BOYS’ BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Esperanza Holds On to Defeat Santa Margarita

Esperanza took an early lead and held on to beat Santa Margarita, 55-41, in nonleague boys’ basketball Wednesday at Esperanza High.

The Aztecs were able to capitalize on Santa Margarita’s fouls, shooting 23 of 28 at the free-throw line.

Josh Greer had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Esperanza (5-1). Alan Krist had 15 points to lead Santa Margarita (5-1).

In other nonleague boys’ basketball:

Fairmont 46, Bethel Baptist 31--Roy Kim scored 17 points to lead Fairmont (3-3), which outscored Bethel Baptist in the third quarter, 20-6, to take a 14-point lead.

Katella 69, Anaheim 39--Jacy Armbruster scored 21 points and Carlos Romero added 19 for host Katella (6-2). Isaac Camarillo scored 17 points for Anaheim.

Laguna Beach 62, Bolsa Grande 44--Damion Pugh scored 20 points to lead Laguna Beach (4-4), which was ahead after the first quarter, 24-5.

Magnolia 60, Garden Grove 51--Magnolia led by one at halftime, but outscored Garden Grove in the second half, 37-29. Jose Gonzales scored 14 points to lead the Argonauts (2-6).

Mission Viejo 63, Aliso Niguel 51--Gabriel Burt scored 16 points to lead undefeated Mission Viejo (9-0). Jason Mulkay had seven three-pointers in a losing effort for Aliso Niguel (5-3), which was outscored by eight in the second half.

Villa Park 61, Orange Lutheran 46--Jason Kemner scored 16 points for Orange Lutheran (3-2).

In the quarterfinals of the Irvine World News boys’ basketball tournament:

Irvine 59, Huntington Beach 38--Amir Rahimi scored 24 points for Irvine (4-4), which led at halftime, 33-15. Irvine will play Santa Ana Valley in the semifinals Friday.

Woodbridge 81, Pomona 80--With 30 seconds left in the game, Woodbridge got the ball to Chris Burgess, who scored the winning basket. Burgess had 33 points and William Stovall had 19 as Woodbridge overcame a 33-point third quarter by Pomona.

In consolation games of the tournament:

Dana Hills 56, Paramount 46--Forward Mike Hutchens scored 26 points to lead Dana Hills.

Palos Verdes Chadwick 81, La Habra 75 (OT)--Jon Marshall had 26 points and six three-pointers for La Habra in a consolation game. Tyler Hoffman had 27 points and seven three-pointers for Chadwick, which outscored La Habra in overtime, 10-4.

San Ramon California 78, Los Amigos 59--Gary Burns scored 19 points for Los Amigos. Mike Norcup led California with 21.

Sunny Hills 70, Kennedy 56--Jason Maughan and Sean Granillo both scored 16 points each for Sunny Hills.

In the quarterfinals of the Sonora Cage Classic:

Century 63, Whittier La Serna 55--Hector Beltran led all scorers with 17 points for Century (6-2). Jason Farris added 13 points and Gabriel Aquirre 10 as Century advances to Friday’s semifinals at 8:30 p.m.

Sonora 73, Whittier Christian 46--Jeff Berokoff scored 20 points, advancing Sonora (6-2) to the semifinals against Century Friday night. Ben Jones and Tim Crow each added 12 for Sonora.

Tustin 62, Loara 32--Robert Griffin had 26 points, including four three-pointers, for the Tillers (4-0), who broke open the game by outscoring Loara in the second and third quarters, 32-6. David Lalazarian had 19 points for Tustin, which will play Long Beach Millikan in the semifinals.

Long Beach Millikan 59, Corona del Mar 38--Brian Coleman scored 21 points for Corona del Mar (4-3), which trailed at halftime, 30-13. James Weaver scored 16 points for Millikan (5-3).

In the Gary Raya Coed Classic:

Canyon 53, El Dorado 39--Ryan Walker scored 19 points to lead Canyon (6-1), which stopped El Dorado’s winning streak at five games. Teammate William Byrd added 11. Darren Drennan led El Dorado (5-3) with 11 points and Kevin Sweet had 10.