Huntington Beach Slows Up Indio

After watching his team give up 26 points in the first quarter, Huntington Beach basketball Coach Roy Miller wasn’t about to let the Oilers get into a footrace with Indio’s small, quick lineup.

So the Oilers slowed the pace and took advantage of a considerable height advantage to defeat Indio, 85-54, in a Southern Section Division I-A second-round game Tuesday night at Huntington Beach.

Huntington Beach (18-10) extended its winning streak to seven games and advanced to the section quarterfinals for the first time since 1983. The Oilers will meet second-seeded Riverside J.W. North Friday night at a site to be determined.

The Oilers trailed, 26-24, at the end of the first quarter, but they held Indio to only 28 points over the final three quarters, including 17 in the second half.

Indio (17-7) made 16 of 32 shots in the first half, but dropped to seven of 29 in the second half.

“We knew what we would be in for with Indio,” Miller said, “and they didn’t disappoint us with their running game.

“We didn’t do a good job on them with our man-to-man defense in the first half, so we went to a matchup zone. That kept our big guys closer to the basket and we started getting some rebounds.”

The Oilers dominated inside, outrebounding Indio, 60-19, including a 28-9 advantage on the offensive end.

Huntington Beach’s front line of Tony Gonzalez, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, 6-6 junior Matt Ambrose and 6-6 senior Jeff Vanderwal toyed with the Rajahs, whose tallest starter is 6-3.

Gonzalez did most of the damage, scoring a game-high 20 points and pulling down 15 rebounds, including 10 offensive boards. Ambrose came off the bench for 16 points and 17 rebounds (eight offensive), and Vanderwal added 12 points and seven rebounds (two offensive).

Ambrose had eight points and eight rebounds in the second quarter as Huntington Beach erased an eight-point, first-quarter deficit. The Oilers led, 41-37, at halftime.

Vanderwal and Ambrose each had four points as the Oilers outscored the Rajahs, 13-2, in the final 4:45 of the third quarter.

The Oilers led, 62-45, at the end of the quarter. The Rajahs never came closer.

The victory was the second in which the Oilers have surpassed 80 points in the playoffs. They beat University, 87-77, in a qualifying game before upsetting West Covina, 44-41, in the first round.