Garden Grove Tournament : Western Overcomes Its Mistakes to Win Title, 58-56

It sure wasn’t the prettiest of victories, but one that Western High School Coach Greg Hoffman will gladly take.

The Pioneers, on the strength of center Chris Bowen, edged Fullerton, 58-56, to win the 22nd Garden Grove basketball tournament Friday at Garden Grove High School.

“I’m very happy with my team’s play, “ Hoffman said. “This is my first tournament championship in five years here.”

The night didn’t start out well for either team, as Western (3-0) committed 22 first-half turnovers and Fullerton 17. The Pioneers led at halftime, 27-25.

Fullerton’s top player, center Alan Lewis, was held to nine shots in the game. He scored a team-high 14 points and had 13 rebounds, but got into foul trouble late in the third quarter.

Bowen, named tournament most valuable player, capitalized on the opportunity. Bowen scored 9 of his career-high 29 points in the fourth quarter.

The Indians closed to within 31-30 in the third quarter, but the Pioneers scored 9 of the next 11 points to take a 40-32 lead.

Western scored the winning points with a minute to play when Joe Romero hit a baseline lay-in to make it 57-49. Romero and teammate Bryan Baber scored nine points each.

Forward Pete Bach added 14 points for Fullerton (2-1).

In the third-place game:

Laguna Hills 78, Garden Grove 61--Laguna Hills (2-1) defeated the Argonauts to finish third in the tournament. Guard Chris Sheff had 17 points and forward Mike Smedes 14 for the Hawks, who led at halftime, 34-21. Garden Grove is 0-2.

In the consolation final:

Bolsa Grande 69, Loara 57--Joe Small had 26 points and 13 rebounds to lead Bolsa Grande at Garden Grove. The Matadores (2-1) led, 28-19, at halftime. Paul Plettinck had 16 points for Loara (0-2).