Los Alamitos players hold their championship plaques after winning the Tustin Classic title Friday night. (Photos: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).
Los Alamitos High School’s boys basketball team may have started out slow Friday night in the championship game of the Tustin Classic.
But the Griffins had quite a finish, outscoring Tesoro 20-4 in the final quarter to defeat the Titans 44-40 for the tournament title. It was the second straight Tustin Classic title for Los Alamitos.
“The refs let them play a little bit and if they’re going to let us play, you got to get up and get physical, they’re a really good team and those guys play a lot of minutes, I think they got a little worn down and they’re very physical, and when we matched that physicality, I think they just got a little tired,” said Los Alamitos Coach Nate Berger.
“Four games in four days and when you only have five guys who get a load of minutes for them, our depth and having guys come off the bench like (Samori) Guyness, who plays half the minutes instead of the same minute load as they have was really beneficial for us.
“We have a lot people we can rely on so as the game got physical and tiring, our depth is what really came out in the fourth quarter.”
To see the slide show, click on the first photo:
Guyness scored 10 of his team-leading 16 points in the fourth quarter including two 3-pointers to lead the comeback by Los Alamitos (13-4).
“He’s a sparkplug for us and he’s very athletic,” Berger said.
Los Alamitos sophomore Trent Minter, who had 10 points including a big 3-pointer in the final quarter, was named the MVP and Griffins Liam Gray and Wesley Trevino were named all-tournament.
Tesoro (15-3) was led by Carson Brown, who scored 21 points, 15 coming in the first half. Brown and Nathan Draper were named to the all-tournament team. The Titans were trying to take home their first tourney title after finishing second in two others.
It was going Tesoro’s way for the first three quarters. The Titans led 23-16 at halftime and led by as much as 14 in the third quarter before Los Al turned the game around.
The Griffins forced numerous turnovers in the final stanza, and turned them into baskets. Junior Isaiah Wempe had six points in the last quarter.
“Our defense is probably one of the best defenses in Orange County so we got a big jump to the quarter, a 7-0 run and our defense kept getting better, we got steals and we got in transition and we got the momentum and we got the W,” said Minter, the MVP.
“When momentum goes, we start hitting shots. We’re a great team when we’re hitting shots. We share the ball so well, our team chemistry is great. When we get the momentum, nothing can really stop us.”
A large contingent of Los Alamitos fans cheered and the players celebrated on the court their second straight Tustin title.
“I will never complain about that,” Berger said of the title.
–Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
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