By Michael Matossian
The Capistrano Valley Christian boys basketball team looked to build on its five-game win streak in the second round of the CIF-SS Division 5A Championships against visiting Laguna Blana on Feb. 19. CVCS, which earned a first-round playoff bye, overcame a rough start in the contest to earn a convincing 81-34 lead.
The Eagles will play the winner of Aquinas-Valley Torah in the quarterfinals on Feb. 23.
Laguna Blanca kept the game close throught the first quarter thanks to senior Pierce O’Donnell. O’Donnell took advantage of a poor shooting start by CVCS and out-rebounded the entire Eagles team, 7-6, despite a seven-inch height disadvantage compared to the CVCS frontcourt.
CVCS held a 12-11 lead after the opening quarter, but erupted for a 21-0 run to get things going in the second. Eagles’ seniors Amazon Nwoye and Spider Adetunji took advantage of an aggressive Laguna Blanca 1-3-1 zone defense and scored 12 of their combined 19 points during the second-quarter run. A corner 3-pointer at the one minute mark in the second quarter ended Laguna Blanca’s scoring draught, but the damage had already been done. CVCS took a 44-20 lead into the half.
“First-game jitters … coming out in the first quarter we knew we would be a little bit rusty,” CVCS head coach Zach Brogdon said. “It is hard to play when you haven’t played in 10 days. But we got rolling there in the second quarter and started making layups.”
Defense continued to be the deciding factor in the game as CVCS flashed a variety of defensive looks at the Laguna Blanca offense. The Eagles came out of the midway point and went on a 19-0 run and came within 33 seconds of shutting out Laguna Blanca in the third quarter. Instead, the Eagles took a 67-24 lead into the fourth.
CVCS sophomore Troy Kihm made five 3-pointers en route to scoring a game-high 17 points. Senior Cameron Conley added 13 points in the win.
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