No. 2 Los Alamitos rallies to beat Marina
No. 2 Los Alamitos rallies to beat Marina
Evans leads the way as the Griffins make second-half surge to win, 73-66.
Don't try to outshoot Marina.
That's what Los Alamitos coach Russ May told his players. It took a while for the Griffins to accept that, but once they did they put together a great second half to beat Marina, 73-66, in a Sunset League game at Marina on Monday night.
The teams were tied for first place in the Sunset entering this week. Los Alamitos, ranked No. 2 in Orange County, is 20-1 overall and 5-0 in league. Marina is 17-4 and 4-1.
Los Alamitos scored the first 17 points of the third quarter to turn a 33-29 halftime lead for Marina into a 46-33 lead for the Griffins. Los Alamitos carried a 51-45 lead into the fourth quarter, and withstood a 3-point shooting display by Marina's Brendan Holmes to win it.
Clark Evans of Los Alamitos led all scorers with 27 points, and had 13 rebounds. Evans, one of the county's top quarterbacks this past fall and going to Colorado on a football scholarship, was 12 for 15 from the field.
The 6-foot-4, 223-pound senior muscled and twisted his way to all of his baskets, with no shot coming from beyond 5 feet from the basket.
Los Alamitos junior guard James Walker had 24 points, 10 of them in the fourth quarter including a clutch 3-point play with 26 seconds left that gave the Griffins a seven-point lead. He also had nine rebounds.
Marina's Garrett James scored 28 with six 3-pointers, two of which were bank shots. He made four 3-pointers in the first quarter. Holmes finished with 21 points, 16 in the fourth quarter in which he made four 3-pointers.
James' 3-pointers led the Vikings to a 21-15 lead in the first quarter. Marina was 8 for 16 in the quarter, while Los Alamitos was 6 for 17. In the second quarter, Los Alamitos was 6 for 21.
May had warned the Griffins to avoid getting caught up in Marina's rapid-fire style. But they did so for most of the first half until, as May said, “We started to follow orders.”
“In the beginning,” Evans said, “we didn't follow the game plan.”
The game plan — be patient, get the ball to Evans and Walker — proved productive.
Los Alamitos is the second county team to reach 20 victories. Mater Dei did so Friday by beating Orange Lutheran.
Los Alamitos plays at home against Newport Harbor on Friday. Marina plays Friday at Fountain Valley.
In the Garden Grove League:
Garden Grove 62, Rancho Alamitos 50: The host Argonauts (18-3, 5-0) remained undefeated in league as Jon Umanzor scored 19 points.
La Quinta 48, Bolsa Grande 47:David Alvarado's 18 points led the visiting Aztecs (10-11, 4-1). Bobby Ellingwood added 13 points for La Quinta, which has lost only to first-place Garden Grove in league play. La Quinta plays host to Garden Grove on Feb. 4.
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
