This post was originally published on this site
Ocean View senior guard Peyton Guerrero goes on a fastbreak en route to the basket as Godinez forward Iván Pérez defends. (Photos: Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone).
After a slow start the Ocean View High boys basketball team kicked it into high gear as the Seahawks went on to defeat Godinez 54-20 in a Golden West League game Friday night at Godinez.
With only two regular season games remaining and a log jam among four teams for second-place in league, Ocean View’s win propels the Seawhawks a step closer to the CIF playoffs.
Seahawks senior guard Peyton Guerrero led all scorers with 17 points as Ocean View evened its league record at 4-4 and improved its overall record to 14-12.
“Our defense was definitely our biggest key tonight,” said Guerrero, who is averaging 20 points per game this season. “It’s been getting a bit harder to score since we started league but this is a very important and uplifting win for us. We need to keep bringing the energy each game.”
To see the slide show, click on the first photo:
After falling behind 7-2 early in the first quarter, Caleb Kim gave the Seahawks a spark when he nailed two 3-pointers to ignite a 9-1 Ocean View run and give the Seahawks a 11-8 lead after eight minutes. Ocean View’s defense turned up the pressure by forcing six turnovers and holding Godinez to four points in the second-quarter as they extended its lead to 22-12 at halftime.
“It was mostly our defense tonight,” said Kim, who made four 3-pointers and scored 12 points for the Seahawks. “It felt good to see the three’s go down tonight. I’ve been playing better the last few games, but overall we moved the ball well and got good shots.”
Ocean View pulled away in the third-quarter, exploding on a 22-2 run and scoring on nine of 11 possessions over the final seven minutes of the quarter and led 44-18 after three periods. Leroy Davis IV hit a pair of three’s and Guerrero scored nine points in the quarter to lead the Seahawks.
Ocean View’s defense only allowed Godinez (4-4 and 10-16) to score on back-to-back possessions twice in the game. The Seahawks aggressive defense, led by Aaron Phan, Kim, Tyler Pham, Guerrero, Blake Girotti and Brayden Ackerman prevented the Grizzlies from scoring in double digits in each quarter.
“They threw a diamond and one defense on us tonight to stop Peyton (because he’s averages 20 points per game) but the other guys stepped it up a notch,” said Seahawks Coach Steve Harris. “We rebounded well and forced turnovers. We have two games remaining, both at home, and we have to continue to play like we did tonight to reach the playoffs.”
Despite a disappointing showing, Godinez Coach Robert Morgan remained upbeat about his team’s playoffs hopes.
“No excuses, they played hard and came in and punched us in the nose,” said Morgan. “We’ll bounce back. We’ll be in the gym for practice at 8 a.m. on Saturday to get ready for next week’s final two games.”
Aaron Gonzalez scored five points to lead Godinez.
—Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone
