Griffins Rally Past Western : Basketball: Los Alamitos outscores opponent, 19-4, in third quarter to win, 57-42.

After watching his team score only four points in the first quarter Wednesday night, Los Alamitos Coach Steve Brooks figured the Griffins were in for a long, frustrating night.

But his opinion changed in the third quarter, when the Griffins outscored Western, 19-4, and pulled away for a 57-42 nonleague victory.

The Griffins (8-8) scored 14 consecutive points during a 4-minute 22-second stretch in the third quarter, and quickly turned a 22-18 halftime lead into a rout.

Los Alamitos’ full-court pressure forced 11 Western turnovers in the quarter, including nine in the 14-0 run.

“Our pressure has been very effective for us all season,” Brooks said.

Brooks credited point guard Ali Miller for getting the Griffins’ offense going in the second half. Miller, a 5-foot-11 senior, scored all of his 12 points in the second half, and his penetrating drives opened up Jason Cunningham inside for easy baskets.

“We did a poor job of penetrating and getting into our offense in the first half,” Brooks said. “But you have to give Western a lot of credit for that. They play hard, and (Greg) Hoffman does a great job coaching them.”

Western (9-4) led, 6-4, and the end of a sloppy first quarter in which both teams had six turnovers and shot below 30% from the field.

Steve Carbone finally got the Griffins moving in the second quarter, scoring 11 of his 18 points in a six-minute span.

Western’s last lead of the game was 18-17 with 1:43 left in the second quarter. But a three-pointer by Carbone with 1:03 remaining and a steal and dunk by Cunningham with two seconds left gave the Griffins the lead for good.

Cunningham, the Griffins’ 6-5 senior forward, finished with 18 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, but he made only eight of 21 attempts from the field.

“Jason had a real off night,” Brooks said. “And when that happens, we needed others to contribute. Steve hit some big shots in the second quarter. Ali did a good job with the offense and John Daugherty played some great defense.”