BOYS’ BASKETBALL : GOLDEN WEST LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Ocean View Adds to Harris’ Celebration With Victory

After the certificates and proclamations and plaques, Ocean View Coach Jim Harris got the best gift of all Friday. A fast start from his basketball team and a 59-47 victory over Servite.

The Seahawks watched before the game as their coach was honored for his 300th career victory, at Westminster Jan. 20. They then jumped to a 12-2 lead and helped off the weakened Friars.

Servite closed in twice in the second half, but Ocean View made 11 of 13 free throws in the final 2 minutes 45 seconds to move into a second-place tie with the Friars in the Golden West League.

The bigger winner might be Tustin, which now has a two-game lead with four games remaining. But Harris was content enough with victory No. 301.

“We have been working on being more aggressive,” said Harris, the only coach in the school’s 17-year history. “We had backed off a little too much. For us to start fast was a good sign.”

It certainly helped the Seahawks (15-9, 4-2), as did the absence of their opponent’s go-to guy.

The Friars (14-6, 4-2), ranked eighth in Orange County, lost 6-foot-9 center Mark Seaton to a broken foot in December. But they still had enough to handle the Seahawks, 66-59, in the league opener.

But Servite played without 6-6 forward David Downs. Downs, who averages 19.4 points, sat out with a temperature of 103. He scored 22 points in the first meeting.

Without him, the Friars were left looking for effective combinations from role players and seldom-used reserves. They turned the ball over nine times in the first quarter and 16 times in the first half.

“We wanted to run, but it was all helter-skelter,” Coach Scott Hamilton said. “We couldn’t get into a rhythm.”

Ocean View made the most of the situation. The Seahawks got 10 first-quarter points from Dan McDonald and was leading, 23-11, by halftime.

But the Friars plugged some holes. They denied McDonald (18 points) the ball and found a few bright moments on offense.

Lance Day scored eight points and Adam Seaton six while alternating at Downs’ center spot. Day’s layup started a 8-0 burst that cut the Seahawk lead to 25-22 with four minutes left in the third quarter. But six quick points, four by McDonald, blunted the run.

The Friars made one more run. Peter Martinelli, their sophomore point guard, scored 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter. His layup and free throw cut the Seahawk lead to 41-36 with 5:32 left.

But McDonald countered with a layup and then Mike Seguin took over. He finished with 16 points, 11 in the fourth quarter.

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In another Golden West League game:

Westminster 71, Santa Ana 69--Westminster’s Aaron Boorman hit a jump shot from the baseline with six seconds remaining to break a 69-69 tie. The Lions intercepted Santa Ana’s subsequent inbound pass and ran out the clock to win. Raul Martinez scored 32 points for the Saints.