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.

*--*