Laguna Blanca’s boys basketball team built a double-digit lead in the first quarter on Saturday and didn’t let up in a 57-44 Condor League victory over visiting Cate.
“I thought today was a balanced attack. We had four or five guys with over seven or eight points and we’ve been working on spreading the ball around,” said Owls junior Spenser Wyatt.
The Owls secured their first league championship since 2006 in the process.
“So that’s a huge accomplishment for us,” Wyatt said.
Andrew Vignolo led the Owls with 14 points. Wyatt added 12 and Stephen McCaffery 11.
Ryan Baird led Cate with a game-high 19 points. But only five of those came in the first half, when Laguna Blanca jumped out to a 19-7 lead after the first quarter. Laguna led 33-19 at halftime.
The Rams cut the lead to six early in fourth quarter before Laguna quickly pushed it back to double figures.
“Despite the scoreboard, the Rams fire on both ends of the court burned strong until the final buzzer blared,” reported Cate head coach Bryan Rodriguez. “While the Rams suffered a disappointing loss, the team had plenty of reasons to hold their heads up high after the game thanks to their spirited and determined second half performance.”
Despite having wrapped up the league title on Saturday afternoon, Laguna Blanca has two remaining regular season games next week before playoff pairings are released next Sunday. The Owls are ranked No. 5 in Division 6 and are on a roll with 10-straight victories.
“We need to win those two games to get a good seed so hopefully we can make a run deep into CIF,” Wyatt said.
LAGUNA BLANCA 57, CATE 44
C 7 12 11 14 – 44
LB 19 14 10 14 – 57Cate – Vasquez 11, Basar 3, Washington 2, Wilson 2, Hall 2, Whitman 5, Baird 19.
Laguna Blanca – Reyes 8, Kinsler 7, McCaffery 11, O’Donnell 2, Wyatt 12, Roddick 3, Vignolo 14.
