Boys basketball: Sailors pull it out in overtime

Tony Altobelli

LAGUNA HILLS - It may not appear like it in the score book, but it

was a team effort for the Newport Harbor High boys basketball team in

Wednesday night’s 59-50 overtime Sea View League win at Laguna Hills.

“They took the term ‘role player’ to a whole new level tonight,”

Newport Coach Larry Hirst said. “Different players at different times

stepped up for us. Here we are fighting for a CIF (Southern Section)

playoff berth and our freshmen and sophomores are making big plays for

us.”

Senior Tony Melum, despite being double and sometimes triple teamed,

managed to still lead the Sailors (18-5, 4-2 in league) with 20 points,

13 rebounds and six assists.

“I’ve got to give Tony credit,” Hirst said. “Even when they were

putting two or three guys on him, he managed to post up strong and got

his shots up. If the shot wasn’t there, the other guys knew to get into

open lanes and he managed to find them.”

Senior Aaron Yarnal chipped in 16 points, including 9 of 10 from the

free-throw line, while junior Greg Perrine added 12, eight in the fourth

and overtime periods.

Despite the big scoring from Newport’s big three, what did Hirst see

as a turning point of the ball game?

“Jamie Diefenbach’s six big rebounds in the third period,” he said of

his freshman backup center. “I think that helped change the momentum for

us. We got into some foul trouble and (sophomore) Chase Cameron ran the

point very well for us also.”

The Sailors trailed after the first two periods, 28-23, thanks to some

hot Hawks’ shooting from Chris Lee (15 points) and Jeff Sherman (14

points).

Diefenbach’s board work helped limit the Hawks (14-10, 1-5) to only one shot per trip down court. The Sailors only scored eight third-period

points, but they managed to cut the lead to four heading into the fourth.

Sophomore Nadim Pajevic played strong defense and grabbed four

fourth-period rebounds as the Sailors tried to even the score. Newport

cut the margin down to two before Sherman drained a three-pointer and was

fouled with 3:16 left. He completed the four-point play and the Hawks led

by six.

A Perrine jumper and two Yarnal free throws brought Newport back to

within two with 2:15 left.

The Hawks responded with two free throws of their own and could have

put the game away with a wide open layup, but the uncontested shot missed

the mark and gave the Sailors one last breath.

Senior Steve Young stepped up big time and hit a big three-pointer

with one minute left, pulling Newport to within a single point.

Sherman hit a free throw for a two-point Hawks’ lead with 38.9 seconds

left, but on the next trip down, Melum cut through four defenders and was

fouled with 27.4 seconds left.

He calmly hit both free throws and when Sherman’s jumper rattled in

and out at the buzzer, the game went into overtime.

“It was nice to see us play with some composure down the stretch,”

Hirst said. “You have to give (Laguna Beach Coach) Dave Brown credit. He

knew everything we were running. We didn’t fool him a bit. That’s why

he’s got so many wins. I’ll be 85 before I reach the number of wins he’s

got.”

The overtime was controlled from start to finish by the Sailors. After

two Erik Peterson free throws, Young missed a jumper, but Perrine was

there for the rebound and put back to give Newport a four-point cushion.

The standout point guard then pulled down a big defensive rebound and

hit two free throws for a six-point Newport advantage.

A Melum steal and three made free throws by Yarnal closed out the

scoring. Laguna Hills went scoreless in the extra period.

“Our defense definitely improved after halftime,” Hirst said. “We’ve

played 23 games and the players know what to do and what not to do. It’s

just a matter of which side we end up on.”

Newport hit 21 of 24 from the foul line, while the Hawks hit only 9 of

16.

The Sailors host first-place Woodbridge Friday night at 7.

SEA VIEW LEAGUE

Score by Quarters

Newport Harbor 59, Laguna Hills 50

Newport Harbor 15 8 8 19 9 - 59

Laguna Hills 12 16 7 15 0 - 50

Newport - Melum 20, Yarnal 16, Perrine 12, Peterson 6, Young 3,

Diefenbach 2, Cameron 0, Pajevic 0.

3-pt. goals - Yarnal 1, Young 1.

Fouled out - none.

Technicals - none.

Laguna Hills - Lee 15, Sherman 14, Dimick 7, Vollenhals 5, Donat 4,

Steiger 3, Williams 2.

3-pt. goals - Sherman 4, Lee 2, Steiger 1.

Fouled out - Dimick.

Technicals - none.