Russell McClurg earns 500th coaching win as Huntington Beach edges Laguna Beach

Huntington Beach girls’ basketball coach Russell McClurg has worked with countless players throughout a decorated career.

His newest pupils helped him achieve a major milestone, as McClurg notched his 500th prep coaching win on Tuesday in the Wave League opener at Laguna Beach High.

Freshman guard Emma Miyai scored 17 of her game-high 19 points in the first half, and the Oilers edged the Breakers for a 41-39 win.

The Huntington Beach players broke out a sign, party hats and noisemakers to celebrate McClurg’s latest achievement.

“The monkey’s clearly off my back,” said McClurg, who thanked [former Huntington Beach athletic director] Roy Miller for bringing him to the school. “... Forever grateful. All the kids I’ve coached all over the years, I can think back to all the memories and all the great times I’ve had at H.B. with some great teams. … To get here is a dream come true for me because I worked so hard to get that. It’s been a long time coming.”

The wins were compiled between stops at Calvary Chapel and Huntington Beach. McClurg said he was 106-59 in his time at Calvary Chapel, where he led the Eagles to three CIF Southern Section finals, winning the Division IVA championship over Santa Monica Crossroads in 1999. That team also advanced to the Division IV state final.

Huntington Beach has reached two section finals under McClurg — in 2012 and 2017, both in Division 1A.

Win No. 500 didn’t come easy. Huntington Beach (13-8) took the court three times before getting it done, but the one that finished the job looked like many before. A point guard pounded the rock, making plays late in the shot clock, limiting possessions and leaving the game up to execution.

The Oilers had the final shot in the first half, and Miyai dribbled to her left before throwing in the buzzer-beater from the baseline for a 26-20 lead. Lauren Matsumoto then drove left for a layup on the final possession of the third quarter, sending Huntington Beach to the fourth quarter up 32-27.

A three-pointer by freshman center Emily Hoang to start the final period gave the Oilers a 35-27 advantage, but Laguna Beach (6-12) would not go away.

The Breakers scored nine unanswered points to take the lead, fueled by two three-pointers by Alex Grombchevsky and capped by an offensive putback by Mila Davis.

Melanie Rose’s bucket with just over a minute remaining put Huntington Beach back in front. After Laguna Beach missed two attempts under the basket at the other end, Hoang and Miyai each made a pair of free throws to put the game away.

Matsumoto had six points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Hoang contributed eight points, four rebounds and two steals. Isobel Melitas also had four points and two steals, while Rose blocked four shots.

“Today, it was the first league game, and he was at 499,” Miyai said of McClurg. “I was like, ‘Oh, we need to get this.’ I was in the car, ‘Oh my gosh. I can’t wait to play.’”

Grombchevsky led Laguna Beach with 14 points and three steals. Kate Cheng added 13 points, including a three-pointer as the clock ran out to end the game. Davis scored six points to go with 10 rebounds.

“They came back real well,” Laguna Beach coach Rus Soobzokov said. “I was pretty proud of that. They got to understand that league games, you’ve got to be focused, ready to go from the beginning. I don’t think that we were in the first quarter. It took us maybe a quarter and a half to get things going.”

Wave League

Huntington Beach 41, Laguna Beach 39

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Huntington Beach 14 - 12 - 6 - 9 — 41

Laguna Beach 8 - 12 - 7 - 12 — 39

HB — Miyai 19, Hoang 8, Matsumoto 6, Melitas 4, Nguyen 2, Rose 2.

3-pt. goals — Miyai 3, Hoang 1.

Fouled out — None.

Technicals — None.

LB — Grombchevsky 14, Cheng 13, Davis 6, Seybold, 5, Crane-Henning 1

3-pt. goals — Grombchevsky 4, Cheng 2.

Fouled out — Grombchevsky.

Technicals — None.