SEA VIEW LEAGUE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Corona del Mar Rolls Past Estancia With 25-1 Fourth-Quarter Outburst

During Corona del Mar High School’s team dinner Wednesday night, a parent approached Coach Paul Orris and asked what he had planned for Thursday night’s showdown against Estancia for the Sea View League title.

“He said, ‘I know you emphasize defense, but what else are you going to do special?’ ” Orris said. “I told him, ‘Defense is what will win the ballgame.’ ”

Orris was right, but the coach admitted he could not have predicted a 5-minute 39-second span in the fourth quarter in which Corona del Mar allowed only one point en route to a 57-38 victory at Estancia.

Corona del Mar (16-9, 7-3 in league play) outscored Estancia, 25-1, in the final 5:39 to gain a share of the league title with Newport Harbor and enter the 3-A division playoffs as the league’s No. 1 entry.

“It was a Corona del Mar type of game,” said Tim O’Brien, Estancia coach. “The score was low at halftime, they were allowed to manhandle us inside and their defense took over in the last quarter.

“I thought we played with them for three quarters, and then our youth showed in the last quarter. We started looking to Gutty (Augustin Heredia) a little too much and pretty soon nobody wanted to shoot.”

Heredia gave Estancia (15-9, 6-4) a 37-36 lead with 5:39 remaining when he scored on a 12-foot baseline shot, but Estancia never scored another field goal. Heredia, who averages 19.8 points, was held to 14 points by Mark Flint.

“Flint did a great job on Heredia,” Orris said. “I preached all week in practice that Heredia was going to get his points, let’s don’t get beat by the others. And if we were going to get beat, I wanted them to beat us with field goals, not free throws.”

Corona del Mar pounded a smaller Estancia team on the boards and had a 29-15 rebounding advantage. Forward Jon Upham got Corona del Mar rolling in the fourth quarter when he scored three consecutive baskets, two of them off offensive rebounds.

When Warren Johnson stole the ball from Heredia and scored on a layup with 2:41 remaining, Corona del Mar had a 46-37 lead and the game was all but over.

Saddleback 55, Tustin 48--Brian Torry had 14 points and Lien Nguyen had 11 points for Saddleback (16-10, 5-5). Tustin is 18-7, 5-5.

In the Arrowhead League:

Southern California Christian 78, LaVerne Lutheran 46--Mike Knickerson scored 22 points and Shawn Wiltshire had 20 points and 15 rebounds to help SCC complete an undefeated league season at 11-0.