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IRVINE — Northwood’s boys basketball team began the Pacific Coast League Tournament with a dominant 66-53 win over Laguna Beach on Thursday at Northwood High. The Timberwolves (13-9, 6-2) got out to an 18-point lead in the first quarter and never led by less than 11 points the rest of the game. Much like they did throughout the season, the Wolverines’ Logan Barbee and Justin Liu took control of the game.
Liu had a double-double with 19 points and 17 rebounds. Barbee had 11 points, nine assists and six rebounds. “It’s amazing playing with him,” Liu said of Barbee.
“He’s the best point guard in the league. He’s always finding me on cuts, no-look passes. It’s a luxury.
” Junior Sam Alegre was a big contributor for Northwood with a career-high 19 points. His previous career-high was during his freshman season when he scored 14 points against Bravo High. Northwood beat Laguna Beach 70-60 in the first meeting between the two teams on January 7.
Liu scored 32 points for the Timberwolves in that game which is the second most points he has scored in a game in his career. The Timberwolves got off to a fast start by scoring 24 points in the first quarter. Liu had 9 points and five rebounds in the frame and Alegre had eight points.
Northwood went on a 14-0 run and kept Laguna Beach (9-17, 2-5) off the scoreboard for five minutes. A big key to the early success for Northwood was its rebounding advantage. Northwood had 20 rebounds in the first half compared to 11 for Laguna Beach and outrebounded the Breakers 37-21 for the game.
“It’s a point of emphasis in practice to box out and hold our opponents to one shot per possession,” Northwood coach Anthony De La Cruz said. Laguna Beach was able to cut the lead to 11 points in the fourth quarter. The Breakers forced 11 turnovers from Northwood in the second and third quarters.
Brody Azadian led Laguna Beach with 15 points and eight rebounds. Ryan Cheng scored 14 points and Damian Reider added 12. Northwood didn’t attempt a ton of 3-point shots but when it did, the shots were falling.
The Timberwolves made 6-of-11 3-pointers. Adrian Elemento had nine points on three 3-pointers and Dane Mortensen made a pair of threes. The Timberwolves are the No.
3 seed in the tournament and will play No. 2 seed Sage Hill on the road in the semifinals Monday. Northwood lost to Sage Hill 53-43 on Jan.
10. “I love this setup because you have a chance to win the league no matter where you’re seeded. It’s a creative way to make sure everything matters,” De La Cruz said.
“Everyone is good and playing at a high level.” Sage Hill beat Portola 62-55 in its first-round matchup Thursday. Laguna Beach will play Portola on Monday in the consolation side of the tournament.
Also in the Pacific Coast League Tournament: Irvine 74, St. Margaret’s 42: Cooper Stearns had 23 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists for Irvine in a rout of St. Margaret’s at Irvine High.
Jalen Tim scored 13 points for Irvine (24-2, 8-0) and Taewon Kim added 12 points with five rebounds. Irvine will host Woodbridge in the semifinals Monday. Woodbridge beat University 70-55 in the tournament’s first round Thursday.
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