Boys basketball: Tars move on

Tony Altobelli

NEWPORT BEACH - If you’re Newport Harbor High’s boys basketball

coach Larry Hirst, it’s nice to know that whenever things go a little

crazy, as can happen during the CIF Southern Section Division II-AA

Playoffs, there’s a guy like Dustin Illingworth to calm the calamity.

Illingworth scored 23 points, grabbed nine rebounds and provided the

confidence needed by the host Sailors in their 53-45 first-round win

Friday night over Gahr High.

“We keep telling our guys that whether we’re up or down, just to remain

patient with what we’re doing and things will work out,” Hirst said.

“Dustin did a good job of following that rule.”

With the win, the Sailors (18-8) will take on Brea Olinda (21-6) Tuesday

at 7:30 p.m. at a site to be determined by a coin toss today.

For Gahr (18-9), third-place finishers in the San Gabriel Valley

Conference, a hot first quarter of shooting was followed by three

ice-cold quarters, which proved fatal.

“From what we saw from the tapes, we knew that they were predominately a

perimeter-shooting team,” Hirst said. “On the tapes, nearly every shot we

saw them take, it was from the outside.”

“With no player taller than 6-foot-2, Romalice Reed led the Gladiators

with 24 points, while Tajuan Jackson chipped in with nine, all on

three-pointers.

For what the Gladiators lacked in size, they made up for with quickness

and an early hot-shooting hand.

Gahr drilled five three-pointers in the first quarter, while the Sailors

tried to find their offense amidst six turnovers. Reed and Jackson

combined to score 14 of Gahr’s 18 first-quarter points as the Gladiators

led by 11.

“We shot ourselves in the foot early,” Hirst said. “We were our own worst

enemy for the first 17 minutes or so.”

It got worse as starting forward Sean Rorden went down with a foot

injury. He did not return after the first quarter and his status for

Tuesday’s second-round game is uncertain. “It’s just too early to tell,”

Hirst said. “It’s a day-to-day thing.”

Picking up the slack in Rorden’s absence was senior guard Chris Martin.

With the Sailors down by 12, Martin led a 13-0 Sailors’ run with five

straight points. He finished with a career-high eight points off the

bench.

“It was really nice to see him spark us like that,” Hirst said. “We were

struggling big time to try to find the right chemistry and he really gave

us a lift.”

Martin, Illingworth and Aaron Yarnal (11 points) scored 15 of the

Sailors’ 17 second-quarter points.

Gahr cooled off, hitting 3 of 10 shots, including only one three-pointer,

while Newport hit 6 of 7 from the field.

A last-second jumper by Derek Shipp ended the Gladiators’ six-minute

scoring drought and gave the lead back to Gahr at halftime, 25-24.

Reed hit started the second half by hitting a jumper, givingthe

Gladiators their last lead of the game, 27-24. An 8-0 Tars’ run put them

ahead for good.

Newport started to expose Gahr’s lack of height. All six of the Sailors’

third-quarter field goals came within two feet of the basket, including a

alley-oop dunk from Yarnal to Illingworth, sending the Sailor-heavy crowd

into a frenzy.

Illingworth’s dunk gave Newport its biggest lead of the night, 57-52,

after three.

Reed single-handedly tried to keep the Gladiators in the game, scoring

nine of his 24 points in the final eight minutes.

Gahr got as close as 39-37 before Illingworth hit three consecutive

hoops, stretching the lead to eight with 5:12 remaining.

Then, both teams went on a scoring strike for nearly four minutes, which

suited Hirst just fine.

“I’m just glad to still be playing another game,” the scratchy-voiced

coach said.

Down the stretch, Newport kept Gahr from getting any closer by connecting

on six straight from the free-throw line.

After their hot-shooting first quarter, the Gladiators were a chilly 12

for 39 from the field, including 3 of 16 from behind the arc.

“We’re going to have to limit our turnovers big time on Tuesday,” Hirst

said of Newport’s 19 miscues. “As far as who we play, I don’t really

care. I just wanna keep playing.”

CIF SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION II-AA PLAYOFFS

First round

Newport Harbor 53, Gahr 45

Gahr 18 7 7 13 - 45

Newport Harbor 7 17 13 16 - 53

Reed 24, Jackson 9, Yazarlou 5, Rhoane 4, Shipp 2, Chae 1.-

3 pt. goals - Reed 3, Jackson 3, Yazarlou.

Fouled out - Yazarlou.

Illingworth - 23, Yarnal 11, Martin 8, Melum 6, Perrine 5, Rorden 0,

Reynolds 0, Knutti 0.

3 pt. goals - Martin 1, Yarnal 1.

Fouled out - None.

Technical fouls - Illingworth 1.