Orange County scores and player stats for Wednesday, Dec. 18

• December 19, 2024

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Scores and stats from Orange County games on Wednesday, Dec. 18

Click here for details about sending your team’s scores and stats to the Register.

The deadline for submitting information is 10:45 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 p.m. Saturday

WEDNESDAY’S SCORES

BOYS BASKETBALL

NONLEAGUE

Tarkanian Classic-Las Vegas, NV

Crean Lutheran 69, Couer d’Alene/ID 64

GIRLS BASKETBALL

NONLEAGUE

Nike Tournament of Champions- Phoeniz, AZ 

Mater Dei 59, Christ the King/NY 49

Bishop McNamara/MD 70, Sage Hill 44

Hamilton/AZ 53, Villa Park 37

Highland/AZ 58, Huntington Beach 34

BOYS SOCCER

NONLEAGUE

Rancho Alamitos 1, Orange 1

Western 3, Loara 1

Esperanza 0, Katella 0

Garden Grove 3, El Modena 1

Santa Margarita 3, Mission Viejo 1

GIRLS SOCCER

NONLEAGUE

Santa Ana Valley 2, Santa Ana 1

GIRLS WATER POLO

NONLEAGUE

Valencia 9, Estancia 1

La Mirada 12, Kennedy 7

​ Orange County Register 

James Harden giving Clippers big minutes, steady leadership

• December 19, 2024

INGLEWOOD — His brilliantly colored shoes dazzle us. His local charity work touches us. His grooming products consume us. Yet, through all of James Harden’s off-court endeavors, his dynamic basketball skills continue to wow NBA fans.

At 35, Harden isn’t slowing down. Not in business or basketball. Not in his work with overlooked communities or line of beard kits and certainly not in leading the Clippers this season.

With six-time All-Star Kawhi Leonard sidelined with lingering knee issues and nine-time All-Star Paul George gone to the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency, Harden has stepped up as the team’s leader this season. Not only does the former league MVP run the floor, partner with center Ivica Zubac in pick-and-rolls, and ensure balanced passing among the other starters, he is averaging 22.1 points and 8.3 assists in nearly 34 minutes per game this season.

“I make sure I communicate, but not overcommunicate and not overdo it,” said Harden, who re-signed with the team this summer on a two-year, $70 million deal. “When I see opportunities to voice my opinion and lead by example, I will.”

Coach Tyronn Lue said Harden has not only carried the team but made “guys better.”

“He’s scoring the basketball when we need him to, but just all around, he has been doing a great job for us,” Lue said of a player who has led the league in scoring three times. “We need every bit of it.”

Harden put on a vintage display against the Utah Jazz on Monday night, scoring 41 points and handing out six assists while wearing the latest version of his signature Adidas Volume 9 shoes – an eye-catching shiny chrome beauty. It was his second 40-point game this season, having scored 43 against the Washington Wizards last month.

The future Hall of Famer said that his consistently high-level play, especially after 16 years in the league, comes down to balance and doing the right thing every day, not his shoes.

“You take care of your body, you do the things that’s necessary to be out there to play at a high level, whether it’s treatment, weightlifting, then you still got to go out there and do things on the court to make sure your skill set set is where it needs to be,” he said.

“Then you got games, you got practice, you got family time, then you got the business time. So, it’s the balance of what’s important and things like that.”

The 10-time All-Star soon won’t have to do all of the heavy lifting on the court. Leonard participated in his first 5-on-5 full contact practice Wednesday and will accompany the team when the Clippers (15-12) travel to Dallas (17-9) for two games starting Thursday. He has not played in a game since last spring’s first-round playoff series against the Mavericks.

Leonard will not play on this trip, but his return is another indication he is progressing toward a return to the lineup. Lue told reporters that the two-time NBA Finals MVP is “getting more excited” at the prospect of playing again.

“He’s inching his way back towards the court and is taking his time whenever he’s ready,” Harden said. “We’re ready for him.”

Harden began preparing the Clippers during the summer for a season without Leonard, who had an offseason knee procedure that caused lingering inflammation. The veteran guard assumed the leadership role during training camp by working out alongside the other players and organizing a team-bonding softball game.

“During the summer he was working out with the young guys,” Clippers guard Norman Powell said on Draymond Green’s podcast. “We’re doing deep test conditioning. Running up and down the floor, and he’s right along with them. … I think that builds trust, that builds chemistry. Like if James is in here doing this then I have too as well.”

