MISSION VIEJO – Trabuco Hills’ leading scorer fouled out while its opponent still had on the court two of the best players in the division. When the game started, the Mustangs knew they were underdogs against an opponent that had KO’d the top-seeded team a few days earlier.
None of it mattered. Not on a night the Mustangs – and the team they beat – will remember the rest of their lives.
Trabuco Hills defeated Blair 99-92 in triple overtime in the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS Division 4 playoffs Tuesday night.
Trabuco Hills improved to 19-12 overall after winning for the eighth time in its last nine games.
It was when the team was 0-2 in the Sea View League that its fortunes changed, and that might have been largely because Shoji Karst started making his layups.
“Shoji really came on,” Mustangs coach Sean Sullens said. “He was struggling making layups, and it was one of those mental things. And something just clicked for him when we started league 0-2.”
Karst, who averaged 8 points this season, scored a career-high 27 in Tuesday’s game. Much of his scoring came while attacking the basket.
Trabuco Hills’ Carter Peckson scored 20 points off the bench, including 17 after the third quarter.
Five Mustangs scored double figures, including Isaiah De Lorez (16) and Devon Williams (12).
Ryan Hull scored 15 points but did it all in the first 24 minutes.
Trabuco will be at home against Norte Vista in the semifinals Friday. Nortre Vista was a 70-63 winner over Cathedral on Tuesday night.
“It’s an unbelievable effort by a group of guys that I love being around,” Sullens said, “and I’m so happy they get to play at home Friday and will be in the state tournament. So they have at least two more games.”
Blair, coming off an upset of top-seeded Bonita, finished 21-10.
The game had plenty of drama and storylines. By the time Hull was sent to the bench by officials, there was still 15 minutes of game to play.
That opened the door for Peckson, who scored seven points in the decisive third OT.
It was the biggest game of his career, as well as Karst.
“I scored 24 or 26 before, but not like this,” Karst said. “Not with this kind of high stakes.”
Like his coach, Karst pointed to the play of Peckson, a 5-foot-6 senior who could have filled the shoes of Goliath.
“He had a couple of 3s in the second half that were pivotal,” Karst said. “We really needed them.”
The Mustangs needed everything. Blair had a couple of great players in junior Jaleel Hunter (20.9 ppg) and senior Joseph Riggins (24.7 ppg).
Riggins finished with 28 points, but one of the reasons Trabuco was able to win is because he was held to only seven points in the first half, which the Mustangs led, 37-36.
Hunter finished with 18 points. Joshua Sherman scored 27.
“They just beat us,” Blair coach Derrick Taylor said. “We missed a layup at the end of regulation. They hurt us with dribble penetration. They started shooting real well.
“They don’t look impressive, but they’re physical and they play well. We got beat by a better team tonight.”
The pivotal point in the game came in the latter half of the second quarter. Down 17-13 after the first, Blair took a 27-23 lead. Blair made 10 of 11 field goals in the period.
But with a little over three minutes left, Trabuco went on a scoring spree. The Mustangs made four consecutive 3-point baskets as Blair missed its chance to take over the game.
The barrage by Hull, Peckson and Scott Warnick – who had two 3s to account for his six points – allowed Trabuco to maintain a 37-36 lead at half.
Trabuco had survived the push, and then stretched the lead to 58-51 after three quarters.
Peckson’s 3-pointer gave Trabuco a 72-71 lead with 40 seconds left in regulation. A free throw later, Blair’s Hunter missed on a drive with 12 seconds, and Karst’s 3-pointer went off the glass and the rim at the buzzer.
Riggins’ drive with 15 seconds left in the first OT tied the score at 76, and Nathan Oden’s 3-pointer with 24 seconds left tied the score at 84 in the second OT. Riggins’ steal with four seconds left prevented a potential winning shot by Trabuco.
Blair missed its first two shots of the third overtime, and Peckson answered with a 3-pointer. A couple of free throws by Joshua Sheran cut Blair’s deficit to 87-86, but Trabuco scored the next 10 in a row for a decisive 97-86 lead with 34 seconds remaining.
Sullens was understandably proud of the performance by his team.
“Even when we were .500 and losing games early in the season, I kept saying, ‘I love you guys,’” he recalled. “It wasn’t selfish basketball. They understand if the matchup is there, they’re going to attack. And if it’s not, they’re going to go play defense. Granted, they gave up 92 points, but I’m pretty proud of that defensive effort. It’s hard to say if you’re looking at that scoreboard, but I am.
“It’s fun to be around kids that are that mentally tough and are not going to get rattled. Early in the year, we got rattled. And they just decided as seniors, let’s just go out not getting rattled.”
And now it’s the Mustangs that are shaking things up.
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