Leads were hard to come by in the Sunset League basketball showdown between Los Alamitos and Huntington Beach. The Oilers were able to erase a six point lead in the final four minutes, but their last second shot fell short and the Griffins held on for a 64-63 win on Friday at Huntington Beach High. The win kept the Griffins (4-0 in league) atop the league, ahead of Edison and Newport Harbor, both 3-1. The Griffins struggled to get things going and Head Coach Eddie Courtemarche said the Oiler defense forced them to make some adjustments. “They did a good job of taking the right angle on the press,” Courtemarche said. The game went back-and-forth most of the night. Huntington Beach’s SheaSueda make a steal and layup on the Griffins defensive end to give the Oilers a 50-48 lead late in the third. But Griffin guard Connor Laines drove the length of the court and was fouled on his layup attempt in the final seconds. Hit both free throws to tie the game 50-50 at the end of the third. In the fourth the Griffins began to stretch out a small lead. Laines grabbed an offensive rebound, scored and was fouled. He hit the free throw to give the Griffins a 55-53 lead. Guard Cary Makiyama followed with two free throws to push the lead to 57-53. EyassuWorku made a steal and coast-to-coast driving layup to give Los Alamitos a 59-53 lead. After an Oiler three-pointer, Los Al guard Pepe Garcia made a baseline drive for a layup and foul. He converted the free throw to give the Griffins a 62-56 lead. When Jacob Eyman hit a baseline jumper, the Griffins led 64-58, but the Oilers went on run from there. They hit two free throws to cut the lead to 64-63, with 8.2 seconds left. The Oilers fouled with 6.9 seconds left, and when the Griffins missed the free throw, Huntington Beach had one last chance. However, the Oilers’ baseline jump shot fell short at the buzzer. The Griffins are back home on Wednesday (Jan. 27) against Marina at 7 p.m. They will be at Edison on Friday at 7 p.m. in a key game.
