Santa Ana Gets Past East L.A.

Santa Ana’s struggles lasted into the second half before the Dons rallied to beat East Los Angeles, 84-77, in the semifinals of the Santa Ana men’s basketball tournament Tuesday.

The Dons (14-2) trailed by as many as six points in the first half but started to look better after the first five minutes of the second half.

Zac Fray threw length-of-the-court passes to Brian Chambers for consecutive layups as Santa Ana took a 54-50 lead with 11 minutes 16 seconds to play.

Greg Gray scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half. Chambers added 18 points and Herbert Gracia 16 for Santa Ana, which plays Pasadena at 7 tonight in the championship game.

Pasadena trailed Saddleback by nine points with 5:30 left but went on a 14-0 run and beat the Gauchos, 71-68, in the other semifinal. Saddleback takes on East L.A. at 5 p.m. today in the third-place game.