SOUTH COAST LEAGUE ROUNDUP : El Toro Stays Cool Down Stretch to End Capistrano Valley’s Reign

El Toro High School kept its poise, made some key free throws down the stretch, and in the end, claimed its first victory over rival Capistrano Valley in five years Friday night.

But it wasn’t until 13 seconds remained, when guard Kevin Martin made two free throws, that El Toro finally ended the jinx with a 78-73 victory over the South Coast League champions.

Capistrano Valley (17-8 overall, 8-2 in league) had beaten El Toro 10 consecutive times in league play going back to the second round of the 1984-85 season. For all practical purposes, the streak ended when Capistrano Valley’s star player, Scott McCorkle, picked up his third personal foul with 4:07 remaining in the second quarter.

McCorkle was never effective after the foul, scoring only eight points in the second half after scoring 12 points in a little over a quarter and a half of play. Guard Chris Kostoff also wasn’t much of a factor, scoring 17 points but getting only a pair of free throws in the decisive fourth quarter.

“I don’t know how much McCorkle and Kostoff scored, but I’ve never seen them work so hard for their points,” said Tim Travers, El Toro coach. “It’s been a long time since we beat them. It seemed bad things always happen to us whenever we play them.

“The games have been so close, so many times. This was a great lift for us going into the playoffs. We’re 19-5 and this was a good send-off.”

El Toro (19-5, 7-3) made 10 of 14 free throws in the final quarter, hitting pivotal foul shots each time Capistrano Valley got close. Forward Rob Johnson and guard Tim Casarez each scored 20 points for El Toro.

The defeat will be costly for Capistrano Valley entering the Southern Section 5-A division playoffs. Capistrano Valley had a lock on the third seed before the loss and now will likely be seeded fourth and placed in the same bracket with top-ranked Mater Dei.

Asked if the defeat would affect his team’s seeding in postseason play, Mark Thornton, Capistrano Valley coach, said, “I would think so.”

Thornton had little to say about the loss.

“They just played better than we did,” Thornton said as he turned and walked away.

Mission Viejo 70, San Clemente 42--Mike Boucher had 14 points, Greg Amaya had 12 and Chris Cook added 10 points to lead host Mission Viejo (18-6, 8-2). Jason Dunahee had 11 points for San Clemente (6-18, 0-10).

Dana Hills 48, Irvine 47--John Molle hit two free throws with just over a minute left to put visiting Irvine ahead, 47-45, but Keith Barnett was fouled and made the front of a one-and-one to pull within one. His second shot missed and the rebound went out of bounds of Irvine. Chris Swenson scored the winning basket after an offensive rebound of Barnett’s shot with eight seconds left. Dana Hills is 16-9, 9-1 and Irvine is 11-15, 3-6.