University outguns Mustangs, 87-77

Tony Altobelli

IRVINE - It was a good, old-fashioned shootout between Costa Mesa

High and University in boys basketball Friday night.

Unfortunately for the visiting Mustangs, their bullets ran out a

little early, allowing the Trojans to run and gun their way to an 87-77

Pacific Coast League win.

“We basically lost it in the fourth quarter,” Mesa Coach Bob Serven

said. “Some inexperience showed, we didn’t find their hot shooters when

we needed to and we put up some bad shots down the stretch.”

Mike Payne led the Mustangs (11-6, 1-1 in league) with 18 points and

10 rebounds, while David Conte added 17 and Steve Whittaker chipped in

15.

The Mesa threesome were no match for the Trojans’ combination of Jason

Garey and Hiro Christoph. Garey had 32 points, including seven

three-pointers, while Christoph added 31 points, including seven treys of

his own.

The Trojans drained 17 three-pointers, while Mesa settled for seven

treys.

“Those are some good shooters over there,” Serven said of Uni. “We had

an opportunity to beat one of the best teams in the PCL on their home

floor, but we just couldn’t finish it off.”

Mesa started off on fire, jumping out to a 10-0 lead thanks to solid

shooting and a suffocating full-court press.

Following a timeout, University (10-7, 2-0) regained some composure

and ran off eight straight points to keep the game close.

Conte, Whittaker and Payne helped push the Mustangs’ lead back to 10

midway through the second quarter, before Christoph and Garey helped cut

Uni’s deficit down to two.

Mesa took a six-point lead into the second half, but that lead was

soon evaporated, thanks to the streaky shooting of the Trojans.

“I think the biggest difference between the first half and second half

is that Uni just shot the ball better,” Serven said.

With the score tied at 51-51, Uni’s Garey and Mesa’s Jun Gandia (six

points) put on a mini version of “can you top this?” as they exchanged

three-pointers on two possessions. Uni tied the game on four different

occasions, but Mesa would answer right back with points of its own.

Christoph and Garey scored 18 of the team’s 28 third-quarter points as

Uni grabbed its first lead of the game with 1:08 remaining, 62-61.

Conte scored nine third-quarter points, including a three-pointer that

gave the Mustangs a 64-62 advantage after three.

The lead changed hands five times in the fourth quarter as the two

teams turned the game into a shooting gallery.

Mesa fell behind by four before baskets by Krikorian (six points),

Clark (11 points) and Payne gave the Mustangs a 74-72 advantage with two

minutes remaining.

That’s when Garey carried the load for the Trojans. The senior guard

drained three three-pointers on consecutive trips down the court, giving

University the lead for good.

The Trojans outscored the Mustangs, 15-3, in that final two-minute

stretch.

Costa Mesa tried to stop the clock by fouling, but the Trojans

answered by making all six shots from the charity stripe.

The Mustangs will try to regain their winning ways on Wednesday at

home against Northwood. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

“Northwood lost to Uni at home and we lost to Uni at their place,”

Serven said. “Hopefully, we can bounce back from this one with a win on

Wednesday.”