Second season chances

Mike Sciacca

The Marina High boys’ basketball team recently held a casual

shoot-around, perhaps the last such practice before getting down to

the business of entering the “second season.”

The Sunset League champions today are in their final day of

weeklong preparations for their debut in the CIF-Southern Section

Division I-A playoffs, which comes Friday night on their home floor

against the Santa Ana Valley Falcons.

All Sunset League teams earned berths in the boys’ basketball

playoffs, making it the only six-team league to earn that distinction

this year.

In addition to Marina, Huntington Beach, Edison and Ocean View

will represent the area in postseason competition.

Ocean View, which won its fifth consecutive Golden West League

title, earned the No. 2 seed in the Division III-A playoffs.

All first-round boys’ games involving local teams will be played

Friday at 7:30 p.m.

In the girls’ basketball playoffs, Sunset League champion Edison,

Marina, Huntington Beach and Ocean View each will compete in

postseason tournaments.

All first-round girls’ games involving local teams -- with the

exception of Marina -- will be played tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Marina’s boys enter the playoffs peaking at the right time, having

won 11 of their final 14 games of the regular season to finish 18-8

overall.

They’ll be hosting a 12-13 Santa Ana Valley squad that placed

third in the Orange League.

“We’re playing pretty well right now,” Marina coach Roger Holmes

said. “We won five straight in league play and won the title by two

games, which is tough to do in this league.”

Despite having won the title in one of the Southern Section’s

toughest leagues, Holmes knows the pitfalls that await any team that

might be looking past a 12-13 opponent -- especially in what is now a

one-game season.

“There are no easy games and you get no second chances from here

on out,” he said. “Santa Ana Valley is not a very big team but they

are very disciplined and play hard.”

The Vikings are led offensively by junior forward James Lambert

with a 19 points and 6.2 rebounds per game averages, guard Matt

Brennan with a 15.5 points per game average and junior point guard

Stephen Becker who is one of the county’s top assists leaders with a

5.6 per game average.

Huntington Beach, 14-11 and the No. 2 entry from the Sunset

League, will host El Dorado, 16-10 and the Empire League runner-up,

in a Division II-AA game.

Edison (16-10) is an at-large entry in the Division II-AA playoff

field. The Chargers played a wild-card game Wednesday at Foothill,

15-11 and the No. 3 team from the Sea View League.

Ocean View (25-3) received a first-round bye in Division III-A.

The Seahawks are seeded second in the division behind defending

champion Bishop Montgomery.

On the girls’ court, Sunset League champion Edison (20-5) hosts

Newport Harbor tonight in Division II-AA action.

The Sailors enter the game with a 13-14 record and an at-large

bid.

“I’ve seen a little bit of them and know that they can shoot from

the outside,” Edison coach Corey Kelly said of the Sailors. “The key

for us is to just continue to play as hard and well as we have at the

end of the year.”

Sophomore guard/forward Rebecca Kepilino leads the Chargers with a

17.7 points per game scoring average. Valerie Katayama is averaging

11 points and junior guard/forward Jessica Harris is Edison’s top

defender.

Huntington Beach, 14-12 overall and an at-large entry, will play

tonight at Sea View League champion Woodbridge (18-7) in another Division II-AA contest.

Ocean View (11-15) is an at-large entry in the Division III-AA

field. The Seahawks will play at Pacific Coast League runner-up

Northwood (14-10).

Marina, the No. 3 team from the Sunset League and 14-11 overall,

will play Saturday at El Toro (19-7, South Coast League No. 3) in a

7:30 p.m. Division I-A game.