Steady Barons on a roll

The Fountain Valley boys’ basketball team is streaking into the holiday weekend.

The Barons picked up two victories earlier in the week, the most recent a 69-52 nonleague drubbing of host Yorba Linda.

“We played a pretty strong defensive game, especially in the second and third quarters as we pulled away,” said Coach Roger Holmes, whose Barons improved to 8-2. “Our offense was steady and consistent throughout the game.

“The game was very physical and we had a solid effort throughout.”

Tanner Trounce was four of six from three-point range and led all scorers with 21 points. The junior forward also collected nine rebounds. Senior forward Nathan Moss contributed 13 points and six rebounds, senior guard Zack Richartz hit three three-pointers and finished with 10 points, junior guard Josh Armstrong made four of six shots and tallied 10 points, six rebounds and five assists, and senior guard Sean Myers dished out six assists.

Fountain Valley started its work week Monday and pulled away to a 67-47 nonleague home win over Segerstrom. Armstrong had a game-high 13 points and added six rebounds, junior forward Sean Finley scored 11 points with six rebounds, Trounce had 10 points, Myers nine points, seven rebounds and five assists and Moss had eight points and 13 rebounds.

“We played a pretty solid game,” Holmes said. “I was especially happy with our defensive effort in the second half and the way we shared the ball the entire game.”

Fountain Valley takes on San Juan Hills at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the Orange County North-South Challenge at El Toro High. Next week, the Barons are in Orlando, Fla., for the KSA Holiday Classic at the Walt Disney Wide World of Sports Complex. They’ll open against Ponte Vedra of Florida on Wednesday.

Brethren Christian: The Warriors picked up two victories before the winter break by defeating Pilibos of Los Angeles and Excelsior of Spring Valley Lake.

Brethren Christian pulled away in the final five minutes of its game against Pilibos to score a 60-46 victory. Junior center Mamadou Ndiaye had another impressive game with 37 points, 18 rebounds and five blocked shots. The Eagles routed Excelsior, 72-32, behind a balanced attack that included 18 points by Ndiaye, 14 points by sophomore Caleb Keller, 11 points each by Dakota Warren and senior guard Billy Bryson and nine points by freshman guard Brandon Bryson.

BC next week starts play at the MaxPreps Holiday Classic (Small School division) at Desert Christian High in the Palm Springs area. The Warriors open against Desert Chapel at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Edison: The Chargers went 3-1 at the Irvine World News Tournament, which wrapped Saturday. They defeated Lakewood (57-48), lost to El Toro (69-40) and finished the tournament with consecutive wins over Woodbridge (69-63) and Cerritos (75-40). In the rout of Cerritos on Saturday, senior guard Dreon Barlett scored a game-high 26 points and senior guard Corey Foster scored 20.

Barlett was named to the all-tournament team.

“We played well after the loss to El Toro,” Edison Coach Rich Boyce said. “Players’ effort in practice increased and we played our best game of year against Woodbridge and then beat a very good Cerritos team.”

Edison takes on Beckman at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at El Toro High. The game is part of the Orange County North-South Challenge. The Chargers start play next Tuesday at the Palm Desert Tournament.

Huntington Beach: The Oilers took third place among 20 team at the North Orange County Championships tournament, hosted by Sonora.

Huntington’s tournament run started with a 57-44 win over Long Beach Wilson on Dec. 13. The Oilers’ balance was on display as four players scored in double-figures, led by senior guard Rory Aldana’s 14 points. Junior forward Harley Ruder scored 12 points and junior guard Andrew Tenbrink and senior guard Blake Skorich both scored 10. Aldana came back in the Oilers’ next game to pour in 23 points in a 60-54 win over host Sonora. Rudder added 12 points and Tenbrink 11 points.

The Oilers ran their tournament win streak to three games by defeating defending CIF Southern Section Division 2A champion Gahr, 73-65, in overtime. The Gladiators hit a last-second three-point shot force overtime. Tenbrink led the way with 21 points and 15 rebounds, Ruder posted 19 points, Aldana 14 points and Skorich 11 points.

Huntington played Capistrano Valley in the semifinals and lost to the eventual tournament champion Cougars, 54-41. Skorich hit six three-point shots and led the Oilers with 22 points. Aldana had 11 points.

“We had opportunities but we were plagued with foul trouble and an ankle injury to Andrew (Tenbrink) at beginning of the third (quarter) allowed Capo Valley to pull away in the fourth (quarter),” Huntington Coach Fabian Luna said.

The Oilers bounced back in the third-place game to down Downey, 44-36. Aldana and Ruder scored 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Huntington will play in the Orange Holiday Classic next week. The Oilers open against Arroyo Grande at 3:30 p.m. on Monday.

Marina: Marina completed play last weekend at the Irvine World News Tournament and went 1-1 in its final two games. The Vikings beat Lakewood, 52-44, last Friday and fell, 52-40, on Saturday to Tesoro. Senior guard Jordon Adnams had 15 points against Tesoro.

The Vikings were outscored by nine points in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s nonleague game at San Clemente and fell to the Tritons, 52-46. Senior guard JJ James scored a game-high 19 points and Adnams had 10 points.

