SC 54  Tesoro 47
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​The Tritons lost by 1 to Tesoro in the first round of league and things were not looking good early in the second game, played at Tesoro.  Tesoro jumped to an early 17-4 first quarter lead, and was up 30-16 at half.  But playing without their leading scorer, Jacob Nemeth, who was sidelined with an injury, the Tritons came out in the second half with a swarming defense and clawed their way back into the game.  After cutting the lead to 11 by the end of the third, the Tritons took over in the fourth and outscored Tesoro 24-6 in route to a key 54-47 victory.  While still down by 2 late in the fourth, Anthony Smetona hit a huge three-pointer from the corner that gave the Tritons a lead that they would not relinquish.  Mario Medrano found his way the basket and got fouled for a few huge “and-ones” that cut into the lead.  Chris Kane got fouled shooting a 3 and calmly knocked down his free-throws to cut into the lead.  Luke Powell came off the bench and hit a huge 3 to cut into the lead.  Jay Baggs’ pressure defense helped keep the Titons to only 6 points in the fourth.  Max Marshall and Josh Walker fought minor foul trouble but managed to stay in the game and controlled the inside against Tesoro’s bigs.  Nick Martino and Zeeshan Ihani had key buckets, rebounds and defense.  The bench kept the team in the game and never gave up.  In other words, in a total team effort, the Tritons staged and epic comeback to move to 3-2 in league, with 3 to play.  The final scoring statistics are believed to include Smetona with 15; Kane 11; Marshall 8 and Medrano 8; Powell 5; Ihani 4; Walker, Martino and Baggs 2.  The tritons play at Trabuco on Wednesday, and have Aliso Niguel at home on Friday for Senior Night. 

​San Clemente 56
El Toro 44

San Clemente JV Tritons hosted the El Toro Chargers Monday night in another league match-up. The old saying goes: "Offense wins games.  Defense wins championships."  Bad things tend to happen when you don't play defense.  It looked like it was going to be another frustrating night for the Tritons as El Toro powered their way to a first quarter lead over San Clemente 17-15.  For once, the Tritons managed to stay out of foul trouble, took it to the rim against the Chargers and found themselves with multiple trips to the free throw line.  Andrew Herbert, usually a rainmaker from outside, proved he was just as effective in the paint. Enough moments of defensive clarity allowed the Tritons to cage the Chargers for the remainder of game giving San Clemente the win over El Toro with a 56-44 final.  Herbert, with only 1 three point shot, was still the leading scorer with 30 points.  Micah Regalado stepped in and stepped up for 8.  Other scoring was provided by Gerkin (6), Sherrell (4), Cuevas (4), Rex (2) and Ashe (2).

San Clemente 59
Aliso Niguel 65

San Clemente JV went to visit the Aliso Niguel Wolverines on Wednesday night.  From the opening tip the Wolverines made it clear that they were amped up and ready to give the Tritons some trouble.  Like kids after a little too much sugar, Aliso swarmed San Clemente, running up and down the court, forcing turnovers and beating the Tritons on the boards.  After being down 6 after the first quarter, the Tritons were down 27-19 at the half.  Things didn't look much better after the third quarter with the Tritons down 41-31.  San Clemente's pride kicked in during the fourth quarter and the Tritons managed to cut the lead to 2 down 49-47 with only seconds to go in regulation.  After a timeout and with the ball San Clemente had a chance to tie the game and send it into overtime.  A shot to tie the game bricked off the rim but Ethan Sherrell was there with the put-back to tie the game at the buzzer.  The elation was temporary however as Aliso opened up a lead and San Clemente gave up 11 points from the foul line.  The Tritons drop their second league game 65-59.  Andrew Herbert led the scoring with 20.  Ethan Sherrell dropped 17 and was the only other Triton in double figures.  Other scoring was provided by Regalado (7), Herrod (6), Harris (3), Monshietehadi (2), Gerkin (2), Tomlinson (2).

SC Tritions 68
Aliso Niguel 57

Tritons came out strong Wednesday night againt Aliso Viejo leading 19-16 at end of the first quarter and 37-31 at halftime as Kyle Srokas first half buzzer beater banked in for 6-point halftime lead.   Tritons never trailed and finished strong hitting their free throws down the stretch.  Tritons were led by Cade Dewey with 21 points. 

Cade Dewey 21, Trey Torticill 13, Ben Hegewald 10, Kyle Sroka 10, Kai Oshiro 5, Will King 4, Brennen Garff 4

The SC Sophomore lost their first two league games to Tesoro and Trabuco Hills

Tesoro 54 San Clemente 31

Tritons struggles to score and hurt the cause with large amount of turnovers. Tough way to start league. Kyle Sroka led the way with 13. 

