Ryals’ Tip Earns Title for Irvine : Prep basketball: Vaqueros edge Capistrano Valley, 50-48, on shot with two seconds left to win South Coast League championship.

Jeff Ryals had only one rebound, but that rebound will be long remembered in Irvine High School basketball history.

Ryals’ fall-away, eight-foot tip with two seconds remaining gave host Irvine an improbable 50-48 victory over Capistrano Valley Wednesday night in South Coast League play.

Ryals’ tip was just what Irvine (22-2, 9-0 in league) needed to win its first league championship since the school opened in 1976.

“A league championship and the (Sports Illustrated) swimsuit edition all in the same day,” said Steve Keith, Irvine coach, as he watched his players cut down the nets in the Irvine gymnasium.

Ryals’ winning play came after teammate John Molle had stolen a pass with 23 seconds remaining as Capistrano Valley worked for a final shot with the score tied, 48-48. Molle missed an off-balance bank shot with five seconds left, and Ryals became a hero with a single swipe of his right hand.

“I was in the right place at the right time,” Ryals said. “I’m sure I’ll always remember this.”

It was difficult to determine whether Ryals was more surprised that Molle’s errant shot caromed off the rim and straight to him or that his tip hit nothing but net for the winning points.

“I was more surprised than anybody that the tip went in,” Ryals said. “I wasn’t having a very good game up until then.”

Molle, who led all scorers with 28 points, had dominated play but missed an opportunity to give Irvine a lead with 37 seconds left when he made only one of two free throws, tying the score at 48-48.

Capistrano Valley (20-5, 7-2) called a timeout with 32 seconds remaining and elected to work for one final shot. That’s when Keith decided it was time for his usually conservative team to go for broke.

“I felt they were going to be a little passive going for the final shot,” Keith said. “We decided to double-team the first pass and kinda go for it.”

Capistrano Valley erased a two-point deficit when reserve guard Aaron Rhoades made a three-point shot for a 48-47 lead. But it was the last shot attempt the Cougars took down the stretch.

Capistrano Valley led throughout most of the game after falling behind, 6-0, at the outset. Molle single-handedly kept Irvine close, scoring 16 of his team’s 23 points in the first half by making six of seven shots.

Capistrano Valley opened a 32-23 lead with 6 minutes 4 seconds remaining in the third quarter following a short bank shot by center Brett McCorkle, but Irvine rallied behind the play of reserves Brian Linsenmayer and Brian Hink.

Linsenmayer gave Irvine its first lead since the first quarter, 41-40, with 5:13 left in the fourth quarter when he made two free throws and then helped the Vaqueros pad the lead to 45-42 by making a jump shot.

Capistrano Valley had problems getting untracked offensively in the second half against a methodical opponent, and Coach Mark Thornton later acknowledged that Irvine’s ability to control the tempo was the difference in the game.

“They took us out of our game and beat us at their game,” Thornton said. “The last shot was a hustle play. Give the kid credit. He got the rebound and put the game ball in.”

Keith was the first to admit that Ryals’ shot was lucky.

“Two great teams battled for 32 minutes and we win on a tip,” Keith said. “But then, isn’t that the way these kinds of games for a league championship usually end?”

In other South Coast League games:

El Toro 64, San Clemente 62--With the game tied at 62-62, San Clemente missed a free throw with seven seconds left, El Toro’s Darren Doalson grabbed one of his 11 rebounds and passed to Mark Yang who led a fast break that culminated in Ken Koppleman’s layup at the buzzer. Rob Johnson scored 35 points and Koppleman scored 12 for visiting El Toro (11-12, 3-6). Bill Hagedorn scored 16 for host San Clemente.

Dana Hills 53, Mission Viejo 48--Mission Viejo trailed, 51-48, with three seconds remaining but Rob Cullinan missed a three-point attempt. Matt Brummel scored 19 points for Mission Viejo. Keith Barnett scored a game-high 20 points for Dana Hills.