EMPIRE LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Esperanza Slips Past Los Alamitos
For all practical purposes, Esperanza and Los Alamitos decided the Empire League championship Wednesday night at Esperanza.
Thanks to clutch free throw shooting down the stretch, Esperanza came away with a 67-62 victory. And that means the teams will probably tie for the league title, although there are still three regular-season games left.
It would be the first league championship for Esperanza (13-10, 6-1 in league play) since 1982. Los Alamitos (14-9, 6-1 and No. 8-ranked in Orange County) is trying for its third consecutive league title and fourth in the five seasons.
“That’s dangerous (talk) with this team,” Esperanza Coach Mark Hill said of the Aztecs. “We can’t afford a slip up.”
Despite Hill’s worries, both teams appear likely to win the final three. Esperanza will play Loara, El Dorado and Cypress. Los Alamitos faces Katella, Cypress and Loara. Only El Dorado has a winning record.
A game-high 23 points by center Matt Kordik and eight-for-12 free throw shooting in the fourth quarter carried Esperanza Wednesday. Kordik, who had only six points by halftime, made three of four free throws in the fourth quarter.
Los Alamitos clanged most of its free throws off the rim and backboard, going a woeful 11 of 26 from the line. Jason Cunningham scored 15 points for the Griffins, but he could have had plenty more if not for eight misses in 11 tries at the line.
“We shot well enough (from the field),” Los Alamitos Coach Steve Brooks said. “We just didn’t put the free throws down and turned the ball over too much.”
Esperanza, which trailed by 11 points early, led for the first time, 35-32, on a three-point basket by Randy Wilson to begin the second half, and never trailed again.
Late in the game, Los Alamitos got to within, 63-62, but went scoreless over the final 1:37. Still, the Griffins just missed overtime after Tim Lin’s three-point shot was too long with seven seconds left.
In another league game:
El Dorado 73, Loara 56--Center Brent D’Arc had 24 points and 12 rebounds and guard Mike Johnson had 17 points and 10 rebounds for El Dorado (12-10, 3-4). Pete Gonzalez had a game-high 28 points for Loara (4-15, 0-7).