High School Basketball: Laguna boys follow two big home wins with tournament-opening loss
Two wins last week seemingly pointed the Laguna Beach High boys’ basketball team on the right path as the Breakers prepared to start the Oxford Academy Tournament.
They took a detour from that path Tuesday, losing to Savanna, 68-59, in their first pool play game.
The loss followed strong home nonleague victories over Dana Hills and Irvine.
“We just lacked effort and didn’t show up to play,” Laguna Coach Bret Fleming said. “We just sort of disappeared. Last week against Dana Hills and Irvine, we played well and I thought that we kind of had things figured out. We played exactly opposite of that against Savanna.”
Laguna (4-4) trailed the Rebels throughout, and missing 11 free throws in the game didn’t help the Breakers’ cause.
Junior guard Isaac Wulff led Laguna in scoring with 25 points. Junior wing Darin Richardson scored 14 points, and freshman wing Blake Burzell had nine points. Six points by freshman guard Charlie Rounaghi, four by junior wing Sterling Dudley, and one by junior guard Spencer Wong, rounded out the scoring for Laguna.
Prior to opening at Oxford Academy, Laguna hosted Irvine on Dec. 12 and won its second straight game by defeating the visiting Vaqueros, 53-45, at Dugger Gym. Wulff paced all scorers with 17 points, and Burzell had 16 points.
“We came out with a really good effort and we slowed down their two best players (DJ Kim, Connor Tuttle), Fleming said. “Tuttle is their leading scorer, and we held him scoreless in the first half and to only one basket for the game. We limited Kim to four points in the first half.”
Laguna took on Laguna Hills in a pool play game at the Oxford Academy Tournament on Wednesday. The score wasn’t available at press time.
The tournament continues Friday and concludes Saturday. The Breakers will face Yorba Linda in a 6 p.m. pool play game at 6 p.m. Friday at Oxford Academy.
Laguna has a single nonleague game on tap next week. The Breakers will take on Ocean View at noon Monday at the North/South Challenge at El Toro High.
“We’ve played in the challenge for several years, and it’s always a fun event,” Fleming said. “It’s a big mix of schools and it gives us the opportunity to play somebody different every year.”
Girls’ Basketball
The Breakers completed play last Saturday at the Ocean View Hawk Holiday Classic where they went 1-3. Following a 66-30 rout of Compton Dominguez, they rallied but fell short in a 44-37 loss to Santa Ana Valley, then gave up a 16-point halftime lead on Magnolia, and lost, 47-42.
In their tourney finale Saturday, the Breakers held a late, six-point advantage on Orange Coast League foe Saddleback but ended up with a 36-33 loss to the Roadrunners.
Against Saddleback, junior forward Sydney DeCarlo turned in a double-double for the Breakers (2-6) with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Sophomore guard Nicole Davidson had nine points and four assists, sophomore guard Rachel Kenney six points, and freshman guard Jasmine Banks had three points.
The Breakers were without starting junior forward Alexandra Lewis for their tourney finale.
In the Magnolia game, Laguna held a 25-14 halftime lead but started out flat in the second half and lost, 47-42. Lewis nailed 10 three-point shots and finished with a game-high 31 points. She now holds all program records for three-point shooting.
Through Tuesday, Lewis’ school record totals were for three shots made in a single game (10), single-season (53), and career (109). The last of her 10 three-pointers against Magnolia was from nearly 30 feet out just before the final buzzer.
Both Lewis and Davidson were named to the all-tournament team.
“We compete well but can’t sustain that competitive fire for four quarters,” Laguna Coach Mark Lewis said of the Breakers’ tourney run. “In our two victories (nonleague game vs. Irvine, Dominguez), we did that. In the other games, we have a quarter, or two, where we just go flat, dig ourselves too big a hole and then run out of time on our scramble to climb back up the mountain.”
Laguna hosted Newport Harbor in a nonleague game Wednesday. The score from the Breakers’ first home game of the season wasn’t available at press time.
The Breakers will take part in the annual North/South Challenge this weekend. They will meet Capistrano Valley at 3 p.m. Saturday at Mission Viejo High.
“Both will be challenging games but if we can string together consistency in our play, we will compete well and put ourselves in a position to earn a victory,” Lewis said. “This is our first time in the North/South Challenge, so I am excited to see how this event goes.”
CIF Preseason Rankings
(released Monday)
Division 4AA: 1. Bishop Montgomery; 2. Chaminade; 3. Orange Lutheran; 4. Crespi; 5. Mission Prep; 6. JSerra; 7. Harvard-Westlake; 8. Atascadero; 9. Muir, 10. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame; 11. Oaks Christian; 12. Rancho Mirage; 13T. Laguna Beach, St. Francis; 15. Morningside; 16. San Dimas.
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Twitter: @MikeSciacca