With Sunset League play arriving quickly, the Los Alamitos boys basketball team certainly looked ready last week, in a win over Orange Lutheran. The Griffins pulled away in the final minutes for a 72-61 win over the Lancers in the Orange County North/South Challenge last week at El Toro High. Senior guard EyassuWorku led the Griffins win 35 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Senior guard Pepe Garcia had 21 points, including five three-pointers and also added four rebounds. Orange Lutheran had opened at No. 3 in the Orange County rankings, while the Griffins were No. 4. In the CIF rankings, the Lancers were the No. 1 team in the 4AA rankings and Los Alamitos is No. 15 in Division 1AA. It was a win that the Griffins can certainly use as momentum heading into the second half of the season. “Hopefully we can build off of this,” Griffins Coach Eddie Courtemarche said. The Griffins had a quick start against Orange Lutheran and an early lead in the game. But Orange Lutheran soon closed the gap and the game was tight into the fourth quarter. The Griffins took a 56-51 lead at the end of the third quarter on a rare five-point play. Tied at 51-51, Worku drove across the key and was fouled as he scooped a shot up for a basket. Orange Lutheran was also issued a technical foul and Worku hit all three free throws to extend the lead. Orange Lutheran would rally in the fourth to take a 57-56 lead, after Ty Lassiter dropped in a high-arc bank shot. Worku responded with a baseline driving layup to regain the lead, 58-57. After the Lancers regained the lead 59-58, the Griffins went on a 14-0 run to seal the win. “I think this was probably the toughest game on our schedule,” Worku said. Drew Platt scored an open layup after Connor Laines drove the baseline and dished a pass to Platt under the basket, for a 64-59 lead. Garcia followed with a baseline jumper that pushed the lead to 66-59 with 1:40 left in the game. The Griffins hit six free throws down the stretch as the Lancers were forced to foul to try to rally. The defense kept the Lancers at bay. Platt was key in slowing Lancer power forward Kavaughn Scott, who led the Lancers with 19 points, in final minutes to shore up the defense. The Griffins also prevented second chances. “I think we got some key rebounds that we didn’t get in the first half,” Courtemarche said of the late-game stand. The Griffins had one more tough tournament on their schedule at the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic, starting on Dec. 26. They will host their home-opener at 7 p.m. on Jan. 5 against Buena Park and will start league play on Jan. 8 at home against Edison.
