DIVISION II-AA : Oilers’ Other Guys Do Some Damage
In Huntington Beach’s convincing 81-69 victory over Trabuco Hills Tuesday night, the Oilers’ all-everything player Tony Gonzalez didn’t deliver the most damaging blows.
Sure Gonzalez had 30 points and 13 rebounds, but teammate Matt Malmquist made five three-pointers to help the hot-shooting Oilers (19-9) take an 11-point halftime lead and set the tone for their Division II-AA second-round boys’ basketball playoff victory at Trabuco Hills High.
The Oilers, who shot 65% (30 of 46) from the field, advanced to the quarterfinals to play second-seeded Inglewood, a 70-45 winner over Compton, Friday at a site to be determined.
“We knew Gonzalez would get his points,” Trabuco Hills Coach Rainer Wulf said. “We wanted to make sure to defend everyone else, but Malmquist scores 17 in the first half and that really deflated our bubble.
“If anyone thinks Huntington Beach is a one-man team they’re mistaken.”
Malmquist, a 6-foot-2 senior guard, helped take some of the pressure off Gonzalez with his 25 points. He made five of six from three-point range. Backcourt-mate Vasili Hatziris had two points and seven assists.
Huntington Beach forward Clay Chilcott came off the bench to score 15 points, making 12 of 13 free throws in the fourth quarter to ice the game.
While Chilcott, who had one three-pointer, and Malmquist worked the perimeter, Gonzalez scored from everywhere else.
The 6-foot-6, 230-pound senior, who has signed to play both basketball and football for California next season, had four dunks, two tip-ins, and even one three-pointer. He had 19 points at halftime and made 14 of 18 from the field.
The Oilers didn’t miss much in the final three quarters, making 22 of 28 (79%) from the field.
“We’ve been playing well,” Huntington Beach Coach Roy Miller said, “and we had to to keep up with Trabuco Hills. If they get on a roll, you better be able to do something on offense.”
Rob Warnick had 25 points and Ryan Karnoff added 21 to lead the Mustangs (22-6), who drew to 66-61 with 5 minutes remaining.
But Trabuco Hills missed its next seven shots and the rally fizzled as Chilcott began making his free throws.
“Most times this season, we came through in those situations,” Wulf said. “But it’s hard to keep coming back like that.”
In another Division II-AA game:
Glendora 58, Ocean View 53--Kevin Johnson scored 16 points and Mike Carney added 12 for host Ocean View, which finished the season 14-15. Cameron Murray, brother of Portland Trail Blazer Tracy Murray, had 30 points for Glendora (26-2).