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Boys’ Basketball: Estancia tripped up by LACES

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The biggest player on the basketball court brought the ball up for the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies. It was a sight to see Evan Battey, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, run the point at Estancia High.

Battey looked more like an offensive tackle, yet he knew what to do with the ball. He handled the ball well and created his own shot, whether from inside or outside the paint.

Whenever Battey penetrated, Estancia Coach Xavier Castellano begged for one of his players to step in front of Battey and take a charge. A couple of Eagles tried, one even closed his eyes, but Battey was agile enough to avoid the contact and finish inside.

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Battey had his way against the smaller Eagles, finishing with 25 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks in the Unicorns’ 69-60 win in a consolation game at the Tustin-Estancia Classic on Saturday afternoon.

“He’s talented,” Castellano said of Battey, who made nine of 18 shots, including two of five from behind the three-point line. “I was really impressed by the way he played; very smart.”

Battey came through for the Unicorns (6-4) when Estancia made a run in the third quarter. The two threes he swished came in the third, when Estancia twice cut the deficit to three points.

The Eagles (5-6) opened the second half by hitting five of their first six shots. Kaena McReynolds started Estancia’s rally by getting two baskets in the first 23 seconds, and Gunnar Johnston got involved, driving in for two and then knocking down a three.

Battey showed his range, too. He nailed a three with 4:43 left in the quarter to spark a 13-5 run that put the Unicorns up, 53-42. Battey closed out the quarter with an emphatic dunk to Coach Manasa Chanaiwa’s liking.

“At times, he gets a little bit too excited about being outside,” Chanaiwa said of Battey. “Today he did a good job of [playing inside and outside].”

Wherever Battey played, he dominated the third quarter, recording 14 points on five-for-eight shooting. The Unicorns had three other starters in double figures: Brandon Chatman (15 points), Khalil Taylor (11) and Derek Kurashima (11).

Johnston and McReynolds led the Eagles with 19 and 14 points, respectively, while Evan Pettingill had nine points on three threes. Johnston, a senior, produced 17 points in the second half.

“I told Gunnar at halftime, ‘You’ve got to challenge [Battey], even if you’re not going to score, you take him to the basket, you get a step on him, someone’s going to help,’” said Castellano, who saw Johnston hit seven of 11 shots in the second half.

Johnston, who added seven rebounds, helped the Eagles trim the Unicorns’ lead to single-digits in the final quarter. They got within seven on Chad Barris’ two free throws, but the Eagles went on to drop their second game in the tournament in as many days.

The Eagles resume tournament play on Monday at home against Fountain Valley at 4 p.m. They will be looking to earn their first win in their tournament since Dec. 29, 2012.

“The way I look at it, it’s just a great way to play some quality teams and toughen up,” Castellano said of his Eagles, who have dropped six straight games in their tournament. “We’ve got to toughen up. That’s what we’re trying to instill in our guys. You’ve got to be tough. Tough is not, you know, how big your muscles are, or fighting someone. Tough is who is going to get that loose ball, who is going to get that rebound, who is going to take that charge. We lack those little things.

“We lack basketball IQ at times, where we just make passes that there’s no need to make … guys dribbling with their head down, and they don’t see the guy [open] out front. It’s the little things that people take for granted, but it’s what makes teams successful.”

Tustin-Estancia Classic

LACES 69, Estancia 60

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Estancia 14 – 12 – 16 – 18 — 60

LACES 18 – 16 – 19 – 16 — 69

LACES – Battey 25, Chatman 15, Taylor 11, Kurashima 11, Ellington 5, Hunter 2.

3-pt. goals – Kurashima 3, Chatman 3, Battey 2.

Est – Johnston 19, McReynolds 14, Pettingill 9, Van Dyke 8, Barris 6, Brown 2, Garduno 2.

3-pt. goals – McReynolds 3, Pettingill 3, Van Dyke 2, Johnston 1.

david.carrillo@latimes.com

Twitter: @DCPenaloza

Tustin-

Estancia

Classic

LACES69

Estancia60

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