Learning lesson for Estancia

Steve Virgen

Estancia High went from nervous to impressive, but then was left

looking for small victories in its Golden West League game at Ocean

View High Tuesday.

After the Eagles lost, 84-53, to the high-powered Seahawks, there

were some positives, but still an ‘L’ next to this one, making it

their fourth-straight loss.

Senior Scott Sankey and sophomore Dallas Kopp typified the Eagles’

effectiveness. Sankey scored a team-high 15 points and grabbed 11

rebounds. He also had three steals and one blocked shot. Kopp added

14 points and five boards.

Estancia’s reserves, including sophomore Shaun Markley and junior

Ray Verette, provided the Eagles with a bit of momentum in the second

quarter when they reeled off a 16-5 run with junior Carlos Pinto on

the bench because of foul trouble.

The scoring spurt allowed the Eagles to pull within 42-32 at the

break and also resulted in respect from Ocean View Coach Jim Harris.

“I’ll tell you what, they’re going to be something next year and

the year after,” said Harris, whose team is ranked No. 3 in CIF

Southern Section Division III-AA. “Our little reign here is going to

be challenged. I had to keep our better players in most of the second

half to make sure we [stayed ahead].”

Harris also said his starting lineup, led by three seniors, and

the Ocean View defense took Estancia out of its game. The Seahawks

(16-6, 7-0 in league) recorded 17 steals, most of which came from

their full-court press.

Ocean View’s Matt Sargeant, a 6-foot-4 senior guard bound for

Princeton, led all scorers with 24 points, 12 in each half. He made

half of his 20 shots from the field. Seniors Bear Wurts (20 points)

and Greg Okwudibonye (18) also proved to be too much for the Eagles

(10-11, 2-5).

Ocean View’s tenacious defense was also a big reason it opened the

game with a 27-7 lead.

Estancia outscored the Seahawks, 7-5, the final 96 seconds of the

first quarter, which included a Sankey two-handed dunk to beat the

buzzer, leaving the Eagles with a 32-14 deficit.

Sankey, who shot 5 for 6 from the free-throw line, also led

Estancia on the aforementioned 16-5 run, scoring six points in the

spurt.

“I told our team at halftime and after the game that the effort is

there,” Estancia Coach Russell King said. “That’s a tribute to our

reserves who gave us a spark. Carlos had to come out with foul

trouble, so guys like Dallas Kopp and Ray Verette added a spark to

our defense.”

In the third quarter, Ocean View scored the first four points, the

latter two on a dunk off an offensive rebound by Sargeant, who

appeared to hang on the rim but was not whistled for it. The jam,

which gave the Seahawks a 48-35 lead, resulted in cheers from the

crowd, but protest from the Estancia coaches.

The Eagles responded, scoring four points in 24 seconds, first

with Kopp driving to the hole for two and then later with Sankey

scoring in the paint. The buckets brought Estancia to within, 48-39,

but Ocean View regrouped, went on a 12-4 run and never looked back.

During the Seahawks’ scoring run, it appeared as if Pinto was

pushed from behind while trying to box out for a rebound on defense.

Pinto was pushed underneath the basket and ended up out of bounds,

looking at the officials in disbelief.

In transition, Kopp was whistled for a foul on a driving

Okwudibonye and Pinto reacted in anger. Pinto was assessed a

technical foul. He finished with 11 points, nine in the first

quarter.

Kopp, sophomore Mike McDaniels (two points) and Markley (two)

helped to offset Pinto’s foul trouble in the first half. Pinto picked

up his third foul with more than six minutes left before halftime.

“They did a good job,” King said of his Eagles. “They know they

need to keep their composure. In atmospheres like this they have to

keep a cool head and be thinking out there.”

Asked if he thought his team would be able to challenge Ocean View

next year and the year after, King immediately responded.

“Without a doubt,” King said. “Dallas Kopp, Shaun Markley and Mike

McDaniels are sophomores and Carlos is only a junior. So we have a

good core that is getting a lot of experience.”

*--*

Golden West League

Ocean View 84, Estancia 53

Score by Quarters

Estancia 14 18 14 7 -- 53

Ocean View 32 10 23 19 -- 84

Estancia -- Pinto 11, McDaniels 2, Escobedo

3, Kopp 14, Sankey 15, Verette 6, Markley 2,

Meissner 0, Viramontes 0, Salas 0. 3-pt.

goals -- Pinto 2, Escobedo 1. Technicals -- Pinto. Ocean View -- Okwudibonye 18, Amberry

10, Wurts 20, Sweezy 2, Sargeant 24, Lee 4,

Mguerian 3, Hynes 2, Ike 1. 3-pt. goals --

Okwudibonye 3, Sargeant 3, Mguerian 1.

*--*