Neilson's Triple-Double Leads Diablos to Overtime Victory

Issac Neilson recorded a rare triple-double with a game-high 17 points, 22 rebounds and 12 blocks to lead Mission Viejo to a 53-45 overtime victory over host Redondo Union in a hard-fought CIF Southern Section Division 2AA second-round playoff game Friday night.

Neilson, a 6-foot-10 center commited to BYU, controlled the inside both on offense, with six offensive rebounds, and defense, where he altered numerous Sea Hawk shots that helped contribute to Redondo shooting only 20 percent from the field on 19 of 66 shots for the game.

Redondo, which managed to score only six points in the first and third quarters, was visibly frustrated by the size of Neilson, which forced the Sea Hawks to look for other ways to attack the basket.

“He was a monster out there tonight,” Mission Viejo coach Troy Roelen said of Neilson. “He was the obvious difference tonight. Our plan was to let them to drive into the lane so that he would force them into taking a bad shot.”

Redondo (15-13) would not go down without a fight, however. The Sea Hawks trailed the entire game and were down, 33-23, to start the fourth quarter when coach Tom Maier inserted his second unit, hoping for a spark.

“I put those guys in because we needed some kind of boost,” Maier said. “Jordan Ichiyama, David McMillian and David Passmore played some big minutes for us when we needed them and helped lead that run in the fourth quarter.”

Redondo opened the quarter with an 8-0 run, cutting its deficit to two behind the defense of Ichiyama and McMillian, who had each a steal and an assist during the run.

Mission Viejo scored the next six points and looked poised to put Redondo away with a 41-35 advantage with just over two minutes to play.

“I thought we had control of the game when they made their run and we responded,” Roelen said. “But they just would not go away. Give them a lot of credit for continuing to fight.”

Redondo senior guard Martyre Demarco knocked down two three-point shots in less than a minute to tie the score at 41. The second three-point shot came after Neilson blocked a shot by Sea Hawk guard Brandon Boyd and the ball rolled out to Demarco, who nailed an off-balance shot from the left corner.

“The ball just ended up in my hands and I was open,” Demarco said. “When it left my hand it felt good. I thought we had them when the shot went in, but they took off with it in overtime.”

Demarco finished with a team-high 15 points but converted on only 5 of 17 shots. Boyd added 10 points, three steals, two assists and two blocks for the Sea Hawks.

The battle-tested Diablos outscored the Sea Hawks, 10-2, in overtime to secure the victory. Mission Viejo (27-1) has won 11 games this season by five points or less and the last three games by a total of seven points.

“Our guys have been in every situation imaginable,” Roelen said. “They don’t get rattled and can play through anything.

“I just want to say that I hope in 22 years I’m doing half as good a job as Tom [Maier] is doing. He has a real class program with kids that really play hard for him.”

Senior guard James Cramer scored 16 points, including four in overtime, to go along with six rebounds for Mission Viejo. The Diablos advance to plays the winner of the Valencia-Colony game in the quarterfinals on Tuesday at a site yet to be determined.