Capo Valley Christian Takes Liberty on Way to Express League Title

The climax of an Express League season that was both transformational and one of the finest in Capistrano Valley Christian School history, went off without a hitch for the Eagles' boys basketball team, which capped a flawless 10-0 league run with a 42-30 drubbing of Liberty Christian Wednesday night in Huntington Beach.

Senior small forward David Orgill, the Eagles' unquestioned leader, was outstanding once again, finishing with a game-high 16 points, 10 coming off assists. While Orgill was the scoring leader, his total was the product of a pitch-perfect motion offense that always seemed one step ahead of the Minutemen's defense.

"Our point guards really stepped it up," Orgill said. "We developed as a team. By the end of the year, we really came together as a team. Right now, we're about as strong as we can be, and we're only going to get better from here."

The Eagles are run up top by guards Chris Lenzen and Parker Coss, and their development as a tandem has paid huge dividends for coach Zach Brogdon.

After Orgill knotted the score at two early on in the first quarter, Lenzen stole the ball and raced the length of the court for a layup that brought a whistle and resulted in a three-point play -- the first of many the Eagles would convert on the evening.

Lenzen drained a three-pointer on a Coss assist the next trip up the floor, and by the time Zach McKee grabbed the first of what would be four offensive rebounds, and sent it back in five minutes later, the rout was on at 14-2.

It seemed that everything that could go right, did Wednesday night, as Brogdon got top-notch performances from each of his major contributors.

His center, McKee, was dominant on the boards, grabbing 11 rebounds to go with six points, all coming on put-backs, while forwards Orgill and Nate Antoun grabbed eight and four boards, respectively.

Meanwhile, Lenzen and Coss ran the Eagles' offense like a well-oiled machine, controlling tempo and refusing to turn the ball over.

Lenzen finished with six points on a pair of triples and handed out six assists, including back-to-back dimes to Orgill in the middle of the second quarter that resulted in identical three-pointers from the left elbow that pushed the lead to 25-8.

Coss (11 points, two assists) hit four three-pointers, one in each quarter, and all four were set up by assists by Lenzen (two), McKee and Orgill.

"I'm just so proud of the effort that these guys have put forward from the summer to now," Brogdon said. "Six months of hard work; they never stopped. We got a little down in December, we had a couple of tough losses, and they came back and worked hard, and it's paying off."

Antoun grabbed two offensive boards, including one he put back during a third quarter in which Capistrano Valley Christian put a stranglehold on the tempo with a suffocating defensive effort, and slowed the pace of the game considerably.

McKee grabbed another offensive rebound a minute later and swung it out to a wide open Coss, who tickled the twine for a 35-15 advantage.

"They bought in to what we taught them; they bought in to what we preached, and it's all them, it's all them... I'm so proud of them," Brogdon said.

Capistrano Valley Chistian (19-4) was ranked No. 10 in the CIF Southern Section Division 6AA coaches' poll of Feb. 7. Playoff pairings will be announced on Sunday.

"We expect to win every game we play, but [the playoffs are] going to be a battle," Brogdon said. "We have a week to rest, which will be nice. We've been really sick. We really think we can make an impact in the playoffs, but, hey, our motto is, 'We only want to win our next game.'"

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Capistrano Valley Christian  --  14  13  8    7  --  42
Liberty Christian  --                         4   9   2  15  -- 30

Capistrano Valley Christian (19-4, 10-0) -- David Orgill 16, Parker Coss 11, Zach McKee 6, Chris Lenzen 6, Nate Antoun 2, Landon Melzer 1.

Liberty Christian (13-8, 7-3) -- Tory Schafer 10, Jacob Mercer 7, Ryan Gross 6, Frank Guzman 2.