LAGUNA BEACH – Laguna Beach’s boys basketball team cruised to a 78-27 victory over Saddleback to remain undefeated Friday in the Orange Coast League.
The Breakers (14-5, 3-0) never trailed after the opening minute. Sophomore Blake Burzell was dominant from the start, scoring 10 of his 22 points in the first quarter.
“He was lights out,” Breakers coach Bret Fleming said of Burzell. “I am just as proud of the other guys who got him the ball.
“We got him open looks all night.”
Laguna Beach’s ball movement led to many baskets. The Breakers had 19 assists compared to three for Saddleback.
“We preach ball movement,” Fleming said. “Our guys have bought into the fact that it doesn’t matter who scores as long as we score as a team.”
Nine players scored and eight had an assist for Laguna Beach. Burzell led the team with five assists and tallied seven rebounds.
Darin Richardson was also a big contributor for Laguna Beach. The sophomore had 19 points and was strong from long distance, making four 3-pointers.
The Roadrunners (7-12, 1-2) played hard throughout the game, diving for loose balls and fighting for rebounds. Paulino Castillo led Saddleback with nine points and four rebounds.
Fleming played his second unit for the entire fourth quarter.
“They deserve to play so much. They are all underclassmen and that is our group for next year,” Fleming said. “They can all play well. … It was great to get all 10 guys in.”
The second unit took advantage. Adam Armstrong had a game-high eight rebounds and Ryan Meisberger had eight points in the fourth quarter.
The Breakers hope to continue their three game winning streak Monday against California.
