GARDEN GROVE – Marcus Berkley is playing basketball differently at this point in the season, and has no qualms acknowledging as much.
The San Joaquin League is up for grabs for the first time in four years. But to capture the program’s first league championship, Orangewood Academy needs Berkley, its best player, to play beyond his grade every time he steps on the court.
Berkley said his coaches are imploring him to play like a “college freshman” rather than a high school senior, and for much of Tuesday’s league tilt against Saddleback Valley Christian, he did just that.
Berkley led all scorers with 27 points, and Orangewood conquered the defending league titlist, 61-51, at Orangewood Academy.
“From the get-go, from the beginning of the season, I knew this was the biggest game of the season,” Berkley said. “In our school’s eyes, this was a championship game, and we took it to them, from the tip to the end of the game. This win means a lot.”
Two quick fouls sent Berkley to the bench midway through the first quarter, but he haunted SVC’s defense upon his return. He scored his points in a number of ways.
Berkley made all nine of his free throw attempts, and regularly ended Orangewood droughts by making tough shots. When SVC nabbed the lead late in the third quarter, it was a Berkley jumper that put the Spartans back on top.
SVC (13-8, 1-1) briefly regained the lead in the fourth, before consecutive Berkley baskets gave Orangewood (12-9, 1-0) a cushion it would not lose.
The Warriors nearly closed an eight-point gap with 75 seconds remaining, but Orangewood made all eight of its free throw attempts down the stretch.
“Tom (Lewis) has a great program at SVC, not just great teams,” said Rob Brooks, Orangewood’s first-year coach. “A game like this adds to the existing rivalry. We were up for this game, and we got the ball where it needed to be on offense. Now it’s up to myself and my coaching staff to tell these kids that this game was not our Super Bowl. We need to be the same team every night.”
SVC hadn’t lost a San Joaquin League game since Feb. 5, 2011, the season before Lewis took over the program and turned it into the league juggernaut it has been during his tenure. Last year the Warriors defeated league opponents by an average of 41 points. It defeated Orangewood by 15 and then by 25.
Berkley is the only key player remaining from that 2013-14 Spartans team, and his experience proved invaluable Tuesday.
SVC’s Irshad Hunte tormented Orangewood underneath in the third quarter, scoring eight points on a variety of post moves and put-backs.
Brooks used Berkley as a center-field deterrent at the start of the fourth quarter, making post entry passes from the wing more difficult. SVC struggled getting the ball inside, and Hunte scored only two points the rest of the game.
Also putting forth a solid defensive effort was junior Austin Oswald, a 5-foot-11 wing. Oswald, who played with an injured wrist, regularly guarded taller players in the post. Brooks said he’s lucky to have a “tough kid” like him.
“With Marcus and Caleb (Thomas), we’re going to get scoring,” Oswald said. “Scoring comes naturally, easily at times. We start runs, we get into a rhythm, and we score. My job is to move the ball, make good passes, stay aggressive. Coach needs me to play defense no matter how big or how tall guys are, and that’s my role on this team.”
Phil Edwards led SVC with 19 points. Hunte and Eric Rwahwire scored 17 and 15, respectively.
“We’re going to try and go 1-0 every night,” Berkley said. “We don’t worry about our losses. We’re trying to go 1-0 every night, and play that way all year.”
Contact the writer: 714-704-3790 or bwhitehead@ocregister.com
