BREA-OLINDA CHRISTMAS TOURNAMENT : Sunny Hills Can’t Keep Up With Gahr in 61-51 Loss

Sunny Hills couldn’t cope with Cerritos Gahr’s quickness and pressing defense, losing to the Gladiators, 61-51, in the third-place game of the Pepsi Brea-Olinda Christmas boys’ tournament Wednesday night at Brea-Olinda High School.

The Lancers (4-7) fell behind early, 14-4, and played catch-up the rest of the night. Every time Sunny Hills came close, however, Gahr (9-4) went on a scoring spurt.

“We’re not there yet,” Sunny Hills Coach Steve White said. “We need more practice. We’re not playing under control.”

Sunny Hills trailed, 41-38, early in the third quarter, but Gahr’s full-court pressure and the shooting of Macus Lemons and Kevin Morris ignited a 16-3 scoring streak, and the Lancers found themselves trailing, 47-31, with 3:51 left in the third quarter.

Mario Bertoul led Sunny Hills with 21 points. Lemons and Javelin Guidry led the Gladiators with 17 and 16 points, respectively.

In other games:

Whittier Christian 53, La Mirada 40--Tyler Ream had 21 points for Whittier Christian (5-6) in the consolation championship. Kwadwo Boachie added 15.

Rancho Buena Vista 55, El Dorado 54 (OT)--Dan Curran scored 19 points as Rancho Buena Vista slipped by El Dorado in the fifth-place game.

Rancho Alamitos 73, Troy 63--Ed Taylor made a single-game school record seven three-pointers, and finished with a game-high 34 points to lead the Vaqueros in the 11th-place game.