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Los Alamitos celebrates a victory in the CIF finals Saturday at Toyota Arena. (Photos courtesy Mark Bausman, For OC Sports Zone).
Los Alamitos High School’s boys basketball team used a balanced scoring attack to defeat Mira Costa 63-60 in the CIF Division 1 final Saturday at Toyota Arena in Ontario.
It’s the third CIF title for the program, which also won crowns in 2006 and 2007. Griffins coach Nate Berger was a player on the 2007 team.
To see the slide show, click on the first photo:
“I’m so proud of my team,” Berger told OC Sports Zone Saturday evening. “They went through a gauntlet schedule and were faced with the challenge of prerserving through that and they ran into the fire.
“We knew tonight was going to be a close game and our guys stepped up down the stretch to make the plays we needed. Again, I can’t express enough how proud and happy I am for these kids. They deserve it.”
As has been a trademark all season, the Griffins had multiple threats Saturday.
Wesley Trevino scored 15 points, Trent Minter 14 points and 11 rebounds, Tyler Lopez 13 points and Samori Guyness 10 points to lead the Griffins (26-8).
Eneasi Piuleini scored 17 points and Christian Kranz 13 points to lead Mira Costa (29-5).
Los Alamitos led from the start. The Griffins held a 17-15 lead after the first quarter and were up 38-30 at halftime. Los Alamitos led 52-47 going into the final quarter before clinching the title.
Los Alamitos made 43 percent of its field goal attempts (24 of 55) and sank four 3-pointers. Mira Costa made 22 of 47 field goals (46 percent) and outrebounded Los Alamitos 32-24.
Both Los Alamitos and Mira Costa advance in the CIF Southern Regional beginning Tuesday..
—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com