SANTA ANA — Los Alamitos beat Edison on Friday night in a crucial Sunset League game for the Griffins.

Less than 24 hours after that game, they had to recharge their enthusiasm for a nonleague game in the Nike Extravaganza at Mater Dei on Saturday afternoon.

Los Alamitos did so and beat Foothill 68-62 in the battle of Orange County top 10 teams. Los Alamitos (16-8) is No. 4 in the county rankings that have Foothill (14-11) at No. 9.

Senior guard Liam Gray led the Griffins with 22 points. He was 5 for 7 on 3-point shots and had six rebounds and three steals.

Gray said he was not all that challenging to rev up for Saturday’s game.

“During the offseason we’re going at it every day, so we’re prepared for back-to-back games,” he said. “We treat every game like it’s a playoff game. We get ourselves into that mindset so that when the playoffs do come, we’re ready.”

Griffins senior guard Wes Trevino scored 14 points with four steals. Senior forward Trent Minter scored 13 points for Los Alamitos.

Foothill senior guard Lorenzo Turner scored 17 points. All of his field goals were 3-point shots.

Senior guard Kai Nixon scored 14 points with five assists for the Knights who also got 13 points from senior guard Blake Pearson and 12 points from Danny Kennard. Kennard, a 6-11 senior, had 10 rebounds of which five were offensive rebounds.

A Kennard basket tied the game 50-50 midway through the fourth quarter. Gray made a 3 to put the Griffins on top 53-50. Los Alamitos would maintain the lead from there.

Los Alamitos is known for its attack-the-ball style of defense. That was a factor Saturday. The Griffins forced 16 turnovers.

Both teams shot well on free throws. Los Alamitos made 17 of its 18 at the free-throw line where Foothill was 7 for 8.

Foothill was coming off of a tough 65-38 loss to rival Canyon on Thursday in the wildly competitive and balanced Crestview League, so the Knights also had to ignite their competitive fires for Saturday’s game. That they did, including outscoring Los Alamitos 21-13 in the third quarter to take a 48-47 edge into the fourth quarter.

The next game for Los Alamitos, which is 8-0 in the Sunset League after its 93-63 win over Edison on Friday, is a league game Tuesday at O.C. No. 18 Newport Harbor (15-9 overall, 3-5 league).

Foothill returns to Crestview League action Tuesday at O.C. No. 5 Crean Lutheran. Crean Lutheran is in first place with a 4-1 league record. Foothill is 1-4 in league.

No. 12 San Clemente 58, Damien 50: Christian Fernandez scored 27 points for the Tritons in their victory over the Spartans.

Fernandez, a 6-4 senior guard, was 12 for 21 from the field and 2 for 5 on 3-point tries.

San Clemente senior guard Porter Hansen scored 13 points including a deep shot-clock-beating 3 in the fourth quarter. Tritons 6-1 senior Chase Tolliver had a game 13 rebounds and scored nine points.

The Tritons, 19-5 overall and 4-1 in the South Coast League and No. 12 in the Orange County Top 25, play a South Coast League home game Wednesday against Dana Hills.

Village Christian 57, No. 16 Orange Lutheran 54: The Lancers trailed 30-10 in the second quarter, put together a comeback in the second half but fell short against the Crusaders.

Orange Lutheran outscored Village Christian 27-15 in the second half.

The Lancers (13-12) were led by 6-7 junior Jonathan Dzabatou’s 16 points and 10 rebounds. Orange Lutheran plays at Santa Margarita in a Trinity League game on Wednesday.

Sydney Natche scored 26 points for Village Christian (13-8) .

Dana Hills 43, Aliso Niguel 42: Beau Villar’s 17-foot jump shot with two seconds remaining in overtime got the Dolphins the win over the Wolverines in the first game of Saturday’s nine-game schedule.

Josh Harris led Dana Hills (9-15) with 11 points. Jedidiah Condie scored 10 points for the Dolphins.

Jay Keys and Jayden Mysin scored 10 points each for Aliso Niguel (18-7).

The Dolphins’ next game is at San Clemente on Wednesday in a South Coast League game.

Aliso Niguel plays at home against Mission Viejo on Monday in a Sea View League game. The Wolverines are in first place in the league with a 4-2 league record.