Boys basketball: Mesa wins 15th game

Joseph Boo

COSTA MESA - Instead of experiencing a letdown against Western on

Saturday after Friday’s emotional overtime win against Estancia, Costa

Mesa High’s boys basketball team didn’t let up. The Mustangs scored 59

first half points on their way to an 85-69 win in their last nonleague

game of the season.

“I was afraid of a letdown,” Costa Mesa Coach Bob Serven said. “But we

had a great first half.”

The win gives the Mustangs 15 for the year, as opposed to four losses,

and it is the most wins Costa Mesa had since 1982. Only three wins keep

the Mustangs from the highest win total in school history, which is 18.

The star for Costa Mesa was Nate Jones, who got a season-high 31 points,

including two three-pointers.

Jones was helped by Steve Whittaker, who scored 20 points and hit six

three-pointers.

“Whittaker really stepped up,” Serven said, “and Jones had a nice game.

It seems that in every game, we always find somebody who steps up.”

Rick Hatsushi scored nine for Costa Mesa, and Dave Weir, who made his

second straight start, scored five points. Western’s center, 6-foot-8

Robert Turner, scored 29 points, but unlike Jones, none of his teammates

helped him out.

While the first half was nice for the Mustangs, the second half was

ingratiating. Costa Mesa scored eight points in the third quarter, 18 in

the fourth.

“We took bad shots,” Serven said, “and the kids got caught up in trying

to match the pace of the first half. They felt they could go out and

score 59 points again, and it doesn’t work like that.”

Nevertheless, Costa Mesa had to come down at some point, and it did when

a win was wrapped up. Now, the school’s single-season win record is in

real danger from this year’s squad. But the Mustangs refuse to think

about that yet.

“Our kids are really focused,” Serven said. “They have goals of being

successful further in the season. We just have to take it one game at a

time.”

Nonleague

Costa Mesa 85, Western 69

Score by Quarters

Western 18 15 17 19 - 69

Costa Mesa 26 33 8 18 - 85

Western - Turner 29, Perez 14, Pannell 10, Wijaya 6, Watts 5, Kim 4,

Chavira 1, McGee 0.

3-pt. goals - Turner 2, Watts 1, Perez 1.

Fouled out - None.

Technicals - Coach, Perez.

Costa Mesa - Jones 31, Whittaker 20, Hatsushi 9, Naff 7, Conte 7, Weir 5,

Payne 4, Ferryman 2, Krikorian , Knox 0, Abedrabo 0.

3-pt. goals - Whittaker 6, Jones 2, Conte 1, Weir 1, Naff 1.

Fouled out - Payne.

Technicals - Ferryman.