Boys’ Basketball: Estancia misses opportunity
SANTA ANA — So much for that momentum the Estancia High boys’ basketball team had in the Orange Coast League.
Midway through the week, Estancia closed out the first round of league at home with a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer against Saddleback. On Friday, Estancia began the second half in league with a chance to move into a third-place tie with Calvary Chapel.
Estancia traveled to Calvary Chapel, and this time when the buzzer sounded, Estancia couldn’t wait to exit the gym.
“I’ll make it short,” Estancia Coach Xavier Castellano said after his team suffered a 51-30 loss. “We didn’t play with much effort.
“We stopped playing. We couldn’t hit shots. Offensively, we were stagnant.”
Estancia’s offense was dormant during an 8 1/2-minute stretch in the first half, allowing Calvary Chapel to blow the game open. By the time Kaena McReynolds ended Estancia’s scoring drought with a free throw with 2:13 left before halftime, Calvary Chapel built a 29-11 lead.
The host Eagles were on their way to remaining in a second-place tie with Laguna Beach at 4-2. Calvary Chapel has edged the defending league champion Breakers, 49-48, and it came close to pulling off an upset at league favorite Godinez, before falling 61-58 in overtime.
Calvary Chapel, which knocked off Estancia for the second time this season, stayed in the hunt for a league title, while Estancia (8-13, 2-4 in league) is still in fourth, two games back of the league’s third-and-final guaranteed playoff berth.
Cobi Foster kept Calvary Chapel two games back of Godinez, which is 6-0 in league. The senior made his first seven shots and finished with 20 points. Aaron Byrne contributed 14 points on seven-for-nine shooting, along with 11 rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
Brandon Bryson, a transfer from Brethren Christian, got Foster and Byrne easy baskets in the paint. The senior point guard dished out nine assists, most of them coming off his six steals.
“He runs the show,” Calvary Chapel Coach Brian Girard said of Bryson, who also grabbed 10 rebounds and chipped in three points.
Castellano called Bryson a game-changer. He didn’t have a player who fit that description on Friday. Through the second and third quarters, Estancia hit only two of 23 shots and four of eight free throws, combining for nine points.
If it wasn’t for Castellano going to his bench in the fourth quarter, Estancia might have not reached the 30-point barrier for the first time in two seasons. The team was held scoreless in the first six minutes of the fourth, until Anthony Rodriguez hit a jumper near the free-throw line. The shot sparked a 9-0 run in which Alex Garduno produced seven points.
“He’s got a little bit of talent,” Castellano said of Garduno, who finished with eight points, one behind the team’s leading scorer, Chad Barris. “He doesn’t get that many opportunities, but he took advantage tonight and he earned some playing time.”
Garduno, a senior guard, was perfect from the field. His teammates were far from it, as they made only eight of 50 shots.
Estancia settled for too many outside shots, almost half of them coming from behind the arc. The visiting Eagles connected on only two of 23 threes.
“We’ve had some really bad [shooting games] and this was the worst, and that’s saying a lot,” Castellano said, knowing the shooting woes came at a bad a time. “That’s saying something that tonight was a big game for us, because in the second half of the season we’re actually playing for something right now. We still got a chance to make the playoffs. A lot of things got to go our way.”
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Orange Coast League
Calvary Chapel 51, Estancia 30
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Estancia 10 – 5 – 4 – 11 — 30
Calvary 20 – 9 – 13 – 9 — 51
E – Barris 9,Garduno 8, McReynolds 3, Johnston 3, Pettingill 3, Brown 2, Rodriguez 2.
3-pt. goals – Pettingill 1, Garduno 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
CC – Foster 20, Byrne 14, Capocciama 5, Bryson 3, Cox 3, Jukam 3, Bell 2, Larson 1.
3-pt. goals – Cox 1, Bryson 1, Capocciama 1, Jukam 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.