Laguna is in semis in tourney

The Laguna Beach boys’ basketball team is moving on to the semifinals of the Charlie Wilkins Classic at Westminster High.

The Breakers reserved a spot in today’s 6 p.m. semifinal game against Culver City by defeating Torrance on Wednesday, 55-52. Junior point guard Tyler Masukawa, back in the lineup after being out for the past few games with an ankle injury, led Laguna with 22 points. Tyler Kesler scored eight points, Jake Dalke had seven points and Remington Zona came off the bench to contribute five points in the fourth quarter.

Laguna began play Monday at the tournament and scored a 45-35 win against host Westminster. The Kesler brothers, Tyler and Cole, scored 16 and 10 points, respectively.

In a nonleague game Dec. 10, Laguna lost at home to Irvine, 61-57. Tyler Kesler scored a team-high 15 points, Dalke had 12 points and Brandon Lewis 10 points.

The Charlie Wilkins Classic concludes Saturday.

Next week, the Breakers take on Marina at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Orange County North/South Challenge at El Toro High.

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Girls’ Basketball

In a game that went to the wire, the Laguna Beach girls’ basketball team picked up a nonleague victory Tuesday by scoring the final four points to defeat host San Juan Hills, 50-46.

Senior center Sam Garner scored off an assist from Emily Writer with a minute to play to break a tie.

With less then 10 seconds left, the Stallions quickly pushed the ball up court, only to have Writer steal the ball back and drive the length of the court to score on a layup at the buzzer.

Writer led all scorers with 28 points. Garner turned in a triple-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks.

“It was a hard-fought victory, with everyone contributing either rebounds, blocks and or defense,” Laguna Coach Jon Hendrickson said. “It was an exciting win for our program, especially with the frosh/soph team winning, 31-22, right before our game.

“We are now 4-2 and making some great strides toward our goal of competing in every game and challenging for a league title.”

The Breakers are back on the road next week for two more nonleague games. On Monday, they’ll play at Beckman and travel Tuesday to face Whitney. Both games tip off at 6 p.m.