Thousand Oaks continues winning ways from last season

A year ago, the Thousand Oaks boys’ basketball team sneaked up on opponents. The Lancers kept winning and winning but few thought they would end up as Southern Section champion.

They went 30-3, won the Division II-AA title and eventually earned lots of respect. This season, the Lancers are off to a 10-1 start, led by 6-foot-8 senior Alex Tiffin, and Coach Richard Endres is gearing up for another playoff run, though this time it will have to be in the same division as Santa Ana Mater Dei.

On Saturday, Thousand Oaks began play in the Oaks Christian tournament with a 73-46 victory over Reseda Cleveland. Tiffin, who has signed with UC Davis, scored 27 points, and senior guard James Whalen added 17.

Asked if his team is on a similar path as last year’s squad, Endres said the Lancers were playing “about the same” at this point in the season.

“We weren’t playing our best ball last year at this time,” he said. “We have a lot of room for improvement, and that’s what we’re hoping for.”

The Lancers have built their team around Tiffin, who has improved his strength, speed and versatility.

“He’s put in a considerable amount of time in becoming a better athlete,” Endres said. “He’s much stronger, he’s quicker, he jumps better. He’s worked very hard to become the player he is.”

That versatility will not only aid him this season but also in college.

“This year, I’m working more on my all-around game instead of just being a post player,” Tiffin said.

The Lancers like to get the ball up court quickly, and they had some trouble against Cleveland (5-5), which tied the score, 35-35, in the third quarter. But once high-scoring Jason Johnson went cold (he didn’t score in the second half), the Cavaliers faded. Johnson was held to a season-low 13 points after having averaged more than 25 points a game.

Thousand Oaks is expected to face last season’s state Division IV champion, Richmond Salesian, on Monday night in a quarterfinal game.

Loyola off to 8-0 start

Los Angeles Loyola took two weeks off but was sharp in the second half in defeating Woodland Hills El Camino Real, 70-48, to improve to 8-0.

Sophomore Julian Harrell and senior Tony Wroblicky led the Cubs with 15 points apiece. Tre Holden had 16 points for El Camino Real (6-4).

It’s a big week ahead for Loyola, which needs to get into top form before a Mission League showdown with North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake on Jan. 11.

So far, Coach Jamal Adams likes what he sees.

“We’ve been playing well and the guys get along,” he said. “I love this team. Our strength right now is chemistry. If we can hold that, we’ll be fine.”

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

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