Breakers finish strong in win

The Laguna Beach boys’ basketball team dug itself a hole in the early stages of its nonleague game against Marina on Wednesday.

The Breakers, however, clawed their way out and went on to claim a 47-43 victory at the North/South Challenge at El Toro High.

Laguna trailed, 16-5, after one quarter, but got to within two points by the half. The Breakers finally caught and passed the Vikings in the third quarter.

Laguna held Marina to five points in the fourth quarter.

“I think we showed some heart,” Laguna Coach Bret Fleming said. “We had a team meeting the day before to redefine our goals as team. But we still came out [Wednesday] real lackadaisical. We turned the ball over and we didn’t defend. But the kids did a real nice job of coming back to get the win.”

Brandon Lewis and Tyler Masukawa both scored 10 points and Tyler Kesler added nine for the Breakers in the win against Marina.

In previous action, Laguna reached the final four of the Charlie Wilkins Classic at Westminster High but had its tournament title hopes dashed Dec. 17 by Culver City, which scored a 68-44 win in a semifinal game. Lewis scored 15 points and Masukawa added seven for the Breakers.

Laguna played Trabuco Hills in the third-place game last Saturday. Fleming said the Breakers started out well, but faded in a 49-37 loss to the Mustangs. He called Masukawa, who scored 21 points, the lone bright spot for the Breakers.

Laguna (6-5) enters the Century Tournament on Monday. The Breakers take on Beckman at 8 p.m. in a first-round game.

*

Girls’ Basketball

Due to weather-related problems in Laguna Beach, Breakers coach Jon Hendrickson said that Wednesday’s nonleague game at Whitney in Cerritos was cancelled.

The Breakers started the week with a Monday nonleague game at Beckman, a game won by the Patriots, 48-34.

Laguna fell behind, 18-8, after one quarter and was down 27-15 at the half.

“We fell behind early, but from then on out, we played them evenly,” Hendrickson said.

Emily Writer scored a game-high 23 points to go along with eight rebounds. Sam Garner scored six points with 11 rebounds and three blocks. Holly Battle completed Laguna’s scoring with five points.

The Breakers played without shooting guard Lola Cowie, who was on vacation.

Laguna doesn’t play again until Jan. 4 when they travel to face Savanna in nonleague play.