Paul George’s heave just late as Clippers lose to Nuggets in OT

• February 27, 2023

By CRAIG MEYER The Associated Press

DENVER — The Clippers’ Paul George nearly took down the first-place team in the Western Conference with an incredible shot at the end of regulation, but his long heave from just in front of the 3-point line in the backcourt came just after the buzzer.

MVP favorite Nikola Jokic had 40 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 134-124 overtime victory against the Clippers in a matchup of contenders on Sunday night.

It was the 23rd triple-double of the season for Jokic and his 14th in the past 19 games. Denver is undefeated this season when he has a triple-double.

“If you’re looking for a super athlete to win MVP, he’s not your candidate,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “If you’re looking for a great player that impacts winning in every possible way, whose team is in first place in the Western Conference, then he’s your man. Frankly, I don’t give a damn what people think. I know he’s the MVP and his teammates know that and all the fans here in Denver and back home in Serbia know that.”

Michael Porter Jr. had 29 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets. Jamal Murray added 21 points and 12 assists.

Kawhi Leonard had 33 points to pace the Clippers – two nights after scoring a season-high 44 in a double-overtime loss against Sacramento. George finished with 23 points.

One night after scoring a season-low 94 points in an 18-point loss at Memphis, the Nuggets shot 51% overall – including 63.2% on 2-pointers.

“When we get embarrassed, I think we do a really good job of showing up the next game,” Malone said. “One thing we’re always talking about is good teams don’t lose two games in a row. That’s something you strive for. Tonight, we were able to pull it out.”

Denver is 4-0 this season against the Clippers, with each victory coming by at least 10 points.

Denver led by 18 in the first quarter and had a nine-point advantage entering the fourth, but George’s three-point play gave the Clippers their first lead, 109-107, with 4:17 remaining.

With his team trailing 118-117, Porter drained a 3-pointer with 26.6 seconds left, but George sank two free throws on the ensuing possession and the game went to overtime tied at 120.

“I think we’re right there,” George said. “We’re right where we want to be. We’ve just got to continue to keep working. These late-game losses, we’ll turn these around and we’ll figure out how to win these tough ones.”

HOMECOMING FOR HYLAND

Bones Hyland, a Nuggets first-round draft pick in 2021, played in Denver for the first time since being traded to the Clippers on Feb. 9. He was booed for much of the night and finished with 10 points in 15 minutes.

Related Articles

“Just with how things were playing out, I probably knew a little bit,” Hyland said when asked if he was surprised to be traded. “I’ve got so much love for Denver. I thank them for taking a chance on a kid like me.”

Hyland averaged 10.9 points in 111 career games with Denver, the fewest played by a Nuggets first-round selection between 2006-21.

“Just because you got to play a lot last year because guys were injured doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s going to be a role for you to play a lot this year,” Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth said. “I think that was always going to be a point of friction for him and for the club.”

UP NEXT

The Clippers host Minnesota on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Kawhi finished with an efficient 33 PTS (12-of-19) to go with 6 boards for the @LAClippers pic.twitter.com/ClYV65h2GI

— NBA (@NBA) February 27, 2023

Nikola Jokic put up 40 PTS, 17 REB and 10 AST to record his 99th career triple-double and lead the @nuggets to the overtime win pic.twitter.com/g1i6bY98vb

— NBA (@NBA) February 27, 2023

​ Orange County Register 

Local boxers highlighted at Golden Gloves qualifier

• February 27, 2023

ALTADENA — A third-round standing eight count on Sunday night had all but guaranteed Terry Washington spot in the California Golden Gloves state tournament.

He won, but Washington, 18, is thinking further ahead than just eight seconds. The San Bernardino amateur boxer has big plans, just like many others at Sunday’s Golden Gloves Southern California qualifier finals at Alta Loma Park.

“I’ll be a world champion someday, that’s a promise,” Washington said. “This is officially my last year of amateurs, so I really want to be a Golden Gloves champion. And today I’m a Golden Gloves district champion.”

Washington is the No. 9-ranked amateur boxer nationally at 112 pounds after moving up from being the No. 1 boxer at 106 pounds, according to the USA Boxing rankings. He’s one of 103 amateurs between the ages of 18 and 40 who competed at the Golden Gloves qualifier, which spanned Thursday through Sunday with one day postponed due to stormy weather conditions.

The tournament featured both a novice division and open division (boxers with more than 10 bouts). Winners of their respective brackets move on to compete at the California Golden Gloves, which are slated for April 1-2 in Concord.

