Los Alamitos completes perfect run through Sunset League boys basketball schedule

HUNTINGTON BEACH >> With the outright Sunset League championship already wrapped up, the only question left for the Los Alamitos boys basketball team was whether or not it could run the table.

Marina put up little resistance Thursday night in the final game of the regular season, as the Griffins rolled to a 77-55 road victory, putting the finishing touches on a 10-0 mark in Sunset League play for the second time in the last three years.

“We’ll take it,” Los Al coach Eddie Courtemarche said. “I’ve been pleased with the effort over the last few games. It’s nice to be able to cap off a nice season with the 10-0 record and letting all the seniors play.”

Two of those seniors, Eyassu Worku and Pepe Garcia, had stellar outings for the Griffins. Worku finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists while Garcia added 19 points and five rebounds.

Worku continued along his record-setting path. He needed 16 points coming into Thursday’s game against Marina (13-13, 2-8) to surpass Jason Cuingham as the Griffins’ single-season scoring leader. Worku’s point total this season stands at 658 and counting.

With the regular season in the books, Los Alamitos (23-4, 10-0) awaits its playoff fate and whether or not it will be selected to the 16-team CIF Southe Section Open Division bracket. The Open Division committee will meet Friday to select those 16 teams and the bracket is scheduled to be unveiled at 3 p.m.

“I don’t think there’s any team that scares us,” Courtemarche said of competing in the Open Division. “There are some very elite teams, and I don’t know if we’re in the same conversation as them, but we’ll compete with anybody.”

The Griffins’ 65-56 loss to Los Angeles Fairfax at last weekend’s Nike Extravaganza served as a good barometer against an Open Division-caliber team, and Courtemarche knows that experience will help his team if it is one of the 16 squads in the Open Division.

“We’ve had some very tough matchups during touaments or showcase games,” he said. “We know we can compete, and we just have to go and beat those teams.”

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