Esperanza Boys Not Meeting Expectations

The Esperanza boys’ basketball team which lost a heart-breaker in its own gym to Ocean View Wednesday, could be the best sub-.500 team in the county.

The Aztecs (5-7) have size and good shooting up front in 6-foot-4 forwards Kyle Aase and J.D. White and 6-9 center Lloyd Walls and a dead-eye of a three-point shooter in swingman Doug Brown, who made six against Ocean View. Junior Anthony Vicencia, who is playing out of position at point guard, is quick.

The only question, according to Coach John Cyrus, is which Aztec team is going to show up quarter by quarter? Esperanza held a 14-point lead at the end of the third quarter and lost, 65-62, to Ocean View. Yet Esperanza has beaten one of the county’s best teams, Brea Olinda.

“We’re going to be in ballgames,” Cyrus said. “We just got to make some breaks, make things happen. We miss a few free throws. We make a few ball-handling mistakes. We’re learning.”

After the loss to Ocean View, Cyrus and assistant Nash Rivera spent a long time in a team meeting, urging the Aztecs to “get tougher and play with more intelligence.”

Cyrus said the Aztecs are playing without three players who were expected to start when fall practice began, and another part-time starter from 1998-99 who was expected to see action. One moved away and the others were lost to grade problems or injuries. So, despite high expectations when the season began (the Aztecs were ranked No. 6 in preseason poll), Cyrus looks on the nonleague portion of the schedule so far with a grain of salt.

“I guess we’re doing something right,” he said.

WHAT’S IN A NAME

While the Tournament of Champions was taking place in Santa Barbara, the 12-team Los Alamitos Tournament of Champions was being held in Orange County. It included two junior varsity teams and six varsity girls’ basketball teams with losing records.

Could be time for a name change.

GREAT START

Credit tough defense and unselfish players for the fast start by the Troy boys’ basketball team, which is 11-0.

“In the last 10 years this is the most balanced team I have had,” Coach T.J. Hardeman said. “We have had a lot of good players go through here. There are no superstars this season, they all could be featured persons because each night a different one fills a different role.”

Guard Alex Raco, most valuable player at the Loara Tournament, said: “We have experience playing together and we all realize that playing defense wins games.”

TOUGH TIME HAD BY ALL

Mater Dei girls’ basketball emerged from the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions with the consolation championship of the Open Division. Usually, consolation titles are nothing to brag about.

“Last year, you could definitely see where you could pick up some wins,” Monarch Coach Ollie Martin said. “This year, every team in the open division was pretty darn good. I told the girls that this was one of those tournaments where being consolation champion actually means something.”

Mater Dei defeated Troy, another top-10 team from Orange County, to win the consolation title, 56-54.

Esperanza had a terrific showing in the Large School division, reaching the final before losing to Ventura. Among the Aztecs’ victories was a huge semifinal victory over Edison, 70-52.

Top-ranked Brea Olinda opened with a victory over Shelbyville (Tenn.), then lost three in a row, to third-place Copperas Cove (Texas), 55-44, Middle Village (N.Y.) Christ the King, 54-45, and San Jose Archbishop Mitty, 63-40.

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If you have an item or idea for the prep basketball report, you can fax us at (714)966-5663 or e-mail us at martin.henderson@latimes.com or paul.mcleod@latimes.com

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Times staff writer Martin Henderson contributed to this report.