Boys’ Basketball: Brown sparks Estancia off bench

It was better late than never for the Estancia High boys’ basketball team.

Coach Xavier Castellano didn’t want to go into why he sat four key players at the start, saying he wanted to try some new things at the Coast Classic on Tuesday. One of those players, Connor Brown, said he and three other starters showed up a couple of minutes late to the Eagles’ consolation game at its own tournament.

“It was hard,” Brown said of sitting on the bench at the start against Rancho Alamitos, “but it was a learning experience for all of us. We learned our lesson and we won’t be late anymore.”

The Eagles played without Brown for the first 11 minutes. When Brown entered the game for the first time, the 6-foot-3 senior made a difference, as did the other late arrivals, Cameron Jones, Kailey Alama and Jackson Winters.

Brown came off the bench and finished with 12 points, six rebounds and two blocks, helping Estancia to a 69-52 win against Rancho Alamitos. The Eagles have won two of their first three games in the 16-team tournament, a year after going winless in the tournament.

“I remember you told everyone that we [hadn’t] won a game [in our tournament since Dec. 29, 2012],” Castellano said to a reporter.

Castellano said he used that information to motivate his team prior to the tournament, which began the day after Christmas. He posted the material on a board for his team to see, and Estancia ended a nine-game losing streak in its tournament by beating Downey Calvary Chapel, 62-43, on Tuesday.

Playing Rancho Alamitos for the second time in a little more than a month also fired up the Eagles.

The Eagles opened the season losing to Rancho Alamitos, 69-51, at the Los Amigos tournament. The player who lit up Estancia for 29 points in the first meeting wasn’t available for the Vaqueros on Tuesday. Rancho Alamitos Coach Andrew Scimeca said point guard Tommy Tran missed the game at Estancia with a wrist injury.

Even without Tran, the Vaqueros took a 26-18 lead with about three minutes left in the first half, thanks to Matthew Bautista, who finished with 17 points. Bautista’s third three-point play in the second quarter gave Rancho Alamitos its biggest lead, but Brown sparked the Eagles.

Estancia closed out the first half on a 9-4 run. Brown recorded seven of the points, two of those coming on a layup after a nice pass from Jones, a point guard. Winters also added a layup, and the Eagles went into halftime down, 30-27.

The Eagles caught the Vaqueros with about 2½ minutes left in the third quarter. Evan Pettingill, one starter who wasn’t late and who led the Eagles with a game-high 24 points, converted one of two free throws, tying the game at 40-40.

Pettingill also made a floater near the baseline with 26 seconds remaining in the third. Then Jones found Brown, and before time expired, Brown’s layup put the Eagles up 44-43, giving them their first lead since the 1:28 mark in the opening quarter.

“That layup … helped us a lot,” said Castellano, whose team made seven of 11 shots in the third quarter.

The hot shooting continued for Estancia. The Eagles scored the first 11 points in the fourth quarter.

Tyler Van Dyke opened the fourth by knocking down a three-pointer. Pettingill banked in a shot, before Jones swished back-to-back threes, extending Estancia’s lead to 55-43 with 4:56 left to play.

The Eagles went on to outscore Rancho Alamitos, 25-9, in the final quarter. Jones produced eight of his 10 points in the fourth, and he added six assists and three steals.

“We got a little cold from the outside and we stopped playing defense,” said Scimeca, whose team shot 20% from the field in the fourth quarter, nine of its 15 attempts came from behind the arc, where Rancho Alamitos was only successful once. “They got the ball to their big boy inside and [Brown] took advantage of our size a little bit. I was surprised they didn’t go to him earlier.”

Brown had to wait for his chance to play against Rancho Alamitos (2-10) for the first time. He missed the season opener because of a shoulder injury suffered late in the football season.

At the start against the Vaqueros, his brother, Trevor, gave Estancia energy. The younger Brown started and he had half of his eight points in the first quarter.

The older Brown has been the basketball team’s third leading scorer, averaging 7.6 points per game. While he wasn’t in the starting lineup on Tuesday, Brown’s latest contributions have Estancia (8-6) one victory away from matching last season’s win total.

The Eagles can get to nine wins on Wednesday, in their final game in the four-day tournament. Estancia plays Dana Hills at 1:30 p.m.

“Right now we’re doing well,” said Pettingill, who was nine-for-13 shooting. “I’m happy where we’re at right now.”

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Coast Classic

Estancia 69, Rancho Alamitos 52

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Rancho 16 – 14 – 13 – 9 — 52

Estancia 16 – 11 – 17 – 25 — 69

RA – Bautista 17, Valencia 16, Felatoi 8, Walker 6, Toukhi 3, Gold 2.

3-pt. goals – Bautista 3, Valencia 3, Felatoi 1, Toukhi 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

E – Pettingill 24, C. Brown 12, Jones 10, T. Brown 8, Winters 7, Alama 4, Van Dyke 3, Gray 1.

3-pt. goals – Jones 2, Pettingill 1, Winters 1, Van Dyke 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.