Boys basketball: Mesa captures share of historic title

Barry Faulkner

CORONA DEL MAR - The Costa Mesa High boys basketball team, a team

that lives on the perimeter, can finally do a little interior decorating.

Coach Bob Serven’s Mustangs, who had played 40 seasons with little

distinction, earned a share of the first league title in school history

Thursday, topping host Corona del Mar, 58-39, in a Pacific Coast League

game that was never really close.

“I look up at the banners every day,” Mesa senior Steve Whittaker said

of his home gym, where nothing about boys basketball hangs from the walls

decorated by the legacy of girls basketball, boys water polo, boys and

girls cross country, and virtually every other sport where

student-athletes don the green, black and white.

“This is an awesome feeling,” continued Whittaker, one of two senior

starters, who were around before Serven arrived to shape the existing

talent into a title team.

“Even before Coach Serven came, we knew we had the ability,” Whittaker

said. “But Coach gave us some confidence, taught us a few things and we

started believing we could do it.”

The Mustangs (17-9, 7-3 in league) share the title with University,

which defeated Estancia, Thursday, 79-60. Since both Mesa and Uni, who

split two league games, are in different CIF Southern Section playoff

divisions, both will go as No. 1 representatives from the PCL.

And the fiery Serven, whose voice was barely audible, said the

Mustangs are now in search of the school’s first playoff victory.

“Oh yeah, we’re still very fresh,” said Serven, who will learn of his

team’s playoff draw Sunday when the Division III-AA pairings are

announced.

A playoff win would also tie the school’s single-season victory

record, but that’s getting ahead of things. The Mustangs seemed content

to celebrate a job well done Thursday night.

“This is the greatest feeling,” said Payne, the other senior starter,

whose emergence as a 6-foot-7 presence on both ends of the floor was as

crucial to the league title pursuit as any of his teammates. “I’ve waited

four years for this. I look up at the rafters every day, too, and now

I’ll have something to be proud of. It’ll be great to look up there in

five years, or in 25 years, and know I was a part of this.”

Serven, who guided Newport Harbor to that school’s last league title

in 1990, and was an assistant coach at Santa Margarita High, which won

league, section and state crowns, was unusually calm after defeating the

defending league champions at their own gym.

“That was good,” Serven noted. “I have some good, hard-nosed guys and

I’m really happy for them. They’re the kind of guys you like to coach.

They can all take a good chewing out once in a while, because they know

I’m only talking about basketball.”

The Mustangs chewed up the Sea Kings (11-16, 6-4), who advance to the

Division III-AA playoffs as an at-large team, having earned the necessary

11 wins.

Mesa, which won six of its last seven PCL contests to erase the memory

of dropping its final six league games a year ago, hit a trio of

first-quarter three-pointers and never trailed.

The Mustangs finished the first half with a 12-2 run, keyed by a pair

of Chad Vakili three-pointers, then scored the first eight points of the

third quarter to virtually silence the home crowd.

Mesa rooters, who outnumbered CdM supporters, continued to shout and

strut in the stands, as another Vakili three ball built the the lead to

40-19 with 3:21 left in the third quarter.

CdM, which had trouble finding shots, let alone converting (12 of 46

from the field for a dismal 26%), rallied briefly. The hosts produced

runs of 9-3 and 8-2 to pull within 47-36 with 3:10 left, but Vakili

scored six of his game-high 19 points in an 11-0 run, as Mesa pulled

away.

“We played good defense against them, again,” said Serven, whose

two-three zone limited the Sea Kings to a season-low 29 points in the

first meeting.

Vakili’s final four points came on a single play, as he drained a

breakaway layin, while being fouled from behind. The foul was ruled

flagrant and Vakili hit both free throws, before Mesa took the ball out

of bounds to the cheers of its fans.

Whittaker added 13 points, while Payne added nine points and 13 boards

and junior point guard David Conte chipped in 11 point and eight assists,

and a single promise kept.

“This was for the seniors,” Conte said. “I promised Steve and Mike

we’d win the league title and get the bell (the perpetual trophy the

Mustangs won by sweeping crosstown rival Estancia for the first time in

33 seasons.

Sophomore starter Danny Krikorian chipped in seven rebounds for the

winners.

CdM, which committed 17 turnovers to Mesa’s eight, was paced by

seniors Zack Brewster, Eric Snell and Charlie Alshuler.

Brewster, who hit 10 of 11 free throws, finished with 14 point and

nine rebounds.

Snell collected 10 points and six boards, while Alshuler had nine

rebounds and five points.

Mesa finishes the regular season with 236 three-pointers, hitting an

average of 8.4 per game.

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Costa Mesa 58, Corona del Mar 39

Score by Quarters

Costa Mesa 13 16 14 15 - 58

Corona del Mar 10 6 8 15 - 39

Costa Mesa - Vakili 19, Whittaker 13, Conte 11, Payne 9, Clark 4,

Fregoso 2, Krikorian 0, Gandia 0, Millward 0, Amburgey 0, Cabico 0.

3-pt. goals - Whittaker 3, Vakili 3, Conte 1.

Fouled out - none.

Technicals - none.

Corona del Mar - Brewster 14, Snell 10, Alshuler 5, Shahangian 3, B.

Mancillas 3, Marston 2, K. Mancillas 2, Richardson 0, Glass 0, Grey 0,

Reynolds 0.

3-pt. goals - .

Fouled out - none.

Technicals - none.