BUENA PARK – The late-game-rally-for-the-victory script worked again for the Buena Park boys basketball team against Yorba Linda.
The Coyotes trailed the Mustangs by seven points early in the fourth quarter of a CIF-SS Division 2AA first-round game Wednesday.
The game eventually went to overtime, thanks to a late basket from Cedric Dashiell, and in the extra period the Coyotes scored the first 11 points on their way to a 68-57 victory.
The Coyotes (23-5) outscored the Mustangs, 14-3 in overtime.
In their first meeting, on Dec. 12, the Coyotes rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat the Mustangs (15-14) by one point.
“They’re real competitive, they work hard, they’re real physical, but there’s something about pressure times,” Buena Park coach Damian Farmer said of his team. “When they’re put in the corner, they just become fighters.”
The Coyotes will play at Newport Harbor in the second round on Friday night.
In the early stages of the game, the Mustangs did a good job of controlling the tempo and hitting 3-point field goals. They finished with 12 3-pointers.
When Garrett Freund hit his third of the game to give Yorba Linda a 48-41 lead, things appeared to be looking great for the Mustangs.
“You have to make plays,” Yorba Linda coach Jason Pietsch said. “Their pressure got to us. It is frustrating. We played pretty darn well most of the game. We knew they were going to turn the heat up … it is just frustrating.”
Freund led the Mustangs with 15 points and Austin Mena had 14. Both made four 3-pointers apiece.
Robert Corner opened the overtime scoring with a basket and Cameron Dashiell followed with five straight points for the Coyotes. Elijah Jones-Church added a layup off of a steal for a 62-54 lead.
Corner added a three-point play to give the Coyotes a 65-54 lead.
“We hadn’t won a game in OT all year and this was our chance,” Cameron Dashiell said. “It was win or go home, so we had to just put it all on the line.”
Dashiell led the Coyotes with 20 points. Gianni Michael and Jones-Church added 14 and 13, respectively.
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@scng.com
