Sports

Basketball: Mission Viejo Beats Tesoro for Tourney Title

Evan Zeller is stellar as the Diablos win five in a row, including 85-72 victory over Tesoro in the finals of the Irvine World News/Gary Raya Classic.

Stellar Evan Zeller lifted Mission Viejo once again, keeping the Diablos undefeated as they added another boys' basketball tournament title to their resume.

Zeller scored 35 points as Mission Viejo defeated another South Coast League team, Tesoro, 85-72, to win the Irvine World News/Gary Raya Classic on Saturday at Concordia University.

Mission Viejo is ranked second in the Orange County top 10, and Tesoro is No. 9. The No. 1 team is Mater Dei.

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It was just another in a string of big nights for Zeller, who scored 50 earlier in the tournament in a 115-50 victory over University. He is averaging more than 24 points per game. The 6-foot-3 senior is shooting 63 percent from the field.

In the victory over Tesoro, Max Redfield added 14 points. The Diablos (11-0) opened up an early lead and then held off a late rally by Tesoro (9-2). Mission led 28-5 after one quarter, but a string of turnovers in the fourth quarter helped Tesoro pull to within nine points.

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The Titans were led by Conrad Snyder, who scored 14.

Mission Viejo hasn't played a game closer than eight points, a 67-59 victory over JSerra en route to the title of the Diablo Inferno tournament.


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