Mustangs win nail-biter
Barry Faulkner
When it came right down to it, Costa Mesa High was much more
effective shooting behind a straight line than the one that bends 19
feet, 9 inches from the basket.
Mustang sophomore guards Brian Molina and Scott Knox each
converted one-and-one free-throw opportunities in the final 10
seconds to help their team hold off crosstown rival Estancia, 39-38,
in a spirited Golden West League boys basketball clash Friday at
Costa Mesa.
Molina’s foul shots put his team up, 37-33, with 10 seconds left, 10 seconds after Knox rebounded a teammate’s three-point miss to
force Estancia into foul mode.
With just three team fouls in the second half, Estancia needed the
next 10 seconds to compile the four more necessary to put the
Mustangs on the line.
And Mesa shooters, perhaps worn down from launching 38 three-point
attempts -- like on-deck batters having swung a weighted bat or
distance runners having trained with ankle weights -- took advantage
of the 15-foot distance.
After Estancia junior Carlos Pinto made a pair of free throws with
seven seconds left, Knox took his turn, draining two from the line
with six ticks left.
Estancia senior Scott Sankey sank a three ball at the buzzer, but
it wasn’t enough to keep the Mustangs from earning a 5-4 edge in the
series, since Estancia reeled off 30 straight wins over Mesa from
1982 to 1999.
“We just had to gut it out,” said Costa Mesa Coach Bob Serven,
whose team made just 2 of 13 first-quarter field-goal attempts (2 of
10 from threedom) as the Eagles (10-9, 2-3 in league) took a 15-4
lead with 5:01 left in the first half.
Mesa was 5 of 29 from the field (17.2%) at the intermission, but
trailed just 17-13, having held the Eagles without a field goal the
final 5:01 of the second quarter.
The Estancia field-goal drought extended until 1:41 remained in the third quarter (a span of 11:20), when sophomore Mike McDaniels’
steal and layin pulled the visitors within 23-19. A Sankey putback
followed, the second of only two offensive rebounds obtained by the
Eagles -- to Costa Mesa’s 11 -- and the Eagles kept plugging until a
Pinto three ball with 5:22 left knotted the game at 29.
But Mesa (11-7, 2-2), which, undaunted, continued to launch from
beyond the arc, netted back-to-back three-pointers, by sophomore Tony
Krikorian and Knox, to build an insurmountable lead.
Mesa’s determination to continue hoisting produced just seven
long-distance connections (a dismal 18.4%). But its trademark
defensive intensity held Estancia to just 40 field-goal tries -- from
any distance -- for the game.
The Eagles connected on 12 field-goal attempts (30%) and were,
surprisingly, better from threedom (35% on 7 of 20).
But Costa Mesa’s ability to win the battle of the boards, 38-31,
helped it rebound from Wednesday’s disappointing league home loss to
Orange.
“Waldron [14 rebounds] is, in my opinion, the best rebounder in
Orange County,” Serven said of the 6-foot-3 junior. “And Marko
Stankovic [a 6-6 senior] had the best game of his career (10 boards
and three points, including a crucial follow shot early in the fourth
quarter).
“That was a game we probably wouldn’t have won when [Knox, Molina
and Krikorian] were freshmen,” Serven said. “They’re learning. I
think we learned a hard lesson Wednesday. [The players] took that
game for granted. But, tonight, there wasn’t a single minute of the
game they took for granted.”
Knox finished with a game-high 13 points and also had nine
rebounds, while Molina collected 10 points and five assists.
McDaniels paced Estancia with 11 points and seven boards, while
Sankey had 12 rebounds.
*--*
Golden West League
Costa Mesa 39, Estancia 38
Score by Quarters
Estancia 12 5 7 14 -- 38
Costa Mesa 6 7 14 12 -- 39
Estancia -- Pinto 10, Sankey 7, McDaniels 11,
Escobedo 5, Viramontes 0, Markley 4, Kopp 1,
Meissner 0, Verrette, 0.
3-pt. goals -- McDaniels 3, Pinto 1, Escobedo
1, Markley 1, Sankey 1.
Fouled out -- None.
Technicals -- None.
Costa Mesa -- Waldron 7, Knox 13, Stankovic 3, Molina 10, Krikorian 6, Alseon 0, Wase 0.
3-pt. goals -- Knox 3, Krikorian 2, Molina 2.
Fouled out -- None.
Technicals -- None.
*--*
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