Sports

Basketball: Santa Margarita 53, Iolani 43

Joe Furstinger scores 18 and the Eagles ride a strong second half for a come-from-behind victory.

For the second consecutive holiday tournament, Santa Margarita Catholic has advanced to the championship game, doing so on Saturday in Hawaii with another victory in the Merv Lopes Hoops Classic. 

The Eagles held Honolulu Iolani to 14 points in the second half to score a 53-43 victory Saturday. Iolani was the No. 2 ranked team in Hawaii. 

SMCHS (10-2) will play eighth-ranked Honolulu Kamehameha on Monday for the championship. Santa Margarita is coming off a runner-up finish in its own tournament prior to Christmas. 

Joe Furstinger scored a game-high 18 points, and Brett Oosdyke added 11 for the Eagles, who overcame a 29-25 halftime deficit. They outscored Ioloani 11-6 in the third quarter and 17-8 in the fourth. 

The victory was the ninth in 10 games for Santa Margarita, which is ranked 10th in the Orange County Top 10. 


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