OMRI WAISMAN/The Acorn NOT WITHOUT A CHALLENGE--Oak Park senior Aaron Rutschman puts up a shot during last week's game against Carpentaria.

The Oak Park boys’ basketball team defeated Carpinteria, 59-39, last week. Then two days later the Eagles beat Fillmore, 57-27, as they clinched their third-straight Tri-Valley League championship.

In the win over Carpinteria (which was senior night at Oak Park High School), junior forward Blake Wildt scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Aaron Rutschman, a senior guard, had 11 points, including three 3-pointers. Against Fillmore, Wildt led the Eagles again, this time with 15 points.

Oak Park head coach Ed Chevalier said his team played good defense in the win over Carpinteria.

"I thought we played pretty hard on the boards and defensively the last three quarters," he said.

Oak Park went on a 17-0 run to boost an early fourth quarter lead from 42-34 to 59-34. Wildt scored six points and assisted on another basket and he got the Eagles’ "bird cage" crowd involved in the game when he took an alley-oop pass from junior guard Ryan Buckley and jammed it home with 2:40 remaining in the game. That basket made the score 52-34.

Chevalier started his five seniors against Carpinteria: Casey Webb, a guard who always starts and is a team captain, Todd Bettisworth, Trevor Carlson and Rutschman (also guards), and center Kyle Martindale.

"They did a nice job out there," Chevalier said. "They played (Carpinteria) even for six or seven minutes. And actually that group, I thought, played better than our normal starting group played in the second quarter."

Oak Park led 19-14 after the first quarter and then led 30-20 at halftime.

About Rutschman’s 3-point shooting, Chevalier said, "He’s got the green light. He plays spot minutes here and there. We’re going to need some shooting in the playoffs and he adds another dimension to our club, and that should be helpful to us."

In the first meeting with Carpinteria, Oak Park suffered its only league loss. It also was the end of Oak Park’s school record 23 straight league wins.

Chevalier said junior center Gavin Ketchum wasn’t healthy and played sparingly in that first contest, but that Ketchum made a big difference the second time.

"His presence is big and he takes some of the pressure off some of the other guys," Chevalier said about Ketchum.

Chevalier also praised Webb. "The last two or three games he’s played very well. He’s a spirited, vocal guy."

And about Buckley, Chevalier said, "Ryan’s a quiet guy but you can see he’s a competitor."

Chevalier said his players were set to avenge the earlier loss vs. Carpinteria.

"We were pretty focused in practice this week," he said. "If we beat Fillmore, we’ll be going to the playoffs on a high note."

Webb said senior night was heartfelt for him.

"It was kind of emotional," Webb said. "I love this game so much—it’s going to be a hard transition not playing."

The Eagles clinched having their opening-round playoff game at home when they beat Fillmore.

"That will be very special for me," Webb said about the home playoff game. "I’d like to see us win two or three playoff games. And then, next year, these guys will be a lot better because of how many guys are returning."

Oak Park was 15-10 overall and 7-1 in league as the CIF playoffs began.