Thirty-six years ago Gary Ernst went up against Rincon High for the first time in what clearly was a meaningful contest.

Ernst was coaching at Chandler High that night in 1976 in the big school (Class AAA) state championship game against Rincon. Ernst and the Wolves prevailed, 59-53, for the first of Ernst's eight state-title triumphs.

It was an odd twist of fate Thursday night  that Ernst's second bout with Rincon came in career game No. 1,068, this time as coach at Mesa Mountain View, again containing more meaning than the normal outing.

The meaning this time was Ernst's 775th career victory that made him the winningest boys basketball coach in state history. No. 12-seed Mountain View topped No. 21 Rincon with ease, 66-50, in the first round of the Division I state tournament at Mountain View High School. Mountain View advances to the second round on Saturday for a 7 p.m. game at No. 5 seed Desert Vista.

Ernst now has one more win than Dick McConnell, the revered and legendary Sahuaro High coach who retired prior to the 2007-2008 season. Ernst  headed to midcourt to be with wife, Susan, and receive a hug and kiss from her. He was honored immediately after that by Mountain View 's administration with a trophy commemorating the accomplishment and by Arizona Interscholasyic Association Executive Director Dr. Harold Slemmer, who presented Ernst with the game ball.

Mountain View and Ernst's victory, a second try at the historic win, ended a 10-day distraction to the task at hand of trying to win another state title. Last week Desert Mountain upended Mountain View in their Division I sectional playoff game. Distraction or not the Toros'  triumph Thursday  was a piece of Arizona basketball history.

"It hasn't really hit me yet," Ernst said of the feat.  "I'm just so proud of the kids, and appreciate what they did..... I could tell in their eyes they were ready to play. Sometimes they were trying to hard, and it got a little sloppy."

Mountain View jumped out to an 8-0 lead and bumped it to double digits by the second period behind the inside dominance of senior Cam Boone and sophomore Payton Dastrup. Boone scored 12 of his 16 points in the first half and Dastrup added six points. Dastrup swept the boards clean, especially in the first half when he grabbed 11 of his 16 rebounds. Dastrup finished with 14 points. Guard Mitch Wallace added 15 points and three other Toros scored between 6 and 8 points to balance their attack.

The victory continued to illustrate the stark improvement of the 2011-2012 Toros from an 8-5 squad in late December to the present where they've won 12 of their last 13 games and now sit at 21-7. It's the trademark of Ernst-coached teams -- maybe not gangbusters out of the gate but better and often title contenders when February dawns.

Explains in part why Ernst has eight state titles to his credit and 10 title-game appearances overall. Why he has won nearly 75 percent of his games (775-293 overall). And why he's now No. 1.