Diablos Pull Out Victory in Overtime to Advance to Section Title Game

Beginning with his three-pointer in the corner with 0.6 seconds left that sent the semifinal game into overtime Friday night, Mission Viejo sophomore guard Evan Zeller played like a man possessed.

Zeller took control in the overtime period to lift the second-seeded Diablos to a 73-68 win over Summit in the CIF Southern Section Division 2AA boys basketball playoffs at AB Miller High in Fontana.

First, Zeller popped a jumper after faking his man into the air, a 10-footer that gave the Diablos a 65-61 lead. With 1:50 left in overtime, he converted a three-point play on a layup off of a steal by Frank "Q" Randall, then made the ensuing free throw for a  68-61 lead.

Zeller scored 14 points, including the game’s final two free throws after being fouled when he grabbed the final rebound with three seconds left following a Nighthawks' missed three-pointer to tie.

“We needed someone to score, so I had to step up and score,” Zeller said.

Zeller’s man-sized heroics helped Mission Viejo (29-1) advance to next week’s Division 2AA championship game at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena. The exact day and time will be announced by the section office on Monday.

The Diablos' opponent? Top-seeded Ventura (28-2), which stormed to some heroics of its own in going on an 18-0 run to beat fourth-seeded Compton,  70-58, at Ventura College on Friday. Senior guard Dylan Houck scored 22 points for Ventura.

That tying three-pointer by Zeller was actually supposed to be taken by someone else.

“We were looking for our senior guard, James Cramer,” Zeller said. “Then he passed it to me, so I had to make the shot.”

And make it he did, sending the sizable visiting crowd of Mission Viejo fans into delirium.

With 9.6 seconds left in regulation, Summit guard Devon Alexander was fouled to stop the clock and was sent to the free-throw line in a one-and-one. Alexander made the first free throw to push the lead to 61-58, but he missed his second shot, which opened the door for Zeller.

“We want that [CIF championship] ring,” Zeller said. “We won South Coast League, now we want the ring. Everyone on our team played well. That’s what we’re looking for. Everyone stepped up and did their job.”

Summit relegated itself to attempting three-pointers late in overtime, and missed all of them until Isaiah Taylor drilled one along the wing that cut the Diablos’ lead to 71-68 with 10.6 seconds left.

All Mission Viejo had to do in its next possession was avoid a turnover, but that’s exactly what they couldn't do, as a wild pass went out of bounds and took no time off the clock. But another missed three helped MVHS prevail.

“Turnovers happen in basketball,” Mission Viejo coach Troy Roelen said. “If that’s the worst thing that happens to a kid today, we’re OK.”

Cramer certainly helped provide balance and helped force the Nighthawks’ defense to guard him instead of double- or triple-teaming 6-foot-10 center Issac Neilson, who's committed to BYU.

Cramer led with 23 points, including three three-pointers. His biggest shots of the night were a a layup with 34 seconds left that cut Summit's lead to 58-56, then a jumper with 11.4 seconds left that cut it to 60-58.

“I was getting open, hitting my shots, taking whatever the defense gave me,” Cramer said. “I’ve never seen him [Evan] play like that.”

Neilson scored 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds, blocked four shots and altered at least a half-dozen others.

“We’ve had 12 games where it’s come down to five points or less. It’s been a different guy every night," Roelen said. "Evan hits that big three.… It’s been like that all year long for us. We’re really unselfish. We check our egos at the door. No one cares who scores. We have one goal, and that’s a ‘W.'"

Neilson’s presence helped force Summit to settle for perimeter shots. The Nighthawks made seven of 14 attempts beyond the three-point line in the first half, but only two of five after.

“They were shooting really well from outside,” Neilson said. “We thought they couldn’t make that many in the second half.”

“Evan’s shot.... wow, that was a great shot. I just looked up and I saw the ball go, and I was like, ‘Did that ball just go in?’"

Summit center Dorian Cason was more than a suitable opponent for Neilson. He scored 24 points -- including lay-ins at 1:25 and 1:06 left in overtime that cut Mission Viejo’s lead to 68-65 -- and hauled in six rebounds. Cason scored twice on putbacks midway through the fourth quarter that tied the score at 52, and he also had a big slam dunk on a two-on-one break where Neilson had to guard Montigo Alford, who dished it to Cason for a 58-54 lead. Cameron Lewis scored 10 points.

Mission Viejo led 52-44 after the third quarter, on two big threes by Cramer, and Neilson’s nine points spearheaded a 34-33 halftime lead.