Los Alamitos holds off Cajon to capture IWN Classic
Los Alamitos holds off Cajon to capture IWN Classic
Solid play down the stretch helps the Griffins collect a 68-52 victory.
IRVINE - The Los Alamitos boys basketball team was bracing for a late spurt by Cajon on Saturday night in the championship game of the Irvine World News Gary Raya Classic.
But the Griffins, ranked No. 2 in the county, held off any threats with their solid play down the stretch to notch a 68-52 victory at Concordia University.
“They're a very athletic team, and they can score in a hurry,” Los Alamitos coach Russ May said. “We just did not want to let them have those runs in the game.”
Los Alamitos (8-1) outscored Cajon in the final quarter, 24-16, to win the title behind the play of tournament MVP Clark Evans, who scored 15 points.
“I think this is a real great tournament, this is our first preseason tournament since I've been here, so it was kind of big for us this year,” the senior forward said. “I think all tournament, we've been playing great. It was just a great all-around team effort.”
Los Alamitos held a 30-23 halftime lead. Cajon stayed close, 38-31, midway through the third quarter, but the Griffins were tough defensively the rest of the way.
Evans' basket with 4:07 left in the game put Los Alamitos ahead, 54-39.
“I thought the difference tonight was our inside,” May said. “Clark Evans is very strong, and I thought defensively we did an excellent job of controlling their quickness and eliminating their easy baskets.”
Los Alamitos also had solid contributions from James Walker, who scored 18 points and Jack Haley, who had 13 points.
Cajon (7-3) was led by Jamari Simmons, who scored 16 points. One of the Cowboys' starting guards, Tyree Harrison, did not play because of an ankle injury.
In the third-place game:
Mayfair of Lakewood 72, University 59: Kyle Richardson scored 18 points to lead the Monsoons over the Trojans (6-3).
Christian Scott led University with 16 points.
University made a late comeback by cutting the lead to 62-55 on a 3-pointer by Jed Borovik with 2:30 left, but the Trojans could not get any closer.
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Contact the writer: tburt@ocregister.com
