Basketball

'Gallery' opening was a hot social event The one-night-only opening of "The Dolphin Gallery" at Top of the World Elementary School was a success. On Feb. 10, more than 330 Laguna Beach families attended Arts Night at the school, which transformed the school's multipurpose room into a makeshift art gallery with visual arts pieces shown off by every student in the school. There was also live entertainment provided by students, a potluck dessert and crafts tables for younger kids to make art projects.

Tryouts for youngsters interested in playing basketball for Laguna Beach's All-Net National Junior Basketball teams will be held at Laguna Beach High's Dugger Gym the first two Sundays in October. The All-Net teams are open to boys and girls in third through eighth grade. The first tryout session, slated for Oct. 6, will run between 6-7 p.m., for boys and girls in third through fifth grade. On Sunday, Oct. 13, the second tryout will run between 6-7 p.m. for boys and girls in sixth through eighth grade.

Laguna High boys', girls' teams look strong as they cruise to easy league victories.The Laguna Beach High boys' basketball team worked its way back into the win column Wednesday when it routed host Beckman, 57-23, in Pacific Coast League action. The Breakers controlled the game early and improved to 2-5 in league. Both victories have come at the expense of Beckman. The entire Laguna lineup got into the scoring act, paced by 22 points by Cheyne Martin. Ryan Lawler scored nine points and had six rebounds, and Jeff Clark and Bobby Monroe each scored seven points.

GIRLS Head Coach: Jon Hendrickson (2nd year, 13-14) Staff: Sean Mehegan, Ana Lopez Last year?s record: 13-14 League record/finish: 6-3/second 2008 CIF results: Reached second round of Division V playoffs. Program tidbits: Breakers beat Orange Coast League champion Costa Mesa by one point on their home floor and went on to win a first-round home CIF playoff game. Returning starters: Emily Writer, Soph. G/F, second-team all-league; Sam Garner, Soph.

Twelve games into the 2012-13 season, and Laguna Beach High boys' basketball coach Bret Fleming says he's still mystified by his team. The Breakers have won seven of those 12 outings and most recently wrapped play Saturday at the Irvine World News/Gary Raya Classic. They started off dubiously at the tournament, losing consecutive games to Woodbridge (52-42) and Tesoro (60-52). They regrouped to defeat Esperanza (70-58) and Edison (60-54) in succession, but in the fifth-place game Saturday, lost, 54-45, to Northwood.

The resolve and fortitude displayed by the Laguna Beach High girls' basketball team last year, could pay dividends for the Breakers in the upcoming 2012-13 season. Last winter, the Breakers went through an 0-18 season. Seven players from that team return and second-year head coach Mark Lewis welcomes the return of one player from the 2010-11 season, plus eight freshman, to this year's squad. The Breakers get their first court experience together next week, when they go up against Crean Lutheran of Irvine in a 7 p.m. home scrimmage Thursday . The schedule also has the Breakers playing in holiday tournaments at Oxford Academy and Desert Christian.

Thirteen turned out to be a lucky number for the Laguna Beach High girls' basketball team. The Breakers played their first game of the New Year on Tuesday and earned their 13th victory by handling visiting Saddleback, 61-12, in an Orange Coast League opener for both teams at Dugger Gym. Jackie Cenan led the scoring with 30 points and Mandi Wisbaum hit three, three-pointers and finished with 21 points. Alexandra Lewis and Francesca Cecutti led the Breakers, who improved to 13-1 overall, in defensive rebounding.

Mike Sciacca The 2004-05 boys' and girls' prep basketball season is in full swing, as the Laguna Beach programs are completing their second full week of practice in preparation to the start of nonleague and tournament play, which gets underway Monday. Below is a capsule look at Laguna's girls' and boys' varsity basketball teams: Girls' Basketball 2004-05 Head coach: Stacy Howard Year at school: 4th League: Pacific Coast 2003-04 record: 11-12 overall League standing: 5-5; third 2004 CIF results: Lost first-round Division IVAA to Palos Verdes, 54-52.