Harden, who continues to climb the NBA’s career lists for scoring (17th through Tuesday), assists (14th) and 3-pointers (2nd), has transferred his leadership role to games as he often pulls aside younger players on the court to share tips borne of experience.

Before the season, Lue called Harden a great leader on and off the floor. “He was in the same situation a lot of times in Houston, so he’s up for a challenge,” Lue said.

Maybe too much. Lue said he constantly reminds Harden that he’s not a young player anymore.

“When you’re playing 35, 36 minutes a night, you got to, as you get older … tailor it back a little bit,” Lue said. “Don’t overwork yourself because it’s a lot of games, a lot of minutes.”

The heavy minutes might be to blame for his career-low 39.1% shooting from the field and 35.3% from 3-point range. He also is turning the ball over 4.5 times per game, prompting Lue to talk to Harden about his shot selection.

“If he has a bad shooting night, the next night he’s probably going to come back and play well,” Lue said. “That’s what good players do. They bounce back. We’ve asked him to do a lot. He’s carried a load offensively, making the right passes, reads and also scoring the basketball. And at 35 years old, that can get tiring. So, we are asking a lot of him.”

CLIPPERS AT MAVERICKS

When: Thursday, 5:30 p.m. PT

Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas

TV/radio: FDSNSC/570 AM

​ Orange County Register 

Woman killed in La Palma when suspect crashes into her car during pursuit, Fullerton police say

• December 19, 2024

A woman was killed in La Palma Wednesday, Dec. 18 following a police pursuit that ended when the fleeing car crashed into the uninvolved woman’s BMW, Fullerton police said in a written statement.

At around 12:45 p.m., a Fullerton Police Department detective saw a man committing a theft at a business in the area of N. Gilbert Street and W. Malvern Avenue. He then fled the scene in a white Nissan Rogue, according to the statement.

Officers attempted to stop the SUV, but the suspect, later identified as Anthony Hanzal, 43, of Anaheim, fled again, and a pursuit ensued.

Hanzal’s SUV was involved in a non-injury hit-and-run near Brookhurst Road and Orangethorpe Avenue, but he continued onto the 91 freeway, police said. Fullerton officers lost sight of the suspect vehicle when it exited at Knott Avenue.

Buena Park officers briefly located the vehicle, but lost sight of it as well. La Palma officers picked up the pursuit near La Palma Avenue and Walker Street.

The pursuit ended when Hanzal’s vehicle crashed into an uninvolved blue BMW in the area of La Palma Ave. and Moody Street, police said. The BMW’s driver, a woman in her 60s, sustained serious injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the statement.

Hanzal was taken to a local hospital for injuries sustained in the collision and will be booked on various charges at Fullerton City Jail, including petty theft, hit-and-run, and felony evading, police said.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the fatal collision, which could result in additional charges.

​ Orange County Register 

Rams QB Matthew Stafford preparing for another round with Aaron Rodgers

• December 19, 2024

LOS ANGELES — A Hail Mary that left the Detroit Lions stunned. A fourth-quarter comeback that came up a touchdown short. Trading touchdowns until a failed two-point conversion ended the Lions’ two-decade-long road losing streak to the Green Bay Packers.

Quarterbacks Matthew Stafford and Aaron Rodgers will face each other again on Sunday when the Rams (8-6) travel east to face the New York Jets (4-10). It will be the 18th meeting between the two, who played for NFC North rivals Detroit and Green Bay, respectively, for much of their careers.

Asked to pick any games that stand out between the two in the series, which Rodgers leads 13-4, none came to mind immediately for Stafford.

“I’ve had too many to even think about, to be honest with you,” Stafford said. “It’s always a good battle.”

Entering this weekend, the two quarterbacks are facing different circumstances.

Rodgers, 41, was traded to the Jets prior to the 2023 season with Super Bowl expectations. But a torn Achilles suffered in Week 1 ended that campaign, and the aftereffects have lingered into 2024. Just now in December is he starting to regain some of the mobility and effectiveness that have defined his career.

But it’s come too late to save the Jets’ season, or the jobs of the head coach, offensive coordinator and general manager who helped orchestrate Rodgers’ arrival in the Tri-State Area.

On the other hand, Stafford, 36, has led the Rams to three straight wins and a 7-2 record since the bye, putting them in position to win the NFC West for the first time since 2021.

