Estancia Figures to Test Top-Ranked Saddleback

A tall and talented Saddleback High School basketball team will risk its No. 1 ranking in Orange County at 7:30 tonight when the Roadrunners travel to Estancia to open Sea View League play.

Saddleback (14-1) is the defending league champion with its only loss coming against Kennedy, 59-52, in the second round of the Irvine World News tournament.

Estancia (13-1) lost four times to Saddleback last year. Estancia’s only loss this season was to Irvine, 55-50, in the semifinals of the South Coast Christmas tournament.

Saddleback is a tenacious rebounding team with good scoring balance. Center Malru Dottin leads the team with a 15.4-point average, followed by guard Craig Marshall (15.1) and Tony Agnew (9.6).

Agnew is still recovering from an ankle sprain suffered in the Orange Holiday tournament and is not expected to play. Sean Simon replaced Agnew and was named to the all-tournament team at Orange.

Marshall, considered one of the top defensive players in the county, also leads the team in rebounding with a 7.8 average, followed by Dottin at 7.7.

“I haven’t seen anybody pound the boards better than we do,” Saddleback Coach Pat Quinn said. “We’re focused on defending our league title, and there’s a lot riding on this first game.”

Estancia relies on the shooting of guards Mike Curtis (23.9 points per game) and Augustin Heredia. (14-point average).

Curtis has made 37 of 68 3-point shots, and Estancia has made 70 of 131 3-point shots. The Eagles are also shooting 78% at the free-throw line.

“I’ve scouted Saddleback twice, and they’re the best team I’ve seen in any phase of the game,” Estancia Coach Tim O’Brien said. “My biggest concern is the physical matchups.

“It’s almost a David vs. Goliath situation with their size. I’ve told our kids not to miss their shots, because we probably won’t get many second attempts.”

The best matchup figures to be Marshall against Curtis. Marshall has limited Mater Dei’s Dylan Rigdon to 13 points, Capistrano Valley’s Scott McCorkle to 23 points and El Toro’s Greg Reynolds to 8 points this season.

“Craig is so worked up about guarding Curtis, I just hope the rest of his game is all right,” Quinn said.