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Basketball Roundup: Brethren starts out hot

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In its first full week of its 2013-14 season, the Brethren Christian High boys’ basketball team went undefeated and in the process won the first tournament it has entered.

The Warriors, ranked No. 3 in CIF Southern Section Division 5AA, won the Calvary Baptist Cougar Classic by defeating Desert Christian, 67-56, in Saturday’s championship game in La Verne.

Brethren Christian wasn’t the only local team to take a tournament title last weekend. On the girls’ court, Huntington Beach won the Fountain Valley Hoop Challenge, and Ocean View won its division at its own Hawk Holiday Classic. Additionally in boys’ basketball, Edison won the consolation title at the Corona del Mar Tournament.

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Sophomore forward Cameron Griffin scored a game-high 23 points in the Cougar Classic finale and went on to be named tournament MVP after Brethren Christian’s win over Desert Chapel. Senior guard Caleb Keller had 13 points, and junior guard Brandon Bryson contributed 12 assists and nine steals in the title game.

Keller and junior forward Guy Demazeliere made the all-tournament team.

BC ended its first week of the season with a 4-0 record.

“We started our season off well by winning the tournament,” BC Coach Jon Bahnsen said. “Our defense was solid the whole week and we got balanced contributions from different players offensively throughout the four games.”

The Warriors entered their second tournament of the season, the Loatella Tournament, Tuesday, and overpowered Anaheim, 81-56, at Loara High. Keller scored 21 points and had nine rebounds, and junior guard Nate Dang came off the bench to hit three three-point shots and finish with 14 points.

“We played extremely well offensively, shooting 55% from the field and 48% from three-point range,” Bahnsen said. “We also shared the ball well with 19 assists coming from eight different players.”

BC continues pool play at the Loatella Tournament at 5 p.m. Friday, taking on Kennedy. The tournament concludes Saturday.

•Huntington Beach won the Hoop Challenge crown Saturday at Fountain Valley High by defeating La Jolla Country Day, 44-35, in girls’ basketball action. Senior guard Stephanie Louie hit three three-point shots and led the Oilers with 13 points and freshman forward Frankie Wade-Sanchez scored 12 points.

Country Day was ranked No. 2 in the CIF San Diego Section.

Huntington started the season tied with Canyon Country Canyon at No. 4 in the Division 1A preseason poll.

Wade-Sanchez made the all-tournament team, which was headed by tournament MVP Paola Roa. The Huntington senior guard scored 13 points in a Dec. 12, 42-38, upset semifinal win over Orange Lutheran, the preseason No. 2 team in Division 2AA.

“I am very proud of the girls toughness this year,” Huntington Coach Russ McClurg said. “We are playing very good team basketball and the girls are coming together nicely. I know there are a lot of games left so we must remain humble and continue to work hard in practice.”

The Oilers continued their early-season roll and won their eighth game out of the gate Tuesday by rolling past host Capistrano Valley, 67-23. Wade-Sanchez posted a game-high 21 points. Roa and junior center Morgan Potter had 11 and 10 points, respectively.

•The Ocean View girls’ basketball team, preseason No. 8 in Division 3A, won all four of its games last week at its Hawk Holiday Classic. The Seahawks, competing in the Premier Flight Division, opened with a 68-9 blitz of Oxford Academy, defeated Dominguez, 52-38, and then ran past Laguna Beach, 67-31.

In the division’s title game Saturday, Ocean View downed Western, 52-45. Sophomore guard Sally Morris scored 12 points and senior guard Deja Duke, who went on to be named MVP of the division, added six points for the Seahawks (8-1).

Division all-tourney team selections from Ocean View also included sophomore forward Treasure Robinson and sophomore forward Madisyn Newberry, who scored nine and seven points, respectively, in the title game.

In other local hoops action:

BOYS

•Edison: The Chargers became consolation champs at the Corona del Mar Beach Bash Saturday, when they routed Westminster, 82-48, in their tournament finale. Junior guard AJ Garrity led the way with 17 points and junior guard Brae Ivey, who was named to the all-tournament team, scored nine points to go with seven rebounds and seven assists.

