SOUTHERN SECTION BOYS DIVISION I-A: CANYON ON A MISSION COWBOYS STUN TOP-SEEDED DIABLOS CANYON 66, M. VIEJO 56.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Chad Eichten paced around the crowded floor of the Canyon High gym Friday night and glanced at the scoreboard, as if to make sure nobody put any extra time on the clock.

``I guess I just can't believe it,'' said senior guard Eichten after the Canyon High boys' basketball team stunned top-seeded Mission Viejo 66-56 in the quarterfinals of the Southern Section Division I-A playoffs at Canyon High.

``For us to go from (tying for third place) in league to beating a team like this, I don't think anybody really expected it. We saw on tape how good they were and how big they were, but we just had the mindset that we could beat anybody.''

Eichten scored 22 points for the Cowboys, who will make the school's first trip to the semifinals since 1978 and face Loyola on Tuesday for a trip to the finals.

``I think the sky is the limit right now,'' said Jeremy Haggerty, who added 17 points. ``I'm looking to add a little jewelry to my finger.''

As usual, Eichten and Haggerty provided most of the offense, but all of the Cowboys who played Friday night contributed in some way.

The seven Cowboys who played in the fourth quarter, Eichten, Haggerty, Wayne Bennett, Jeff Davidson, Richard Ratcliff, Josh Shirley and Steve Wilkins, held the Diablos (26-3) to two points in the final three minutes, a throw-away dunk in the final seconds.

During that stretch, the Cowboys turned a seven-point lead into an easy victory with mostly smart, patient play on offense and some timely steals and rebounds on defense.

The game turned midway through the third quarter on a single foul. Mission Viejo's Travis Niesen, a powerful forward, scored 20 points in the first half, but he picked up his third foul with 3:25 remaining in the third.

The Diablos led 38-36 at that point, and with Niesen on the bench for the rest of the quarter, the post opened up for the Cowboys, who outscored the Diablos 15-6 and took a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter.

``We knew that without (Niesen) they were nothing,'' Eichten said. ``I got our team together and told them it was our game to have right there.''

Niesen came back into the game to start the final period but picked up his fourth foul just 45 seconds in on an unnecessary reach-in.

Canyon led by just six points when Niesen returned with 4:53 remaining, but he played tentatively and scored just four points in the second half.

Without Niesen showing the way, the Diablos looked confused on offense. The fast-tempo Cowboys frequently forced them into turnovers and bad shots.

Mission Viejo closed to 53-50 with 5:30 remaining, but Canyon responded with six consecutive points, capped by a Haggerty 3-point corner with 3:55 remaining.

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Photo:

Joel Zamora of Mission Viejo, right, does all he can to stop Canyon's Jeremy Haggerty on this play but the Cowboys found the basket more than enough to upset the Diablos.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer