Barons Dominate in 51-31 Win Over California High

It wasn’t the prettiest game Wednesday night as Fountain Valley took on California in the first round of the CIF Division I playoffs at the Condors’ home gym. But the end result, a dominating 51-31 victory for the Barons, was good enough for coach Roger Holmes.

“This was the first playoff game for our guys in four years,” Holmes said. “They were a little nervous and California plays a lot of press and trap.”

Holmes was impressed with his team’s strong defensive play. “We played good defense and dominated the boards,” he said.

Also pleasing was the fact that Fountain Valley broke a three-game losing streak with the playoff win. Junior point guard Sean Myers had an excellent game, scoring 15 points for the Barons to lead all scorers.

He was followed by Zachary Matar and Tanner Trounce, both with eight points. Matt Lambrecht was high scorer for California with 10 points.

The Condors held a 5-4 lead with four minutes gone by in the first quarter, but it didn’t last long. Fountain Valley took a 7-5 lead with 3:49 left in the first period and stayed ahead for the rest of the game.

Fountain Valley had a 15-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, and held a commanding 31-16 advantage at halftime. The Barons’ Matar had five rebounds in the first half.

Fountain Valley had 11 turnovers in the half, but still built the lead.

At the end of the third quarter, Fountain Valley led 41-21. Brandon Moss then took over for Fountain Valley scoring four points with less than two minutes gone by in the fourth quarter.

The outcome was sealed and with about three minutes left in the game coach Holmes began removing starters from the game.

On Friday his starters will have to be at their best. Downey has a 25-2 season record and has won 10 straight. “Downey is good,” Holmes said. They are 25-2 for a reason.”