Boys basketball: Northwood rallies to beat Mesa, 60-46

Richard Dunn

COSTA MESA - For one brief timeout early in the first quarter, the

entire Pacific Coast League boys basketball campaign seemed to hang in

the balance for Northwood High’s Timberwolves.

Northwood, the Daily Pilot favorite to win the league despite having

no seniors, started 0-2 in the PCL and, before anybody had their seats

warm Wednesday night, the T-wolves trailed, 15-1, to host Costa Mesa.

But Coach Tim O’Brien’s squad found another gear following some quick

self-evaluation and rallied to defeat Costa Mesa, 60-46.

“The nice thing when you get down 15-1 is that you’ve got the whole

game to catch up, and only after the first two minutes,” said O’Brien,

whose squad (14-5, 1-2 in the PCL) needed only the remainder of the first

quarter to edge closer to the Mustangs, who led, 15-13, by quarter’s end.

Northwood continued its momentum in the second quarter and raced to a

32-23 halftime lead, then Costa Mesa came back in the third and pulled to

within one point in the opening seconds of the fourth.

But the Timberwolves, after climbing back from a large first-quarter

deficit and taking the lead early in the second quarter, never lost the

upper hand.

“The kids changed their energy level,” O’Brien said of his team’s

early recovery. “We’re a very fragile team right now, starting league 0-2

after a nice preseason, and starting three sophomores.

“We were nervous, down (and) fragile. It had been a tough week. But

during that timeout (with only 1:44 expired and Mesa leading, 12-0), we

took a step back and learned about ourselves.”

For Costa Mesa (11-7, 1-2), it was a case of going from one extreme to

the other. The Mustangs cashed in on their first five shots from the

field and, following Chad Vakili’s three-pointer, they led, 15-1, with

5:11 still on the clock.

“We got up, 15-1, and thought the game was over,” said Mesa Coach Bob

Serven, whose long-range shooters were 6 of 20 from three-point country,

including a 2-of-12 effort in the first half.

Six different Mustangs sank a three-pointer, but no one had more than

one. Mesa standout guard Steve Whittaker was held without a three for the

first time this season.

“We shut down ourselves, because of a lack of execution,” Serven said.

“After we got ahead by that much, we quit doing the things that got us

our (14-point) lead.”

Costa Mesa was led by 6-foot-7 center Mike Payne, who scored 15

points, grabbed 10 rebounds, blocked eight shots and dished out a pair of

assists, before fouling out with a minute left in the game.

David Conte added 10 points, three assists and three steals for the

Mustangs, while Vakili had four rebounds, one block, one steal and one

assist.

Whittaker chipped in with three rebounds and three steals and Nolan

Clark came off the bench to provide the Mustangs with five points and

three steals in the second half.

Conte, Clark and Jun Gandia netted three-pointers in the third quarter

to lead a mild comeback for Mesa, which outscored Northwood in the

period, 13-7, and crept to within 39-38 early in the fourth quarter when

Clark scored on a nice turnaround jump shot 20 seconds into the final

quarter.

“Other than the beginning of the game, (the Mustangs) never really had

a serious run again,” said O’Brien, whose team was led by 6-1 sophomore

Shawn Bailey (21 points, nine rebounds and five steals) and 6-5 sophomore

Rob Selway (12 rebounds and 10 points).

“I kept telling my kids to be patient. They’re just not used to this

kind of intensity in league, especially after being 0-2 in league. But

they responded well.”

In terms of winning the league title, O’Brien added: “That’s a tough

one. We had a nice start and we have a nice team and a chance to win the

league. But we’re inexperienced and Corona del Mar (which beat Northwood,

56-50, this week) is Corona del Mar.”

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Northwood 60, Costa Mesa 46

Score by Quarters

Northwood 13 19 7 21 - 60 Costa Mesa 15 8 13 10 - 46 Northwood - Terry 21, Selway 10, Susson 6, Roggero 6, Howard 5,

Sanchez 5, Gray 5, Bailey 1, Bentrott 1.

3-pt. goals - Terry 4, Sanchez 1, Susson 1.

Fouled out - none.

Technical fouls - none.

Costa Mesa - Payne 15, Conte 10, Vakili 5, Clark 5, Krikorian 3,

Gandia 3, Cabico 3, Whittaker 2, Millward 0, Fregoso 0.

3-pt. goals - Vakili 1, Conte 1, Krikorian 1, Clark 1, Gandia 1,

Cabico 1.

Fouled out - Payne.

Technical fouls - none.