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Thursday, March 13, 2008

Estancia Just Misses Victory

By Harold Smith
Mountain View Telegraph
    Estancia High senior Alan Gonzalez seemed to save the day when, with 18 seconds left in the game, he drove through the teeth of the Santa Rosa defense and hit a jitterbugging, underhanded scoop of a layup to tie the score at 48.
    Alas, a collective sigh of relief had barely escaped the lips of the Bears fans when Lion Robert Serrano sank a long 2-point jumper from the left corner with about 3 seconds remaining. The dagger gave Santa Rosa a 50-48 state Class 2A boys first-round basketball victory at the EHS gym on Saturday.
    Fifth-ranked Estancia (24-4) received its first home loss of the season. The District 8-2A champions had fully expected to beat the Lions (20-7) and thus advance to the state quarterfinals.
    "They just played better defense than we did," Gonzalez said. "They were just more prepared."
    The contest— played before a near-capacity crowd, including a stuffed upper tier— was a nail-biter from the tipoff.
    Santa Rosa, unofficially ranked 18th, took an 18-14 lead in the first quarter, despite Bears senior R.J. Rice having success inside. Rice, who had 17 of his game-high 24 points in the first half, was getting lobs from his teammates over a fronting defense and was proficiently hitting contested bank shots.
    "We were really hoping to win," Rice said. "But it's been the best experience I've ever had. And my teammates are the best people I've ever played with."
    The Lions had a 28-25 advantage at halftime.
    Estancia staged a major counterattack in the third quarter to take a 39-36 lead. Rice's putback with 1:36 to go put the Bears ahead 37-36, and Gonzalez's midcourt steal and subsequent layup at 1:23 expanded the lead to three.
    But with 5 seconds left in the period, Estancia's Derek Straubing was injured. He eventually walked off, but he did not return.
    The fourth was a battle. The officials failed to make several calls on plays that sent players sprawling during the game.
    The Lions retook the lead at 41-39 when Jeff Reeves scored over Rice, who got his fourth foul. Reeves hit a free throw for a traditional 3-point play with 7:02 left.
    Rice was then assessed his fifth foul at the 6:16 mark, despite leaning backward to avoid the contact. But Bear Robert Chavez, Rice's replacement with Straubing out, took up the slack as he got a tip-in at 5:15 to tie it at 43.
    Estancia's last lead, at 46-45 with 2:53 remaining, came on a jumper from point guard Steven Trujillo. But he fouled out at 1:35, and Santa Rosa's Bryan Campos, who had 18 points, sank two free throws for a 47-46 lead.
    A traveling call on Gonzalez, another Campos free throw, and an Estancia timeout which nullified a Gonzalez bucket helped the Lions hold onto a 48-46 lead with 30 seconds left.
    "I think the difference was that it got physical in the fourth quarter," Bears coach Mike Trujillo said. "They made an adjustment, and that adjustment was to be physical. The last seven minutes it got real physical. And our big man (Rice) and our point guard fouled out."
    Estancia's other scorers, all seniors, were Clayton Gardner (eight), Gonzalez (five), David Ortiz (five), Steven Trujillo (four) and Chavez (two).
    "It was close," Mike Trujillo said. "It came down to when they hit that wide-open shot at the very end. But it was a good season. It just didn't end the way we had hoped."
    The coach then paused.
    "I love these guys," he said.
    EHS will lose 10 seniors to graduation.
   
Estancia girls
    The Lady Bears (18-12) fell 59-12 to top-ranked Texico at the Wolverines' gym during their state first-round game on Friday.
    "It was disappointing that we let Bosque (School) get past us (in the district tournament)...," said Mike Trujillo, also the Bears' girls coach. "We allowed (the Bobcats) to outplay us."
    Estancia had two seniors, Mercedes Breceda and Jerra McMath.
    "It was a great experience," McMath said. "I'm glad I played."
    A solid junior class should return.
    "A lot of them are talking about next year," Trujillo said. "It's exciting to hear them talk about the future. We've told them what they need to do over the summer to be prepared."