Ocean View duo take over

SANTA ANA — The Ocean View High boys’ basketball team knew what to do on the big stage.

The experienced Seahawks showed it Saturday at the 15th annual Nike Extravaganza. And while Ocean View can’t depend on both its senior stars dropping 30-plus points on a consistent basis, when it happens it’s fun for Seahawks fans to watch.

Anthony Brown had 32 points and 12 rebounds and Avery Johnson added 30 points of his own as the Seahawks pulled away in the second half for an 83-67 victory over Orange Lutheran at Mater Dei High.

Orange Lutheran (17-7) stayed in the game for much of a sloppy first half, but when the game got up-and-down in the third quarter, the Seahawks (22-3) felt right at home. After scoring just 27 points in the first half, they scored 56 after the break.

“It was an ugly first half because of the half-court game,” Ocean View Coach Jim Harris said. “We’re not at our best in that situation. Then we finally went out and pressed, not really effective, but just the fact that we made the game a full-court game [was important]. All of a sudden a few turnovers, they missed some shots and we got some fast breaks in the transition game.”

Johnson had 11 third-quarter points as the Seahawks pulled away, as well as two assists on nice passes to Chris Martinez and Brown, the latter resulting in a three-point play. Johnson then got a three-point play of his own in transition, building the lead to 48-38 midway through the quarter.

The 32 points for Brown matched a career-high set earlier this year against La Verne Lutheran, and Johnson’s 30 was also a season-high. They combined to go 11-of-11 from the free-throw line and seemed to take over the scoring load at different times of the game. Brown scored 10 in the first quarter and Johnson scored 23 in the second half.

“I love the big games,” said the Stanford-bound Brown. “It’s a chance to show everyone what I’ve got. I just try to cut and move and get easy baskets, along with the rebounding. In big games, I just seem to have my shot. My shot just feels good in big games, and Mater Dei’s a great court to shoot at.”

Ryan Okwudibonye had seven points and 10 rebounds for the Seahawks and guard Steven Yoon had seven points off the bench. James Douglas and Tyler Funk each scored 17 to lead Orange Lutheran.

The Seahawks, the top-ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division III-AA, have won 15 games in a row. They have big plans after making it to the CIF State Division III title game last year only to fall to Sacred Heart Cathedral. Yet they really haven’t been challenged in the Golden West League, making games like Saturday’s important.

Last year, the Seahawks lost to King of Riverside at the Nike Extravaganza, but caught fire immediately afterward.

“Especially this year, we’re pretty good,” Harris said. “I don’t normally go around saying that, but we’re pretty darn good. We’re expected to be good. Those expectations are a little bit of a burden, and you can get a false sense of yourself when you’re winning by a substantial amount of points at this time of year. When you go out and get a chance to play some tougher teams that play in tougher league, it helps you prepare you for what’s coming, because it’s coming, sooner [rather] than later.”

Johnson agreed with his coach.

“It’s a good reminder before playoffs start,” he said. “We know what we have to do to get better. Our goal this year is a state championship.”

Ocean View, which has clinched an outright Golden West League title, played at Saddleback on Wednesday and will open CIF playoffs next week.

In other boys’ basketball action:

Edison 62, Fountain Valley 55: Ryan Walker scored a team-high 15 points for Edison in the Sunset League win Tuesday. Edison (21-4, 6-3) is ranked No. 3 in Division II-AA.

“If we win two [games this week], we’ll be one of the top four seeds,” Edison Coach Rich Boyce said Monday. “We were the No. 1 seed until Kyle [Boswell] went out, but the kids have done a real good job. We’re always fighting.”

Robbie Daquila scored a game-high 19 for Fountain Valley (1-8 in league).

Marina 50, Newport Harbor 41: Dana Gomez scored a team-high 14 points for Marina in the Sunset League game Tuesday night. Marina is 16-8, 6-3 in league, and tied for second with Edison.

If the teams finish tied, the Chargers would be seeded second from the league because they won both head-to-head games.

The Vikings, ranked No. 15 in Division II-AA, finish the regular season tonight, on the road against Los Alamitos. Marina is the only team that has beaten Los Al in league this year.

“We’re feeling pretty good,” Coach Roger Holmes said. “We played pretty well last week.”

El Toro 48, Huntington Beach 46: Jordan Castaneda scored a game-high 14 points for the Oilers, but they fell to 6-19, 2-7 in Sea View League after Tuesday night’s loss.

Huntington Coach Fabian Luna said his team just hasn’t really put it all together this season, although the Oilers can apply for an at-large bid to the CIF playoffs.

“It’s been one of those years,” Luna said. “We’ve been playing teams tough, but we couldn’t get over the hump.”

Brethren Christian 45, Sage Hill 35: Riley Thomas scored a game-high 17 for Brethren Christian in the Academy League game Tuesday. The Warriors (20-4, 9-0), looking to finish off an undefeated Academy League campaign this week, are ranked No. 3 in Division V-A.