Marina hustles to win over Barons

HUNTINGTON BEACH — The Marina High boys’ basketball team took a few days off from the court after Monday’s physical Sunset League encounter with Los Alamitos.

Vikings Coach Roger Holmes said the rest was necessary, and needed, with his team set to open the second round of the league race Friday against Fountain Valley.

“If you’re not ready to play, anybody in this league can beat you,” he said. “All of the games from here on out are important and we needed to be ready for Fountain Valley.”

The Vikings were.

Four days after losing a first-place battle to Los Alamitos, Marina was solid from the start against Fountain Valley, rode an early run to a substantial lead, then took down the visiting Barons for a second time this year, this time, by a 76-61 score.

“I thought we really did a good job from the start,” Holmes said. “We hustled, we pressed and we were really active. I was happy with how we played.”

Marina, which improved to 5-1 in league and maintained sole possession of second place, trailed just once. That was in the first 40 seconds of the game, two Chris Lee free throws giving Fountain Valley (1-5) its only lead. Then came a Marina blitz: the Vikings went on a 17-0 run over the next five minutes to take charge. The Barons did score the final five points of the quarter to draw within 21-11, but they never got closer the rest of the way.

The Vikings turned a 25-13 lead early in the second quarter into a 20-point cushion (33-13) when three-point baskets by Brendan Holmes and Tyler James sandwiched a follow shot by Dana Gomez.

Marina, now 18-4 overall, led by as much as 27 points (43-16) before settling for a 43-21 lead at the half.

“We had a good scoring run there and had good balance with several players scoring,” Holmes aid. “Defensively, we did a real good job. I especially thought that Dana (Gomez) and Jacob (Tricarico) did a nice job on the back-side of our press.”

Tricarico and Gomez, both centers, each had two impressive blocked shots in the first quarter. Tricarico went on to finish with four blocks, nine rebounds and four points. Gomez had five blocks, eight rebounds and also scored four points.

Fountain Valley did make a final run at Marina and cut the deficit to 11, but the Vikings began the fourth quarter on an 8-2 run to resume control.

Marina’s Brendan Holmes led all scorers with 22 points. Tyler James scored 17, Garrett James 15 and Steven Murray had 12 points.

Fountain Valley had three players in double figures with Lee leading the way with 19 points. Niles Marquez scored 13 points and Saba Sheida had 11 points.

Marina and Fountain Valley return to Sunset League play Wednesday, the Vikings at Newport Harbor and the Barons host rival Edison.

OTHER FRIDAY SCORES

Sunset League

 Edison 44, Esperanza 38

 Golden West League

 Ocean View 69, Santa Ana 40

Sea View League

 Foothill 55, Huntington Beach 53

Next week’s schedule

Wednesday

Sunset League

Edison at Fountain Valley, 7 p.m.

Marina at Newport Harbor, 7 p.m.

Golden West League

Orange at Ocean View, 7 p.m.

Sea View League

Trabuco Hills at Huntington, 7 p.m.

MIKE SCIACCA covers sports. He can be reached at (714) 966-4611 or by e-mail at [email protected].