Tars ‘Long’ on triumphs

NEWPORT BEACH — In his first stint as the Newport Harbor High girls’ basketball coach, Justin Long is happy where his team is 11 games into the season.

“We’re beating teams that we should beat and we’re beating teams that we probably shouldn’t beat,” Long said. “We haven’t had any bad losses.”

The Sailors avoided one Monday night at home. They managed to overcome sloppy play down the stretch of the Battle of the Bay game.

Newport Harbor held on to beat Corona del Mar, 42-36, making it three straight seasons the Sailors have won the rivalry game.

Extending one streak ended another for Newport Harbor (6-5). The Sailors snapped a three-game slide, giving them some momentum heading into a four-day break before they return to action the day after Christmas.

“We’re about right where we should be,” said Long, who, for the most part, enjoyed his first girls’ Back Bay experience, especially after the Sailors won.

The frontcourt of 6-foot-1 Alex Morton and 6-2 Kasey Thompson were two big reasons why Newport Harbor prevailed.

The two helped the Sailors build a large enough lead in the third quarter. They controlled the paint at both ends of the floor, frustrating and getting CdM post players, Katie Bergsma and Carolina Van Der Velde, into early foul trouble.

Morton finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds, while Thompson contributed 11 points and 15 rebounds.

The 10 turnovers in the final quarter frustrated Long at times. He survived, even after CdM outscored his Sailors, 11-3.

Not helping the Sea Kings’ comeback effort were five missed free throws in the fourth quarter. They shot poorly in the quarter as well, making just five of 21 field-goal attempts.

The Battle of the Bay has been close the last four meetings. The winning team has won by a margin of close to four points. All Coach Mark Decker knows is the last time he led the Sea Kings past Newport Harbor was in his first season in 2006-07.

Decker said the Sea Kings (6-5) have a lot of work ahead. Bergsma led the team with 12 points and four steals.

“It’s probably a good time for a break,” said Decker, whose team returns to action at the Garden Grove Tournament on Saturday.

On the same day, the Sailors are at the Costa Mesa Tournament. Newport Harbor finds itself in far better shape at this point in the season compared to last year, when the Sailors started 3-8.

The reason for the early success can be attributed to Long’s experience in rebuilding a program.

The head coaching job at Newport Harbor is similar to Long’s last one at Century. The season before he took over at Century, Long said the team won seven games. Newport Harbor came off a season in which it won seven games.

The Sailors are one victory away from matching that total. The No. 1 reason why the program has progressed so fast is simple to Morton.

“[Long] just takes everything so seriously,” Morton said.

Morton and the rest of her teammates are buying into Long’s approach. He helped turn around Century during his three seasons, taking the school to the playoffs in each one.

Being competitive has given the Sailors a lot more confidence on the court.

“Knowing the talent in Orange County, and I’ve been around all levels, they’re better than they think,” Long said. “I just think they play a lot more … talented teams [in the Sunset League]. This has been more of a seasonal program, and every team they play is pretty much a year-round program.

“We’d like to turn it into something that’s a little bit more year round.”

Nonleague

Newport Harbor 42,

Corona del Mar 36

SCORE BY QUARTERS

CdM – Bergsma 12, Van Der Velde 6, de Arakal 5, Schroff, 5, Nadal 4, Gallardo 2, Wilson 2.

3-pt. goals – Schroff 1, de Arakal 1, Nadal 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

Newport Harbor – Morton 17, Thompson 11, Legault 9, Mead 2, Gibson 2, Cavillo 1.

3-pt. goals – None.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.