High School Basketball: Breakers extend streak at Costa Mesa
Playing in a gymnasium where it has typically faced tough challenges, the Laguna Beach boys’ basketball team started its Orange Coast League schedule on Wednesday at Costa Mesa. The start — and end — to the league opener reflected the Breakers’ past struggles on the Mustangs’ home court.
But, as has been the case in their past eight trips there, the Breakers emerged victorious.
Laguna overcame a slow start and an ending that allowed Costa Mesa to close the gap, to gather a 52-42 win. The defending league champs ran their league win streak to 24 games and improved to 9-10 overall.
The Breakers’ eight-game win streak at Costa Mesa dates to a 59-58 loss to the Mustangs in 2007.
“We had a bad start and a bad finish but we played well in between,” Laguna Coach Bret Fleming said. “We’ve just got to get better, especially in regards to our communication on the defensive end.”
Laguna found itself in an 11-4 hole after one quarter. The Breakers regrouped to outscore the Mustangs, 18-9, in the second quarter to take a 22-20 lead into halftime. They came out in the second half where they left off in the first, and outscored the Mustangs, 18-7, in the third quarter, to open a 40-27 lead.
“We missed a lot of chippies in the first quarter but we came back and had a good second and third quarter, and a fourth quarter, too, up to the point until we started missing free throws,” Fleming said. “We were up by 17, at one point, in the fourth quarter and by 15 with two minutes left, But we didn’t convert free throws down the stretch and they (the Mustangs) hit some threes.”
Junior guard Isaac Wulff topped the scoring with 20 points. Freshman wing Blake Burzell scored 14 points, senior wing Samiar Tehrani eight points, junior wing Darin Richardson four points, and junior guard Spencer Wong, junior post Nick Rahder and freshman guard Charlie Rounaghi each had two points.
Prior to starting OCL play, Laguna completed its nonleague schedule on Jan. 9. The Breakers were defeated by visiting Capistrano Valley Christian, the co-No. 4 ranked team in CIF Southern Section Division 5A, 58-42. Burzell hit four three-point shots and led all scorers with 22 points. Richardson hit a pair of three-pointers and finished with 14 points, and Wulff had six points.
Laguna hosts Saddleback in a 7 p.m. league game on Friday. Next week, the Breakers visit Estancia for a 7 p.m. league contest on Wednesday.
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Girls’ Basketball
The Breakers opened Orange Coast League action on Tuesday in a way that Coach Mark Lewis had hoped his team would play, and their performance led to a convincing 54-39 victory at Costa Mesa.
Sophomore guard Nicole Davidson led the scoring with 18 points. Junior forward Alexandra Lewis had 11 points and junior forward Sydney DeCarlo was the other Breaker in double figures with 10 points.
The Breakers got a big boost Tuesday when Jackie Cenan stepped back into the Laguna lineup for the first time this season. The junior guard/forward had been out of action for the past six months while recovering from ACL reconstructive surgery, Lewis said. Cenan, who saw limited playing time, scored seven points in her return.
Sophomore guard/forward Rachel Kenney also scored seven points, and freshman guard Jasmine Banks completed the Laguna scoring with a point.
“One of the best overall team efforts on both ends of the floor that I have been privileged to coach at Laguna Beach High,” was how Lewis described his team’s play Tuesday. “We were poised, shared the ball well, had good balance offensively.
“Costa Mesa put a box-and-one on Alexandra (Lewis) as well as running an additional defender at her, so she was held in check in the first half. Others stepped up. Sydney DeCarlo got us going early on the inside with several key buckets in the first half. Nicole Davidson was solid throughout. It was her best game so far in her young high school career. She handled the ball well as our point guard, ran the offense, remained poised, hit some big shots, got some nice steals and layups in transition, and hit all five of her free throws. She just looked so relaxed, calm, poised. Very proud of her.”
Laguna, which improved to 9-8 overall, jumped on the Mustangs for a 14-6 lead after one quarter. The Breakers led, 26-21 at the half, then pulled away in the third quarter where they outscored the Mustangs, 13-4, to take a 39-25 lead into the final eight minutes.
“Jackie (Cenan) played reduced minutes to ease her way back into the game tempo,” Lewis said. “She played very cerebrally. She passed well, got multiple players involved, played sound defense, and helped with the ball handling duties to relieve pressure on Nicole (Davidson).
“The second half saw us clamp down defensively, Nicole kept her pace, and Alexandra finally found a little breathing room to contribute on the offensive end with 11 points in the second half, the last three of which came off of a cross-court, back-door pass from Jackie, for the ‘and-one’ .”
Laguna had tuned up for league play with a nonleague road game on Jan. 9 at Garden Grove Santiago. The Breakers emerged with a 35-32 win. Lewis led the way with 10 points, Davidson scored nine, DeCarlo and Kenney had seven points apiece, and junior guard Amy Nygaard had two points.”
“It was a grind-it-out, gritty win for us,” Lewis said. “It was close the entire way and we really had to work to get the win. Once again, Alexandra (Lewis) saw multiple double teams and had girls crawling all over her for most of the night. Once again, others stepped up to take the challenge and provide for good balance.
“This was a good game for us going into league. We had to play on the road with Santiago fans loudly cheering on their team. Sydney DeCarlo hauled in 16 rebounds. Rachel Kenney had two key baskets and a free throw in the last minute to help us gain the lead and secure the victory. Nicole did a fine job as floor general. Jasmine Banks was solid defensively limiting Santiago’s slashing style of play.”
Laguna played its second league game on Thursday against Saddleback. The score wasn’t available at press time.
Two more league game are on tap next week for the Breakers beginning with a 6 p.m. game on Tuesday at Estancia. The Breakers also travel to Calvary Chapel for a 6 p.m. game on Thursday.
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Twitter: @MikeSciacca