El Dorado uses big second half for victory over Sunny Hills in league opener

El Dorado was led by (from left) Noah Barker, Evan Nam, Ryan Northcott, Jack Boettner and Elias Rodarte in the win over Sunny Hills. (PHOTOS: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).

El Dorado’s boys basketball team used an explosive second half to break open a close game and win going away against Sunny Hills 69-39 in the opening Freeway League game for both teams Friday night at Sunny Hills.

Golden Hawks senior guard Evan Nam scored 20 points and Noah Barker and Jack Boettner each added 14 points for El Dorado (16-2, 1-0).

The Golden Hawks dominated at both ends of the court in the second half, outscoring the Lancers 46-20.

“We came out with big energy in the second half; we didn’t do that in the first half,” said Barker, a 6-3 senior forward. “We had a size advantage, and we used it in the paint, and we filled the gaps in the lane. We want to win a championship this season.”

Nam and Barker combined to score 12 points in the first quarter to help boost the Golden Hawks to a 17-9 lead after the first quarter.

The Lancers (8-13) played an aggressive second quarter and held El Dorado to one basket and two free throws for the final 7:06 of the quarter. Immanuel Lin’s two baskets down the stretch enabled Sunny Hills to cut the lead to 23-19 at the break.

But then in the second half, the Golden Hawks bigs, Ryan Northcott, Boettner and Barker, took control of the boards, the paint and essentially the game.

El Dorado went on a 12-2 run to start the third quarter and ran an extremely efficient offense, outscoring Suny Hills 27-7 and forcing 11 turnovers in the quarter. The Lancers managed only one basket and four free throws in the period and trailed 50-26 after three quarters.

“We came out with more intensity in the second half and played strong defensively,” said Boettner.

“Our strength is finishing games in the fourth quarter,” said Nam, who had two 3-pointers in the game and scored 10 points in each half. “Right now, we’re 16-2 overall but we see it that we are 1-0 in league and that’s what counts.”   

The Golden Hawks closed out the final quarter continuing to play aggressive defense and attacking the basket. Their ball movement, passing, and rebounding was the difference in the second half as they cruised to a victory.

“We applied pressure with the press in the second half; Noah got a few steals and we forced some turnovers,” said Golden Hawks Coach Ryan Mounce. “We trying to get these guys to play at a crescendo level for 32 minutes. They rose to the occasion tonight just like every song has a crescendo.”

Sunny Hills Coach Joe Ok said his team played a solid first half, but the game got away from the Lancers in the second half.

“We knew coming into the Freeway League it was going to be a challenge this season and it doesn’t get any easier looking ahead,” said OK.  “We played a good first half, made a few adjustments and stayed close. However, they brought a lot of pressure, and their press caused us problems. Afterall, they are ranked 13^th in the county. They’re big and physical but I’m proud how our guys battled and stayed positive.”

Senior guard Ezra Lee led the Lancers with 10 points while Lin added eight points.

NOTES:

—El Dorado coach Ryan Mounce is in his 25^th year as Golden Hawks head coach and 28^th year as an El Dorado coach.

—-The Golden Hawks had their 14-game winning streak snapped by Rancho Bernardo (65-62) in a holiday tournament final in San Diego on Tuesday. “We deserved to get beat,” said Mounce. “The kid made a buzzer beater, and I think the loss will help us. Sometimes a loss can be helpful. We still have so much to improve on.”

—Sunny Hills coach Joe Ok is in his 11^th year as head coach of the Lancers and is in his 30^th year as a Sunny Hills basketball coach.

—Senior guard Evan Lee was unavailable to play for the Lancers Friday due to a shoulder injury. Coach Ok said he hopes to have Lee back very soon.    

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