Breakers rip Los Amigos

SPORTS ROUNDUP

Three players scored in double figures, and the Laguna Beach High

School boys’ basketball team picked up its initial victory in the

Century Holiday Classic by ripping Los Amigos, 86-40, in a

consolation game Tuesday.

Ivan Kovacevic led all scorers with 25 points, and Brian Bergen

scored 18 and Nikola Nikolic scored 16.

Laguna stormed out to a 37-13 halftime lead and was never

threatened.

The Breakers had begun play in the tournament with a 54-43 loss to

host Century.

Kovacevic led Laguna with 13 points and Michael Kote added 12.

In girls’ basketball

Laguna picked up its first win at the Garden Grove Tournament by

rallying past the Loara Lady Saxons on Tuesday, 58-46.

Laguna dominated the boards by pulling down 38 rebounds.

The Breakers also improved in the turnover department, committing

only 14 against Loara. They had a combined 39 turnovers in two

previous losses to Los Angeles Jordan and Sunny Hills.

Against Loara, Laguna trailed by nine points in the first half but

rallied to within two points by the half.

The Breakers took over the game in the third quarter and took a

five-point advantage into the fourth quarter.

They never trailed again.

“We did a good job taking care of the ball and much better

intensity on defense,” Laguna Coach Stacy Howard said.

Claire Bevacqua scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds; Brittany

Clark had 13 points, eight steals, five rebounds and three assists;

Tess Grogan nailed a trio of three-point shots and finished with nine

points; and freshman Lauren Kelly had eight rebounds to go along with

four points and three steals.

“It was a good team win,” Howard said. “The kids focused on each

other, communicated, and just found a way to pull out a win.”

The comeback win was a good sign for a Laguna squad that appeared

sluggish in its tournament opener Monday, a 73-34 loss to Los Angeles

Jordan.

Laguna was not at full strength for the game, as injury and

illness sidelined a few players.

The Breakers, who had just 12 points by halftime, were led by

Clark, who finished with 13 points and three steals.

Bevacqua had seven points and a team-best 11 rebounds.

Laguna preceded play in the tournament with a 57-49 nonleague loss

to visiting Sunny Hills.

The Breakers held a three point halftime lead, but were outscored

by 11 points in the second half as the Lancers came back to win.

“We let a halftime lead slip away with sloppy ball handling and

missed free throws, losing by eight and having went nine for 19 from

the line,” Howard said. “It was a tough loss to a team we felt we

should have beaten.”

Laguna was led in scoring by Bevacqua and Clark who scored 17 and

14 points, respectively.

“The last two and half weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster,”

Howard concluded. “We’ve seen some very inspiring basketball and, on

the other end, some basketball we hope we never see again.”