Capistrano Valley Gets Healthy in Victory Over Corona del Mar

Corona del Mar High School’s basketball team displayed an impressive amount of tenacity Friday night in its nonleague game against Capistrano Valley, the county’s second-ranked team.

Was it good enough for an upset? Not quite. Not with Capistrano Valley forward Scott McCorkle back in the lineup after missing one game because of the flu.

McCorkle scored a game-high 38 points--including 16 in the first half--to lead Capistrano Valley to a 66-53 victory at Saddleback College.

For Capistrano Valley (8-2), the victory should help to boost the team’s confidence for its next venture: the King Cotton tournament, one of the most prestigious in the nation, Dec. 26-30 at Pine Bluff, Ark.

Especially uplifting for the Cougars was the play of McCorkle, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound senior forward headed for Syracuse next year. McCorkle did not play in Capistrano Valley’s 82-59 loss to Edison Wednesday night. But against Corona del Mar, McCorkle was tough to stop, especially in the first quarter.

Corona del Mar (4-5) struggled early, forcing shots and making mental mistakes as Capistrano Valley took a 10-3 lead. After a timeout, Corona del Mar upped its man-to-man defensive pressure, and slowly chipped away at Capistrano Valley’s lead.

After trailing 31-24 at halftime, Corona del Mar held Capistrano Valley scoreless for the first four minutes of the third quarter, as it went on an 8-0 run to take a 32-31 advantage. The score was tied at the start of the fourth quarter, 39-39.

That would be as close as Corona del Mar would get. As the Sea Kings’ game fell apart--thanks, in part, to a pressing Capistrano Valley defense--Capistrano Valley went on an 11-2 run, thanks to a three-pointer and a layup off a steal by Chris Kostoff and six points, four on free throws, by McCorkle.

Kostoff, who scored 40 points Wednesday night, was held to 11 points, nine in the fourth period. Warren Johnson had 24 points to lead the Sea Kings, and Doug Hesse added 16.