The win put Edison, ranked preseason No. 8 in Division 1A, at 5-1 overall.

“With the exception of one game, we competed hard,” said Edison Coach Rich Boyce, whose team’s only tournament loss was a 73-55 setback Dec. 11 to Hesperia Oak Hills (No. 16, Division 2A).

•Fountain Valley: The Barons completed play at the Valley Christian Tournament Saturday and finished in fourth place after falling, 61-58, in the third-place game to host Valley Christian (No. 12, Division 4AA).

The Barons (4-6) fell to the Crusaders in the final five seconds of the game, one day after losing at the buzzer, 65-63, to Chino.

Fountain Valley senior guard Richard Le, who hit five three-pointers and finished with 18 points against Valley Christian, was named all-tournament.

•Huntington Beach: The Oilers slipped to 0-6 after falling, 62-49, to Lakewood on the opening day Monday (Dec. 16) at the Charlie Wilkins Memorial Tournament at Westminster High.

•Marina: Playing at Coach Nick Racklin’s alma mater Tuesday, the Vikings opened the La Canada Holiday Classic with a 69-57 loss to Alhambra Mark Keppel. Junior guard Jeff Feit scored 13 points, sophomore guard Ethan Young had 10 points and six rebounds, and junior guard Greg Fronek scored 10 points for the Vikings who had 21 turnovers.

•Ocean View: The Seahawks (No. 9, Division 3A) played their first game of the Loatella Tournament Tuesday and lost, 56-45, to co-host Katella. Senior guard Angel Nieves scored 19 points and senior forward Tristan Wenschlag scored 11 points and had nine rebounds for Ocean View (2-4), which played the tourney opener without two starters.

GIRLS

•Fountain Valley: The Barons (4-6) played a nonleague game Tuesday at Tesoro and lost in overtime, 59-51, to the Titans. Junior guard Michelle Wu scored 18 points and had two steals, senior post Emily Krause had 14 points and eight rebounds, sophomore post Mikaila Pacis had three points and 10 rebounds, senior guard Amy Yoshinaga scored seven points and had four steals, and junior guard added five points with two steals.

“We couldn’t do much right,” Fountain Valley Coach Cory Clarke said. “We didn’t shoot well from the free-throw line (nine of 19). We turned the ball over 25 times against a passive zone defense. We were out-rebounded. We were three of 17 from the three-point line. We battled back, down 12 (points), with just under four minutes to tie the game, but in overtime, we had zero stops on defense on five straight possessions.”

Fountain Valley was coming off a fourth-place finish at its own Hoop Challenge. The Barons fell, 61-52, to Orange Lutheran in the third-place game Saturday. Krause, who was named to the all-tournament team, had 13 points and seven rebounds. Pacis had nine rebounds and six points, and junior guards Ashley Masuda (three three-pointers) and junior guard Ari Jacobsen both scored nine points.

“The tourney was good for us,” Clarke said. “We wanted to win our pool, and did. We wanted a chance to play top-level teams to see how we compared. We gained some confidence from successful stretches of play against La Jolla [Country Day] in the second half and from hanging close to Orange Lutheran. They exposed our weaknesses. Now it is up to us to learn from those mistakes and get better.”

•Marina: The Vikings (No. 15, Division 2AA) ended play Saturday at the Ocean View Hawk Holiday Classic, where they lost, 49-39, to Sunset League foe Los Alamitos in a Supreme Flight Division finale. Senior forward Natasha Mangham had 11 points and 10 rebounds, senior guard Madison Yutkins nine points, senior guard Danielle Kennedy seven points, and senior guard Melissa Lindquist had seven points, three assists, and three steals for the Vikings (5-4).

CIF Preseason Basketball Rankings

(released Monday)

Boys: Edison (No. 8, Division 1A); Ocean View (No. 9, Division 3A); Brethren Christian (No. 3, Division 5A).

Girls: Huntington Beach (tie-No. 4, Division 1A); Marina (No. 15, Division 2AA); Ocean View (No. 8, Division 3A).

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