EMPIRE LEAGUE : Los Alamitos’ Carbone Saves Day

Steve Carbone’s mad dash made up for it all--the missed shots, the turnovers, the frustration.

In one burst of energy, he went the length of the court, through three defenders, for a layup that gave Los Alamitos a 69-67 Empire League victory over Katella Wednesday at Los Alamitos. It left the Griffins in sole possession of second place and Carbone gasping for breath.

“I’ve always wanted to sink a game-winning shot,” said Carbone, a 6-foot-1 senior guard. “I’ve had three chances in the last two years and missed all of them. This is great.”

Carbone, the Griffins’ leading scorer, missed his first five shots in the second half, and missed them badly. He also turned the ball over three times in the second half.

But all was forgiven when he scored the final four points.

Brian Carlson had a chance to give the Knights (13-5, 2-2) the lead with 10 seconds left, but missed the front end of a one-and-one. Ryan Staniec grabbed the rebound and hit Carbone on the wing.

“I saw there was seven or eight seconds left, so I took off,” Carbone said. “I heard Coach yelling to take it all the way. I put my head down and went to the cup.”

It ended a tenacious fourth quarter, during which neither team could get the upper hand. The score was tied eight times during the quarter.

Carlson, who finished with 27 points, gave the Knights a 67-63 lead with 58 seconds left, but they could not hold on. But Staniec scored on a five-footer, then made a steal that led to a layup by Carbone.

Los Alamitos (15-4, 3-1) appeared to have the game in hand in the third quarter on the strength of its bench. Reserves Brady Doyle (16 points) and Brent Hayward (15 points) gave the Griffins a 39-31 lead.

But Carlson brought the Knights back. He scored 10 points in the third quarter and eight more in the fourth even though he played the entire second half with four fouls.

In other games:

El Dorado 69, Cypress 60--Dan Watson scored 21 points and Jeff Moore added 14 for El Dorado (7-12, 2-2). Tyson Weaver and Chad Triplett each scored 14 for Cypress.

Esperanza 72, Loara 54--Mike Thimgan had 19 points to lead Esperanza (14-5, 4-0). Rashaan Clark added 16 points for the Aztecs. Scott Davis led Loara (5-13, 0-4) with 19 points.