Basketball

The Boys? Basketball League at the Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach is back. Since the original Boys Club of Laguna Beach opened on Main Beach in 1952, basketball and other sports leagues have played a pivotal part in providing local youth a safe place to get together and have fun under the guidance and supervision of caring professionals. Registration for the Boys Basketball League begins Monday and is open to players in grades K through eighth. Registration ends Sept. 30. Registration can be taken in person at the Main Branch, 1085 Laguna Canyon Road.

The Laguna Beach Breakers completed a 10-0 regular season to become the Division 3 champion in the South Coast National Junior Basketball League. During their 10-game win streak, the Breakers had a 29-point margin of victory. They next will compete at the Division 3 NJB Championship Series against teams from other NJB chapters. The Laguna Beach Breakers are led by Coach Kent Sveningson and assistants Chris Thurin and Kirk Langton. The team is: John Langton, Lance Stewart, Julien Thurin, Russell Thomas, James Langton, Cole Paxson, Brett Sveningson, Mathew Hayes and Zane Herr.

The Nuggets, Tartans and Kings each posted victories in the second week of action in the City of Laguna Beach's sponsored Junior Basketball League at Laguna Beach High. With the victories, the three teams improved to 2-0. Nuggets 45, Artists 37 Daniel Morrison topped his league-leading 35.7 points per game average with a 36-point effort to lead the Nuggets. Morrison connected on 14, two-point baskets, one three-point basket and went five for five from the free throw line.

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.

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.

Bret Fleming saw his Laguna Beach High boys' basketball team go through a learning and growing process the first month of the season. The Breakers won 11 of their first 17 games, although Fleming would like to have a placed a few more of those outcomes in the win column. His squad ended the nonleague portion of their schedule Saturday at the Estancia Coast Christmas Classic, and came up with a third-place finish. Laguna concluded the tournament with an impressive, 67-60 victory over Corona in the third-place game.

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.

The 2006-07 prep basketball season opened this week for the girls' and boys' basketball teams at Laguna Beach High. The Breakers girls have a new head coach in Keith Clarkson and return just one starter from last year. On the boys' court, Bret Fleming welcomes back several returners who could help lead Laguna to a big season. Both teams will play for the first time this year in the Orange Coast League with league games beginning in January. A capsule look at the 2006-07 Breakers: GIRLS   Head coach: Keith Clarkson (1st)

A halftime challenge led to a second-half explosion Tuesday by the Laguna Beach High boys' basketball team in its Orange Coast League encounter with visiting Costa Mesa. Breakers Coach Bret Fleming said he didn't yell at his players, who started out lethargic and went on to trail the Mustangs, 28-22, at the half. Instead, Fleming simply laid out his challenge. "They were waiting for someone to step up and I just told them, that it was up to them to do it," he said. "I thought we came out real tentative and weren't aggressive on offense or defense.

Tryouts for Laguna Beach's National Junior Basketball All-Net boys' and girls' teams will be held Sunday at Laguna Beach High's Dugger Gymnasium. The tryouts are open to boys and girls in third through eighth grade, and Sunday's tryout will be held for players currently in sixth through eighth grade. Sunday's tryout will run between 6-7 p.m., in the gym. To be eligible, a player must be a resident of Laguna Beach and attend a public or private school.