Lead doesn’t stand

COSTA MESA — The kid did not want to go home.

That’s how Coach Bryan Rice explained the fight in the kid with the spiky hairdo.

With less than a minute left in the boys’ basketball playoff game, Rice called for No. 33. It was time for Mikey Molina to leave the Costa Mesa High court for the final time.

One of the first people to hug Molina was his older brother, Brian Molina, an assistant coach. Both of them sport similar hairdos, Mikey has more hair.

Mikey ended his senior year with his brother at his side. Brian finished his in 2006, back then his brother was a freshman on the team.

The two on Wednesday night tried to help the Mustangs win their second playoff game in the last 46 years.

Mikey shot. Brian coached.

Costa Mesa still fell short, losing to No. 11-seeded Cerritos Valley Christian, 64-52, in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division IV-A playoffs.

Mikey did his best to keep the Mustangs (10-16) in the game against the defending section champion.

Molina finished with 26 points and six three-pointers. As a team, the Mustangs made 11 shots from three-point range.

Some teams live and die with the three. Costa Mesa was one of those teams Wednesday.

The Mustangs were on a high, going up, 19-6, after converting four three-pointers and one at the free-throw line in the opening quarter.

They went four for four from behind the arc. Molina made three threes in the first eight minutes.

Coach Bryan Branderhorst had seen another three-point shooting team, Marina, hurt his Crusaders (14-13) before.

“We weren’t counting on it,” Branderhorst said of the Mustangs’ outside shooting to cool down.

Eventually, Costa Mesa, playing in its first home playoff game since the 2005-06 season, froze down the stretch.

The Mustangs missed 17 three-pointers. The shots stopped falling in as consistently as they did in the first.

Costa Mesa’s incredible turnaround from a year ago, going from a one-win team to a playoff team, ended just like that.

Realizing it was over was hard to swallow for Molina and seven other seniors.

With 42.3 seconds remaining, Molina jogged off the court, Ben Lefebvre right behind him.

The clutch shooter and stopper. They clutched their coaches and stopped themselves from crying.

“It was pretty emotional,” Molina said. “I had to hold myself back.”

Holding back Molina at times in the game was himself.

Foul trouble sent the guard to the bench, where his brother tried to tell him to be careful on defense.

When Molina picked up his fourth foul with 2:02 to go in the third quarter, one more meant Molina was finished. Lefebvre also was in foul trouble, along with the Mustangs’ front line of Jeff Dye and Andrew Albers.

With Molina out, the Crusaders went into the fourth quarter with 48-41 lead. Seeing Blake De Jong, who had 26 points, continue to exploit the Mustangs’ smaller guards, Rice was forced to put Molina back in.

Sixty-two seconds into the fourth, Molina reentered. During a 40-second span, he knocked down his fifth three-pointer and teammate Kevin Astorino nailed one. The Mustangs trailed, 53-49, with 5:26 left.

Immediately, Costa Mesa got the ball right back. Albers blocked a shot. Costa Mesa had a chance to make it a two-point game, or a one-point game.

The Mustangs rushed a three-pointer.

The Crusaders never looked back. Trevor Koolmees scored seven straight points, giving his team a 60-49 lead. The only other shot Costa Mesa made in the final 5:25 was another three-pointer by Molina, coming at the 2:52 mark.

By then it was over. The Crusaders were headed into the second round to play No. 6-seeded Santa Clara Friday.

“I’ve been here for four years,” Molina said. “It’s been a good ride, but it has to end sometime.”

CIF Southern Section Division IV-A playoffs

First round

Valley Christian 64, Costa Mesa 52

SCORE BY QUARTERS

VC – De Jong 26, Dykema 12, Koolmees 10, Hunt 8, Reyneveld 6, Parker 2.

3-pt. goals – De Jong 2, Dykema 1.

CM – Molina 26, Waldron 7, Lefebvre 6, LeValley 6, Astorino 5, Albers 2.

3-pt. goals – Molina 6, LeValley 2, Lefebvre 2, Astorino 1.

Fouled out – Albers.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at david.carrillo@latimes.com.