Blue Devils, Lakers, Rainbows win openers

Mike Sciacca

The opening week of the Junior Basketball League, a league for

youngsters in fifth through eighth grades and sponsored by the city of

Laguna Beach, featured victories by the Blue Devils, Lakers and Rainbows.

The highlight of the first day of the regular season was a record

performance by the Rainbows, who tied a league record for three-point

shots with 12 as the squad of Brandon Leahy and Steven Kent raced past

the Bruins, 76-62.

Jeff Clark’s outstanding shooting performance included six three-point

shots and a league-best 39 points. Guard Ian Butters scored 28 points and

hit five three-point shots, as well as five of five from the foul line.

Ty Fleming canned a three-point shot in the last period to help the

Rainbows tie the league record for three-point baskets at 12, set by the

Celtics in 1992.

Seven Bruins hit the scoring column, led by Garrett Preston with 22

points and Patrick Curran with 12.

In other games:

Blue Devils 71, Clippers 48

Coach Alex Norfleet’s Blue Devils began the first round of regular

season play by defeating the Clippers, 71-48. They took command of the

game early and stormed to a 35-14 halftime advantage.

Two Blue Devils hit the 20-point plateau, as Spencer Harrell led all

scorers with 24 points and Bobby Monroe scored 21.

Brenden Finnerty backed up the two big men with 12 points, which included hitting four of four free-throw attempts.

Kevin Buck and Ryah Arthur led Shawn Ridet’s Clippers by scoring 19

and 18 points, respectively.

Lakers 71, Trailblazers 58

The Lakers built an early lead and led by as many as 19 points before settling for a 13-point victory.

Matthew Renault exploded for 34 points, getting nine of those points

on three three-point shots, to power the Lakers. Travis Grogan also had a

big offensive outing with 28 points.

The Lakers’ duo offset the double-digit scoring of three Trailblazers

as Brian Delino scored 21 points, Marcus Hariston had 16, and Brennan

Healy added 12.

Saturday’s game schedule has the Clippers playing the Supersonics at 8

a.m., followed by the Lakers-Blue Devils game at 9:15 a.m., and the Bruins-Trailblazers conclude the morning’s action with a 10:30 a.m.

tip-off.