Titans block path to victory

Chris Yemma

One block was the difference in the Costa Mesa High boys basketball

team’s 45-44 loss to Tesoro in the consolation championship game of

the Anaheim Convention Center tournament Saturday.

One more step or one more inch, and the Mustangs (3-5) would have

sent the Titans (5-5) home from the Anaheim Convention Center with a

4-6 record.

But it was size that prevailed over speed on Mesa’s final

possession, as the Mustangs lost a game they appeared to be in

control of.

With 6.6 seconds left in regulation, and Mesa down, 45-44, senior

Brandon Aleson inbounded the ball to junior Brian Molina. Molina

sprinted the length of the court and drove in for what would have

been the game-winning layup.

But it was blocked. Tesoro’s Brett Cossairt, a 6-foot-7 junior,

came out of nowhere and smacked the ball against the glass before it

reached its apex.

The speedy 5-8 Molina was cleanly topped by the 6-7 goliath. And

that’s what Costa Mesa has had to adjust to all season -- a lack of

size.

“We’re going to have to use our quickness and pressure to have a

chance,” Mesa Coach Ryan Schachter said before tipoff. “We’ve been

outsized every game thus far, so we should be used to it.”

The tallest players on the Mesa roster are 6-3 forwards William

Lefebvre and Jeff Waldron. There is no center listed, which may

assess the type of game the Mustangs play.

Twenty one three-point shots were taken by Mesa during Saturday’s

game, six of which were made.

Tesoro was 2 of 6 from beyond the arc.

The Mustangs’ outside shooting proved effective throughout the

game, giving them as much as a 24-11 lead during the second quarter.

But one of the few times Mesa tried to drive it down the lane

happened to be on the Mustangs’ most important possession.

“It was a good clean block,” Schachter said after Cossairt

dispatched Mesa’s last hope. “It wasn’t goaltending, I mean, the guy

made a great play on the defensive end, so all the credit goes to

[Tesoro] for finishing the game.”

Tesoro took the 45-44 lead with a little less than 30 seconds

remaining. Titans’ Ryan Whyte missed a jump shot, but Tesoro came up

with the offensive board and Mark Baldwin drove the paint and

finger-rolled it in for the go-ahead score. The 5-9 junior, with the

same jersey number (3) as Molina, did exactly what the Mesa guard

tried to do. But there was no 6-7 Mesa obstacle there to stop

Baldwin.

“Of course it’s a big disappointment,” Schachter said. “Any time

you’re in the lead most of the time and you can’t pull it out is

definitely a heartbreaker.”

Another area Mesa’s lack of size surfaced was rebounding, which

culminated on the offensive board just before Baldwin hit the

game-winning shot.

“We gave up 21 second-chance points and that’s the difference in

the game,” Schachter said. “We didn’t rebound, and the way you lose

is giving up offensive rebounds.”

Junior guard Scott Knox led the Mustangs in scoring, hitting 4 of

11 for 13 points. He was 4 of 10 from three-point land. He added a

free throw to one three-pointer for a four-point play in the second

quarter.

“I just felt good,” Knox said about his three-point shooting. “I

was just trying to contribute and help our team be in a position to

win. I usually get a couple up there.”

Knox, Waldron and junior Tony Krikorian helped spur the Mustangs

on a 13-0 run spanning the first and second periods.

Knox hit a three to start it, Waldron followed with another three

and Krikorian scored the next six to put Mesa up, 24-11.

“It’s a disappointment,” Knox said. “I mean, we lost, but we went

out there and played hard -- it was a hard-fought game.”

*--*

Anaheim Convention Center tournament

Consolation final Tesoro 45, Costa Mesa 44

Score by Quarters

Costa Mesa 12 11 10 11 -- 44

Tesoro 11 11 14 9 -- 45

Mesa -- Molina 9, Knox 13, Krikorian 7, Waldron 7, Aleson 6, Puente 2, Wase 0. 3-pt.

goals -- Knox 4, Krikorian 1, Waldron 1.

Fouled out -- None. Technicals -- None.

Tesoro -- Whyte 2, Cossairt 11, Baldwin 6,

Folmer 2, Sherry 16, Keene 2, Demere 4, Royer

2. 3-pt. goals -- Sherry 1, Demere 1. Fouled

out -- None. Technicals -- None.

*--*