Laguna Beach boys’ basketball moves into quarterfinals with win at Crossroads

The Laguna Beach High School boys’ basketball team defeated Santa Monica Crossroads 49-34 Friday night to advance to the quarterfinals of the Division 2AA playoffs in a game where Laguna fended off multiple quick-strike comeback attempts from Crossroads.

Laguna Beach head coach Bret Fleming said his senior class came up big in a big moment.

“I don’t think a lot of people gave us much chance coming up here,” Fleming said. “We lost a starter to a wrist injury last week, so we were playing undermanned, but it was fun. We have some senior kids that have been through stuff before. They keep other guys calm on the court. It was expected that they showed some leadership, and I thought they did.”

Laguna Beach senior and Army West Point signee Nolan Naess led the way with 17 points, including a pair of three-point shots. He added two assists, a block and a steal for Laguna.

Willie Rounaghi hit three three-point shots, including a buzzer-beater from halfcourt to end the first half. He also had a team-high five assists.

Rounaghi felt a rush of self-assurance after his shot to close out the first half.

“It just gave me a confidence boost,” he said. “I was missing a lot of open shots I should’ve hit in the first half and then seeing that one went in, it was just a huge boost. It put us up seven to end the half.”

Crossroads senior TJ Muhammad led the Roadrunners in scoring with 14 points, while junior Charlie Michaels matched Rounaghi for a game-high three three-pointers.

“We turned the ball over quite a lot,” Crossroads head coach Anthony Davis said. “We gave a good, well-coached team too many chances. They did great stopping the fast break, they did great clogging up the middle for our big man. They did a great job.”

Laguna Beach (16-3) and Crossroads (10-2) played a tight game early, with neither team managing to pull away by more than seven points.

The Breakers’ seven-point halftime lead evaporated quickly in the third quarter. That’s when Michaels hit a three-pointer, followed by two nearly identical steals by Muhammad that he finished with layups to tie the score at 22.

Crossroads then took a 24-22 lead, its final lead, before Laguna stormed back.

Naess scored nine of his 17 points in the second half, while the Laguna offense took advantage of an overaggressive Crossroads defense and multiple unforced errors in the fourth quarter.

For Naess, his team’s resilience is its hallmark.

“It feels so good,” Naess said. “I can’t think of anything better for my senior year. We just bounce back really well. Even though we may take a hit every once in a while, we come back even stronger.”

Rounaghi also credited his team’s ability to withstand Crossroads’ comeback attempt.

“Right after they made that run and we came back and got up by eight, I thought it was over right then,” Rounaghi said.

Laguna Beach visits Santa Margarita for Tuesday’s Division 2AA quarterfinal. Santa Margarita finished the season as the division’s second-ranked team.

Laguna Beach is in search of its first CIF Southern Section title since 1962.

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