Laguna Beach suffers setback

The chase for the Orange Coast League boys’ basketball championship took a new twist Wednesday at Dugger Gymnasium.

Laguna Beach hosted Costa Mesa in a battle between the two teams that headed the league standings. A win by Laguna would give the Breakers a two-game lead in the league race with three games to play. A Costa Mesa win would lift the Mustangs into a tie for first place.

Heading into the final week of league competition, the title chase is in a dead heat.

Costa Mesa’s Chris Calderon hit a pull-up jumper in the key with six seconds remaining to give the Mustangs their first lead, then came up with a steal off a tipped pass seconds later, and the two plays led to a 55-54 victory over the stunned Breakers.

Laguna held a one-point lead and the ball with 28 seconds to play but on a fast-break play near the Costa Mesa basket, the Breakers turned the ball over with 20 seconds to go. Calderon hit his winning shot 14 seconds later.

“We were going in for an easy layup on that fast-break,” Laguna Coach Bret Fleming said.

“Give Costa Mesa credit. I thought they played about as well as they could. It was not a very good outing for us. We gave up several threes out of their set stuff and basically, we didn’t get the job done defensively. And, we led throughout but couldn’t protect the lead.”

The Breakers, ranked No. 9 in CIF Southern Section Division 4AA, held a nine-point halftime lead (31-22), were up by five points heading into the fourth quarter but despite putting four players in double-figures, had their winning streak snapped at seven games. Sophomore forward Blake Burzell led the scoring with 21 points. Senior guard Isaac Wulff scored 11 points and senior guard Darin Richardson and senior center Nick Rahder both had 10 points.

Laguna slipped to 18-6 overall. The Breakers and Costa Mesa (14-11 overall) share the league lead at 6-1 with three league games remaining.

Calderon scored 20 points as Costa Mesa, which hit nine three-point shots in the game, defeated Laguna for the first time since 2007 and registered its first win at Dugger Gym in 14 years. The Breakers had taken two previous meetings from the Mustangs this year, winning 60-51 in a Jan. 13 league game, and in a 60-20 rout in December at the Godinez Tournament.

“Hopefully, this is a learning experience for us,” Fleming said. “The lesson is that on any given night, anybody can beat anybody. If you don’t respect your opponent and play at a championship level, you can get beat.”

In a league game Jan. 29, Laguna completed a league sweep (2-0) of defending champion Godinez by defeating the visiting Grizzlies, 54-37. Burzell led all scorers with 22 points. Richardson and Rahder both had 11 points.

The Breakers will complete their OCL schedule in the coming week. First up is a 7 p.m. game Friday at Saddleback. Next week, they travel for a 7 p.m. game Tuesday at Estancia, and close out the regular season at home with a 7 p.m. game Thursday against Calvary Chapel.

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Girls’ Basketball

The Breakers, who this week moved back into the CIF-SS Division 4AA rankings at No. 16, stayed in Orange Coast League title contention by routing visiting Costa Mesa Tuesday, 61-29, at Dugger Gym.

Senior guard/forward Jackie Cenan outscored the Mustangs with 33 points, and senior forward Alexandra Lewis drilled five three-point shots and finished with 17 points.

Junior guard/forward Rachel Kenney had five points, senior guard Ashley Brown four points, and junior forward Marissa Lee two points, to round out the scoring for Laguna.

The Breakers, in command by halftime holding a 40-10 lead, improved to 6-1 in league — good for second place and one game behind league-leading Estancia (7-0), and 16-7 overall.

The Breakers were playing Tuesday without starting sophomore guard Jasmine Banks (illness), and are playing the remainder of the season without junior guard Nicole Davidson and senior guard Amy Nygaard, both out due to ACL injuries.

“Coming into the game, I was truly expecting a tough contest, a grind the entire way,” Laguna Coach Mark Lewis aid. “ In addition to missing two key players [Davidson, Nygaard, both out for the season with ACL injuries], we were also missing another starter [Banks]. As they say in sports, ‘Next man up.’ The other girls stepped up delivering the first seven points of the game for us before Jackie [Cenan] and Alex [Lewis] got going.”

Laguna’s spurt to open the game came on a basket by Brown, a three-point shot by Kenney, and a driving layup by Lee.

“That really set the tone for us offensively,” Lewis said. “It made Costa Mesa aware of all five players on the court. Once that happened, the game opened up for Alex [Lewis] from the three-point line. From there, that opened up the middle for Jackie [Cenan] to drive and score at the rim. Once we got those two on track, the flood gates opened and we never looked back.

“Defensively, we were really solid only surrendering 10 first-half points. Good team defense and great execution of the game plan we had prepared the night before (Monday) in practice. The girls played really well in all aspects of the game.”

In a league game Jan. 28, the Breakers defeated Godinez for the second time in league play by rallying in the fourth quarter for a 42-39 victory over the visiting Grizzlies (4-3 league).

In a tight contest throughout, Godinez opened up a six-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Down 37-31, the Breakers found the plays they needed to get back into the game. After a basket by Brown was followed by a steal off an entry pass by Alexandra Lewis who drove the length of the court to score and was fouled on the play. Her three-point play made it a one-point game and the Breakers, whose full-court press led to a couple of turnovers, went in front for the first time since leading 21-20 at halftime on a baseline jumper by Cenan.

Godinez scored on a put-back shot to regain the lead but a floater in the lane by Cenan gave the Breakers the lead for good. She later hit both ends of a one-and-one to extend the lead to 42-39, and Lewis blocked a layup attempt on Godinez’s final shot to seal the win.

Cenan had a game-high 27 points and Lewis, who was heavily guarded throughout the game, finished with eight points.

“It was a good game, a great contest the entire way,” Mark Lewis said. “Both teams played good defense throughout. I told the girls before the game that it was going to be a grind the entire way and it was. I told them at halftime that it was going to come down to maybe three or four plays that would swing momentum and decide the outcome of the game. I challenged the girls to create those opportunities for themselves and take the game, and they did just that.”

The Breakers played a league game Thursday at Saddleback. The score wasn’t available at press time. They have two league games remaining next week starting with a 6 p.m. showdown Monday at Estancia. They close out the regular season hosting Calvary Chapel at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

“The regular season is rapidly coming to a close,” Mark Lewis said. “We have a tough road game against Saddleback, a team that plays us tough in their gym. We need to get that one to set up the rematch Monday night at Estancia with league title implications on the line. We will need to be solid the rest of the way to give ourselves a chance to compete for at least a share of the league title.

“Defense will be the key. We will need to hold teams in check as we did against Costa Mesa. We will also have to value our possessions, make our shots, and have a few bounces go our way. To be league champs, you need to play well, execute your game plan, stay true to who you are, and have a little luck fall your way. Here’s hoping we can combine all those elements in our next three games. From there, we will see what happens with the outcome.”

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CIF Weekly Rankings:

Boys’ basketball: No. 9, Division 4AA.

Girls’ basketball: No. 16, Division 4AA.