South Coast Christmas Basketball Tournament : Irvine Finds Way to Slow Down Estancia in Time to Take 55-50 Victory

The basics just don’t seem to work against the frantic strain of basketball played by Estancia High School these days--imagine a team running continuous wind sprints, pausing only to launch jump shots of considerable distance.

This accepted, Steve Keith, Irvine coach, decided the only way to beat Estancia was to let its players inside.

“We figured we’d rather have them penetrate with the dribble than allow them to shoot 3-pointers,” Keith said after his team had posted a 55-50 semifinal victory Thursday over Estancia in the South Coast Christmas tournament at Estancia.

Estancia made four 3-point shots in the first half, enough to erase Irvine’s 8-point lead midway through the first quarter and tie the score, 27-27, at halftime. Mike Curtis, who had 10 points in the first half, 17 in the game, had 2 3-pointers in the first half.

But in the second half, Estancia would make only 1 3-point shot, that by Tim Kjar that tied the score at 47-47 with 3:33 left in the game.

Irvine, which plays Dana Hills in tonight’s final at 8, went ahead on Steve Dunmeyer’s 15-footer. After Curtis made 1 of 2 free throws to draw Estancia to 49-48, Irvine missed a shot and the ball was rebounded by Estancia with 1:12 remaining. But the outlet pass went out of bounds. Irvine regained possession and would outscore Estancia, 6-2, in the last minute.

Leading the way for Irvine was Bryan Allred, who scored 23 points and had 3 3-point shots.

Irvine had a a distinct height advantage over Estancia, whose tallest starter is the 6-foot 3-inch Kjar. Irvine had three starters 6-3 or better, including 6-5, 260-pound Raphael Molle. But Estancia stayed with Irvine until the end, running all the time.

“They’re (Estancia) just so quick, they have to be,” Keith said. “They’re the quickest team will see this year.”

In the other championship semifinal game:

Dana Hills 48, Edison 42--John Lloyd scored 14 points and Chris Delfs 12 as the Dolphins (12-3) reached the championship game. Dana Hills trailed, 18-15, at halftime but outscored Edison, 18-11, in the third quarter. Bryan Murphy scored 15 points for Edison (5-6).

In consolation semifinal games:

Los Alamitos 62, Laguna Beach 47--Mike Wilson and Robert Conlisk each scored 17 points to lead Los Alamitos into the consolation championship against Corona del Mar. The Griffins (5-8) held Laguna Beach (4-5) to just 2 points in the third quarter. John Trevino had 20 points to lead Laguna Beach.

Corona del Mar 56, Cypress 51--Matt Herrington scored 18 and Brian Spratt added 13 to lead Corona del Mar. Cypress’ Gabe Trinidad and Mark Johnson each scored 16 points. Cypress made just 6 of 13 free-throw attempts. Corona del Mar was 18 of 23 from the free-throw line.

In other consolation games:

Long Beach Jordan 66, Huntington Beach 52--Kasey Brown scored 18 points to lead Long Beach Jordan. Scott Drake scored 14 points for Huntington Beach. Jordan wins seventh place automatically because Santa Clara withdrew from tournament.

Hoover 74, Sonora 73--John Hillman, the younger brother of former Indiana University guard Joe Hillman, scored 40 points to lead Hoover to a narrow victory. Hillman’s 40 set a tournament single-game scoring record, breaking the old mark of 35 set by Kevin Brazzel of Huntington Beach High in 1986. Ron Pinkney added 17 points for Hoover. Sonora was led by Greg Farlow and Mark Rivera, who scored 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Mission Viejo 59, Costa Mesa 48--Eric Cramer scored 20 points and Damon Williams added 12 to lead Mission Viejo. Costa Mesa’s Tim Nguyen led all scorers with 21 points.