SOUTHERN SECTION BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : 4-A Division : Patience Pays Off for Muir in Beating Mission Viejo

When Muir High’s basketball team fell behind Mission Viejo for the first time Tuesday night, Mustang Coach Mike O’Connor expected the worst. Instead, he saw his team at its best.

“I could just see us cranking up bombs from the outside,” O’Connor said after Muir disposed of the Diablos, 69-58, in the Southern Section 4-A playoffs at El Toro High. “A couple of hurried shots here and there and we could have been down by five real quick.”

Instead, the third-seeded Mustangs (26-2) were patient, working the ball around Mission Viejo’s zone defense for high-percentage shots and hitting 9 of 12 free throws in the final quarter to earn a berth in the quarterfinals against San Gorgonio, a 71-65 winner over Inglewood.

Forced to play catch-up most of the night after falling behind, 6-0, Mission Viejo (21-7) grabbed its only lead with 6:40 remaining on a jumper by Scott Pederson. But that 51-50 advantage was lost when the Diablos committed turnovers on their next two possessions and their rebounding crumbled.

It was no secret what Mission Viejo had to do to get back in the game.

“Everybody to the boards,” Diablos Coach Bob Minier shouted during an injury timeout. “Wherever you are, go to the boards.”

Mission Viejo not only failed to hit the boards, it tried to pass the ball inside between Muir’s 6-8 forward Stacy Augmon and 6-7 center Wayne Womack. Following a turnover, Augmon scored on an offensive rebound to make it 58-53 and the game quickly became a free-throw shooting contest. And in that department, the Diablos also faltered. They missed three of four free throws midway through the period after making 12 of their first 14.