Mesa surprises Estancia

By David Carrillo PeÃ±aloza

Jan. 9, 2009 12 AM PT

COSTA MESA — Mikey Molina felt a slap in the face and no one motioned the back of their hand toward his face.

In the last six games, he’s seen the Costa Mesa High boys’ basketball team get smacked around.

Making matters worse for Molina was that many dismissed the Mustangs before Friday’s Orange Coast League opener against Estancia.

“We were predicted [to finish] last,” said Molina, believing last year’s one-win season isn’t a good barometer for what to expect out of Costa Mesa this season.

“Godinez, [it doesn’t] have a senior class, so it’s a slap in the face to us they picked us last [and not the Grizzlies].”

Through one league game, Costa Mesa is far from the bottom.

The Mustangs are on top, a place they never reached last season.

Molina provided the scoring punch with 18 points and Ben Lefebvre shut down one of the league’s premier shooters as Costa Mesa beat Estancia, 49-47, at home.

In Molina’s eyes, the key to Costa Mesa (6-11, 1-0 in league) beating its cross-town rival for the first time since the 2006-07 season and being one win away from claiming the Battle for the Bell was holding Estancia guard Troy McClanahan scoreless.

“We knew that he was [one of the players] averaging the most [points] in league,” said Molina, who finished seven for seven from the free-throw line and added six rebounds. “[Lefebvre] knew that he had to shut him down in order for us to win this game.”

Costa Mesa first-year coach Bryan Rice gave Lefebvre one job. Follow McClanahan wherever he goes, to the bench, to the restroom.

Lefebvre never let McClanahan out of his sight, except for one time. And the senior almost made the Mustangs pay.

With 7.6 seconds left and Estancia (7-12, 0-1) with the ball and down two points, McClanahan inbounded the ball.

The ball went to Kohl Jones, the Eagles’ hottest player, scoring 20 points and hitting five three-pointers in the final three quarters.

On the road, Estancia opted for the victory when Jones attempted a three-pointer. He missed for only the third time in the second half, but a long rebound went to McClanahan near the baseline, near the end of Estancia’s bench.

All of a sudden the gym went silent for a second when McClanahan spun and got off a wide-open look before the buzzer.

The jumper looked good. The Eagles, on the edge of their seats, believed the shot was going in to tie the game and send it into overtime until it didn’t.

The Mustangs celebrated and Estancia Coach Agustin Heredia shook his head and then lowered it.

This one hurt Heredia, more than having his team turn the ball over with 46.1 seconds left, and seeing Tim Neumann collide into him near the scorer’s table while trying to prevent the ball from going out of bounds and to Costa Mesa, which led, 49-47.

The ball went out before the crash. Heredia saw it coming all along.

“We lost the game in the first quarter,” said Heredia, whose Eagles fell behind, 7-0. “It was an uphill battle from that point on. We didn’t come ready to play.

“We’re not a very good team [when] we got to come from behind.”

People used to say the same thing about Costa Mesa. In Molina’s senior season, the guard is trying to change how people view the Mustangs.

“We all believe in each other that we got a chance for a league title,” said Molina, a member of the Mustangs’ last league championship team in 2005-06. “We were talking about how Costa Mesa is not really respected. We got to put Costa Mesa up on the map.”

Orange Coast League

Costa Mesa 49, Estancia 47

SCORE BY QUARTERS

E – Jones 20, Neumann 9, Joyner 9, Thomas 5, Cherney 3, Knapp 1.

3-pt. goals – Jones 5, Thomas 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

CM – Molina 18, Dye 7, LeValley 7, Waldron 7, Lefebvre 5, Astorino 3, Albers 2.

3-pt. goals – Molina 1, Waldron 1, LeValley 1, Lefebvre 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].