PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Scrappy Laguna Beach Can’t Slow Up Estancia

If grit and determination were enough, Laguna Beach might have been able to cool off hot-shooting Estancia Friday night at Laguna Beach High School.

But Estancia’s tangible assets of height and talent were the deciding factors as the Eagles, shooting 67.8% from the floor, romped to a 60-47 Pacific Coast League victory over the Artists, who kept pressing and scrapping long after the game was out of reach.

Estancia (17-5, 5-1 in league) blew the game open early with a 17-0 blitz led by forward Jim Faulkner and guards Russell King and Victor Trujillo. Faulkner’s basket with 4 minutes 46 seconds left in the second quarter gave Estancia a 30-10 lead.

Eric Fegraus finally broke Laguna Beach’s drought, scoring with 4:23 left in the first half, but the Eagles led, 32-16, at the half.

“The kids really responded tonight,” Estancia Coach Tim O’Brien said. “We were a good team. They were communicating out there and moved the ball around real well.”

Estancia quickly put a damper on Laguna Beach’s hopes early in the third quarter as center Matt Fuerbringer and Faulkner spurred an 11-2 burst for a 43-18 lead with 3:37 left in the third quarter.

A three-point play by Laguna Beach’s Darren Gravley and a technical foul called on Estancia’s Ty Schisler enabled the Artists to narrow the gap to 43-25 with 2:21 left in the third, but Estancia was still never threatened.

Gravley led Laguna Beach (12-8, 2-4) with 22 points. Fuerbringer led the Eagles with 22 points on nine-of-11 shooting and 11 rebounds, and Faulkner added 16 points on six-of-eight shooting and 15 rebounds.

In other league games:

Trabuco Hills 62, Costa Mesa 55--Center Gavin Vanderputten scored eight points and teammate Brett Poulos added four points in the first quarter as Trabuco Hills (16-5, 6-0) opened a 19-6 lead and cruised to a victory at Costa Mesa.

Laguna Hills 64, Century 37--Aaron Cook and Aaron Brunstetter each scored 16 points to lead Laguna Hills (8-10, 2-4).