Mustangs in the driver’s seat
Roger Carlson
In one of the most improbable of leads to a basketball scenario as
the year comes to a conclusion as ever considered in this region ever -
the Newport-Mesa District - comes the following:
Costa Mesa High’s Mustangs, 9-3 and favored to do very well at the Canyon
Tournament, which opens today, have their travel tickets to the CIF
Division III Playoffs virtually in hand, evenbefore the Pacific Coast
League wars unfold Jan. 7.
“That’s how I understand it,” said first-year coach Bob Serven Thursday
as he surveyed his team’s early encounters, which have surprised even the
staunchest of Mesa fans, sans perhaps Serven himself, an eternal optimist
who literally breathes fire into his player’s veins.
“I’m not sure about league, who knows?,” said Serven, when considering
what his team is up against in the from of the University-Corona del
Mar-Estancia-Laguna Beach blockade.
“But I know this. We’re in Division III and they’re only going to make it
one division, with the stipulation that any team with 10 wins is
automatically granted a berth to the playoffs.
“That’s how my newsletter from the coaching association puts it.”
That’s a ways down the road, however, and right now Serven is thinking
about the Canyon Tournament, where his team will most likely hook up with
a solid Loara outfit on Tuesday at 4:30, providing both teams hold up
their credentials as heavy favorites today.
Serven says the great metamorphosis, from perennial also-ran to
contender, is only a matter of “little things.”
“One thing these guys have is some fight in them,” said Serven. “We held
Brennon Martin, who is headed for Texas A&M;, to five points with team
defense.”
“They’re pretty much a blue collar team,” continued Serven of his
Mustangs, “and they’re good at accepting constructive criticism and
applying it.”
Shaun Ferryman, a 6-3 center who averages 4.4 points a game, is a good
example.
Although he often shares starting duties with junior Mike Payne, it’s his
basic competitiveness which brings out the best in everyone (as does
Serven, himself, whose own fire in game situations is legendary, going
back to his coaching at Newport Harbor).
Among the vanquished: Laguna Hills and Trabuco Hills, as well as A.B.
Miller and Sunny Hills, in the span of six days.
Most everyone is doing well at this stage of the season, but clearly, the
stunner is the rise of the Mustangs’ boys team.
Today’s schedule
BOYS
Costa Mesa (9-3) at Canyon Tournament, vs. Canyon JV, 1:30 p.m.
Corona del Mar (8-3) at Estancia Tournament, vs. Roosevelt, 5:50 p.m.
Estancia (7-4) at Estancia Tournament, vs. Antelope Valley Christian,
7:30 p.m.
Newport Harbor (6-4) at Carson City Tournament.
GIRLS
Newport Harbor (2-8) at Costa Mesa Tournament, vs. Mayfair, noon.
Costa Mesa (6-3) at Costa Mesa Tournament, vs. Whitney, 6:20 p.m.
Estancia (6-2) at Marina Tournament, vs. Long Beach Jordan, 9 a.m.
Corona del Mar (6-3) at Santiago Tournament.
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