Joseph Boo
IRVINE - It was a fine mess Estancia High's boys basketball team
got itself into. The trouble was in the form of an early 22-5 deficit
against host University in Friday night's game, courtesy of a 19-0 Trojan
run.
But the Eagles almost came back, slicing the lead down to six in the
fourth quarter, with Uni holding on to win, 79-70, in the Pacific Coast
League game.
"We broke down right from the beginning," Estancia Coach Rich Boyce said,
"and that deficit was just too tough for us to come back from against
that team."
Despite a 12-9 overall record, Estancia remains the only winless team in
the PCL at 0-4. Adding to the Eagles' dilemma, they face Santa Margarita,
ranked No. 8 in Orange County, tonight, albeit a nonleague game.
"This is just a tough week for us," Boyce simply said.
With half of the game's attendance still not in their seats yet, the
Trojans (14-7, 3-1) treated their timely fans with five three-pointers
and a 17-point lead with 5:38 into the first quarter.
But Estancia's Jason Simco, who led the Eagles with 18 points, and
Darshaun Garner, who grabbed 17 rebounds, combined to closed out the
quarter on an 8-0 run to get the deficit down to a workable nine.
From that point, the game settled into bunches of ebbs and flows. If
Estancia made a shot, Uni would match later on. One offensive spurt by
Uni would be matched by the Eagles.
Estancia did outscore the Trojans, 18-16, in the second quarter. When Jon
Cantrell opened the second half with a three-pointer, Estancia closed the
gap to 38-34, but that was as close as the Eagles got. After exchanging
baskets, Uni went on a 5-0 spurt to get the lead back to nine.
Estancia closed the lead down again to six with 4:14 left on two free
throws from Simco. But a 10-2 run gave the Trojans a 73-59 point lead,
their largest since the first quarter, and Estancia did not have enough
time to stage a comeback.
"Our kids played hard," Boyce said, "We were right there. But we did not
come out focused."
Uni, a team full of shooters with itchy trigger fingers and long-range
potential, hit 10 of 22 three-pointers.
"If they hit shots," Boyce said, "we wanted a hand in their face. But
they got too many open looks."
"We were supposed to play zone, but we played half zone, half man, and
that led to open shots.
And Estancia, which shot well at 46%, could not keep up, much less come
back from the early 17-point hole.
Simco turned in his second solid game, hitting a pair of threes, and the
