SOUTH COAST LEAGUE BASKETBALL : Mission Viejo Wins in Triple Overtime

A difficult week of basketball got off to a stressful start for Mission Viejo High School Tuesday night.

The Diablos, ranked ninth in Orange County, needed three overtimes before they could finally put away fourth-ranked Capistrano Valley, 85-79, at Saddleback College. The victory kept Mission Viejo undefeated in South Coast League play as it heads into Friday’s game against second-ranked El Toro.

“We will be worn out by the end of the week,” Mission Viejo Coach Bob Minier said. “After Friday, we’ll have to play four games in six days. That can tire a team out.”

Especially since Mission Viejo had to work overtime to win a game it should have won much earlier.

The Diablos (11-4 overall, 2-0 in South Coast League) made nine of 11 free throws in the last overtime to clinch the victory. They made eight of 10 in the final minute.

Eric Cramer, who scored 31 points, and Mike Boucher, who scored 21, each made three free throws in the final minute of the third overtime.

However, Mission Viejo missed five foul shots in the earlier overtimes.

“We had our chances to win it, but we couldn’t make the foul shots,” Minier said. “We just lost some concentration. We got it back at the end.”

Mission Viejo appeared to have the game wrapped up in the fourth quarter. The Diablos led, 61-54, with 1 minute 3 seconds left in regulation.

However, the Cougars (11-5, 1-1) forced two turnovers in the final minute and tied the score, 61-61, on a three-point field goal by sophomore Tom Airey.

Coming off the bench, Airey finished with 17 points, 15 on three-pointers.

“We played very smart all night, then we almost lost because of a few breakdowns (at the end of regulation) “ Minier said. “Instead of taking our time and getting a layup, we rushed things.”

The Cougars nearly won the game at the end of regulation.

With 10 seconds left and the score tied, 61-61, Cramer missed a shot and Capistrano Valley’s Chris Kostoff (22 points) grabbed the rebound. He passed to Scott McCorkle, who threw up a 35-foot shot that hit the front of the rim and went in at the buzzer.

McCorkle ran downcourt, fist in the air. However, officials ruled that Capistrano Valley had called a timeout with two seconds left and disallowed the shot.

Kostoff missed a 35-footer at the buzzer and the game went into overtime.

It was a tough night for McCorkle, who was averaging 28 points entering the game. He made only three of 15 shots and finished with six points.

But his brother, Brett McCorkle, picked up the slack by making 12 of 18 shots. He finished with 24 points.

“We wanted to make (Scott) McCorkle work for his shots,” Minier said. “He gets frustrated when he can’t get his shots. However, we didn’t keep a good eye on his brother.”