Inconsistent Play Concerns Cougars

By BEN BOLCH

Dec. 22, 2000 12 AM PT

LAS VEGAS —

Capistrano Valley Coach Brian Mulligan said his team’s play in the Holiday Prep Classic was cause for concern, even though the Cougars, ranked ninth in Orange County, took fifth place in the Silver Cup division with a 66-52 victory over Las Vegas Chaparral Thursday.

Capistrano Valley may be leaving Las Vegas with three victories in four games, but the Cougars have established a pattern of letdowns in the second half. Capistrano Valley led Chaparral at halftime, 37-20, but sloppy play down the stretch allowed the Cowboys to creep back into the game.

“We just don’t finish in the second half,” Mulligan said. “We’re happy being 7-2 right now, but we’ve got to play two halves.”

High School Sports

Ben Bolch

Ben Bolch has been a Los Angeles Times staff writer since 1999. He is serving his second stint as the UCLA beat writer, which seems fitting since he has covered almost every sports beat except hockey and horse racing. Bolch is also the author of the recently released book “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.” He previously covered UCLA basketball from 2010-11 before going on to cover the NBA and the Clippers for five years. He happily traded in gobs of hotel points and airline miles to return to cover UCLA basketball and football in the summer of 2016. Bolch was once selected by NBA TV’s “The Starters” as the “Worst of the Week” after questioning their celebrity journalism-style questions at an NBA All-Star game and considers it one of his finer moments.

Inconsistent Play Concerns Cougars

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