Manker, Hanour Lead Laguna Beach
A handful of college recruiters picked the right night to show up at Laguna Beach’s tiny gym.
Artist center Chris Manker and guard Travis Hanour put on a dazzling display as Laguna Beach blasted Costa Mesa, 75-52, Wednesday night in a Pacific Coast League game.
Manker, a 6-foot-10 force who transferred to Laguna Beach in December from West Des Moines, Iowa, scored a career-high 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Hanour, a 6-6 guard, nearly had a triple-double with 21 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists.
Recruiters from USC, Arizona, Washington State and Utah State were treated to a potpourri of three-pointers, inside moves, turnaround jumpers and two-handed slams by the two players.
Costa Mesa (16-5, 2-1) actually led, 11-2, to open the game as Coach Bob Serven’s box-and-one defense stifled Laguna Beach (12-7, 3-1 in league). Hanour and Manker scored only two points each in the first quarter.
But when Artist guard Austin Butters, Hanover and guard Jason Boyd all opened the second quarter with jump shots as part of a 12-0 run, Laguna Beach was in control.
The Artists have been a different team since Manker arrived. They were 4-5 when he showed up and are 8-2 since.
“[Manker] brings an inside presence,” Laguna Beach Coach Bret Fleming said. “All of a sudden, teams can’t put four guys on Travis.”
In another league game:
University 76, Corona del Mar 65--Michael Dale scored 21 points and Andy Lawrence had 20 for the host Trojans (13-7, 2-1).
