The Los Alamitos High boys basketball team opened the season on a high note, going 4-0 and capturing the Jim Harris Classic Tournament championship at Ocean View High in Huntington Beach.
The Griffins capped the title run with a 68-56 win over Mira Costa High, the same team that knocked them out of the championship bracket last year at this same event. Mira Costa grabbed an early lead, taking an 18-14 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Griffins opened the second quarter with an 8-0 run to take a lead that they would not relinquish.
Junior Samori Guyness led the offense with 17 points, while junior Wesley Trevino chipped in 16. Guyness was selected as Tournament MVP and Trevino and Junior Trent Minter were both selected to the All-Tournament team.
The Griffins led 55-47 heading into the fourth quarter and extended the lead to 61-51, Jordan Taylor grabbed a loose ball off a Mira Costa turnover and went on a solo fast break to extend the lead to 61-51. The Mustangs fought back, cutting the lead to 61-55 with 1:10 left, but the Griffins got two free throws from Minter and Guyness hit five of six free throws down the stretch as the Mustangs tried to foul to extend the game.
The Griffins don’t have a lot of size in the middle, but they have plenty of guys who can shoot from the outside and they have speed to pressure defenses. Head Coach Nate Berger said the way the Griffins were able to compete against teams like Mira Costa with a size advantage inside, was encouraging.
“We did a lot of things, we got really tested by a couple teams that had bigger size than us, so it’s good to see us compete on the defensive glass,” Berger said.
The Griffins edged out the Trabuco Hills Mustangs, 84-82, in the quarterfinals they ran past Verdugo Hills in the semifinals, 103-71. The championship game on Saturday night, drew a pretty large crowd and the game itself took on a loud pressure-filled atmosphere at times. The Griffins were able to play steady even during hectic moments of the game, another good sign for Berger.
“That’s what I was most pleased with, just our composer and all that,” Berger said.
The Griffins are scheduled to host Cerritos on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and will play Villa Park on Saturday at Edison High, starting at 4 p.m. as part of the Edison two-day basketball event.
