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Irvine players and coaches celebrate after winning the Rancho Alamitos Tournament. (PHOTO: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).
Irvine High School’s boys basketball team has jumped out to a fast start with a 13-2 record and Coach Harry Meussner’s team is seeking its second tournament championship.
The Vaqueros, who captured the Rancho Alamitos Tournament last month, are competing in the Orange Holiday Classic with pool play games scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Orange. The tournament championship is Monday night at 7:30.
“We have been amazing on the defensive end and we have great senior leadership from players like Cooper Stearns, Ali Dal, Taewon Kim, Jackson Shaffer and Felix Bublitz,” Meussner said. “We have consistently started four of those seniors.”
The 6-5 Stearns, who has a golf scholarship to Stanford University, has averaged 17.9 points and 12.1 rebounds a game,
Dal, a 6-0 senior, has averaged 8.8 points and 2.6 assists a game.
Cooper Stearns’ younger brother Holden, a 6-0 sophomore; Jalen Yim, a 6-1 junior; Evan Terakawa, a sophomore center; and Thiago Ida, a 5-7 sophomore, have also contributed, Meussner said.
Holden Stearns is averaging 8.5 points a game and Yim 6.6 points a game.
“We also have received a great boost from our younger players with Holden and Jalen’s shooting, Evan’s shot blocking and Thiago’s playmaking,” Meussner said.
Irvine opened the Orange Tournament with a 64-46 victory over Chaparral Thursday. The Vaqueros meet Boulder City Friday at 7:30 p.m., and Shadow Ridge Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
