Pasadena Powers Past Santa Ana for Championship

Pasadena pounded the ball inside early to build a big lead, then held on to beat Santa Ana, 72-66, in the title game of the Santa Ana men’s basketball tournament Wednesday.

Pasadena led by as many as 16 in the second half before Santa Ana started to recover.

The Dons used full-court pressure and had two players pressure the ball when Pasadena’s guards had it to help change the flow.

Santa Ana went on a 10-0 run and got as close as 64-61 when Mark Wulfemeyer made a three-pointer with about four minutes left.

But Pasadena turned to 6-foot-8 center Damir Latovic who scored the next four points on layups. Latovic, who shot only layups, and was 12 of 12 from the field, and finished with a game-high 27 points.

Santa Ana’s comeback hopes were also hurt by poor free throw shooting. The Dons (14-3) missed five of eight free throws in the final two minutes.

In the third-place game:

Saddleback 89, East Los Angeles 70--Rashaw McAfee scored 22 and Jerry Inzunza added 17 for Saddleback (12-5).

In the Hancock tournament:

Irvine Valley 68, Sequoias 66--Ryan Ellis scored 18 and Mike Ahmad added as the Lasers (11-4) outscored Sequoias, 39-25, in the second half. Irvine Valley plays Cerritos in the title game at 7 tonight.

Hancock 94, Cypress 90--Towan Oliver had 26 points and 10 rebounds and Tony Jimmerson scored 23 points for Cypress, which was eliminated.

In the Mesa tournament:

Orange Coast 83, Whatcom (Bellingham, Wash.) 79--Dave Elliott had 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Pirates (10-4) in a consolation game.

In the Fullerton women’s tournament:

Fullerton 82, Bakersfield 66--Reserve guard Teresa Manning scored 21 for Fullerton (12-6), which takes on defending champion Irvine Valley in the title game at 6 p.m. today.

Irvine Valley beat Riverside, 61-58, to advance.

In the Desert tournament:

Santa Ana 108, Imperial Valley 47--Atari Parker had 36 points and 10 assists and Stephanie Patten had 29 points and 15 rebounds for the Dons (13-2).

Golden West 69, Pasadena 59--Evalani Tagaloa scored 20 points and had 10 rebounds and Kelly Medlon scored 19 points for Golden West (12-2).

In a nonconference game:

Orange Coast 72, Santa Barbara 49--Sarah Middlebrooke had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Orange Coast (15-1).