EMPIRE LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Esperanza’s Defense Puts Stop to Katella

There were few tangible rewards for Esperanza’s basketball team after its 61-44 victory over Katella in the season finale Friday night.

Oh, the victory meant a second-place finish in the Empire League and maybe a home game for the Southern Section I-A playoffs. Neither was enough to stir Esperanza Coach Mark Hill.

But there was something gained beyond winning, because the Aztecs now can look ahead with expectation rather than look back in anger.

“We don’t have to dwell about losing for the next week,” Hill said. “We didn’t play great. We made too many turnovers. But there are a lot of positive things that come with winning. We can concentrate on those.”

The most positive aspect was the Aztecs’ tenacity on defense.

Their physical front line often pushed the Knights outside, where they perished. Katella made only 32% of its shots.

Esperanza (18-8, 7-3) concentrated a good deal of attention on Kevin Carlson, the Knights’ leading scorer. He finished with 19 points but struggled.

Working against a diamond-and-one defense, Carlson made seven of 13 shots. But Matt Thimgan and Brad Barker took turns denying him the ball and eventually wore down the 6-foot-5, 135-pound guard.

Carlson was only two of five in the second half and failed to get off a shot in the fourth quarter.

“Thimgan and Barker are our two best defenders,” Hill said. “Their work doesn’t get noticed too often, but they win a lot of games for us.”

With Carlson being hounded, the Knights looked for someone else to step forward. No one did.

Other than Carlson, the Knights (14-9, 5-5) made only 11 field goals. They also committed 15 turnovers, 10 in the second half.

“I thought we did a good job of pressuring them out of their offense,” Hill said. “The kids took it as a challenge tonight to get in their faces.”

Esperanza was not as spectacular on offense, but efficient.

A pair of free throws by Joe Foss gave the Aztecs an 8-6 lead. They methodically increased that margin.

Esperanza led, 28-23, at the half and 45-35 after three quarters and never scored more than four consecutive points.

“I kept waiting for us to go on a run, but it never happened,” Hill said. “We just increased the lead by two or three points every few minutes.”

Foss finished with 18 points, nine of which came on free throws. Matt Kordik scored 14, including three consecutive baskets in the fourth quarter.

In another league game:

El Dorado 62, Los Alamitos 60--El Dorado came into the game 0-9 in league and Los Alamitos 9-0, but the Golden Hawks pulled the upset at home. El Dorado made seven of eight free throws in the final quarter and 23 of 29 in the game.

Brett Tomko scored 19 and Brian Loyd 14 for El Dorado (7-16, 1-9). Keith Boldon made a three-pointer as time ran out to get Los Alamitos to within two.

Los Alamitos had clinched its second consecutive league title, and third in four seasons, last Friday. But this was the second consecutive season in which Los Alamitos missed a chance to go undefeated in league but failed in the last game. Esperanza upset Los Alamitos last year.