Sage rallies to stun Eagles

NEWPORT COAST — One request is all Sage Hill School Coach Jeff Beeler had for whoever guarded Estancia guard Troy McClanahan in the fourth quarter.

“Tell me what he had for lunch,” said Beeler, tired of watching McClanahan light up Sage Hill with five three-pointers in the first three quarters to give Estancia a lead.

“When he burps, you tell me if it was a pastrami or ham [sandwich].”

Sage Hill must have found out because it clamped down on McClanahan and the rest of the Eagles, outscoring them, 9-0, in the last 96 seconds to pull out a 62-58 nonleague victory at home Tuesday night.

The two players primarily responsible for shutting down McClanahan were Mark Loper and Max Potkin.

Loper came up with the biggest ball, thanks to a hustle play by Jon Picarelli with three seconds left.

Looking for some energy, Beeler called Picarelli’s number for the first time. The junior came off the bench in the final quarter.

With 12 seconds left and Sage Hill up, 60-58, Picarelli pressed.

Estancia guard Kevin Thomas tried to avoid the pressure with a quick spin. He lost the ball, and Picarelli and Thomas chased it down, crashing toward the end of the Sage Hill bench.

Picarelli’s heady play allowed Sage Hill to gain possession.

“We had fouls to give, so I tried to foul him,” Picarelli said. “Mark ended up with the ball luckily.”

Loper almost gave it right back.

Estancia guard Kohl Jones went for the steal as Loper’s inbound pass from the baseline went toward halfcourt, toward the other basket for a possible uncontested layup.

Jones was looking to tie the game and also add to his 16 points.

Troy Astorino beat him to the ball, taking care of it for the Lightning (5-6).

The Eagles fouled Astorino immediately and the forward ended their hopes by hitting two free throws to finish with a game-high 20 points.

Up by four points, Sage Hill celebrated, knowing there was no need to defend a desperate three-point attempt.

Sage Hill won its fourth game in its last five tries. The Lightning continued their success from their second-place showing at the Liberty Christian Minutemen Madness Tournament Saturday.

“We don’t have the guys that are going to put up big numbers,” said Beeler, a walk-on coach in his second year at Sage Hill. “But we do have guys that work really hard.”

In a lot of ways, Sage Hill and Estancia (5-7) are similar, from records, to rosters, to inexperienced head coaches.

No big inside threat for either team, just a lot of shooters.

Estancia Coach Agustin Heredia boasts one of the deadliest sharpshooters around in McClanahan.

The senior finished with 18 points, his points coming from where they usually do — behind the three-point arc.

With McClanahan’s hot stroke, Estancia kept it competitive, getting its first lead right before halftime.

The Eagles closed out the second quarter on a 7-2 run to even the score. Heading into the second half, McClanahan already had 12 points on four-of-eight shooting.

In the third, McClanahan nailed two more three-pointers. Estancia took a 47-44 lead into the fourth, forcing Beeler to speak up.

He gave McClanahan high praise.

“I thought they did an OK job,” Beeler said of his defenders on McClanahan through the first three quarters. “We did something called, ‘The Jordan Rules.’ It’s like we’re playing defense on [Michael] Jordan.

“If he catches, you just got to get all over him. When he does give up the ball, you don’t let him get it back.”

For the most part, Loper and Potkin denied McClanahan the ball. McClanahan took one shot in the final eight minutes.

Loper and Potkin combined to match McClanahan’s point total. The two even shot six more times and scored seven more points than McClanahan did in the fourth.

“They did a pretty good job,” said Beeler of Loper and Potkin, who guarded McClanahan so closely in the fourth they could’ve covered McClanahan’s mouth in time if he burped.

Nonleague

Sage Hill 62, Estancia 58

SCORE BY QUARTERS

E – McClanahan 18, Jones 16, Neumann 8, Thomas 8, Cherney 2, Knapp 2, Perez 2, Mikol 2.

3-pt. goals – McClanahan 5, Thomas 2.

SH – Astorino 20, Loper 12, Vorwerck 9, Danner 6, Potkin 6, Seshadri 4, Picarelli 3, Webster 2.

3-pt. goals – Vorwerck 3, Picarelli 1, Astorino 1, Potkin 1.