SUNSET LEAGUE BASKETBALL : Los Alamitos Hangs On, Shares First

It wasn’t the perfect script, but Los Alamitos Coach Steve Brooks was happy to see his team hold on for a 74-66 victory over Fountain Valley, the ninth-ranked team in the county, and earn a share of first place in the Sunset League.

Things looked iffy for unranked Los Alamitos (19-6, 7-2 in league) when point guard Ali Ton took his 14 points and eight assists to the bench after fouling out with 1 minute 19 seconds remaining and the Griffins clinging to a two-point lead.

But Los Alamitos sophomore Chris Glass calmly sank seven free throws in the final 1:10 to help seal the victory in a game that had 50 fouls and 83 free throws.

“Chris had a great game tonight,” Brooks said. “He really stepped up. He made the clutch shots in the first half and hit the free throws at the end.”

Those heroics wiped out a 29-point effort by Daniel Keller, who helped the Barons (16-7, 7-2) close to within one point with 2:51 remaining. But the Barons never tied it or took a lead in the final minutes.

Glass, who had 19 points, made all four shots he took in the first half. His two second-quarter three-pointers helped Los Alamitos take a 31-11 lead midway through the quarter.

Fountain Valley chipped away at the lead but didn’t make any real noise until its 31-point fourth quarter.

Keller scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, including a jump shot to cap a 16-5 run to close the Barons within 53-51 with 3:48 remaining.

A free throw by Nathan Strange, who had 15 points, made it 55-54 with 2:51 remaining, before the Griffins stopped the rally.

Reserve forward Sean Russ, who had 12 points, made both ends of a one-and-one situation to make it 57-54, then he made a hook shot to push the lead to five points with 2:16 remaining. Fountain Valley never drew closer than two points after that.

Fountain Valley scored 47 second-half points after making only two of 16 shots from the field in the first half. In the second half, the Barons made 14 of 21 from the field and also made 31 of 39 free throws for the game.

Cory Johnson had 15 points, including three three-pointers, and Jeremy Vandervoet had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Griffins, who made 36 of 44 free throws.

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In other Sunset League games:

Edison 64, Huntington Beach 41--Brad Lisotto had 14 points for host Edison (12-13, 2-7). Matt Jones scored 18 points for Huntington Beach (11-12, 4-5).

Esperanza 59, Marina 51--Lohnnie Tape scored 15 points for host Esperanza (14-11, 6-3). Dan Perna scored 12 points for Marina (3-20, 1-8).