DIVISION II-A ROUNDUP : Trabuco Hills Ends Mission Viejo Hopes

Between the turnovers, technical fouls and poor shooting, Trabuco Hills and Mission Viejo managed to get in a boys’ basketball Division II-A quarterfinal game Friday night.

And perhaps Trabuco Hills’ Coach Rainer Wulf had the best description of the top-seeded Mustangs’ ugly, 53-41 victory at Capistrano Valley High School.

“It was ineptitude on our part,” Wulf said.

The ineptitude included 21 turnovers and overall sloppy play by Trabuco Hills, which still managed to stop the Diablos (9-18), who had posted three consecutive upsets to reach the quarterfinals.

Trabuco Hills advances to Tuesday’s semifinals to face unseeded Ridgecrest Burroughs, which defeated Valencia, 61-57.

“For (this game) to be the quarterfinals, and for us to be that ineffective and lackadaisical, I was amazed,” Wulf said. “But to win by 12, that’s good.”

Mission Viejo helped the cause by shooting 27% (16 for 60) from the field. Leading scorer Jeff Carr scored a team-high 10 points but made only five of 16 shots.

“The kids played hard, but you gotta make some shots,” Mission Viejo Coach Bob Minier said.

The Diablos took their frustrations out on the Mustangs, but not the way Minier wanted.

Carr and Matt Denny drew technical fouls, and Carr also fouled out of the game with a flagrant foul that sent Trabuco Hills’ Ryan Holland into the wall beneath the Trabuco Hills basket with 41.6 seconds remaining and the Mustangs leading, 49-40.

“I didn’t feel there was any call for it,” Wulf said.

Holland suffered a bruised right knee later in the game, and is listed as day-to-day, Wulf said.

Six-foot-10 center Gavin Vanderputten did most of Trabuco Hills’ bruising, posting game-high totals of 19 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots. Point guard Brett Poulos added 11 points.

Although the loss ended the season for Minier, it may not be the end of his coaching career.

“There’s a good chance I’ll be back,” Minier said. “There’s some young kids coming back and I’m real pleased with their effort. They played hard tonight, and I’m proud of them.”