Tournament of Champions starts Saturday in HB

The Marina and Edison gymnasiums will be the host sites for the Larry Doyle/Dan Wiley Tournament of Champions starting Saturday.

The 16-team girls’ basketball tournament, which includes local schools Marina, Edison and Fountain Valley, starts at 9 a.m. and continues Monday through Wednesday next week. The championship game is 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Saturday’s Schedule

9 a.m.: Sonora vs. Marina; 10:30 a.m.: Cerritos vs. Cypress; Noon: Downey Warren vs. Valencia/Placentia; 1:30 p.m.: Edison vs. San Clemente; 3 p.m.: Redondo Union vs. Hawthorne; 4:30 p.m.: Yorba Linda vs. Fountain Valley; 6 p.m.: Foothill vs. Long Beach Wilson; 7:30 p.m.: Clovis West vs. Rivera.

In girls’ basketball action:

Ocean View gave Coach Kim Morris her 299th career victory by routing Mission Viejo, 53-25, in a nonleague game Saturday.

Senior guards Danelle Almiranez scored 14 points and Treasure Robinson had 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists for the Seahawks who took on Laguna Hills Tuesday at the Orange County North/South Challenge. The score wasn’t available at press time.

Ocean View will travel to Orlando, Fla. later this week to compete in the Disney KSA Events Holiday Basketball Tournament, which starts Saturday.

Edison squared its record at 1-1 Monday at the Santa Barbara Tournament by slipping past Arroyo Grande, 45-43. Senior shooting guard Jenny Kwok (four three-pointers) and senior forward Jackie Bento both scored 15 points for the Chargers.

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Boys’ Basketball

Senior guard Zamir Kelly sank two free throws with six seconds left and they dictated the difference in Saturday’s championship final of the Loatella Tournament and lifted Ocean View to a 64-63 victory over Anaheim Western.

The two free throws completed a 27 points, six assists and four steals performance for Kelly who was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Sophomore guard Paul Head (10 points) and sophomore center Mehkel Harvey (eight points, 10 rebounds, 10 blocks) also were named all-tournament.

Ocean View went 4-0 to win the tourney title.

“We came together in this tournament and played with the energy and toughness that we have been hoping for,” Ocean View co-head Coach Roger Holmes said. “Western is a physical, tough, defensive team and we matched their intensity and outplayed them on both ends in the second half. Mehkel [Harvey] dominated the inside with 10 blocks and 10 rebounds. At 6-foot-6, he poses some problems for people inside.

“A couple of close games in the [Ocean View] Tournament of Champions seemed to help us in this one as we played tougher and more poised down the stretch than we have showed. It’s a great way to go into break before heading to Las Vegas.”

Ocean View starts play at the Vegas Invitational at 7:30 p.m. Saturday against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.

Also at the Loatella Tournament, Brethren Christian was edged Saturday in its final game, 41-39, by co-host Katella. Junior guard Nate Sagastume led the Warriors in scoring with 16 points, senior Sam Kennard led in rebounds with 17 caroms, and junior guard Joey Gutierrez had a team-high seven assists.

BC went 0-4 at the tournament.

“We got better and better defensively over the course of the tournament,” BC Coach Jon Bahnsen said. “With three athletes out with injury right now, our younger players got plenty of experience to help us as we move forward.”

The Warriors begin play Saturday at the MaxPreps Tournament, playing a 12:30 p.m. game against host Rancho Mirage Palm Valley.

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•Edison reached the championship final of the Irvine World News Tournament Saturday where the Chargers held the lead through three quarters on Northwood but were outscored, 17-6 in the fourth quarter by the Timberwolves and lost, 63-55. Junior guard Randall Walker scored 18 points and senior guard Nate Matthews 10 points, senior center Tommy Barlow nine points and sophomore guard David Atencio eight points for the Chargers.

Walker and Matthews were named all-tournament.

“We played very well but ran out of gas after playing nine games in 13 days,” Edison Coach Rich Boyce said. “We lost to a very good and well-coached Northwood team.”

Edison (8-2) took on Tesoro Tuesday at the Orange County North/South Challenge. The score wasn’t available at press time. The Chargers begin play Saturday at the Palm Desert Tournament and face Antelope Valley at 3:30 p.m. at Cathedral City High.

Huntington Beach took on Laguna Beach Monday in the Orange County North/South Challenge at El Toro High, held a double-digit lead both at the half and end of the third quarter, but dropped a 77-72 decision to the Breakers.

Junior guards Noah Gonzalez and Hayden Moore had 18 and 12 points, respectively, and sophomore center Justin Brodt led in rebounding with eight boards for the Oilers (6-6).

The teams met Dec. 16 at the Charlie Wilkins Tournament at Westminster High, and Laguna claimed a 58-48 victory.

“After losing to Laguna Beach a week ago, we talked about bringing more energy and enthusiasm for this game,” Huntington Coach Billy Thompson said. “I thought that our guys did that for the first 28 minutes of the game. We played smart, unselfish, and together. Unfortunately, in order to win games against tough teams, you have to finish and play all 32 minutes. This was a really tough lesson for us to learn.”

The Oilers concluded play Saturday at the Charlie Wilkins Tournament and lost to Capistrano Valley Christian, 56-45. Gonzalez and senior guard Nick Karidakis each had eight points and senior guard Nate Klein seven points.

“I thought that our team showed highs and lows in this tournament,” Thompson said of his group which went 2-2 in the tourney. “We show signs of real toughness and competitiveness, but need to learn consistency if we want to accomplish our goals for the season.”

The Oilers will be in Washington state next week for the Bellevue Tournament. They open against Kirkland (Wash.) Juanita at 6 p.m Monday at Bellevue College.

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•Marina traveled north this past week for the Les Curry Tournament at Davis High and posted a 2-2 record.

In their opener, the Vikings took on a host Davis team that came in averaging 90 points a game, held the Blue Devils 32 points below that average, but lost, 58-48. Freshman forward Jakob Alamudun scored 17 points and had five rebounds in the loss. The Vikings, already without senior point guard Braden Meyers (broken foot) for the tournament, lost leading scorer, senior forward Buzz Stafford, to an ankle injury early in the second quarter of the Davis game.

Stafford missed Marina’s next two games, a 44-40 loss to Ukiah and a 51-37 win over Citrus Heights San Juan, but came back in the Vikings’ tourney finale Monday against Dixon, and scored 15 points with five rebounds in a 47-42 win.

Alamudun, who had 16 points and had eight rebounds against Ukiah, and 24 points and 11 boards against San Juan, was named all-tournament.

“I thought we did a great job defensively without our two team captains (Meyers, Stafford),” Marina Coach Nick Racklin said. “We were just relying on a lot of guys who have never been in the position of ‘scorer’ before, and asking them to put points up.

“We are going to use the next couple weeks to get healthy and sharpen up for league play.”

In a nonleague game Dec. 16, Marina won, 67-58, at Fullerton Sunny Hills. Stafford had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Alamudun 15 points and 10 rebounds, and junior guard Chance Sommerville and senior guard Ethan Young scored 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Marina (11-3) is idle until it plays a 7 p.m. Jan. 5 game at Woodbridge.