Woodbridge overcame an 11-point, second-half deficit to beat Valencia, 63-59, Wednesday at Northwood High in a second-round game of the Irvine World News/Gary Raya Classic.
Woodbridge will play Esperanza in a tournament semifinal Friday. Esperanza beat Dana Hills, 62-59, Wednesday. The time and location of the semifinal will be determined today.
J.T. Okonkwo led Woodbridge (4-4) with 14 points. Okonkwo, a 6-foot-3 junior who was averaging 7 points a game, scored 11 points in the fourth quarter. Adjin Toskic added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Warriors.
It was the first loss for Valencia (6-1). Brennon Palmer paced the Tigers with 14 points.
Valencia took the lead late in the first quarter and built the margin to 11 points, 40-29, in the third quarter. Woodbridge went on an 11-0 run to tie it, 40-40. The Tigers’ Milan Patel made a 3-pointer with 1:46 left in the quarter to put Valencia back on top, 43-40, and that was the score going into the fourth quarter.
The teams exchanged the lead in the early moments of the fourth quarter. Woodbridge went ahead to stay, 49-47, on two free throws by sophomore guard Evan Maggard. C.J. Lomboy made two free throws with 38 seconds remaining to create a seven-point lead.
Woodbridge played without a couple of starters, including point guard Jack Calhoun. Twelve different Warriors played in the first half. Non-starters like Okonkwo and Maggard made big contributions in the second half.
“We play darn near everybody on the roster,” Woodbridge coach John Halgan said. “It keeps our chemistry strong. It’s a ‘next man up’ mentality and it works for us.”
Woodbridge jumped to a 4-0 lead but trailed by six points in the first quarter. That shaky start bothered Okonkwo.
“We came out and didn’t play hard enough.” Okonkwo said. “We did come back and took the game back. I like the way we played there.”
Valencia made 22 of 50 shots. Woodbridge was 19 for 39 from the floor, 11 for 17 in the second half. The Warriors made 12 free throws in the fourth quarter.
Also in the Irvine World News/Gary Raya Classic:
Godinez 48, El Toro 43: Adrian Herrnandez and Brandon Smith scored 14 points apiece for the Grizzlies in a consolation second-round game.
In the Charlie Wilkins Memorial Tournament:
Los Alamitos 54, Kennedy 34: Jack Kaub’s 14 points sparked the Griffins in the pool-play game.
In the North Orange County Championships:
No. 6 Canyon 87, Orangewood Academy 64: Nick Anderson scored 32 points with five assists for the host Comanches (5-2) in a pool-play game. Marcus Berkley scored 20 points for Orangewood (6-5).
JSerra 54, Brea Olinda 40: Steele Brenner, Haitham Chehabi, Alec Hickman and Dillon Kohler scored 10 points apiece for the Lions (4-2) in a pool-play game.
In the Santa Margarita Christmas Classic:
No. 5 Santa Margarita 67, Palos Verdes of Palos Verdes Estates 54: Jordan Guest and Scott Wesierski scored 16 points apiece for the host Eagles (5-0). Santa Margarita plays Compton today at 7 p.m. in a pool-play game.
In the Nike Invitational:
No. 4 Foothill 51, Bullard of Fresno 34: The Knights improved to 7-0 as Andrew Ammann and Eric Patton scored 10 points apiece.
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com