Cap KOs Knights

Really, Afeaki? Not impressed with 22 rebounds?

"That's not enough for me," Afeaki said. "It was probably my third-best game."

Afeaki had eight points and 13 boards in the first half and added 11 points and nine rebounds in the second half.

Apparently Capuchino coach Doug Fountain and Hillsdale coach Brett Stevenson were a bit more impressed.

"Today, I think, was his best game," Fountain said. "He has advanced skills and he can do a lot of things."

Said Stevenson: "He's just a hard guard for us."

Capuchino moves into the second round tonight and will be on the road at 7 p.m. against South City.

Stevenson and the Knights thought they had the answer for Afeaki in 6-foot-3 Gabe Fodor, but Capuchino kept Hillsdale's big man quiet for the first three quarters.

"[Afeaki] is a really good player and he challenged Gabe," Stevenson said. "Late (in the game), [Fodor] started to drive to the basket."

Fodor scored seven of his nine points in the fourth quarter.

The general perception of the Capuchino squad is it is a bunch of smallish guards hoisting up 3-pointers and playing fast-break basketball. That couldn't be further from the truth. The Mustangs attempted 10 3s and didn't make a single one.

The Mustangs, however, are a traditional basketball team now and, with Afeaki and 6-foot-4 frontcourt mate Mike Luttrell, the Mustangs have the ability to pound the ball inside.

"We worked hard over the last three years (to shed the label of 3-point shooters). This didn't come after just one practice," Fountain said. "We really dedicated ourselves to have that (offensive) balance. When you look at good programs, that's what you see."

Capuchino's quickness on the perimeter and size on the block was too much for Hillsdale to handle. Three Knights starters picked up three fouls early and Stevenson was forced to use his bench a lot more, and a lot sooner, than he would have liked. The Knights lost point guard Scott Cecil when he fouled out midway through the fourth quarter. Brother Grant Cecil, another excellent ball handler, fouled out with 3:39 to play and his team trailing by just four, 44-39. That put the ball-handling onus on freshman off guard Danny Mahoney -- who also happens to be the Knights' best shooter. It was too much to ask Mahoney to run the offense while getting his shots at the same time.

Meanwhile, Capuchino, which converted on just 5 of 12 free throws in the first half, iced the game at the line down the stretch, hitting 11 of 12 from the line over the final 1:27 of the game.

The game was close throughout and neither team led by double digits until the Mustangs pulled away late. Afeaki opened the scoring on a layup, while it took Hillsdale over three minutes to score its first point. But when Nick Serrata hit 1 of 2 free throws, it ignited a 8-0 run that saw the Knights build an 8-2 lead with 3:15 to play in the first half.

Capuchino responded. The Mustangs closed the quarter with a 9-0 run of their own to take an 11-8 lead after one quarter.

In the second, Capuchino had a chance to extend its lead, but made only 4 of 8 free throws for a 15-10 advantage. A Tim McKown 3, however, got the Knights within two, 15-13, but they could never get over the hump as Capuchino took a 21-19 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Hillsdale made a move in the third quarter, outscoring the Mustangs 15-11 to take a 34-32 lead into the final eight minutes.

In the fourth quarter, the Mustangs blew out the Knights, outscoring them 27-12. The quarter featured seven ties or lead changes early but, with the scored tied a 39, the Mustangs finished the game on a 20-12 run.

"I thought we were prepared, but obviously we weren't and that's on me as the coach," Stevenson said.