ORANGE — The Orange Lutheran boys basketball team was hot at the start, building a 23-point lead in the first quarter, and played a solid all-round game the rest of the way Friday night to earn a trip to the CIF Southern Section finals.
The Lancers dominated visiting Oxnard 70-49 in the Division 2AA semifinals to set up a showdown with Tesoro in the championship game on Feb. 24 or 25 at a site to be determined.
Orange Lutheran (20-10) last appeared in a CIF championship game in 2012 when it beat Mission Viejo for the Division 1A title.
“It’s exciting but the job isn’t finished,” Orange Lutheran coach Daniel Dunbar said. “We have to have a good week of practice. We will be ready.”
“It’s a great feeling. We bounced back from adversity and I’m proud of our guys,” Orange Lutheran guard Zion Paleo said. “I know Tesoro is a tough team, but we take things one game at a time. I’m excited to play for a championship.”
Oxnard (29-3) was the top seed in the Division 2AA playoffs and was riding a 15-game winning streak.
Orange Lutheran didn’t look like the underdog Friday. The Lancers dominated the first quarter and got out to an 18-3 lead with four minutes remaining in the frame. Orange Lutheran made 4 of 5 3-point attempts in the quarter and had a 30-7 lead.
“Oxnard does a great job of running sets and our team was locked in for the last two days preparing for this moment,” Dunbar said. “I couldn’t be prouder of how they came out. We got on a run and we didn’t look back.
“We were playing at home and had the crowd going. It was a great night.”
Orange Lutheran is typically a team that can get hot from 3-point range. The Lancers did not make a 3-pointer after the first quarter and instead relied on their big men scoring in the paint.
John Gazzaniga, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Lancers. Andrew Nagy, a 6-foot-8 junior, had 14 points off the bench.
“Having two guys with that size and athleticism makes game planning a whole lot easier,” Dunbar said.
The Lancers had 35 rebounds compared to 24 for Oxnard. Gazzaniga also had a big game defensively with four blocks.
Paleo found his scoring groove in the second half. The sophomore scored 14 of his team-high 18 points in the second half and made multiple layups and put back shots.
Cannon Potter also scored in double figures for Orange Lutheran with 10 points.
Oxnard had a strong second quarter defensively, but never recovered from the first quarter onslaught.
Reese Widerberg had a game-high 26 points for the Yellowjackets. Dominik Contreras added 13 points.
Oxnard was the Channel League champion and had playoff wins over Westlake, Vista Murrieta and ML King of Riverside.
