SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : Estancia Wary of La Canada’s Cast : Boys: Coach O’Brien knows there’s more to top-seeded Spartans than 6-11 Mandeville.

Richard Mandeville, a 6-foot-11 junior, is the center of attention whenever the La Canada High School boys’ basketball team takes the court. But Estancia Coach Tim O’Brien insists the Spartans are more than a one-man team.

“Mandeville is good, but he’s not the key to their team,” O’Brien said. “(Forward) Jim Evans and (guard) Ryan Asplund make them go. Evans is very impressive, but he tends to get overlooked with the big guy in the middle.”

Estancia will get a close look at Mandeville and his talented supporting cast when top-seeded La Canada plays host to the Eagles in the semifinals of the Southern California Division III regionals at 7:30 tonight at Arcadia High.

La Canada (27-2) has won 21 consecutive games since losing to Inglewood Morningside, 77-67, in the championship game of its holiday tournament. Mandeville, who probably will be one of the top recruited players in the state next year, averages 17.8 points and 10.6 rebounds.

Evans, a 6-4 senior, averages 15.6 points and 6.7 rebounds, and Asplund averages 14 points and six assists.

Despite a 58-36 romp over La Jolla in the first round of the regionals, La Canada Coach Tom Hofman said his team experienced a letdown after the Southern Section championship. “Most of my players have been dreaming of winning a CIF (Southern Section) title since they were in third grade together, and there was a lot of celebrating after we won Saturday,” Hofman said. “We certainly weren’t very sharp against La Jolla.”

Hofman said his team will face a tall order against Estancia (24-7) and its talented front line. Forward Matt Fuerbringer scored 32 points, hitting 14 of 17 shots, in the Eagles’ regional opener.

“We have pretty good size, but they’re probably the biggest team we’ve played this season,” Hofman said. “Richard will have to have a very good game for us, but you can’t concentrate on him.”

O’Brien said there are three keys for Estancia if it hopes to advance to the finals for the second consecutive year.

“First, we have to handle their crowd,” he said. “Second, we’ve got to stay out of foul trouble. And then we’re going to need to get some consistent scoring from (Jim) Faulkner and (Ty) Schisler.”

Faulkner, who was outstanding in a 95-85 overtime loss to Morningside Saturday, scored only two points against University Tuesday and missed eight shots. Schisler was shut out.

In other semifinal games:

In Division I:

Fremont (31-3) vs. Mater Dei (32-1) at Bren Center: City 3-A champion Fremont also is a formidable opponent. Fremont was the runner-up to Alameda St. Joseph in the State Division I championship at Oakland last season. Guards Todd Whitehead (19.9 points) and Ricky Brown (17.9 points) and center Eric Wattree (14.0 points) are the team’s top players. Whitehead will get a sneak preview of his home gymnasium next year. He signed with UC Irvine during the early-signing period in November. Mater Dei survived a big scare when guard Reggie Geary scored with two seconds remaining to give the Monarchs a 67-65 victory over Lynwood in the first round. Mater Dei has won 18 consecutive games since losing to Oak Hill Academy, 69-50, on New Year’s Eve. The Monarchs like to get defensive, having limited 16 of 33 opponents to 50 points or less. Center Terence Wilborn will have to increase his seven-point, seven-rebound performance against Lynwood or Mater Dei will likely be eliminated.

Capistrano Valley (29-3) vs. Westchester (28-2) at Cal State Dominguez Hills: Reserve Aaron Rhoades picked up the slack for injured three-point specialist Tom Airey in a 67-60 victory over Poway in the first round. Airey, who has made 127 three-pointers this year, is out for the season with a broken foot. Rhoades had 20 points against Poway, including four three-pointers. Westchester, the City Section’s 4-A champion, lost to Mater Dei, 76-60, in the title game of the Tournament of Champions and West Covina, 45-44, in the Artesia tournament. The Comets have four starters--James Gray, Jason Sanders, Walter Walker and Lavelle Ball--returning from last year’s team that won the City 4-A title. “Teams have been going after us all year, but we have been handling it pretty well,” Westchester Coach Ed Azzam said. “We haven’t had that inside guy to go to like last season, but we do have a couple of guys who do the job in Marty Cotwright (6-9), Lavelle Ball (6-6) and Walter Walker (6-5). I think we have enough power there.”

In Division II:

Trabuco Hills (26-5) vs. Glendora (32-0) at Cal Poly Pomona: Top-seeded Glendora was nearly upset by Visalia Redwood, 50-49, in the first round. Glendora trailed, 49-48, with about 2 1/2 minutes remaining but forward Brandon Lee made the game-winning shot. “They played a great game, and we played a hang-in-there type of game,” said Glendora Coach Mike LeDuc. “We were flat after winning the sectional title.” Glendora is the only undefeated team among the five boys’ divisions and features two of the top guards in Southern California. Sophomore Cameron Murray, brother of UCLA’s Tracy Murray, averages 21 points. Trabuco Hills’ Ryan Holland draws the assignment of trying to guard Murray. Glendora’s Adam Jacobsen averages 19 points and probably will be guarded by Brett Poulos. Trabuco Hills center Gavin Vanderputten, who had only eight points in the sectional championship game, returned to form against Spring Valley Monte Vista in the regional opener, scoring 27 points.