Puente-led Mustangs prevail

COSTA MESA — A couple of yells for a timeout by Costa Mesa High boys’ basketball coach Jeff McDaniel on the sideline and he thought a referee noticed.

McDaniel frantically waved his arms afterward, but to no avail with two minutes left, leaving the first-year coach bummed. More so when he lost two starting guards in the next 17 seconds to fouls.

First Moses Titus, the player burying visiting University from the outside, fouled out. Following him was Hung Duong. Battling full-court pressure with a five-point lead, who would take care of the ball for Costa Mesa?

The same player who handled the ball well on offense and defense for the Mustangs Monday night.

Larry Puente made two crucial free throws, forced a turnover, and collected two rebounds late, showcasing his all-around talent. The senior finished with 24 points, 20 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks, lifting Costa Mesa to a 61-53 nonleague victory.

“He was all over the place,” McDaniel said of Puente. “[His] shot wasn’t falling for him, but he makes up for it in other areas.”

On a night where Costa Mesa (11-6) shot 28% from the field, the 6-foot-4 Puente made sure he stood underneath the basket whenever his teammates shot. Plenty of opportunities for grabbing rebounds, or catching air balls.

The Mustangs attempted 29 three-pointers, only five were successful. Two belonged to Titus, who finished with 17 points. Puente was responsible for missing five three-pointers, so he decided not to shoot another in the fourth quarter.

No reason to when Puente created his own shots by easily penetrating the paint.

Seeing University (3-12) trim the lead to 47-44, seventy seconds into the quarter, Puente scored eight of Costa Mesa’s next 10 points to push the advantage to 57-50.

Puente made up for a dismal six-for-23 performance through the first three quarters by converting his three-pointer and two free-throw attempts in the fourth.

“I couldn’t knock down a three-pointer,” Puente said. “It was hard. The shot selection is pretty good, but we just need to knock down a couple of more [shots].”

University didn’t help its cause in trying to beat Costa Mesa in the second game between the two schools this year.

The Trojans lost the rebound battle, 43-29, most coming on the defensive end.

At times, no University defender put a body on Puente, by far the tallest player on a Costa Mesa squad loaded with quick, 5-11 guards.

“The other team wasn’t really boxing out,” Puente said.

This added up to 17 more chances to score for Costa Mesa, as it attempted 75 field goals to University’s 58. The Mustangs took advantage of the extra opportunities, exploiting the fact that the only University big man trying to hit the boards wore down as the game went on.

Forward Payam Babakhanlou, who finished with 10 rebounds, was busy trying to score points for the Trojans in the fourth. The 6-3 senior scored five of his 19 points in the final quarter.

“We had all seniors on our team last year, so we don’t have any varsity experience,” said University Coach Mike Dinneen, whose team finished second in the Pacific Coast League last year. “We kind of get down into a situation, where we hang around, but we aren’t intelligent enough as a team to make the plays down the stretch.

“We just have trouble stopping the best guys on [the opposing] team. Larry killed us both games and Titus killed us both games.”

Titus didn’t stick around to the end, but Puente made sure he did so he could finish off University.

Nonleague

Costa Mesa 61,

University 53

Score by Quarters

University

16

12

15

10

— 53

Costa Mesa

11

20

14

16

— 61

University -- Babakhanlou 19, Lin 14, Choi 9, Kwan 6, Tavassoli 3, Itani 2 .

3-pt. goals -- Choi 3, Lin 2, Tavassoli 1.

Fouled out -- None.

Technicals -- None.

Costa Mesa -- Puente 24, Titus 17, Duong 8, Molina 6, Waldron 2, Nguyen 2, Weber 2.

3-pt. goals -- Titus 2, Duong 2, Molina 1.

Fouled out -- Titus, Duong.

Technicals -- None.