Sailor savors stellar season

Tony Yaghjian has been playing basketball since he was 5 years old, but he never experienced a season like the one he just concluded with the Newport Harbor High boys’ basketball team.

Yaghjian was the point guard, and at times the go-to guy for the defensive-minded, team-oriented Sailors, who went 21-7 and nearly upset No. 4-seeded Ayala in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division II-AA playoffs last Tuesday. Yaghjian helped engineer a Newport Harbor comeback in the game by playing tenacious defense and with a sense of urgency on offense.

Yaghjian scored a team-high 16 points in the game and assisted on Dennis Heenan’s three-pointer with 20 seconds left, which tied the contest. Ayala emerged with the 50-47 victory on a clutch three-pointer of its own with four seconds left in the game to end Newport Harbor’s stellar season.

Yaghjian made several big shots throughout the game to keep his squad in it down to the last second.

“This is what we live for,” Yaghjian said after the game. “We look forward to playing competitive games like this. It’s an awesome feeling to be in a game like this. I’m not angry, but it’s always better with a victory.”

Despite the loss, it was an unforgettable game to mark a memorable season for Yaghjian and the Sailors.

“This season was by far the best experience of my life,” Yaghjian said. “Playing with the group of guys I played with was great.”

It took some time for Yaghjian to develop into the player he became under Coach Larry Hirst. As an underclassman, Yaghjian thought as a point guard, his job was to do everything himself. By the time he was a senior, he learned patience and how to involve his teammates more.

“I feel I improved in being able to control the ball better. When I was younger, I was out of control,” Yaghjian said. “I learned to be more patient, rely on the team more, play more within the system and let the game come to me.”

“His biggest growth has been as a listener,” Hirst said. “And understanding the game for the betterment of the team. He struggled the most as a young player. As a senior, he understood his skills to penetrate and pitch the ball out and find the open man was more valuable to the team than taking it to the basket himself every time.”

Yaghjian said he feels lucky to have had Hirst as his coach.

“Coach Hirst is an awesome guy. He’s not only a great basketball coach, I see him as a mentor,” Yaghjian said.

Yaghjian plans to attempt to walk on his college basketball team. He’s just not sure what college that will be. He hopes to study business management at Biola University, or perhaps Pepperdine or UC Irvine.

He’s slated to play in club basketball tournaments later this month.

But the high school basketball experience is not something Yaghjian will soon forget.

The Tony Yaghjian File

Hometown: Newport Beach

Height: 5-foot-11

Weight: 165

Sport: Basketball

Position: Point guard

Coach: Larry Hirst

Favorite food: Turkey sandwiches from Gallos

Favorite movie: “Gladiator”

Favorite athletic moment: “This whole season, winning 21 games and going to the second round of the CIF playoffs.”

Week in review: Yaghjian had 16 points, including several big shots to keep his squad in contention during the Newport Harbor boys’ basketball team’s 50-47 loss to No. 4-seeded Ayala in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division II-AA playoffs.dpt-maleathlete04.IMGGraphicInfoC61OJPM220060304C61OJPM2No Captiondpt.04-aow-CPhotoInfoE91OJON420060304ivksptknMARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT(LA)