Santa Ana boys basketball team pulls off major upset, defeating league-leading Costa Mesa 59-54

Santa Ana players honor the school’s alma mater after Wednesday’s victory.

Santa Ana’s boys basketball team pulled off the biggest upset of the Orange Coast League this season, defeating league-leading Costa Mesa 59-54 Wednesday night at The Court in Santa Ana.

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The Saints (10-12, 3-2) helped their CIF playoff chances with the victory in front of their enthusiastic fans. Costa Mesa (9-11, 4-1) will try and bounce back Friday night against Calvary Chapel. The Mustangs are now in a tie for first place with Estancia, also 4-1.

“I want to credit our team,” said Santa Ana Coach Fareed ElMasry. “We tried to deny their two best players as much as we could and our players worked hard to do that. Their two best games had a bit of a shooting slump in the second half so we really benefited off of that.

“It’s a huge win for us obviously, especially after dropping (a game) to Calvary. “

Jesus Silva led Santa Ana, who are in third place, with 16 points. Sebastian Olivera had 11 points and Jerry Estrella 12 points and two 3-pointers.

“It took teamwork and defense, that’s what did it,” Silva said. “They were undefeated (in league) until now, so it feels like we can beat anybody we play now.”

Costa Mesa was led by Osman Hefner with 17 points and Tre Villapando and Nico Dasca with 13 points each. Dasca, one of the leading scorers in the county, has been averaging close to 30 points a game.

Costa Mesa led 31-28 but Santa Ana moved out to a 47-41 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Costa Mesa cut the lead to 55-54 on two free throws by Hefner with 1:32 left but Olvera scored with 20.9 remaining to put the Saints ahead by three.

The Mustangs had a couple chances to tie the game, but were unable to connect.

“Unbelievable job by the coaching staff at Santa Ana and their players; they played amazing,” said Costa Mesa Coach Mike Ofer. “They were prepared for us, they came with energy. I tip my hat to them. They did a great job preparing. We got outplayed and out-coached tonight, that’s all there is to it.”

Dasca was shaken up in the second half and had to come out for a play. But it was not related to his back injuries which sidelined him earlier this year, Oter said. Dasca strained his back and missed about three a half weeks.

“He’s one of the best players in Orange County for his size, pound for pound and a great kid,” Ofer said. “He’s very coachable and we love having him back.”

Ofer said the Mustangs are trying to get back to where they were earlier in the season.

“We have a good season,” Ofer said. “Our best guy (Dasca) has been coming back from an injury and we’re still trying to find a little bit of that chemistry. That’s no excuse. We didn’t play well, we didn’t execute well, we kind of came in casual and Santa Ana did a great job of taking advantage of it. They just flat out beat us tonight.

“It’s one loss, it’s not the end of the world, but we have to change our attitude a little bit.”

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com