Laguna Hills Routs Pacifica, Faces Top-Seeded Artesia Next

Pacifica and Laguna Hills held a playoff within a playoff Tuesday night.

Each knew the winner would have to face top-seeded Lakewood Artesia Friday in a quarterfinal game of the Division II-A boys’ basketball playoffs, so the two played as if this was going to be their last hurrah.

“You could put both of us together and we couldn’t come within 30 points of Artesia,” Pacifica Coach Bob Becker said before tipoff.

Then Becker watched Pacifica have trouble just staying with Laguna Hills.

Laguna Hills, playing perhaps its best game of the season, drew the honors for Friday night, blowing out the visiting Mariners, 75-53. It’s the first time a Laguna Hills boys’ basketball team has advanced to a quarterfinal round and Coach Dave Brown encouraged the Hawks to prepare for Artesia by taking a day off.

“I suggest you go snowboarding, go to the snow and have some fun somewhere,” Brown told his players after the victory.

Artesia advanced by defeating Bloomington, 104-45. Brown’s touch of levity was shared by his players only for a moment.

“Artesia is a tough obstacle,” forward Nick Homyak said. “You always wonder when you know you’re going to have to play them. It was difficult not to think about that before tonight’s game, but being the first team to get to a quarterfinal is a big accomplishment for us.”

The Hawks, who stumbled to an 0-3 start in the five-team Sea View League and earned the league’s last automatic playoff berth on the final day of the regular season, did it in style Tuesday against Pacifica.

Guard Chris Lee made five of six three-point attempts and led all scorers with 20 points. Forward Kade Stone made his first seven shots and finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. Laguna Hills raced to an 8-0 lead, but allowed Pacific to crawl back into contention several times before the Hawks took a 40-30 halftime lead.

The Hawks scored 21 points in the third quarter while holding Pacifica to a single field goal in 14 attempts--a hard-fought lay-in by Kelly Gurnea following a teammate’s miss.

The Mariners attempted 20 three-pointers and made eight, six of those in the first half as they tried to stay close. But 16 turnovers in the first two quarters didn’t help.

“Nothing against Laguna Hills,” Becker said, “but I don’t see anyone in the division that can stay with Artesia, no one that can even get within 10 points. On our best night and their worst night, we couldn’t play with them. It’s like playing a college team.”

Brown, who got his 495th coaching victory, compared Artesia to “a junior college, maybe a small college team.” He said he hopes the Hawks can make some noise Friday.

“We lost our first league game to Woodbridge in double overtime and that set us back,” he said. “But we came back and I thought this was our best game of the season.”