Irvine Valley Basketball Team Finally Gets a Place to Call a Home Court

Bill Mulligan, the Irvine Valley basketball coach, is a happy man.

But his joy isn’t limited to the improving play of his team. He has another reason for his glee.

Irvine Valley is about to play its first game in the new campus gym. The Lasers, in their third year, play their first home game at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Palomar. Irvine Valley plays host to Grossmont at the same time Saturday.

For the first two years of the program, Mulligan’s team led a nomadic life, playing home games at Capistrano Valley and Laguna Hills high schools. Practices were on the road--and often in the evening after the high school teams were finished.

“We’re thrilled to have a gym,” Mulligan said. “We are really looking forward to that home game. I hope we have a big crowd.”

The game itself also will be important for Irvine Valley, because center Keon Clark is scheduled to return to the lineup after recovering from an ankle injury.

Clark, a 6-foot-11 freshman from Danville, Ill., has received high praise from Mulligan, who said he has the potential to be a first-round NBA draft pick if he continues to develop.

Clark averaged 25 points in the first four games, then sprained his ankle in the final minutes of a practice. He is expected back Friday after missing about three weeks.

“The big guy was the best he’s ever been before he got hurt,” Mulligan said. “I don’t know how he’s going to come back but he should be fine.”

Irvine Valley was 3-1 with Clark, and Mulligan wasn’t sure how the team would react with him out.

Pushed by the improved play of several, including Josh Porter, the Lasers have won five of their last seven and are 5-4 without Clark. Irvine is 8-5 overall.

Porter, a 6-5 freshman forward from Mater Dei, was selected to the all-tournament teams at the Riverside and Orange Coast tournaments.

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Final poll: Bakersfield (10-1) was the top-ranked team in the season-ending Southland football poll.

Los Angeles Valley (10-1) was second, Rancho Santiago (9-2) third, Long Beach (9-2) fourth, College of the Desert (9-2) fifth, El Camino (9-2) sixth, Cerritos (8-3) seventh, Palomar (8-3) eighth, Fullerton (7-3-1) ninth, and Moorpark (8-3) 10th.

Rancho Santiago finished 12th and Fullerton 28th in the final J.C. Grid-Wire national rankings. Trinity Valley of Texas was 12-0 and won the Grid-Wire’s title. City College of San Francisco (11-0) finished second.

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Tournaments: Cypress plays host to a men’s basketball tournament and Orange Coast has a women’s tournament this week.

The Cypress tournament starts Thursday with El Camino vs. College of the Canyons at 2 p.m.; Golden West vs. Santa Monica at 4 p.m.; L.A. Trade Tech vs. Long Beach at 6 p.m. and Cypress vs. Victor Valley at 8 p.m.

The tournament continues Friday and the championship is at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Cypress (10-3) is coming off a third-place finish in the 16-team Riverside tournament.

Accurate three-point shooting is one reason for Cypress’ success. The Chargers are averaging 11 three-pointers in 26 shots per game. Gil Gonzales, a freshman from Orange High, has made 56. Matt Kennedy has 42 and Jeff Rutter has made 30.

The Pasadena tournament also starts Thursday with Fullerton taking on Los Angeles Valley at 4 p.m. and Rancho Santiago playing Cuesta at 6 p.m. Rancho Santiago beat Fullerton in the championship of the tournament last season.

Orange Coast is the site of the Coast Christmas women’s tournament starting Friday with Los Angeles Trade Tech vs. Saddleback at 1:30 p.m.; Chaffey vs. Fullerton at 3:30 p.m.; El Camino vs. Southwestern at 5:30 p.m. and Los Angeles Valley vs. Orange Coast at 7:30 p.m. The El Camino-Southwestern meeting is a rematch of last year’s title game, won by El Camino.

The tournament continues Saturday and the championship game is at 4 p.m. Sunday.