PHOTOS: Big second half lifts Cypress past Tustin in afternoon Empire League battle

Mickey Kadowaki brings the ball up for Cypress as Tustin’s Eli Nyeazi defends Saturday. (Photos: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).

Cypress High School’s boys basketball team overcame a seven-point halftime deficit to defeat Tustin 57-52 in a rare Saturday afternoon Empire League game at Tustin that had lots of post-season implications.

The two teams came into the game tied for second place in the league behind-league leading Crean Lutheran. Typically, three teams from the league advance to the playoffs and others can move on as at-large entries.

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Cypress, led by the outstanding play of 6-5 junior Michael Wright, outscored Tustin 17-7 in the third quarter to turn the game around then held off a late charge by Tustin in a fiercely contested game.

Wright scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half to spark the comeback by the Centurions (12-11, 4-1) which could boost their CIF playoff chances and kept their league title hopes alive.

“Down seven, we told our guys we got to lock in and not worry about the refs,” said Cypress Coach Derek Mitchell. “I thought defensively, we really tightened the grip and got defensive rebounds where-in the first half, they were getting offensive boards on us and putting them back and getting three’s We were able to shut that down and it led to us getting out in transition.

“It’s always a battle here at Tustin, Boss (Tustin Coach Ringo Bossenmeyer) is a great coach but our focus was that we had to make sure we were doing our work so that we get that opportunity, because whoever lost this game pretty much is going to be finishing second or third. We have a shot for first, I’m proud of our guys, we had a good week of practice, they listened to what we were telling them and we came out with a victory.”

Cypress also got strong efforts from Jonah Kim, who had 14 points including three 3-pointers in the first quarter and Kason White, who had nine points and nine rebounds.

Tustin, which has had a tremendous season so far, battled from start to finish. The Tillers (16-7, 3-2) were led by Josh Birket, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Johnny Villagrana and Eli Nyeazi added 12 points each.

Tustin tried to come back at the end. The Tillers cut the lead to 54-51 with 25 seconds left when Nyeazi hit two free throws. But Cypress was able to make key free throws down the stretch.

“Our young men played hard and competed for 32 minutes,” Bossenmeyer said. “I am proud of their effort and preparation. However, Cypress just wore us down on the offensive glass in the second half. Sometimes the game is not very complicated. Their dominance of the offensive boards in the second half got them great shots and more of them.”

The Centurions were thrilled to get away with a big road victory, which should help their CIF playoff chances.

“The first half didn’t go as well, got hit a little bit, but I bounced right back with my team,” Wright said. “My team motivated me to keep my composure. We were down by seven, the offense wasn’t really flowing, I had to take it upon me to get the offense flowing for our team. It’s a big win, we got to win out to get a shot at first.”

“He came out and was dominant,” Coach Mitchell added about Wright. “He went to work and attacked the rim and got offensive rebounds and was able to score through contact, everything we tell him we want to see of him, he did it today.”

Cypress would need to win its remaining games, including a match-up with Crean Lutheran on Monday, Jan. 30 at Crean Lutheran to win a share of the title. Tustin plays Crean Lutheran on Tuesday at Tustin.

Saturday’s game, which started at 1 p.m., was well attended and no admission was charged.

—-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com