SUNSET LEAGUE BOYS’ BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Huntington Beach Beats Edison to Finish Undefeated in League

Richard Chang and Rick DiBernardo at Edison couldn’t do it. Neither could Ricky Butler and Dezi Hazely at Ocean View. Nor Jamal Garner and Danny Thompson at Huntington Beach.

For 15 years, no team had finished undefeated in the Sunset League until Huntington Beach completed its league run Friday night with an 81-40 victory over visiting Edison.

Huntington Beach (24-3, 14-0) became the league’s first undefeated team since Fountain Valley posted back-to-back unbeaten seasons starting in 1976-77.

Huntington Beach was impressive in every phase of the game.

“The players know the formula to winning and that’s playing together as a team,” Huntington Beach Coach Roy Miller said. “Last year, it was five individuals. This year, they’ve worked together and won together.”

Teamwork was evident in the first half when the Oilers opened a 50-13 lead. During a 16-0 run, center Tony Gonzalez scored 10 points and dominated the boards.

There was a give-and-go pass from Chris Jones to Matt Ambrose that resulted in a layup that pushed Huntington Beach ahead, 32-11, early the second quarter.

And Jonathan Wimbish added spark when he replaced Bryan Chang, who had gotten into early foul trouble.

But it has been Ambrose’s play that has elevated Huntington Beach’s game.

Ambrose finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds, but more importantly, he played with a high level of intensity for three quarters before Miller cleared his bench.

“Matt has elevated his game in our last four games,” Miller said. “He’s playing great defense and really going to the boards. When Tony and Matt are on, we’re pretty tough to beat.”

Gonzalez, the top contender for the league’s most valuable player honors, finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds after some banging with Edison center Kyle Murphy. Gonzalez’s dunk after Jones missed a shot in the third quarter was the most entertaining play of the night.

The game didn’t exactly provide the momentum for Edison (17-8, 9-5) heading into the playoffs. Reserve Geoff Cochrane was the only player to score in double figures, scoring all 10 of his points in the third quarter.

Huntington Beach had 71 points after three quarters of play, but afterward Miller cited his team’s defense as the difference between his team and the rest of the league.

“Our defense is pretty tough, huh?” Miller said. “We had a similar game like this against Ocean View in the Tournament of Champions where we outscored them, 48-17, in the first half.

“This game was important in that we wanted to send a message to the CIF (Southern Section) before the pairings are announced. We’re one of the top teams and hopefully we’ll get a good draw.”

In other league games:

Fountain Valley 63, Westminster 49--Dan Keller and Ara Petrosian each scored 13 points for host Fountain Valley (12-12, 6-8). Robert Ishii scored 14 points for Westminster (2-12 in league). Fountain Valley will meet Servite in a playoff game for the league’s fourth berth in the Southern Section playoffs at 8 a.m. today at Edison High.

Servite 62, Santa Ana 40--David Downs scored 19 points for host Servite (5-9 in league). John Boyd had 14 points for Santa Ana (8-16, 4-10).