HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

By Ben Bolch

Jan. 22, 2009 12 AM PT

WEDNESDAY’S RESULT

Orange Lutheran 67, Rancho Santa Margarita 66

Leading contributors: James Douglas had 23 points for Orange Lutheran, and Cody Nadeau and Gabe York contributed 15 points apiece. Jessee Hazely of Santa Margarita had 28 points to lead all scorers.

The scoop: Douglas made a driving layup at the buzzer after taking a pass on an inbounds play.

Why it matters: Should Lutheran lose to top-ranked Santa Ana Mater Dei on Friday, the Lancers would still hold at least a one-game advantage over Santa Margarita in the Trinity League standings. “The good news is our next opponent isn’t that good,” Lutheran Coach Chris Nordstrom joked of the undefeated Monarchs.

Records: Santa Margarita 14-5, 2-2; Lutheran 18-3, 4-0.

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Ben Bolch

Ben Bolch has been a Los Angeles Times staff writer since 1999. He is serving his second stint as the UCLA beat writer, which seems fitting since he has covered almost every sports beat except hockey and horse racing. Bolch is also the author of the recently released book “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.” He previously covered UCLA basketball from 2010-11 before going on to cover the NBA and the Clippers for five years. He happily traded in gobs of hotel points and airline miles to return to cover UCLA basketball and football in the summer of 2016. Bolch was once selected by NBA TV’s “The Starters” as the “Worst of the Week” after questioning their celebrity journalism-style questions at an NBA All-Star game and considers it one of his finer moments.

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

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