Ocean View Takes Apart Servite, 71-56

Ocean View’s dissection of Servite’s pressure defense wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough for the Seahawks to win convincingly, 71-56, in a Golden West League boys’ basketball game Wednesday at Servite High.

Junior David Hatch scored 27 points and Kevin Hanson added 17 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots for Ocean View, which broke open a one-point game with a 15-2 run during a 5 1/2-minute span in the third quarter.

Ocean View (12-4, 1-0 in league) worked free for plenty of layups, attempting only three of its 22 second-half shots from beyond 10 feet. The Seahawks shot 66% (33 of 50) from the field to gradually pull away from the Friars (11-5, 0-1).

But at times, it wasn’t pretty.

“Sure you get concerned with all the turnovers,” said Ocean View Coach Jim Harris, who watched his team commit 10 in the fourth quarter. “And what made it look worse was that we were terrible at the free-throw line (making only four of 14).

“But this is a feisty group and they are going to compete. Winning here is a big step toward winning a league title.”

Leading the charge for Ocean View Wednesday was Hatch.

Playing inside against taller opponents, the 6-foot-2 Hatch still made 13 of 16 shots from the field.

Hanson, a 6-9 junior, dominated play early, scoring 13 points in the first quarter. However, he went to the bench after picking up his second foul early in the second quarter. Hatch, junior guard Tony Dow (nine points, five assists) and reserve O’Neil Hopson (eight points) then picked up the slack until Hanson returned for a strong second half.

Servite tried to rally, but pulled no closer than nine in the fourth quarter. Chris Killens scored 15 points and Dennis Wisco added 12 for the Friars.