IRVINE — Northwood’s boys basketball team began the Pacific Coast League Tournament with a dominant 66-53 win over Laguna Beach on Thursday at Northwood High. The Timberwolves (13-9, 6-2) got out to an 18-point lead in the first quarter and never led by less than 11 points the rest of the game. Much like they did throughout the season, the Wolverines’ Logan Barbee and Justin Liu took control of the game.
Liu had a double-double with 19 points and 17 rebounds. Barbee had 11 points, nine assists and six rebounds. “It’s amazing playing with him,” Liu said of Barbee.
“He’s the best point guard in the league. He’s always finding me on cuts, no-look passes. It’s a luxury.
” Junior Sam Alegre was a big contributor for Northwood with a career-high 19 points. His previous career-high was during his freshman season when he scored 14 points against Bravo High. Northwood beat Laguna Beach 70-60 in the first meeting between the two teams on January 7.
Liu scored 32 points for the Timberwolves in that game which is the second most points he has scored in a game in his career. The Timberwolves got off to a fast start by scoring 24 points in the first quarter. Liu had 9 points and five rebounds in the frame and Alegre had eight points.
Northwood went on a 14-0 run and kept Laguna Beach (9-17, 2-5) off the scoreboard for five minutes. A big key to the early success for Northwood was its rebounding advantage. Northwood had 20 rebounds in the first half compared to 11 for L.