Heredia’s Heroics Shut Down Servite

IRVINE —  Agustin Heredia, Estancia High School’s diminutive guard, plays the game of basketball as if he owns it.

Wednesday night, Heredia made a huge investment in Estancia’s 51-49 overtime victory over Servite in the Southern Section 3-AA championship game in front of 4,428 in UC Irvine’s Bren Center.

Heredia made a 12-foot baseline shot with three seconds remaining in regulation that sent the game into overtime, then scored all five of Estancia’s points in the three-minute overtime period to give Estancia its first Southern Section title.

It was the second overtime game for Estancia (20-5) en route to the championship. Estancia beat Lompoc, 81-78, in triple overtime last week to reach the title game.

Heredia’s biggest basket was the baseline jumper that tied the score, 46-46, sending the game into overtime. Servite had taken a 46-44 lead when guard Paul Stapleton made a free throw with 13 seconds remaining.

Estancia called a timeout with nine seconds remaining and set up a play for Heredia, who finished with 32 points. Heredia hit nothing but net, but then, he was sure he was going to make the shot.

“You know what he asked me during the timeout,” asked Tim O’Brien, Estancia coach. “Do you want a two or a three? There was no doubt he was going to make the shot and tie the game.”

Heredia made five free throws in the overtime period, including two with seven seconds remaining, to give Estancia (20-5) the win. Afterward, Heredia credited a screen by teammate Paul McDaniel for his successful shot.

“I wanted that shot,” Heredia said. “I got the pick from McDaniel and got a nice opening. I was a little surprised that I got that open. I kind of leaned in to try and get a foul. I thought I was fouled on the play.”

Heredia was fouled three times in the overtime period and made five of six free throw attempts. He made 10 of 15 shot attempts and was 10 of 12 at the free throw line.

Servite (17-11) struggled to make its free throws, hitting only 13 of 27 attempts. At one point, Servite was only 7 of 17 at the line.

“You can’t really say anything . . . each time a player walked up to the line, I thought he was going to make it,” said Richard Smith, Servite’s rookie coach.

Despite its inaccuracy at the line, Servite overcame a 25-17 halftime deficit behind the play of forward Adam Anderson, who scored seven points in the third quarter and tied the game, 29-29, with 3:30 remaining in the quarter.

Servite opened a 33-29 lead but Estancia came back and eventually tied the score, 34-34, when Heredia made a three-point shot. The momentum shifted several times at this point with Estancia taking a three-point lead with 2:46 left to play when Torrey Hammond made a bank shot.

But Servite responded by finally connecting at the free throw line, making seven of eight shots down the stretch. But when Stapleton missed his second free throw attempt with 13 seconds remaining and Servite leading by two points, 46-44, it was just enough time for Heredia to steal an apparent Servite victory.

Servite was bidding for its first basketball title since 1965 and the school’s student section wore T-Shirts that read, “Servite Who?” in reference to the school’s surprise showing in postseason play.

Servite center Steve Marusich, who had averaged 20 points in four previous playoff games, wasn’t a factor against Estancia. Marusich scored 13 points and made only 5 of 12 shots.