Irvine uses second half surge for Holiday Tournament victory against host Orange

Irvine players (from left) Chase Brito, Shawn Rahimi, Evan Terakawa, Thiago Ida, Bentley Nguyen and Jalen Yim after Monday’s win. (PHOTOS: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).

Irvine’s boys basketball team used an explosive second half to erase a halftime deficit and went on to defeat Orange 59-35 Monday afternoon at the 60th annual Orange Holiday Basketball Classic at Orange High School.

Trailing 27-22 at halftime, the Vaqueros applied a swarming defense and a surging offense to outscore the Panthers 37-8 in the second half. Irvine improved its record to 9-8 while Orange dropped its fifth consecutive game and fell to 5-11.

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Shawn Rahimi scored 12 points and Jalen Yim added 10 points to lead the Vaqueros’ comeback.

“The coaches gave us a good talking to at halftime, and we upped our intensity in the second half,” said Yim. “In the first half, we came out too soft but in the second half our intensity picked up, our game was more focused, we were locked in, and we connected as a team.”

Trailing 27-22 at the break, Irvine started the third quarter on a 14-0 run and outscored the Panthers 21-4 in the quarter to take a commanding 45-31 lead after three quarters.

Chase Brito and Bentley Nguyen combined to score 10 points during the Vaqueros run. Nguyen’s basket at the 4:42 mark of the quarter gave Irvine a 36-29 lead. Rahimi and Yim then lead a 9-4 Irvine run to finish the quarter, increasing the Vaqueros lead.   

“We talked better in the second half and played more like a team and that was the difference,” said Brito, who scored nine points.

The Vaqueros defense, led by Thiago Ida, Yim and Evan Terakawa, helped keep the Orange offense scoreless on their first nine possessions of the third quarter, using an aggressive press that forced six turnovers and totally disrupted the Irvine attack and turned the tide of the game.

“We gained momentum in the second half after starting the third quarter with a strong run,” said Terakawa, who also scored nine points. “We didn’t play like that in the first half, but we made adjustments at halftime.”

Orange junior forward Noah Faliano said the Irvine press caused problems for the Panthers.

“We hadn’t seen pressure like that this season, and it mixed us up,” said Faliano. “Our team just needs to continue to work hard to get better.”     

The Vaqueros defensive pursuit carried over into the fourth quarter as Orange managed only two baskets and was held scoreless over the final six minutes of the game.

The Panthers got off to a slow start in the opening quarter enabling Irvine to take an early lead. Rahimi nailed a 3-pointer and Francisco Martinez added a bucket in the final minute of the quarter to boost the Vaqueros to a 13-6 lead after eight minutes of play.

However, Orange countered with its best quarter of the tournament in the second quarter. After falling behind 17-6 following a basket by Ida, the Panthers went on an impressive 21-5 run to end the quarter and take a 27-22 lead at the break.

Alex Villa drilled three 3-pointers and Faliano added two baskets as Orange stormed into the lead and limited Irvine to one basket over the final 4:23 of the half. 

However, the Vaqueros hit the ground running at the start of the third quarter and dominated at both ends of the court as they cruised to victory to the delight of Irvine Coach Harry Meussner.

“We take pride in how we run our offense,” said Meussner. “We work on passing, spacing and how we apply pressure on defense. Our point guards did a great job today and we were much more aggressive in the second half.”   

Following the game, Orange Coach Jake Rhodes remained upbeat despite the setback and said his team has lots of work still to do and it’s on him.

“I think we got tight when we started the second half,” Rhodes added. “We were playing not to lose, instead of playing to win. We lack the basketball awareness and execution. The way we played in the second quarter is the way I had hoped we would play for the entire game, but that’s on me, I must get us to that point.”   

Villa led Orange with nine points and Isaac Cruz and Kim each had six points apiece.   

NOTES:

—-Rhodes indicated his team will play its final game of the tournament on Tuesday morning at 10:30 against an opponent to be determined based on the outcomes of Monday night’s games.

—-Meussner said Irvine will more than likely play a third-place game on Tuesday against an opponent to be determined on Monday night.  

—The Vaqueros open their Pacific Coast League schedule at home on Tuesday, Jan. 6 against Woodbridge.

—Orange has two more nonleague games – against Edgewood on Monday, Jan. 5 and Segerstrom on Tuesday, Jan. 6 – before opening Coast League play at home against Estancia on Friday, Jan. 9.