Daniel Mercado, who trains out of G2G Boxing Club in Pomona, punched his ticket to the state tournament in his first fight since summer. The 18-year-old recovered from a shoulder injury just in time for a two-month training camp in preparation for Golden Gloves.

Mercado previously was part of the 147-pound weight class, in which he was ranked No. 5 in the country. He’s moved up to 156 pounds, but is still hoping that winning the Golden Gloves state tournament puts him one step closer to the Olympics.

“That’s my goal and my only goal,” Mercado said. “And after that, straight to the pros.”

The additional 12 pounds didn’t make too much of a difference for Mercado, who was in the eighth bout of the night. His opponent slugged and clinched, forcing Mercado to rely on the experience he gained from sparring heavier boxers.

“When a fighter comes in and tangles up, I just have to step back and use my distance a little more,” Mercado said. “It’s not going to be the last guy I run into like this. I’m going to run into a lot more fighters like this.”

There were 23 bouts on Sunday, and roughly 20 on Thursday and Saturday as well. The three-round matches allowed for plenty of action every night in the 100th anniversary of the Golden Gloves.

Like the boxers, California Golden Gloves delegate and tournament organizer Fausto De La Torre has boxing goals. He’d like to see the Southern California tournament have even greater participation and be at bigger venues.

His goal is to someday use the Rose Bowl as a host site, but would love to see it reach the heights of Crypto.com Arena or SoFi Stadium. For comparison, New York’s Golden Gloves qualifier, the Ring Masters Championships, is held at Madison Square Garden.

“Take it to an iconic location. That’s what I want to do,” De La Torre, who competed in Golden Gloves as an amateur boxer, said. “I want to take Golden Gloves to the most beautiful and the best iconic arenas that California has to offer. I would love to just help the tournament grow.”

This year, the Loma Alta Park gymnasium was packed out on every night of the tournament. Extra chairs had to be brought in during Sunday night’s finals to accommodate for the growing crowd.

De La Torre also coaches boxing at Villa Park Boxing and loves it because of its character-building and the sense of self-accomplishment it gives. Golden Gloves gives athletes not just the chance to pursue their dreams, but also a platform for the aspects that De La Torre has a fondness for.

“I’m trying to be a positive role model for the kids, the youth, the adults,” Washington said. “Whenever anybody says anything about San Bernardino, it’s not always good. I’m trying to be that good thing.”

​ Orange County Register 

JSerra boys soccer wins Division 1 title with two goals seconds apart against Sunny Hills

• February 26, 2023

LONG BEACH — JSerra, the No.1-ranked team in the state and the No. 2-ranked team in the nation, played up to expectations in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship game Saturday at Veterans Stadium.

The top-seeded Lions scored two goals, both off set pieces within a 16-second stretch late in the first half, to come away with a 2-0 victory over No. 2 seed Sunny Hills in a contest that was delayed for 45 minutes due to lightning in the area.

JSerra’s set pieces have given been difficult to defend all season, in large part because of a pair of tall sophomores, Angel Reyes and Tanner Casey, who were the goal scorers for the Lions (18-1-1) against the previously unbeaten Lancers (21-1-3).

The first goal was scored immediately after play resumed following the long delay that occurred 30 minutes into the game.

“And I think that was to our advantage,” Lions forward Reagan Heslin said of the delay. “We all kept our heads straight. We were still focused on the job. We took advantage of something that isn’t usually common in the game and that is a big part of our culture. It’s bouncing back from adversity.”

Reyes scored the first goal of the game from inside the box off of a throw-in and seconds later Casey headed the ball into the goal off a corner kick from Nathan Aquino.

JSerra coach Erik Kirsch said last season’s loss to Servite on penalty kicks in the Division 1 final galvanized this year’s team and served as motivation throughout the season.

“Culture is everything to me,” Kirsch said. “You saw them when they came out for the announcements, they were linked up. That is the fiber that has been created by this culture.”

Related Articles

Because of the long delay, halftime lasted five minutes instead of 10.

Heading into the match, JSerra had scored a total of 15 goals through three playoff games compared to three for Sunny Hills.

“Defensively we knew it was going to be a challenge to defend those set plays because they are so big and tall and they make great runs into the box,” Sunny Hills coach Mike Schade said. “We were a little too nervous and conservative in the first half and that has a lot to do with how good they are.”

​ Orange County Register 

Boys and girls soccer: Scores from Saturday’s CIF-SS finals

• February 26, 2023

Scores from the CIF Southern Section boys and girls soccer championship games Saturday.

CIF-SS SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIPS

Saturday

BOYS SOCCER

Division 1

JSerra 2, Sunny Hills 0

Division 2

San Clemente 2, Long Beach Poly 0

Division 5

Palm Desert 3, Animo Leadership 1

Division 6

Victor Valley at San Gorgonio, ppd. Monday, 5 p.m.

