Garden Grove League : Garden Grove Defeats La Quinta, 68-58

La Quinta High School Coach Jim Perry was asked what his team has been lacking following Wednesday night’s 68-58 loss to Garden Grove in the Aztecs’ gym. Perry took little time to ponder the question.

“Heart,” he said in a barely audible tone. “We’ve got guys who just don’t know how to win.”

The players at Garden Grove are hardly experts in that department, but they seem to be catching on. And Coach Gene Campbell is having all sorts of fun trying to teach them. Wednesday night’s win makes the Argonauts 10-6 overall and leaves them alone in first place in the Garden Grove League at 3-0.

It may still be early, but Campbell could do little to suppress the ecstasy of being in this position. After the Argonauts made 15 of 22 free throws in the fourth quarter (32 of 42 on the game) to hold off an Aztec comeback, Campbell ran to center court and hugged his players in the type of celebration usually reserved for league championships.

And who can blame him? Consider the agony of 1983-84: After a late-season upset over La Quinta, Garden Grove needed to win just one of its last three games to reach the Southern Section playoffs. A season of hope ended hopelessly in losses to Santiago, Los Amigos and Rancho Alamitos. The Argonauts took their 10-12 record (4-6 in league) and looked for the nearest drawing board, while the league-champion Aztecs pointed toward postseason play.

No one is more happy with this year’s reversal of roles than Campbell.

“We’ve been down . . . there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “But maybe it’s helpful that our program has been down. Maybe it’s made the kids recognize that you don’t get here without hard work.”

Wednesday night, it was hard work and free throws that gave Campbell cause to smile. Garden Grove forward Brent Kaser made 8 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter and finished with a game-high 22 points and Charles Guibord scored 15 points off the bench.