SOUTH COAST LEAGUE : Defense Rules as Irvine Wins

The South Coast League, home of run-and-gun basketball that keeps the scoreboards spinning, brings you this result from Wednesday night’s meeting in Mission Viejo between league leaders Irvine and Capistrano Valley:

Irvine 45, Capistrano Valley 42.

John Molle made two free throws with five seconds left to seal the victory for Irvine, ranked sixth in Orange County. The Vaqueros (18-3, 4-0) avenged a 57-48 loss to the third-ranked Cougars in the final of the Irvine World News Tournament in December.

After scoring 48 points and losing to Capistrano Valley, Molle and his teammates didn’t figure they could score 45 and win the game.

“I never imagined a score this low,” Molle said. “Not with Capistrano Valley’s up-tempo play and three-point shooting. But we played some good defense and that kept us in the game.”

Capistrano Valley (17-4, 3-1) had a chance to force overtime, but Tom Airey’s three-pointer at the buzzer rattled in the rim and bounced out.

“(Watching) that shot took another year off my life,” Irvine Coach Steve Keith said.

Airey’s three-point shooting erased Irvine’s 27-19 lead in the third quarter.

Airey scored 11 of his 14 points, nine on three-pointers, in a 13-4 run by Capistrano Valley in the final 4 minutes 20 seconds of the quarter. The Cougars led, 32-31, at the start of the fourth.

Capistrano Valley pushed its lead to 34-31 on a layup by Brett McCorkle with 7:25 left, but a three-point play by Molle 28 seconds later tied it.

Molle made two free throws with 1:33 left to put Irvine ahead, 42-38. He made seven of eight free throws in the fourth quarter, while Capistrano Valley missed both of its attempts.

Capistrano Valley chipped away at the lead, cutting it to 43-42 on David Sedgwick’s jumper with eight seconds left. Molle was fouled by McCorkle on the inbounds play, setting up the final free throws.

Capistrano Valley Coach Mark Thornton said he was disappointed with the loss, but was pleased with his team’s defense. The Cougars held Molle to 17 points--12 under his average--as Irvine shot 49% from the field.

“I thought both teams played good defense,” Thornton said. “I thought Irvine did a pretty good job on Airey and McCorkle.”

In other league games:

San Clemente 67, El Toro 64--Host San Clemente utilized a box-and-one defense to limit El Toro’s Rob Johnson to 23 points. The Tritons have won two consecutive league games for the first time in six years. San Clemente center Eddie Morgan blocked nine shots and set a school single-season record with 83 blocks. Morgan Bannister led the Tritons (10-8, 2-2) with 18 points.

Dana Hills 60, Mission Viejo 41--Guard Derrick Walsh scored seven of his 15 points in the first quarter as Dana Hills (10-8, 2-2) opened a 15-2 lead and was never threatened.