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Laguna Hills boys basketball sizzles in second half to win CIF-SS championship

March 1, 2026

AZUSA — Laguna Hills’ boys basketball team caught fire offensively in the second half for a 78-51 victory over Ramona of Riverside in the CIF-SS Division 6 championship Saturday at Azusa Pacific University.

This is the first CIF-SS championship for Laguna Hills (18-11) in its 48-year history, and it was the first time the Hawks ever played for a CIF championship.

Laguna Hills’ players had aspirations of winning the team’s first CIF championship since the summer.

“In the summer they said they wanted to do it and they put the work in,” Laguna Hills coach Sean Sargeant said. “I’ve seen their character improve every game. I tell them all the time, ‘who you are as a person is more important than who you are as a basketball player,’ and tonight was a great example. They were great teammates, great people and that’s why they had success.”

Laguna Hills shot 56 percent from the field in the second half and shot 69 percent from 3-point range in the half. The Hawks outscored Ramona (27-6) by 18 points in the second half.

Fletcher Freeman led Laguna Hills with 21 points and made four 3-pointers. The Hawks made five consecutive 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and Laguna Hills made a season-high 14 3-pointers.

“When we are hitting, we’re a pretty difficult team to beat and tonight was our night,” Sergeant said. “I think a lot of that comes from the unselfishness, making the extra pass and our defense creating our offense. I think there were a lot of things that led to the opportunity to even shoot those shots.”

Laguna Hills also got dominant performances out of its two big men, Jackson Burnham and Myles Mittelsteadt.

Mittelsteadt had 14 points with 16 rebounds and Burnham had 18 points with 17 rebounds. Burnham also had a team-high eight assists with two steals and a block.

“Jackson’s our leader. He’s our floor general,” Sergeant said. “He’s our heart, our pulse. He leads by example and I think the team really takes after him.

Ramona entered Saturday’s game on a 14-game winning streak and was making its second consecutive appearance in a CIF-SS championship game.

Laguna Hills’ defense held Ramona to its fewest points since November.

Garrett Pickens is Ramona’s leading scorer this season with 23 points per game. The Hawks held Pickens to a season-low nine points and forced him to make just four of 23 shots.

“He’s shifty, he’s fast and I think our boys followed the game plan well,” Sergeant said. “We knew when he had the ball in his hands what we were supposed to be doing.”

Matthew Diggs had 12 points for Laguna Hills and made four of seven 3-point shots. Cyrus Yusuf added seven points with a team-high three steals.

Cary Moore led Ramona with 13 points and 15 rebounds.

The Hawks led by as many as 31 points in the fourth quarter and led for 28 minutes of the game.

Laguna Hills had 21 assists compared to 12 for Ramona.

Orange County Register

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Laguna Hills boys basketball sizzles in second half to win CIF-SS championship

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