Pinto is at reins

Barry Faulkner

Though postgame hugs and handshakes have been a ritual for the better

part of Carlos Pinto’s four-year varsity boys basketball career at

Estancia High, the senior star isn’t about to start taking them for

granted.

So, with his favored Eagles deadlocked with visiting Nordhoff

through three quarters of their CIF Southern Section Division III-A

second-round playoff game Friday night, the 6-foot-4 Golden West

League Most Valuable Player decided to take matters into his

experienced and talented hands.

“I’ve never felt this experience before, where there’s one loss

and you’re [career is] done,” said Pinto, who scored 17 of his

game-high 30 points in the final eight minutes of a 55-50 victory. “I

can’t lose.”

Pinto’s voice cracked with emotion as he spoke, seconds after

greeting waves of well-wishers with an exhausted but contented smile.

The win, Estancia’s first postseason triumph in seven seasons,

puts the No. 6-seeded Eagles (22-5) into Tuesday’s quarterfinals

against either No. 3-seeded Orange Lutheran (20-7) or Duarte.

Pinto’s fourth-quarter performance was equal parts heroic and

harried, after first-year coach Jason Simco used some high volume to

encourage his stalwart to assert himself offensively.

“Carlos kept passing up looks,” Simco said of Pinto’s 4-for-12

shooting from the field the first three periods. “I told him he’s the

best player on our team and he needs to shoot the ball.”

Simco actually screamed his point home in the huddle before the

fourth quarter, and Pinto said he definitely got the message.

“I just started to attack,” said Pinto, who began slashing to the

basket, where he was often forced into a creative finish to avert

6-foot-7 Nordhoff center A.J. Maulhardt.

“We stopped running sets against their zone and just told Carlos

to flash into the openings and take the ball from there,” Simco said.

“He just took over.”

“I had to maneuver and switch hands [to get shots off], because

[Maulhardt] had blocked me a few times,” Pinto said. “But I needed to

finish.”

Pinto netted 4 of 5 field-goal attempts in the final period and

finished 14 of 17 from the foul line. He added 10 rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.

Pinto scored nine of the Eagles’ final 11 points, including two

free throws with six seconds left to put the game out of reach.

Senior Ray Verrette also excelled for the winners, collecting nine

points and four steals. His defensive pressure helped the Eagles

force 18 Ranger turnovers, 12 in the first half.

Maulhardt finished with 13 points and 13 boards, while Andy Doyle

led the Rangers (18-7) with 15 points.

The loss snapped a 10-game winning streak for the Frontier League

champions, who erased a 27-19 halftime deficit to knot things after

three quarters, but never led.

Nordhoff, a 65-64 first-round winner over St. Francis, missed its

first five field-goal tries and had seven turnovers before it scored

its first points with 2:51 left in the first quarter.

Estancia has won 13 of its last 14.

The Eagles seized a 6-0 lead, despite showing some nerves of their

own. The hosts made just 5 of 16 from the field in the first quarter

and finished 10 of 30 for the opening half.

Estancia was just 1 of 11 from the field in the third quarter,

allowing Nordhoff to pull even.

Pinto scored to open the fourth quarter, but a Maulhardt putback

tied it at again at 34.

But another Pinto layup put the hosts ahead for good with 5:44

remaining.

The Rangers closed to within 52-50 with 38 seconds left, but

missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw situation with 13

seconds left to allow Pinto to close the deal from the foul line.

Pinto missed the second of two free throws with nine seconds left,

allowing the visitors to stay within three.

But Mike McDaniels and Dallas Kopp were among a group of players

who scrambled for the long rebound, which caromed back to Pinto, who

grabbed it near the foul line.

He was fouled and swished both free throws to push his career

scoring total to 1,490 points.

Tuesday’s game may allow the Eagles an opportunity to avenge an

81-49 loss to Orange Lutheran last season in the opening round of the

CIF Division III-A playoffs.

CIF Division III-A

Second round

Estancia 55, Nordhoff 50

Score by Quarters

*--*

Nordhoff 6 13 13 18 -- 50

Estancia 12 15 5 23 -- 55

*--*

Nordhoff -- Maulhardt 13, Doyle 15, Youngblood 6, Whitcomb 6,

Stroup 8, Erickson 2.

3-pt. goals -- Doyle 3, Stroup 1.

Fouled out -- None.

Technicals -- Whitcomb 1.

Estancia -- C. Pinto 30, Kopp 4, McDaniels 4, Verrette 9, Sh.

Markley 2, Escobedo 6, Montillo 0, McKendry 0, B. Pinto 0.

3-pt. goals -- Escobedo 2, McDaniels 1, Verrette 1.

Fouled out -- Verrette.

Technicals -- None.