Hamasaki delivers clutch shots for Capo Valley

Taylor Hamasaki had missed his last eight shots, but the green light for him stayed bright.

Hamasaki, urged to keep trying to find ways to score, had nine points in the fourth quarter Wednesday to lead a Capistrano Valley charge that gave the Cougars a 66-59 victory over Tesoro in a South Coast League opener for both teams at Capistrano Valley.

Capistrano Valley, ranked No. 10 in Orange County, is 15-2 overall. No. 8 Tesoro is 11-5.

Capistrano Valley coach Brian Mulligan was confident Hamasaki, a 6-foot senior guard, would find a way.

"We told him he was getting good looks, but they just weren't going in," Mulligan said. "He's our guy. He made some good shots at the end, didn't he?"

The Cougars, who trailed most of the game, were clinging to a one-point lead midway through the fourth quarter when Hamasaki ended his 0-for-8 shooting drought by scoring on a drive to the basket.

The next time Capistrano Valley got the ball, the same thing — two points on a Hamasaki bolt to the basket. He then got a couple of friendly bounces to make a 15-foot jumper, and followed with a 3-pointer to give the Cougars a 60-54 lead with 2:05 to go.

Forty seconds later, Capo's Nick Thomas hit a 14-foot jumper and the Cougars had a 62-54 lead.

Hamasaki appreciated the coaches' confidence.

"They're always saying be aggressive,'" Hamasaki said. "Sometimes, I can be too laid-back of a player."

Getting off to a winning start is crucial in any league, but perhaps even more so in the South Coast. Three of the league's five teams — Capo, Mission Viejo and Tesoro — are in the county Top 10. Undefeated Mission Viejo is No. 2, behind Mater Dei.

Four Cougars scored in double figures. Stephen Short, recently back in the lineup after having two teeth knocked out during a December game, scored 15 and had six rebounds. Thomas scored 14, including a pair of 3-pointers (he is No. 2 in county 3-pointers, behind Canyon's Jojo Ballestero), Hamasaki had 13 and Aleks Lipovic added 10 points.

Tesoro senior guard Dusty Baker, averaging 23 points a game, scored 26 on 7-for-13 shooting before fouling out in the final moments.

Also in the South Coast League:

No. 2 Mission Viejo 57, Dana Hills 42: James Cramer's 15 points led the visiting Diablos (15-0).

In the Empire League:

Tustin 55, Pacifica 43: Deondre Bryant scored 16 points with 11 rebounds for the host Tillers (9-6) in a league opener.

Cypress 66, Western 55: Jimmy Jackson scored 21 points and Cory Devers added 15 for the host Centurions (11-4, 1-0).

Kennedy 63, Yorba Linda 45: Jimmy Yoshitake and Declan Daly scored 20 and 19 points, respectively, for the host Fighting Irish (10-3, 1-0).

In the San Joaquin League:

Orangewood Academy 63, Tarbut V'Torah 44: Steven Morales scored 20 points and Logan Bryan added 18 for the host Spartans (10-3, 1-0).

In nonleague:

San Clemente 59, El Toro 50: Dominic Fashing and Hank Gillebaard each scored 13 points and Blake Kubly added 12 for the host Tritons (11-6).

Newport Harbor 51, Woodbridge 48: Cody Caldwell's 18 points paced the visiting Sailors (7-7).