SEA VIEW LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Tustin Rallies for Victory

Tustin High School guard Jentry Moore was nervous. Corona del Mar Coach Paul Orris was furious. And Tustin Coach Tom McCluskey was delirious after his team’s 56-55 victory over Corona del Mar Friday night.

Moore, a slender sophomore, made two free throws in between two timeouts--called to rattle the 15-year-old--to give Tustin new life in the unpredictable Sea View League. Four teams--Newport Harbor, Estancia, Corona del Mar and Tustin--are tied for first place with one week remaining.

Moore’s accuracy at the free throw line climaxed a Tustin rally that overcame a 54-49 deficit in the final two minutes.

Moore was fouled by Corona del Mar’s John Paulsen with his team trailing, 55-54, with four seconds to play. Moore stepped to the line, but Orris called a timeout before he ever got his hands on the ball. When play resumed, Moore made his first shot to tie the score at 55-55, and Orris ordered another timeout.

“It was easy after the first one,” Moore said. “I was nervous, but I tried not to think about the shots during the timeouts.”

Corona del Mar (14-9 overall, 5-3 in league play) lost for the third time in the last four games when it lost its composure. Tustin guard Phuong Tran made a key three-point shot with 59 seconds remaining to slice Corona del Mar’s lead to 55-54, and then Tustin forced a turnover 26 seconds later that set up Moore’s free throws.

“We definitely lost that one and it was a team effort,” Orris said. “It’s a damn shame when you have talent and ability and don’t use it. The first thing we talked about at halftime was getting the ball inside.

“They couldn’t guard us inside. If we kept pushing the ball inside, they wouldn’t have had a big man left at the end of the game. Instead, we got impatient and started firing up outside shots.”

Tustin (18-5, 5-3) was accessed 16 fouls in the first half and its biggest post player, 6-foot-7 center Brian Reider, had four fouls. Corona del Mar made 19 free throws in the first half and held a 35-32 lead at halftime.

But Corona del Mar made only seven of 19 shots in the second half and lost the game despite holding Tustin’s leading scorer, David Beilstein, to only two points in the second half. Beilstein finished with 16 points to lead all scorers.

“This was a huge win for us,” McCluskey said. “We lose, we’re done. Now, we’re back in the thick of it. The tempo of the game went the way we wanted. The full-court press got us going, and then the sophomore held his composure.”

In other league games:

Estancia 63, Newport Harbor 58 (OT)--Mike Haas of Estancia made a three-pointer as time ran out in regulation to send the game into overtime. Haas finished with a game-high 22 points and Augustin Herdia added 16 for the Eagles (14-8, 5-3). Paig Parish scored 14 and Eddie Martinez 12 for Newport Harbor (16-7, 5-3).

Saddleback 82, University 65--Guard Andre McFarlane scored 21 points and had seven assists and teammate Jimmy Galbert had 17 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists for Saddleback (15-10, 4-4).