Thousand Oaks Pours It On Arroyo Grande

What does the future hold for the Thousand Oaks High basketball team?

The Lancers’ 67-32 rout of visiting Arroyo Grande on Friday night in the opening round of the Southern Section Division I-A playoffs might serve as an accurate forecast.

Junior guard Peter Lauer made rain under the roof, scoring a game-high 18 points with pinpoint long-distance shooting, including three three-point baskets.

Teammate Jason Hartman, a 6-foot-6 junior forward, poured in 16 points with penetrating moves and also had nine rebounds.

Adding a sprinkle, perhaps, of more to come, Paul Brandt, a 6-10 junior center and a backup throughout the season to senior twins Paul and Nick Foster, entered the game late in the fourth quarter. In less than half a quarter, Brandt had made three authoritative blocks and scored three points.

“They’re playing well right now,” Thousand Oaks Coach Ed Chevalier said of Lauer, Hartman and Brandt.

Well enough to stretch the Lancers’ school-record winning streak to 21 games and run the team’s record to 24-1. Thousand Oaks will play Hueneme in the second round.

The game was never a contest. Thousand Oaks darted to a 7-0 lead and led, 17-3, after one quarter. At halftime, the score was 31-11.

By that time, Paul Foster was the game’s leading scorer with 11 points, while Lauer and Hartman had scored eight and four points.

In the third quarter, however, Hartman scored six points and Lauer added five.

“We’ve played in a lot of games,” Hartman said. “We’re going to have a lot of experience and be able to provide a lot of leadership for the team next year.”

Added Lauer: “Right now, we’re just thinking about this year.”

Paul Foster finished with 15 points and six rebounds. Nick Foster, who was replaced by Brandt with less than four minutes to play, scored six points to go with a team-high 10 rebounds.