BOYS’ BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Capistrano Valley’s Long Game Falls Short Against Long Beach Wilson

Capistrano Valley continued its long-range shooting exhibition Tuesday night, but the Cougars came up one bomb short against a quicker, more athletic Long Beach Wilson team and lost, 79-77, in the Orange Holiday Classic quarterfinals at Chapman College.

“We can shoot as well as anybody,” Capistrano Valley Coach Mark Thornton said after his team sank 13 three-pointers on the heels of a 12-three-pointer game Monday.

But the fourth-ranked Cougars (6-3) proved they are still deficient in other areas--such as ballhandling, passing and defense.

“We made some very bad mistakes that just killed us,” Thornton said. “We came down and just threw the ball away.”

Thornton was speaking of a stretch at the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth in particular, when Wilson (10-3) went on a 15-0 run to go ahead, 63-48. A combination of poor shooting, lazy defense and turnovers contributed to Wilson’s run. But Wilson’s athleticism also had plenty to do with it.

After an erratic first half, Wilson point guard Eric White took over in the second. He was too quick for any Cougar to defend, and he scored 17 of his game-high 24 points after halftime. White also had 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals.

“We just couldn’t guard their point guard,” Thornton said. “He killed us.”

Capistrano Valley cut Wilson’s 15-point lead with four three-pointers in the last four minutes. When the Cougars missed, senior center Dinari Bates (21 points, 13 rebounds) was usually there to scoop up the rebound.

Todd Thornton sank his sixth three-pointer--a 35-footer--and 15th in two nights to pull the Cougars within two (77-75) with 22 seconds left. But Capistrano Valley’s only chance to tie was a Brandon Puffer’s desperation shot at the buzzer that hit the side of the backboard.