Los Alamitos boys basketball coach Nate Berger had difficulty deciding which of his team’s players should be on the all-tournament team.
That’s a good thing.
Multiple players contributed for the Griffins in their 44-40 comeback win over Tesoro on Friday in the Tustin Classic tournament championship game at Tustin High.
Los Alamitos trailed 36-24 going into the fourth quarter. The Griffins outscored the Titans 20-4 in the fourth quarter.
Samori Guyness was not on the all-tournament team, but if an all-fourth quarter team was selected Guyness would be on it. Guyness, sophomore guard, scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, making all four of his shots including two 3-pointers.
Tournament most valuable player Trent Minter, another Los Alamitos sophomore, scored 10 points including a clutch 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Wesley Trevino had a team-high eight rebounds and was named all-tournament as was another sophomore, Liam Gray. Griffins junior Isaiah Wempe scored six points in the final quarter.
“That’s what makes our team team so good is because we have a lot of different guys who can go and (opponents) are going to have to guard all five of them,” said Berger, in his third season as Los Alamitos coach. “(Guyness) had the mismatch and he dominated. He was our MVP on this night.”
Los Alamitos is 13-4 and is No. 11 in the Orange County top 25. Tesoro (15-3) is No. 7.
All-County senior guard Carson Brown led Tesoro with 21 points. Brown made 10 of his 26 shots. Senior forward Nathan Draper scored six points with five rebounds and four blocked shots and senior forward Jake Bennett scored six points with eight rebounds and three blocked shots.
Brown’s 13-foot baseline jump shot gave Tesoro a 2-0 lead. The Titans would steadily build on that, taking a 9-5 lead into the second quarter and extending that to 23-16 at halftime. They outscored the Griffins 13-8 in the third quarter to make it 36-24.
Los Alamitos scored the first 14 points of the fourth quarter. The Griffins took their first lead 38-36 on a 3-pointer by Guyness. Tesoro tied it 38-38 and Guyness made another 3 to put Los Alamitos ahead to stay 41-38 and the Griffins were on their way to their second consecutive Tustin Classic championship.
Tesoro made only 2 of their 11 fourth-quarter shots, including missing its seven 3-point tries and committed five turnovers in the final period. Los Alamitos made 8 of its 12 shots, including 3 for 4 on 3-pointers, during their fourth-quarter flurry.
“When we get the momentum nothing can really stop us,” Minter said. “I think we’re one of the best teams in Orange County when that happens.”
Minter said his MVP honor was pretty much a team award.
“Anybody could have got this (award),” Minter said. “Everybody played an important role on our team. Everybody did great.”
Los Alamitos’ next game is a nonleague home game Wednesday against Huntington Beach. Tesoro plays two games in the Central Valley before returning to Orange County to play a nonleague game against Capistrano Valley on Jan. 11.
Also in the Tustin Classic:
Tustin 54, Beckman 47: Eli Nyeazi scored 15 points to lead the victorious Tillers (11-5) in the tournament third-place game. Josh Birket and Johnny Sagarino scored 11 points each for Tustin. Abhi Acharya led Beckman (9-8) with 14 points.
In the Anaheim Colony Classic:
No. 9 Orangewood Academy 83, Northwood 42: The Spartans won the tournament championship as Cameron Mercadel scored 17 points, Alier Alier scored 16 and LJ Brown scored 14.
In the Holiday Classic:
No. 10 Foothill 65, Mater Dei Catholic of Chula Vista 59: The Knights won the Torrey Pines tournament’s Senator Division championship.
In the Desert Holiday Classic:
No. 1 Mater Dei 81, Lincoln (Stockton) 54: The Monarchs won the tournament’s In-N-Out Burger Division championship.
No. 17 Fountain Valley 55, Summit 44: Fernando Garcia scored 15 points and JJ Gray added 14 points as the Barons won the tournament’s Jimmy Johns Division championship.
No. 13 Capistrano Valley 76, Portola 67 (OT): Efe Gucoglu’s 40 points led the Cougars in the Design Pro Division championship game.