MISSION VIEJO – The atmosphere was charged inside the packed Mission Viejo gym on Friday night.
Capistrano Valley and Mission Viejo each brought full student sections that stood and exchanged chanted barbs across the court throughout the contest.
The student sections gave the game a feel of a punch-counterpunch battle between intracity rivals, but it masked the rout in progress on the floor.
Capistrano Valley outscored Mission Viejo in a second-quarter stretch, 21-2, and went on to grab a 68-42 victory, and stayed undefeated in the Sea View League.
“It’s awesome,” Capo Valley coach Brian Mulligan said. “We know we’re skilled. We know we have a little bit of a target on our back, currently. We have to play to our potential every night. So far, they’ve held up their end of the deal.”
Capistrano Valley (15-5, 4-0) and Mission Viejo (11-10, 3-1) enlivened the crowd by exchanging shots through the first quarter, which ended with the Cougars ahead, 16-11.
Capo Valley grabbed control of the game in the second quarter.
“When you defend well and make the shots, you can end up with a lead like that,” Mulligan said. “I think we did it early and did it often and stayed consistent the whole time.”
Dawson Baker scored a game-high 18 points and paced the Cougars in the second with nine points.
“We were just hitting shots,” Baker said. “We were feeling it. Everyone was hyped, and it was a good atmosphere. Fun to play in.”
Capo Valley was also extremely strong on the boards as it limited Mission Viejo to just one offensive rebound in the first half.
The Cougars enjoyed a 23-point lead at halftime.
Nic Lipovic and Grayson Beeman were just off Baker’s pace with 14 points each. Lipovic and Mission Viejo’s Nathan Hewitt each hit four 3-pointers. Hewitt led the Diablos with 13 points.
The crowd battle never dimmed even as the Cougars pulled away. Mulligan, a longtime veteran of these match-ups, said he expected as much.
“For years, we’ve had the great games with Mission and El Toro,” Mulligan said. “These kids don’t know because they were out of the league for a while. We know that fans and the kids are going to be great. We bring a good group. I love this. These kids are clever. I hear some of it.”
