Sea View League : Estancia Holds Off Saddleback, 63-61

Estancia High School basketball Coach Joe Reid doesn’t want to be known as a nice guy. He tried it out for a couple minutes Friday night at Saddleback and the consequences were scary as the Eagles held off the Roadrunners, 63-61.

With 2:30 remaining in the game and a 17-point lead against the Roadrunners, Reid decided to make the players on his bench happy. He sent three substitutes into the game, allowing his starters to take a deserved rest.

What happened next made the spectators in the capacity crowd rub their eyes. Reid didn’t have time to rub his; he was too busy yanking his substitutes out as Saddleback scored 14 straight points to move uncomfortably close to the Eagles (4-1, 16-2) at 62-59.

Probably the Eagles’ only saving grace was that all the Roadrunners named Walton--that is, smooth-shooting brothers Bryant and Mark--were already sitting on the bench with five fouls. So was teammate Joe Deal, a ferocious rebounder.

The Eagles were ready for the game for second place in the Sea View League after holding a 45-minute meeting Thursday to air grievances.

“The guys were all upset that they weren’t getting enough playing time,” Reid said. “They were crying and complaining about it--15-2 and they’re not satisfied.

“In the first half, I only played five guys. Here’s a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter, so I thought I’d sub. Then when (Saddleback) cut it by five (points), I didn’t want to wreck their confidence by taking them out. But when they got (the lead) down to seven, I did it. And it was almost too late. To escape out of here is great.”

The last time the teams met was in the final of the Irvine Tournament, with Estancia taking a 55-54 win.

Estancia, which replaced a formidable fast break with an equally-effective spread court offense midway through the third quarter, received 17 points from forward Scott Clements and 16 from the other forward, Richie Stamps. Three players also scored nine points--Adam Lockwood, Eric Van Doren, and Todd Mooney.

Saddleback (3-2, 10-6), which fell into a tie for third place in the league with Corona del Mar, was led by center Chance Peterson with 20 points and forward Mark Walton with 19.

ESTANCIA (63)--Lockwood 9, Van Doren 9, Mooney 9, Clement 17, Stamps 16, Covey 3.

SADDLEBACK (61)--Jones 4, B. Walton 6, Peterson 20, M. Walton 19, Deal 12.

In other Sea View action:

Newport Harbor 64, Laguna Beach 56--The Sailors led by 12 at the end of three quarters, then held off an inspired Artist team.

Chuck McGavaran had 18 points and 8 assists to pace the Sailors (5-0, 14-2), but it took a boost from reserve center Dean Sorensen, who scored 10 points, 6 in the fourth quarter to seal the win at Newport Harbor.

Coby Naess led all scorers with 22 points.

LAGUANA BEACH (56)--Naess 22, Jordan 10, Elfsten 8, Watford 8, McGarth 2, Herman 2, Fortune 2, Dewitt 2.

NEWPORT HARBOR (64)--Mase 15, McGavaran 18, Fraser 5, James 4, Beech 4, A. Lee 6, M. Lee 2, Sorensen 10.

Corona del Mar 47, Costa Mesa 44--With one second to play in the game, Bob Zimmer hit a free throw to secure the Sea King victory at Corona del Mar. Jeff Fryer led Corona del Mar (3-2, 11-5) with 20 points, and teammate Rick Smirl had six assists. Costa Mesa was paced by Mitch Pelichowski’s 15 points and Matt Judd’s 14.

CORONA DEL MAR (47)--Fryer 20, Morris 11, Zimmer 9, Turner 2, Strauss 2, Smirl 3.

COSTA MESA (44)--Pelichowski 15, Judd 14, Kimme 9, Louden 6.

Woodbridge 70, University 54-- Woodbridge junior guard Mike Sullivan led all scorers with 20 points as the Warriors (1-4) defeated the Trojans (0-5) in Sea View league action at Woodbridge.

The Warriors only led by one point going into the second quarter. But Sullivan scored 10 points, mostly on jump shots, and sophomore forward Vince Bryan scored 12 points on the inside to pull the Warriors ahead.

Senior guard George Paulson had 13 points and senior forward Brad Arnold had 12 for the Trojans.

WOODBRIDGE (70)--Murphy 14, Bryan 18, Lyon 9, Crye 4, Sullivan 20, Keefe 1, Phillips 4.

UNIVERSITY (54)--Paulson 13, Arnold 12, Winslow 7, Stolzoff 12, Mask 6, Drjevic 2.