Boys basketball: Eagles mount sneak attack

Barry Faulkner

A pair of contented coaches will guide their teams in tonight’s CIF

Southern Section Division III-A boys basketball wild-card game between

Estancia High and host Burroughs of Ridgecrest. Tipoff is 7:30.

Estancia head man Chris Sorce is grateful to be invited to the

postseason party, having earned the division’s lone at-large berth after

a fourth-place finish in the Pacific Coast League.

Burroughs Coach Robert Campbell said tonight’s wild-card contest

presents his team a win-win situation, in that the Burros open the

playoffs at home and avoid the extended layoff other III-A entries will

experience.

“It doesn’t bother me a bit,” Campbell said when he learned his team

was chosen from 16 automatic qualifiers to compete in what amounts to a

“play-in” game. “Last year, we were the No. 3 seed and we had a

first-round bye. We didn’t get our nervousness out and we were upset

(66-53) in the second round by a Chaminade team that had already played a

playoff game.”

Estancia is returning to the playoffs after breaking a postseason

streak of 13 straight appearances last season.

The Eagles (13-13) lost nine of their last 13, after putting together

a seven-game winning streak in December.

The fourth-place Pacific Coast League finisher is led by senior guard

Fernando Maldonado (14.1 points per game) and 6-foot-7 junior center Joey

Lindquist (11.5 ppg), while junior Lewis Bradshaw and fellow forward

Carlos Pinto, a freshman, will also be counted upon to come up big if the

Eagles are to advance to Friday’s first round date at No. 3-seeded La

Canada (22-4).

“You never know, we could sneak up on someone,” Sorce said.

Burroughs (12-9) finished third in the Desert Sky League. The Burros

boast extreme offensive balance, according to Campbell, who said his five

starters all average around double figures.

Chris Woodson, a 6-3 senior, is the leading scorer at about 11 ppg,

while four seniors round out the starting five.

Campbell said 6-7 center Gavin McGregor and 5-9 guard Karl Williams

were his leading all-league candidates.

Pat Graham (6-1) and Travis Kincaid (5-11) bring experience to the

equation.

Tonight’s combatants have one similar opponent. The Burros lost to PCL

champion Northwood, 61-50, in the Irvine World News Classic.

Estancia dropped a pair of league games to the Timberwolves, 81-48 and

69-45.

Estancia has won 10 of its last 12 playoff openers.