Beckman’s boys basketball team had a successful ending to the Rumble for Rosecrans Avenue Tournament on Saturday, defeating Yorba Linda 72-52 to finish with a  3-2 record in the 24-team tournament held at Sunny Hills, Buena Park and Norwalk high schools.
Aaman Soma led Beckman with 18 points. Dylan Thoerner and Luke Fajardo added 12 points each for the Patriots
“Our victory over Yorba Linda on Saturday felt good in that it was the first game where I felt we played at the level we have been trying to reach,” said Beckman Coach John Goins.
“Yorba Linda is a good team, they have skilled players and keep you off-balance with their multiple defensive looks, but we were able to play a solid defensive game while also taking advantage of areas where we had advantages.
“Our full court pressure rotated well, allowing us to get turnovers out of traps int he back court. Offensively we still have a ways to go in our half court execution, but we were able to take advantage of some matchups, specifically Aaman Soma’s, to the tune of 16 first half points for him alone.
“When you have a player like Dylan Thoerner on your team, you know where the top defender is going to end up, so you start looking at other matchups in the line and you see that teams are going to struggle against Soma who is a big 6-3 who is very active around the basket. He had double doubles in the last two games of the tournament against West Torrance and Yorba Linda, and is averaging 11 points and eight rebounds over the first five games.”
Goins said the Patriots are making progress.
“We have a lot of inexperience on our team. Of our five returners, only three played big minutes last season so we are still putting the pieces together,” he said. :Having the opportunity to play a variety of opponents (three from outside of Orange County) along with annual power, Sonora, should set us up well for our upcoming gauntlet against CdM, Trabuco Hills, Villa Park, Foothill, and Murrieta Mesa.”
The Patriots have some goals for the coming weeks, he said.
“We need to cut down on our turnovers and play better half court offense, but to me the only games that will matter at the end of the season are the 10 league games, everything else is just preparation for those,” Goins said.
Beckman hosts Valencia of Placentia Tuesday night, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m.
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