Estancia cold in tourney

CYPRESS — Inside the gym it felt cold.

Just imagine how chilly it felt outside in the rain.

Estancia High played as if its boys’ basketball game was outdoors Wednesday night.

The ball looked wet whenever the Eagles handled it down the stretch.

Balls slipped out of players hands toward the basket or into the hands of Garden Grove players for easy points.

These mistakes hurt any chance Estancia had of coming from behind to win its first game at the Oxford Academy Tournament.

Garden Grove won, 55-40, handing the Eagles their third straight defeat in the eight-team tournament.

The Eagles (4-6) are now playing to avoid last place. Their final game against Godinez today in Cypress should be easier.

“They will be excited to see us,” Estancia Coach Agustin Heredia said with a smile of the Grizzlies, who are in their first year as varsity players.

“We just kind of a hit [a skid], where we’re hurting ourselves a lot of times. We have a lot of deficiencies. We’re not very big, or strong. We can’t help the other team out.”

The Eagles handed the ball away to Garden Grove when they made it a game early in the fourth quarter.

Garden Grove (6-2) took it and stopped Estancia from getting any closer. Forced shots and turnovers killed the Eagles’ momentum.

Estancia had cut the deficit to 42-36 after going on a 10-0 run, surprising Garden Grove guard Jon Umanzor.

Minutes earlier, Umanzor ordered a substitute back to the bench even though only four Argonauts stood on the court. Umanzor, who finished with a game-high 23 points, quickly realized Garden Grove needed all five.

The spurt against Garden Grove started late in the third quarter. Estancia guard Troy McClanahan, in the corner, kept it alive by knocking down a three-pointer at the buzzer.

It was bizarre that the Argonauts forgot about McClanahan because it seems most of his shots come from behind the three-point arc.

The senior made six field goals, each a three-pointer. McClanahan led the Eagles with 18 points.

Thirteen seconds into the final quarter, Kohl Jones nailed a three-pointer. Forty-three seconds later, Jones drove to the basket before pulling up for two points.

The Eagles caught on fire and put themselves back in the game.

After Garden Grove Coach Ken Frank called a timeout, the shot selection on Estancia’s next two possessions alarmed Heredia.

Hard to believe because the second-year head coach advises his players to take wide-open shots whenever possible.

“The idea is to shoot before the defense sets because we don’t have much size and strength,” Heredia said. “I give my guys the green light to shoot the ball as much as [they] can.”

The light turned red in Heredia’s eyes midway through the fourth. Two of his guards ignored him.

One pulled up near the baseline, forcing a jump shot with a defender in his face. The guard had a better chance of making it from the ceiling, where a ball was stuck between bars.

The next shot came from behind the three-point line and it never had a chance. No spin. No points.

Estancia managed four points, very few the rest of the way to keep it competitive. The Eagles missed five shots and turned the ball over twice while Garden Grove 6-foot-5 forward Austin Schulz scored 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.

“Once they get in, we’re in trouble,” said Heredia of his team’s struggles defending bigger players. “Last year we had a couple of tougher guys that were a little more basketball savvy and knew how to play the game. We have guys that are thinking too much instead of playing and reacting.”

The cold can have that effect on players.

Oxford Academy Tournament

Garden Grove 55, Estancia 40

SCORE BY QUARTERS

E – McClanahan 18, Jones 9, Neumann 8, Knapp 2, Thomas 2, Joyner 1.

3-pt. goals – McClanahan 6, Jones 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

GG – Umanzor 23, Schulz 15, Long 9, Young 5, Webb 2, Montenegro 1.

3-pt. goals – Umanzor 3, Long 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

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