Breakers Win in Triple OT Thriller
By Frank Aronoff
Boys Basketball (7-5)
Laguna won their opening game in the annual Century Holiday Classic with a 47-43 triple overtime thriller over the Beckman Patriots this past Monday night at Century High School.
Playing tough defense, Laguna overcame their early shooting problems in the field with the help of very accurate free-throw shooting, hitting on 28 of 33 attempts from the charity stripe. The game was close until the fourth period when the Breakers took a 10-point lead at 41-31 with just over a minute remaining. Down the stretch, Beckman battled back but it still looked like a Laguna win until Beckman hit an uncontested desperation 3-point shot at the regulation buzzer to send the game into the first OT.
Laguna didn’t fold under the disappointment but poor shooting plagued both teams as neither squad could score in the final 32 seconds of the first extra period. Laguna took control of the second OT and led 55-49 at one point before the Patriots battled back to tie the game on another buzzer shot to force the third OT. Again, Laguna battled to control the final period with key rebounds and team play to pull off the win.
Jake Dalke led the defensive effort with nine rebounds, Tyler Kesler had eight boards with four steals, and Derek Reigel four boards with three steals. On offense, Kesler scored 23 points and Tyler Masukawa 19. Dalke had nine points, Reigel six, Cole Kesler four, Paul McCabe three, and Brandon Lewis two. Remington Zona and Jack Pillsbury did not score.
The contest was only Laguna’s fourth game ever exceeding two over-time periods. The Breakers succeeded last time in 1989 with a 3 OT victory over Huntington Beach. The school record is five extra periods, set back in 1978 when they lost to El Toro.
Overall, Laguna is 5-7 in multiple overtime contests.
This past Tuesday, play continued in the tournament with the Breakers facing San Clemente. The tournament concluded yesterday and the team will be off until league play in Mid-January.
Last week in Laguna’s five appearance in the annual North-South Challenge at El Toro High School, the Breakers rallied to defeat Marina 47-43. Marina jumped out to lead on their three-point shots but the Breakers started playing tough “Fleming-style” defense and stormed back to trail by two at the intermission. Down by one point entering the final period, Breakers held the Vikings to five points and pulled away for the upset win over the Sunset League squad. Brandon Lewis and Tyler Masukawa led the squad with 10 points each.
Other Sports:
The recent storms disrupted the schedule of Laguna’s other winter sports teams and next week’s report will wrap up the full holiday details as all teams prepare for Orange Coast League action.
