Los Amigos sweeps Western to lock up Coast League boys’ basketball title
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Los Amigos’ third successive league championship came quicker and easier than the first two and with greater prospects for more. The Lobos are seeking a bigger ring and think they have the means to grasp it.
Mekhi Belote and Philip Steinert combined for 33 points, mostly from the perimeter, and 20 rebounds as the Lobos repeated as Coast League titlists — this time on their own — with a 53-46 victory Friday night over visiting Western, completing a sweep of the only foe that could have passed them.
Los Amigos (19-7, 7-0 in the Coast League) prevailed through board dominance, a suffocating zone defense, and seemingly endless depth — took charge at the start of the second quarter and never let go — but it’s the chemistry, constructed through previous title runs and fourth-year head coach DeAndre Ferguson’s one-for-all ethos, that has this team believing everything is possible.
“Oh, man, the sky’s the limit,” said Ferguson, who has a veteran, senior-led crew central to last year’s co-championship in the Coast League’s debut and the previous season’s in the Garden Grove League’s finale. “I think we’re scary. It’s not a team to sleep on. You’re not going to just walk in and beat us. You’re going to work, and we’re going to work, and we’re going to fight. That’s what we’re going to do.”
The Lobos, who claimed their 11th league title and fourth in seven seasons, will look to complete a perfect run through league play Tuesday at defending depleted, CIF Southern Section Division 4AA champion Santiago, which they routed by 37 points on Jan. 20, then head into a playoff bracket built on parity. They reached the Division 5A quarterfinals two years ago and lost to Santiago in the first round last year, and this year’s team is clearly superior.
“It’s a culture thing,” said Ferguson, an assistant coach when Los Amigos won the 2020 Garden Grove League crown. “Just building one day at a time, and, man, these kids committed. We’ve had them for three years. We’re just changing the culture, man. Nobody thought we’d do it. We’re here. We’re here. ...
“They’re a family. They bought in. They stayed home. They’ve been loyal to the program, loyal to what we’re producing. ... To see the kids celebrating each other, that tells how good of a team you are. It’s bigger than one person.”
Said Steinert: “Everybody’s a piece of the puzzle. Everybody adds, you know? We’re a collection of guys. Everybody’s together.”
Western (10-16, 6-2), which with a victory would have claimed at least a share of the title, started off with a Kalani Tran three-pointer, kept that edge for a half-dozen possessions, went back-and-forth with the Lobos the rest of the first quarter, and led by a point when Shaydn Rodriguez hit a three to close the period.
Los Amigos went 12-0 to open the second quarter, surging ahead on a Steinert three-pointer that clanged off the rim, kissed the backboard and dropped through the hoop, and taking a 30-19 lead on Connor Sales’ rim-and-in three-pointer three minutes later. It led comfortably most of the rest of the way.
The Pioneers bridged halftime with a 9-2 run to pull within four points a little more than two minutes into the third quarter, but Mytrell Smith’s three-pointer from the right corner and Belote’s from above the arc sent Los Amigos into the fourth quarter with a 47-36 lead. The Lobos would have won by double digits if not for Rodriguez’s three at the finish.
Belote scored 18 points with 10 rebounds, Steinert 15 points with 10 rebounds, and Los Amigos got two big three-pointers from Sales, another from Smith, a key offensive rebound and putback from Sonny Velez, and two big defensive plays from Dennis Smith. Los Amigos harassed Western into 34% shooting and dominated on the boards, outrebounding the Pioneers, 27-16, through three quarters and 33-21 in all.
“It’s our most important thing, defense and rebounding,” Belote said. “That’s what we take pride on, and that’s what we will continue to do each and every day.”
Ferguson said that “if you can’t play [defense], you can’t play for me,” and Steinert credited the Lobos’ command to “control on the glass, mostly.”
“Our coach really emphasizes control on the glass, making sure that we’re on the boards,” he said. “‘Five men to the boards’ is what he says all the time. Make sure everybody’s crashing the boards, and that’s really what helped us pull away in the game.”
Next comes the Southern Section playoffs, the brackets for which will be released on Saturday, Feb. 7 at noon. Los Amigos is ready.
“I feel like we can go deep in CIF,” Steinert said. “Our goal is to go to state, maybe get a ring. That’s the plan for us.”
Said Belote: “That’s what we came for. We came to get a ring.”
Coast League
Los Amigos 53, Western 46
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Western 19 - 10 - 7 - 10 — 46
Los Amigos 18 - 16 - 13 - 6 — 53
W — Flores 20, Rodriguez 15, Tran 9, Rana 1, Nesby 1.
3-pt. goals — Rodriguez 2, Flores 1, Tran 1.
Fouled out — None.
Technicals — None.
LA — Belote 18, Steinert 15, Sales 6, Morgan 4, Cortez 3, M. Smith 3, Lapati 2, Velez 2.
3-pt. goals — Belote 2, Sales 2, Steinert 1, M. Smith 1.
Fouled out — None.
Technicals — None.
