PHOTOS: Calvary Chapel remains in title hunt with victory over Santa Ana -

Santa Ana’s Nicholas Chávez tips the ball away from Calvary Chapel’s Tyler Peterson during a fast break in the second quarter on Friday Night at The Court. (Photos: Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone).

Calvary Chapel High School’s boys basketball team is trying to win the third Orange Coast League title in a row for the program.

Friday night, the Eagles kept their title hopes alive, defeating Santa Ana 48-34 at Santa Ana. Calvary Chapel (15-8, 8-1) came into the game tied with St. Margaret’s for first place.

The two teams play Wednesday at Calvary Chapel.

“Our seniors really stepped up,” said Calvary Chapel Coach James Larson. “Defense is the name of our game for us. When we play good defense, it starts our offense.”

To see the slide show, click on the first photo:

Santa Ana's Alexis Neria handles the ball as Calvary Chapel's Brannon Berry guards him.

Calvary Chapel's Caiden Curran prepares for a free throw shot during the second quarter.

Santa Ana head coach Zach Johnson directs his team in the second quarter.

Calvary Chapel's Rafael Sermarini carries the ball up the court as Santa Ana's Jayderick García guards him.

Calvary Chapel coach James Larson talks to his players during the first half of the game against Santa Ana.

Santa Ana's Jack Rivera moves the ball up the court on a fast break on his way for a layup.

Santa Ana's Emmanuel Lemus drives to the basket as a trio of Calvary Chapel defenders guard him.

Calvary Chapel's Caiden Curran drives to the basket as Santa Ana's Luis Sandoval covers him.

Calvary Chapel's forward Rafael Sermarini warms up prior to the game.

Calvary Chapel's Carson Franklin attempts a shot in spite of the tough coverage of Santa Ana's Emmanuel Lemus.

Calvary Chapel coach James Larson (left) and Santa Ana's Zach Johnson talk before Friday's game.

Santa Ana's Jayderick García warms up before Friday night's game against Calvary Chapel.

Calvary Chapel's Gavin Russell is introduced.

Santa Ana's guard Nicholas Chavez drives to the basket as Calvary Chapel's Rafael Sermarini defends.

Santa Ana's Jack Rivera is introduced during the announcement of the starting lineups.

Calvary Chapel's Caiden Curran is introduced during the announcing of the starting lineups.

Calvary Chapel's power forward Carson Franklin is introduced during the announcing of the starting lineups.

Santa Ana center Emmanuel Lemus drives to the basket during Friday night's warmups.

Calvary Chapel had a balanced scoring effort led by Caiden Curran, who had 17 points. Carson Franklin had 15 points and Tyler Peterson 12 points.

Santa Ana (14-7, 3-5) was led by Jack Rivera, who scored 12 points. But Rivera picked up his fourth foul in the third quarter and had to sit out. He returned in the fourth quarter but fouled out early in the final stanza.

Luis Sandoval added 11 points and Nick Chavez seven points. Calvary Chapel was able to hold the Saints leading scorer Emmanual Lemus to two points.

The Saints played well in the first quarter, taking a 17-9 lead. Santa Ana led 22-19 at halftime but Calvary Chapel took charge in the third quarter outscoring Santa Ana 20-9 and was in charge down the stretch.

“We really picked it up in the second half,” Larson said. “We did a much better job of slowing them down which allowed us to establish our inside game. We have some good inside weapons. We’ve typically been outscoring teams by 35 inside, that’s our game.”

Larson is hoping the Eagles outstanding play continues.

“These seniors want to keep that going,” he said. “But St. Margaret’s and Costa Mesa will have something to say about that. The old cliche is defense wins championships, but our defense has gotten us where we are. We know we have to keep that up and come playoff time, we’re going to have to be even better because 3AA is a tough division.”

Friday night OC boys basketball highlights

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