Orange County Prep Basketball Roundup : Corona del Mar Rallies to Beat Estancia

The Corona del Mar boys’ basketball team bounced back from a one-point halftime deficit to beat Estancia, 60-43, in a Sea View League game at Estancia Monday.

The Eagles had a 26-25 halftime advantage, but the Sea Kings (8-2 in conference, 18-5 overall) outscored them 19-4 in the third quarter to take a 44-30 lead into the fourth quarter.

“Their defense tightened up,” said Estancia Coach Joe Reid. “They really played great man-to-man defense. We just didn’t keep our composure and we started to rush our shots. That may have had more to do with Corona del Mar’s defense than our composure, though. They started getting the rebounds and running the fast break. It’s really hard to stay in the game with them.”

The Eagles (5-5, 12-9) made 11 of 19 field-goal attempts at the half, but their accuracy suffered under the Sea Kings’ defense in the second half as they made just 6 of 20 attempts.

Meanwhile, Sea King guard Jeff Fryer scored 17 second-half points to finish with 28. Corona del Mar’s Tim Christiansen had 13 rebounds and Sean Turner added 9. Tod Bearbower recorded 12 assists and Doug Green added 11 points.

In other Sea View League action:

University 57, Newport Harbor 50--The Trojans (5-5, 9-11) beat the Sailors (4-6) for the first time in several years as Steve Stolzoff scored 18 points, making 9 of 11 shots at University. Lasse Glassen played an important role for the Trojans with 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Eric Olin’s defense limited Newport guard Maurice Lee to 6 points. The Trojans trailed by 10 points early in the third quarter, but rallied to tie the game, 40-40, entering fourth quarter. University sealed the win by making 11 of 13 free throws in the final four minutes. Mark Craig scored 19 points for the Sailors.

Laguna Beach 84, Costa Mesa 69--Senior center Coby Naess had 25 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Artists (6-4, 12-8) past the Mustangs (0-10, 1-16) at Laguna Beach. Guard Billy Elfsten scored a season-high 28 points for the Artists. Tom Morris led Costa Mesa with 18 points.

Woodbridge 57, Saddleback 55 (2 OT)--Adam Keefe made two free throws with 30 seconds left in the second overtime period to give the Warriors (7-3, 18-5) the victory at Woodbridge after teammate Vince Bryan had hit a field goal. The Roadrunners’ Bryant Walton finished with 38 points, including all of his team’s third-quarter points and 20 of their 23 second-half points. But Saddleback (5-5) missed two shots with 13 seconds to go in the second overtime. Keefe finished with 22 points, while Mike Murphy added 12 and Mike Sullivan added 10 for the Warriors.

In South Coast League action:

Irvine 72, San Clemente 57--The Tritons stayed within five points of the Vaqueros (6-3, 14-10) until the last four minutes of the game at Irvine. Vaquero guard Mike Herring scored 25 points and pulled down 8 rebounds, and center Shawn Patchell had 21 points and 7 rebounds. John Littler had seven rebounds and Jimmy Raye had seven assists and six steals. Triton forward Gary Wade scored 18 points and guard John Valdez had 16.

In Sea View League girls’ action:

Corona del Mar 51, Estancia 47--Kiki Stoveken scored on a follow shot with two minutes left to break a 43-43 tie and put the Sea Kings ahead for good at Corona del Mar. Senior center Michele Willard scored 18 points and had 15 rebounds to lead the Sea Kings (10-0, 13-7). Guard K.C. Jones added 17 points. The Eagles’ Annie Foley played good defense and scored 14 points to go with her seven steals and nine rebounds. Leslie Self added eight points and 13 rebounds as Estancia, which has lost 10 games by margins of less than six points, fell to 3-7 in league.

Costa Mesa 43, Laguna Beach 35--Stephanie Swanson scored 17 points to lead the Mustangs (7-3, 12-8) past the Artists at Costa Mesa. Felicia Chalmer scored 25 for Laguna Beach (3-7, 5-10).

Woodbridge 62, Saddleback 53--The Warriors (9-1, 15-6) received strong performances from their post players. Forward Gilly Powell had 24 points, making 12 of her 15 field goal attempts, and 16 rebounds. Center Diana Zilko had 16 points, on 7-of-10 shooting. Monica Walton of Saddleback (6-4) had 25 points, but was unable to score in the last 6 minutes when the Warriors went to a box-and-one defense to focus on her. Roadrunner Kriston Cook added 14 points.

Newport Harbor 56, University 49--The Sailors (2-8, 2-14) received 14 points each by Chantel Deford, Jenny Stucker and Laura Asper. Sarah Andrus added 12. University (0-10) was led by Noelle Sase with 13 points.