Boys basketball: Bradshaw keys Eagles’ big win

Steve Virgen

GARDEN GROVE - Call him, “The Essence.”

Lewis Bradshaw, who is seemingly the essence of Estancia High boys

basketball this season, converted a crucial three-point play with 0:41

left to key a 43-42 victory over Western in the championship game of the

Garden Grove North County Shootout at Garden Grove High Saturday night.

Bradshaw, a 6-foot-3 starting junior forward, scored a game-high 14

points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while tournament Most Valuable Player

Fernando Maldonado contributed 12 points, as the Eagles (7-4) won their

fifth straight game.

“Lewis Bradshaw has a heart of a lion,” Estancia Coach Chris Sorce

said. “He’s probably the toughest kid I’ve ever coached. He does all the

dirty work and he definitely does a big share of it. That three-point

play was as big as they come.”

Leading 39-38, the Eagles came out of a timeout with an inbounds play

for Bradshaw, who worked to get himself open. Jorge Prado found Bradshaw

underneath the basket, and he scored the bucket on the foul and made the

subsequent free throw.

Western (8-4), which also finished as runner-up in its own tournament

two weeks ago, answered with a two-pointer. But Prado, who earned

All-Tournament laurels, nailed a free throw with 0:22 left and the Eagles

held on for the win.

Prado struggled to find shooting rhythm throughout the game and

instead dished off four assists in the second half. He found Maldonado,

who put an easy layup for Estancia’s first lead, 36-35 with 3:10 left,

since leading, 13-11, with 1:35 left in the first half.

“If this game was a beauty contest, we wouldn’t have won,” Sorce said.

“Good thing this was a basketball game. To hold a team in the low 40s you

have to be happy.”

Sorce didn’t find any beauty in the Eagles’ second quarter, when

Estancia lost a 13-7 lead and missed eight of nine shots. The Pioneers

struggled as well but managed to score eight points in the final 95

seconds to grab a 17-13 halftime lead.

Estancia was down by as many as nine points in the third quarter, but

went on a 11-2 run. Prado capped the run, stealing the ball and finishing

on the breakaway as he was fouled to tie the score at 26 with 1:54 left

in the third.

In the fourth quarter, after Maldonado gave Estancia the

aforementioned 36-35 lead, Maldonado later grabbed an offensive rebound

and dished an assist to senior Jermaine Snell, who hit a jumper for a

38-37 advantage with 2:23 left.

“People said without Micah (Young) we wouldn’t do so well,” Maldonado

said. “But this team has a lot of heart. (The 62-57 semifinal win over

Orange Friday) brought us more intensity. That made us believe we could

compete with any other team.”

Estancia will return to action Wednesday at 5:20 p.m., when it will

face Whittier Christian in the Eagles’ Coast Classic.

GARDEN GROVE NORTH COUNTY SHOOTOUT

Final

Estancia 43, Western 42

Western 7 10 15 10 - 42

Estancia 11 2 18 12 - 43

Western - Murray 4, Fiapi 7, Winningham 4, Flores 3, Goodloe 6, Watts

13, Barrett 2, McAdams 3.

3-pt. goals - Watts 2, Goodloe 2, Flores 1.

Fouled out - none.

Technicals - none.

Estancia - Maldonado 12, Bradshaw 14, Lindquist 9, Prado 5, Snell 3,

Novak 0, Valdes 0.

3-pt. goals - Maldonado 1.

Fouled out - none.

Technicals - none.