Whittier California Is Just Too Much for Tustin

In winning its first nine games this season, Tustin never looked particularly pretty or fluid, but found ways to win.

Saturday, the third-ranked Tillers were taken apart by Whittier California, 77-60, in the championship game of the Sonora Cage Classic.

Tustin (9-1) trailed at halftime, 33-28, but imploded because of hurried shots (18 of 55, 33%), being outrebounded (36-20) and the play of the Condors’ Joe Nichols and Roder Montenegro.

Nichols, the tournament MVP, had 17 points and eight rebounds. Montenegro had 23 points, including two crucial three-pointers in the fourth quarter. Montenegro was an all-tournament selection.

Carlos Lua led Sonora with 16 points and all-tournament selection Pete Johnston had 14.

“I think our guys were overconfident tonight,” Tustin Coach Andy Ground said. “California was able to pound us on the boards and we never had a [defensive] answer for their two guards Randy McKinney [12 points] and Montenegro, who just ran by us all night.

“But I also think we can learn a lot from this loss. And we were due for one. Sometimes you need a couple of early losses to know you’re not invincible.

Ground would like to stop losing the title game of this tournament. The Tillers have been in three championship finals and lost them all. The other two were won by Sonora.

This was the first entry into the Sonora tournament for California (7-2), which made 23 of 52 shots from the field. The difference, first-year California Coach Todd Morrison said, was his team’s ability to control the second half.

“It’s the one thing we’ve preached all year,” Morrison said. “If we can take over the second half, and play the good defense, the wins will take care of themselves. And we were able to do that this whole tournament.”