Prep Basketball : Pacific Coast League Roundup : Victory Leaves Trabuco Hills Alone in First Place

There was some question whether Laguna Hills High School lost its poise, fell victim to frustration or flat out quit Friday night in its Pacific Coast League showdown against Trabuco Hills.

But there was little question which is the best team in the league after Trabuco Hills overcame a 11-point deficit to score a convincing 66-48 victory in front of a capacity crowd at Laguna Hills.

Trabuco Hills (12-5, 4-0) claimed sole possession of first place with the victory, after trailing, 30-19, with only 1:31 remaining in the first half. The Mustangs trimmed the deficit to 30-26 before halftime and then pounded Laguna Hills in the second half.

Laguna Hills (11-7, 3-1) managed to score only 7 points in the next 15 minutes and couldn’t get out of the gymnasium fast enough once the game had ended.

“It wasn’t so much what happened in the second half, it was the final minute and a half of the first half that turned the game around,” said Joe Reid, Laguna Hills coach. “We gave up 8 straight points and the guys came into the locker room at halftime mad and ticked off.

“You can’t play this game effectively when you’re mad. Maybe football, but not basketball. Once they got the lead, that was it.”

Guard Randy Kriech tied the score, 30-30, with 6:45 remaining in the third quarter and then the Mustangs poured it on. Center Rick Swanwick scored 17 of his game-high 30 points in the second half, including a 3-point play with 4:30 remaining in the third quarter to push Trabuco Hills ahead, 54-36.

Swanwick made 13 of 22 shots, had 21 rebounds and blocked 3 shots, but it was a play by teammate Tim Manning late in the first half that turned the game around.

Manning grabbed an errant pass while falling out of bounds and somehow managed to flip the ball behind his back to a teammate. Trabuco Hills turned the turnover into a basket and the momentum took a huge swing in the Mustangs’ favor.

“It was the play of the game,” said Rainer Wulf, Trabuco Hills coach. “It was an inspiring play that fired up the guys at halftime.”

Wulf also credited a change in defensive strategy for turning around the game.

“I got a little too tricky in the first half,” he said. “We tried a zone press and they were beating us over the middle. I decided to forget it and go back to our man defense. Basic fundamental defense won the game.”

Chris Sheff was the only consistent player for Laguna Hills. Sheff scored 19 points, including several acrobatic 3-point plays.

Woodbridge 66, Laguna Beach 60--Joe Cohen scored 22 points, 12 in the third quarter, to lead Woodbridge at home. Bryant McLemore added 11 points, all in the second quarter, for the Warriors (5-10, 3-1). Woodbridge also had a productive night at the line, making 21 of 28 free throws. John Trevino scored 17 for Laguna Beach (7-10, 1-3).

Orange 78, Costa Mesa 77--Carlos Duran made 2 free throws with 8 seconds left for host Orange (3-11, 1-3). Duran scored 11 points. Rick Afalava scored 22 points and John Rodriquez 18 for the Panthers. Young Chang scored 26 points and Tuan Vu 25 for Costa Mesa (1-13, 0-4).