Orange Lutheran boys basketball runs away with OrthoArizona bracket title at Section 7

Contributor
Lance Smith
Orange Lutheran boys basketball runs away with OrthoArizona bracket title at Section 7 image

Jay Biggerstaff/ Imagn

With its top players expected to return as seniors and juniors this winter, Orange Lutheran boys basketball already was clearly set for a big leap in 2025-26.

And then Section 7 happened.

OLu – or should we say OrthoLu – absolutely dominated the OrthoArizona bracket late in June for a division title at the prestigious Arizona tournament, warranting even more buzz heading into what could be one of its strongest seasons in a decade or more.

The Lancers faced arguably the next best team in the bracket in round one, Colorado powerhouse Ralston Valley (which went on to win the consolation bracket) and squeaked out a 53-49 victory. After that, it was domination. Orange Lutheran blew out Pine View (UT) 85-57 and Liberty (NV) 75-49 before taking down fellow Southern Section heavyweight Windward 56-43 in the finals.

The rest of the bracket included quite a few more big-name programs: Village Christian (CA), Edmonds Woodway (WA), Torrey Pines (CA), Notre Dame Prep (AZ), Legacy Christian (CA), Salpointe Catholic (AZ), San Ramon Valley (CA), Canyon View (AZ), Chaparral (AZ), and St. Monica (CA).

It was a great way to get going under new head coach Nate Klitzing, who built a young program up and won a CIF-SS title during his seven years at Crean Lutheran – which coincidentally also won its bracket at Section 7 under new head coach Austin Loeb, who was an assistant under Klitzing.

After an uncharacteristic 10-16 campaign in 2023-24, OLu moved in the right direction last season going 14-14 despite depending largely on underclassmen in what's probably the toughest conference in the country. Expected to return as seniors are all-league honorees Jonathan Dzabatou, a versatile 6-foot-8 forward, and point guard Ethan McCoy in addition to sweet-shooting guard Joe Pfeiffer. They are accompanied by another 6-8 forward in junior Benjamin Dzabatou and sophomore transfer Noah Zeola, who was already one of SoCal's top shooters as a freshman at Marina.

Orange Lutheran has the combination of continuity, size, and shooting to match up with the other SoCal powers. While the Trinity League grind won't get much easier in 2025-26, look for the Lancers improve on what's been a string of fifth-place finishes, make it back to the CIF-SS playoffs, and perhaps go on a run in the vicinity of Division 1.

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