Boys’ Basketball: Estancia edges past Santa Ana Valley in Four City Classic contest
GARDEN GROVE — Three was the number the Estancia High boys’ basketball team dealt with in a major way on Tuesday.
Three Estancia starters didn’t start the Eagles’ 61-55 win against Santa Ana Valley in the opener at the Four City Classic. Three was the shot the Eagles struggled defending whenever one player took it for Santa Ana Valley at Bolsa Grande High.
Estancia Coach Xavier Castellano said he kept Gunnar Johnston, Chad Barris and Evan Pettingill out of the starting lineup because of disciplinary reasons. When two of the three players made it onto the court, they weren’t discipline when they defended Francisco Rios.
Everyone in the gym practically knew Rios was going to take a three whenever he had the ball. Rios was a one-man show for the Falcons (1-11), firing up 18 threes and draining eight of them, a couple of those he banked in.
The spot on the floor where Rios launched threes from wasn’t far from where cheerleaders usually perform during halftime. The senior point guard had a chance at another three-point play, but not from in between the three-point and midcourt line, where he shot most of the night.
With 2 1/2 minutes to play, the Eagles fouled Rios in the act of shooting behind the arc. Rios converted two of his three free-throw attempts, but he wasn’t done. Twice in the final 73 seconds, Rios buried threes to cut the deficit to four points.
The Eagles overcame Rios’ 37-point performance with their own three-pointer shooter, Kaena McReynolds. The 6-foot-2 senior carried Estancia in the first half, knocking down each of his four three-point attempts, giving him 19 of his 24 points.
McReynolds, a forward, missed his first three in the third quarter. Connor Brown didn’t miss any shots in the third. The power forward hit four of four field goals, including a free-throw, giving Brown nine of his 11 points, to go with eight rebounds for the game.
McReynolds, who made nine of 14 shots, added his fifth three with less than 5 minutes to go in the game, putting Estancia ahead, 50-40. In the fourth quarter is also when Johnston and Barris contributed. Johnston scored all of his seven points in the final 8 minutes, and Barris added six of his 10 points in the final quarter.
Johnston, a senior small forward, only played in the second half, whereas Barris, a senior point guard, entered the contest in the second quarter, along with Pettingill, a sophomore shooting guard. There was a reason why Castellano limited their time, even though Johnston and Pettingill went into the tournament as Estancia’s top two leading scorers, averaging 14.8 points and 9.4 points, respectively.
“The thing with us is, you know, we’re just trying to change the attitude a little bit and make them understand that it’s team first,” Castellano said. “A lot of times, you know, they’re kids. They make mistakes, but we hold them accountable for their mistakes. Other guys stepped up, we got the win, and, you know, I’m happy.”
Castellano, in his first season in charge of the boys at Estancia, has the team competing and winning. The Eagles (4-2) are almost halfway to their win total from last season.
The Eagles’ coaching staff, which includes Sam Nelson, a former Estancia standout who went on to play volleyball and basketball at UCLA, hasn’t had much time with the team.
“We got the job in September,” said Castellano, who graduated from Estancia with Nelson in 1998. “Half our guys weren’t in the program last year. The other half haven’t touched the ball since February, because they didn’t know if they were going to play or not. It’s just learning and building. I can’t scream at a guy for him not knowing what to do. We’re teaching as we go.”
Castellano believes having Nelson around bodes well for the Eagles, who are in their second tournament in the young season. Estancia’s second of four games at the Four City Classic is against Santiago on Wednesday at Bolsa Grande at 5:30 p.m.
“Not only was he one of the top three best players to play [at Estancia], but he’s just a community guy, did things the right way,” Castellano said of Nelson. “[He’s a] heck of a role model.”
Four City Classic
First round
Estancia 61, Santa Ana Valley 55
SCORE BY QUARTERS
SAV 10 – 17 – 13 – 15 — 55
Estancia 13 – 17 – 15 – 16 — 61
SAV – Rios 37, Reyna 10, Flores 2, Quiroz 2, Sao 2, Navas 2.
3-pt. goals – Rios 8.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
E – McReynolds 24, Brown 11, Barris 10, Johnston 7, Van Dyke 4, Pettingill 3, Gavilan 2.
3-pt. goals – McReynolds 5, Van Dyke 1, Pettingill 1.