Los Alamitos High’s boys basketball team had wins over Huntington Beach and Marina to improve its record to 6-2 in Sunset League play and maintain a slight edge for second place in the league. Corona del Mar has a solid hold on first place at 9-1, but the Griffins are looking to secure a playoff spot and make some noise.
The Griffins pulled away late in a game against Huntington Beach on Friday, winning 64-57. The Oilers rallied to tie the game at 51-51, but the Griffins clamped down. They outscored the Oilers 16-7 in the third quarter to regain control.
Senior Tyler Lopez hit a three pointer and then assisted Ethan Lee on a layup for a 56-53 lead. Lopez had an offensive rebound and putback that stretched the lead to 58-53 and the Griffins held off the Oilers from there. Lopez said the press defense definitely helped the Griffins pull away from the Oilers late in the game.
“Down the stretch I feel like we got fouled and we hit some big time shots, and that definitely helped us push us over their edge,” Lopez said.
Lopez led the Oilers offense with 21 points. Senior Joseph Ojeda and sophomore Riley Bowers each had 15 points. Senior Ethan Lee had 8 points, including four in the fourth quarter. Juniors Ethan Huynh and Wyatt Unger each had 14 points to lead the Oilers. Senior Jonah Kim added nine points.
That kind of depth in scoring and playing time helped the Griffins win a CIF-SS Championship last year. Despite losing a lot of experience to graduation, Lopez said younger guys are stepping into those types of roles where they run and defend the length of the court. He likes the grit of the team and feels like they can be a tough out in the playoffs.
“I think that is something that can help us down the stretch when it comes to playoffs is that we have depth … that we’ll have a lot of bodies and a lot of people that are ready to step up,” Lopez said.
The Griffins dropped a non-league game against Servite on Saturday, but rebounded with an 86-69 league win over Marina High on Monday.
The Griffins will host Newport Harbor on Friday and then Edison on Monday. Both games are at 7 p.m. Edison is one game behind the Griffins at 5-3 heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
