Emotionally Drained Estancia Loses to Morningside in Overtime : III-AA boys: After tying the game with a late three-pointer, Monarchs outscore Eagles, 14-4, in the extra period.

There was a second-quarter comeback, a third-quarter surge and a fourth-quarter letdown.

There were two free throws that appeared to have sealed a victory and then an improbable three-point shot that sent the game into overtime.

Finally, there was a flurry of free throws that ultimately spelled defeat for Estancia in the Southern Section III-AA boys’ basketball championship game.

Inglewood Morningside, a perennial runner-up to county schools over the past five years, finally claimed a championship Saturday with a 95-85 overtime victory over the Eagles at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

Morningside (21-6) outscored Estancia, 14-4, in the extra three-minute period after the teams ended a 32-minute emotional roller-coaster ride through regulation play tied, 81-81. Ten of Morningside’s overtime points came on free throws.

Morningside guard Dominic Ellison sent the game into overtime by launching a three-point shot near the Morningside bench with a defender in his face that tied the score with 11 seconds left to play.

Estancia (23-7) appeared to have clinched a victory after guard Joe Edson made two free throws with 21 seconds remaining to give the Eagles an 81-78 lead.

Ellison stopped short of calling his three-pointer a desperation shot, but admitted it was out of his range with time was running out.

“We needed a fast bucket, and right then, it didn’t matter where I took the shot,” Ellison said.

Ellison’s shot had a startling effect on Estancia. The Eagles never recovered in overtime.

“That shot tied the game on the scoreboard, and it took the heart out of us,” Estancia Coach Tim O’Brien said. “Give the credit to Morningside. It was very difficult to match up with them and that three-point shot broke our backs.”

O’Brien said he tried five defenses in an effort to offset Morningside’s superior quickness, but none was very effective. Morningside took control early, opening a 30-18 lead with 4:48 remaining in the first half, after Ellison stole two consecutive passes and scored on layups.

But instead of folding, Estancia came roaring back by making nine consecutive free throws and trailed by only two points at halftime, 33-31.

Estancia kept the momentum going in the third quarter and extended its lead to seven, 42-35, with 4:55 remaining, when forward Matt Fuerbringer scored on a crowd-pleasing dunk to cap a 24-5 run.

But the Eagles also paid a price during the comeback. Fuerbringer, the team’s top player, picked up his fourth personal foul in the third quarter and fouled out with 4:06 to play in the fourth quarter with Estancia holding a 68-61 lead.

“That was a tremendous factor,” Morningside Coach Carl Franklin said. “We couldn’t defend him. He went out, and we made a serious run at them.”

It was more like an ambush. It took less than two minutes for Morningside to regain the lead, 73-72, when Stais Boseman scored on a short, baseline jump shot.

The teams traded leads five times down the stretch before Morningside’s Corey Safford fouled Edson. Edson made both free throws to give Estancia an 81-78 lead and it looked as if the Eagles were about to erase the disappointment of losing the sectional title to Pomona last year.

“It was a fun game to coach, and from a coach’s point of view, I feel I earned my 50 cents today,” O’Brien said. “It was a disheartening loss, but I was real pleased with our effort. There was a lot of impromptu stuff going on out there.

“We were defending with a box-and-one and a triangle-and-two at times and we haven’t used either defense all season. Now, we’ve finished second in our league (Pacific Coast) and second in the CIF (Southern Section).

“Maybe I’m spoiled, or I just want more. But this isn’t good enough. It wasn’t last year, and it isn’t now.”

Estancia will get a second chance. The Eagles are expected to be among the eight-team field for the Southern California Division III boys’ regionals that begin Tuesday. Last year, Estancia lost the sectional title but went on to win the State Division III championship. Can the Eagles repeat?

“After we lost the championship game last year, we were hungry,” Fuerbringer said. “Hopefully, this loss will give us the edge we need.”

Fuerbringer finished with 21 points and six rebounds, despite playing most of the second half in foul trouble. Teammate Jim Faulkner, who continues to improve, finished with 24 points and six rebounds. Boseman had 27 points for Morningside.

The Estancia-Morningside matchup was the most exciting of four games in an afternoon session that drew a record crowd of 10,330 fans.