Calvary rallies by Estancia

CORONA DEL MAR — A prayer initiated by Calvary Chapel High preceded both tipoff and the end of regulation in a boys’ basketball playoff game Friday to determine the Orange Coast League’s third guaranteed qualifier for the CIF Southern Section Division IV-A playoffs.

The second one, there’s no disputing, was answered, allowing the host Eagles to erase a 16-point deficit at the end of the third quarter, force overtime and eventually claim a 59-56 victory over Estancia at Corona del Mar High.

Estancia (11-17) now faces what Coach Agustin Heredia said was a remote chance of securing an at-large playoff bid, when pairings are announced Sunday at the section office.

Calvary Chapel (12-13), which finished the regular season tied for second with Estancia and Costa Mesa, advanced by capping a dramatic comeback that was as feverish as it was unlikely. Calvary is the league’s No. 3 playoff representative. Costa Mesa earned the No. 2 spot with a 52-48 playoff win over Estancia Thursday in the first of the two-game, three-team tiebreaker.

Estancia, playing its third game in three nights (including a 64-59 home win over Calvary on Wednesday), appeared anything but fatigued early. It stormed to a 19-9 first-quarter lead, led at halftime, 30-17, and had a 50-34 edge with only eight minutes separating the visitors from a guaranteed postseason bid.

But Calvary opened the fourth quarter on an 11-0 run, twice pulled within two, then tied the score on an out-of-bounds play that began with three seconds left.

“That’s the first time that play has ever worked,” Calvary Coach Bernie Francis said of junior guard Jeremy Jeranko throwing a lob to the far side of the basket from a sideline spot about 15 feet inside the midcourt line. The pass sailed over a retreating Estancia defender and into the hands of a leaping Travis Ricker. The 6-foot-5 senior, three inches taller than any Estancia player on the floor, caught the pass and laid it in to knot the score with two seconds left.

“We practice that play, and we’ve tried it three of four times in a game this season,” Francis said. “But tonight was the first time it worked.”

Ricker’s 16-foot jumper with 2:27 left in the four-minute extra session gave Calvary its first lead since 1-0. The hosts never lost that lead, allowing their reserves, and some jubilant fans, to storm the court after an off-balance Estancia three-point attempt that would have tied it, came up short as overtime ended.

“Our captains [seniors Micah Sherman and Nick Adair] just didn’t want to go home,” Francis said of the inspiration for the late comeback. “They didn’t want their season to end.”

Adair scored all three of his points in overtime, including a turnaround on the low block with 37 seconds left that finalized the scoring.

Sherman, who finished with six points, collected nine rebounds, including six of his team’s 16 offensive rebounds, which led to 10 second-chance points.

Ricker had 18 points and 11 rebounds to help the taller Calvary squad post a 38-18 advantage on the boards.

Jeranko, who lives not far from the Estancia campus, was five of five from the field, including four three-pointers, in the third and fourth quarters. He finished with 16 points, as well as some neighborhood bragging rights.

Estancia sophomore Davon Joyner was four of five from three-point range to post a team-high 15 points.

Junior Kohl Jones scored 11 of his 14 points by making all five of his field-goal tries in the third quarter. He also scored Estancia’s only field goal in overtime, making him six for six from the field after halftime.

Estancia senior Tim Neumann had 15 points, while junior point guard Kevin Thomas had eight points, four assists and two steals.

Estancia was eight of 10 from the field in the third quarter and was 18 of 28 entering the fourth period (64.3%). And while Heredia’s team had just one turnover in the final 20 minutes, it was one for 10 from the field in the fourth quarter and one for five in overtime.

Calvary Chapel, which shot 25% from the field in the first half, made nine of 13 field-goal tries in the fourth quarter and was 18 of 33 after intermission (54.6%).

“Overall, I am very pleased,” Heredia said of his team’s play. “We played hard. We did a good job, we just kind of stopped playing a little bit in the fourth quarter. [Calvary] picked it up a little bit and we didn’t respond. I’m proud of my boys, but [the hosts] were a little stronger than us.”

There is no minimum-win requirement to apply for an at-large CIF playoff berth.

“We’re going to throw our name in the hat and see what happens,” Heredia said. “I did a little research. I don’t know if it’s valid, but I think we could sneak in, I don’t know.”

Orange Coast League playoff

Calvary Chapel 59, Estancia 56 (OT)

SCORE BY PERIODS

Est – Joyner 15, Jones 14, Neumann 13, Thomas 8, Knapp 3, McClanahan 2, Cherney 1.

3-pt. goals – Joyner 4, Thomas 2, Jones 1, Neumann 1, Jones 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

CC – Ricker 18, Jeranko 16, Grossek 7, Sherman 6, Weisman 5, Adair 3, Frenzel 2, Jilson 2.

3-pt. goals – Jeranko 4, Grossek 1.

Fouled out – None.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at barry.faulkner@latimes.com.