PLACENTIA — The El Dorado boys basketball team is one step closer to a league championship.
With a 59-45 win over Villa Park on Friday night, the Golden Hawks improved to 22-2 overall and 6-0 in the Freeway League play with two league games remaining.
Noah Barker scored a game-high 15 points despite being under the weather. The Golden Hawks received balanced play from the rest of their starting five.
Ryan Northcott had nine points and 10 rebounds, Evan Nam and Jack Boettner finished with nine points each and point guard Elias Rodarte chipped in seven points.
El Dorado’s Noah Barker, left, and Evan Nam helped the Golden Hawks stay unbeaten in the Freeway League with a 59-45 win over Villa Park on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (Photo by David Delgado)“It’s tremendous,” El Dorado coach Ryan Mounce said after the victory. “Our kids, a lot of credit goes to them. They’re resilient, our two best players were sick tonight, Barker and Rodarte, but they showed up and gave us their best and the guys rallied around (them). We’ve been a team all year. We’ve overcome a lot of things, injuries, sickness, guys going on vacation, but we’re a team that’s been present … stay present, keep turning the page.”
Hayden Hakala led the Spartans with 13 points, Chris Hauck had seven points and Sebastian Perez came off the bench to finish with seven points.
Villa Park (15-11, 3-3) used a tenacious full-court press in the first quarter to try to get El Dorado out of its rhythm. The Golden Hawks finished the first quarter with a 15-13 advantage.
Villa Park freshman Jorden Salem battled foul trouble for most of the game and was unable to leave an imprint on the outcome.
“Our two big kids (Northcott and Boettner) played really well.” Mounce said. “They controlled the boards, caused a lot of issues. The fact that Jorden fouled out was a huge thing. That was a momentum (shift), because he’s been one of their best players moving forward. And then I just couldn’t allow Sebastian to get off in the fourth quarter. He’s a shooter.”
The Golden Hawks pulled away in the second half as Barker scored 13 of his 15 points in the final 16 minutes.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Perez and Barker jostled for position in the low post. The players spilled over to the far sideline where the El Dorado student section was.
The student section got involved and created contact with Perez. The officials and coaches from both sides stepped in before things escalated.
“Big tribute to both high school teams, a lot of emotion, a lot of competitiveness,” Mounce said. “This rivalry has a lot of tradition in the Century League. There’s gonna be some emotion spill over. … But like I said, a great crowd. Both ends, very passionate on Villa Park’s end, very passionate on our end. Like I said, unfortunately, again, some emotion spilled over. … Like I said, good people, but it got very emotional so now it’s good to move on to the next game, next battle.”
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