BOYS’ BASKETBALL ROUNDUP

In other Empire League games:

Katella 72, Kennedy 50--LaByron Clayton had 22 points and nine rebounds for seventh-ranked Katella (14-1, 1-0).

Loara 47, Century 45--Obaid Popal had 15 points for host Loara (8-8, 1-0). Century is 10-7, 0-1.

In the Pacific Coast League:

Estancia 66, Laguna Hills 45--The Hawks stayed with Estancia, the sixth-ranked team in the county, for the first 28 minutes before the Eagles (15-3, 2-0) blew the game open.

Mike Scaglione, who had 19 points, helped Laguna Hills (9-5, 1-1) take a three-point lead in the third quarter.

Trailing, 33-31, with two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Estancia scored nine consecutive points to take control. The Eagles turned the game into a rout by outscoring Laguna Hills, 21-3, in a four-minute span late in the fourth quarter.

“We know if we’re patient, we’ll get points in bunches,” Estancia Coach Tim Parsel said.

Estancia shot 69% from the field in the second half after shooting 37% (eight of 22) in the first half. The teams were tied, 21-21, at halftime.

“Laguna Hills played so well for 27 or 28 minutes,” Parsel said. “Finally, we turned it up a notch.”

Point guard Zack Richardson scored a team-high 16 points, including three three-pointers, but there were plenty of contributors.

Kevin Byrne came off the bench to score 10 points and junior center Chris Candlish finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots.

Tom Feeney finished with nine points, and he played a key defensive role. He limited Scaglione to 11 points through three quarters. The Eagles switched from a man-to-man defense to a zone after building the lead to eight with six minutes remaining.

Laguna Beach 71, University 64--Kurt Nelson had 26 points and 17 rebounds and Brandon Bloch scored 19 points for Laguna Beach (9-8, 2-0), which led, 40-30, at the half.