La Mirada boys basketball heads to second consecutive championship game
La Mirada’s Julien Gomez (3) drives the ball as they play Pacifica Christian in their CIF semi-final boys basketball game at La Mirada High School on Friday. La Mirada defeated Pacifica Christian 55-37. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)
LA MIRADA– For the second year in a row, the La Mirada High School Boys Basketball team will be playing in the CIF-Southern Section Division 2A Championship game, after a 55-37 win over visiting Pacifica Christian of Newport Beach Friday February 17.
The Matadores (24-8) lost to San Juan Hills last year in the title game and have waited a year for another chance at getting that elusive ring.
“We just punched our ticket into the finals for the second year in a row,” said La Mirada coach Randy Oronoz, after the game. “Shout out to my guys. They played hard defense and played their butt off and it showed. Holding a team like that to 37 points was amazing.”
The ticket that they punched is for the title game against Rancho Christian (22-10), a 69-50 semifinal winner over AGBU of Canoga Park, Saturday February 25 at Colony High. Game time is 4:00 pm.
Seventy-five to 80 percent of the fans thought that number-one seed Rancho Christian would be in the open division before the playoffs began.
Cervantes scored nine of his 15 points (3 3-pointers) in the second quarter, which included back-to-back layups midway through the quarter.
“That put us up by four points and in a game like that, any distance is important,” Oronoz said. “With his (Cervantes) scoring, that opened the passing game, and it gets our shooters open.
“We’re a team that plays hard and in that third quarter that’s where we build our separation for every playoff game. Pretty much all year, that third quarter has been ours. I’m just happy for our kids.”
That third quarter Oronoz was talking about was what sent the Tritons to defeat.
After a two-point, 21-19 lead in a low-scoring half, the Matadores opened it up in the second half. They took control and outshot Pacifica Christian 34-18 for the 18-point victory.
“It definitely was a close game at the half,” Oronoz added. “We did a good job defensively. At times, it was almost like a boxing match where both teams were feeling each other out.”
Leading the way for La Mirada was sophomore guard Julien Gomez with 17 points (50% from the field), while senior guard Sean Cervantes had 15.
Gomez, who has won nine playoff games into his sophomore season, knew how important the defense was in carving out a path to the finals.
“It came down to our defense, executing it down the stretch,” Gomez said. “I am extremely blessed to be in this position. There is not a lot of kids that are able to do this and I’m very thankful the situation that I’m in and want to make the most of it.”
Cervantes scored nine of his 15 points (3 3-pointers) in the second quarter, which included back-to-back layups midway through the quarter.
“That put us up by four points and in a game like that, any distance is important,” Oronoz said. “With his (Cervantes) scoring, that opened the passing game, and it gets our shooters open.”
Cervantes felt the Matadores took charge most of the way in the semifinal game.
That was especially true in the fourth quarter when the Matadores drained four 3-pointers, led by two from senior Athan Sierra.
In the game, the Matadores drained eight long-range baskets.
“I feel like we were very prepared with our coaching staff and controlled the whole game and felt like had the lead the whole game,” he said. “Pretty much every team we play from now on they will be face-guarding Julien Gomez, so I knew how to be aggressive.”
Sierra and junior Isaiah Valenzuela (2 3’s) added seven and six points, respectively for the Matadores.
The Tritons were led by 6-5 sophomore Logan Stewart, who was the lone Tritons player in double figures with 11 points, while junior Alex Stewart and sophomore EJ Spillman added eight apiece.
In three of the four quarters, the stifling La Mirada defense held the Tritons to single digits.
“Just to give the guys the chance to get back to the finals is great,” said Murphy. “It gives us a chance to possibly win it.”
The future is bright for the Matadores, as they are returning 11 players next year. “These kids don’t play like they’re sophomores,” Oronoz said.
“Just to give them this experience is huge,” added Oronoz. “It’s going to be exciting the next couple of years.”
As for the championship, Oronoz said – “We have a tall task on Saturday against Rancho Christian.
“We’ll be wearing La Mirada Blue.”
Both teams will advance to the CIF State playoffs following the CIF title games.
Scoring:
Pacifica Christian - 8, 11, 9, 9 - 37
La Mirada - 9, 12, 16, 18 - 55