Boys baskteball: Tars succumb to El Toro, again

Barry Faulkner

ANAHEIM - For the second time in a week, Newport Harbor High played

with the ticking time bomb that is the El Toro boys basketball team. And,

predictably, there was another second-half detonation.

In the championship game of the Bill Reynolds Classic Dec. 9, El Toro,

ranked No. 4 in Orange County, pulled away from a 32-32 deadlock to claim

a 53-41 win.

Friday, in the semifinals of the Holiday Basketball Festival at the

Anaheim Convention Center, the senior-led Chargers (9-0) answered a 44-42

deficit in the final minute of the third quarter, by igniting for an 18-1

run that propelled them to a 66-49 triumph and a berth in tonight’s 8

o’clock title game against Villa Park.

Newport Harbor (8-2), ranked No. 8 in the county, will meet Capistrano

Valley tonight at 6:20 in the third-place game.

“We have played a few lackadaisical games and we were thinking maybe

we’d have a breakout game,” said Newport Coach Larry Hirst, whose Sailors

battled their way to a 32-24 lead early in the third quarter. “If we

could have stopped at halftime, we would have looked pretty good.”

With 6-foot-6 junior Tony Melum finishing inside and connecting from

the perimeter, and junior point guard Greg Perrine scoring eight of his

10 points, Harbor led, 28-21, at intermission.

But, Hirst knew his former Sea View League rivals, now 33-5 the last

two seasons with a corps of four current senior starters, would find

their fuse at halftime.

“There’s a reason why they’re ranked No. 4 in the county,” Hirst said.

“They have seniors who have been through the battles. And when the battle

got to its most crucial point tonight, they took over. And our youth

finally showed.”

With returning All-CIF Southern Section performers Ashkan Nazeri and

Chris Parish, as well as third-year varsity point guard Ken Tanaka and

6-8 center Matt Green, all working in unison, El Toro surged to a 46-44

lead at the end of three quarters.

Green, taking advantage of some well-placed feeds to beat the Newport

defender fronting him, had 10 in the quarter, while Parish added nine.

Nazeri, an explosive 6-1 penetrator, who broke down the Harbor defense

consistently after halftime, scored inside to tie it at 44 with 45

seconds left in the third. He then netted a pair of foul shots with three

ticks remaining to give the Chargers the lead for good.

Nazeri added two more free throws to open the fourth quarter and, by

the time Newport senior guard Aaron Yarnal drained a 15-footer with 1:20

left, the first of only two Harbor field goals in the fourth period, it

was all over.

“Senior leadership,” said El Toro Coach Todd Dixon, summarizing the

second-half turnaround. “I’ve got such a special group, I really don’t

have to say anything anymore, if we’re not playing well. In Nazeri,

Parish, Tanaka and Green, I’m not sure you could find four more

competitive guys. They were ticked at themselves and they came out and

did something about it.”

Newport did a few things of its own, early, working for good shots and

busting their tails on defense to limit El Toro’s quality chances.

“In the first half, we did a good job of executing,” Hirst said. “And,

defensively, it was one of our better halves all year.”

Melum (12 points), Perrine and Yarnal accounted for 24 of the Tars’ 26

points the first half.

Melum scored Harbor’s first six second-half points and added a

three-pointer with 1:58 left in the period to create a 42-38 edge.

But El Toro just kept working, noticeably picking up its defensive

intensity to force 10 of the Sailors’ 15 turnovers the final 16 minutes.

“We weren’t very good, fundamentally, in the second half,” Hirst said.

“A lot of those turnovers resulted from us just not being strong with the

ball.”

Melum finished with 21 points and seven rebounds, while Yarnal wound

up with 16.

Green led the winners with 22 points and nine boards, while Nazeri (17

points), Parish (13) and Tanaka (10) rounded out El Toro’s offense.

“The was like a league game,” Dixon said. “These are the kinds of

games that prepare you for league.”

Hirst also said meeting such tough competition may wind up helping

down the road.

HOLIDAY BASKETBALL CLASSIC

Semifinal

El Toro 66, Newport Harbor 49

Score by Quarters

Newport Harbor 14 14 16 5 - 49

El Toro 13 8 25 20 - 66

Newport Harbor - Melum 21, Yarnal 16, Perrine 10, Young 2, Peterson 0,

Spigner 0, Pajevic 0.

3-pt. goals - Melum 2, Yarnal 1.

Fouled out - None.

Technicals - None.

El Toro - Green 22, Nazeri 17, Parish 13, Tanaka 10, Fairbanks 2, England 2.

3-pt. goals - Parish 2.

Fouled out - None.

Technicals - None.