Morningside Takes Ocean League Lead by Beating Mira Costa

Mira Costa High’s young and aggressive boys’ basketball team is sure to enjoy success in the future, but for now, Morningside is the team to beat in the Ocean League.

The Monarchs took sole possession of the conference lead with a 87-76 victory at Morningside Wednesday night.

The night began on a somber note as the spectators and teams observed a moment silence as a show of support for the troops in the Persian Gulf and a hope for peace.

Then the game began and the teams settled their differences with an intense, well-played game.

Morningside sophomore Stais Boseman led all scorers with 34 points, but Mira Costa, which played much of the game with two sophomores and a freshman, allowed only one other Monarch to score in double figures.

“Stais had a big game, but I think we all responded to the challenge,” said Morningside Coach Carl Franklin, whose team is 16-2 overall and 4-0 in conference play. “First place in the league was at stake and we knew what we had to do.”

For a brief time, Mira Costa (13-6, 2-1) looked as if it might take the league lead for the first time in “about 10 years,” according to Coach Glenn Marx. But Morningside outscored Mira Costa, 14-3, in the last 3 1/2 minutes of the game.

After trailing through most of the game, Mira Costa tied the score at 73 with 3:53 remaining on a layup by 6-8 center Chris Davis, who led the Mustangs with 28 points.

But Morningside went on to score nine unanswered points to put the game away.

“We gave them a heck of a game in their own gym,” Marx said. “The difference was Boseman, they tried to go inside but Davis (five blocks) swatted everything away, so when you need a basket you give the ball to Boseman.”

Said Boseman: “I want the ball in the clutch time. So I took it upon myself to go get it.”

Also instrumental in staving off the Mira Costa charge was Monarch forward Poliasi Tualava, who scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half but missed most of the first half because of foul trouble.

Mira Costa point guard Josh Branca, who finished with 16 points, hit three three-point baskets in the third quarter to help the Mustangs reduce the Monarchs’ 11-point halftime lead to eight.

Boseman scored 16 points in the first half.

Morningside led, 27-14, after the first quarter, but Mira Costa rallied to pull within five, 32-27, after Branca hit a three-point basket.