Using a press defense from the opening jump, Los Alamitos ran away from Long Beach Wilson for an 86-63 boys basketball win on Friday at Wilson High.
The defensive effort paid off as the Griffins raced out to a 26-8 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Bruins opened up the second quarter with a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 26-15, but the Griffins responded with a 10-0 run of their own and kept Long Beach safely in the distance from there.
Junior Samori Guyness led the Griffins with 22 points, with Wesley Trevino adding 17 and Trent Minter chipping in 16. Junior Liam Gray was also in double digits with 12 points. Nathaniel Parris had 14 points for the Bruins, with Jeremiah Graham adding 13 points.
After opening up the season with a seven-game win streak, the Griffins (9-2) had dropped two of three prior to the Wilson game. Head Coach Nate Berger said they had emphasized the press defense as a full-game strategy in order to be ready to compete against Division 1 teams.
The two losses were against Etiwanda and Centennial of Corona, teams that would be potential opponents in the Griffins playoff division. Berger said the Griffins are going to work on being able to play all 32 minutes at that level. And force opponents to try and match them.
“Every team, every game, we want to get accustomed to that physicality, that speed – wear people out. I have eight, nine guys who can really play basketball and I need to get all eight, nine on the floor, and I want to challenge other teams to see if they’re eighth and ninth guy can play at that speed and that physicality,” Berger said.
The Griffins were scheduled to host Long Beach Poly, a team ranked 12th in the CIF-SS Division 2A poll, on Tuesday (past our press time). They will play a road game at De La Salle of Concord, Ca. on Saturday before their Christmas break. The Griffins open Sunset Conference play on Jan. 3 at home against Laguna Beach High.
Los Alamitos landed in the No. 14 spot in this week’s CIF-SS Division 1 poll. Surf League foes, Fountain Valley and Newport Harbor are also ranked in their respective divisions. Fountain Valley is No. 12 in Division 2A and Newport Harbor is slotted in the No. 9 spot in Division 2AA. Edison is yet to be ranked, but the Chargers are 10-1 to start their season.