“I’m just excited to go out there and play,” Stafford said. “Obviously meaningful football in the month of December is an awesome thing to be a part of. We’ve earned that and we’ve got to continue to earn that opportunity to play games that matter. This just happens to be the next one on the list. Obviously have a ton of respect for Aaron and competed against him a bunch of times in my career. He’s a helluva player and does a great job.”

Whether or not this is the last meeting between Stafford and Rodgers remains to be seen. The latter spent most of his press conference on Wednesday fielding questions about whether or not he would retire after this disappointing Jets season.

Regardless, the two former Super Bowl winners figure to be tied together as players who helped define their generation of quarterbacks.

“The essence of playing quarterback involves so many different things, but you talk about changing arm slots, creating off-schedule, understanding of what are the defensive structures and how do you move and manipulate defenders,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “Both of those guys have been doing those types of things at a really high clip. … It’s two greats, two guys that I look at as Hall of Famers.”

NOTES

Rams cornerback Cobie Durant (lung contusion) was medically cleared to return to practice and was a limited participant on Wednesday. McVay said Monday that the starting corner was on track to return against the Jets after a one-game absence.

​ Orange County Register 

Lakers’ ‘low man’ comes into focus for improved defense

• December 19, 2024

EL SEGUNDO — When it comes to the Lakers’ defense and their improvement on that end of the court, multiple people within the organization point to a responsibility that can be in the hands of several players on any given possession.

“The low man and the low-man presence and the high-shift presence that we talked about all season, that, to me, is what’s probably improved the most,” Lakers head coach JJ Redick said after the team’s practice on Wednesday. “Our low man is consistently in there.”

The low man – the defender closest to the rim on the weak side of the floor – is usually responsible for providing the first wave of help defense when the opposing team’s offense either penetrates the defense or appears to be about to.

The Lakers have been getting better performances from the players in this position more often, helping them to their best defensive stretch of the season so far.

Statistically, the Lakers’ three best defensive performances have come in their last three games: the 107-98 home win against Portland on Dec. 8; the 97-87 road loss to Minnesota on Dec. 13 and Sunday’s 116-110 home win against Memphis.

The Lakers’ defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) in those games, according to Cleaning The Glass:

• Portland: 100;

• Minnesota: 99 (season-best mark);

• Memphis: 100.9.

The Lakers didn’t record a single-game defensive rating below 105 this season, according to Cleaning The Glass, until the victory over the Trail Blazers.

“We’re just covering for each other,” All-Star big man Anthony Davis said. “We [weren’t] having a lot of that. A guy gets beat, it wasn’t a guy there to protect him. We’ve got some practice time to kind of take care of that. And it’s shown and translated onto the court.”

The Lakers’ defense will be tested when they travel to Sacramento to play the Kings at Golden 1 Center on Thursday night and again Saturday afternoon.

In addition to Davis not switching on to perimeter players as often defensively and playing in coverage more frequently, the Lakers’ improved presence from their low man has led to better rim protection.

The Lakers allowed opponents to shoot just 50% within six feet of the rim when a defender is nearby in their last three games, the league’s best defensive mark in that small-sample size, after allowing 66% shooting on these shots (ranked No. 24) over their first 24 games.

“That’s what we do in the practice, literally, [work on] our low man, help defense and all that,” forward Rui Hachimura said. “We have [the] potential to be a good defense team. Low man’s going to be really important, especially with me. I’ve been in a lot of low man side, so I’m more like watching film with the coaches, and then trying to make sure I’m in the right position.”

BRONNY TO SHOWCASE

Bronny James, the Lakers’ second-round pick from this past June’s NBA draft, will play in the G League Winter Showcase in Orlando, Florida.

James, the 20-year-old son of Lakers star LeBron James, has been back and forth between the Lakers and the organization’s G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, as a rookie.

He’s averaged 14.4 points (37.7% shooting), 2.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists in five games with South Bay.

His best performances have come in the last 1½ weeks after returning from a bruised left heel injury that sidelined him for three weeks: 16 points (6-of-15 shooting) and four rebounds in a victory over the San Diego Clippers on Dec. 7; 30 points (13-of-23 shooting) in a loss to the Valley Suns last Thursday; 16 points (6-of-20 shooting) in another loss to the Suns on Friday.

