STATE PREP BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS : County Teams Have a Perfect Day : Tustin Uses Trap to Snare a Title

Tustin High School’s remarkable boys’ basketball team found a new way to overcome adversity Saturday.

Tustin reached a pinnacle of intensity that helped it come back from a nine-point halftime deficit and earn a 66-54 victory over Danville San Ramon Valley in the State Division II boys’ championship game at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

Tustin’s victory capped an unprecedented day for Orange County high school basketball: three State champions in one year.

Tustin (30-4) used a half-court trap and double-teamed the ball in 16 minutes of mayhem that produced 12 turnovers. What’s more, the defense cooled off a hot-shooting San Ramon Valley team that threatened to run away with the title in the first half.

And when it was over, Tom McCluskey, the fiery Tustin coach who has a penchant for exaggeration, was at his best in describing a spirited comeback.

“They must have shot 80% in the first half, so we had to do something to screw up their continuity,” McCluskey said. “If we had stayed in the half-court set, we would have lost by 50 points.”

Now, the facts. San Ramon Valley was 12 for 24 in the first half. It only seemed like 80%, because Tustin had played one of its worst halves of the season and fell behind, 33-24.

McCluskey ordered his team into the trap that turned the game around. But even the ever-optimistic coach had some doubts about the strategy at halftime.

“You have to be wondering when you’re down by nine, and the other team is executing as well as anyone we’ve ever seen,” he said. “I told the players to stay composed no matter what happened and see how they reacted.”

The results were startling. Suddenly, San Ramon Valley, which had committed only one turnover in the first half, couldn’t get the ball past midcourt. Tustin’s Jentry Moore, Derek Roche, Thomas Clayton and Co. seemed to be everywhere.

The strategy also sparked a Tustin offense that had struggled to get 24 points in the first half. Guard David Beilstein had 11 of his game-high 28 points in the third quarter, when Tustin outscored San Ramon Valley, 16-6.

Tustin tied the score at 36 when Roche stole a pass and lobbed to Beilstein for an easy layup with 2:56 remaining in the third quarter. The Tillers took the lead for good when center Brian Reider made one of two free throws to make it 40-39 with five seconds left in the quarter.

The comeback continued three minutes into the fourth quarter as Tustin built a 50-42 advantage on a bank shot by Beilstein for three points. By then, San Ramon Valley Coach John Raynor knew it was over.

“I don’t know if they have a play where Beilstein banks in three-pointers from the top of the key, but if they practice that, it’s a hell of a play,” Raynor said.

Raynor said one play in the third quarter, with the score tied at 36, epitomized Tustin’s athletic ability. San Ramon Valley forward Kevin Dunne had beaten Reider to the basket and appeared to be headed for an easy shot when reserve Robert Laubach blocked it.

“They showed us a different side of them in the second half that I never expected,” Raynor said. “I thought we did a great job of executing against their man defense in the first half, but unfortunately, you have to play two halves to win.

“They went to that trap, and we had never seen that type of pressure before. It seemed like every turnover they got, they scored. They’re the best team we played this season.”

Beilstein, who became Tustin’s career scoring leader in three seasons, finished on top. He does not plan to play in college.

“It was a beautiful way to end it,” he said. “We reached a new peak of intensity. We talked in the locker room at halftime and decided to try the trap. Either they were going to keep shooting 80%, or we would get back in the game.”