Season comes to end

For four local prep basketball teams, the season has come to an end.

In boys’ basketball, Marina went out on a winning note Feb. 13 by handing playoff-bound Newport Harbor (5-5 league, third-place) a 62-59 loss in Sunset League action. Sophomore guard Ethan Young scored 13 points and in his final game, senior guard Derek Mallard scored 11 points for the Vikings who won on Senior Night.

Marina completed a 3-7 Sunset League campaign, good for fourth place. The Vikings, who suffered late, consecutive league losses earlier this month to Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley which denied them postseason consideration, went 9-17 overall.

“We played a lot of tough teams this year, and our guys learned a lot about how to compete and how to treat every game like a championship game,” Marina Coach Nick Racklin said. “We have 11 returners next year, and I know they will put the work in during the off-season to make sure we win a lot of games next year.”

Defending Sunset champion Fountain Valley took fifth place this year, and ended league play Feb. 13 with a 74-52 loss at Edison. The Barons were 2-8 in league and 9-18 overall.

•Fountain Valley turned in a strong first-half performance that ended with the score tied at 33-33, but missed early scoring opportunities early in the third quarter. The Barons went on to be outscored, 22-7, in the third quarter.

Senior guard Richard Le led Fountain Valley with 12 points. Senior forward Jordan Venters scored nine points and sophomore forward Chris Meyer had eight points.

Fountain Valley Coach Roger Holmes called 2013-14 a “unique season with youth, injuries, and dismissals.”

“Our kids played hard every day and gained valuable experience for the future,” Holmes said. “We will have eight players returning . Our freshmen teams have dominated the league the last two years., 25-1 this season following a freshman team that went 23-3 last year, so we are in a good place looking forward.”

•Huntington Beach also played its final Sunset League and dropped a 60-34 game at league champion Los Alamitos (9-1). Senior guard Ryan Morrissey scored 13 points and senior forward Ryan Chocek grabbed six rebounds for the Oilers who went 2-8 in league (tied with Fountain Valley for fifth) and 5-21 overall.

“I thought the season was one that showed the character of the type of kids we have in the program,” Huntington Coach Fabian Luna said. “We faced a lot of adversity this year that was out of our control and our kids never quit, they battled until the end. That’s a credit to the type of people these kids are and this experience will make them better people in life.”

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Girls’ Basketball

Fountain Valley’s season came to a close Feb. 12. The Barons ended up in fifth place in the Sunset League and fell, 68-52, to visiting Edison in their final game of the year. Freshman guard Andie Kristinat concluded her first varsity season by hitting five of 11 three-point shot attempts en route to 17 points. Sophomore post Mikaila Pacis scored nine points and had seven rebounds, senior guard Amy Yoshinaga had nine points, senior post Emily Krause seven points, and junior guard Ashley Masuda scored three points and had five assists.

Fountain Valley finished 3-7 in league, and 0-16 overall.

“This was a tough season for us in the win column,” Fountain Valley Coach Cory Clarke said. “Our girls competed against some good teams this year in nonleague contests and throughout the Sunset League. We were able to win a few and stay close in others.

“We thank our seniors for the four years they contributed to our program. We look forward to getting better in the off-season.”