PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Trabuco Hills Blows Big Lead, Then Hangs On to Defeat Woodbridge

Just when the Trabuco Hills boys’ basketball team seemed to be in a desperate situation, it got some help from its Pacific Coast League opponent, Woodbridge.

Trabuco Hills, after blowing much of a 22-point, second-quarter lead, took advantage of a late technical foul and held on for a 78-72 victory at Woodbridge.

The victory also set up a battle for sole possession of the league lead when Trabuco Hills (9-8 overall, 3-0 in league) travels to Laguna Beach Friday.

Trabuco Hills, which took its biggest lead, 36-14, with about five minutes left in the second quarter, watched as Woodbridge (10-8, 2-1) cut the margin to six with about three minutes remaining on Joey Cohen’s layup. To make matters worse for Trabuco Hills, Cohen was fouled on the play.

Cohen, however, missed the free throw and teammate Ryan Rauch slipped in for the offensive rebound. Rauch missed the follow attempt, rebounded his miss and went up again. An official whistled Rauch for fouling Trabuco Hills’ Kerry Kinkade on the second shot.

Woodbridge Coach Bill Shannon said Rauch then said something to an official that resulted in a technical foul.

Kinkade made both free throws and one of the technical shots to increase Trabuco Hills’ lead to 69-60. The Mustangs then sealed the victory with four consecutive points.

“That was a big call,” Shannon said of Rauch’s personal foul. “It’s hard to explain how a guy can have inside position and get called for a foul.”

In other Pacific Coast League games:

Laguna Beach 74, Orange 48--Dain Blanton had 24 points and John Trevino had 22 for visiting Laguna Beach (14-3, 3-0). Jason Lee had 12 points and seven rebounds for Orange (0-3, 6-10).

Laguna Hills 67, Costa Mesa 51--Al Salbana scored 18 points and Todd Peterson 17 to lead the Hawks (7-8, 1-2) at Laguna Hills. The Hawks trailed, 14-13, at the end of the first quarter but outscored the Mustangs, 23-15, to take a 36-29 halftime lead and never trailed again. Brett Dieball scored 17 points for Costa Mesa (2-12, 0-3).