El Dorado boys basketball surges past Fountain Valley in first round of playoffs

PLACENTIA – It didn’t look too good for El Dorado’s boys basketball team after the first few minutes.

The Golden Hawks had a great second half to beat Fountain Valley, 74-62, in a CIF Southern Section Division 2 first-round playoff game Wednesday at El Dorado High.

The win was El Dorado’s 26th of the season, setting a boys basketball record at the school for most wins in a season. The school was founded in 1966.

El Dorado (26-3) will play at Leuzinger (18-13) in the second round Friday. Leuzinger beat St. Anthony, 79-68, in the first round Wednesday.

El Dorado senior forward Noah Barker, the team’s leading scorer this season at 15 points a game, scored a team-high 18 points Wednesday. Four other Golden Hawks scored in double figures. Elias Rodarte scored 14 points, Ryan Northcott scored 12 points with 10 rebounds, Noah Querubin scored 11 points and Jack Boettner scored 10 points.

The Golden Hawks, No. 17 in The Orange County Top 25, played without their second-leading scorer, Evan Nam. Nam, averaging 12 points a game, was unavailable because of an ankle injury.

No. 20 Fountain Valley finished 21-8.

Fountain Valley took an 11-2 lead. Led by senior guard James Pennington’s 15 points in the first quarter, the Barons took a 23-18 lead into the second quarter.

Barker converted a three-point play to give El Dorado its first lead of 29-28 midway through the second quarter. The teams traded the lead until the half ended at 34-34.

Barker scored six points in the third quarter as the Golden Hawks outscored the Barons 21-12. El Dorado carried a 55-46 lead into the fourth quarter.

Rodarte made a 3-point basket with 2:25 to go in the fourth quarter and seconds later scored on a fastbreak layup, and it was 72-57.

Barker said defense was a key to Wednesday’s win.

“I loved our defense, the way we hustled on the floor,” Barker said.

Barker was the primary defender on Fountain Valley senior guard Kenneth Nguyen who was averaging 19 points a game. Nguyen scored 11 points Wednesday.

El Dorado coach Ryan Mounce is a believer in practice being the basketball classroom, then letting the players figure out how to apply those lessons through the ups and the inevitable downs of 32 minutes of the game.

And that’s what Mounce saw the Golden Hawks accomplish Wednesday.

“They self-organized and did a great job of just playing basketball,” Mounce. “I told the players, ‘No one wants a math teacher looking over their shoulder when they’re taking an exam. You get to play the game, and the game will be decided by the players’ merits.’”

Pennington finished with 20 points. Kaden Khuu scored 16 points including three 3-pointers for Fountain Valley. Drew Chincilla scored 14 points for the Barons.