Estancia slips into CIF field

What might have been two heart-wrenching Orange Coast League playoff losses, turned out to be merely postseason dress rehearsals for the Estancia High boys’ basketball team.

Coach Agustin Heredia’s Eagles (11-17), who dropped two games in a three-team playoff for the final guaranteed CIF Southern Section Division IV-A playoff berths Thursday and Friday, won’t be turning in their uniforms after all. They were awarded one of 12 at-large berths in the 32-team bracket, the pairings for which were announced Sunday.

The Eagles will visit Lawndale (18-9) for first-round game Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

Corona del Mar (13-13) will open at Bonita (22-5) in a Division III first-round game Wednesday at 7:30, while Costa Mesa (10-15) will play host to Valley Christian of Cerritos (13-13) in another Division IV-A first-round clash Wednesday at 7:30.

CdM, two seasons removed from its CIF Southern Section Division III-A title, finished tied for second in the Pacific Coast League. But Coach Ryan Schachter’s Sea Kings lost the tiebreaker with Irvine and are the league’s No. 3 representative. That clinched a road opener against the No. 6-seeded Bearcats, the No. 2 representative from the Marmonte League.

Costa Mesa which handed Estancia a 52-48 setback Thursday to claim the Orange Coast League’s No. 2 playoff spot, is coming off a 1-25 campaign in 2007-08. Coach Bryan Rice, in his first season, will try to continue the Mustangs’ run against No. 11-seeded Valley Christian, an at-large representative from the Olympic League.

Lawndale, the No. 3 representative from the Pioneer League, is the No. 9 seed.

CdM is paced by 6-foot-3 senior guard Sean Donovan, who was a first-team all-league honoree as a junior.

Costa Mesa is led by 5-8 senior guard Mikey Molina, who is averaging 15.2 points per game and leads the Mustangs with 56 three-pointers this season.

Estancia features a balanced attack keyed by 6-0 senior guard Troy McClanahan (14.2 ppg), 6-2 junior Kohl Jones (13.6 ppg) and 6-2 senior Tim Neumann (11.3 ppg).

Lawndale features 6-1 junior guard Marquel Jones (19.3 ppg).

Valley Christian is led by senior backcourt standouts Michael Dykema (16.2 ppg) and Blake De Jong (15 ppg). The Crusaders have won five of their last six games.

If victorious Wednesday, CdM would face either Rio Hondo League champion Temple City or Pacifica, an at-large team from the Empire League, in Friday’s second round.

Should Costa Mesa advance, it would meet either No. 6-seeded Santa Clara or Santa Ynez.

If Estancia tops Lawndale, it would face either Marshall or Chaminade.

— From staff reports