Griffins Hold Off Fountain Valley to Share Sunset League Title

Los Alamitos' boys basketball team captured a share of the Sunset League title Thursday night after the Griffins held off Fountain Valley High 53-51 in the season finale.

Junior guard Chris Kapano led the Griffins with 19 points. Senior guard Josh Rosado and junior forward Ryan Hurst helped power the Los Alamitos attack with seven points each.

Fresh off their upset victory over Edison (24-2, 8-2) Tuesda, the Griffins came out very motivated to close out the season with a win going into the CIF Southern Section Division 1AA playoffs.

Los Alamitos (20-8, 8-2) came out on fire in the first quarter as seven Griffins combined for 15 points. Senior guard Camryn Crocker did not play after the first quarter because of a minor ankle injury, but Griffins coach Eddie Courtemarche said he sat his team's captain as a precaution going into the playoffs, and there is no doubt he will play in the opening round of the playoffs.

In the second quarter, Kapano's sharp shooting carried the Griffins to a 29-26 halftime lead. Abandoning his pass-first instinct with Crocker out of the lineup, Kapano connected on two three-pointers and had 12 points in the quarter.

“We know that he can shoot,” said Courtemarche when asked how he felt about Kapano being a go-to-guy on offense.

Kapano credited his teammates for his big scoring night, saying, “I took so many [shots] in the first half because my teammates got me wide open.”

Fountain Valley (15-11, 4-6)  had lost the first meeting between these teams, 59-40, but the Barons refused to go away in the second half this time around.

Senior guard Judd Chamaa, who missed most of the first game because of a fever, lit up the scoreboard for the Barons with 25 points, including five buckets from long range.

Los Alamitos entered the fourth quarter with a 44-39 lead, but Fountain Valley battled back to tie the score at 44 just two minutes into the final period. The Barons extended their rally to take a one-point lead with just over a minute to play.

Senior forward Henry Igboke tied the score at 51 for the Griffins after grabbing an offensive rebound and getting fouled on his put-back attempt. Los Alamitos followed that up with a stop on defense, opening the door for the Griffins to take the lead on a couple of Rosado free throws with 37 seconds left.

Not wanting to leave any time on the clock for the Griffins to get a game-winning shot off, Fountain Valley ran the shot clock all the way down before failing to convert on atying field goal try. Hurst grabbed the rebound and Los Alamitos could celebrate its co-Sunset League championship.

“We played the league champions right down to the last minute,” said Barons coach Roger Holmes of his team’s effort on Senior Night. Holmes said he remained very optimistic that his team, ranked No. 13 in Division 1A, would receive an at-large bid into the playoffs.

Los Alamitos will compete in Division 1AA, in which it is currently ranked No. 16, while Edison is ranked No. 4 in Division 2AA. Pairings in all divisions will be announced by the section's office on Sunday.