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By Zach Cavanagh
Boys Basketball Survives Mission Viejo, Gets Level in League
The Dana Hills boys basketball team went from coasting to holding on for dear life last Friday, Jan. 20, but the Dolphins managed to get by in Sea View League play.
After holding a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter, Mission Viejo cut the Dana Hills lead to just one point in the final minute, but the Dolphins found their poise to hold off the Diablos, 66-65, and even their league record.
All four Sea View League teams are tied with 1-1 league records.
Dana Hills (13-6, 1-1) pushed its lead out in the third quarter after Mission Viejo (12-8, 1-1) tightened things up earlier in the second quarter. Dana Hills led by eight after three quarters and led by 14 points with just over six minutes remaining. Mission Viejo cut the lead to just two points three minutes later with a 14-2 run. Dennis Powers knocked down a big 3-pointer for Dana Hills to give the Dolphins some breathing room and hold off one last Diablo push.
Niki Grguric, a junior, led the Dolphins with 20 points, and sophomore Collin Haugh scored 19 points. Dana Hills had four players in double figures, as Powers scored 11 points and junior Logan Scodeller put in 10 points. Powers and Haugh each hit three 3-pointers, and Dana Hills made 11 as a team. Grguric led with nine rebounds, and Haugh added seven assists.
Dana Hills is next at El Toro (12-9, 1-1) on Friday, Jan. 20, and hosts Aliso Niguel (12-7, 1-1) to start the second round of league play on Monday, Jan. 23. Sea View League teams will play each other three times.
Girls Water Polo Heats Up, Runs Through Oxnard Tournament
After convincingly taking its league opener over Trabuco Hills, 18-9, on Jan. 12, the Dana Hills girls water polo team took an early detour from league play to speed through the Oxnard Tournament on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 13-14.
The Dolphins won all five games at the Oxnard Tournament to take the tournament title. Dana Hills has now won seven games in a row and 10 of its past 11.
UC Berkeley-bound senior Sadie Riester torched the tournament field with 23 goals in five games, including two five-goal performances and a six-goal showing in the final. Claire Berger scored 14 goals in the tournament, and Kate McCulloch added eight goals.
Dana Hills posted wins over Cleveland of Reseda (15-3), Palos Verdes (11-4), Flintridge Sacred Heart (11-7), Ventura (8-7) and Agoura (15-10). Ventura remained ahead of Dana Hills in the CIF-SS Division 2 rankings, with Ventura at No. 3 and the Dolphins at No. 5.
Dana Hills returned to league play at home on Thursday, Jan. 19, with a win over El Toro 13-9.
The Dolphins’ biggest test arrives on Saturday, Jan. 21, when Dana Hills (17-5, 2-0) hosts rival San Clemente at 11 a.m.
San Clemente (9-7, 3-0) has blasted its three South Coast League opponents so far with a 14-goal win over San Juan Hills, a 10-goal win over El Toro and an 11-goal win over Trabuco Hills.
Dana Hills has lost at least the last 14 games against San Clemente, dating back to 2010, according to MaxPreps’ records, which only go back that far. Over the past nine meetings, San Clemente has beaten Dana Hills by an average of over 11 goals per game.
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