Ocean View passes key test

SANTA ANA — The defense took over, which in turn led to the offense taking over.

It sounds like a simple enough formula, but it’s one that’s worked for the Ocean View High basketball team. The fans saw the consecutive dunks Monday night by seniors Avery Johnson and Anthony Brown, helping the Seahawks pull away in the third quarter against Golden West League foe Segerstrom.

But Coach Jim Harris also saw the steals that led to those opportunities as the Seahawks got the key win, 78-62.

“The defense took over, and [Anthony and Avery] finished,” Harris said. “We get a lot of our offense off our defense, and that’s when we get those runs and spurts that are usually hard to answer. But [Segerstrom] is a tough team. They put us into some tough situations.”

Ocean View (17-3, 5-0 in league) handed Segerstrom (15-4, 4-1), coached by former Seahawks assistant Adrian Gomez, its first league loss. The Jaguars are the Seahawks’ main threat to the league title; the teams play again Friday night at Ocean View.

Johnson and Brown each scored six points in a 12-0 run Monday to open the third quarter for Ocean View, the defending league and CIF champions now ranked No. 1 in the CIF Southern Section Division III-AA coaches’ poll. The points helped the Seahawks extend a nine-point halftime lead to 55-34 midway through the quarter.

Johnson had a game-high 18 points and Brown added 17 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Yet the scoring was balanced in the first half. Senior center Ryan Okwudibonye (10 first-half points) and senior guard Aaron Delgado (nine) were Ocean View’s first-half scoring leaders.

“I did what I had to do,” said Okwudibonye, who finished with 14 points and 10 boards. “I felt like everyone was on the same page.”

Delgado had 10 points and so did junior guard Billy Keller, who hit all eight of his free throws.

Segerstrom’s Derrick Landrum also had 18 points, but the Jaguars didn’t really have an answer for Ocean View’s high-powered attack in the second half. Segerstrom is ranked as well, No. 11 in Division II-AA.

“We knew we had to step it up,” Delgado said. “This wasn’t just a regular league game that we usually have.”

Besides the rematch against Segerstrom, Ocean View has precious few tests left before the CIF playoffs. One will come Feb. 6, when the Seahawks play Orange Lutheran at 4:30 p.m. in the Nike Extravaganza at Mater Dei. Orange Lutheran is ranked No. 2 in Division IV-A.

The Seahawks will be ready.

“[The team chemistry] seems like it’s getting better every day,” Okwudibonye said.