Oxnard’s Curtis Delivers Against Newbury Park

He played a major role in a key second-half run, so it seemed appropriate that Nicholas Curtis of Oxnard High would make the basket that finished off Newbury Park in a pool-play game of the Thousand Oaks boys’ basketball tournament on Wednesday.

Curtis, a 6-foot-6 forward-center, scored off a lob from Jason Parker with 35 seconds left to give the Yellowjackets (5-1) a five-point lead on their way to a 68-60 victory.

Newbury Park (0-2) cut a 61-51 deficit with 2:45 left to 62-59 with 1:15 remaining, but Parker spotted a wide-open Curtis frantically waving his arms and fed him for an easy basket and a 64-59 advantage.

Curtis, a junior, had 28 points and 14 rebounds, including 24 points in the second half. He made 12 of 17 shots and had eight offensive rebounds in the game.

He scored nine points during a 21-7 run that saw Oxnard turn a 39-31 deficit with 3:42 left in the third quarter into a 52-46 lead with 6:07 remaining in the fourth.

The Yellowjackets were eight of nine from the field and five of six from the foul line during that stretch while getting Newbury Park to play an up-tempo game that favored Oxnard’s superior quickness.

“We figured we were a little bit faster than them,” Coach Henry Lobo said. “So we wanted to increase the pace of the game. There aren’t too many centers in Ventura County who can keep up with Nicky going up and down the court.”

Matthew Merricks, who had 10 points, four assists and four steals, was the only other player to score in double figures for Oxnard, the No. 3-ranked team in the region by The Times. But 10 players scored for the Yellowjackets, who will play Thousand Oaks in a semifinal game on Friday at 8:30 p.m.

Javad Esfandiary scored 13 points for Newbury Park and Shane Hosac and Matt Currie each had 12 for the No. 6 Panthers.

Newbury Park will play Saugus in a consolation game on Friday at 2:30 p.m.

In another pool play game:

Harvard-Westlake 73, Thousand Oaks 70--Russell Lakey put on a three-point shooting clinic while scoring a career-high 39 points, but the No. 8 Wolverines (3-0) had to stave off a late rally by the host Lancers.

Lakey, a 6-foot senior guard, hit seven of nine three-pointers, including some that were five or six feet beyond the three-point arc, but he didn’t attempt any in the fourth quarter.

John Karavas, who scored 13 points, hit a three-pointer with 3:09 left to give Harvard-Westlake a 67-56 lead, but No. 10 Thousand Oaks went on a 14-5 run to cut its deficit to 72-70 with four seconds remaining on a basket by Marcus Ellis.

The Lancers (5-1) made six of 11 shots during that stretch while Harvard-Westlake missed seven of 12 free throws.

The Wolverines will play Santa Barbara, which beat Saugus, 70-40, in a semifinal on Friday at 7 p.m.