Posted Thursday, January 10, 2008 by Bruce Reisman

The New Kids on the Block have established themselves as the premier freshman team in South Orange County. Last week, the San Juan Hills Freshman Boys basketball team entered their second invitational tournament of the season and emerged with the Championship.

El Toro High School hosted their annual Freshman Winter Classic from December 26-29, including teams from Irvine Northwood, Anaheim Canyon, and all of the South Orange County high schools. The SJHHS Stallions outlasted the field of 12, winning the championship game against host El Toro by a score of 48-41.

Remarkably, the Stallions never relinquished a lead in any of their four games of the tournament. The final game against the Chargers was the most challenging, as the Stallions found themselves matched against taller opponents. The game was close through the first two quarters. The Stallions were able to score six unanswered points to boost their lead to nine, only to see the Chargers convert several free throws to close in at the half, 31-29.

The crucial 3rd quarter was initially tentative, with neither team scoring in the first three minutes. Balanced scoring from Michael Perryman, Elliott Bragg, Jacob St. Onge and Andrew Walton slowly built the lead back to nine, where it essentially stayed as the 4th quarter saw sloppy, but even play from both teams.

San Juan Hills advanced to the finals by defeating Capistrano Valley 59-53 and Irvine Northwood 46-25 in first round pool-play. The semifinal game featured Canyon HS of Anaheim, which San Juan Hills defeated easily, 59-39.

The 13-1 Stallions host Heritage High School for their next game on Jan 5 at SJHHS.