High School Basketball: Laguna clamps down on Eagles

It’s finals week at Laguna Beach High, and outside the classroom on Wednesday, the Laguna Beach boys’ basketball team passed a test of a different kind.

The Breakers went to Estancia and earned their third Orange Coast League victory in as many games by defeating the Eagles, 45-31. The Breakers trailed, 11-9, then held the Eagles to four points in the second quarter and took an 18-15 halftime lead.

“We are in the middle of finals, and the kids are in finals mode so our focus wasn’t completely there,” Laguna Coach Bret Fleming said. “It wasn’t one of our best showings of the year but we woke up and played better in the second half, and we defended well enough to get the ‘W.’”

Freshman wing Blake Burzell scored a game-high 21 points. Junior guard Isaac Wulff had 10 points, junior wing Darin Richardson and junior post Nick Rahder both had six points, and senior wing Samiar Tehrani scored two points.

Laguna was coming off a 68-30 romp past visiting Saddleback on Jan. 16. Burzell led the scoring with 18 points, Richardson scored 13 points, and Wulff had 17 points to go along with eight assists.

“I thought Isaac (Wulff) played his best game at point guard this season,” Fleming said. “He found open lanes and threw some great passes.

“Our starters didn’t play for most of the fourth quarter, and everybody scored. That was nice to see.”

The Breakers will be after their fourth league win on Friday when they hit the road to face Calvary Chapel at 7 p.m. It will be their third road contest in their first four league games.

The Eagles (1-2 league) took Godinez to overtime before losing on Jan. 16, and fell, 42-36, Wednesday to Saddleback. They are led by senior wing/post player Aaron Byrne, senior guard and Brethren Christian transfer Brandon Bryson, and senior 6-foot-3 senior guard Cobi Foster.

The Laguna defense has given up 61 total points in its last two games, and only 103 points in its first three league outings.

“I expect it to be a really tough game,” Fleming said of Friday’s contest. “They always play tough at home and always play well against us.”

Next week, Laguna ends the first half of league play with a key 7 p.m. home game against Godinez at Dugger Gym. The Grizzlies, a veteran senior-led squad, also were 3-0 in league play through Thursday.

“We’re not looking ahead but if we can be 4-0 going into that game, and they are 4-0, then it sets up a showdown,” Fleming said. “They are a really good team and they have beat some good teams this year. Right now, though, our sole focus is on Calvary.”

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Girls

The Breakers had a six-game win streak come to an end on Tuesday when they fell at Estancia, 49-25.

Junior forward Alexandra Lewis scored 10 points, sophomore guard Rachel Kenney seven, sophomore guard Nicole Davidson four points, and junior forward Sydney DeCarlo and junior guard Jackie Cenan both scored two points for Laguna, which fell to 2-1 in league and 10-9 overall.

“We started the game a bit tentatively and gave Estancia too much of a comfort zone in the first quarter as indicated by the score,” Laguna Coach Mark Lewis said of his team’s 12-2 deficit after the game’s first eight minutes. “We really settled down and started playing some good basketball in the second quarter.”

Laguna was able to close to within 18-15 by halftime. The game was tight through the midway point of the third quarter, but Estancia, which improved to 3-0 in league, was able to take a 12-point advantage (34-22) into the fourth quarter.

“Our defense was quite good,” Lewis said. “Estancia has a number of slashers and good outside shooters. I thought we did a good job for most of the game keeping those two elements in check. The game remained close throughout the first half of the third quarter. Estancia picked up the pressure in the second half and went on a little run toward the end of the third.

“We had far too many turnovers in the fourth quarter to mount any kind of a comeback and when the lead stretched into the teens, I felt it broke our will a bit.”

Cenan, in just her third game back from ACL reconstructive surgery, battled foul trouble throughout and played less than half the game.

“It is just her third game back, so she is still trying to find her timing and rhythm,” Lewis said. “Those will come with time and patience.

“Clearly, the league title runs through Estancia. We have another opportunity against them in a couple weeks (Feb. 3) at home. Last night’s (Tuesday) game is behind us. We need to take care of business going forward to put ourselves in a position for the next game against Estancia, to have relevance in the race for league title. Each game in league presents a new challenge and a new opportunity.”

Laguna had gone to 2-0 in league and picked up its eight win in nine games by routing visiting Saddleback, 41-17, on Jan. 15 at Dugger Gym. Lewis hit a trio of three-pointers en route to 11 points, Davidson also scored 11 points, Kenney had nine points, DeCarlo six points, and Cenan four points.

“We came out of the gates quickly offensively and our defense held Saddleback scoreless in the first quarter,” Mark Lewis said. “The game was never close and we won comfortably going away.

“We are on a good run. Of course, the Estancia game was a temporary setback in that run, but I look for the girls to come out invigorated to hopefully get back on track Thursday.”

The Breakers took on Calvary Chapel in league action on Thursday. The score wasn’t available at press time.

Laguna completes the first half of league play next Tuesday when it hosts Godinez. The second round of league play starts Thursday with a 7 p.m. home game against Costa Mesa.

The Breakers opened league play on Jan. 13 and scored a 54-39 victory over the Mustangs.

Twitter: @MikeSciacca