Poetic justice

Rick Devereux

While close to 100 fans were left in the rain outside of the Costa

Mesa High gym, an overflow crowd of close to 1,500 were treated to a

nail-biter ending as the Mustangs, ranked No. 9 in CIF Southern

Section Division III-A, beat cross town rival Estancia, the Golden

West League champion and No. 5 in the division, 47-45, thanks to a

last second shot by Tony Krikorian.

The Mustang victory was poetic considering the Eagles defeated

Mesa, 38-37, at Estancia Jan. 21 on a last second three-pointer.

“We were playing for the last shot,” Coach Ryan Schachter said.

“We were trying to get Jeff [Waldron] the ball, but Tony saw a lane

and took a pull-up jumper. That’s his favorite shot, the pull-up in

the lane.”

Mesa was down, 45-43, with 40 seconds remaining, but junior guard

Brian Molina threaded a tight pass to a cutting Brandon Aleson who

was fouled with 29 seconds left. Aleson hit both free throws to tie

the game at 45, and the subsequent inbound pass was deflected out of

bounds and ruled last touched by an Eagle, so Mesa received the ball

on its own baseline with 26 seconds remaining.

Following timeouts, Krikorian took the ball with five seconds

remaining, drove to his left, crossed over to his right and lofted a

shot that rattled twice off the rim before eventually falling through

the net with one second on the clock.

Those on the Mesa bench and in the impromptu courtside bleachers

rushed the floor to celebrate. The two-point win gave Costa Mesa the

victory bell, revenge for the previous meeting and momentum heading

to the playoffs.

“I was trying to get the ball to Scott [Knox] on the wing so he

could feed Jeff underneath,” Krikorian said. “Then I wanted to drive

and maybe dish out to someone, but no one was open so I had to shoot

it.”

Waldron said he was happy Krikorian took the shot.

“Tony is clutch and has been clutch all year,” he said. “He saw

the crease in the lane and took it.”

Mesa, which has secured second place in league, battled back from

a 10-point deficit late in the second quarter and a seven-point hole

midway through the third. Larry Puente’s steal and layup gave Costa

Mesa it’s first lead of the game, 37-36, with 5:30 remaining.

Estancia (21-5, 11-1 in league) had a 22-12 lead with 2:05 left in

the second quarter when Mesa went on a 10-2 run to close out the

first half with a 24-22 Eagle advantage. Brian Molina and Scott Knox

each hit threes during that run for Mesa (17-9, 10-2).

Consecutive threes by Mike McDaniels and Shaun Markley gave

Estancia a 34-27 lead at the four-minute mark of the third quarter,

but another Molina three and two free throws by Waldron cut the lead

back to two points. Carlos Pinto, who hit the game-winning shot for

Estancia in the first meeting of the year, scooped in a spinning,

baseline drive at the end of the third quarter to make it 36-32.

The Eagles were held scoreless in the opening 3:13 of the final

frame while Waldron converted a three-point opportunity and Puente

stole the ball and made the layup for the 37-36 lead.

“We were out-hustled by this team,” Estancia Coach Jason Simco

said.

Pinto was called for his fifth foul with 2:43 left when Molina

made a layup. With arguably the top player in the league on the

sideline, the Mustangs seemed to gain confidence.

Despite stopping Estancia’s 12-game winning streak and taking home

the prestigious Victory Bell, Schachter said he would rather have

what Simco has -- the league championship.

“They had the better prize,” Schachter said. “They give out

banners for league championships, but I’ll take the city championship

and the bell.”

The annual series winner also is treated to a postgame meal at

Newport Rib Company. The Ursini family, who owns the restaurant,

presented a check for $5,279 at halftime to Costa Mesa United.

Golden West League

Costa Mesa 47,

Estancia 45

Score by Quarters

*--*

Estancia 11 13 12 9 -- 45

Costa Mesa 8 14 10 15 -- 47

*--*

Estancia -- C. Pinto 6, McDaniels 12, Sh. Markley 11, Verrette 12, Kopp 0, Montillo 2, Hart 0, B. Pinto 2, Fryslie 0.

3-pt. goals -- Sh. Markley 3, McDaniels 1, Verrette 1.

Fouled out -- C. Pinto.

Costa Mesa -- Molina 16, Sc. Knox 11, Krikorian 5, Waldron 7,

Aleson 4, D. Wase 0, Puente 4, Lefebvre 0.

3-pt. goals -- Molina 2, Sc. Knox 1, Krikorian 1.