Valencia meeting Ocean View in Lodinez Tourney finals; full schedule

Valencia’s Michael Palacios is defended by David Briseno of Santiago Friday night. (Photo Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone)

Valencia’s boys basketball turned to senior guard Michael Palacios Friday night and the senior guard came through in a big way in the semifinals of the Lodinez Tournament against Santiago.

Palacio scored 29 points and made nine 3-pointers, one shy of the school record to lift Valencia to a 49-41 victory at Loara.

The Tigers (11-1) will meet Ocean View Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at Loara for the tournament championship.

“The school record (for 3-pointers) is 10, that’s good he didn’t make it, now he has something to strive for,” said Valencia Coach Dean Yoshimura with a smile.

Santiago held a 24-23 halftime lead but Valencia tightened up its defense in the second half.

“In the first half, our defense wasn’t what we wanted it to be,” Yoshimura said. “The kids were determined to win it. I thought we rebounded a little bit better in the second half and of course, Mikey hitting a lot of important shots.”

Isaiah Arthurton also had a big 3-pointer down the stretch to help the Tigers seal the win.

“To start games the last three games, I’ve really been coming out flat,” Palacios said. “I thought, ‘this is a perfect game, semifinal game to get us going against a tough Santiago team.’ And then once I saw them go zone I knew I could capitalize on the three-ball.”

Palacios came out firing hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter and two more in the second quarter.

Play was physical in the second half, but the Tigers didn’t mind it.

“I like a physical game, a lot of people talk about how soft the game is now, but sometimes the refs don’t let us play that much,” Palacios said. “And especially in a semifinal and championship game, I feel like it should be physical all the time.”

Santiago (6-7) was led by David Briseno with 18 points and Chris Hill with 16 points.

Palacios was the only Valencia player in double figures. Isaiah Arthurton and Andy Hon added six points each for the Tigers.

Saturday’s schedule at Loara:

1 p.m., Irvine vs. Loara, seventh place

2:30 p.m., Santiago vs. Anaheim, fifth place

4 p.m. Godinez vs. Pacifica, third place

5:30 p.m., Ocean View vs. Valencia (championship)

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com