Kyle Sroka 13, Ben Hegewald 4, Cade Dewey 3, Kai Oshiro 3, Jake Gelaty 2,Connor Hirou 2, Logan Sambrano 2, Brennen Garff 2


Trabuco Hills 49 San Clemente 42

Tritons started strong and gained a ten point lead at half time.  In the 2nd half, Tritons struggled in the second half with five points in the third  and 8 points in the 4th.   
Tritons led by Trey Torticill with 12.

Trey Torticill 12, Kyle Sroka 11, Cade Dewey 8, Brennen Garff 4, Ben Hegewld 3, Logan Sambrano 2, Enrique Oviedo 2

San Clemente 52
Trabuco Hills 42

The Tritons JV returned to the court on Friday night in another league game against the visiting Trabuco Hills Mustangs.  The Tritons were trying to bounce back from a tough loss earlier in the week.  With a return to defense and a more balanced scoring attack, including a stellar game from Berk Harris who torched the twine from beyond the arc, San Clemente appeared to be closer to regaining their pre-season form. The game was close until the Tritons finally broke it open in the fourth quarter.  Tritons get the win over Trabuco Hills 52-42.  Berk Harris led the scoring with 17 followed by Andrew Herbert (13).  Other offensive contributors included Herrod (8), Sherrell (5), Tomlinson (5), Gerkin (2), Cuevas (2).

SC 55  Trabuco Hills 42
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​After a 1-point loss to Tesoro in the South Coast League opener, the Tritons bounced back with a convincing 55-42 win over Trabuco Hills, the 6th ranked team in Orange County.  Solid team play allowed San Clemente to withstand a barrage of 3’s from Trabuco in the 3rdquarter, to pull away in the fourth for the win, and even their league record at 1-1.  Jacob Nemeth was held scoreless in the first half, but led the scoring with 18 points in the second.  Rebound machines Chris Kane (11 rebounds, 5 points) and Jay Baggs (10 rebounds, 4 points) helped San Clemente dominate the boards, where they had a 34-13 advantage.  Josh Walker and Max Marshall also controlled the inside, and contributed 7 points each, while Anthony Smetona (8 points), and Nick Martino (4 points) hit clutch 3-pointers and Mario Medrano’s ball handling and 2 points helped put pressure on the Mustangs. 

SC 60  Dana Hills 42
​A balanced offensive effort and stout zone defense helped the Triton varsity team beat rival Dana Hills 60-42 at Dana.  A boisterous home student section couldn’t slow the Tritons, who pulled away from the Dolphins starting in the second quarter and never looked back, taking a 10 point lead into halftime.  Dana’s slow-tempo offense did not result in many good shots as a result of San Clemente’s smothering defense.  Despite the slow pace of play by Dana, San Clemente still managed to score 60, and the entire roster got minutes.  Scoring came from throughout the lineup, including 11 from Jay Baggs, Jacob Nemeth 10, Josh Walker 9, Max Marshall 7, Nick Martino and Anthony Smetona 5, Chris Kane and Mario Medrano 4 and Jordan Slaton with 3, including a nice put-back while getting hammered under the basket. 

SC Triton 68
Troy 38

The sophomore Triton basketball team played great defense trouncing Troy, High School from Fullerton 68 to 38.  Coach Eric used his entire bench in the first quarter as the sophomores rolled.

Hegewald 17, Torticill 11, Oviedo 9, Anawalt 8, Dewey 6, Sambrano 6, Hirou 4, Garff 4, King 2, Sroka 2

 Dana Hills 53
San Clemente 39

With no player in double figures, a cold shooting Triton sophomore team lost to rival Dana Hills 53 to 39.  Trey Torticill led the sophomores with 9 points.

San Clemente 64
Dana Hills 49

The Dana Hills Dolphins tried to swim with the San Clemente Tritons JV squad on Thursday night but it didn't turn out well.  With a couple of high minute players riding the proverbial pine, the Tritons had more than enough in reserve to tame the Dolphins.  San Clemente took the lead early and never looked back.  Up 20-13 after the first quarter and 35-20 at half time, even after granting Dana 16 trips to the charity stripe in the second half alone, the Tritons still managed to ride the Dolphins to a 64-49 victory.  Ethan Sherrell lead all scorers with 22.  Berk Harris (12) and Gavin Cuevas (11) were the other Tritons in double figures.  Other offensive contributions were provided by Monshietehadi (6), Gerkin (6), Hamro (3), Herrod (2) and Tomlinson (2).