Cowboys shoot down Estancia

Patrick Laverty

The Chino High boys basketball team used a stunning second-quarter

shooting barrage to take a big halftime lead and knock off Estancia,

76-60, in pool play at Garden Grove High Tuesday in the Orange Coast

Optimist Holiday Shootout.

Chino (7-1) made three consecutive three-pointers to open the

second quarter and eight of their first nine shots overall to expand

a 13-point, first-quarter lead to 39-17 with 3:57 to play. The

Cowboys finished the quarter having made 10 of 14 shots (72%),

including all four of their three-point attempts, and took a 47-22

lead into halftime.

“It was a combination of us not contesting shots,” Estancia Coach

Russell King said. “Those I can understand going in. But then they

hit some when they had a guy in their face. Sometimes you’ve got to

give credit to the other team.”

With both Dallas Kopp and Hugo Escobedo out because of illness,

the undermanned Eagles (3-3) sagged inside to help on Cowboys center

Jaron Gilbert, who had 12 of Chino’s 21 points in the first quarter.

But that left Pat Markarian open beyond the arc and the sharpshooter

made all five of his three-point attempts in the first half and six

overall.

“I think we came out a little lackadaisical,” King said. “The

spark wasn’t there.”

It finally emerged in the fourth quarter when the Eagles went to a

full-court, trapping defense, but by that time Chino had increased

its lead to 30 points.

The Eagles, led by Carlos Pinto’s 26 points, including 14 in the

fourth quarter on five of five shooting, were able to cut into that

advantage but simply ran out of time.

With its 42-24 victory over El Monte Monday, the Cowboys advance

into the championship semifinals. Estancia will face El Monte in a

pool play game at 6 tonight at Santiago High.

Gilbert led all scorers with 29 points and Markarian added 18 for

Chino. Scott Sankey finished with 11 for the Eagles, the only player

besides Pinto in double figures.

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Orange Coast Optimist Holiday Shootout Pool

play

Chino 76, Estancia 60

Score by Quarters

Estancia 8 14 17 21 -- 60

Chino 21 26 20 9 -- 76

Estancia -- Pinot 26, McDaniels 8, Markley 6,

Verette 2, Viramontes 5, Meissner 2, Young 0,

Sankey 11. 3-pt. goals -- Pinto 2, McDaniels

2, Markley 2, Viramontes 1. Chino -- Felipe

14, Benitez 9, Markarian 18, Bartol 4,

Gilbert 29, Barnes 2. 3-pt. goals -- Felipe

2, Markarian 6.

*--*