CANYON TOURNAMENT : Little Things, Tracy Get Best of Villa Park

The little things are still major irritants to Villa Park High School basketball Coach Andrew Beyer.

Villa Park got the big things right Wednesday, such as 31 points from guard Ryan McArthur, in the first round of the Canyon tournament. But the finer points of the game, such as layups, free throws and defense, eluded the Spartans in their 82-71 loss to Tracy, a city between Sacramento and San Francisco.

Tracy pulled away in the first quarter with an aggressive full-court press.

Tracy (6-9) will meet Mountain View of Arizona in a quarterfinal at 7 tonight.

“When these kids execute up to a certain level, they can play with anyone,” Beyer said. “But it’s been up and down all year. We’re not going to stop working on the little things every day in practice until we become proficient at them.”

Tracy took an 18-8 lead in the first quarter, taking advantage of several Villa Park turnovers against the press.

But the Spartans finally got their offense going in the second and third quarters behind the shooting of McArthur, who made five three-point baskets.

A three-point shot by McArthur cut Tracy’s lead to 51-46 with 2:15 left in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs scored eight straight points to pull away.

Josh Wallwork, a 6-foot-5 forward, led Tracy with 20 points. Guard Clinton Dorny added 15 points and his twin, Clayton, had 11. Center Will Fisher added 12.

Villa Park forward David Mansolino scored 17 points and guard Aaron Boone added 10.

Villa Park (2-7) plays Ridgecrest Burroughs at 2 p.m. today in the consolation bracket.

In other tournament games:

Canyon 81, Bolsa Grande 53--Forward Kevin Wilbon scored 14 points to lead Canyon (6-4). Chinh Bui and Sy Sayarath each scored 14 for Bolsa Grande (2-4).

Venice 82, Anaheim 69--Rudy Fernandez scored 15 points for Anaheim.