Dolphins come up big

Mariners Christian School closed out January in grand fashion earning victories in various sports on different grade levels.

The Mariners Christian sixth-grade boys’ basketball team used pressure defense and relentless rebounding to defeat Huntington Christian, 51-23, in a Christian Athletic League of Orange County match-up last week.

George MacCable led the Mariners Christian scoring attack with a strong inside presence, putting up 18 points.

Taso Marcopulos contributed as well from the outside and handed off numerous assists to MacCable, Stephen Guder and Mitch Dean, who helped dominate the paint. Marcopulos finished with 12 points.

Matt Alessi, Josh Spicer and Noah Giddings spearheaded the defense by applying relentless pressure on the perimeter which led to numerous fast-break baskets.

Two weeks ago, the Mariners Christian seventh-grade boys’ basketball team topped the Eagles of Crystal Cathedral, 36-27, in a league game.

The Dolphins were led by the hot shooting of Jake Haar who topped all scorers with 13 points. Peter Seidner also made a valuable offensive contribution with nine points. Justin Hess also pitched in four points and had a game-high eight rebounds.

Also, the Mariners Christian sixth-grade Division II boys’ basketball team squeaked out a 30-26 victory over Shoreline behind the hot shooting of Nick Tofolli.

Tofolli led all scorers with 12 points. Also leading the charge for the Dolphins was Shaun Korkmaz, who had seven points and seven steals.

In addition, the sixth-grade Mariners Christian girls’ volleyball team edged Eastside. The Dolphins came out strong and won the first of three games.

Eastside then tied it up by winning the second game and Samantha Sanchez brought it home with five great serves that resulted in five points, enough for the tie-break in the third game.

Chandy Alayra used her skills to return the ball with impressive control to also win Mariners some big points and Jessica Hanson proved her practice is paying off with consistent hits and points.

The Mariners Christian Division III sixth-grade girls’ volleyball team also won, beating Eastside Christian in two games.

The Dolphins’ Sarah Colbaugh led the team in serving by going on several runs behind the service line, while Brooke Olson made multiple plays on the court, including several impressive attacks from the front and back row.

Big Cats dump Eagles

The Big Cats, a National Junior Basketball All-Net fifth-grade boys’ team, ran over the first-place team, the Irvine Eagles, 41-26, Sunday.

Matthew McDonald scored 14 points and Collin Pipkin added 10 points to help clinch the victory. Luke Vafiadis scored nine points, Mitch Haly had six points and Connor Kincaid and Will Rodosky also scored.

Turning in great defensive performances were Chase Garbers, Will Ueberroth and Jake Jones.

Chase Furey was out with an injury.

The Big Cats are coached by Mike Flamson and Grey Haly.

— Reader submission

Sixers too quick for Devils

In Newport-Mesa NJB Division II action, the 76ers defeated the Blue Devils in a fast-paced game, 42 -27, Sunday.

Evan Cleary and Grant Joyce led the 76ers in snapping a two-game losing streak with 13 and eight points, respectively. Max Nunola drained two three-point shots and finished with nine points, followed by Matt Morton and Drew Raguse, who each scored six.

Morton, Mike Brown and Braden Wolfe owned the boards on each end of the court. Henry Bagdasar was a stopper on defense.

The Blue Devils put on a furious full-court press in the fifth period to try and erase a fourth period lead (34-14) by the 76ers but came up short, even though the 76ers were playing the fifth period without Morton, Cleary and Nunola, due to the league’s Mercy Rule.

— Richard Morton

Heat hang tough

In Division II boys’ action, the Bruins beat the Heat, 38-22.

The Bruins put the game away early by forcing multiple turnovers and hitting 50% of their field goals in the first period.

Brett Super got the Heat off to a good start, hitting the first shot of the game and getting two fouls on the Bruins’ highly skilled point guard in the first two minutes. Super was perfect from the free-throw line. Mitch Dean led the Heat with nine rebounds and got help from Derek Mathuny, who had six boards, while John Holland had five rebounds.

Drew Johnston played the point and hit free throws, Gianluca Vassalli set screens and also scored, Patrick Jennings played tenacious defense and Krishan Arora missed a shot at the buzzer.

— Greg Super

Hawkeyes take care of Tigers

The Hawkeyes improved to 6-2 with a big, 40-27 win over the Tigers in Newport-Mesa NJB boys’ seventh- and eighth-grade action.

Brian Wagner (14 points, seven rebounds, five steals) led all scorers, while David Bruon chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds. The Hawkeyes put all eight players in the scoring column this week.

In other games ...

Wildcats 39, Blue Devils 36: The Wildcats picked up their third win of the season with a tough game against the Blue Devils. The best overall effort from the Cats resulted in the big win and they were paced by Cole Collins, Grant Nutt, Shane Silver and Grant Morris. The Cats were led by the strong play of Quinn Bassler down low and Parker Chase in the paint on defense.

Bruins 53, Spartans 45: The Bruins (6-2) stayed in a tie for first place with a win over the Spartans.

Bulldogs 43, Blazers 41: The Bulldogs stayed in the hunt for a league title with a tough win over the surging Blazers. Michael Karamardian hit four three-pointers en route to 17 points and six assists, while Augie Miller collected 12 rebounds. David Karamardian and Chris King played stellar defense throughout. Timmy Strader and Gannon Bond combined for 30 of the Blazers’ points and added 18 rebounds. Nick Whitelaw and Richard Hagestadt played well in defeat.

— Reader submission

Tar Heels move into first

The Newport-Mesa Tar Heels seventh-grade boys’ All-Net team moved into a tie for first place in its division with a triple-header of games last weekend.

The Tar Heels (8-2) beat the Los Alamitos Griffins, 50-36, and, 55-37, in back-to-back games on Saturday night and Sunday morning before facing the powerhouse eighth-grade girls’ national champion Irvine Central Lady Eagles in the nightcap on Sunday prevailing, 44-40, in a hotly-contested game.

Logan Miller had his best games of the season while nursing a cold and was helped by the strong play of Cole Norris, who had 34 points and 25 rebounds.

Max Kline and Brett Greenlee played tough defense while combining for 16 steals and Kevin Fults pounded the boards with 18 rebounds. Max Stanley, Hagen Truninger, Riley Gaddis, Charlie Evans and Grady Kimme all played big minutes over the weekend and were extremely productive.

The Tar Heels are coached by Scott Stucki and Eric Fults and play again Sunday against Rancho Santa Margarita.

— Reader submission