Laguna Hills Beats Valencia, Breathes a Big Sigh of Relief

For Laguna Hills boys’ basketball fans, there wasn’t a lot to like about drawing Valencia in the first round of the Southern Section Division II-A playoffs.

Not only had Valencia defeated the Hawks in the Orange Tournament this season, but the Tigers are known for their quickness and shooting--exactly the kind of team that gives Laguna Hills the most trouble.

But after a 64-53 victory Wednesday night at Laguna Hills, the Hawks are breathing a little easier.

“It’s nice to get one under your belt,” said Laguna Hills Coach Dave Brown, whose team won a playoff game for the first time since 1994. “Those guys did a good job. Their kids always play hard and it was a tough game.”

Laguna Hills (16-10) will play Pasadena Muir in the second round Friday at a site to be determined by coin flip. Muir scored a 71-40 victory over Magnolia (13-14).

Josh Pierson scored 11 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter for Laguna Hills, including four of four free throws in the final minute that extend the Hawks’ lead from 59-53 to 63-53 with 36 seconds left.

“That’s the way I want it,” said Pierson, who made four three-pointers. “When the game’s on the line I want the ball. That’s what I play for.”

That’s what Brown wants, too.

“The last two or three minutes we want to get Pierson and [Jeff] Eittreim the ball,” Brown said. “They are almost automatic at the line, especially in the clutch.”

Pierson and Eittreim, who had 17 points, combined to make nine of 11 free throws.

Leading only 17-15 after the first quarter, Laguna Hills switched from a man-to-man defense to a 2-3 zone midway through the second quarter and held Valencia (9-20) to one field goal the rest of the half to build a 29-21 halftime lead.

“We saw they were cold so we switched,” Brown said. “Then we just hoped they stayed cold for a little while.”

Valencia did stay cold.

The Hawks took a 37-23 lead on a Pierson three-pointer with 4:22 left in the third, but Valencia switched to a full-court pressure defense.

“That’s our weakness,” Pierson said. “We don’t do well against the press.”

It showed. The Hawks, who turned the ball over only four times in the first half, had eight in the second half, most a result of the press.

“I was edgy,” Brown said. “Last time we played them we had a four- or five-point lead in overtime and I saw deja vu coming again. It scared me.”

As if the turnovers weren’t enough, Valencia guard Emanuel Ortega suddenly found his touch at the same time. Ortega, who made one of 11 three-pointers through the first 2 1/2 quarters, made three of his next six attempts from long range, the last pulling the Tigers to within 59-51 with 1:28 left to play. He finished with 16 points.

“This should have been a different game,” Pierson said. “I give those guys credit--they’re a lot better than their record. But we always have trouble putting teams away. I guess we just like to give our fans gray hairs.”