Loara Takes Control With Blowout of Katella
No. 10 Katella dropped the ball so quickly Wednesday night in its Empire League boys’ basketball game at Loara that the game never came close to being the excellent first-place showdown that most expected.
The Knights couldn’t handle the Saxons’ press and committed six of their 24 turnovers in the first 4 1/2 minutes of play. When they looked up, they were trailing 17-2 with no chance to get back in the game.
Loara’s 72-57 victory left the Saxons (19-3, 5-1) alone in first place in the Empire League, a game ahead of Katella.
The Saxons, ranked as high as seventh this season in the Orange County Sportswriters’ poll, dropped out this week in favor of Katella, which resurfaced in 10th place after being ranked fifth in the preseason.
Loara’s fall from the poll came largely because of a one-point, upset loss at El Dorado last Friday, but Wednesday the Saxons said they were more concerned with handling Katella than moving back into in the top 10. They led by as many as 28 points and were never threatened after making 10 of their first 16 shots.
“The rankings didn’t really have too much to do with the way we played,” said senior guard Herbert Gracia, who finished with 18 points and six rebounds. “What really matters is just winning the league title. That’s what we’re after.”
That will be no easy task, though, because three of Loara’s final four league games are on the road.
“We can’t go into Kennedy Friday night and let up,” Coach Ed Prange said.
The Saxons didn’t let up against the Knights (16-6, 4-2). The tempo often resembled a pick-up game at the local park, and Loara, which committed 19 turnovers, converted steal after steal into easy baskets.
Even when Katella hung onto the ball, it had trouble scoring. The Knights made only three of 20 shots from the field in the first half. Their only field goal in the second quarter was a basket by senior forward Casey Cariker with 2:30 to play. It cut Loara’s lead to 33-13.
“We got good offense off our defense,” said Loara sophomore Wesley Waldrop, who finished with a game-high 21 points and had seven rebounds. “We got layups off our steals.”
Senior center Johnny Patton had 11 rebounds and five assists for Loara.
Katella forward Brandon Jordan led the Knights with 13 points, but made only one of eight shots.
“We just got blitzed,” said Katella Coach Tom Danley, whose team lost to the Saxons, 67-59, in the first round after taking a 43-41 third-quarter lead. “They came out and played very well. I thought it would be a lot closer than this.”
In another Empire League game:
Kennedy 48, Cypress 39--Tony Jimmerson had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Kennedy (7-15, 1-5), which outscored visiting Cypress ,18-10, in the second quarter to take a three-point halftime lead.
In the Garden Grove League:
Los Amigos 76, Santiago 44--Jesse Carrillo scored 24 points and David Chau had 10 for host Los Amigos (15-7, 6-2).
Rancho Alamitos 50, Garden Grove 39--Omar Pryce scored 13 points and Willie Montgomery 10 for host Rancho Alamitos (9-12, 3-4). Roland Quach had 24 points, including four three-pointers, for Garden Grove (1-18, 1-7).
In the Orange League:
No. 4 Brea Olinda 60, Magnolia 46--Kyle Dodd had 18 points and 12 assists and Ryan Wilber had 17 points and seven steals for visiting Brea (19-2, 5-0). Asi Faoa led Magnolia (10-11, 2-3) with 16 points and 15 rebounds.
Anaheim 48, Western 45--Anaheim took an 18-6 lead after one quarter and then held on at home. Jesus Salcedo led the Colonists (7-12, 1-4) with 16 points and nine rebounds. Robert Turner led Western (2-19, 0-5) with 21 points.
In the South Coast League:
Mission Viejo 67, Trabuco Hills 62 (OT)--Francis Ireifej’s basket with three seconds remaining in regulation sent the game to overtime, where Ireifej scored five of the 14 points for Mission Viejo (11-12, 3-4). Kyle Ulrich led the Diablos with 20 points.