Mission Viejo finishes strong, holds off No. 7 El Toro
MISSION VIEJO - With time running out in the third quarter, Mission Viejo’s Sage Stone knocked in a baseline jumper to beat the clock, giving the Diablos a five-point lead over visiting El Toro and a little breathing room.
The momentum from that basket carried over into the fourth, as the fourth-ranked Diablos scored nine of the first 11 points of the quarter to build up a 12-point lead, helping them to a 68-61 victory over the seventh-ranked Chargers in a South Coast League game.
Stone finished with six points.
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“He’s really come of age,” Mission Viejo coach Troy Roelen said of Stone. “Last year, he had a year to mature playing behind Isaac Nielsen.
“I don’t think he would have shot that baseline jumper last year.”
Defensively, Stone had seven blocks, which helped the Diablos (22-3, 6-1) get out in transition before the Chargers (19-7, 3-4) were able to set up in their zone.
“I learned a lot last year and it helped me become a better center. Getting to practice against Isaac (Neilsen) helped me a lot.”
After Jordan Faison ended Mission Viejo’s quick run, the Diablos’ Max Redfield scored from the post for 58-46 lead. However, nothing comes that easy in the South Coast League.
Tyler Hall and Cody White made consecutive 3-point field goals, cutting the score to 58-52.
That was as close as the Chargers would get as the Diablos made eight consecutive free throws down the stretch to close the game.
Balance was the key for the Diablos as four players, led by Michael Cramer’s 15 points, scored in double figures.
“Our coaches kept telling us to attack the zone and that’s what we did,” Cramer said. “First half, we were passing the ball around too much. We had to look to attack the middle and dish it out.”
Evan Zeller and Jahleel Pinner both had 13 and Redfield added 12 for the Diablos.
“We started running our motion offense in the second half. I thought we were way too stagnant in the first half,” Roelen said.
Redfield scored eight of his points in the third quarter and Pinner had six. Both players, who also starred on the Mission Viejo football team, grabbed a key rebound and made a big basket in the second half.
“(In football), they get to play against the Don Boscos, the Servites and Santa Margaritas and in the big games,” Roelen said. “Those are two guys that want the ball and are not afraid of anything. They bring that kind of moxie to our team because if you look at our roster, we’re really young.
“Those two (Redfield and Pinner) want the ball at the end of the game and I love them for that.”
Ryan Roberts led El Toro with 14 points. White and Jordan Faison both had 12. The Chargers will conclude the regular season on the road against Tesoro.
Mission Viejo will be to host second-ranked Capistrano Valley on Thursday night in a game to decide the South Coast League title. The Cougars won the first meeting, 46-43, on Jan. 18.
