Men's basketball team drops two of three in Cypress tourney

Irvine Valley's men's basketball team had a tough weekend at the Don Johnson Tournament at Cypress.

The Lasers, who were ranked No. 14 in Southern California, dropped two of three games to see their record slip to 8-5 overall.

Irvine Valley lost its opener on Thursday to Glendale, 63-53.

Glendale put the game away in the first half, taking a 38-24, lead into halftime.

IVC shot just 35.7 percent (20 of 56) in the game as a team and were out-rebounded, 40-27.

Sophomore guard Daniel Hernandez led Irvine Valley with 18 points. Sophomore forward Jake Linsky was the only other Laser player in double figures with 10. He added seven rebounds. Freshman guard Kevin Olsen contributed seven points off the bench for Irvine Valley.

The Lasers bounced back with a 55-35 win over Cuyamaca on Friday. The 35 points was the least given up by IVC in a game this year.

Linsky finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals in the win. Sophomore forward Zane Paddon added nine points and six rebounds and sophomore guard Bekin Djokovic and freshman forward Cameron Griffin each had seven points. Griffin also ended with eight rebounds.

The victory put IVC in the consolation title game on Saturday.

But the Lasers fell, 82-70, to LA Harbor. Griffin led Irvine Valley with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Freshman guard Daniel Chatman contributed 10 points and Linsky had eight points for the Lasers.

LA Harbor shot 57.1 percent (32 of 56) from the field as a team in the game.

Irvine Valley will play in another tournament next week, traveling to Saddleback for the Bill Brummel Classic. IVC opens against defending state champion San Diego City on Thursday.