PHOTOS: Brea Oinda rallies to defeat Peninsula 49-44 and capture Century Elks Tourney title

Brea Olinda players celebrate after winning the Century Elks Tournament Monday night. (Photos: Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone)

Brea Olinda High erased a 15-point deficit midway through the third quarter and stormed back to defeat Palos Verdes Peninsula 49-44 to win the Century Elks Holiday Basketball Tournament Monday night at Century High.

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Ivin Rhaburn scored 11 points and Garrett Brookman added 10 points to lead the Wildcats to their sixth consecutive victory and help them improve to 11-6 on the season.

“We stayed together as a team and played unselfish basketball,” said Brookman, who was named the MVP of the tournament. “It feels great to win this tournament, especially after we only won one game here last year.”

Brookman and Rhaburn combined to score 15 points in the fourth quarter to spark the Wildcats comeback effort.

The Wildcats fell behind 27-12 at the 5:38 mark of the third quarter but Tristan Montera nailed back-to-back baskets and Brea Olinda’s defense forced six turnovers over the final five minutes of the quarter to turn the tide and the Wildcats cut the lead to nine points by the end of the period.  

The Wildcats outscored the Panthers 37-17 over the final 13:38 of the game to pull off the win.

“I could see their guards were getting fatigued in the second half and we took advantage of that,” said Wildcats coach Henry Johnson Jr.

Brea Olinda carried their momentum into the fourth quarter and scored on 9 of their first 10 possessions of the quarter.

Dylan Halverson’s bucket gave Brea Olinda a 47-42 lead with 2:27 remaining. The Wildcats defense held the Panthers to just one basket over the final 2:47 of the game.

“We brought more energy and battled back after a slow first half,” said Montera, who scored 8 points. “This win means a lot for us since we only won six games all last season.”

Johnson Jr. didn’t panic when his team was down.

“We had good shots in the first half, but they weren’t falling,” said Johnson Jr. “We only scored 12 points in the first half and we know we’re better than that. I told Garrett (Brookman) at halftime to start shooting more. He’s the type of player who can shoot with a hand in his face. But it was our conditioning that paid off. They were tired in the second half.”

“All of our hard work paid off,” said Halverson. “We never gave up.”

The Wildcats defeated Sunny Hills, Segerstrom, Edison and Peninsula to win the tournament.    

Rhaburn and Halverson were named to the all-tournament team.

Luke Frasso scored 14 points and JD Plough added 10 points for Peninsula (11-6).

-Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone