Costa Mesa boys’ basketball defends home court against rival Estancia

The Costa Mesa High boys’ basketball team kicked off its Orange Coast League slate in just the manner it would have hoped.

After experiencing their share of bumps and bruises in nonleague play, the host Mustangs earned a comfortable 63-45 victory over crosstown rival Estancia in Friday night’s game.

Senior shooting guard Josh Galamgam scored 22 points to go with four rebounds and three steals to lead Costa Mesa (4-9 overall). Senior point guard Christian Dasca added 10 points, eight assists and five rebounds, and sophomore guard Garry Sloane also scored in double figures with 10 points.

Costa Mesa’s Josh Galamgam (3) dribbles past Estancia’s Jaedon Hose-Shea (31) on Friday.

(James Carbone)

The Mustangs needed to get their season on track, and as if that was not enough motivation, they were looking at an Estancia (8-4, 0-2 in the Orange Coast League) side that went to the CIF Southern Section Division 5AA quarterfinals last winter.

“Two years ago, we were able to get to the CIF finals, and Estancia wanted that motivation to beat us,” Costa Mesa coach Jesse Mercado said. “This last year, obviously, they went further in playoffs, so we’ve got some extra motivation to want to beat our backyard rival. This rivalry has been going on longer than I’ve been here, but it’s something that’s fun for the community.”

Costa Mesa outscored Estancia 15-5 in the second quarter, allowing the Mustangs to go into the halftime locker room with a 33-22 lead.

Costa Mesa’a Riley Weinstein (22) and Estancia’s Jagger Steck (15) jump for the rebound in the Battle for the Bell game on Friday.

(James Carbone)

“We just got to execute a little better,” Estancia coach Xavier Castellano said. “We gave a lot of second-chance points in that first half, and we worked on it. Josh [Galamgam] is a good shooter. As good as [Christian] Dasca is, Josh is very good, as well, and he had 14 points, I think, in that first half. He kind of killed us.”

Senior Riley Weinstein, junior Marco Rosas and sophomore Kembe Howerton totaled 14 points as a frontcourt for Costa Mesa, but their impact was felt in providing second-chance opportunities for the outside shooters of the Mustangs.

“It’s nice because this is the biggest team I’ve ever had since I’ve been here,” Mercado said. “We have three guys inside that can kind of play multiple positions, and they complement each other very well. Definitely, having that size inside helps change shots and helps the rebounding.”

Estancia’s Reef Johnson (24) shoots from under the basket in the Battle for the Bell game at Costa Mesa High on Friday.

(James Carbone)

Senior small forward Reef Johnson and junior point guard Jaedon Hose-Shea each scored 13 points for Estancia. Junior center Peter Sanchez scored 10 points and senior guard James De La O made two three-pointers.

The sides meet again at Estancia on Jan. 18 in the second half of the Battle for the Bell home-and-home set.

Costa Mesa’s Marlee Sloane (2) drives to the basket against Estancia in the Battle for the Bell game on Friday.

(James Carbone)

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

Orange Coast League

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Estancia 17 – 5 – 15 – 8 — 45

Costa Mesa 18 – 15 – 16 – 14 — 63

E — Johnson 13, Hose-Shea 13, Sanchez 10, De La O 6, Dodge 2.

3-pt. goals — Johnson 3, De La O 2, Hose-Shea 2.

Fouled out — None.

Technicals — None.

CM — Galamgam 22, G. Sloane 10, Dasca 10, M. Sloane 7, Weinstein 6, Howerton 4, Rosas 4.

3-pt. goals — Galamgam 5, G. Sloane 3, M. Sloane 1, Dasca 1.

Fouled out — None.

Technicals — None.

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