SPORTS ROUNDUP:

The boys’ basketball teams at Huntington Beach and Marina played Monday at the North-South Challenge at El Toro High and both dropped close games.

For Huntington, a 55-47 loss to Canyon of Anaheim was the first setback of the year. The Oilers (9-1) led a majority of the game, despite struggling offensively. The Commanches were able to make some big plays down the stretch and went on to outscore the Oilers by nine points in the second half.

“We didn’t execute real well and had several opportunities to build big leads. Unfortunately, we did not capitalize on them,” Huntington Coach Fabian Luna said. “This will be a good game for our guys to take a step back and learn from. We just had an off night and they played very well. We just need to remember that we are drawing everyone’s ‘A’ game night in and night out.”

The Oilers’ David Swartz led all scorers with 26 points. Nick Neser and Neil Negrete added six points apiece.

Meanwhile, Marina fell to 8-2 after dropping a 77-66 decision to undefeated Dana Hills. The Dolphins outscored the Vikings, 27-18, in the second half to run their record to 11-0. Marina had three players in double figures: Brendan Holmes had a game-high 24 points behind five three-point baskets, Garrett James scored 13 points and J.J. James scored 12 points.

Ocean View also played in the North-South Challenge but the score from the Seahawks’ Tuesday game against Los Alamitos wasn’t available at press time.

In previous action, Marina finished play Saturday at the Beckman Tournament and defeated Santa Ana, 63-47, in the third-place game. The Vikings started slowly and trailed by two at the half, but they went on to play a solid third quarter to take control. Holmes was on fire in the latter-half of the third quarter. He scored 20 consecutive points in the final 5:30 to push Marina into a 12-point lead. He made four three-point shots in the quarter and had seven overall en route to a 35-point night. Garrett James put in 12 points to go with nine assists and Jacob Tricarico continued to dominate the boards, this time with 14 rebounds.

“The third quarter run was amazing,” Marina Coach Roger Holmes said. “After Garrett hit a three and got a steal and basket, Brendan went off. We were getting out in our transition game and Garrett was finding him with an assist on four consecutive trips down the floor.

“As a team, we were not sharp at the outset and were struggling a bit. The third quarter was the difference in the game.”

The Vikings had opened the tournament with a 75-58 win over Segerstrom. Brendan Holmes had 37 points in this one behind the strength of eight three-point shots. He also had seven assists. Garrett James scored 15 points and had his second 10-assist game in a row. Tricarico came up with a 12 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks and “continued his improved play,” Roger Holmes said. Tyler James added seven assists.

Marina’s lone loss in the tournament was a 74-64 setback to Tustin in Friday’s semifinal round. Garrett James led the team with 21 points and had nine assists and Brendan Holmes hit four three-point shots and went on to finish with 17 points.

Both Edison and Fountain Valley played Monday in the Maui Winter Classic at the Lahaina Civic Center on the island of Maui.

Edison held a six-point lead on San Marcos but was outscored, 35-24, in the second half and dropped the third-place game, 61-56. Kyle Boswell, in his first game back from an injury, led the Chargers with 18 points. Dylan Garrity had 15 points and Ryan Walker added 10 points.

Fountain Valley was a 52-34 winner over Carson Graham High of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Niles Marquez was the top Baron in the scoring column with 15 points.

Girls’ basketball

Edison, Huntington Beach and Marina all returned home Monday from the NIKE Tournament of Champions in Phoenix. Edison competed in the Mike Desper Division of the event. The Chargers played four close games and went 1-3.

Huntington Beach and Marina both were in the Black Division and both finished tournament play with 2-2 records.

Huntington fell to Rosary in its final tournament game, 48-42, to finish in sixth place. Kelsey Minato hit four three-point shots and went on to lead the Oilers with 16 points.

“The girls seem to have a good time every year in Arizona and we really focus on team bonding to help bring the girls closer together,” Huntington Coach Russell McClurg said. “The girls learned much about adversity and will have to continue to work hard on team defense and rebounding.”

Marina defeated two Arizona teams (Page and Westview) and lost to Rosary and Horizon, the latter, a team Marina Coach Butch Fredlow said was among the top five ranked teams in Colorado.

“I was very happy with it,” Fredlow said of his team’s performance at the tournament. “It was a great tournament for the girls. They really, really enjoy being with one another, and as a coach, that’s great to see.”