DIVISION II-A BOYS’ BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Pasadena Muir Uses Press to Stop Cypress’ Run in Playoffs

Cypress stepped into a pressure cooker Tuesday and the Centurions cracked in a 62-59 loss to Pasadena Muir.

Muir (18-10), an at-large entry from the Pacific League, used its full-court press to force 22 turnovers and Duane Curtis scored 14 of his 18 points in the second-half to lead the Mustangs in a Southern Section Division II-A second round boys’ basketball playoff game.

Muir advanced to Friday’s quarterfinals to play Santa Margarita, a 60-40 winner over Canyon. Cypress, the Empire League co-champions, finished 21-6.

Although Muir led by eight with one minute remaining, Cypress made it close by scoring seven points in 33 seconds to close to 61-59 with 21 seconds remaining.

Muir pushed the lead to 62-59 and Cypress had two chances to tie in the final 10 seconds.

But Eric Solheim, who had 13 points including three three-pointers, and Derek Mitchell, who had 10 points, each missed three-pointers in the closing seconds.

Although Chad Boberg (18 points) and Brett Boulton (12 points) found moderate success inside, the Centurions struggled from the perimeter.

Mitchell, normally one of the team’s most dependable outside shooters, made only one of six three-pointers in the second half.

“I think our guys are more comfortable shooting (three-pointers) when we run our offense,” Cypress Coach Tom Gorrell said. “Their press didn’t allow us to do that. Muir’s pressure created so many turnovers and we dug ourselves a big hole in the third quarter.”

Muir forced seven turnovers in the third quarter, helping the Mustangs put together a 10-2 run midway through the period.

Muir extended the lead to 53-42, but Cypress kept chipping away at the lead to make it interesting.

“I was happy with the effort,” Gorrell said. “We tried everything we could to win. But you have to give credit to Muir.”