Division 7

St. Genevieve 3, Oxford Academy 1

GIRLS SOCCER

DIVISION 1

Santa Margarita 0, Los Alamitos 0 (Santa Margarita wins on PKs, 2-1)

Division 3

Moorpark 2, Marina 1 (OT)

Division 4

Western Christian 2, El Rancho 1

Division 5

Crean Lutheran 1, Hemet 0

​ Orange County Register 

Fountain Valley wrestler TJ McDonnell wins state title; Marina girls team finishes No. 1 at state meet

• February 26, 2023

Marina’s girls wrestling team and Fountain Valley senior TJ McDonnell were among Orange County’s big winners at the CIF State Championships for boys and girls wrestling Saturday in Bakersfield.

McDonnell was champion at 182 pounds in the boys competition. He is the first individual champion in Fountain Valley’s history.

Two weeks ago McDonnell won his third CIF Southern Section championship.

El Dorado junior Isaiah Quintero, a state champion last season, advanced to the boys final at 120 pounds Saturday but was defeated, 1-0.

The Marina girls team won the state title with 114 points as Walnut finished second with 88 points.

Three seniors for Marina’s girls won individual championships: Carissa Qureshi (126 pounds), Saiheron Preciado-Meza (189) and Destiny Marquez (235).

Newport Harbor junior Duda Rodrigues won by decision in the 150-pound final.

Lilyana Balderas of Anaheim was second at 121 pounds.

Cypress senior Vida Beckel lost in the final in the 160-pound division.

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

Tesoro basketball wins battle with Orange Lutheran to become CIF-SS Division 2AA champs

• February 26, 2023

HUNTINGTON BEACH — Tesoro’s boys basketball team put forth a dominant defensive effort in a 54-35 win over Orange Lutheran in the CIF-SS Division 2AA championship game Saturday at Edison High.

It is the first CIF boys basketball championship for Tesoro since 2009, when current assistant coach Chris Manresa was the team’s captain.

“I just love this group. It sounds so corny but these kids love each other and are committed to each other,” Tesoro coach Steve Garrett said. “Just exceptional kids and they’ve played together since they were in third, fourth and fifth grade.”

Tesoro (29-4) held Orange Lutheran (20-11) to a season-low 35 points, beating the previous mark of 47 points. The Titans held the Lancers to just 25.5 percent shooting Saturday and allowed only 10 points in the second half on 13 percent shooting.

“Their defense was just locked in together,” Garrett said. “Early on we were getting killed on the boards. We told the guys to keep scrapping and gang rebound. Staying connected with our defensive principles.”

Tesoro guard Carson Brown made a strong case for Orange County player of the year with his performance on both sides of the ball. Brown had a game-high 26 points and scored 16 of the team’s first 21 points.

“Coming into the game we thought they were a really big team and knowing in the second half that we could compete with them really got our confidence going,” Brown said. “We hit a few shots and they missed a few and we went on a run from there.”

Tesoro took the lead late in the third quarter and dominated the rest of the game. Nathan Draper made a bank shot at the third quarter buzzer to give Tesoro a 37-33 lead.

After a layup by Orange Lutheran sophomore John Gazzaniga, the Titans went on a 17-0 run to finish the game. Jake Bennett made a corner 3-pointer and on the ensuing possession Carter Johnson got a steal and layup to prompt an Orange Lutheran timeout.

“We had a stretch this season where that kid (Johnson) didn’t play six games but he just kept hanging in there and was a big factor,” Garrett said. “Carson got us settled in and the other guys, when they started double-teaming Carson, they started stepping up in the second half.”

Bennett had 13 points and eight rebounds against Orange Lutheran’s big front court.

Related Articles

Despite being the smaller team, Tesoro had the edge over Orange Lutheran in rebounds, points in the paint and second-chance points.

Cannon Potter led Orange Lutheran with 16 points and no other Lancers player scored in double-figures. Gazzaniga led the defense with five blocks.

Orange Lutheran was the third-place representative from the Trinity League after tying with Santa Margarita and JSerra in the league standings.

The Lancers beat Aliso Niguel, Edison, Rancho Cucamonga and top-seeded Oxnard to reach the championship game.

​ Orange County Register 

Santa Margarita girls soccer edges Los Alamitos in penalty kicks to claim CIF-SS Division 1 crown

• February 26, 2023

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

LONG BEACH — Santa Margarita and Los Alamitos dueled for 80 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of sudden-death overtime without netting a goal Saturday night in the rain and cold with the CIF-SS Division 1 girls soccer championship at stake.

