EMPIRE LEAGUE BOYS’ BASKETBALL : Los Alamitos Wins Title on Esperanza’s Turf

In Ryan Staniec’s eyes, this was poetic justice.

He and the rest of the Los Alamitos seniors, got to pose for photographs moments after wrenching the Empire League title from Esperanza--in the Aztecs’ gym and in front of their fans.

Staniec’s 20 points helped the Griffins survive a final burst for a 56-47 victory. It gave them their fourth title in five seasons.

“It really hurts when someone comes to your house and rubs your nose in it,” said Staniec, a 6-foot-7 forward.

He should know. A year ago, the Aztecs went to Los Alamitos to claim the league title.

That memory lingered.

“They did it to us at our place, now we got our revenge,” Staniec said.

But the Aztecs didn’t give up easily. In fact, the Griffins couldn’t do any serious celebrating until the final seconds.

With five seconds left, Los Alamitos Coach Steve Brooks began shouting, “It’s over, it’s over,” sounding both happy and relieved. He had watched his team, ranked second in Orange County, nearly blow a nine-point lead in the final five minutes.

Esperanza (16-8, 6-3) had lost to the Aztecs by 28 in the first meeting. But the Aztecs found themselves within four after Mike Thimgan heated up.

Thimgan, who had been held without a field goal through three quarters, scored 10 of his 16 points in the final quarter. His two free throws made the score 46-42 with 4:44 left.

Esperanza had two chances to get closer. But Josh Greer missed a short jumper, then Mike Lawson missed the front end of a one-and-one.

Staniec, who had been on the bench with four fouls, re-entered and scored the next four points. The Griffins (21-3, 9-0) made eight consecutive free throws down the stretch.

“We knew they were going to keep coming at us,” Brooks said. We knew we couldn’t let up.”

Los Alamitos didn’t, especially on defense. Not only did the Griffins hold Thimgan, the Aztecs’ leading scorer, to two points in the first half, they held center Lawson scoreless.

In other league games:

Katella 75, Cypress 70--Katella (14-8, 5-4) clinched third place and the league’s final playoff berth. Nick Roditis scored 25 points for the Knights, who made 24 of 29 foul shots.

El Dorado 72, Loara 59--Scott Davis had three three-pointers and 27 points for Loara (12-12, 2-7). Dante Spencer had 18 points to lead El Dorado (7-15, 2-7).