La Mirada Blog
Articles by Gabriel Duarte
Matadores storm back in comeback thriller
Battle for first place in Gateway League tonight in Downey
Calm, cool, and collected.
That 's how the La Mirada Matadores operate; as they defeated the Foothill Knights 53-50 in a comeback thriller at the MLK Dream Classic at St. John Bosco Monday night.
La Mirada started the night rough. They couldn’t get much going offensively and defensively they couldn’t stop Foothill’s bigs.
The Matadores (18-6), headed to the locker room down at halftime 30-21. However there was no yelling or screaming to motivate. Instead, La Mirada head basketball coach Randy Oronoz reiterated the team message of: don’t panic. (more)
Defense shines in Matadores’ third straight league victory
Lakewood~In their third straight game, the La Mirada Matadores Boys Basketball team held their opponent to under 50 points, as they defeated the Mayfair Monsoons at home 58-41.
The Matadores (16-6) controlled this one from start to finish as the Monsoons never led once. La Mirada started the game on a 13-2 run, with that culminating into a 16-point lead going into halftime. The rout was on in the second half as the Matadores led by 22 going into the 4th quarter, where the bench saw extensive action. (more)
Mats come up short in heartbreaking fashion
On Friday night, the La Mirada Matadores (13-6) lost 70-69 on a buzzer-beater to the Campbell Hall Vikings (10-5).
It was junior guard Baron Bellamy for the Vikings who made the put-back shot to help lead Campbell Hall to the silver division title at The Classic at Damien.
The Matadores played a little uncomfortably in the first half, being down by 10 at the half. They clawed and fought back into the game, eventually taking the lead with 11 seconds left in the game on a layup by Sophomore guard Julien Gomez. (more)
Matadores advance to second straight tournament final
Physical. That is the only word that can be used to describe the way the La Mirada Matadores’ play right now.
In a late Thursday night game at Bonita High School, The Matadores (13-5) defeated the St. Anthony Saints (8-6) 60-49.
This was the second matchup between the two schools, something rarely seen nowaday. “When you beat a team like St. Anthony twice, it is hard to do,” Coach Randy Oronoz of La Mirada said about playing teams twice. (more)
Matadores overcome slow first half, come alive in second
In the quarterfinal of the SIlver Division of The Classic At Damien tournament, the La Mirada Matadores (12-5) defeated the Orange Lutheran Lancers (8-4) by a score of 76-53.
An offensive explosion of 51 points in the second half propelled the Matadores to another victory as they had a tough time finding their rhythm, finishing the first half with only 25. (more)
Matadores too fast, too furious for the Dons
In dominating fashion, The La Mirada Matadores (10-5) bounced back and defeated the Cerritos Dons (2-11), 83-48.
The Matadores came out swinging offensively and laid down eight three’s in the first half alone, “When it goes in, we are a three-point shooting team, when it doesn’t go in it hurts us at times,” Coach Randy Oronoz of La Mirada put it.
Sophomore guard #3 Julien Gomez started the Matadores off with their first five points of the game. Gomez finished with 16 points in a complete performance. (more)
Swordsmen Outduel Matadores in Exciting Finish
In an exciting matchup between two of the best teams in the area, the St. Paul Swordsmen (8-2) defeated the La Mirada Matadores (9-5), 63-60.
La Mirada was riding high after a good performance at the St. John Bosco tournament last week, playing some good teams including the host in the finals. (more)