SOUTHERN SECTION BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : Simi Valley Reaches 4-A Title Game : Sophomores Lead Upset of Top-Seeded Capistrano Valley

The Capistrano Valley High School basketball team, which starts five seniors--including three who have accepted basketball scholarships to Division I colleges and another who is headed for Stanford on a football scholarship--got whipped by a couple of sophomores Tuesday night.

Don MacLean, a 6-foot 8-inch center, and Shawn DeLaittre, a 6-4 forward, each scored 30 points to lead Simi Valley to a 97-69 upset over the top-seeded Cougars in a Southern Section 4-A semifinal game played before 3,000 fans in Pepperdine University’s Firestone Fieldhouse.

The victory gives the Pioneers their first berth in a Southern Section basketball championship game in the school’s 30 years. Simi Valley (27-2) will meet the winner of tonight’s Muir-Dominguez game in Saturday’s final at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. The Cougars finished 27-3.

Simi Valley had made the playoffs six times in the 20 years before this season, only to be eliminated in the first round each time. But that was before the MacLean-DeLaittre era, which features a pair of sophomores who are mature beyond their years.

Both scored heavily from inside and outside Friday night, as the Pioneers opened a 43-26 halftime lead and were never threatened in the second half.

MacLean made 9 of 13 shots from the floor and 12 of 12 from the free-throw line; DeLaittre made 11 of 19 field-goal attempts and 8 of 9 from the line.

They were hardly intimidated by the Cougars, who had defeated their first three playoff opponents by a total of 81 points, and they showed no signs of being nervous, despite playing in their first semifinal game.

“They play with a lot of poise,” Bob Hawking, Simi Valley coach, said. “They’ve learned to deal with the pressure. Each game has been a stepping stone.”

They trampled Capistrano Valley Tuesday night. After opening a 7-0 lead in the first minute, the Cougars fell apart. The Pioneers came back with six straight points, four by MacLean, and took a 21-18 lead after one quarter.

Simi Valley opened the second period with eight straight points, six by DeLaittre and, suddenly, the Cougars were down, 31-19.

Nathan Call, the BYU-bound point guard who had scored 40 points and had 23 assists and 12 steals in two playoff games last week, picked up his third foul with 4:31 to play in the second period and came out. Thirty seconds later, 6-9 center John Waikle, who is headed for Weber State, committed his third foul and went to the bench.

The Pioneers then scored six unanswered points and went into the locker room with a 17-point halftime lead, thanks to the Cougars’ 1-of-17 shooting performance in the second period. The second half wasn’t much better.

On the game, Capistrano Valley shot 34% (25 of 73); the Pioneers shot 57% (31 of 54). Simi Valley also took advantage of the Cougars’ penchant for fouling and made 35 of 43 free throws (81%).

After the Pioneers fell behind 7-0, they came back from a timeout and dominated the rest of the game. Point guard Todd Johnson, who scored 11 points, off-guard Mike Hankins and reserve guard Steve Jenner, who scored 13 points, began to break the Cougars’ press.

Capistrano Valley’s normally accurate outside shooters began to miss, and Waikle and forward Jason Trask, who each scored 22 points in the Cougars’ semifinal win over Rio Mesa, couldn’t make up the difference inside.

It all added up to an inglorious ending to what had been an excellent season for the Cougars, whose only other losses were to Mater Dei and Santa Monica.

“Well,” Capistrano Valley Coach Mark Thornton said afterward, “we played 27 good games.”

And one really bad one.