Simi Valley Gets Basic Win, 87-69

Shawn DeLaittre and Don MacLean combined for 52 points and 29 rebounds to power Simi Valley High to an 87-69 victory over Basic of Henderson, Nev., in the opening round Friday night of the Eldorado tournament.

The victory sends the Pioneers (6-0) into today’s quarterfinal round against Clark of Las Vegas, which had a first-round bye.

DeLaittre scored a game-high 28 points and added 13 rebounds. MacLean scored 24 and had 15 rebounds, and Mike Langford added 10 points off the bench.

“Mike Langford played well for us tonight,” Simi Valley Coach Bob Hawking said. “We were pleased with his performance. He was our main catalyst with the way he played.”

Despite the 18-point margin of victory, Simi Valley committed 19 turnovers and appeared sluggish.

“We were very lethargic tonight,” Hawking said. “This game was reminiscent of a game we played last year in Hawaii when we lost. Our guys shouldn’t have any excuses to play like this. We didn’t play hard at all. And that’s not taking anything from Basic.”

Simi Valley connected on 9 of 12 shots from the field in the opening eight minutes and rolled to a 23-12 advantage at the quarter.

Basic (1-5) used a three-point barrage by guards Robby Horn and Brook England to draw within 39-33 late in the half, but Langford scored with 12 seconds left to give the Pioneers a 41-33 lead at halftime.

Leading 43-38 early in the third quarter, Simi Valley went on a 18-9 run, sparked by DeLaittre and MacLean, to increase its advantage to 63-47 with 1:11 left in the period.

The Pioneers built the lead to 20 points with 4:08 remaining, after which both coaches cleared their benches.