Sailor forward hitting his stride

Chris Yemma

It is a compliment to say that senior Brett Perrine is a compliment

to the Newport Harbor High boys basketball team.

Perrine is the usual No. 2 man for the Sailors, which makes sense,

since basketball is his No. 2 sport. But on any given night, Perrine

can step up to be the go-to guy.

“He can be the main guy or a compliment,” Newport Harbor Coach

Larry Hirst said. “The guy can do the intangibles.”

Perrine, playing in his last few basketball games as a Sailor,

along with a couple of other guys that have all been playing together

since sixth grade, is beginning to realize there’s not much left.

So, he’s making the most of it.

He posted a game-high 21 points and pulled down 12 rebounds

Wednesday in a Sailor win against Woodbridge. The game before, he

complimented usual leading-scorer Taylor Young by chipping in 11

points in a victory over Laguna Hills. Young had 18.

Not bad, considering is first love is volleyball. He is being

looked at by various Division I schools for his volleyball skills.

Right now, though, basketball is his focus.

On Jan. 29, against Aliso Niguel, Perrine pulled out the stops and

drained 19 points, while Young had 17. In the early stages of the

season when Young wasn’t on the team yet because of football, Perrine

took over. He scored a season-high 29 against Northwood in Newport’s

second game of the year.

But the last half of the season is when it really started clicking

for Perrine and the rest of the Sailors. Wednesday’s win over

Woodbridge was Newport’s seventh in eight games, as it climbed from

9-8, 1-1 in league, to 16-9, 8-2 and in second place in league behind

Aliso Niguel.

“I think the team is peaking right now, and [Perrine’s] one of

three or four reasons why,” Hirst said. “This is truly a team,

though. I’ve had good individuals in the past, but this is truly a

team.”

Wednesday’s win also clinched a Newport playoff spot in CIF

Southern Section Division II-A, as the Sailors finished out their

league schedule. Perrine has averaged close to 15 points during Newport’s recent winning streak. Young has averaged about one point

more.

It would be safe to say that the two compliment each other, since

they’ve been playing on the same teams, along with senior Alex Orth,

since sixth grade.

But before this season began, it was questionable if the trifecta

would be intact for one last year. Young and Orth were playing

football for the first few games, and Perrine was having some knee

problems.

Perrine tore his ACL his sophomore year, and then tore his

meniscus in the same knee his junior year. Before this season began,

there was another problem.

“At the beginning of the season, I kind of tweaked my knee,”

Perrine said. “But it was just knee contusions.”

Hirst said he wasn’t as optimistic.

“The pessimist that I am, I didn’t think he would be back,” he

said. “It was just icing on the cake when he came back. I always

think the worst until the best comes.”

Now, Perrine says he’s 100%. And it’s at just the right time, a

time when the three seniors, three amigos, are entering the

postseason.

“I think we’re capable of going far [in the playoffs],” Perrine

said. “I’m not going to say right now that we’re going to win the

whole thing, but I think we can advance pretty far.”