Four Takeaways: Fountain Valley vs. Westminster

<p>FOUNTAIN VALLEY — The Barons played host to Westminster Wednesday night in a CIF Southern Section Division 3A first round game, pitting two squads, separated by only a handful of miles, against each other.</p> <p>Fountain Valley, which reached the playoffs for the first time since 2013, closed the third and fourth quarters strong to take a 75-59 victory. The postseason win was the first since 2011 for the Barons and also the first playoff win for <strong>D'Cean Bryant</strong> as a head coach. </p> <p>Junior wing <strong>Preston Amarillo</strong> paced the Barons with 23 points and seven assists, while classmate <strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jeremiah-davis/">Jeremiah Davis</a></strong> added 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Sophomores guards <strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/roddie-anderson/">Roddie Anderson</a></strong> and <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/aden-casarez/">Aden Casarez</a> pitched in 11 and nine points, respectively, while junior swingman <strong>John Kubas</strong> put together a strong performance off the bench, scoring eight points to go along with five assists and plenty of pass deflections and steals.</p> <p>For Westminster, senior forward Matthew Brookins led the way with 23 points and senior point guard Isaiah Banks added 16. Fountain Valley moves on to the second round Friday with a home game against Temple City.</p> <p><strong>Four Takeaways</strong></p> <p><strong>Preston Amarillo's performance signals next-level ability</strong></p> <p>The 6-foot-4 lefty serves as the stabilizing force for a young Fountain Valley squad and his poised demeanor and high IQ came into play in a major way in the Barons first taste of postseason play. Amarillo took advantage of his quickness and length, attacking the  Westminster bigs from the high post, finishing through contact, and getting to the free throw line. Amarillo also showed improved confidence from behind-the-arc, knocking down a couple of triples, including one that the Lions backed up and dared him to shoot. Amarillo's most transferrable skill to the next level is his passing. He advances the ball in transition and showed the ability to throw accurate and timely interior passes. I can see the junior making an impact at the Division 3 or NAIA level.</p> <p><strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jeremiah-davis/">Jeremiah Davis</a> showed patience and overall feel for this game</strong></p> <p>The 6-foot-3 shooting guard has been the Barons' go-to guy all season long and all of Fountain Valley's opponents know that. Westminster did a nice job of slowing Davis down and made his catches and shots contested ones. It was good to see the junior not force the issue offensively and let the game come to him. He didn't take bad shots or force many offensive actions, but instead let the above-mentioned Amarillo do most of the damage as he exposed his mismatch all night long. Davis still finished with 16 points and impacted the game in other ways with his eight boards and four assists.</p> <p><strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/roddie-anderson/">Roddie Anderson</a> has immense potential, just needs to harness his energy</strong></p> <p>The 6-foot point guard is one of the fastest and most athletic perimeter players in all of Orange County and showed flashes of that in the first quarter. Anderson burst out of the gates with nine points, six of those on transition buckets off of steals and the other on a catch and shoot 3-pointer. The sophomore found himself battling foul trouble for the rest of the game as he picked up a couple of reaching fouls and another when trying to recover and block a shot after gambling for a steal. Anderson has all the athletic potential in the world, he just needs to harness that energy and pick his spots of when to use it.</p> <p><strong>Matthew Brookins put together a strong end to his high school career, should have options to continue playing</strong></p> <p>The 6-foot-6 forward redeveloped himself over the last two years and it began with him taking care of his body. Brookins' dropped a ton of weight and tightened up his frame which did wonders for his athleticism and mobility in transition. The senior finished the season with averages of 18.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game and was a strong presence in the painted area with his ability to power up and finish through contact. Brookins also showed flashes of tough downhill drives and buckets through contact. If he wants to play beyond high school, there are plenty of college programs who could use a strong, live body with good hands and touch around the basket.</p>