Boys baskteball: Tars left out in cold

Barry Faulkner

NEWPORT BEACH - Made field goals turned out to be tougher to come

by than bleacher seats in Tuesday night’s CIF Southern Section Division

II-AA second-round boys basketball playoff game between Newport Harbor

High and visiting Villa Park.

And, in the end, it was No. 3-seeded Spartans (26-3) who won the

defensive struggle, 54-41, costing the Sailors (20-7) admittance into

Friday’s quarterfinals.

Both teams struggled to find the bottom of the net and solid defensive

work on both ends did not fully explain the lack of shooting touch.

“We were busting our tails on the defensive end, but we couldn’t make

shots, which was really frustrating,” said Villa Park Coach Kevin

Reynolds, whose team eliminated the Sailors from last year’s Division I-A

quarterfinals, also by a 13-point margin.

If Reynolds and the Spartans were frustrated, the hosts and Coach

Larry Hirst must have been downright bitter over a lack of accuracy from

the field before a less-than-capacity crowd.

Newport made just 6 of 20 field-goal tries in the first half (30%),

then managed to lower its overall shooting percentage by netting just 9

of 32 attempts after intermission (28%). In all, the Sailors wound up a

shade below 29% from the field (15 of 52), and compounded that by

connecting on just 8 of 16 fouls shots, making just two of their final

10.

“We had some open looks,” Hirst said. “It wasn’t like our shots were

ones we were hoping and praying would go in.”

Harbor, hampered by the absence of senior point guard Greg Perrine

(who sat more than 11 of the first 16 minutes with two fouls), made just

one basket the final 7:27 of the first half.

Still, Hirst believed, the hosts were in the game.

“We felt like once we got in the locker room, made some adjustments

and settled down the troops, we’d be all right,” Hirst said.

Still, the Spartans took a 10-point edge into the final period and

weathered a cold spell of their own to prevail.

The Sailors eventually pulled to within 43-37 with 2:02 left, but

Brice Prather, Villa Park’s 6-foot-8 senior center, scored five straight

points, including a traditional three-point play in transition. Junior

point guard Corey Miller then capped the 7-0 run with a pair of free

throws to put the game away.

Prather’s late flurry came after he had missed nine of his previous 10

field-goal attempts.

Villa Park also made just 9 of 32 second-half field-goal attempts and

finished 19 of 55 for the game (34.5%).

Newport misfired on 15 of 18 three-point attempts, and had 11

field-goal tries fail to hit the rim, including five Spartan blocks.

With 6-5 junior Kyle Hogan dogging Newport’s 6-6 All-CIF senior Tony

Melum on defense and Perrine seemingly out of the flow after his extended

time on the bench, Harbor had to look elsewhere for offensive output.

Melum, who came in averaging 22 points, was held scoreless the second

and third quarters and did not make a field goal the final three periods.

His eight points were a season low. His eight points matched his low

output in his final 56 varsity games.

Reynolds and Hirst credited Hogan for much of Melum’s struggles.

“They put a smaller guy on Tony and I think he got so flustered, he

even had a tough time hitting free throws,” Hirst said.

Melum finished 37 points shy of matching the school single-season

scoring record of 618, set by Justin McIntee in 1991-92.

Perrine, who had just one field goal and three points until the final

minute, finished with seven points to culminate a sterling three-year

varsity career.

Nedim Pajevic, Newport’s 6-7 junior center, continued his postseason

surge. He finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds after collecting 14

points and 15 boards in a first-round triumph over Loara.

Prather finished with 13 to lead the winners, who also received 10

from Miller and nine from Sean Phaler. Nine Spartans scored, as opposed

to six players for the hosts, verifying Reynolds’ pregame contention that

his team’s depth would be an advantage.

“I think our depth wore them down a little,” Reynolds said. “Hogan

shut down one of the better players in Orange County and I thought Miller

did a good job of running our (offensive) stuff. We had good shots, we

just weren’t making them.”

Hirst, who said the final score was not indicative of how close the

game was, noted he will not regret a lack of chances for his team.

“We had about four or five possessions with great open looks behind

the three-point line,” Hirst said. “If we make one of those, maybe we get

going and make something happen.”

Newport finishes with one of four 20-win campaigns in the school’s 72

varsity seasons.

CIF DIVISION II-AA

Second round

Villa Park 54, Newport Harbor 41

Score by Quarters

Villa Park 18 13 10 13 - 54

Newport Harbor 12 8 11 10 - 41

Villa Park - Phaler 9, Hogan 6, Prather 13, Miller 10, Beisner 2,

Herrera 5, Maxwell 5, Selinsky 2, Hosier 2.

3-pt. goals - Phaler 1, Herrera 1, Maxwell 1.

Fouled out - Hogan.

Technicals - none.

Newport Harbor - Melum 8, Peterson 2, Pajevic 14, Perrine 7, Cameron

6, Pinesett 4, Diefenbach 0.

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

Fouled out - Pinesett.

Technicals - none.