Capo Valley Wins in Overtime : But Game Would Be Better on Playground

It would be nice to take the Estancia and Capistrano Valley high school basketball teams to Fountain Valley’s Mile Square Park one Saturday morning, throw the ball up and watch them play.

A game on the outdoor, cement court--away from the pressures of the playoffs and a huge crowd--would probably be more entertaining than what transpired Tuesday night when Capistrano Valley beat the Eagles, 60-54, in overtime in the second round of the Southern Section 4-A playoffs at Mission Viejo High.

In a pickup game, there would be no coaches or players screaming at officials, as there was Tuesday night when it seemed every call was hotly contested. Play wouldn’t be as sloppy, as it was Tuesday night when the teams combined for 25 turnovers and threw away opportunities to win the game in regulation.

And there certainly would be a lot more points scored by two of Orange County’s finest, fast-breaking, public school basketball teams.

It would be pure basketball, but it wasn’t that way Tuesday night when neither the Eagles nor the Cougars seemed to get into the flow.

But what the teams lacked in aesthetics, they more than made up for in excitement, as the overflow crowd of 1,800 hung on every jump shot and every free throw.

Fortunately for Capistrano Valley Coach Mark Thornton, his Cougars appeared a little more relaxed and played better than the Eagles did during the crucial moments.

Capistrano Valley’s Gregg Bujnovsky and Shawn Reed combined for 11 of the Cougars’ 12 points in overtime to key Capistrano Valley’s victory, which earned them a spot in Friday’s quarterfinals where the Cougars (22-5) will play top-seeded Glendale at a neutral site to be determined.

Bujnovsky hit two jumpers early in overtime to give the Cougars a 52-48 lead, and Reed followed with a three-point play and two free throws for a 57-50 lead with 38 seconds remaining.

It was Reed’s three-point play that had Estancia Coach Joe Reid completely miffed. Eagle forward Scott Clements was called for a block on the basket, but Reid thought it should have been a charge and no basket.

“The refs were calling charge on that play all night,” he said. “Scott gets in perfect position, and they call him for the foul.”

Instead of trailing by two points and receiving the ball, the Eagles were down 55-50 with 1:01 left. Todd Mooney missed a jumper on the other end, and when the Eagles were forced to foul, the Cougars made five of six free throws to seal the victory.

Both Lukes and Bujnovsky each had 14 points for the Cougars. Adam Lockwood had 17 points for Estancia, which finished the season at 25-4.

The Cougars had an excellent chance to win the game in regulation, when Nathan Call found John Davey, fresh up from the junior varsity team, alone under the basket with eight seconds left. But Call’s pass went off Davey’s hands and out of bounds, which gave Estancia a shot at the win.

The Eagles got the ball in to Lockwood, but his long pass went over Mooney’s head and out of play with five seconds left. Bujnovsky missed an open 20-footer at the buzzer, but he redeemed himself in overtime.

“We go to him when we want to score,” Thornton said of Bujnovsky. “We knew they would pack in their zone, and they let up on Gregg. That was a mistake.”

Estancia never got its fast break going and had little success inside against the Cougars. The Eagles also missed several layups and shot 32% from the floor for three quarters, before finally catching fire in the fourth.

Estancia, which had trailed by as many as nine points in the third quarter, rallied behind the play of Lockwood (seven points) and Richie Stamps (four points) to take leads twice in the final period.

The Eagles, ahead 46-44, were stalling with about a minute left when Call made a steal and broke for a layup to tie the game. Call made another steal, which led to Reid Luke’s two free throws and a 48-46 lead. Lockwood sent the game into overtime with a pair of foul shots with 48 seconds to play.

“Everyone seemed tight, but we made a run in the end,” Lockwood said. “That was how we usually play. I don’t think we played real bad, but they played better. The crowd was really loud and right on the court.