By Anneliese Duong & Brandon Nguyen
Last Thursday, the Fountain Valley High School varsity boys’ basketball team defeated the Huntington Beach Oilers in an overwhelming 66-40 victory.
Cheers and stomps roared from the crowd as the boys made their way up toward an almost undefeated season to take the Wave League title. This game was also the boys’ senior night where they honored seniors Roddie Anderson, Aden Casarez and Wadie Alam.
The first quarter started off with the Oilers making the first shot 20 seconds in. Casarez then brought the Barons back at bay with the Oilers after making a three-pointer.
“For Aden, he came out [and] he hit four three[-pointers] in the first quarter for us,” sophomore Carter Bryant said. “It’s not one play, but it was watching a play that got us going.”
For majority of the first quarter, the Barons had the upper hand. Anderson made numerous steals which ended in multiple layups alongside a dunk. Impressive defense came from Bryant and junior Jeremiah Whitmore who loomed over the ball as the Oilers’ attempted to shoot.
With ten seconds remaining on the clock, Anderson made a final steal and layup to conclude the quarter 19-12.
Immediately into the second quarter, a combination of Bryant’s defense and three-pointers from Casarez, Whitmore and Anderson gave the Barons a larger lead of 27-18.
“I think we did a good job of sharing the ball; guys being ready to shoot. I think we did a good job defensively,” Bryant said. “We just did everything that we needed to do.”
The crowd exploded with chants and attempted to distract the Oilers whenever a technical foul occurred in their favor. With 1.2 seconds left in the quarter, Anderson successfully made a layup that followed with the buzzer and excitement. The quarter ended with the Barons 16 points ahead with a score of 34-18.
The third quarter opened up with the Barons on defense. At seven minutes and 12 seconds, Casarez shot a three-pointer, earning roars from the crowds. The intensity increased when the Oilers began to shoot back-to-back three-pointers to close the score gap. At five minutes and 40 seconds, the Barons and the Oilers repeatedly fought for the rebounds as the Oilers attempted layups while the ball slipped out of the Barons’ hands.
About halfway in, the Barons called a 30-second timeout to discuss swinging the ball and using their height advantage to score inside the key. More fouls began to take place against both sides, increasing the amount of free throw shots. The Barons continued to press their advantage inside the key, while the Oilers attempted to take jump shots. At two minutes and 25 seconds, junior JJ Gray dribbled along the baseline for a reverse layup to put the Barons on offense again.
“We had to play well tonight for our seniors,” Gray said. “Roddie, Aden, Wadie—I love them all and I think it meant a lot for our team as a whole to play our hardest for them tonight.”
With eight seconds left, junior Fernando Garcia stole the ball and passed to Anderson for a layup, ending the third quarter with a score of 43-27.
The fourth quarter started with a fast break by Anderson at seven minutes and 35 seconds, energizing the game. Whitmore and Bryant, as the tallest players on the court, consecutively got rebounds and put missed jump shots back inside the basket. The game got heated at six minutes and 11 seconds when Whitmore and an Oiler went for a rebound. Whitmore received a technical foul as crowds on both sides shouted obscenities.
Both sides passed the seven fouls entering the game into a one-and-one. The game continued with both sides fouling each other and the crowd stomping their feet every time a player went up to the free throw line.
“I think this game was definitely energizing and the audience and the bench gave us a lot of support tonight,” Gray said. “We’re very grateful and will continue to keep focused from here on out.”
With a comfortable lead, the Barons subbed in more benched players. At four minutes and one second, sophomore Zachary Stead made a powerful dribble to the basketball for a layup. Junior Kyle Nguyen made a three-pointer at three minutes and 32 seconds and blocked an Oiler’s three-pointer eight seconds later. The Oilers played a full-court press at two minutes in attempts to get turnovers from the Barons. With 48 seconds left in the game, Alam scored a fast break to end the final quarter with a score of 66-40.
With this victory, the Barons have a game record of 12-8 and 5-1 in League. They will move on to the CIF-SS Division I playoffs, which are to be determined in the near future.
“I think the future of this team is in good hands for sure. We got the playoffs coming up,” Casarez said. “So we’ll see how far of a run we can make it there. But from forward on, I think we’re on top.”