“Where I’ve seen, on court in the G League, I think some decision-making with the basketball, being on ball and making good decisions both as a scorer and as a playmaker,” Redick said of Bronny. “Continuing to see the flashes defensively of what we’re really excited about. What we’ve stressed with him throughout the summer, preseason, early season was getting himself into elite shape so that he could be a high-level impact player on the defensive end. He has the heel injury and has to lose some of that momentum. We’re excited about what he’s done over the last two games and looking forward to see what he does in the lineup.”

The annual G League showcase, which was previously in Las Vegas before moving to Florida, runs from Thursday-Sunday.

“I’ve told him this, he’s got to get to the point where it’s OK to fail,” Redick said of Bronny. “I think he has a real reservation to fail. A lot of that is he’s had a camera on him since when he was 8 years old. I can’t imagine Knox and Kai (Redick’s sons) having cameras at their rec league games.

“I think once he develops that, he’s gonna take off, like literally take off. He will do anything he asks to do, he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. It’s just really part of player development, not just the physical skills and the physical development, but it’s the mental development as well.”

LAKERS AT KINGS

When: Thursday, 7 p.m.

Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento

TV/radio: Spectrum SportsNet, 710 AM

​ Orange County Register 

Fullerton hires former Sunny Hills coach Pete Karavedas as its new football coach

• December 19, 2024

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A strong desire to coach and several factors aligning at Fullerton High has Pete Karavedas headed back to the football field.

Fullerton principal Jon Caffrey announced Wednesday that his school has selected Karavedas as its new football head coach.

Karavedas coached Sunny Hills to the CIF-SS Division 8 championship in 2019 and was The Register’s O.C. coach of the year that fall.

After the 2021 campaign, he resigned after seven seasons to pursue opportunities in school administration.

“I got the itch and couldn’t stay away (from coaching),” said Karavedas, who has been serving as an assistant principal at Sunny Hills. “I realized I have a lot more in the tank to give.”

“You get the itch but it has to be the right situation,” he added. “It’s exciting.”

At Fullerton, Karavedas, 40, will reunite with Caffrey, who served as his athletic director at Sunny Hills.

Caffrey also hired Karavedas as his defensive coordinator at Whittier Christian when he was the coach and athletic director at the school.

“We’re thrilled to get him,” said Caffrey, in his first year as the Fullerton principal.

Karavedas said the presence of Caffrey helps make the position at Fullerton intriguing.

“Great school and great community and great leadership,” he said.

Last season, Fullerton finished 0-10 for its first winless campaign since beginning football in 1915.

In November, Richard Salazar resigned after seven seasons as the team’s coach.

Karavedas will transition back to teaching at Fullerton. He said his father Nick, one of his assistants at Sunny Hills, will be part of his staff in some capacity.

Karavedas posted a 51-28 record at Sunny Hills.

One bright spot last season for Fullerton was the performance of its teams on the lower levels. The freshman team went 10-0 and the JV posted a 8-2 record.

“We spent a long time attracting kids back to Fullerton,” Salazar said. “It showed at the lower level.”

Fullerton will remain next season in the Lambda League with Sunny Hills, Beckman, Marina, Kennedy and Valencia.

Please send football news to Dan Albano at [email protected] or @ocvarsityguy 

​ Orange County Register 

USC lands speedy New Mexico running back Eli Sanders in transfer portal

• December 19, 2024

LOS ANGELES — He hadn’t been home for a week, the campus invites flooding Eli Sanders’ phone as soon as his name dropped in the transfer portal.

First he hopped on a plane to East Lansing, and Michigan State, the very Monday and Tuesday the portal opened. Then came a trip westward, to Arizona, the following Wednesday and Thursday. Friday yo-yoed him back east to Arkansas. Saturday and Sunday was Virginia Tech. All of these programs pitching themselves, across the country, to one of the most productive backs in the portal, the 5-foot-11 Sanders coming off a season in which he rushed for 1,063 yards and nine touchdowns for New Mexico.

And then, on Sunday night, Sanders returned to his hotel in Virginia and checked his phone. There, waiting, was a text from USC running backs coach Anthony Jones. They got on a brief call, Jones inviting the Oceanside native to Southern California for one final visit.

It was over in a matter of days, from there, Jones visiting campus across Monday and Tuesday and officially committing to USC on Wednesday.

“Growing up a USC fan, definitely always wanted to play there, always wanted to at least attend school there,” Sanders, who went to high school in Arizona, told the Southern California News Group on Wednesday. “So, you know, having that opportunity was a dream. And once I got the opportunity, I couldn’t pass it up.”

