YOUTH SCENE

GIRLS’ SOCCER

All-Stars try to advance

The Costa Mesa 12-and-under Gold All-Stars will play two games today at the Tustin Sports Complex, as they continue their quest to advance to regional tournament Feb. 21-22 in San Diego.

Costa Mesa faces North Irvine today at 9:30 a.m. and then goes up against Tustin at 3 p.m. If the Costa Mesa All-Stars finish first or second in the three-team pool, they advance to Sunday’s semifinals.

The championship is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Tustin Sports Complex, with the winner advancing to San Diego.

BASKETBALL

Newport Mesa NJB

Eighth-grade boys’ All-Net

Newport Mesa Lightning 49, Diamond Bar Heat 41: The red-hot shooting of Max Stone, who scored a season-high 21 points, and James Newman, 14 points, helped lead the Lightning offense. A strong defensive effort from John Pagliassotti, Kris Picarelli, Troy Reese, Chris Okey and Andy Doka was also a key to the win against the taller and bigger Heat team.

Newport Mesa Lightning 47, Anaheim Hills Rebels 37: Max Stone and Chris Okey led the team in scoring with 15 and 10 points, respectively. Kris Picarelli and Andy Doka each added nine points and John Pagliassotti and James Newman each had two points. Troy Reese, Picarelli and Pagliassotti controlled the boards on defense.

Boys Division 1

Seventh- and eighth-grade

Pistons 48, Clippers 46: The Pistons led by 10 with just minutes remaining before the Clippers mounted a furious comeback and lost on a last-possession shot. The Pistons were led by Trent Dill (13 points and 15 rebounds), Nolan McCarthy (15 points, seven rebounds), Joey Cooper, Alex Wilde, Brian Wagner, Sam Younesi and Nick Dill.

The Clippers were led by the stellar play of Michael Karamardian (14 points and four steals), Paul MacCabe (15 points, 14 rebounds) and the strong defense of John Wortmann, Armen Shrikian and Andrew Nemnich. Steven Barela (six points) and Kyle Morris (six points) also played well in the loss.

Hornets 47, Lakers 37: Micah Cox and Timmy Strader both had 12 points, while Kavi Sakraney, Garrett Post, Kevin Moattari and Gannon Bond all contributed. The Lakers were led by the physical play of Kevin and Mark Manchester, Tyler Lopp, Robbie Farber and Max Zielinkisi.

Wizards 47, Celtics 33: The Wizards (4-2) broke open a close game at halftime to pull away in the final period for their fourth win. The Wizards were paced by Shane Silver’s career-high 23 points while Reid Chase nearly had a triple-double with 12 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Areya Aresh, Clay Woodward, Ricky Nadal and Ryan Cargile all had big games for the Wizards.

The much-improved Celtics were led by Chase McElroy and Matt Hurst with 10 points each, while Paul Nguyen played strong defense.