Cougars Defeat El Toro in 3 OTs

The torrid South Coast League boys’ basketball race got a few degrees warmer Wednesday night when Capistrano Valley, ranked sixth in Orange County, defeated second-ranked El Toro, 86-81, in three overtimes.

The victory gave the Cougars (16-2, 3-0) an early leg up in a league that boasts four teams ranked in the top 10 by the Southern Section.

Jake Franzen scored 23 points for the Cougars, ranked 10th in the section’s Division I-AAA. It was Franzen’s three-pointer with about two minutes left in the third overtime that broke a 79-79 tie and put Capistrano Valley ahead for good.

Ashkan Nazeri scored 23 for El Toro (17-2, 2-1), ranked No. 1 in Division I-AA.

Capistrano Valley’s defense was mainly responsible for the Cougars’ 26-19 halftime lead, holding the Chargers to just two three-pointers.

The El Toro shooters woke up in the third quarter, hitting five baskets from beyond the arc. Nazeri made two, Matt Parrish made two and Jeff Young had one.

However, the Cougars kept the pressure on thanks to potent perimeter play by Franzen and strong play down low by Bryan Mallon, who scored 19 points.

“Mallon stepped up big for us down the stretch, he played a gutsy game,” Cougar Coach Brian Mulligan said.

Capistrano Valley trailed by three points in the last two minutes of regulation, but Mallon scored a basket with 37 seconds remaining to give the Cougars a 62-60 lead. El Toro tied it, 62-62, on a basket by Young to send the game into overtime.

Neither team led by more than a basket in the first overtime, which ended with the score tied, 67-67.

The Chargers scored the first four points in the second extra period on a three-pointer by Parish and a free throw by Young, but Capistrano Valley answered with back-to-back baskets by Peter De Casas for a 74-73 lead. El Toro regained the lead at 76-74, but Mallon scored with 20 seconds left to make it 76-76 and force a third overtime.