RICH TOLEDO (20) of Los Amigos goes up for a shot as Santiago’s Ivan Carabarin (15) and Diego Bracamonte (14) defend. Santiago won 54-45 to get a tie for the Garden Grove League boys basketball championship on Thursday night at the Cavalier gym (Orange County Tribune photo by Jim Tortolano).

By Jim Tortolano/Orange County Tribune.

It was one of those games that old-times sports writers would call a “barn-burner.” Important game, venue filled with a standing-room only crowd, back-and-forth play  …
When it was all over, Santiago High’s boys basketball team defeated Los Amigos High 54-45 Thursday night at the Cavalier gymnasium.

With the win, the Cavs tied with the Lobos for the Garden Grove League champion, both finishing with 8-2 league records.“I think everybody wrote us off,” said Santiago coach Matt Moorhouse. “But I kept saying, there’s still one more game at Santiago.”
Indeed, Los Amigos got the inside track to the GGL title with a 57-52 win on Jan. 19. But an opportunity opened up when Rancho Alamitos upset the Lobos 60-59 on Jan. 24

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The Cavaliers jumped out to an early 17-4 lead, but the Lobos chipped away at that and were down by just one point – 39-38 – with five minutes to go in the game. The teams traded baskets but the purple and white made a few more free throws in a very physical game down the stretch and pulled away to the win.
When the buzzer sounded, the home team fans – hundreds of them –spilled onto the court and there was much hugging and cheering. “I think we have the best fans in the district,” said Moorehouse. “For basketball, at least.”
And a pretty good basketball team, too.

Top scorer in the game for Santiago (now 15-13 overall) was Jacob Buboi with 28 points, including four three-pointers. Joseph Pham had 11 points, including shooting eight for 10 at the free throw line.
For Los Amigos (18-8), the leading scorers were Mekhi Belote with 17 points and Rich Toledo added 10.