the first half, but I wanted to see the others step forward and contribute,” Keith said. “I was pleased with their reaction. I’ve been expecting this for nine games, and we finally got it tonight.”

Guard Brian Boothroyd scored 11 of his 14 points in the third quarter and teammate Jado Lee added eight points in the fourth quarter for Irvine (9-0). There also was a big basket by reserve Ryan Evans, who turned on Marina center Cherokee Parks inside and scored for a 48-42 lead with 7 minutes 2 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

And Molle? He had taken only two shots in the second half when he hit a three-pointer for a 56-46 lead with 3:46 left and then Irvine went into a delay game that further frustrated Marina (6-4).

Marina used an effective box-and-one defense against Molle in the second half, but Vikings Coach Steve Popovich insisted that Irvine is anything but a one-man team.

“I wasn’t going down with Molle scoring 90 (points), so we went with the box-and-one after halftime,” he said. “But Irvine is a solid team. It isn’t like Molle is their only player.”

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Marina was outscored, 16-8, in the last quarter and made only two of seven field-goal attempts. Parks had a very quiet 24 points and 12 rebounds, if that’s possible for a 6-foot-11 All-American center, and guard Sean Haselrig added 17 points.

University 91, Mission Viejo 85--Junior center Donnell Dowdy scored 28 points and teammate David Bianco added 13 points, including a pair of three-point shots in the third quarter when University (3-5) turned the game around. Mission Viejo is 3-5.

Santa Ana 77, Orange Lutheran 64--Forward Chauncey Woolridge scored 15 of his 28 points in the first quarter as Santa Ana took a 21-13 lead and never trailed.

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