He’s Finally Ready to Make Own Way : Basketball: Finnerans have left Santa Margarita, and Brendan Mulligan hopes to fill void--and maybe make people forget who his sister is, too.

A competitive nature develops quickly when your sister is better than you are.

Brendan Mulligan knows this. He’s lived through it.

As one of the top players in the Sea View League, it’s hard to imagine that the Santa Margarita senior ever lost too often in games of H-O-R-S-E or one-on-one . . . especially to his sister.

But Mulligan’s older sister, Kristen, was a three-time All-Southern Section first-team selection and the 1992 Southern Section Division I Player of the Year at Palos Verdes Peninsula after leading Peninsula to an unbeaten season and the State Division I championship.

Today, Kristen is a starting junior guard at Auburn. In the past, she was Brendan’s archrival.

“When I was 11 or 12, I’d go to the gym with Kristen, and people would say, ‘Oh, you’re Kristen Mulligan’s little brother,’ ” Brendan said. “That gave me the fire to work hard and get better, so I wouldn’t always be known as Kristen’s brother.”

In those pre-high school years, he was frequently known as his sister’s favorite victim in shooting contests and one-on-one challenges. But as his defeats mounted, so did his determination.

“I wanted to be better than her, so I just kept playing all the time and working on things so I could beat her,” Mulligan said. “Especially since she’s a girl . . . that’s hard for a brother to live with, having your sister beat you in something athletic.”

He doesn’t have to live with it anymore. For one thing, brother and sister don’t compete against each other much these days--”too many altercations,” Brendan says, laughing--and for another, he definitely doesn’t qualify as “Kristen Mulligan’s little brother” anywhere except in the family tree.

At 6 feet 3, Mulligan plays forward and guard for the Eagles, who won the Southern Section Division III-AA championship last year. As Santa Margarita’s season progressed, Mulligan began to stand out as a player who stepped up to meet challenges.

“That’s his mentality; he loves the competition,” Santa Margarita Coach Jerry DeBusk said. “He’s not one to ever shy away from challenges or be intimidated.

“In one of our games against University last year, Demetrius Ziegler (the county’s leading scorer) was just scoring at will, and I asked our guys if there was one player on the team who could shut this guy down, and Brendan raised his hand and said, ‘Coach, put me on him.’ Whatever we need done, he’s willing to try.”

Last year, most Santa Margarita opponents keyed on Brian and Brad Finneran, the Eagles’ leading scorers and rebounders. After a tentative early season, Mulligan realized that, with opponents focusing on the Finnerans, opportunities existed. A strong game against Woodbridge in the Sea View League opener boosted Mulligan’s confidence, and when Brian Finneran fractured a bone in his foot midway through league play, Santa Margarita needed Mulligan to step up permanently.

“When Brian hurt his foot, we knew we’d all have to turn it up another notch and keep it there,” Mulligan said, “and by that time I had the confidence that I could play at that level.”

Mulligan finished the regular season strong, earning second team all-league honors, and then capped an impressive performance in the section playoffs by scoring 16 points in the Division III-AA championship victory over Servite.

This year, the Finnerans have graduated, and Mulligan will have new challenges to meet.

“Now Brendan’s going to be the guy and everyone knows it, but he’s been there and he’s experienced,” DeBusk said. “He’s our captain and he accepts his leadership role well. The other guys know he’s not going to back down.”

Of course not. That’d be worse than losing to your sister in H-O-R-S-E.