Bruins Back on Top Again

The Long Beach Wilson boys’ water polo team sure knows how to rebuild.

After losing their entire team to graduation a year ago, the Bruins picked up where they left off this season by defeating top-seeded North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake, 9-8, Tuesday night at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach.

The victory marked second-seeded Wilson’s third consecutive Southern Section Division I title and eighth in the last 10 years.

The Bruins (26-4) didn’t take their first lead until late in the third quarter, when Ryan Piercy, their only senior starter, scored for a 7-6 advantage.

Harvard-Westlake’s Justin Rappel tied the score with 34 seconds left in the quarter, but Piercy scored again to give the Bruins the lead with 4:43 left. Piercy stole a pass on Harvard-Westlake’s next possession and, seconds later, scored again to make it 9-7 with 3:53 left. Piercy’s three goals led the Bruins.

The Wolverines (27-3), who were looking for their first Division I title in four championship-game appearances, pulled to within one goal on a four-meter penalty shot by Brian Flacks with 23 seconds left, but Wilson regained possession and held on for the victory.

Harvard-Westlake, which also started only one senior, took its biggest lead, 3-1, in the first quarter on a goal by Will Hindle-Katel, who, along with Flacks, led the Wolverines with three goals.

Chino Hills Ayala 14, La Verne Damien 10 -- Trent Calder and Lee Strosnider scored five goals each to lead the second-seeded Bulldogs in the Division V upset at Belmont Plaza.

Ayala (26-7) had lost to the Spartans in all three of their meetings in the Sierra League this season, including losses on consecutive days earlier this month to end the regular season.

But the Bulldogs took control of the title game late in the first half, scoring twice in the final 1:27 for a 9-6 halftime lead.

Damien (30-3) was within three goals to start the fourth quarter, but Strosnider scored twice in the first 1:50 for a five-goal cushion.

Grant Miller had seven goals and two assists for Damien, the defending champion and top-ranked team in the division the entire season.

La Verne Bonita 18, Hacienda Heights Los Altos 15 -- Los Altos went nearly seven minutes without scoring in the Division VI final at Belmont Plaza, and Bonita’s leading scorer, Nick Corjon, didn’t get a goal until the fourth quarter, but the teams still combined to tie the record for most goals scored in a boys’ water polo title game in Southern Section history.

Los Altos (22-6) took a 3-0 lead after four minutes, but Bonita scored three goals, each a minute apart, to tie the score at 3-3. The Conquerors stayed close until midway through the second quarter, when Bonita had another three-goal run that put it ahead, 9-5, at the half.

The Bearcats (26-5) added another goal at the start of the fourth quarter and held Los Altos scoreless until Danny Gonzalez scored a man-advantage goal with 4:09 left in the third quarter to cut Bonita’s lead to 10-6.

Los Altos reduced its deficit to three goals several times during the second half, and Lee Hanacek’s goal with 21 seconds left to play made it 17-15.

Corjon scored the game’s final goal with four seconds left.

Ryan Allred led Bonita with five goals.