January 29, 2013 > Men's Basketball: Cougars take sole possession of first place Men's Basketball: Cougars take sole possession of first place Submitted By Mike Heightchew The Newark Memorial Cougar boys basketball team fought its way to first place in the Mission Valley Athletic League (MVAL) by handling the scrappy Washington Huskies 47-36 on January 23 at Newark. It's a new year in the MVAL and The Washington Huskies orchestrated the showdown this year with great new team speed and a new, solid team defense. Both teams were undefeated in league play so this was a real test for the Newark Cougars who rose to the challenge and showed and why they are 10-time league champions. The Cougars put on defensive clinic early, holding Washington scoreless in the first Quarter. But, at the same time, the Huskies showed that are ready to make a race out of the MVAL this year as they were able to show down the Cougars fast firing attack holding them to just eight points in the first Quarter. Washington pushed Newark to the edge and took the lead early in third Quarter when Matt Isola buried a three pointer early in the third quarter, Newark responded with great defensive play and Newark's Jo Jo Zamora took control of the paint with 13 of his game-high 17 points in the second half. The host Cougars ran off 12 straight points opening up a 28-17 lead and never looked back in what many would consider the MVAL basketball game of the year.