BOYS’ BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Mitchell Is the Key in Cypress’ Victory

Cypress point guard Derek Mitchell was outscored, 18-4, and completely outplayed in the first half by Carlos Romero, his Katella counterpart.

But Mitchell was there in the end, making all the plays and all the shots in Cypress’ 78-74 double-overtime victory over seventh-ranked Katella Wednesday night in an Empire League boys’ basketball game at Cypress.

Cypress, which trailed by 13 points in the third quarter and 10 in the fourth, improved to 16-4 and 4-1 in the Empire. Katella (16-3, 3-2) falls into second place in the league standings.

Mitchell finished with 25 points, eight in the second overtime. Romero had only two points after halftime and finished with 20.

“At halftime, Coach told me I had to step up and that we had to get on the (defense),” said Mitchell, while being interviewed for local television and mobbed by his classmates.

Romero was unstoppable in the first half, hitting all but one of his seven shots from the floor and dominating the game on defense with four steals. But he hit only one shot on five attempts in the second half as Katella center Mike Pahl (28 points, seven rebounds) took the majority of the shots.

“We didn’t do anything different on Romero in the second half,” Cypress Coach Tom Gorrell said. “He was hot in the first half and luckily he cooled down.”

Said Romero: “I didn’t want to shoot in the second half. I wanted to get the other players involved.”

When Romero stopped shooting and penetrating, Katella’s offensive flow disappeared. Meanwhile, Cypress caught fire from three-point range and turned a 56-46 deficit into a 60-60 tie with three minutes left. Eric Solheim hit two three-pointers and Mitchell hit one during the run.

Pahl sent the game into double overtime on a five-foot turnaround with 25 seconds left in overtime, but Mitchell took over from there. He scored all 10 of Cypress’ points in the second overtime, six on free throws.

Katella’s leading scorer, LaByron Clayton, was held to 14 points, four below his average, and he barely touched the ball in the second half.

In other Empire League games:

Century 65, Kennedy 50--B.J. Wallace had 10 points and eight rebounds for host Century (12-9, 2-3). Gabriel Aguirre scored 16 points for the Centurions.

El Dorado 52, Loara 41--Robbie Sammons had 17 points for El Dorado (15-6, 3-2).

In the Garden Grove League:

Garden Grove 59, Pacifica 45--Mike Campuzano scored 11 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, when Garden Grove (12-10, 5-3) outscored Pacifica, 27-7. Jaimi Bessho scored 21 points, including four three-pointers, for visiting Pacifica (11-11, 4-4).

La Quinta 64, Rancho Alamitos 53--Jason Gondringer scored 16 points for visiting La Quinta. John Frank had 16 for Rancho Alamitos (9-13, 4-4).

Santiago 67, Bolsa Grande 60 (OT)--Ralph Robledo scored 26 points, including four-of-four three-point shooting, for visiting Santiago (8-12, 3-4), which outscored Bolsa Grande, 8-0, in the first two minutes of overtime.

Bolsa Grande’s Crispin Chavez made one free throw with seven seconds left to send it into overtime. David Price led the Matadors (9-11, 3-5) with 15 points.

In the Pacific Coast League:

Estancia 74, University 42--Zack Richardson scored 24 points, including six three-pointers, for host Estancia (19-3, 6-0). Richardson made nine of 13 field goals. Kevin Byrne added 14 points and 11 rebounds and Dane Plock had eight assists for the fifth-ranked Eagles.

In the South Coast League:

Mater Dei 93, San Clemente 40--Clay McKnight scored 21 points, including five of nine three-pointers, for Mater Dei (24-1, 6-0), which played its fourth consecutive game without injured Schea Cotton.

Mission Viejo 58, Capistrano Valley 57--Tyler Kalklosch made two free throws with 23 seconds remaining to put Mission Viejo ahead by three. Capistrano Valley got off three shots from behind the three-point arc before tipping the ball in for two points. But Capistrano Valley could not stop the clock and Mission Viejo escaped with the victory.

Trabuco Hills 68, Dana Hills 56--Rob Warnick scored 27 points as Trabuco Hills outscored Dana Hills, 24-9, in the first quarter and rolled the rest of the way. Donald Meyers scored 20 for Dana Hills (9-11, 2-4).

In the Sunset League:

Esperanza 63, Los Alamitos 56 (2 OT)--Free throws were the difference, with Lonnie Tape making 11 of 14 in the two overtime periods for Esperanza (12-10, 4-2).