This story has been updated. Please see editor’s note below.
The Malibu High School (MHS) boys basketball team’s 42-39 win over Oaks Christian School (OCS) last month was a big victory for the Sharks.
Second-year Sharks coach Richard Harris said the win was huge and sets the tone for what Malibu expects to be a successful 2015-16 season. The coach said it doesn’t matter that the win came during a summer basketball tournament rather than a regular season match-up.
“One of my old players told me [OCS] has beaten Malibu by 50, 40 and 30 points in the past, so beating them was a big deal to us,” Harris said.
Six-foot-two senior Dane Marshall said beating their former league opponent was a big deal.
“When we were in the Tri-Valley League with them, we just got really destroyed by them,” he said. “It was just sad. The fact we beat them was pretty cool.”
Senior guard Oleg Burduza splashed in a fade-away three-pointer at the buzzer to give MHS the victory over the Lions during the June 17 to 21 War on the Floor summer basketball tournament at St. Genevieve Christian High School in Panorama City.
Marshall called the shot “ridiculous.”
“I lost my mind at that point,” he said. “It was so much fun.”
Harris said Malibu posted a 3-4 record in War on the Floor (where they faced OCS) and a tournament at Buckley High School in Sherman Oaks. The Sharks posted a 13-13 overall record and 11-1 in the Frontier League before bowing out in the first round of the CIF Southern Section playoffs.
Harris said this year’s MHS team, which starts play in the fall, could be one of the best teams the school has ever had.
“Last year was a success because we wanted to win league and make the playoffs, and we did that,” he said. “This year, those goals are definitely in our sights, and we want to get playoff wins.”
The coach added that the seven-point loss to El Segundo High in the playoffs last February left a bitter taste in the Sharks’ mouths.
“This program hasn’t had a playoff win in eight years,” Harris said. “We are trying to get over that hump.”
Malibu lost four players, including leading scorer Jordan Newt, big man Dillon Orian, and wings Michael Novak and Hunter McMillin to graduation, but returns a talented bunch and a few newcomers that Harris expects to make a good impact on the hardwood.
Senior guard Burduza is one returnee Harris said stood out during the summer tournaments.
“He has probably been averaging close to 20 points a game,” said Harris. “He has been efficient. Not shooting a lot of shots, but scoring a lot of baskets. He can score at will. I don’t have to call any plays for him.”
The other returning players include the seniors Marshall, six-feet-three-inch wing Trey Cotwright and six-feet wing Cordell Newton, six-feet guard Brian Canup, and five-feet-nine-inch guard Matt Mordy. All-League performer Cade McMillin, a junior guard, is also returning, as is six-foot-two-inch sophomore player David Hudson.
Harris said Newton and Cotwright are athletic and aggressive players.
“Offensively, defensively, rebounding, decision-making — they can be leaders for this year as they were last year,” the coach said.
Harris said McMillin has an outstanding work ethic that is hard for other players to match. Marshall, the second team All-Frontier League performer, sets the tone of the Sharks’ defense. A former guard, Marshall said he wants to do whatever it takes to help the Sharks win.
Junior Harris Scott, a transfer from the Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies, is a good ball-handler and smart player, according to Harris.
“He is definitely somebody that will help us a lot,” the coach said.
Harris said the win over OCS let others in basketball community know the Sharks have basketball talent.
“When I went to places where other basketball coaches were, people would stop and ask, ‘How did Malibu beat Oaks Christian?’” he said. “That is a starting point for people to realize we are serious about basketball.”
Marshall said he has high expectations on the hardwood next season.
“I think we are a better team than last year,” he said. “If you look at our team, position by position, I think we are an overall better team. We have put a lot of work in this off-season. We aren’t losing in the first round [of the playoffs] this year.”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story stated that Cordell Newton had graduated. Jordan Newt has graduated, and Cordell Newton is beginning his senior year this fall.