A blood clot in his leg kept Mountain View boys basketball coach Gary Ernst away from Brophy on Friday night, but the Toros played like he was right there on the sidelines with them.
Mountain View used patience and ball movement on offense and a disciplined defense to upset No. 3 Brophy 50-41 in a rematch of last year's 5A Division I state championship game, also won by the Toros.
Interim coach Jason Palmer said it was the first game Ernst missed due to illness or injury since his coaching career began.
"It's hard for him, so we just try to keep it the same," Palmer said. "Because we've been together so long we know each other fairly well. I know what he likes and what he doesn't like. The main thing is to just keep it the same for the kids, and the kids have really come together."
Camyn Boone had 16 points and seven rebounds and Payton Dastrup added 11 points and six rebounds for Mountain View (12-6).
The pair combined for all of the Toros' second-half scoring until Mitch Wallace hit a pair of free throws and a jumper in the final 20 seconds.
The Toros seemed to be cruising to a win when they took a 39-25 lead with 7:26 remaining in the fourth quarter on a bucket from Dastrup. However, Brophy responded with a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to four points with 4:50 remaining.
Boone helped push the lead back up to seven, but Jordan Medl scored to pull Brophy (15-4) within 42-39 with 1:44 remaining. Boone answered with a lay-up and Dastrup threw down a breakaway dunk to send Mountain View home victorious.
Mountain View has won three straight and looks to be rounding into form.
"We've gotten so much better," Boone said. "We're playing great right now."
Ernst is expected to return next week.
"We miss him," Boone said.
Reach Kyle Odegard at (480) 898-6834 or kodegard@evtrib.com. Follow his blog at http://blogs.evtrib.com/varsityxtra, or find him on Twitter @Kyle_Odegard.
