Newport-Mesa Tar Heels Play In Championship Game!

The Newport-Mesa Tar Heels Boys 7th Grade All-Net team continued a successful season by going (3-1) in the NJB All-Net Super-Sectional Tournament and playing in the Championship Game last weekend (March 6-7).

The Tar Heels went (3-0) in pool play defeating the Laguna Hills Evolution 47-34, La Habra Thunder 51-45 and Huntington Beach Surf City Waves 59-48 behind the timely shooting of Max Kline, Grady Kimme and Max Stanley who all hit clutch 3-pointers throughout the tournament. Cole Norris led all scorers averaging 14.25 points / 7.25 rebounds while Kline averaged 9 points / 2 steals, Kevin Fults added 7 points and 6 rebounds and Brett Greenlee averaged 2 steals and 5 rebounds. Riley Gaddis continued his strong defensive play picking-up 13 steals and 15 rebounds while Logan Miller ran the offense with precision passing and dished-out timely assists while himself collecting 8 rebounds and 6 steals. Charlie Evans & Hagen Truninger pounded the offensive and defensive boards throughout the weekend picking up key rebounds and providing stingy defense.

In the finals against the Huntington Beach Chargers, the Tar Heels faced a 6’2” all-league center who was dominating from the start. Facing a 4-12 deficit in the opening quarter, the Heels continued to work hard pressuring the ball while Max Kline hit consecutive three-pointers to cut into the lead. In the 2nd quarter, Logan Miller dished out two assists in a row and Max Stanley hit a big three-pointer to trim the Chargers lead to three points at halftime. The Heels came out and dominated the Chargers combining for 16 third-quarter points while taking a 4-point lead into the final period led by Cole Norris (8 points in the period). The 4th quarter was an up & down battle with both teams holding leads for a few possessions before the Chargers closed-out the game on a 7-0 run and defeating the Tar Heels for the championship 58-52.

The Tar Heels will contend with teams from Hawaii, Nevada, Arizona, Texas and Northern California for the National Championship March 26-28th.