Los Alamitos boys’ basketball edges Corona del Mar in Sunset League showdown
Los Alamitos has a fairly balanced boys’ basketball team this season.
But coach Nate Berger never has to worry about if senior guard Liam Gray will show up.
The two-time Surf League MVP was up to his old tricks in the larger Sunset League on Wednesday night.
He poured in a game-high 26 points to help the Griffins knock off Corona del Mar, 73-69, in a first-place showdown at CdM.
Gray’s total included four three-pointers, all in the second half. He made all six of his shots after the intermission overall, including a turnaround jumper in the lane in the final minute to put the visitors up six points.
“That shot went up, and someone on our bench yelled, ‘That’s our MVP!’” Berger said. “He’s won MVP a couple of the past years in our league. He seems to do that in these league games against teams, come in and torment these other teams. It was great to have him show up tonight.”
Los Alamitos (11-6, 4-0 in league) takes over outright first place in league. Corona del Mar (17-3, 3-1), which had a five-game winning streak snapped, is tied for second place with Edison.
Sophomore guard Maxwell Scott scored 21 points for the Sea Kings, while junior guard Oliver Nakra and senior forward Jackson Harlan contributed 18 and 16 points, respectively. Harlan added a game-high 11 rebounds.
Nakra, a transfer from Huntington Beach, hit a trio of three-pointers in the first quarter as CdM opened up a 10-point lead. But that was short-lived, as Los Alamitos had a two-point lead by the time the quarter ended.
“It doesn’t last long against them and their style of play,” CdM coach Jason Simco said. “We’ll punch, and they’ll punch back. I thought we wore down a little bit in that second half, but I was super-proud of our guys for battling how hard they did.”
CdM led 37-36 at halftime, and the teams went back and forth for much of the third quarter. But a deep three-pointer by Gray with three seconds left in the quarter helped the Griffins take a six-point lead into the fourth.
CdM fell behind by double digits, 69-59, on another three-pointer by Gray with 4:50 left in the game. A triple by Scott pulled the Sea Kings within four points with 1:26 remaining, but they couldn’t get closer.
Seniors Samori Guyness, Wesley Trevino and Trent Minter all scored between nine and 12 points for Los Alamitos.
The Griffins host Marina (1-3 in league) on Friday night, while the Sea Kings travel to Edison.
It’s the first of four straight road games for Corona del Mar, which also plays at Newport Harbor on Wednesday, at Marina on Jan. 22 and at Fountain Valley on Jan. 24. CdM’s next home game isn’t until Jan. 28, when the team hosts Huntington Beach.
“This is going to kind of make or break and tell us how good we are in this county,” Simco said. “Four road games in a tough league is no joke, but we’re excited for the challenge.”
*
Sunset League
Los Alamitos 73, Corona del Mar 69
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Los Alamitos 24 - 12 - 23 - 14 — 73
Corona del Mar 22 - 15 - 16 - 16 — 69
LA — Gray 26, Guyness 12, Trevino 11, Minter 9, Lopez 8, Taylor 5, Lovingier 2.
3-pt. goals — Gray 4, Lopez 2, Guyness 1, Trevino 1, Minter 1, Taylor 1.
Fouled out — None.
Technicals — None.
CdM — Scott 21, Nakra 18, Harlan 16, Mirhashemi 8, Overfelt 3, Hoshimi 3.
3-pt. goals — Nakra 4, Scott 3, Overfelt 1, Hoshimi 1.
Fouled out — None.
Technicals — None.
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