ORANGE COUNTY PREP BASKETBALL : Sea View League : Things Go University’s Way for Change

The way this week had been going for Steve Scoggin, University High School basketball coach, things could only get better.

After having a $1,700 videocassette recorder stolen from his office Tuesday, and having a bad day at school Wednesday, some good fortune finally came Scoggin’s way Wednesday night.

Make that a lot of good fortune.

His Trojans missed eight free throws in the final 1:11 but were still able to maintain their three-point lead and defeat Tustin, 69-66, in the Sea View League opener in the Tillers’ gym. University improves to 12-4.

Tustin (12-3) had more than enough opportunities to win, but almost every time a University player missed a free throw, another Trojan would come up with a rebound, and every time the Tillers had the ball in the final minute, they either missed their shots or turned the ball over.

For instance, twice in the final minute, Trojan forward Craig Allton missed two free throws, but Chi Mao rebounded the second miss to maintain possession. Mao also missed the front end of two one-and-one free-throw situations.

Tustin’s Rog Middleton grabbed the rebound on the first miss, only to have teammate Vern Broadnax miss a jumper at the other end. After his second miss, Middleton sank a jumper with 25 seconds left, but the basket was disqualified because of his offensive foul.

“We usually shoot free throws very well,” Scoggin said. “That’s just not like us.”

Lucky for Scoggin, Trojan forward Steve Stolzoff and center Lasse Glassen had their usual good nights. Stolzoff scored a game-high 32 points, including 10 in each of the second and third periods, and Glassen scored 20 points before fouling out with 4:05 to play.

Middleton scored 29 points and center Leo Parker Jr. added 21 points for Tustin.

Corona del Mar 63, Saddleback 62--Geoff Probst made a 15-foot jump shot with 17 seconds remaining to lift the Sea Kings at Saddleback High. Corona del Mar (14-4) played without its leading scorer, Markus Muller-Stach, who was nursing a sore left ankle injured Friday night against Woodbridge.

Darren Morris scored a team-high 15 points and had 11 assists for the Sea Kings. Saddleback (4-9) was led by Gylan Dottin, who scored a game-high 18 points.

Estancia 42, Newport Harbor 33--Kyle Mooney scored 15 points, and Randy Tift added 14 points to help the Eagles at Newport Harbor. Estancia outscored Newport Harbor, 12-5, in the second quarter to take control. John Alstrom scored 18 points for the Sailors.