Pacific Coast League : Townsend Picks Up Slack for Woodbridge

Trabuco Hills High School basketball Coach Butch Taylor thought his team would beat Woodbridge in Wednesday night’s Pacific Coast League showdown for first place and was convinced the Mustangs would win when Woodbridge star Adam Keefe fouled out with 5:08 remaining in the third quarter.

But somehow Taylor underestimated the play of Woodbridge guard David Townsend. Townsend picked up the slack with 16 points, including four clutch free throws in the final 12 seconds, leading Woodbridge to a 50-48 victory at Trabuco Hills.

Keefe, who averages 23 points and 12.2 rebounds per game, was called for three fouls in the first five minutes and sat out most of the first half. He returned long enough in the second half to foul out with only two points.

Predictably, Woodbridge’s offense was virtually non-existent with Keefe on the bench as the Warriors made only one shot the entire half. Still, Woodbridge made 17 of 22 free throws to gain its fifth straight victory in league without a loss. Trabuco Hills is 4-1.

Trabuco Hills outscored Woodbridge from the field, 22-9, but the Warriors made 28 of 36 free throws. The Mustangs made only 4 of 9. Townsend and forward Vince Bryan each scored 16 points for the Warriors. John Welch had 16 points and Gordon McNeill 15 for the Mustangs.

“To come in here and get a win with Keefe scoring only two points is a tribute to our team,” said Woodbridge Coach Bill Shannon. “Anytime you can get through the first round of league play undefeated, you can’t complain.”

Trabuco Hills trailed most of the game but tied the score, 42-42, with 3:08 remaining after guard Scott Kriech made a free throw. The Warriors opened a 46-42 lead on a pair of free throws by Bob Lee and then held off a late Mustang rally.

“We missed some key free throws and threw the ball away with the game on the line,” Taylor said. “But I can’t complain. The kids know they can play with Woodbridge now. We’ll be back.”

Laguna Hills 49, Laguna Beach 47--The Artists led, 27-22, at halftime, but Laguna Hills rallied for a 39-37 lead by the end of the third quarter.

With one minute remaining in the game, the Hawks’ Mike Smeades hit a 17-foot jump shot to tie the score, 47-47. Rick Kawada scored the winning layup for Laguna Hills (3-2, 9-10) with two seconds remaining. Laguna Beach drops to 2-3 and 7-11.

Orange 80, Costa Mesa 69--Dan Adams scored 23 points to lead the Panthers (1-4, 6-13) at Costa Mesa. Greg Ertel scored 20 points to lead the Mustangs (0-5 in league play).