BOYS’ BASKETBALL / PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Estancia Rolls Past Laguna Beach

The game was billed as a clash between two unbeaten boys’ basketball teams in Pacific Coast League, but after one quarter it was evident the battle was over.

Estancia, ranked fifth in the county, turned an 18-0 first-quarter run into an impressive 65-29 victory over host Laguna Beach Friday night.

“Laguna Beach has played very well lately and we haven’t, so we wanted to get off to a good start,” Estancia Coach Tim Parsel said. “We could not have played much better in the first half.”

The Artists must have felt the opposite after finishing the opening half with two field goals and connecting on only one of six free throws.

“Everything was going our way,” Parsel said. “We practiced very competitive this week and it carried over to the game.”

Laguna Beach had trouble matching up with the Eagles’ front court of Kevin Byrne (6-8), Chris Candlish (6-6) and Mark Pierson (6-7) and the trio accounted for 19 of Estancia’s 33 first-half points.

“Our perimeter guys are doing a better job of getting our big men the ball,” Parsel said.

Estancia (18-3, 5-0) took a 6-0 lead before the Artists got on the board, then ran off 18 consecutive points before Damon Pugh’s layup made it 24-4 with five minutes left in the second quarter.

Laguna Beach (11-9, 4-1) made a free throw with 4:22 left, but was silenced the rest of the quarter and trailed, 33-5, at the half.

Senior guard Zack Richardson added to Laguna Beach’s problems by preventing its defense from sagging in on the interior. Richardson scored 10 of his 12 points in the deciding first quarter, all from outside.

Estancia kept the pressure on the Artists in the third quarter. Byrne scored eight of his game-high 14 points and the Eagles increased their lead to 52-20.

Junior guard Ryan Satrappe was the lone offensive spark for Laguna Beach in the quarter, scoring eight of his team’s 15 points.

By the fourth quarter, Estancia had its starters on the bench, but even the Eagles’ reserves seemed too much for the Laguna Beach starters, outscoring the Artists, 13-9, in the quarter.

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In another Pacific Coast League game:

Laguna Hills 66, Costa Mesa 51--Mike Scaglione had 19 points and Johnny Phan had 13 for Laguna Hills (11-6, 3-2). Mike Montoya had 15 points, including five three-pointers for Costa Mesa (6-15, 1-4).