CENTURY LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Defense Turns the Tide in El Modena’s Victory

The El Modena boys’ basketball team limited Villa Park to nine points in the second half and cruised to a 63-45 Century League victory Wednesday night at El Modena High School.

Villa Park (7-8, 1-1) took a 36-32 halftime lead thanks to the hot shooting of forward Ryan McArthur. McArthur had 13 points in the first half and repeatedly burned El Modena with short baseline shots.

But El Modena (11-5, 2-0) countered in the second half with a full-court press that created 14 turnovers and turned the game around. Villa Park made only four of 22 shots in the second half.

“I thought Gavin Brown did an excellent job of containing McArthur in the second half,” El Modena Coach Tim Tivenan said. “I knew they were one of the best offensive teams in the league. We didn’t do anything differently in the second half, we just executed better and played better defense.”

For at least one half, Villa Park showed that it is one of the most improved teams in the county. The Spartans, who were 4-17 record last season, outplayed El Modena before faltering.

“Our inexperience hurt us,” first-year Spartan Coach Chris Burton said. “We were executing the game plan pretty well, but when we started experiencing problems, there wasn’t a whole lot we could do about it. This team isn’t ready for major adjustments midway through a game.”

El Modena trailed, 21-13, entering the second quarter but scored eight consecutive points to tie the score. The score was tied five more times in the half before Villa Park moved ahead, 36-32.

El Modena opened the second half by hitting five consecutive shots to take a 42-38 lead and continued to pour it on. Reserve guard Erik Erickson made a three-point shot in the fourth quarter to push the Vanguards ahead, 53-42, and when Jon Leedom scored with 5:22 remaining on a follow shot, El Modena led, 57-42.

Aaron Aguilera, a junior forward for El Modena, was the steadiest player on the court, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

“He knows how to play the game,” Burton said. “He has great instincts on the court.”

In other Century League games:

Canyon 52, Orange 48--Tony Walker scored 19 points for Canyon (1-1). Jamiel Worthem scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half for Orange (8-7, 0-2). He scored eight of his points in the fourth quarter when Orange made a 13-point run to close the score to three points with 3:30 left.

Santa Ana Valley 50, Foothill 47--Jared Winger scored a game-high 25 points for Foothill (9-8, 1-1).