Fountain Valley boys’ basketball beats Yorba Linda, advances to CIF semifinals for first time

The Fountain Valley High boys’ basketball team may be young, but there is a certain level of maturity and poise that the Barons have.

Third-year coach D’Cean Bryant wouldn’t have it any other way.

“The young guys, they’re mentally toughening up,” Bryant said. “We tell them all the time, it’s not about who scores the points. Make the winning play. Be ready to make the winning play, whether that’s a charge, getting a big-time rebound, getting a 50-50 ball.”

In a close game and trying to reach a plateau the program never had before, the Barons did not break Tuesday night in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 3A playoffs.

Instead, they went harder.

Third-seeded Fountain Valley broke open the contest, owning the fourth quarter to earn a 61-50 win at Yorba Linda. The Barons, in their 54th season, have advanced to the semifinals for the first time in program history.

Fountain Valley’s Jeremiah Davis (5) goes up for a shot against Yorba Linda’s Alex Davis in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 3A playoffs on Tuesday.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

The Barons (19-8) have further to travel on Saturday, when they play at No. 2-seeded Indio Shadow Hills in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Shadow Hills beat Simi Valley 60-54 in another quarterfinal game Tuesday. Junior Jeremiah Davis scored a game-high 20 points for Fountain Valley, the Wave League runner-up which pulled away from North Hills League champion Yorba Linda (18-13) late.

Neither team led by more than five points until the fourth quarter, when the Barons erupted for 23 points. John Kubas and Aden Casarez each had big three-pointers in the fourth quarter for the visitors.

Kubas’ three-pointer from the corner gave Fountain Valley a 49-43 lead with 3:09 remaining. Casarez’s triple, also from the corner, essentially iced the game, putting the Barons up 59-49 with about a minute to go.

“Our energy picked up a lot, and our defense picked up as well,” Davis said. “Our hands were active, and we were just watching the ball and communicating a lot. That helped us.”

Fountain Valley’s Aden Casarez (1) goes up for a shot against Yorba Linda’s Connor Platt, left, Cory Knutson, center, and Chance Sandoval, right, in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 3A playoffs on Tuesday.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

Junior guard Preston Amarillo had 14 points and Casarez scored 10 points for the Barons, while Kubas made all three of his shots on his way to eight points. Roddy Anderson had seven points and 12 rebounds for the winners, who overcame the loss of freshman guard Macarhy Morris to a leg injury in the first quarter.

Senior guard Omair Memon led Yorba Linda with 14 points, 11 coming in the first quarter.

Casarez had four steals for the Barons, who were often able to turn Yorba Linda turnovers into points on the other end.

“When you’re not scoring, you’ve got to tell your guys to play defense,” Bryant said. “I felt like we were getting some bad calls, and our biggest thing was to keep playing, stay in it. You’ve going to hit the road and you’re going to get some bad calls. It isn’t always going to go your way, so you’ve got to stay mentally tough. You’ve got to be able to look to the guy to the left and to the right, look at our staff, and say, ‘Hey, we’re in it together.’”

Despite making program history, Fountain Valley believes it still has work to do. Just two wins separate the gritty Barons from their first CIF championship.

“Coach always tells us to keep our cool,” Amarillo said. “If we don’t do that, we shouldn’t be in the game, especially in the fourth quarter. We know we’re young and people don’t expect us to do things. But we’ve been working harder than every single team out here, and I think we’re just ready for it.”

Fountain Valley’s Preston Amarillo (0) and his teammates celebrate late in a CIF Southern Section Division 3A quarterfinal playoff game at Yorba Linda on Tuesday.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

CIF Southern Section Division 3A playoffs

Quarterfinal

Fountain Valley 61, Yorba Linda 50

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Fountain Valley 10 – 19 – 9 – 23 — 61

Yorba Linda 14 – 10 – 12 – 14 — 50

FV – Davis 20, Amarillo 14, Casarez 10, Kubas 8, Anderson 7, Nelson 2.

3-pt. goals – Casarez 2, Kubas 2, Amarillo 1.

Fouled out – Kubas.

Technicals – None.

YL – Memon 14, Platt 13, Knutson 11, Sandoval 8, Ishikawa 3, Davis 1.

3-pt. goals – Memon 2, Sandoval 2, Ishikawa 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

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