2-A Basketball Playoffs : Laguna Beach Falls Back, Stays There in 52-36 Loss

Laguna Beach High School made a quick exit from the Southern Section 2-A boys’ basketball playoffs, losing to Azusa, 52-36, Wednesday in a wild-card game at Laguna Beach.

Azusa (19-5), which finished third in the Montview League, got a big night from 6-foot 6-inch junior center Tony McGee, who finished with 23 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. The Aztecs play Duarte, the Mission Valley League champion, Friday.

“McGee was the difference tonight,” said Aztec Coach Jerry Searcy. “We boarded well in the second half and that helped shut out Laguna Beach’s inside game.”

The Aztecs led the entire game, opening a 34-18 lead with just more than two minutes to play in the third quarter before Laguna Beach cut the lead to seven, 34-27, early in the fourth period on John Trevino’s layup.

That was as close as the Artists got, thanks in part to Azusa’s four-corner offense, which forced Laguna Beach to foul. The Aztecs converted 8 of 11 free throws in the fourth quarter, and 18 of 21 for the game.

Laguna Beach (9-15), which was third in the Pacific Coast League, was lead by Dave Blanton and Trevino, who had 11 points each. Center Pete Schmitt fouled out early in the fourth quarter after scoring only three points.

Azusa outrebounded Laguna Beach, 31-16.