Estancia’s Victory Sets Up Rematch

Here we go again.

The Estancia boys’ basketball team, attempting to duplicate last year’s remarkable ride to the State Division III championship, is one step away from a second trip to the State finals.

Guess who’s standing in the way of a trip to Sacramento? It’s Morningside.

Estancia and Morningside set up a rematch of last Saturday’s Southern Section III-AA championship game by winning semifinal games in the Southern California regionals Thursday night.

Estancia (25-7) got a big blocked shot by forward Matt Fuerbringer and made all six of its free throws in the last quarter to defeat La Canada, 55-51, in front of 2,400 fans at Arcadia High.

Morningside (23-6) rolled to a 93-74 victory over Lemoore. Estancia and Morningside will meet in the regional championship at 10:45 a.m. Saturday at the L.A. Sports Arena.

The last time they met, Morningside won an overtime thriller, 95-85, in the sectional final. Estancia Coach Tim O’Brien couldn’t hold back his enthusiasm while anticipating a second chance on Saturday.

“We can only be so lucky if it is Morningside,” O’Brien said. “We talked about the possibility of playing them again on the way to the game tonight. Now, we’re right where we want to be.”

Fuerbringer played a major role in ending La Canada’s 22-game winning streak, scoring 10 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter. But it was Fuerbringer’s block of a two-foot shot by La Canada center Richard Mandeville with 27 seconds remaining and Estancia clinging to a 53-51 lead that will be remembered most about the game.

Estancia had taken a 53-47 lead with 2:35 remaining after guard Russell King scored on a jump shot near the free-throw line, but La Canada (27-3) rallied down the stretch.

Mandeville scored on a short jumper with 1:49 left to play to make it 53-49, and then teammate Ryan Asplund made two free throws with 1:04 remaining to trim the deficit to 53-51.

When King missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity with 44 seconds left, La Canada appeared ready and able to tie the score. The Spartans set up with Mandeville, a 6-foot-11, 250-pound junior, posting low against Fuerbringer.

As expected, the ball went inside to Mandeville, who swung to his right and attempted a short fall-away shot. But Fuerbringer cleanly blocked the shot and then was fouled with 21 seconds left. Fuerbringer made both free throws for the final margin of victory.

“I got it (blocked it) clean,” Fuerbringer said. “I knew the way he liked to turn and shoot. That’s his favorite shot. I was anticipating that move.”

Fuerbringer was surprisingly quiet during the third quarter when La Canada overcame a 34-26 deficit to earn a 41-39 lead going into the last quarter. Fuerbringer attempted only one shot in the third quarter and didn’t make his first field goal in the second half until 7:01 remained in the game.

“We got into an up-and-down game with them in the third quarter, and they were sagging on me, so we went for three-pointers,” Fuerbringer said. “It’s nice to get Morningside again, but our goal isn’t to beat Morningside, it’s to win the state title again.”

Estancia now has the opportunity to avenge its loss in the sectional final where it counts most, in the regional final, for the second consecutive year.