Garden Grove : Rancho’s Velasquez Intimidates La Quinta

When you’re seven feet tall, it’s difficult to surprise anyone, but that’s just what Rancho Alamitos center Lee Velasquez did Friday night in the Vaqueros’ 71-60 win over La Quinta in Garden Grove League play.

Velasquez scored 11 points and had 9 rebounds, but it was his defensive play that caught the Aztecs (5-8) off guard. He blocked seven shots and, more important, he intimidated La Quinta shooters by forcing them out of their offensive rhythm. Not bad for a junior who has only played organized basketball for two years.

Velasquez is the pet project of Vaquero Coach Pat Adams, who inherited a struggling Rancho Alamitos program two years ago that was coming off an 0-19 season. Velasquez, who started last season, blocked 69 shots as Rancho Alamitos improved to 8-13.

This season, the Vaqueros were favored to unseat La Quinta as the league champion but they had picked up some old habits in a less-than-spectacular 5-9 start. Rancho Alamitos didn’t put any fear into its five league opponents by losing its league opener to Santiago on Wednesday night.

But the Vaqueros rebounded for the win by limiting La Quinta to only nine points in the pivotal fourth quarter. Forward Ruben Patton supplied the big plays, scoring on a follow shot with 2:08 remaining to give Rancho Alamitos a 63-56 lead and then adding a three-point play with 1:27 remaining for a 66-56 advantage.

Patton finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds, but Adams wanted to talk about Velasquez afterward.

“It’s taken a lot of patience, faith and understanding,” Adams said. “The real test has been to stay with him during the hard times. Lee has had good games in his last three outings and continues to improve every game.”

Velasquez’s presence inside is enough to upset any opponent. That was clear in the fourth quarter when La Quinta guard John Lee drove toward the basket leading a two-on-one fast break. Velasquez stood between Lee and the hoop and Lee wisely retreated to the halfcourt line, disdaining any fast-break notions.

While Velasquez patrolled the middle, Patton repeatedly burned La Quinta’s 2-3 zone for high-percentage shots. The 6-5 forward made 12 of 18 field goal attempts and all 3 of his free throws. Most of his points came on short baseline shots after Vaquero point guard Don Nguyen penetrated the Aztecs’ zone.

“The real Ruben Patton showed up tonight,” Adams said. “I’ve been looking for Patton to go to the boards all year and he finally did it tonight. Nguyen really made a difference. He’s had a bad ankle since our fifth game, and I think tonight’s game was the first time it didn’t bother him.”

La Quinta benefited from some fine shooting by Mike Zugates and David Barker in the first half as the game was tied on 10 occasions. But the Aztecs made only 10 of 28 shots in the second half and could never get closer than two points after trailing at halftime, 43-36. Zugates paced La Quinta with 21 points.

Both teams are 1-1 in league play and Adams said the team that can win its five games at home and split on the road will emerge as the champion.

“Winning every game on your home court and a few on the road will do the job,” he said. “I think 8-2 will win it, but I don’t think a team can lose more than two and expect to win.” LA QUINTA (60)--Zugates 21, Lee 4, Barker 16, St. John 14, Schneggenburger 2, Buford 3.

RANCHO ALAMITOS (71)--Patton 27, Carter 8, Velasquez 11, Perry 5, Hong 1, Nguyen 14, Tryon 2, Adams 2, Metcalf 1.

In other Garden Grove League action:

Garden Grove 41, Santiago 38--Senior guard Charles Guibord led all scorers with 14 points and 6 rebounds as the Argonauts defeated the Cavaliers at Santiago. Garden Grove led through most of the game, giving up the lead once in the third quarter. Brent Kaser, a 6-3 senior forward, had 4 points and 14 rebounds for the Argonauts (9-6, 2-0). GARDEN GROVE(41)--Crone 4, Kiefer 2, O’Connor 7, Guibord 14, Duran 6, Kaser 4, Fournier 2, Woodward 2.

SANTIAGO (38)-- Tran 8, Curry 11, Burns 2, Hill 2, Korrea 13, Castro 2.

Bolsa Grande 47, Los Amigos 46--The Lobos held onto the ball for the last 3:30 of the game but missed their final shot as the Matadors won at home. Sophomore Nam Cao, who led all scorers with 20 points, hit two free throws to give Bolsa Grande (1-1, 8-7) the win. Geno Howard paced Los Amigos (0-2, 2-11) with 11 points. BOLSA GRANDE (47)--Cao 20, Afdahl 2, Rudy 4, Valdez 8, Swoboda 8, Graves 5.

LOS AMIGOS (46)--Howard 11, McMullen 10, Davis 8, Cortz 6, Hyatt 3, Grandison 4, Anderson 4.