Burgess Gets the Help Woodbridge Can Use

As good as Chris Burgess is, and it is impossible to ignore 28 points and 20 rebounds, it was the collective effort turned in by his Woodbridge teammates Friday night that drew the most attention.

Forward Brandon Beeson scored 12 points and had seven rebounds, guards Peter Martinelli and William Stovall each scored eight points and forward Jason Tilton was super in the second half while guarding one of the county’s best-known shooters during the fifth-ranked Warriors’ 62-42 victory over seventh-ranked El Toro in a Sea View League opener at Woodbridge.

Martinelli also had seven assists and Burgess, a 6-foot-10 center, was his usual self inside, blocking four shots and intimidating Charger shooters into at least a half-dozen rushed shots. But if Woodbridge (11-3, 1-0) is to mount a charge toward a Southern Section title, it will need more efforts like this from the rest of the Warriors.

The Warriors chucked their run-and-gun style for a more controlled transition game. That seemed to help the Warriors’ defense, which benefited from Beeson’s inside play, particularly in the second half.

Tilton took over from Beeson in guarding Charger guard Mark Wulfemeyer in the second half. Wulfemeyer burned the Warriors for all of his 14 points in the first half, including a three-pointer from the right baseline at the second-quarter buzzer. That cut Woodbridge’s lead to 34-30.

But Wulfemeyer missed all six of his shots in the second half. The Chargers (13-3, 0-1) scored only 12 points in the final two quarters. The Chargers made only seven of 56 shots from the field in the game. El Toro missed 13 shots in one second-half span.

“This was our best defensive effort I have seen in my 15 years at Woodbridge and this was not against a bunch of stiffs,” Woodbridge Coach John Halagan said. “El Toro is a fine team. To hold them to only 42 points was amazing. It is a credit to this team.”

Woodbridge outscored El Toro 11-4 in the third quarter to take a 45-34 lead. Burgess punctuated the run with a skyhook to beat the buzzer.

Fabrizio Mendiola, the fourth-leading scorer in the county, had 16 points for the Chargers, making seven of 21 shots, but only four of 13 in the second half.

In other league games:

Santa Margarita 60, Newport Harbor 54--Carson Palmer scored six points and had 14 rebounds for host Santa Margarita, which trailed by four at halftime, but outscored Newport Harbor 20-11 in the third quarter. Brad Gloger scored 14 points for Santa Margarita (10-5, 1-0) and Danny Pulido scored 21 points for Newport Harbor (9-7, 0-1).

Irvine 49, Corona del Mar 32--Chris Ferguson scored 17 for Irvine (10-7, 1-0). Nick Friend had 11 points for the Sea Kings (4-13, 0-1).