Youth Scene: Laguna NJB team tunes up for postseason

Laguna Beach 3 ended its regular season with a 49-17 victory Saturday over Laguna Beach 1 in National Junior Basketball boys’ Division 2 action.

After a sluggish first quarter, Laguna Beach 3 went to work. Point guard Matt Berk matched his point total from the previous game with 18 points to lead all scorers. He also distributed the ball well to his teammates for easy baskets.

Chase Hall, who may have played his last game with the team, scored 16 points. Taro Sakai, once again, had a steady game contributing six points and played aggressive defense and had key rebounds. James Kimball gave another solid performance with four points and played solid defensively, and Andrew Mundy scored two points late in the first quarter to ignite a late scoring spree by Laguna 3.

Laguna 3 has played solid man-to-man defense throughout the season, and Saturday’s game was no different. Defensive specialist Elias Pillsbury, along with teammates Ben Kelly and Gianluca Megerdichian, stifled the opposition and created several turnovers and fast-break opportunities for their teammates.

Laguna Beach 3 captured first place in its division with a record of 7-1. The squad will be without Hall when it begins play Feb. 21 in the division’s round-robin postseason tournament at the Laguna Hills Community Center.

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Sixth-Grade All-Net Division

Laguna Beach closed out its season with an impressive 59-56 win over the Anaheim Regulators in a back-and-forth battle Sunday in Seal Beach.

Paxton Burzell and Willie Rounaghi led Laguna in scoring with 19 and 16 points, respectively. Jack Payne scored 10 points, Nolan Naess seven points, George Williams six points, and Will Compton, Arthur Rounaghi and Gavin Trevino each chipped in two points and played solid defensively.

The Breakers end the regular season with an 8-4 record.

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