Northwood gets past Huntington Beach, coached by former T’Wolves’ star Tino Zaragoza

Northwood Coach Christian Manalo (left) talks to HB Coach Tino Zaragoza after Friday’s game. (Photo: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).

Northwood’s boys basketball team built up a 12-point lead at halftime and went on to defeat Huntington Beach 72-62 in a non-league game Friday night at Northwood.

It marked the return of one of Northwood’s all-time great basketball players, Tino Zaragoza, now in his fourth year as Oilers coach. Zaragoza played for Coach Tim O’Brien at Northwood from 2002-2006.

Northwood (5-1) was a tough opponent for Huntington Beach, which wasn’t able to cut in the lead much in the second half. The Timberwolves extended their lead by as many as 13 points in the third quarter.

“I think we hold ourselves to a higher standard, I don’t think we played as well we could, but the one positive is that we really shot the ball well,” said Northwood Coach Christian Manalo. “I think our shooters stepped up and that kind of keeps us in games. But we don’t want to outscore teams, we want to defend and I don’t think we did that today.

“But other than that, (Huntington Beach) is a tough team and Tino does a really good job and he’s got two really good guards that are going to be a problem for the future and later on this season.”

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Zaid Yunis led Northwood (5-1) with 23 points and four rebounds. Ryan Abaye had 15 points, eight assists and three rebounds, TJ Navarro had 15 points and five 3-pointers and Matthew Boothroyd had nine points and seven rebounds for the Timberwolves.

Oliver Nakra, who had 13 points in the second half and Kai Labistre, who had nine points in the final two quarters, helped Huntington Beach stay within striking distance.

But the the Timberwolves controlled a comfortable lead. The closest that the Oilers could get was eight points. Northwood led by 12 going into the final stanza.

“They shot the ball really well,” Zaragoza said. “We battled in the second half, we got close and they just put it back up to eight, nine and 10, but we battled hard in the second half.”

Zaragoza was excited to be coaching in the gymnasium where he played in high school.

“It was really fun, just walking in the gym, you get a lot of nostalgia and old memories,” he said. “We definitely wanted this one, but it’s all right, I think we will see them down the road too, they’re in the same (playoff division) as us.”

Zaragoza remembers one game in particular during his high school career.

“My sophomore year at Atascadero, we hit a game-winner, I think they were 28-2 and we beat them at the buzzer, that one stands out for sure,” he said.

These days he’s focused on leading the Oilers (6-3) to a successful season and likes the potential for his squad.

“Oliver (Nakra) does his thing always,” he said. “He’s averaging 22 a game as a sophomore, he’s going to continue to improve and Kai (Labistre) gave a great effort. We were missing two starters, when we get those two back (one injured, one a transfer who is sitting out) we will be dangerous. When we have our full squad, we have guys who can score, so we will be dangerous for sure.”

—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com