BOYS’ BASKETBALL : GOLDEN WEST LEAGUE ROUNDUP : McDonald Gets 34, but Servite Tips Ocean View

Playtime is over. League play has begun.

And if the Servite-Ocean View encounter Friday is an indication of things to come--a 66-59 bruise-a-thon won by the Friars in front of about 1,300 at Servite--there will be few easy nights in the Golden West League this season.

Servite (10-4, 1-0) survived a 34-point effort by Seahawk forward Dan McDonald, who also grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds despite being double- and triple-teamed.

Servite tried fronting the county’s leading scorer, clutching and grabbing, surrounding him the moment he got the ball. It managed to contain McDonald, with the exception of a 14-point third quarter that helped Ocean View (10-7, 0-1) reduce a 47-28 deficit to 51-43 going into the fourth quarter.

But McDonald seemed wearied by the constant pressure, scoring only two points the first 5:30 of the quarter, until he tossed in two desperation three-pointers. By that time Servite, which had seen the Seahawks get as close as 53-49, had moved back out in front, 61-51, made free throws down the stretch, and burned enough time off the clock to render Ocean View’s comeback futile.

“We did everything we could to deny him the ball,” Servite Coach Scott Hamilton said. “He is as good as advertised.”

Ocean View Coach Jim Harris thought the Friars were able to do more than the rules allowed.

“Dan was manhandled for three quarters,” Harris said. “And we didn’t respond real well to the physical play. I don’t think it was too well controlled by the officials either, and told them so. For them to be in one-and-one situations before us in the first half was ridiculous. They seemed to call it closer in the second half, but Servite plays great physical defense and we didn’t react to it.”

The Seahawks had as much difficulty slowing down Servite center David Downs, who led his team with 22 points. Downs was especially effective on the inside. He wriggled free from a variety of backdoor screens set by his teammates that resulted in easy layups.

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In other league games:

Tustin 70, Saddleback 56--David Lalazarian and Doug Gottlieb each had 17 points for second-ranked Tustin (14-1, 1-0), which outscored Saddleback, 19-8, in the third quarter. Bob Dryer had 15 points and Mike Ochoa added 14 for Saddleback (3-12, 0-1).

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Westminster 64, Santa Ana 53--Aaron Boorman had 23 points and Scott Yoshizaki had 15 for visiting Westminster (7-9, 1-0). Migur Zaludio had 16 points for Santa Ana (5-10, 0-1).