Prep Basketball : Empire League Roundup : El Dorado Wears Down Los Alamitos

El Dorado High School’s fast-break offense wore down Los Alamitos Friday for a 94-82 Empire League victory at Los Alamitos.

“I think our conditioning and intensity got to them,” El Dorado Coach Wayne Carlson said. “Our team plays well when we run and play good defense, and that is what we set out to do tonight.”

El Dorado is 13-4 overall, 3-0 in league play. Los Alamitos, last year’s Empire league champion, is 6-12, 1-2.

Both teams played at a blistering pace in the first half as El Dorado led, 55-49. The Golden Hawks received some fine outside shooting from senior guard Mike Renaud, who connected on 4 3-point shots in the first half. Renaud finished with a game-high 26 points.

El Dorado’s bench--particularly senior guard Tim Murray and junior forward Jerome Facione--also contributed in the second half. Murray had 5 points, including a 3-point shot with 6:48 remaining that gave El Dorado a 76-63 lead.

Facione, who got into early foul trouble in the first half, scored 3 quick baskets in the early part of the third quarter.

Los Alamitos, which starts three juniors and two sophomores, was led by sophomore guard Rick Potts with 21 points and 5 assists. Todd Chesebro added 19 points.

Senior forward Matt Luke had 24 points and 8 rebounds for El Dorado and junior guard Mike Bradach had 23 points and 4 assists.

Katella 50, Esperanza 48--Brian Yourstone’s 2 free throws provided the margin of victory for Katella (5-10, 2-1) at home. Bryon Rice had 11 points for Katella. Matt Werner led all scorers with 13 points for Esperanza (7-12, 0-3).

Cypress 74, Loara 54--Cypress outscored Loara, 49-20, in the second half. Mark Johnson, who finished with 21 points, led the way for Cypress (3-0) by scoring 16 second-half points. Mike Flowers had 15 points for Cypress. Loara (2-12, 0-3) was led by Tes Whitlock’s 28 points.