Mike Sciacca After suffering a tough loss to Northwood High on the opening night of the Pacific Coast League boys' basketball race on Jan. 7, Laguna Beach responded by winning its next two games. The Breakers won at Calvary Chapel, 67-59, then won on the road at Tesoro, 62-48. The two wins put Laguna Beach at 2-1 in league play heading into this week's league clashes with University Wednesday and today at Corona del Mar. The Breakers trailed most of the way against Calvary Chapel but outscored the host Eagles, 22-7, in the fourth quarter.

Jake Dalke and Cole Kesler will step onto the court one final time Saturday as high school teammates. The two seniors, key players in the Laguna Beach boys' basketball program, are among 15 players who make up the South roster for the 2013 Orange Coast Optimist Orange County North/South High School Basketball Games. The All-Star games, for senior players, will be played for the 48th time. The girls' game starts at 5 p.m., followed by the boys' game at 7 p.m., both at Concordia University in Irvine.

Cole Kesler might have played his final game for the Laguna Beach boys' basketball team last month but on Monday , the senior landed a coveted spot on the All CIF-Southern Section Division 4AA Basketball Team. Kesler, a guard, was one of the main forces behind Laguna's drive to the 2013 Orange Coast League basketball title. He averaged 13.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, four assists and two steals per game, and made 52 three-point shots. Laguna Coach Bret Fleming said Kesler, who also had been named MVP of the OCL, is one of "23 different players" from Laguna, to land Southern Section honors.

The Laguna Beach High boys' basketball team ventured to Studio City Feb. 14 to take on host Harvard-Westlake in a second-round game of the CIF Southern Section Division 4A playoffs. The No. 9-seeded Breakers received a big scoring night from junior guard Alec Wulff but fell behind early and lost a key starter in senior Jake Dalke in the third quarter. The combination resulted in a 73-60 loss to the No. 8 Wolverines. Wulff sank a career-high seven three-pointers and scored a career-best 29 points for the Orange Coast League champs who end their year 22-7.

Last time at this year, the Laguna Beach girls' basketball team was putting away its gear following a tough, winless season. What a turnaround the program has seen in 12 months. This week, the Breakers were tuning up their gear, their game, in anticipation of their opening game in the CIF Southern Section Division 4-A playoffs at Brentwood. The score from Thursday's first-round game wasn't available at press time. The winner of Thursday's game advances to a 7 p.m. second-round game Saturday.

LAGUNA BEACH - It isn't often that a team gets to clear its bench during the CIF Southern Section boys' basketball playoffs. That is exactly what was afforded the Laguna Beach Breakers Wednesday during their first-round game against Salesian of Los Angeles in the Division 4-AA playoffs. The Breakers led throughout the night and cruised to a 66-33 victory over the visiting Mustangs at Dugger Gym. The win, the 12th straight for Laguna, puts the No. 9-seeded Breakers into Friday's second round.

Now, Bret Fleming will call his Laguna Beach High boys' basketball team league champions. The longtime Laguna head coach watched his players snip away at the netting on one of the hoops at Dugger Gym Thursday night, moments after the Breakers had turned senior night into a big night for the program. A smile of contentment crossed Fleming's face as the last of the nylon netting was sliced away. Laguna sewed up an undefeated run through Orange Coast League play and in the process, won their seventh consecutive championship after running away from visiting Costa Mesa, 62-33.

A top-three finish in the Orange Coast League girls' basketball standings will be on the line Friday for the Laguna Beach Breakers. Laguna and Costa Mesa are both tied for third place in the standings and will break that deadlock when they clash at 6 p.m. at Saddleback High. The Mustangs set up the game by handing the host Breakers a 36-31 defeat Wednesday at Dugger Gym. The win allowed Costa Mesa to climb into a tie for third with Laguna. Both teams finished 6-4 in league play.

Things pretty much went the way the Laguna Beach High boys' basketball team had wanted them to go Wednesday at Saddleback. That outcome, sets up a bigger things on Friday. The Breakers began to dictate the Orange Coast League game midway in the opening quarter, took a commanding halftime lead, and went on to take a 61-26 victory from the Roadrunners. Laguna held a 34-11 halftime advantage in improving its league-leading record to 7-0. The Breakers, ranked No. 11 in CIF Southern Section Division 4-AA, are 18-6 overall.