Sailors let one slip away

After falling behind, Woodbridge outscores Newport, 30-13, in the second half of matchup between two of the Sea View League’s best.IRVINE -- As good a first half the Newport Harbor High boys’ basketball team put together, it had just as bad of a second half.

The Sailors let a 14-point lead get away and netted just 13 second-half points en route to a 55-52 loss to Woodbridge in the Sea View League opener for both teams Friday night.

It was a tale of two halves and, specifically, two quarters. In the second quarter, the Sailors got the bounces, got to loose balls first and hit their shots. In the fourth quarter, the same could be said for the Warriors, while the Sailors fumbled passes and put up ill-conceived shots.

“Some mental decisions we made in the third and fourth quarters hurt us,” Newport Harbor Coach Larry Hirst said. “We made decisions that came back to haunt us, especially inside the key, like passing when we should have shot and shooting when we should have passed.”

Austin Daye, who had a game-high 19 points for Woodbridge (8-8, 1-0), took a page out of Newport Harbor’s book by drawing a charge early in the fourth quarter. On Woodbridge’s next possession, Kyle Jansen grabbed a rebound, dribbled the length of the floor and kicked the ball out to Daye, who hit a three-pointer to give the Warriors a 46-45 lead -- their first lead since the first quarter.

“To fight back against a quality team like Newport says a lot about our kids,” Woodbridge Coach John Halagan said.

Newport Harbor didn’t score a point in the fourth quarter until Dennis Heenan made two free throws with 3:18 left.

Heenan, who scored all seven of Newport Harbor’s fourth-quarter points, hit a three-pointer with 39 seconds left to pull the Sailors to within 53-52. But Daye hit a 5-foot fade away jumper.

Woodbridge’s Eric Hudes missed two free throws with 10.2 seconds left, but Tony Yaghjian missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.

“In the second half, we weren’t making the extra pass,” Hirst said. “And the loose balls we got to in the first half, Woodbridge got, and they turned them into fast breaks.”

The Sailors blew open a 17-17 tie in the second quarter. After Yaghjian hit one of his game-high four three-pointers, Sean Eddington took a charge that fired up the team.

Heenan turned a steal into a two-handed slam dunk and Yaghjian converted on a four-point play. Heenan closed out the first half by hitting a baseline 10-footer to give the Sailors (12-3, 0-1) a 39-25 lead.

Sea View League

Woodbridge 55,

Newport Harbor 52

Score by Quarters