After winning 24 games last year, the Los Alamitos High boys basketball team is looking to step up its game a little more this season. The Griffins, ranked No. 4 in the Orange County preseason poll, scheduled a top-level preseason schedule. The Griffins got their first taste of victory on that level, with a 67-65 win over Centennial of Corona on Friday night at Los Alamitos High.
The Griffins got the go-ahead basket from Liam Gray, who drove baseline and scooped in a reverse layup with about 30 seconds left in the game. Centennial had one shot at the basket and after a tie up, their final attempt was blocked at the buzzer by Wesly Trevino to seal the win.
Centennial graduated several key players from last year’s team that qualified for the Open Division Playoffs, but Los Al Head Coach Nate Berger said they are loaded with young talent and will be force again soon. He said a win over a program of that level will help his squad as they challenge other big-name programs. It also snapped a two-game losing streak for the Griffins.
“[A win] feels good, I don’t know if we needed it, but I definitely need it, for my mental sanity,” Berger said.
The Griffins came out sharp to start the game. Their game is press on defense, run on offense and shots from anyone on the floor. It has worked well for the Griffins and it got them off to a quick lead against the Huskies. But Centennial battled back and kept the game close all the way.
The Griffins took a 56-52 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Huskies scored first. After two offensive rebounds, Isaiah Rogers hit a long three-pointer, to cut the lead to 56-55. But the Griffins struck right back. Kedric Delaney scored an uncontested layup after Gray found him with a nice pass to set him up. Trevino followed that with a jump shot and foul and completed the three-point play to push the lead back to 61-55.
With the Griffins leading 63-62, Trevino drew a charging foul that negated a three-pointer that would have given the Huskies the lead. After that, Samori Guyness followed his own missed shot for a rebound and putback to extend the lead to 65-62. Rogers would hit another long three-pointer to tie the game at 65-65, setting up the late game heroics of Gray and Trevino.
Trevino led the Griffins with a game-high 22 points, followed by Samori Guyness with 14. Gray, Trent Minter and Tyler Lopez each had eight points. The Griffins also had a steady night of passing and sharing the ball, leading to several open shots and uncontested layups.
“We have a lot of guys who are capable of cutting, passing, moving, making shots, and so we’re gonna make other teams guard on the outside, inside, run, and it’s the best we’ve played in that regard, you know, so that was really good to see us come out and do that tonight,” Berger said.
The Griffins will host St. Pius X on today at 7 p.m. and will host Huntington Beach on Wednesday in a Sunset League game on Wednesday, at 7 p.m.
