PREP ROUNDUP : Woodbridge Overcomes Mistakes to Beat Cypress

Woodbridge basketball Coach John Halagan was more than just pensive when he walked into the gym Friday night at Cypress High.

“I sat through two nights and watched Cypress play,” Halagan said of previous action in the National Sports Grill Tournament, in which Cypress won twice. “I watched them defeat a very good Trabuco Hills team. It was a bit scary thinking about this one in their gym.”

Halagan’s second-ranked Warriors survived some early mental breakdowns and went on to a relatively easy, 67-52, victory over Cypress in front of 400.

The Warriors advanced to tonight’s championship game at 8 p.m. at Loara High.

Junior Chris Burgess, 6 feet 10, led Woodbridge (3-0) with 25 points. He also had 11 rebounds.

William Stovall chipped in 13 points and Brandon Beeson added 10, as the Warriors connected on 27 of 47 shots from the floor.

It was a frustrating night for Cypress senior Chad Boberg. He came up with five points early in the contest, but drew a crowd every time he had the ball. He finished by making five of 15 shots from the field (one of six in the second half) and wound up with 14 points.

Woodbridge erased an six-point deficit at the outset and outscored the Centurions, 21-4 for a 23-12 lead with 5:47 left in the second quarter.

Cypress, which didn’t crack preseason Top 10 rankings, responded after a time out with six consecutive points, then traded leads with the Warriors until Wes Bunn made two free throws early in the third quarter to make it, 36-34.

But the Centurions had run out of gas.

With Burgess taking control of the middle, Woodbridge went on a 14-2 run and led, 50-36, at the end of the quarter, and later led by as many as 19-points.

“As an early-season test I think we came out pretty good,” Halagan said.