October 6, 2024

OC Sports Zone: Community First

Cypress boys basketball team wins share of league title; La Habra, Santa Ana, Tesoro, Beckman, CdM and Newport Harbor also win

It was military night at Cypress and the Centurions celebrated with a victory over Tustin.

Cypress boys basketball wrapped up a share of the Empire League title with a 78-59 win over Tustin Friday night at Cypress.

It was military night at Cypress before the game.

Anthony Tello scored 23 points, 16 in the second half, to lead the Centurions (24-2, 8-0).

Jared Brown had 22 points and made 10 of 10 free throw attempts. Elijah Vaielua had 20 points and 15 rebounds.

Kyan Patel led Tustin (13-11, 4-4) with 14 points. Jeff Navarro had 11 points and Ryan Stading 10 points for the Tillers.

Cypress will be out to break the all-time school record of 25 wins on Tuesday with its second 10-game winning streak on the line.

“I’m proud of our boys and the way they handled adversity tonight,” said Cypress Coach Derek Mitchell. “We were able to keep our composure, but still be aggressive.”

Also Friday night:

La Habra 76, Troy 69: La Habra’s boys basketball team inched closer to the Freeway League title, defeating Troy.

Cameron Dashiell had 32 points, eight steals and five assists. Ja’len Overstreet had 13 points for La Habra (23-2, 8-0).

Troy (15-11, 4-4) was led by Kyle Phan with 21 points and Cole Yauncey with 15 points.

“Tonight was a grind,” said La Habra Coach Aaron Riekenberg. “All the credit to Troy, when they were down 20 in the first half, they could have quit.

“They battled and gave us all we could handle in the second half. We needed to be tested and hopefully this game will be good for our boys heading into Tuesday at Sonora and for CIF. We had to execute late to hold them off and thankfully Cam knocked down some big shots. 

Tesoro 52, Dana Hills 44: The Titans (18-5, 7-0) won the outright Sea View League title. Matt DeAngelo scored 16 points and Noah Honetschlager had 12 points for the Titans. It’s the sixth boys basketball title in 17 seasons for Tesoro.

Santa Ana 63, Calvary Chapel 45: The Saints (13-12, 6-2) kept rolling in the Orange Coast League.

Santa Ana was led by Jesus Silva with 17 points and Saay Silva with 13 points each. Nick Larriva had nine points, while Drew Ramirez had eight.

“It was a tough first half being up three,” said Saints coach Fareed ElMasry. “The third quarter was where we started to pull away. Calvary had a great game plan against us, so credit to them for making us work. We were just attacking the inside paint and that’s what got us the victory.”

Beckman 79, Woodbridge 72: Dylan Thoerner scored 33 points, Aaman Soma had 20 points and Christopher Muller 13 points to lead the Patriots. Beckman (17-8, 6-2) remains tied with Northwood for first place.

“Woodbridge came out and played a great first half and we struggled finding a pace on both offense and defense,” said Coach John Goins. “We were down seven at half and I told the boys that we needed to do a better job of asserting our style upon them, which we did successfully in the second half.

“We tied it up after three and was able to get it to around 10 in the fourth quarter and just tried to hold on. Woodbridge played a great game and it was a fantastic atmosphere for a Friday night league game. Thoerner had a monster second half with 24 points and Aaman Soma did a great job around the basket getting 11 in the half as well. It was a great team effort and I’m proud of their discipline in finishing the game.”

Corona del Mar 68, Los Alamitos 47: The Sea Kings (18-8, 3-2) moved into a tie for first place in the Surf League with Edison. John Humphreys scored 20 points and Jack Stone had 13 points for CdM, which hosts Newport Harbor Wednesday night in the league finale.

Newport Harbor 55, Edison 40: The Sailors (23-4 2-3) beat Edison on senior night. Dayne Chalmers shot 12 for 14 and finished with 28 points. Sam Barela 10 points and four assists for Newport Harbor.