Scoring didn’t get much easier in the penalty kicks but the Eagles found the winning combination to rekindle their champion ways.

Freshman goalie Peyton Trayer made three saves in penalty kicks and senior Angelina Moschetti and junior Molly MacMillan scored goals as the Eagles won the shootout 2-1 after playing to a scoreless draw at Veterans Stadium.

“It’s surreal,” said the Colorado-bound Moschetti, one of the team’s captains. “It’s very emotional. This team has worked since summer — blood, sweat and tears — for this. We’ve been talking about it since Day 1.

“We could not have done it without our coaches, without God, and honestly, it’s the best feeling.”

It was Eagles’ first section title since 2016 and came in the first season under Craig Bull, a coach from the powerhouse Slammers club.

Seeded second in the 16-team tournament, Santa Margarita (19-2-1) shed four consecutive losses in the second round of the playoffs to win its eighth title in school history. The Eagles edged a Los Alamitos team (18-7-5) that had won two shootouts to reach the final.

“(It’s) everything about the girls,” Bull said. “I knew the girls had the talent to win a CIF title but it takes more than talent to win these tournaments. The grit and determination, togetherness, the sisterhood — everything they’ve done to pull together — they absolutely deserve to win this.”

Santa Margarita took a 2-1 lead after the third set of penalty kicks. Trayer and Los Alamitos freshman goalie Avarie Gonzalez — teammates on the Slammers — each made saves in the fourth round before Trayer dove to her right to make the championship-clinching block in the first attempt of the fifth round.

“In the moment, you read the player, you have to be big, be loud and get in their head,” Trayer said of her strategy in penalty kicks.

Related Articles

Both teams had scoring chances in regulation. Gonzalez scrambled out from her goal to stop a shot by Santa Margarita freshman forward Jastel David early in the opening half. Los Alamitos defender Victoria Bloch narrowly missed a header on a cross.

The Griffins nearly scored early in the second half but were called offside. Los Alamitos sophomore Viviana Zacarias later blasted a free kick from outside the box that Trayer leaped to knock over the crossbar. “I don’t think any team deserved to lose that game but someone has to win it,” Bull said. “We’re fortunate we have the goalie we do.”

​ Orange County Register 

Fryer: Championship Saturday proved again that basketball is a team sport

• February 26, 2023

Carson Brown played great for Tesoro’s boys basketball team on CIF Southern Section Championship Saturday.

Zack Davidson was outstanding, too, for Mater Deo.

Sage Hill’s Carter Bryant had another exceptional game.

Tesoro senior Jake Bennett’s play and postgame comments provided a reminder about what it takes to win a CIF basketball championship.

“It’s a team sport,” Bennett said.

Brown scored 27 points, half of his team’s total, in the Titans’ 54-35 win over Orange Lutheran in the CIF-SS Division 2AA championship game Saturday night at Edison High.

Bennett scored 13 points with eight rebounds.

Nathan Draper gave his team an emotional lift by making a buzzer-beating bank shot at the end of the third quarter, and he made a crucial 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. Draper also had seven rebounds and Blake Manning had four assists.

Mater Dei forward Zack Davidson, left, gets around Etiwanda Jedidiah Wilfred to score a basket in the CIF-SS Division 1 basketball championship in Anaheim on Saturday, February 25, 2023. (Photo by Paul Rodriguez, Contributing Photographer)

Davidson scored 27 points with 11 rebounds to lead the Monarchs to a 66-53 win over Etiwanda in the Division 1 final at Honda Center. The Monarchs don’t win that game without their two freshmen, Luke Barnett and Brannon Martinsen, doing their part. Barnett scored 12 points and Martinsen scored nine points with five rebounds.

Bryant did what was expected of him. He scored 22 points with 16 rebounds and four steals.

He needed more support, though, and Sage Hill could not match Long Beach Jordan’s offensive versatility, and the Lightning lost 68-57 in the Division 4A final.

Jordan had three players score 14 or more points.

Sage Hill’s Carter Bryant shoots the ball against Long Beach Jordan in the CIF-SS Division 4A boys basketball championship game at Edison High School in Huntington Beach on Saturday, February 25, 2023. Long Beach Jordan won the game 68-57. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Bryant, Brown and Davidson played like the All-Orange County first-team selections. Brown and Davidson improved their candidacies for Orange County player of the year. Those two and Canyon sophomore Brandon Benjamin are the three finalists for the honor.

All have been great players this season. As great as they have been, Saturday proved again that, like Bennett said, basketball is and always will be a team game.

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register