Villa Park Averts Upset by Canyon

Matt Waldrip’s free-throw shooting and Matt MacGinnis’ three-point shot in overtime enabled fourth-ranked Villa Park to avert an upset Friday as the Spartans held on to defeat visiting Canyon, 66-62, in a Century League boys’ basketball game.

Waldrip went three for four at the line to give the Spartans (15-3, 3-0) a one-point cushion, and MacGinnis’ 24-foot shot sealed the victory. MacGinnis finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Derron Putnam provided the primary offense for Canyon (9-9, 2-1), scoring 24 of his 30 points in the second half.

In the South Coast League:

No. 3 El Toro 71, No. 10 San Clemente 65--Trailing by 15 points early, El Toro rallied to defeat San Clemente at El Toro.

The Chargers (17-1, 2-0) rebounded from a 22-7 deficit with an 18-0 run that gave them the lead for good. San Clemente (11-4, 0-2) got no closer than three points.

Chris Parish sank seven three-pointers and finished with 29 points for El Toro, and Ashkan Nazeri scored 20. Matt Green had 18 points and 17 rebounds and Ken Tanaka added nine assists for the Chargers.

No. 7 Capistrano Valley 72, Mission Viejo 67 (OT)--Capistrano Valley led at halftime, 30-25, but was trailing near the end of regulation before Brian Mallon made two free throws in the last 12 seconds to tie the score, 59-59.

The Cougars made eight of eight free throws in overtime to win. Mallon finished with 19 points, Matt Sweany had 21 and Pete DeCasas had 18. Capistrano Valley is 15-2, 2-0. Travis Niesen led Mission Viejo (12-6, 1-1) with 25 points.

In the Empire League:

No. 9 El Dorado 69, Kennedy 33--Kyle Miller scored 16 points, Mike Wulff had 14 and David Patten added 12 for the Golden Hawks (16-2, 2-0). Kennedy is 11-7, 1-1.

In the Freeway League:

Buena Park 47, Sunny Hills 43--Randy Urias had 16 points and Chris Ingram had nine as visiting Buena Park (5-13, 1-1) completed a come-from-behind victory by outscoring Sunny Hills, 16-8, in the fourth quarter.

Tony Gonzalez had 16 points for the Lancers (12-6, 1-1).

Fullerton 50, La Habra 40--Virgil Bobar had 21 points and 12 rebounds for visiting Fullerton (14-5, 1-1), which outscored the Highlanders, 24-9, in the final quarter.

Sonora 79, Troy 40--Jake Trejo scored 17 points and Marcellus Robertson added 15 for the visiting Raiders (16-3, 2-0). Garv Chadha scored nine points and Nate Gilkes had eight for Troy (10-9, 1-1).

In the Golden West League:

No. 5 Ocean View 83, Santa Ana 48--Torin Beeler had 22 points, 14 rebounds and six assists and Marques Crane added 16 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for the host Seahawks (15-3, 3-0).

Saddleback 42, Tustin 38--Robert Gonzalez made a layup with 30 seconds remaining to put the game away for host Saddleback (5-14, 1-1). Ismael Isais had 21 points and seven assists and Gonzalez finished with nine points for the Roadrunners.

Chris Chester had 11 points for Tustin (8-11, 1-2).

In the Orange League:

Brea Olinda 65, Magnolia 63--Ryan Moore scored 21 points to lead Brea (9-9, 1-1). Geoffrey Clayton had 36 points for Magnolia.

Valencia 52, Anaheim 42--Keinan Briggs had 16 points and Emanuel Ortega had 12 points for visiting Valencia (1-1 in league). Quinn Hawking had 16 points for Anaheim (8-10, 0-2).

In the Pacific Coast League:

University 87, Costa Mesa 77--Jason Garey and Hiro Christoph each made seven three-pointers and combined to score 63 points as host University (10-7, 2-0) went on a 13-2 run early in the final quarter to put away a close game. Garey had 32 points, Christoph 31.

Mike Payne had 18 points for Costa Mesa (11-6, 1-1).

In the Sea View League:

No. 8 Newport Harbor 59, Laguna Hills 50--Tony Melum had 28 points and 14 rebounds for the Sailors (16-3, 2-0). Aaron Yarnal scored 14, but his consecutive free-throw streak was stopped at 37. Laguna Hills is 0-2 in league.

Aliso Niguel 69, Irvine 52--Zach Zanolli was 13 of 13 from the free-throw line, finishing with 23 points, Brando Sievers scored 13 points and Ricky Ebell blocked seven shots for the host Wolverines (12-7, 1-0). Jorian Guinn scored 12 points for Irvine (9-10, 0-2).

In the Sunset League:

Fountain Valley 56, Huntington Beach 52--The Oilers’ Nick Austin missed two long-range shots in the last 20 seconds, and Fountain Valley (10-8, 2-0) sealed the win with a final free throw.