La Mirada comeback falls short, 63-55, in CIF title game
La Mirada players and coaches with their second place plaque after their game against Rancho Christian in the CIF Championship boys basketball game at Colony High School in Ontario on Saturday. Rancho Christian defeated La Mirada 63-55. (Photo by Carol Emmerling)
ONTARIO – The La Mirada High School Boys Basketball team left everything out on the court in the CIF Southern Section Division 2A Championship game last Saturday afternoon (Feb. 25) at Colony High.
It wasn’t enough, as the Rancho Christian Eagles of Temecula held on to send the Matadores to a 63-55 loss in the title game.
La Mirada sophomore star guard, Julien Gomez, did everything he could for the Matadores – driving layups, 3-pointers and dishing off assists to his teammates.
“We put ourselves in a hole that game, giving up some kind of dumb plays,” La Mirada coach Randy Oronoz said. “We went into halftime and tried to spark them a little bit and pointed out that we make runs in the third quarter.
“The problem about being down like that, is that you use so much energy and don’t have enough to pull it out. Credit to Rancho Christian, they made big shots when they had to and made some big three’s. That’s what happens when you’re going up against a team with multiple division I players.”
La Mirada trailed at the half by 11, 38-27, and could only match the Eagles in the second half, except for a brief Matadores run to start the fourth quarter to come within three points with three minutes to play.
“Our whole goal was to give ourselves a chance at the end,” Oronoz added. “I think we had a couple of opportunities to do that and just couldn’t pull it out. They just made more plays than us that day.”
However, after the tough loss in the championship game, a bright light shined down on the Matradores for the second consecutive year, as they received an invite to the CIF-State playoffs.
La Mirada also lost in the CIF-SS final last season and advanced to the state playoffs, losing in the second round.
In the opening game of the state playoffs, the Matadores defeated Bakersfield Christian, 76-59, in a Division II game Tuesday (Feb. 28).
La Mirada (25-9) played a second-round game Thursday (March 2) at home against Oxnard (30-3), but results weren’t available at press time.
Leading the way for La Mirada in the CIF-State second-round game was Gomez with a game-high 21 points. He also had a game-high 19 rebounds and five assists. Gomez had a 20-rebound game earlier this season for the Matadores.
Senior guard Athan Sierra added 14 points for La Mirada, which included four 3-pointers (4 for 6). The third player in double figures was junior guard Isaiah Valenzuela with 12 points, all beyond the arc.
The Matadores had a game-high nine 3-pointers against Bakersfield.
The Matadores held a slim, 28-26, lead after the first half, but as they have done on numerous occasions this season, came out with a vengeance and outscored Bakersfield, 24-9, to take a big, 52-35, lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“That seems to be our quarter this year,” Oronoz said. “It’s hard to come off of a championship loss. Credit to our guys answering the call with the motivation.
“We’re just trying to take it one game at hand. It’s exciting, and after the game we have to just move on. Five guys have more experience (playoffs) as they are going on their 11th playoff game (against Oxnard).
This goes back to last seasons’ CIF-SS run and into the state playoffs.
One big move Oronoz took with Sierra was in the playoffs.
“Athan (Sierra), who started all year, kind of struggled going into the playoffs,” Oronoz said. “He came off the bench in the championship game. We started him again against Bakersfield in the state playoffs and he did great.”
Championship game goes to Rancho
In the CIF title game against Rancho Christian, the Eagles 6-11 senior center Martin Gumwel opened up the game with a thundering dunk.
From there, both teams took turns scoring, before the Eagles opened up the scoring with an 8-0 run to take a 13-5 lead.
Led by Gomez with a couple of driving layups and a short jumper by senior guard Sean Cervantes, the Matadores trailed, 16-11 after the opening quarter.
Midway through the second quarter La Mirada tied the game, 19-19, on the second of four 3-pointers by the Matadores, which included two by Sierra.
The Eagles ended the half with a 19-8 run to put La Mirada down by 11 going into the third quarter.
That’s where the third-quarter La Mirada magic began.
A 9-2 run by the Matadores, led by Gomez with five points to open the quarter, brought them within six, 38-32.
But a second Rancho Christian dunk, this time by 6-8 senior forward Kevin Patton, Jr., ended the run. On the next three ensuing La Mirada possessions, Gomez had consecutive driving layups to bring the Matadores within two, 40-38 with 3:50 left in the third quarter. That would be the closest they would get to Rancho the rest of the game.
“We’ve always been a second half/third-quarter team, so it was bound to happen,” Gomez said. “It’s just a basketball game and there was nothing to be afraid of when you go out there. You just play your game and play hard and leave it all out on the floor.”
That they did, as the fourth quarter got underway and were trailing, 49-40.
The Matadores opened the quarter with a 9-3 run, led by more inside scoring as sophomore M.J. Smith and Cervantes drove the lane for a basket each, while Gomez hit another long range shot and junior Christopher Cuevas had a layup to climb within three points, 52-49 with 4:22 remaining.
Rancho again answered as Patton, Jr. scored on a layup for the 5-point, 54-49 lead, but Gomez again scored on a driving layup to trail by three, 54-51 with 3:48 left.
“I’m a captain on the team and when the game goes down the stretch it’s my time to take over and put the ball in the hole,” Gomez added.
However, after Gomez missed a 3-pointer to tie the game a minute later, the Eagles went on a final, 7-2 run, to lead, 61-53 with under a minute left.
Gomez has reached a big number for the Matadores this season, scoring 835 points, which brings him to over 1500 in his two years at La Mirada.
Gomez and the rest of the underclassmen on the team hope to keep the dream going for the next couple of years for the Matadores.