Sea Kings too quick

The Newport-Mesa Sea Kings, a fifth-grade boys’ National Junior Basketball All-Net team, jumped out to an early lead and continued to dominate the Irvine Warriors on their way to a 46-21 victory Sunday at the Newport Coast Community Center.

Shan Dharod, Preston Hartsell and Ryan Meckler each connected for big, three-point baskets for a total of 15 points for the Sea Kings. Jake Meyer, Tyler Flood and Chris Bonds defensively ruled the boards for a total of 19 rebounds with Flood adding two points on offense to make for an outstanding all-around performance. Mikey Ruiz was perfect from the free-throw line.

The entire team contributed amazing hustle on both offensive and defense, especially in the fourth quarter, to clinch the big victory.

The Sea Kings (5-1) will play their next game at Sunday at 9 a.m. at the Newport Coast Community Center.

— Lisa Meyer

Knicks too much for Heat

The Heat played their best game yet, but were facing their most difficult opponent so far in a Newport-Mesa NJB Boys’ Division 2 game.

The Knicks combined great speed with great shooting range and tight defense, to hold the Heat to their lowest score of the season in recording a 40-18 victory.

Despite the loss, the Heat especially pleased their coaches with great improvement in rebounding and passing. Derek Mathuny had a breakout game with seven rebounds and blocked out taller Knicks players throughout the game. John Holland pulled down a season-high five rebounds, Mitch Dean had six rebounds and Alec Nguyen had four rebounds.

Gianluca Vassalli and Patrick Jennings showed quickness in creating steals and speed to run down the Knicks on fast breaks. The duo also played their normal, great hustling defense. Brett Super handled the ball well at the point against the Knicks’ trapping defense and adjusted, on the fly, to their half-court trap.

Krishan Arora found his way on the scoring sheet and showed improved hustle up and down the court. Drew Johnston played steadily and handled the ball well.

The Heat had seven players score for the first time this season.

— Greg Super

Action picks up for NJB boys

In Newport-Mesa seventh- and eight-grade competition ...

Blazers 44, Wildcats 39: The Blazers picked up a win this season with a full roster present at the game against the Wildcats. Timmy Strider led all scorers with 16 points and 16 rebounds and also had three blocks. Gannon Bond chipped in 15 points and six assists and Nick Whitelaw, James Pflughaupt, Richard Hagestad, Alan Giglio, Harrison Hewitt and Liam Murphy all played well in the big win. The Cats were led by the stellar play of Ryan Kleinman (16 points, five assists), Kevin and Mark Manchester, Peter Goodman and Ryan Farhat.

Spartans 38, Blue Devils 34: The Spartans (2-3) picked up a tough win over the Blue Devils on Sunday. Cameron Hook (12 points), Chad Redfearn (11 points) and Robbie Breach (10 points)led the way, while the Spartan defense held the Blue Devils’ leading scorer, Sam Younesi to 15 points. Younesi led the Blue Devils with nine rebounds and was helped by player of the game Parker Chase, who played stellar defense throughout and provided a scoring punch with nine points and 11 rebounds. Quinn Bassler, Joey Cooper, Dawson Lewis and Robbie Farber all played well in defeat.

Bruins 38, Tigers 20: The Bruins (5-0) remained undefeated and in first place in the league standings following a convincing win over the Tigers. Trevor Schwartz and Tyler Lopp led the Bruins’ attack with four assists each. John Workman added four points and played strong defense, while Patrick Halle, Areya Aresh and Brandon Francisco (12 points, eight rebounds), manned the paint. The Tigers were led by the solid play of Alex Wilde, Taylor Cortens, Jake Hastings, Ryan Cargile and Nolan McCarthy.

Bulldogs 43, Hawkeyes 39: The Bulldogs (4-1) moved into second place with a close victory over the Hawkeyes (3-2). Augie Miller, Chris King, Jay Damon, Mike and David Ramadan, Ryan Stone and Junior Johnson all played well in the victory. The Hawkeyes cut into a big lead in the final period, but couldn’t overcome the Dogs. They were led by Kavi Sakraney (11 points, five assists), David Bruno (nine points, seven rebounds), Brian Wagner (eight points, five rebounds) and Beau Roth (six points).

— Reader Submission

Dolphins handle TeWinkle

The Mariners Christian School eighth-grade basketball team moved to 2-0 in Coastal Athletic League play by knocking off TeWinkle, 42-15, last week.

The Dolphins were led by a balanced attack and Gannon Bond led the team in scoring. The scoring was spread out among nine other players, including Jeremy Fukushima, who was perfect from the free-throw line.

“The defensive presence proved to be too much for TeWinkle to handle, as we limited them to five points in the first half,” Mariners Coach Ken Krumansl said.

— Mac Thompson

Supersonics hang tough

The Supersonics played a Newport-Mesa NJB Boys’ Division 2 doubleheader Sunday and dropped consecutive games to the Blue Devils and Jayhawks.

The results left the Supersonics with an 0-6 record.

In the first game, the Supersonics took on Coach Grippo and his Blue Devils in a battle for the pride of the southwest corner of Phase II of Harbor View. The Blue Devils pulled out to an early lead, but the Sonics came back strong in the fourth and fifth periods. In the end, the Blue Devils prevailed 26-23, which represented a breakout offensive game for both teams.

Following a break, the Sonics then faced Coach Kormos and the Jayhawks, who were also playing their second game of the day since no games will be played during the upcoming weekend to observe the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The Jayhawks took an early and commanding lead, but the Sonics never gave up in losing, 38-16.

— Reader Submission

Bomb better than Sparks

Kicking off the first game for 2010, the Bomb worked well both offensively and defensively against the Sparks and went on to post a 34-14 victory in a Newport-Mesa NJB Girls’ Seventh-Grade Division game.

Anna Hancock led The Bomb with 18 points followed by Briana Rodriquez with eight points. Brittany Murphy played well with several passes to her teammates and also played a solid defensive game. Grace Emmel contributed four points and made a shot under intense pressure.

Brittany Rodriquez had several steals under the basket and led the team in rebounds. She also had a solid passing game down court that contributed to several points by her sister, Briana. Erin Stefano played solid defense and had several steals for The Bomb. Bailey Super displayed smothering defense and in the second quarter had a steal and layup that contributed two of her four points.

Mackenzie Gaddis played solid defense and hit a three-point shot in the fifth quarter. Coach Joe Stefano praised his team on its great start for 2010.

— Mary Lynn Gaddis and Holly Kincaid