DOLPHIN REPORT

BY ZACH CAVANAGH & C. JAYDEN SMITH, DANA POINT TIMES

For in-game updates, news and more for all of the Dana Hills High School sports programs, follow us on Twitter @SouthOCSports and on Instagram @South_OC_Sports

Three DHHS Winter Sports Teams Open CIF-SS Playoffs

Three Dana Hills winter sports teams qualified for the CIF-SS playoffs, as the postseason brackets for boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer and girls water polo were released over the weekend.

Only one Dana Hills team earned a top-four seed: girls water polo is No. 4 in Division 2.

The Dana Hills girls water polo team and Sea View League champion boys basketball team opened the CIF-SS playoffs on Wednesday, Feb. 8.

Dana Hills boys basketball (18-8) tipped off against Valley Christian of Cerritos (17-10), which earned an at-large selection out of the Olympic League. As detailed below, the Dolphins held off the Defenders, 70-67, to advance in Division 2A.

Dana Hills will next host No. 2 seed Pacifica Christian of Newport Beach in the second round on Friday, Feb. 10.

The Dolphins won their first league title since 2014 and played in the program’s first-ever CIF-SS Final last season.

The No. 4 seed Dana Hills girls water polo team (20-8) started against Vista Murrieta (11-13) in Division 2. Vista Murrieta was the third-place team out of the Southwestern League. As their pool doesn’t meet CIF-SS playoff size requirements, the Dolphins hosted their firstround game at Aliso Niguel High School. The Dolphins dominated the Broncos en route to a 21-9 victory.

Dana Hills advances to the quarterfinals and will travel to Ventura on Saturday, Feb. 11.

The Dana Hills girls basketball team (15-8) played its first CIF-SS playoff game since 2018 at home against Rubidoux of Riverside (12-6) on Thursday, Feb. 9. Rubidoux was the third-place team in the Mountain Valley League.

Results were not available at press time, but check out danapointtimes.com for game coverage.

If the Dolphins advanced, they’ll take on Sacred Heart of Los Angeles or Oakwood in the Division 4A second round on Saturday.

Follow @South_OC_Sports on Instagram and @SouthOCSports on Twitter for daily CIF-SS playoff coverage of all the local teams in Dana Point, San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano.

Boys Basketball Survives Valley Christian, Advances to Second Round

Dana Hills sophomore Collin Haugh was the deciding factor on Wednesday night, Feb. 8, as his four 3-pointers in the final quarter helped his team escape a late rally from Valley Christian of Cerritos in a 70-67 home win.

The opening round of CIF-Southern Section Division 2A play featured a fast-paced game that saw the Dolphins build what seemed to be comfortable leads before Valley Christian (17-11) stormed back.

That included a nine-point Defenders flurry after Dana Hills (19-8) went up, 65-54, and a quick four-point play that momentarily tensed up the home gym, cutting the Dolphins’ lead to 69-67 with just a few seconds remaining.

Dolphins head coach Tom Desiano credited the Defenders and junior point guard Jacob Bayla (34 points), but he pointed to his team’s resiliency as what led the Dolphins to the victory.

“We always came back, we always had an answer, and that doesn’t always happen,” Desiano said.

Haugh (22 points) had a hot-andcold start to the game. He missed all four 3-point attempts but showed touch from midrange for seven firsthalf points, while senior Cole Davison shouldered the load with 15.

Valley Christian took the first quarter, 15-13, as point guard TJ Waters tallied four assists. Midway through the second, Dana Hills started to take control and held a 32-25 lead going into the locker room.

The third quarter was where Bayla made his hay. After the Dolphins’ margin increased to 10, Bayla single-handedly kept Valley Christian close by driving to the basket on the way to 15 points in the period.

Desiano attributed Bayla’s outburst to his talent and to his own players’ foul trouble that left his bench vulnerable.

“What we did down the stretch (was), we went to our 2-3 zone to keep them (out of the paint),” he said. “Down to the last 2½ minutes of the game, they couldn’t get to the basket anymore.”

Both teams switched their defensive approaches in the game’s latter stages, with Dana Hills using a zone defense and Valley Christian a press. The press forced turnovers for Dana Hills that allowed the Defenders to hang around.

The margin stayed close to six points from the third quarter into the fourth, but clutch buckets from Haugh and Dennis Powers lifted Dana Hills to an 11-point lead before Valley Christian’s last surge.

Desiano said Haugh carried the Dolphins down the stretch with his ability to get lost within the zone defense and emerge open for catch-and-shoot 3-pointers.

“We look to him in those spots, and then when he doesn’t have it, he’s willing to feed it (to others), too,” Desiano said. “He makes us go, and he’s got that drive, that killer instinct to (say), ‘Hey, look, I want the shot when it’s available. I can make the shot when it’s available.’ ”

The Dolphins advanced to host No. 2 seed Pacifica Christian (20-8) in the second round on Friday, Feb. 10, after the Tritons defeated Portola, 64-52, on Wednesday.

Spring Sports Kick Off This Weekend

As the winter sports playoffs open in full force, the CIF-SS spring season swings into action starting on Saturday, Feb. 11.

Dana Hills baseball will start its schedule bright and early with a home game against Woodbridge on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m.

The Dolphins softball team will also get going on Saturday with action in the Savannah Tournament.

Boys and girls lacrosse, as well as beach volleyball, can all host their first contests beginning on Saturday.

Boys tennis starts on Monday, Feb. 13, and track and field, swimming and diving, and boys volleyball can begin on Feb. 18.

Boys golf will be the last sport to tee it up on Feb. 25.

Look for the Dana Point Times spring sports preview, in which we will highlight a selection of the 12 Dana Hills spring squads, on Feb. 24. DP