The coach called it “a really good win.”
The best player called it “a huge win.”
Whatever the dimensions, Orangewood Academy’s win over Saddleback Valley Christian was an attention-getter in Orange County boys basketball.
Saddleback Valley Christian has been in the O.C. top 10 this season. Orangewood has plenty of significant wins, including a CIF championship in 2012 and advancing to a CIF final last season. But beating a team that has been in the county top 10 might be larger.
Orangewood’s 61-51 win over Saddleback Valley Christian on Tuesday might mean the Spartans are the county’s best small schools team, and that they could be about ready to take on bigger schools on a regular basis.
The Spartans are 12-9 overall and 1-0 in the San Joaquin League with that league-opening home win against Saddleback Valley Christian. Orangewood, a Seventh Day Adventist private school in Garden Grove, has beaten county public schools El Modena and San Juan Hills this season.
And they probably became a lot better when Muba Ali enrolled after the winter break. He is a 7-foot junior from Finland. Orangewood coach Rob Brooks describes Ali as “a project,” which is said of many high school 7-footers.
“Muba’s got a good base,” said Brooks, who played at Los Alamitos and is a son of former Los Alamitos coach Steve Brooks. “The great thing about Muba is he’s willing to put in the time and effort to get better.”
Ali scored 21 points with 20 rebounds in a win over Los Angeles Adventist. He scored seven points against Saddleback Valley Christian in a game that featured another top effort from the Spartans’ best player, Marcus Berkley.
Berkley, a 6-foot-4 senior guard who was All-CIF last season, scored 27 against Saddleback Valley Christian. He said the “huge win” was accomplished like all other Spartans wins – by defense.
“We play good, hard defense first of all,” said Berkley, averaging 22 points a game. “When we get good stops on defense, that energy transfers over offensively.”
Orangewood is ranked No. 2 in CIF-Southern Section Division 6. Price of Los Angeles is No. 1. Price, a 4A semifinalist last season but somehow moved down to Division 6 this season, is also a candidate for the Open Division, so Orangewood might be the top-seeded Division 6 team when playoff pairings and seedings are released Feb. 15.
So there could be “really good” or even “huge” wins yet to come for Orangewood.
Taking a look around Orange County high school sports:
• Orangewood’s girls basketball team is ranked No. 1 in CIF-SS Division 5AA and No. 9 in the county. Leslie Aragon coached the school’s boys and girls teams simultaneously for many years, but before this season relinquished the boys coaching position. Aragon, also the school’s athletic director, hired Brooks.
• The sound of the buzzer started a stampede of Edison students and a bit of chaos Wednesday after Edison’s dramatic 55-54 boys basketball home win over Los Alamitos. Edison coach Rich Boyce went to the Los Alamitos locker room to apologize to Los Al coach Eddie Courtemarche and his team that on-court congratulations for a well-played game did not occur. “I’m happy our fans were so into the game,” Boyce said, “but I was unhappy we didn’t get to shake hands with Eddie and his team afterward.”
• The next CIF-Southern Section Council meeting, in April, will bring to a vote a proposal that would set firm practice start dates for football as Aug. 10 for teams with Week 0 games and Aug. 17 for teams that open in Week 1. Another proposal that will be up for vote would increase the allowable number of a baseball team’s regular-season games from 20 to 30 and simplify the way such games are counted. (Currently, for example, tournament participation counts as two games even if it’s a five-game tournament.) The proposals, both created by their sports’ coaches advisory committees, look worthy of support.
• Former Canyon baseball coach Joe Hoggatt is baseball coach at Bishop Amat of La Puente.
• Wednesday is National Letter of Intent signing day for football, soccer and boys water polo. Many county high schools understand the value of promoting the good things happening on their campuses. Those schools will have signing-day activities and will notify media in advance of such activities.
• The Nike Extravaganza, the two-day basketball showcase that is Feb. 6 and 7 at Mater Dei, will add Ann Meyers Drysdale to its “Legends of the Court” honorees during Feb. 7’s schedule. She was an exceptional basketball player at Sonora, UCLA and on the United States Olympic team. Meyers Drysdale is president and general manager of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and is a Phoenix Suns vice president.
• Former Servite All-County quarterback Greg Cicero has applied for the school’s varsity head coaching position. His Servite background and playing and coaching credentials could make him a leading candidate. Cicero played at Baylor and has been a top assistant coach at Servite and Orange Lutheran.
• Orange Lutheran’s 2015 nonleague football schedule includes games against Centennial of Corona and De La Salle of Concord. De La Salle beat Centennial in the CIF State Open Division championship game last month.
• Tesoro opens the 2015 football season against Edison and plays Mater Dei the following week. The Titans also play San Clemente and Corona del Mar in nonleague games.
• High school senior football players are invited to display their skills before Division II, III and NAIA coaches in the California Showcase on Feb. 21 at The Great Park in Irvine. The free event is organized and managed by former UCLA coach Terry Donahue and the National Football Foundation. Visit cashowcase.org for sign-up and eligibility information.
• Rivals.com will run a football combine March 8 at Torrey Pines High in San Diego. Participation is free. Rivals.com has more information.
• Follow me at twitter.com/stevefryer for updates and breaking news in county high school sports. On game nights #ocvupdates on Twitter is another good way to keep up.
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
