Edison surges past H.B.

Round One goes to Edison.

The first huge game of the 2011 Sunset League girls’ basketball season — between Edison and Huntington Beach — took place Tuesday in just the second game on the schedule. The host Chargers parlayed a big fourth-quarter run into a 61-44 victory over the Oilers.

Huntington, ranked fourth in CIF Division 2AA, held a 28-25 halftime lead over Edison, which is the top-ranked team in Division 1A. But the Chargers took charge late by outscoring the Oilers, 17-3, in the fourth quarter, to get the win.

Bonnie Samuelson had 16 points, Christina Marquette 13 points and Karlie Samuelson 10 points for the Chargers, who improved to 15-1 and 2-0 in league.

Kelsey Minato scored 15 points, Maya Kennedy 14 points and Jill Nakaso 10 points for the Oilers, who are now 14-2 and 1-1 in league.

“We played very well in the first half, but Edison’s defense tightened up on us in the second half,” Huntington Coach Russ McClug said. “It was a good game until Edison went on that 17-3 run.”

In league openers played Jan. 6, Edison scored a 103-28 win over Fountain Valley and Huntington withstood a furious fourth-quarter rally by visiting Los Alamitos to post a 45-38 victory. Karlie Samuelson had 29 points, Bonnie Samuelson 25 points and Monay Lee 14 points for the Chargers and Allison Yoshinaga scored nine points to lead Fountain Valley. Minato had 13 points and Kennedy 12 more for the Oilers.

The league race continues today at 7 p.m., with Edison hosting Newport Harbor and Huntington Beach home to Fountain Valley.

Brethren Christian: The Warriors, ranked third in CIF Division 5A, nabbed their second win in as many Academy League games Friday by defeating Oxford Academy, 40-15. Brethren Christian held the Patriots to just four first-half points in taking a 23-4 lead at the break. Madison Desler topped all scorers with 11 points, nine coming on three, three-point shots. Sara Hodges had nine points and Emily Hammond eight points.

The Warriors hosted the Small School Showcase on Saturday at Liberty Christian High in Huntington Beach, where they took on Valley Christian. Brethren Christian fell to the Crusaders, the No. 4 team in Davison 4A, 62-25. Warriors Coach Jeff Wallace said the offensive play of Brooke Hernandez and defense by Diannia Demazeliere were bright spots in the loss.

The Warriors take on league foes Whitney on Friday and St. Margaret’s on Saturday. They will play both games without Hodges. Wallace said the point guard suffered a minor knee strain in Friday’s win against Oxford Academy.

Hodges could be sidelined up to two weeks, he said.

“This presents a challenge to us as we look to be able to close ranks and fill the gap that Sara’s absence has created,” Wallace said. “Each girl must look to step up their game and fill in for that missing piece we normally have as a part of our team attack.”

Fountain Valley: The Barons were edged in overtime Tuesday by host Marina, 52-51, in another Sunset League clash. Leslie La’s 13 points paced Fountain Valley (0-2), which plays at 7 tonight at Huntington Beach.

Marina: The Vikings kept pace with Edison atop the Sunset League standings by edging visiting Fountain Valley in overtime Tuesday, 52-51. Sophomore guard Loren Dorame scored 12 points, her final points coming on a layup in the final seconds of overtime that gave the Vikings (11-6, 2-0) the win. Marina senior center Sloan Turner led all scorers with 21 points.

The Vikings will try to go 3-0 in league today (7 p.m.) when they travel to face Los Alamitos.

Ocean View: The Seahawks, ranked No. 14 in Division 4AA, began Golden West League play Tuesday against Orange and used a quick start to post a 39-28 win over the host Panthers. Grace Okwudibonye had 12 points and Courtney Okwudibonye and Kelli Berry each scored nine for Ocean View, which led, 24-12, at the half.

In a nonleague game Saturday, Ocean View pounded host La Quinta, 57-26, with Hannah Ferguson scoring 13 points and Berry scoring 11.

