Boys basketball: Oh so close

Joseph Boo

LOS ANGELES - Estancia High’s boys basketball team almost sent a

message on behalf of all the 10-win automatic qualifiers. Estancia almost

did what no one could do in two years, beat Division IV’s two-time

defending state and CIF champion Verbum Dei in the playoffs.

Estancia came so close to advancing past the first round of the CIF

Southern Section Division III-AA playoffs, but it just fell short, 59-56,

to host Verbum Dei.

The Eagles (14-13) went blow-for-blow with Verbum Dei (16-11) despite a rebounding disparity at 33-25. Estancia had a chance to tie on its final

three-point attempt with nine seconds left, but the ball refused to

cooperate.

“We battled and played hard,” Estancia Coach Rich Boyce said. “We just

picked a wrong game to have a bad shooting night.”

Estancia’s offense was carried by Travis Chandler in the first half and

Jason Simco, who scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half.

Chandler slashed to the basket with regular success and scored 13 of his

17 points in the first half. That made up for Estancia’s 1-of-9 shooting

from three-point range. The Eagles finished 2 for 17 from behind the arc.

Verbum Dei, which moved up to Division III this year, led for most of the

game, but it was slight. In the first half, it shot 14-for-25 from the

floor to take a 31-25 halftime lead.

But Estancia clawed back, and when Simco put in a layup on a backdoor

play at the start of the fourth quarter, the Eagles moved into a 43-43

tie.

Verbum Dei then went on a 9-2 run to take a 52-45 lead. But Estancia

responded when Darshaun Garner converted a three-point play. Simco then

hit a key jumper and the Eagles moved within two points.

After Verbum Dei extended the lead to five, Simco hit a three from the

right corner to pull Estancia to within a 56-54 deficit with 1:00 left.

Verbum Dei’s Jamal Dean then missed a layup, but Robert Watkins grabbed

the offensive board, got fouled, and put the ball back in. He hit the

free throw to give Verbum Dei a 59-54 lead with 20 seconds left.

Eliasar Maldonado nailed two free throws for Estancia and the Eagles got

the ball back, but its last three-pointer was no good.

While Estancia was three points short, it did march into the lair of one

of Southern California’s true basketball royalty and gave Verbum Dei a

scare.

“I thought if we held Verbum Dei to 59 points and under, then we would

have a great shot at winning,” Boyce said. “And we did that. Our kids did

a really great job.”

CIF SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION III-A

Verbum Dei 59, Estancia 56

Score by Quarters

Estancia 12 13 16 15 - 56

Verbum Dei 16 15 12 16 - 59

Estancia - Simco 17, Chandler 17, Garner 16, Maldonado 4, Cantrell 2,

Rodriguez 0, Jiminez 0.

3-pt. goals - Chandler 1, Simco 1.

Fouled out - None.

Technicals - None.

Verbum Dei - Adams 20, Watkins 16, Lay 11, Huff 6, Dean 4, Burlinson 2,

Mayfield 0, Bell 0.

3-pt. goals - Watkins 1, Dean 1, Lay 1.

Fouled out - None.

Technicals - None.