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Irvine players and coaches celebrate after the Vaqueros captured the Estancia Coast Classic. (Photos courtesy Mark Bausman, For OC Sports Zone).
Irvine High School’s boys basketball team used a tenacious defense and clutch shooting to defeat Estancia 54-38 and capture the championship game of the Estancia Coast Classic at Estancia Friday night.
Cooper Stearns scored 18 points and Daniel Shin added 16 as the Vaqueros (12-8) won their fourth consecutive game. Irvine won each of the four games in the tournament by double digits.
Stearns, a sophomore, was named the tournament’s MVP and Shin was named to the all-tournament team.
“I couldn’t have done this without all of my teammates,” said Stearns. “This tournament was huge for us to win. It gives us momentum and confidence going into league play next week against a tough Sage Hill team. It’s also great for our program.”
Stearns also said that he didn’t think that Irvine has “had a winning season this century,” adding he had looked back at records of previous seasons.
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Shin, who drilled four 3-pointers, was also excited about the win.
“It’s great to win this tournament,” said Shin. “We got open looks and really got out on transition and played good defense. Our team played so unselfishly.”
The Vaqueros started the game out slowly as the Eagles (14-5) jumped out to a 7-0 lead, following a 3-pointer by Peter Sanchez. However, Irvine, behind three baskets by Stearns, quickly countered with a 15-2 run to end the quarter and led 15-9 after eight-minutes of play. Shin nailed three 3-pointers in the second-quarter as the Vaqueros took a 28-22 halftime lead.
The Irvine defense, led by Jaesang An,Todd Bryan, Ryan Bugay, Shin and Stearns continued to apply heavy pressure on Estancia that resulted in multiple turnovers and the Vaqueros extending its lead. Bryan’s 3-pointers late in the quarter gave Irvine a 45-30 lead after three quarters as the Vaqueros cruised to an easy victory.
“Our hard work on defense really paid off and it’s great to win this tournament,” said Bryan, who scored eight points and helped Irvine force 21 turnovers in the game.
“Cooper is the glue that holds us together,” said Irvine Coach Harry Meussner. “We played even keeled throughout the tournament and our defense played with intensity.”
Eagles coach Xavier Castellano said he was happy overall with his team’s effort but disappointed it couldn’t pull off the victory.
“Irvine executed and played outstanding defense and I have to give them credit,” said Castellano. “Stearns is the best player I’ve seen all season. He just plays the game the right way. He doesn’t panic and he keeps coming at you. Shin hit big shots and Bryan heated up and we just couldn’t get good looks. I’m proud of our guys. We had a good tournament but we’re disappointed we couldn’t finish the job.”
Reef Johnson led Estancia with 18 points and Sanchez added 11 but the Eagles six-game winning streak was snapped.
—Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone
