Mira Costa Is Stopped by Last-Second Shot, 47-45

The Mira Costa High boys’ basketball team had enjoyed a leisurely stroll through the 30th El Segundo tournament until Saturday, when they lost to Pacific Hills in the championship game, 47-45, on a last-second shot.

The Mustangs (5-3) had beaten their previous four tournament opponents by an average of 28 points, but Pacific Hills (7-1) was able to bottle up Mira Costa.

“They just outplayed us,” Coach Glenn Marx said. “They won with a team effort tonight.”

The Bruins were the only team in the tournament to keep Mira Costa senior guard Shane Willis in check.

After averaging more than 34 points a game in the tournament, Willis was held to 15 before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

“It takes a bunch of guys to stop Willis and they did the job,” Marx said. “They played good zone defense on us and we didn’t. That didn’t allow us to do what we wanted on offense.”

Senior forward Westley Allen’s short jump shot at the buzzer gave Pacific Hills the victory.

Allen, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player, finished with a game-high 22 points.

Mira Costa trailed at halftime, 25-17, but led by Willis’ nine third-quarter points, the Mustangs got within 37-34 entering the fourth.

“It was nice to see the kids come back like that. They showed a lot,” Marx said.

With two minutes left in the fourth quarter and Willis disqualified, Max Gulezien made two jump shots for Mira Costa, one a three-point basket, to tie the score, 45-45.

On the Mustangs’ next possession, Pacific Hills’ trapping defense forced Mira Costa’s Mark Kresser into a turnover, giving the Bruins the ball with 20 seconds left.

After a time out, Allen picked up a loose ball, took it to the basket and made an off-balanced jump shot to win the game.

“They deserved the championship,” Marx said. “They hit the big shots and played good defense when they had too.”

Bryan Sterling had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Pacific Hills.