Marina plays host El Toro at 6 p.m. Thursday at the North-South Challenge at El Toro High. The Vikings open the Estancia Tournament Tuesday with a 2:30 p.m. game against Laguna Beach.

Ocean View: The Seahawks went 2-1 a the Cantwell-Sacred Heart Tournament. They lost in the tourney final Saturday () to host Cantwell-Sacred Hear, 87-75 in overtime. Freshman guard Tyler Burch scored 24 points to go along with 11 rebounds, senior guard/forward Cristian Rivera scored 19 points with five rebounds and four steals and senior guard Robby Weaver had 14 points and four assists for Ocean View which rallied in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime.

Ocean View turned in a big second half to get past Whittier, 91-78, in its tourney opener on Dec. 15. Rivera had a double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds, freshman guard Kendall Small scored 22 points with nine boards and Burch had had 16 points. The Seahawks outscored the Cardinals, 55-34, in the second half.

Ocean View also downed Bell, 63-47, on Friday (). Rivera hit four three-point shots and scored 17 points, junior guard Josh Misler had 16 points and Small went for 11 points.

The Seahawks play next week at the Santa Barbara Tournament which starts Monday ().

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Girls’ Basketball

Brethren Christian

The Warriors earned a third-place finish Saturday at the Orangewood Academy Tournament. They split their first two games against Vaughn of San Fernando Valley (37-29 win) and host Orangewood Academy (31-14 loss), then topped Calvary Chapel/Santa Ana (41-35) and in the third-place game, ripped Calvary Chapel/Downey, 39-10.

In the third-place game, BC held Calvary Chapel/Downey to just four first-half points. Junior forward Brooke Hernandez led a balanced scoring attack with eight points. Junior guards Annie Huie, Abby Luce and Sara Hodges each scored six points.

Hernandez scored 12 points and Hodges 10 in the win over Vaughn and the pair had 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the win over Calvary Chapel/Santa Ana.

Hodges was named to the five-member all-tournament team for the second straight year. BC won the tourney title in 2010.

“We were hopeful of returning to the championship game to defend our title, but our off-night against Orangewood would not allow it,” BC Coach Jeff Wallace said. “

The Warriors, who entered the week 7-3, play next week at the Maxpreps Holiday Classic (Small Schools division) at Desert Christian Academy in Palm Desert. They’ll meet Desert Chapel in a first-round game at 3 p.m. Tuesday. They’ll face Cathedral City on Wednesday and Desert Mirage on Dec. 29.

Edison: The Chargers went 1-1 in their first two games at the Arizona Nike Tournament of Champions. On Monday, they defeated Centennial of Las Vegas, 67-51. On Tuesday, they fell to Holy Cross of Kensington, Md., 54-46. The tournament concludes Thursday.

The Chargers are hosting the Orange County Championships tournament starting Monday and open tourney play at 1:30 p.m. against Oxnard. The 16-team event begins at 9 a.m. daily through Dec. 29.

Fountain Valley: The Barons cruised to an easy nonleague win Tuesday with a 56-15 win over La Quinta/Westminster. Junior center Kelcie Mayott scored 16 points and sophomore forward Lora Bender had 10 points for Fountain Valley, which shut out the Aztecs, 21-0, in the first quarter and surrendered just two points in the opening half. The Barons held a 34-2 lead at intermission.

Fountain Valley concluded play last weekend at the Ocean View Tournament with wins over Dana Hills (66-60) on Dec. 15 and Corona del Mar (60-26) to take fifth place. Junior guard Jasmine Matar had 14 points and Bender added 13 points in the win against CdM. Sophomore point guard Amy Yoshinaga scored a game-high 20 points, Matar had 18 points and junior forward Marisa Teng 10 points in the win over Dana Hills.

The Barons, who won just eight games a year ago, are 6-3. They host undefeated El Toro (11-0) in a nonleague game at 6 p.m. Thursday.

“It will be great for us,” Barons Coach Saki Takemoto said of the El Toro matchup. “It will prepare us for league.

Huntington Beach: The Oilers split their first two games at the Arizona Nike Tournament of Champions. On Monday, Huntington breezed past Flagstaff, Ariz., 75-23. Senior point guard Kelsey Minato scored 23 points and sophomore guard Danielle Kennedy scored 12 points.

“Our press was really effective, creating a lot of turnovers,” Huntington Beach Coach Russ McClurg said.

On Tuesday, the Oilers dropped a 73-64 game to Eastlake of Washington. Sophomore guard Paola Roa scored 19 points and senior guard Maya Kennedy had 15 more in the loss.

Ocean View: The Seahawks hosted their own tournament last week. They registered a 66-33 victory over Blair of Pasadena in a tournament game Dec. 14. Junior guard Mari Shigemasa netted a game-best 28 points, senior point guard Hannah Ferguson scored 17 and sophomore guard Deja Duke had 11 points.

Ocean View later suffered a 41-40 tourney loss Friday to Whittier Christian after the Heralds rallied in the fourth quarter to pull out the win. Ferguson had a game-high 16 points and Stephanie Cardoso scored 10 points.

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Twitter: @MikeSciacca