Sailors trounce Irvine
Barry Faulkner
Newport Harbor High boys basketball coach Larry Hirst said Sailor
coaches and players reviewed the video of Wednesday’s Sea View League
loss at Aliso Niguel as intensely as they have any game in recent
memory.
The video of Friday’s 59-35 Sea View home triumph over Irvine,
however, might just stay perched on the shelf.
For, after opening a 17-0 lead, including a 15-0 cushion at the
end of one quarter, the Sailors (10-8, 2-1 in league) and Vaqueros
(1-17, 0-3) showed more effort than efficiency.
“We were disappointed in a lot of areas after losing to Aliso
Niguel,” Hirst said. “That’s a great team, but we were our own worst
enemy. So, we had the longest film session of the season, trying to
point out little areas we wanted to improve.”
Hirst cited offensive rebounding and defensive rotations as two
specific areas in which he believed his team made progress Friday.
But the Tars’ dominance on the offensive boards came at the
expense of a subpar shooting performance. Of the Sailors’ 50
rebounds, exactly double the total produced by the visitors, 28 came
on their own missed shots.
The Sailors finished 21 of 63 from the field (33.3%), a slight
improvement from their 31% effort before halftime (9 for 29).
But if Newport Harbor’s first-half shooting was suspect, Irvine’s
was, well, let the numbers tell the tale.
The Vaqueros, held scoreless the first 10 minutes, 13 seconds of
the contest, missed their first 12 field-goal tries, before senior
Craig Skidmore’s successful 10-footer drew a cheer from rooters of
both teams.
The visitors were 0 for 9 in the first quarter, including five air
balls, and one of their two first-period free throws also failed to
draw iron. Irvine was a mere 6 of 22 from the field after two periods
(27.3%), after which the Sailors held a 28-12 advantage.
Part of the Vaqueros’ struggles, of course, could be attributed to
the Sailors’ stifling man-to-man defense.
Newport swarmed Irvine ball handlers on the perimeter, forcing 12
of the visitors’ 18 turnovers before intermission.
Hirst said he liked his players’ intensity, as well as the fact
that they sustained it after earning the decisive advantage.
“I give our kids credit,” Hirst said. “We played our first two
league games on the road and I think they were happy to be back at
home, playing in front of a friendly crowd. Everyone had energy for
us, whether it was the guys on the floor, or on the bench.”
As is usually the case when one team earns a lopsided lead early
on, there were lapses for the Sailors, whose starters combined to
make just 12 of 42 field-goal attempts (28.6%).
“I haven’t seen our shot chart yet, but I’m willing to say we had
a lot of misses in the paint,” Hirst said.
Newport did not have a three-pointer and made just five attempts
from beyond the arc.
Seniors Taylor Young and Brett Perrine paced the offense for the
winners, producing 15 and 14 points, respectively. Young added 11
rebounds (six offensive) and Perrine nabbed seven of his eight boards
on the offensive end.
Junior Robert Koon chipped in eight rebounds to go with his seven
points, while junior Parker Stevens added five points and five
rebounds off the bench.
Sea View League
Newport Harbor 59, Irvine 35
Score by Quarters
*--*
Irvine 0 12 12 11 -- 35
Newport 15 13 16 15 -- 59
*--*
Irvine -- Skidmore 17, Nourse 8, Tew 6, Becktell 3, Carter 1.
3-pt. goals -- Becktell 1.
Newport Harbor -- Young 15, Perrine 14, Koon 7, Nasca 2, Slater 0,
Heenan 6, Yaghjian 6, Stevens 5, Cornwell 2, Jackson 2, Brewer 0, Lee
0.
3-pt. goals -- None.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.