In another nonleague game Jan. 6, the Seahawks overcame a 31-20 deficit against Laguna Beach by going on a 17-0 second-half run to take a 50-38 home court victory. Berry, whose big shots in the second half sparked the comeback, led all scorers with 17 points and Francis Oda added 10 points.

The Seahawks, who moved to 9-8 overall, play a league game today (7 p.m.) at Loara.

*

Boys’ Basketball

Marina first-year Coach Jerry Simon was introduced Friday to Sunset League basketball and it’s an outing he certainly won’t forget.

Gedas Vegys nailed a three-point shot with 13 seconds left in regulation against Newport Harbor to tie the score, and in the final 30 seconds of overtime, Jordon Adnams delivered another dagger from three-point range to lift the host Vikings to a 46-43 win over the Sailors.

Simon called it a “great come-from-behind win.”

“What a great introduction to the Sunset League for the team and our coaching staff,” Simon said. “Both teams battled tremendously.

“I was really happy for the guys. We lost a bunch of close ones this season, and it was an important win for us. I was proud of how we played hard all game and continued to fight, even when our shots were not falling.”

Adnams had 11 points, Vegys 10 points and JJ James 13 points for Marina, which hosts Los Alamitos at 7 p.m. Friday in league play.

Huntington Beach: The Oilers, ranked eighth in Division 2AA, took down host and defending Sunset League champion Los Alamitos, 41-39, Friday. Andrew Tenbrink and Vincent Oe scored nine points each for Huntington, which scored a season-low in points and also held Los Alamitos to its season-low point total.

The Griffins’ Camryn Crocker scored 12 points to lead all scorers.

“It was a great win for us, and I was very impressed with my team’s approach,” Huntington Coach Fabian Luna said. “I thought we did a great job defensively against Crocker. He makes that team go and we knew going in that we had to focus on slowing him down offensively. The most impressive thing for me was that we had no one in double digits offensively and we were still able to beat them. Anytime you can beat the defending league champion on their home court in the league opener, you just have to be proud and excited for the boys.”

Brethren Christian: The Warriors, ranked sixth in CIF Division 5A, improved to 2-0 in Academy League play following a 58-52 win Friday over Oxford Academy. Brethren Christian led by as many as 18 points but had to hold off a late rally by the Patriots. On Saturday, the Warriors routed Hesperia Christian, 54-29, at the Small School Showcase they hosted. Sophomore forward Dakota Warren only missed two shots in the two games and averaged 12.5 points in the two wins.

Brethren Christian has two tough league games this week. On Friday, the Warriors play at Whitney and on Saturday host St. Margaret’s.

Edison: The Chargers, the top-ranked team in CIF Division 2AA, ran their record to 16-0 and opened Sunset League play Friday in impressive fashion by using a strong second half to defeat rival Fountain Valley, 75-52. Edison had three players in double-figures, led by Dylan Garrity’s game-high 27 points. Tyler Fields and Shane Osaki each scored 10 for the Chargers, who outscored the Barons by 19 points in the second half.

“The score was not indicative of the game,” Edison Coach Rich Boyce said. “It was a tight game throughout and we were able to make some shots in the fourth (quarter) to open the game up. Fountain Valley played tough and hard all the way through.”

Edison travels Friday (7 p.m.) to face Newport Harbor in league play.

Fountain Valley: The Barons, ranked No. 14 in Division 1A, received 20 points from Zach Matar in their loss to Edison. Judd Chamaa added eight points for Fountain Valley, which plays Friday (7 p.m.) at Huntington Beach.

“They (Edison) started the second half on a 10-1 run and we never recovered,” Barons Coach Roger Holmes said. “We had trouble scoring in the second half and they shot the ball extremely well.”

Ocean View: The Seahawks blitzed Orange early in the Golden West League opener for both teams Friday and rolled to a 69-34 win over the visiting Panthers. Two nights earlier, Ocean View fell, 57-37, to Narbonne of Los Angeles in nonleague play. Billy Keller scored 11 points in the loss.

Ocean View, ranked No. 16 in Division 2AA, plays its next league game at 7 p.m. Friday at Westminster.