Katella’s Winning Streak Reaches 14

Katella ran its unbeaten streak to 14 with a 56-44 victory over Western in a nonleague boys’ basketball game Friday at Western.

The Knights, ranked sixth in the county, have won tournaments at Bolsa Grande, La Quinta and Katella during the December stretch, but have yet to face a top-10 team.

They’ll get their first real test against seventh-ranked Canyon on Tuesday, then Katella will begin play in the competitive Empire League on Friday.

Western (4-9) did its best to stay with the Knights, but second-half turnovers were its downfall. The Pioneers trailed, 18-8, early in the second quarter, then went on a 10-2 run that pulled them within two with two minutes left in the first half.

Western stayed within three points early in the third quarter on Robert Turner’s strong drive and layup. However, the Pioneers turned the ball over on four of their next five possessions, enabling Katella to extend its lead to 35-25 on Robert Abercrombie’s jump shot.

It was the only field goal in eight second-half attempts for Abercrombie, the Knights’ leading scorer who finished with 10 points on five-of-20 shooting from the field.

The Knights received offensive support from Brandon Jordan, who scored 13 points, including 11 in the second half. Matt Tisthammer also had a strong second half, scoring all seven of his points, and center Don Carey contributed 10 points, most on second-chance opportunities under the basket.

Tisthammer’s three-point play with 38 seconds remaining in the third quarter gave Katella its biggest lead, 44-28.

The Pioneers made one last run late in the game and pulled within six on Turner’s three-pointer that just beat the shot clock and capped a 7-0 run with 1:45 remaining.

Western had two chances to get closer, but missed both attempts and Ryan Luther’s three-pointer with 16 seconds remaining put Katella back up by 10.

Western was led by guard Jahan Rana, who scored 13 points, seven coming in the opening quarter. Turner scored seven points in the fourth quarter and finished with 12 points for the Pioneers.