BOYS’ BASKETBALL ROUNDUP

Gonzalez Scores 27 of Huntington Beach’s 38 Points in Oiler Loss

Huntington Beach’s Tony Gonzalez scored 27 points, but he could only keep the Oilers close and Long Beach Poly wound up with a 42-38 victory in a Tournament of Champions quarterfinal game Thursday night at Ocean View High.

James Brown scored 19 points to lead Long Beach Poly, which will play Los Alamitos at 9 tonight in one semifinal. Mater Dei and Playa del Rey Westchester play in the 7:30 p.m. semifinal.

The Jackrabbits, ranked second in the Southern Section Division II preseason poll, forced 14 Huntington Beach turnovers and took advantage of the Oilers’ 30% shooting in the first half to take a nine-point halftime lead before fending off a late rally.

Gonzalez, who played in the Division II football championship game Saturday, was Huntington Beach’s one-man scoring machine, tallying all 10 of the Oilers’ fourth-quarter points and 18 of 21 second-half points.

Gonzalez made 13 of 22 shots, and is averaging 29 points since his return from football. He had 31 points in his first game back, a 65-56 victory over Los Angeles Manual Arts in the first round.

Thursday, in a 3-minute 31-second span during the fourth quarter, Huntington Beach outscored Long Beach Poly, 8-1, to close the gap to 40-36 with 3:01 remaining.

Gonzalez scored on a layup off an assist by Vasili Hatziris to cut the lead to 39-34, then after Damon Dawson made one free throw for Long Beach Poly, Gonzalez scored on a turnaround on Josh Holland’s assist.

But Dawson scored on a drive to make it 42-36 with 1:43 remaining, and the Oilers could only muster another Gonzalez layup in the final minute.

“We kept hanging around and hanging around, but we made a few mistakes at critical times,” Huntington Beach Coach Roy Miller said. “If we don’t turn the ball over, then a four-point game is a two-pointer and the game’s whole complexion changes.”

Matt Malmquist had two three-pointers and seven rebounds for the Oilers.