Laguna Beach starts new winning streak

As the 2006-07 boys’ basketball season reaches into the New Year, Laguna Beach High is looking to reach new heights.

Already six victories beyond last year’s win total of eight, the Breakers will be out tonight to add to their win column when they host Irvine in a 7 p.m. nonleague game.

Laguna won two straight games to end the Century Holiday tournament last weekend. A modest mark, indeed, but it came on the heels of an 11-game winning streak the team took into the start of winter break.

Laguna Coach Bret Fleming said he had been told that the 11-1 start to the season was the best start ever recorded in the program’s history.

The Breakers are currently 14-3.

Last year, they won six games overall.

“I’m pretty pleased with the way we are playing,” Fleming said. “We’re still improving, though, which is a good thing. There is still work to be done.”

Before playing in the Century Holiday tournament, Laguna had that 11-game win streak snapped by Huntington Beach. The Oilers posted a 70-63 victory at the Orange County North-South Challenge at El Toro High on Dec. 21.

It was the first game the Breakers had played without the services of Cheyne Martin, the team’s top scorer who broke a finger on his left hand during a Dec. 19 20-point victory over Dana Hills.

Martin had been among the state’s scoring leaders at the time.

But against Huntington, Ryan Lawler stepped up to score 23 points and Brian Delino had 19.

At the Century tournament, Laguna bounced back from the loss to Huntington to narrowly defeat Riverside Poly, 60-59, in a first-round game that Fleming called a “good win for us.”

With Martin back in the lineup, the senior guard returned to pour in a game-high 29 points. Delino contributed 14 points.

Laguna next dropped a 69-55 decision to Ocean View, a game in which the Breakers lost both Bob Monroe and Nathan Pickett to fouls. Martin again led all scorers, this time by hitting four three-point shots en route to 31 points.

“I was really displeased with our effort in the Ocean View game,” Fleming said. “I didn’t think our intensity matched their intensity in a game I felt that we should have won.

“It’s nice to get Cheyne back in the lineup. He’s not 100% yet, but him at 80% helps us an awful lot.”

Although disappointed with the Ocean View setback, Fleming was pleased that the Breakers concluded the tournament with a pair or one-sided victories.

First, the Breakers routed Santa Ana Valley, 58-32. Laguna strolled to a 33-16 halftime lead and increased its advantage to 52-22 through three quarters. Martin scored 24 points and Lawler added 13.

The Breakers capped the tournament with a 78-34 rout of Cypress on Saturday in the fifth-place game.

Martin and Lawler hit double figures in scoring with 28 and 22 points, respectively.

It was Laguna’s second win of the season over Cypress. On Dec. 14, the Breakers beat the Centurions, 74-64, at the Garden Grove Tournament.

In girls’ basketball

Laguna found the going tough at the Garden Grove Christmas Classic tournament, dropping all four of its games.

They lost to Orange (51-10), South East (55-20), host Garden Grove (59-19) and Loara (50-24). Brittany Clark was Laguna’s scoring leader throughout the tournament.

At 7 tonight, the Breakers play a nonleague game at Irvine. They play their first home game in more than a month at 7 p.m. Monday, when they host University in their final nonleague game.