Tesoro keeps rolling and reaches tourney championship game with victory over Tustin

Carson Brown (left) and Nathan Draper led Tesoro to the semifinal win. (Photos: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).

Tesoro High School’s boys basketball team kept up its winning ways with a 59-51 victory over Tustin in a semifinal game of the Tustin Classic Thursday night at Tustin.

Carson Brown, Jake Bennett and Nathan Draper each scored in double digits as the Titans (15-2) won their fourth consecutive game to advance to the finals on Friday night at 7:30 against Los Alamitos.

Los Alamitos defeated Beckman 56-36 in the other semifinal.

Brown drilled three 3-pointers and led all scorers with 21 points.

“Our goal was to stop their main guys and I think we did a solid job of that,” said Brown, who has led Tesoro to three straight victories in the tournament over Westmont, Woodbridge and Tustin.

After trailing early, the Titans went on a 13-0 run midway through the opening quarter to take a 17-7 lead, capped off by two free throws by Draper. Brown, Bennett and Draper each scored during the Titans surge that was coupled with Tesoro’s defense, led by Carter Johnson and Blake Manning, holding the Tillers scoreless for nearly four minutes.

“We knew we had more size than they did, so we tried to keep the pressure on them,” Draper said. “We’re excited that we have a chance to win our third tournament championship tomorrow.”

Brown, Bennett and Draper combined to score 18 of the Titans 23 points in the second-quarter as Tesoro bolted to a 40-25 halftime lead. The Titans converted on all 10 of their second-quarter possessions.

“They’re a talented team and we didn’t play to the level of defense in the first-half that we need to play to beat a team like Tesoro,” said Tustin Coach Ringo Bossenmeyer. “We played more physical and outscored them in the second-half, but we’re not into this for moral victories. We have to play a complete game to win.”

The defenses picked up the pace in the third-quarter as both team’s shooting cooled off. Tustin and Tesoro combined to make one basket over the final five minutes of the quarter but the Titans led 48-33 after three periods.

The Tillers continued to battle to the end but ran out of time. Eli Nyeazi led Tustin (10-5) with 14 points and Josh Birket added 10 points. Bennett finished with 13 points and Draper had 12 points for Tesoro.

“I think our defense played consistent and that was a key to our winning,” said Titans Coach Steve Garrett. “We took care of the ball and had less than 10 turnovers.”

To view the photo, click on the picture: