Tustin Comes On Strong at the End

Valencia and Tustin loomed as an evenly matched first-round Southern Section Division II-A boys’ basketball game, and that’s the way both teams played it Friday.

They were equal parts exciting and ragged, so it figured the team that could put together the last run would be the winner. Tustin did precisely that, posting a 52-44 victory at Valencia.

The Tillers (17-10) move on to play Pacifica in the second round because they were able to break the 44-44 tie with 1:08 left when Lester Deraad grabbed an errant shot and laid it back in. Tustin then scored the game’s final six points at the free-throw line.

“I knew it would be a tough game because they are a smart team that plays well together,” Tustin Coach Andy Ground said of Valencia. “But we thought if we could contain their big guy Robert Smith and challenge their outside shooters, we could beat them.”

The Tillers executed that plan most of the night. Smith led all scorers with 13 points, and had 10 rebounds, but he missed seven of 12 shots--usually with two or three defenders around him. He had an equally tough night at the free-throw line, missing six of nine chances.

Tustin’s defense was able to stifle another key Valencia player, guard John Frechette, who averages 11 points. Frechette missed all seven of his shots from the field and did not score.

But Valencia also saw its season end at 18-9 because the Tigers could not score after Mike Johnson’s three-point basket tied the score at 44-44.

“I didn’t have a good feeling about this game,” Valencia Coach Dean Yoshimura said. “We had a tough time keeping them off the boards [despite outrebounding Tustin, 30-27], and we never really got into rhythm. But we were also hurt by the fact that not all of the kids played their best games out there.”

Tustin, which led, 25-21, at the half, twice led by seven points, and the Tillers had an eight-point lead, 39-31, moments into the fourth quarter.

Each time, Valencia scrapped and clawed to get back into the game, but the Tigers never regained the lead after leading, 10-9, in the first quarter.

Ground didn’t know Friday night that Pacifica had defeated Servite, 85-80, but admitted he would not mind one last shot at the Friars, who defeated the Tillers twice in Golden West League play.

“Servite does present us some real matchup problems and it would be a difficult challenge,” Ground said. “We’ve seen them twice and both times they did just enough to beat us.”

But Ground and Co. will have to wait until next season to meet the Friars.