Sports
San Juan Hills Hangs Tough Before Falling to Los Alamitos
Stallions boys basketball team drops its pool play game, 50-45, when Griffins score the game's final three points Tuesday night in the North Orange County Tournament.
The San Juan Hills boys basketball team traded baskets with Los Alamitos for 31 minutes, but it was the Griffins who scored the final three points to grab a 50-45 victory over the Stallions in a pool play game of the North Orange County Tournament on Tuesday night at Sonora High.
San Juan Hills led by as many as six points in the first half but could not shake the Griffins. Los Alamitos struck first to open the second half with a fast-break that ended with a layup by Chris Kapano that cut the Stallions' lead to 29-25. San Juan Hills responded with a basket by Elliott Bragg off an assist by Michael Perryman.
But the Griffins began to capitalize on offensive rebounds to eventually tie the score at 35-35 on a three-pointer by Camryn Crocker. Bragg hit a jump shot to push the lead back to 37-35 at the end of the third quarter. Perryman opened the fourth with a rebound and score to make it 39-35, but a three-pointer by Los Alamitos' Patrick Scully cut the lead to 39-38..
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"In the last three minutes we had a couple of communication breakdowns on what we wanted to do," San Juan Hills coach Kelly Hambrick said.
And the Griffins took advantage. With slightly less than three minutes left in the game, Crocker grabbed a rebound and went the length of the court on a drive for a layup and was fouled. He converted the three-point play to give the Griffins a 45-43 lead. A little more than a minute later, Crocker scored on a baseline drive and leaning jump shot for a 47-45 lead.
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The Stallions would answer with two free throws by Wil Acromite after he was found on a drive to the hoop. Crocker would end up leading the Griffins with 18 points, while Kapano would add 14. Perryman led the Stallions with 19 points and Acromite added 14. But the Stallions did not have any other players in double figures. Bragg and Payton Reisman each added four points.
With a 50-48 loss to Esperanza to open the tournament, the Stallions will be the third-place team out of their pool. They will try to finish strong in the White Bracket, starting with a game against La Mirad at 6 p.m. Thursday at Troy High. But because its losses have been by slim margins, Hambrick said he is comfortable with the team's progress.
"We're moving in the right direction," he said.