It’s a much-needed import for USC, after a brutal couple of weeks of departures via the portal. Last week, in a shocking move, standout sophomore back Quinten Joyner transferred, leaving the program barren in the backfield coming off a 6-6 regular season.

“I know this isn’t the message y’all were expecting or hoping for, and it honestly wasn’t what I thought I’d be writing as we looked to next season either,” Joyner wrote on Twitter on Dec. 14, in a message to USC’s fan base announcing his departure.

With starting back Woody Marks heading to the NFL and Joyner gone, USC desperately needed transfer portal help at running back, sending a slew of offers to portal options. And Sanders brings intriguing upside with true game-changing speed, a back who averaged 7.2 yards per carry in a breakout 2024 season.

“I feel like I can take the top off the defense with my speed,” Sanders said, asked how he felt he could fit into head coach Lincoln Riley’s offense at USC. “Fitting in with their run schemes, and their offense, how they get the back into space, just felt like the right fit.”

Sanders spent three years at Iowa State before transferring to New Mexico, producing one of the more quietly underrated seasons of any running back across the country in 2024. He broke out, in particular, across his final four games; the highlight was a 16-carry, 173-yard performance in a victory over San Diego State, a defense that held – held is relative – Boise State Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty to 149 yards on 31 carries.

It’s unclear if Sanders will be an immediate bell-cow in USC’s offense, and he could well end up playing a complementary role next to current true freshman Bryan Jackson, who will have his own audition for USC’s RB1 job in 2025 in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 27. But Sanders repeatedly referenced the opportunity to “compete” in USC’s room as a large factor in his decision, a back who projects as a large part of Coach Lincoln Riley’s plans in 2025 in any capacity.

“I think everybody’s dream is to be the starting running back for USC. So that’s what I’m trying to go in there to do.”

​ Orange County Register 

Anaheim man convicted of killing partner in Garden Grove following multi-day meth binge

• December 19, 2024

An Anaheim man who shot his sexual partner in the face at a Garden Grove home and then led police on a high-speed pursuit in a rented U-Haul pickup in Riverside County was convicted Wednesday, Dec. 18, of second-degree murder.

An Orange County Superior Court jury deliberated for several hours before finding Ali Samoodi, 53, guilty of shooting 57-year-old Dave Abbott during the early morning hours of May 7, 2022, following a multi-day methamphetamine and sex binge in a room Abbott was renting at a home in the 5300 block of Santa Barbara Avenue.

Deputy District Attorney Harris Siddiq told jurors during the trial that a delusional Samoodi was driven by “guns, drugs and paranoia,” which the prosecutor referred to as a “recipe for disaster, and in this case it was a recipe for murder.”

Samoodi’s attorney, Ed Welbourn, alleged during the trial that Abbott had raped Samoodi prior to the shooting. The defense attorney accused investigators of jumping to conclusions and failing to look into the possible sexual assault.

The prosecutor at the outset of the trial told jurors that Samoodi had been acting erratically for days prior to the shooting, at one point forcing his mother to call 911 after he pointed a gun at imaginary people at his Anaheim home. But the mother refused to testify during the trial, leading to her being held in contempt and fined.

In an encounter with one of Abbott’s roommates, Samoodi said he was upset that Abbott owed him money for drugs, according to testimony. But that same roommate also testified that she had seen what Abbott told her was a water bottle with GHB — also known as the date rape drug — inside of it prior to the shooting.

Moments before the shooting, that roommate described hearing Samoodi yell something to the effect of “No, no stop raping me!” or “You’re not going to rape me anymore!”

After hearing the gunshot, the roommate said she and her boyfriend grabbed their dogs and ran outside the home. But when she ran back in to grab another roommate’s dog, the woman recalled encountering Samoodi leaving the residence with a gun in his hand.

The roommate said she begged for her life, while Samoodi told her to get out of the way. The roommate testified that she didn’t think Samoodi was exactly pointing a gun at her, but was instead motioning at her with it.

Samoodi drove off in a U-Haul pickup he had rented. Officers quickly tracked the vehicle to Menifee, kicking off a 26-mile high-speed chase on and off freeways in which Samoodi reached speeds of up to 80 mph before being taken into custody.

Five days after the shooting, Abbott died from his injuries.

While the jurors found Samoodi guilty of second-degree murder for the killing of Abbott, they acquitted him of an assault charged tied to his encounter immediately following the shooting with Abbott’s roommate.

Samoodi is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on Feb. 28.

​ Orange County Register