Los Amigos Experiences Predictable Fate at Hands of Estancia

Estancia and Los Amigos played their roles to perfection Friday night in the first round of the Southern Section III-AA playoffs.

Estancia came into the game as the division’s No. 1-seeded team. The Eagles were Pacific Coast League champions and had won 11 consecutive games.

Los Amigos, on the other hand, had to win a qualifying game to get to the first round. The Lobos finished last in the Garden Grove League and had lost 14 of 16 games.

The result was predictable.

Estancia started strong, then coasted to a 62-34 victory at Estancia High School.

For one quarter, the Eagles (22-4) looked every bit the No. 1 team they were touted to be. They pressured the Lobos into numerous mistakes and capitalized on most of them.

Estancia scored the first 12 points of the game and, with two minutes left in the quarter, its fans already had begun singing, “na-na-na-na, hey-hey-hey, good-bye.”

A 20-4 lead at the end of the quarter was certainly music to Coach Tim O’Brien’s ears.

“I thought we played with as much intensity as possible in the first quarter,” O’Brien said. “We needed to get out to a fast start and not mess around.”

The Eagles didn’t.

Los Amigos turned the ball over 11 times in the first quarter, three on steals by Paul McDaniels. He had two steals in the first three minutes, which led to easy layups.

After missing their first three shots, the Eagles got hot. They made six consecutive shots, including four by 6-foot-6 center Matt Fuerbringer.

Fuerbringer, a junior, scored eight points in the first quarter. He made eight of 13 shots and scored 19 points for the game.

“We came out and did everything right, then we went to sleep,” O’Brien said. “You just can’t keep that pace up.”

Estancia slumped offensively after the first quarter, as O’Brien substituted liberally. However, the defensive remained strong.

The Lobos had only four field goals in the first half, two of which came on break-away layups.

Los Amigos (5-21) managed to get within 11 points, 32-21, at the start of the third quarter, but that only served to rouse the Eagles.

Led by McDaniels (16 points) and Son Ly (13 points), the Eagles went on a 15-5 run and led, 47-26, at the end of three quarters. Ly hit two jumpers, including a three-pointer, and McDaniels had a steal for a layup and a free throw during the run.

“There times we were really sloppy tonight,” O’Brien said, “but this was good.”