Galena boys hoops falls in overtime

Staff Reports

The Galena High boys basketball team may have let one slip away, but it was still an encouraging effort.

Galena lost 60-56 on Saturday at home against defending San Diego Section chamion La Jolla. The Grizzlies held a five-point lead with 40 seconds left, but couldn't hold on as La Jolla came back to force a 50-50 tie at the end of regulation to force overtime. La Jolla outscored Galena 10-6 overtime for the win.

"We should have won," Galena coach Tom Maurer said. "It was a good learning lesson four our kids against a very good team."

After La Jolla hit a shot to cut the lead to three, Galena committed a five-second violation on an inbounds play with 20 seconds left. A player who had never hit a three-pointer before then hit a trey for La Jolla to force overtime.

Galena's Aaron Anderson did an outstanding job on 6-5 blue chip player Grayson Moyer, who was averaging more than 25 points a game. Anderson held him in check before fouling out with three minutes left in regulation. Moyer didn't score in the first half and finished with 12 points.

Derek Lorenzen led a balanced attack for Galena with 24 points as the Grizzlies overcame a slow start in which they trailed 9-4 after one quarter. Ryan Bristol added 14 points. "I'm really happy with our offense," Maurer said. "We had very balanced scoring."

Maurer also praised post players Justin Houk, Bobby Contreras and Iain Hill for their work on the boards. "They didn't get a lot of second looks," said Maurer about La Jolla.

Galena, though, did hurt itself with turnovers. "If we eliminate turnovers we can beat anybody," Maurer said.

Maurer said the goal after tough tournaments in San Diego and Tucson was to become a "much better" team. "I think that we have achieved that goal," he said.