Seahawks advance

Had the Huntington Beach boys’ basketball team played the first 32 minutes the way it had the final eight of Tuesday night’s CIF-Southern Section Division I-A second-round playoff game, then it very well could have been the Oilers, and not Rancho Cucamonga, who would be moving on to Friday’s quarterfinal round.

Seventh-ranked Huntington dug itself into an early deficit and was forced to play catch-up. Yet the Oilers scratched and clawed their way back against the sixth-ranked Cougars, rallied back from several double-digit deficits and had a chance to send the game into overtime during a frantic finish, yet visiting Rancho Cucamonga was able to hang on for a thrilling 89-86 victory.

One local school that is moving forward in the postseason is Ocean View.

The third-ranked Seahawks took the long road north Tuesday and returned home with a 60-49 victory over Paso Robles to move on to Friday’s quarterfinal round of the Division II-A playoffs.

Huntington fell behind by 10 points in the first quarter against Rancho Cucamonga, trailed 44-32 at the half and was down 71-61 heading into the fourth quarter. It was in those final eight minutes that the Oilers staged a furious comeback to pull to within 88-86 with a minute to play. The Oilers had a chance to tie the score but Zach Kimber’s shot rolled in and out of the cylinder, Rancho Cucamonga’s Teminiro E-nunu pulled down a key rebound with 15 seconds left.

Rashad Bowie hit one of two free throws with 10 seconds left to make it 89-86, but the Oilers still had a chance. Following a mad scramble for a loose ball and ensuing timeout with .4 seconds to play, senior Trevor Carroll launched a quick three-point shot that was on target but just a foot shy of the basket.

Carroll had a terrific game. In one sequence under the Huntington basket, he pulled down three consecutive rebounds among the tall trees of Rancho, including the 6-foot-8 E-nunu. He then followed a missed three-pointer by Becker to draw the Oilers within 71-68 with 6:56 to play.

He also contributed 20 points.

Kimber led the Oilers with 25 points and Becker, despite fouling out with 4:36 left, scored 23 points.

E-nunu, who came in averaging 17 points, poured in 37 Tuesday.

“We didn’t play a full game, basically, just the fourth quarter,” said Huntington Coach Fabian Luna who has taken the Oilers to the postseason in each of his first two years at the school. “We didn’t do a good job early on in the game, especially on defense. We put ourselves in a hole early and you can’t do that against a talented team like Rancho.”

Huntington, the No. 2 team from the Sea View League, ended its outstanding year at 23-5.

In Ocean View’s 60-49 win Tuesday over Paso Robles, the Seahawks overcame a 25-22 halftime deficit to outscore Paso by 14 in the second half.

Avery Johnson led the Seahawks with 18 points. Brandon Ishimoto scored 16 and Takeshi Clifford scored 11.

In first-round action last Friday, Huntington scored a huge win at Newport Harbor, taking a 62-54 here from a Sailors team that had streaked into the postseason.

Newport Harbor came into the playoffs on a six-game win streak that allowed the Sailors to claim second-place in the Sunset League.

Ocean View, meanwhile, had picked up an easy home court victory by routing Channel Island, 78-47.

Against Newport Harbor, Huntington came out strong from the opening tip but was tied at 26 at the half. The Oilers began to gain control of the game by going on a 16-3 tear that encompassed the end of the third quarter to the beginning of the fourth quarter.

The Oilers got the win in a tough environment and a boisterous Huntington fan base that traveled to Newport included All-Pro tight end Tony Gonzalez of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Gonzalez had his Huntington career scoring record broken last month by Becker.

Becker led Huntington with 16 points. A balanced Oilers attack also saw Carroll get a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three assists and a pair of steals. Kimber had 14 points, eight boards and two steals and Neil Negrete came up with 10 points, six rebounds and three assists.

Kyle Caldwell, Newport Harbor’s big, 6-foot-9 senior center, had a game-high 26 points.

“It was a very well-played game for both teams,” Luna said. “They are well coached and have an incredible player in [Kyle] Caldwell. I thought we did a great job on shutting everyone else down, which ended up being the difference.

“I am proud of how my guys executed the game plan and we walked out of there with a quality win.”

Ishimoto, Ocean View’s senior playmaker, turned in a stellar all-around performance with 18 points, nine steals and six assists.

Clifford, a six-foot seven senior guard/forward, had a double-double performance with 14 points and 16 rebounds.