PREP ROUNDUP : Estancia Runs Away With 101-52 Victory

Estancia High School ran into a team that mirrored its style but not its abilities in the first round of the Coast Christmas tournament Tuesday night at Estancia.

Vista ran and pressed and shot three-point field goals, which are only a few of the Eagles’ favorite things to do. In short, Vista played right into their hands.

The Eagles ran wild in a 101-52 victory that provided a chance for Estancia to do what it likes best but rarely gets a chance to do.

“We don’t see many teams that will run with us,” Estancia Coach Tim O’Brien said.

One of the reasons they don’t is because the Eagles run and gun well. It’s much easier to slow the tempo and work the ball inside against Estancia, which has only two players over 6-feet-2.

But Vista would have none of that, mainly because the Panthers aren’t blessed with great size either. No player on their roster is over 6-4.

So, off they ran.

The game was only a game for a short time. Estancia (6-3) scored 10 points in the first two minutes and held Vista scoreless until 4 minutes 44 seconds were left in the first quarter.

The Panthers (2-3) cut the lead to 10-4, but the Eagles went on an 18-3 run and ended the quarter leading, 28-7.

“We matched up really well to them, which is unusual for us,” O’Brien said. “We knew they were a team that liked to run and liked to shoot three-pointers. They just didn’t do it well tonight.”

And the Panthers didn’t handle the ball well either. They had eight turnovers in the first quarter, 25 for the game. Vista made only 18 of 51 shots.

The Eagles made 39 of 72 shots and had six players in double figures.

Augustine Heredia led Estancia with 17 points before fouling out with three seconds left in the third quarter. He also directed the offense and ran the fast break, finishing with eight assists.

When Heredia tired, Son Ly picked up the pace. Ly made five of six shots and added 16 points off the bench.

Estancia also dominated inside, a rare occurrence this season. The Eagles outrebounded the Panthers, 43-26, and Matt Fuerbgringer had 11 rebounds and nine points.

“We found some good things about this win,” O’Brien said. “For one thing, it will build our confidence.”

In other first-round Coast tournament games:

Edison 56, Cypress 25--The Chargers limited the Centurions to 11 points through three quarters. Edison led at halftime, 20-7, and then turned the game into a rout in the third quarter, outscoring Cypress, 18-4. Bill Martineau had 11 points for the Chargers. Jared Rice had 13 points for the Centurions.

Irvine 61, Banning 52--John Molle scored 31 points to lead Irvine. The Vaqueros took a 17-5 lead in the first quarter and led at halftime, 33-13.

In the Katella tournament:

Western 76, Agoura 65--Sam Sabbara scored 35 points, 14 in the second quarter, to lead Western. The Pioneers led at the half, 39-32, but Agoura rallied and led, 57-56, after three quarters. Thomas Barraza scored 13 for Western. Sean Martin had 22 for Agoura.

Western plays Bell Thursday at 8 p.m. in one semifinal-round game. Agoura plays Katella at 3:30 p.m. Thursday in a consolation quarterfinal-round game.

Bell 65, Katella 28--Alex Del Hierro scored 18 as Bell pulled away in the second half. Katella trailed, 33-20, at the half but was outscored, 20-2, in the third quarter. Sal Serrano had 14 for Bell, and Phil Allen had 10 for Katella.