Written by Michael Huntley | OC Register

NEWPORT BEACH — Pacifica Christian's boys basketball team grabbed pole position in the San Joaquin League standings by beating Fairmont Prep 54-44 Tuesday in both teams' league opener at Pacifica Christian High. The Tritons (12-8, 1-0) won the league championship last season, which snapped Fairmont Prep's streak of seven consecutive league championships. Pacifica Christian is ranked No. 5 in the Register's Orange County Top 25, and Fairmont Prep (11-8, 0-1) is No. 12. No other team in the league is in the county Top 25. "Playing those guys in the league opener, it's a must-win game right off the bat," Pacifica Christian coach Jeff Berokoff said. "Sometimes teams come out flat in the first league game after the break, but our guys were dialed up and ready. I'm proud of their focus and enthusiasm." Pacifica Christian excelled on the defensive end and held Fairmont Prep under 50 points. The Huskies are 0-5 in games where they score less than 50 points. The Tritons held Fairmont Prep to 31 percent shooting from 3-point range and outrebounded the Huskies 34-24.

We are trying to hang our hat on our defense right now," Berokoff said. "It's league and if you can defend and rebound, you're going to give yourself a chance." "We knew we had to play defense as a team, we harped on that all week," junior guard EJ Spillman said. "We wanted to lock out their best guys and minimize the amount of shots they get."

Spillman had a well-rounded game for Pacifica Christian, tallying 13 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. He has scholarship offers from Cal Poly SLO, Pepperdine, and UC Riverside among others. "We've asked a lot more out of him this year and his usage rate is really high," Berokoff said. "He does so much for us and I can't find too many kids that can pass the ball like he can." Sophomore guard Michael Noel led all scorers with 17 points with five 3-pointers. Pacifica Christian shot 44 percent from 3-point range as a team. "That's our shooter and whenever he gets hot it's dangerous," Spillman said of Noel. "When we find him on the wing, it's money. We don't even have to look to see if it went in."

Fairmont Prep tied the score briefly in the third quarter before Pacifica Christian went on an 8-0 run. David Abisogun, who is 6-foot-9, led Fairmont Prep with 13 points and eight rebounds. "That kid can really play," Berokoff said of Abisogun. "He's a handful and we watched pretty much all of their games on film and we knew what they were trying to do."Point guard Oliver Jones was active offensively for the Huskies with 11 points and seven assists. Leroy Davis had 12 points with four 3-pointers. Vanguard commit Alex Stewart had eight rebounds for Pacifica Christian, including two big offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter. Hudson Reynolds also had two big offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter including a put-back layup.

Both teams play league games later this week. Pacifica Christian will play at San Gabriel Academy on Thursday. Fairmont Prep will play at Orangewood Academy on Saturday.