Eagles seek positive after loss

COSTA MESA — It was a long day for Estancia High’s basketball team Wednesday.

As host of the Estancia Coast Classic, most players arrived on campus as early as 8 a.m. The first game of eight tipped off at 9, and players worked the snack bar, the shot clock, the game clock, and escorted coaches around.

By the time it was their turn to play at 7:45 p.m., the Eagles appeared fatigued. They weren’t active on either end, as Chaparral of Temecula ran the Eagles off the court, winning the first-round game, 74-32.

“Honestly, I just think it came down more to effort and energy, which we had none of [Wednesday night],” said Estancia first-year coach Scott Kahawai. “It was probably our worst performance I’ve seen this season.”

Kahawai just sat and watched Estancia (2-10) drop its sixth game in a row after his team abandoned the game plan.

The strategy of swinging the ball and penetrating when a crack opened disappeared. Most of the time, Chaparral (8-2) didn’t allow much space, with its 1-3-1 zone defense confusing Estancia’s guards.

So the Eagles did what they could do best — launch three-pointer after three-pointer. In total, they attempted 26 three-pointers. Only two went in, and Chaparral did a quality job of rebounding most of the misses and pushing the ball up the floor.

Most of the easy transition points belonged to senior forward Quincy Perry, who finished with 20 points to go with 12 rebounds.

Then with less than two minutes left in the third quarter, with the game already out of reach and the Pumas ahead, 55-24, someone on Estancia’s bench yelled. He cried out to the Eagles player responsible for shooting the most three-pointers (eight) to pass the ball.

It didn’t sit too well with senior point guard Blake Pinto, who led Estancia with 14 points.

Pinto turned toward the bench, screaming at the player. Pinto received a technical foul and coaches had to stop Pinto from approaching the player.

“It’s not what your bench should be saying,” said Pinto, adding that teammates should motivate each other rather than question each other’s play.

Earlier in the day, when they were volunteering during the tournament, forward Taylor McClanahan said he and Pinto kept Estancia united.

“We pretty much run the show,” McClanahan said.

Once the game started, the Eagles changed direction. Going seven for 25 from the field and turning the ball over 14 times in the first half didn’t help Estancia stay composed.

Perry said the key to Chaparral advancing to today’s 7:45 p.m. game against Edison involved teamwork, something Estancia didn’t showcase much of. The Eagles move to the consolation bracket and play Magnolia at 1:30 p.m.

“We just weren’t there. We worked the entire day,” McClanahan said. “It just kind of took a lot of the energy out [of us]. We’re not used to working. We usually have some downtime.”

The Eagles won’t be allotted much free time today. Day Two of the four-day tournament resumes, making for another long day.

Estancia Coast Classic

First round

Chaparral 74,

Estancia 32

Score by Quarters

Chaparral 19 22 23 10 — 74 Estancia 5 13 8 6 — 32

Chaparral -- Perry 20, Johnston 15, Stephens 12, Schaller 9, Taylor 6, Pino 4, Escobedo 4, Hinzman 2.

3-pt. goals -- Schaller 3.

Fouled out -- None.

Technicals -- None.

Estancia -- Pinto 14, McKendry 6, Tr. McClanahan 3, Hart, 3, Knapp 2, Ta. McClanahan 2, McDonald 2.

3-pt. goals -- Pinto 1, Hart 1.

Fouled out -- None.