ESTANCIA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT : With Pressure on, Mission Viejo Rolls to Victory

There was a method to Mission Viejo High School’s madness Friday night in the semifinals of the Estancia Coast Christmas tournament.

The method wasn’t always apparent, but in the end it proved to be effective.

Going against a taller Los Alamitos team, which featured 6-foot-11 Robert Conlisk, the Diablos tried to create as much mayhem as possible. Mission Viejo pressed and pressed and pressed.

The result was a 56-42 victory for Mission Viejo, a victory that can be attributed as much to determination as talent.

The Diablos, who struggled in the first half, broke the game open in the third quarter with a 16-0 run. They held the Griffins scoreless for 7 minutes 10 seconds in the second half with a pressure defense.

“We wanted to make it a free-for-all out there,” Mission Viejo Coach Bob Minier said. “If we would have sat back and packed the defense in, they would have killed us.”

The Diablos’ style took Conlisk out of the game, literally at the end.

Conlisk came into the game averaging 20 points. However, he had only four points and five rebounds Friday.

Conlisk was plagued by foul trouble most of the game. He picked up his fourth foul with 2:08 left in the third quarter and didn’t return as Los Alamitos went to a pressing defense.

“We felt if we could get the tempo going, we could take Conlisk out of the game,” Minier said. “We wanted to make him have to run up and down the court. If we did that, we thought he would pick up some fouls along the way.”

The Griffins (9-4) led, 21-20, at halftime and extended that lead to 29-25 on a three-point field goal by Mike Wilson (22 points) with 4:41 left in the third quarter. Los Alamitos didn’t score again until there was 5:46 left in the game.

During the scoreless streak, Los Alamitos was 0 for 9 from the field and missed three one-and-one free throw opportunities.

The Diablos (8-3) came back behind the shooting of Eric Cramer (24 points). Cramer scored 11 points in the third quarter, eight in the final four minutes.

With 10 seconds left, Cramer sank a three-pointer to give the Diablos a 35-29 lead. Bill Denny then stole the inbound pass and scored with five seconds left and Mission Viejo led by eight going into the final quarter.

The Diablos shot poorly. They made 20 of 55 field goals and 11 of 21 free throws.

However, Mission Viejo’s pressure defense forced Los Alamitos into 17 turnovers, 12 in the second half. And the Diablos, who have only one player taller than 6-4, outrebounded the Griffins, 40-34.

“It shows you don’t have to shoot well to win,” Minier said. “As long as you play tough defense and rebound.”

In the other semifinal:

Edison 54, Estancia 45--Brandon Jessie scored 18 points to lead the Chargers, who held off a fourth-quarter rally. Edison led, 43-36, with 5:19 left, but Estancia cut the deficit to 45-42 with four minutes left. Edison’s Todd Smyser then scored seven points down the stretch to clinch the victory. Bill Martineau scored 12 points for Edison. Augustine Heredia scored 15 points for Estancia.