BOYS’ BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Huntington Beach Maintains Its Image
Anyone looking for the power in the Sunset League need look no further than Huntington Beach. Again.
The Oilers proved that with a 52-39 victory over Edison in the league opener Wednesday night at Edison.
Edison certainly had the credentials to offer a challenge. The Chargers (7- 2, 0-1) came into the game ranked seventh in the county.
But Huntington Beach (7-6, 1-0) jumped to a 9-2 lead and never trailed. The Oilers led by as many as 18 points and Edison got no closer than eight in the second half.
“Once you get into league, things change,” Oiler Coach Roy Miller said.
Or they don’t.
The Oilers have won 19 consecutive league games dating to 1992. That includes a 14-0 record a year ago.
“I know if I was on another team, I would want to beat Huntington Beach bad,” center Tony Gonzalez said. “We killed teams last season.”
There were those who thought they could get revenge, especially after the Oilers got off to a 2-6 start this season. After all, they had only one starter back.
That starter was Gonzalez. The 6-foot-5 senior carried the Oilers, as he has done much of the season. He finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.
“We told Tony before the season that he was going to have to be the main guy this year,” Miller said.
Gonzalez has not shied from that responsibility. He seems to relish it.
During one slow moment Wednesday, Miller said: “Tony, do you need a (rest)?”
“No, I need the ball,” a frustrated Gonzalez replied.
The Chargers did their best to keep the ball away from Gonzalez. They draped two, sometimes three, guys on him. Gonzalez still made nine of 16 shots, including two dunks.
On defense, he was equally intimidating.
In the third quarter, Edison’s Ben Beard got an offensive rebound, only to have his shot swatted into the stands. Beard got offensive rebounds on the Chargers’ next two possessions. He threw the ball away on one and traveled on the other.
Edison, forced outside, made only 13 of 49 shots. The Chargers were five of 23 on three-pointers.
In the end, they proved to be no match for the Oilers.
