PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Trabuco Hills Short of Expectations in Victory

Coaches usually complain when their teams are written off early in the league season, but Trabuco Hills basketball Coach Rainer Wulf was upset Friday night that the Mustangs were being written in--as Pacific Coast League champions.

And Trabuco Hills showed why Wulf was upset, defeating but not dominating Century, 67-55, in the league opener for both teams at the Trabuco Hills gym.

Wulf worried that the Mustangs, ranked third in Orange County, were too heavily favored to win the league. They were 13-3 entering the game against Century (11-4), which is probably the second-best team in the league.

“Everyone has been saying we already won the league,” Wulf said. “The players don’t believe that. The only group of people who think this wasn’t going to be a close race are the people who read the newspapers.”

Brett Poulos scored 16 points to lead four Trabuco Hills players in double figures. Pat Barnes and Brent Kaull added 10 points apiece for the Mustangs, and center Matt Moore scored 10 points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds before fouling out with 4 minutes 35 seconds left in the game.

“One of our strengths is that we have nine players who we can go to at any time,” Wulf said. “Even when we get in foul trouble, we can bring another player in.”

A key substitution in the second quarter helped Trabuco Hills take control.

Century’s Thomas Harmon hurt Trabuco Hills inside early, scoring 12 of his team-high 17 points in the first 12 minutes. But Brad Cervantes, who replaced Moore, held Harmon scoreless over the final four minutes of the second quarter.

“We were very passive inside,” Wulf said. “Cervantes has been doing a great job backing up Moore all year. (Cervantes) moved Harmon out away from the (inside), where he likes to be, and our defense tightened up.”

And the Mustangs’ offense got going.

Poulos scored eight points, including two three pointers, in the final 6:41 of the second quarter. Barnes, who missed his first four shots, added six points as the Mustangs outscored the Centurions, 20-9, to close out the quarter.

Trabuco Hills maintained a comfortable lead in the second half. Century cut the deficit to 54-46 on a three-point play by Harmon with 7:15 left in the fourth quarter, but came no closer.

The victory was Trabuco Hills’ second against a good team this week. The Mustangs beat eighth-ranked Capistrano Valley, 83-78, in a nonleague game Tuesday night.

“We’ve had two tough games this week,” Wulf said. “Capo and Century are both top-15 teams. We came away with two wins, and we’re happy about it.

“I think we’re getting a lot better. This team’s best games are a ways down the road.”

In other league games:

Laguna Hills 47, Laguna Beach 44--Bryan Jones scored 17 points and Jesse McDonald added 14 as Laguna Hills (7-7, 1-0) upset Laguna Beach (8-6, 0-1). Trigg Garner led Laguna Beach with 12 points.

Estancia 76, Costa Mesa 59--Jim Faulkner scored 24 points and made all of his 13 free throws to lead Estancia (8-8, 1-0) past host Costa Mesa (8-5, 0-1). Zack Richardson also had 13 points for Estancia.