Laguna Beach Basketball Tournament : Lucas Powers Katella to Victory Over Estancia

Katella High School’s Richard Lucas, who once won prizes valued at $18,676 on the popular game show “Wheel of Fortune,” spells his brand of basketball “I-n-t-i-m-i-d-a-t-i-o-n.”

The 6-foot 7-inch, 200-pound forward scored 17 points, had 14 rebounds, blocked 4 shots and patrolled the key effectively in the Knights’ 58-40 victory over Estancia Thursday night in the second round of the Laguna Beach basketball tournament.

Lucas had all the answers in the second half as he took control of a close game and turned it into a rout. He made three free throws midway through the third quarter to push Katella ahead, 32-26, and the Knights coasted to their second straight victory of the season.

Estancia opened a 16-8 lead in the first quarter behind the shooting of guards Brian Tift and Kyle Mooney, but the Eagles managed to make only 7 of 33 field goal attempts the remainder of the game against a stingy Knight defense.

“We were very tentative at the start, but we managed to take control with our pressure defense,” Katella Coach Tom Danley said. “Lucas took control on both ends of the court. When he’s on, he makes everybody on the team a half a step better.”

Katella took its first lead of the game, 25-24, with 6:22 remaining in the third quarter when guard Tom Villanueva made two free throws. The Knights never trailed again. Lucas scored 7 of his 17 points in the third quarter.

“Lucas got hot and we couldn’t screen him out,” Estancia Coach Joe Reid said. “He just dominated in the second half.”

In other games:

Los Alamitos 54, Lynwood 52--Ryan Blossey made four free throws in the final 46 seconds to give the Griffins the victory. Blossey led all scorers with 18 points and teammate Moe Warner added 10 points and 15 rebounds.

Lynwood trailed, 34-24, with 2:20 remaining in the third quarter after Los Alamitos guard Mark Parkinson made two free throws. But the Knights came back in the fourth quarter and moved to within two points on three occasions before falling.

“Once again, I was very pleased with our defense,” Los Alamitos Coach Steve Brooks said. “We didn’t shoot particularly well (19 of 56), but Blossey is nowhere near what he’s going to be in a couple of weeks.”

Whittier Christian 75, Troy 66--The Heralds, a 1-A division team, made 32 of 61 field goal attempts to upset Troy. Guard Mike Goodcase led all scorers with 24 points, hitting 10 of 15 shots and all four of his free throw attempts.

Laguna Beach 72, San Clemente 59--Forward Scott Herdman scored 37 points for the Artists, the highest point total of the season among county players.