Skip to content

It’s easy to consider Esperanza a one-man team. Especially when that one man is Kezie Okpala, a Stanford signee who is Orange County’s leading scorer at 30 points a game.

The Aztecs have other contributors. The best of the other contributors Tuesday was Brendan Harrick. He scored a game-high 24 points in Esperanza’s 56-36 win over Foothill in the Crestview League opener for both at Esperanza High.

Esperanza, ranked No. 2 in Orange County, improved to 18-1. The Aztecs are one of eight Orange County teams on the “watch list” for the CIF-Southern Section’s elite Open Division for the playoffs. Foothill is 14-6.

Harrick, a 6-foot-6 junior forward averaging 13 points a game, missed his three first-quarter shots. He made all four of his shots in the second quarter and both shots he took in the third, and was 4 for 5 in the fourth.

Harrick is the first Aztec other than Okpala, who had 21 points Tuesday, to be the team’s high scorer in a game this season. But, Harrick said, that does not mean Esperanza basketball is a solo act.

“At this point of the season everyone’s going to key on Kezie,” said Harrick a nephew of former UCLA and Pepperdine coach Jim Harrick. “Guys like myself, OB (Jared Obermeier), Travis (Kettering) and Brandon (Alpern) have stepped up in every game. It was me tonight.”

Foothill was led by Paulo Araujo, who scored 12 points with 14 rebounds.

Foothill had a 12-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. Esperanza scored 20 of the game’s next 22 points. The Aztecs had a 14-point lead early in the third quarter and the Knights would get no closer than six points the rest of the way.

Esperanza made 22 of its 57 shots for 39 percent shooting. Foothill was 12 for 48, for 25 percent.

Foothill has played all season without Coach Rusty Van Cleave, who had a stroke during the fall. Jeff Gomez, promoted from assistant to head coach while Van Cleave continues to recover, said he is not sure if Van Cleave will be able to resume coaching this season.

Also in the Crestview League:

Canyon 62, Yorba Linda 59: The visiting Comanches (11-8, 1-0) had five players score in double figures, led by Jordan Holden’s 15 points.

In the Empire League:

Tustin 59, Pacifica 42: Sagel Simon scored 16 points for the league-leading Tillers (12-7, 3-0).

In North Hills League:

No. 7 Villa Park 78, El Dorado 49: Myles Franklin’s 23 points led the visiting Spartans (14-4, 1-0).

In the Pacific Coast League:

Corona del Mar 59, Woodbridge 58: DJ Rodman’s 20 points led the host Sea Kings (15-5, 3-0).

Contact the writer: sfryer@scng.com