Empire League Roundup : Pagett Runs the Show in Los Alamitos Victory

His team was struggling against Esperanza High School Wednesday night, so Los Alamitos guard Brett Pagett took things into his own hands. But he didn’t keep them there.

No, Pagett shared the wealth, not only scoring himself but handing out assists like party favors. Controlling the pace of the Empire League game in the second half, Pagett led Los Alamitos to a 70-53 victory over host Esperanza.

“He really took charge,” said Griffin Coach Steve Brooks, whose team won its fourth consecutive Empire League game. “He helped us get the job done inside.”

In the first half, the Griffins struggled to get there, and when they did, 6-foot 8-inch center Dre Lamoureux had trouble getting it into the basket, shooting just 2 of 7 from the floor in the first two quarters.

But in the third quarter, Lamoureux scored 10 quick points, almost all on assists from Pagett.

Pagett dribbles down the court, pulls up at the three-point line, passes inside to Lamoureux. Lamoureux scores.

To keep from getting repetitious, Pagett occasionally just pulled up at the line and shot the ball himself, hitting three three-point shots in the third quarter and four in the game.

Pagett finished with 26 points and 10 assists. Lamoureux scored 23 points for Los Alamitos (13-6, 4-0).

“We had shut them down in the first half,” Esperanza Coach Mike Morris said. “But the kids were unbelievably fatigued in the second half.”

The teams were tied, 16-16, after the first quarter, and the Aztecs opened up a nine-point lead before Esperanza guard Gary Brushwyler went out with a ankle injury midway through the second.

The Griffins cut it to 29-26 at halftime and outscored Esperanza, 44-24, in the second half.

“That hurt our quickness,” Morris said of the loss of Brushwyler. He played sparingly in the second half, and the extent of his injury was unknown.

Guard Roger Weems scored 13 points for Esperanza (9-8, 2-2) and Matt Werner added 11 points and 8 rebounds.

El Dorado 66, Loara 65 (OT)--Forward Chris Facione scored 30 points for El Dorado (10-6, 3-1) at home, and teammate Charlie Stevens added 12 points. The score was tied, 56-56, at the end of regulation. Ted Buchanan and Monttes Whitock each scored 16 points for Loara (4-11, 0-4).

Cypress 76, Katella 62--Host Cypress jumped to a 23-18 first-quarter lead and never trailed. Greg Bedford led Cypress (5-12, 2-2) with 32 points. Joe Pinkston added 18 and Bond Weaver 15.

Ian Donnelly had 21 points for Katella (1-3 in league).