Chino Hills thwarts Newport’s comeback bid, captures title at Louie Macias Tourney

Newport Harbor players with the runner-up ribbons from the tournament. Star forward Owen Saukkola holds the trophy. (PHOTOS: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).

Newport Harbor’s boys basketball team hung around for a half, made a comeback to take the lead in the fourth quarter, but Chino Hills finished strong to win 60-46 and capture the championship at the Louie Macias Tournament Saturday.

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Both teams came into the game at Santa Ana High School with 3-0 records.

Chino Hills led 42-37 after three quarters but Newport Harbor made a run in the final quarter and moved ahead 43-42 on a free throw by Marcel Aguilar with 6:23 left in the game.

The game was tied 45-45 but Chino Hills responded with seven straight points and pulled away at the end.

“Good team, good tournament,” said Newport Harbor Coach Robert Torribio. “Great week, a lot of great teams in this tournament. For this game right here, we knew we would have to score 60, and that was the magic number. When it was tied at 45, we thought we were feeling something right there and then they wear you down, they’re very well coached, they’re a good high school basketball team.”

Chino Hills was led by senior guard Joaquin Tovera, who had 23 points, including 14 in the critical final stanza. He was named tournament MVP. Senior Akello Rasshan was also solid scoring 17 points.

Newport Harbor was led by standout senior forward Owen Saukkola, who had a big week scoring but struggled in the first half after picking up three quick fouls. He was held to three points in the first half but got untracked in the second half scoring 13 to wind up with 16 points. Saukkola fouled out with 1:54 left in the game.

“That’s on them, Chino Hills did a great job of guarding him and did a great job of controlling the pace of the game we thought, and the second half we had a couple guys step up and it made Owen’s life a little bit easier,” Torribio said.

Cade Clark added 11 points and Aguilar eight points for the Sailors.

“We got a lot of guys who like basketball and like competing, so we knew we wouldn’t go away,” Torribio said. “But against a team like that, you got to make some shots.”

Chino Hills Coach Dennis Latimore was pleased with his squad’s effort.

“It was a great tournament, they run a really good tournament down here at Santa Ana High School,” he said. “Very competitive, we had some ups and downs, as expected in the first week of the season. But we’re glad we’re 4-0.”

Tovera, the MVP, has been the standout for the Huskies.

“Very dynamic player, he can shoot the three, he can get the ball in the basket, he can pass …. he averaged 20 points a year last year as a junior, so we’re looking to keep him healthy and help him have a great year and hopefully he’s playing at the next level next year,” the coach said.

Torribio, the Newport Harbor coach, said his squad made some progress too.

“It was a great week, great tournament, can’t thank Santa Ana enough for running such a great tournament in Orange County with a bunch of quality coaches who are also good people,” he said.

Torribio said that in addition to Saukkola, Aguilar “had a great week for us as well.”

Other finals:

Costa Mesa 42, Santiago 39

San Juan Hills 52, Dana Hills 40

El Dorado 52, Irvine 35

San Clemente 62, Yorba Linda 46 (third place)

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