ORANGE COUNTY PREP BASKETBALL : South Coast League : El Toro’s 65-57 Win Over Mission Viejo Clinches Playoff Spot

El Toro High School’s running game was reduced to a walk in the first half but the Chargers picked up the pace in the second half to gain a 65-57 victory over Mission Viejo Friday night in front of a standing-room-only crowd of 1,100 in Mission Viejo’s gymnasium.

The victory kept the Chargers on pace with Capistrano Valley for first place in the South Coast League with 6-2 records. It also clinched a playoff berth for El Toro, with only home games remaining against Dana Hills and Irvine next week.

“We’ve got the playoff spot clinched; now we want the league title,” El Toro Coach Tim Travers said.

The Chargers also are trying to end eight years of domination by Mission Viejo and Capistrano Valley in the South Coast League. The teams have won or shared the league title for eight consecutive years.

The Chargers figure their time has come. That was the case in the second half as they got their fastbreak rolling, scoring 41 points in 16 minutes.

Guard Mack Powell got the Chargers off to a great start in the third quarter, scoring three consecutive baskets to push El Toro ahead, 33-27. The Chargers had trailed at halftime, 25-24, with Mission Viejo controlling the tempo.

“We talked about getting the pace back to the way we like to play at halftime,” Travers said. “We only scored 24 points in the first half, and that’s not our style. Forty-one points in the second half is more our style.”

It’s more like point guard Bret Johnson’s style too. The junior struggled through three quarters but exploded in the final quarter. He orchestrated two fastbreaks that led to three-point plays for Powell, giving El Toro a 51-43 lead.

Johnson made three consecutive free throws with 2:31 remaining after a technical foul against Mission Viejo’s Lance Elmore that put El Toro further ahead, 56-47. He scored 9 of his 17 points in the last quarter.

“Bret Johnson called a great game in the second half,” Travers said. “What can I say? The kid is a winner who knows what it takes to win.”

El Toro clinched the victory by making 14 of 16 free throws in the final period, including 11 consecutive attempts down the stretch when Mission Viejo tried to foul its way back into the game.

“There’s no doubt that once they got their fast break going, they took control of the game,” Mission Viejo Coach Bob Minier said. “If you look at the four fast break baskets they got in the third quarter, all four came after we got off good shots and missed.

“We couldn’t hit in the third quarter (6 of 13 from the field) and they couldn’t miss. The loss ended any hope of winning the league. Now we have to beat Irvine next week to get into the playoffs.”

Jeff Herdman, Mission Viejo’s best player, was hardly a factor against El Toro. He finished with 16 points and 5 rebounds, both a notch below his season average of 19.1 points and 9.9 rebounds. Guard Todd Matthews also scored 16 points for the losers.

Powell led all scorers with 19 points, Johnson added 17 and forward Eric Speaker had 16. The victory marked the first time that El Toro had beaten Mission Viejo twice in league play.

“I’ve been at El Toro for seven years and we had only beaten Mission Viejo twice in six previous years,” Travers said. “This was great. Now if we can only win the league.”

Irvine 77, San Clemente 44--Senior Mike Harring scored a school record 33 points. He was 11 of 17 from the field and 11 of 12 from the free-thown line. He also had nine rebounds.

Irvine (5-3, 14-12) led, 33-29, with three minutes left in the third quarter and outscored the Tritons, 13-3, and led 46-32, after three quarters.

Capistrano Valley 64, Dana Hills 49--Scott McCullough had 24 points as the Cougars (6-2, 15-8), tied for first place with El Toro, won at Dana Hills. Capistrano Valley led 15-7 after one quarter and were never threatened. Jim Waikle had 11 and Todd Marinovich 10 for Capo Valley.

Dave Smelak and Chris Delfs led Dana Hills (3-5, 5-15) with 10 points each.