Los Alamitos Falls to Third-Seeded Corona Centennial, 59-55

Los Alamitos High's boys basketball team saw its season come to a close Friday night, when a fierce comeback fell just short and the Griffins lost, 59-55, to Corona Centennial in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1AA playoffs at Los Alamitos High.

Senior guards Camryn Crocker and Josh Rosado led the Griffins with 15 points and 13 points, respectively. The visiting Huskies were led by their three Division I college recruits. Senior guards Michael Caffey (Long Beach State), Gelaun Wheelwright (Weber State), and Dominique Dunning (New Mexico) combined for 51 points.

The Griffins knew what they were up against, going against the division's third-seeded team, but they looked anything but intimidated. Los Alamitos employed an aggressive inside approach to get ahead early. Senior forward Justin Kaminski and junior forward Ryan Hurst exercised their size advantage, giving the Griffins a spark by combining for eight points in the first quarter.

Rosado set the tone early as well, driving to the hoop with authority and rebounding with an attitude unmatched by anyone on the floor. The Griffins fed off his energy for an 18-16 lead after the first quarter.

“I don’t think I have seen Josh play a better offensive game,” said Griffins coach Eddie Courtemarche of Rosado’s determined performance. “Most importantly, he had the confidence to sink those shots.”

A half-court three-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer by Dunning turned the tide in the Huskies’ favor. Centennial used nine of Caffey’s game-high 21 points to sustain its momentum in the second quarter and take a 32-25 halftime lead.

Caffey continued to score at will in the third quarter. He had 10 points in the frame and the Huskies extended their lead to 46-34.

“I had to go on the attack more,” said Caffey, saying that his aggressive approach was influenced by his teammates’ early foul trouble.

The Griffins began to mount a comeback in the last two minutes of the third quarter. Centennial was called for four consecutive defensive fouls in the backcourt, including three in a row on Chris Popov. Los Alamitos was put in the bonus, and junior guard Chris Kapano took advantage, knocking down both of his free-throws to ignite the Griffins' rally.

Los Alamitos kept the Huskies off the scoreboard for much of the final quarter. Air-tight defense allowed the Griffins to cut their deficit to 48-45 midway through the quarter. After a couple of turnovers resulted in the Huskies building their lead back up to 54-45, Crocker decided it was his time to try to take over the game.

Coming off another Griffins’ turnover, Crocker beat Wheelwright to the basket, blocking his transition lay-up. Los Alamitos turned the ball up the court quickly, and it was Crocker on the other end who hit Rosado in the corner for a transition three that cut the deficit to 54-48.

With the score 54-50 with just over a minute to play, Dunning connected on a tough turnaround left-handed hook shot, giving the Huskies a six-point edge. Kapano’s three was short on Los Alamitos’ ensuing possession. A couple of Wheelwright free-throws extended Centennial's advantage to 58-50.

Still the Griffins did not throw in the towel. Crocker was fouled off the inbounds, and he hit the two free-throws that followed. Wheelwright responded by making one of two from the stripe. Crocker brought the ball up the floor and buried a pull-up three-pointer, bringing the Griffins closer at 59-55 with 19.1 seconds left.

Courtemarche called a timeout to set up his defense. The Griffins' huddle was energized as several players exclaimed that the game was far from over.

Los Alamitos executed the game plan coming out of the timeout, forcing a turnover when the Huskies threw the ball out of bounds with 12.5 seconds remaining.

The Griffins got the ball to Crocker, but the ball was knocked loose by his defender. Kapano dove on the floor, preserving possession for Los Alamitos with 7.7 seconds left.

Coming out of another timeout, Crocker couldn’t connect on a desperation three, and Kapano’s follow wouldn’t fall as time ran out on the Griffins’ season.

“We knew coming in they had good players,” said Crocker, referring to Centennial’s three star guards. “We competed well.”

Centennial coach Josh Giles credited the Griffins for their inspired comeback and said, "Los Al did a great job on defense.”

Courtemarche, who said he was very happy with his team's effort, added, “You have to be proud of the guys for the season they had.”

Los Alamitos, the Sunset League co-champions, finished 21-8.