Banks keeps No. 2 Orange Lutheran running smoothly

ORANGE – With leading scorer Gabe York out for a second consecutive game, junior guard Payton Banks scored a career-high 30 points to lead No. 2 Orange Lutheran past visiting Santa Margarita, 64-53, Friday night in a Trinity League matchup. 

“Gabe is obviously a great player, but I think people forget about Payton,” said Lancers coach Chris Nordstrom. “Payton is very good, and played with a lot of composure on the court tonight.” 

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With the score tied 30-30 early in the third quarter, Orange Lutheran (12-2, 2-0) went on a 14-4 run to grab a 10-point lead. Jared Carver drilled two 3-pointers and Banks added nine of his 13 third quarter points over the run as the Lancers took a 51-40 lead into the fourth quarter. 

That’s when the Eagles got hot. 

Behind Austin Bennett’s two 3-pointers, Santa Margarita (12-7, 0-2) went on a 13-2 run that tied the score, 53-53, with six minutes left in regulation.

But the Eagles failed to put up any more points in the fourth quarter.

“I think we showed a lot of character tonight,” Nordstrom said. “We worked hard to get it done on offense, and looked especially good defensively.” 

The Lancers ended the game on an 11-0 run, highlighted by strong interior defense from Darien Williams. The junior forward blocked six shots and threw down several monstrous dunks to finish with 14 points.

Wolfie Wood led the Eagles with 18 points.

Orange Lutheran is now 2-0 without York, the school’s all-time leading scorer. The senior guard, who is averaging over 25 points per game, had an appendectomy on New Year' Eve and has missed the start of Trinity League play.

“We don’t know how long he is going to be out, but we are thinking it will be two to three weeks before he’s back on the court,” said Nordstrom.