Week of Feb 20th

Costa Wins CIF First Round Playoff Game

The Mustangs defeats Camarillo 79-71

Cole Feaster had 26 points and six assists for visiting Mira Costa (18-9) in the first round. Oliver Mausner had 17 points and Kevin Kim had 15 points for No. 15 Mira Costa, which hosts No. 2 Compton Tuesday night at 7 PM in the second round.

Week of Feb 13th  - Getting Ready for Playoffs

 The Mira Costa boys’ team is the only of four area teams to enter CIF above .500 at 17-9 and 4-6 in league. The Mustangs entered league play in early January riding high after tearing through non-conference play at 13-3, with at least three wins in each of the three tournaments they played.
“We lost our two leading scorers from last season and were able to turn it around quickly and have a nice season,” said Coach Jeff Amaral.

The Mustangs’ year was highlighted by their two wins over rival Redondo, including the 60-59 overtime game in which Cooper Pugnale’s three gave Costa the win with only seconds remaining. Junior Cole Feaster led the Mustangs 12.0 points per game for the year and 14.5 during league play.

A break out year from sophomore Justin Strings and leadership from seniors Pugnale and Max Watson helped Costa earn the 15 seed in the CIF-SS Division 2A playoffs. They’ll travel to Adolfo Camarillo (16-10, 7-3) on Friday to take on a team featuring a senior listed at 6’6” and another at 6’7’’.

“The guys who are returners have had success going on the road and winning in the playoffs,” Amaral said. “They went to San Bernardino and won a game last year and won in Whittier two years ago.”

Week of Jan 30th-Feb 3rd

Jan 31st Mira Cotsa 67 - Redondo Union 57  (edited from Daily Breeze)

For a half, Tuesday night's game between the Mira Costa and Redondo boys basketball teams looked as close as one would expect from a game between the two beach rivals.

Then Justin Strings took over.

Strings scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half to help lead Mira Costa to a 67-57 victory over visiting Redondo in a Bay League tilt.    "(Strings) really came on in the second half," Redondo assistant coach Tim Johnson said. "He killed us."

The effort of Strings, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, and Chase Crandall, who had 18 points and five rebounds, helped Mira Costa (16-7, 3-4) outscore Redondo 48-34 in the second half after trailing by four points at halftime.   "He had some opportunities in the first half but the ball just wasn't dropping," Mira Costa coach Jeff Amaral said of Strings. "He was unbelievable in the second half."

Amaral said Crandall's 18 points were a career-high for the sophomore."We got a real nice contribution from Crandall," Amaral said. "He came up big for us tonight."

Cole Feaster added 15 points for Mira Costa.

Week of Jan 23rd-27th

Jan 27th Mira Costa 51 - West High 57 (edited from the Daily Breeze)

The West Warriors' defense and Costa's turnovers allowed it to continue its bid for a Bay League title, earning a 57-51 victory over Mira Costa on Friday night at West Torrance.

West hit a 3-point basket with 2:39 left that turned out to be the difference, but the Warriors (16-6, 5-1) failed to convert another field goal the rest of the way. Still, Mira Costa (15-7, 2-4) couldn't take advantage of it.

The Warriors were clinging to a 50-48 lead after Mira Costa sophomore forward Justin Strings nailed a 3-point basket with three minutes remaining. After a turnover by West, the Warriors fouled Mira Costa senior guard Max Watson on a 3-point attempt with 37 seconds remaining. Watson, who finished with 10 points, made his three free throws to pull the Mustangs to within 54-51, making it a one possession game.

Mira Costa got a chance to slice the lead or tie when West missed the front end of a one-and-one with 32 seconds left, but Mira Costa was whistled for traveling with 23 seconds remaining, killing any chance for a rally.

"We had opportunities, and I was happy the guys were right there at the end, but I thought we could have gotten over the hump," Mira Costa coach Jeff Amaral said. "We had several chances. I was pleased with the effort, but disappointed with the execution."

For Mira Costa, it was another disappointing defeat and its third in its past four outings. Though the Mustangs have shown they can compete with the league's best, they have come up on the short end in close games against Leuzinger, West and Peninsula. All four of their league losses have been by six points or less.  

Jan 24th Mira Costa 50 - Palos Verdes High 40

Costa ended their 2 game skid with a 50-40 win at home to bring their overall record to 15-6 and 2-3 in Bay League play.  Costa was led by Justin Strings' 21 points, 10 rebounds along with 13 points from Cole Feaster.  Max Watson missed his first double-double by 2 points, contributing 8 points and 10 rebounds while adding 4 assists. 

“We were proud of our first quarter, but when they went to the zone we struggled a bit to knock down shots,” Mira Costa head coach Jeff Amaral said.

With just under four minutes to play, Costa scored on a layup to bring Palos Verdes to within two at 38-36.   Despite the Mustangs offense getting untracked, the home team would not falter at the finish line.  “We felt confident with the guys on the floor, we’ve faced zones half a dozen times this year and come away with wins all but once; we hung in there and came away with the win,” Amaral said.

Senior guard Max Watson scored a layup off a Sea King turnover and converted four of four free throws down the stretch to clinch the 10-point home victory.    “We really needed this one, it was our first two-game losing streak of the season and we had to pick ourselves up, it was a good win,” Watson said.   

Week of Jan 16th-13th

Jan 20th Mira Costa 46 - Peninsula 49

Costa's offense got off to a slow and stagnant start scoring just 16 points in the first half.  It was a tough 1st half of slow ball movement and lots of contested outside jump shots against a stout zone defense of the Peninsula Panthers.   Nonetheless,  Costa's defense was up to the task of keeping them "in the game", holding Peninsula to just 17 points in the 1st half.   Costa was outscored 17- 9 in the 3rd quarter in what seem to more of the same offensive struggles for the Mustangs.   Entering the 4th quarter down by 9 points and scoring just 25 points in 3 quarters, the Mustangs starting doing what they do best.....pushing the tempo and using their superior team speed and athletism.   They ripped off 21 points in the 4th quarter and at one point, narrowed the Panther's lead to a single point with a couple of minutes left to play.   Despite the gallant effort, the Mustang's had to start the foul for possession strategy and to their credit, Peninsula stepped up and knocked down 11 of 14 free throws in the 4th quarter and several in a row to close out the game.

Jan 17th Mira Costa 66 - Leuzinger 70 (Edited from the Daily Breeze)

The game plan was working to perfection for Mira Costa. Then, the bottom fell out."This is tough to swallow," Mira Costa coach Jeff Amaral said.  Amaral helplessly watched host Leuzinger wipe out an 18-point third-quarter deficit and earn a 70-66 Bay League victory over the Mustangs on Tuesday night.

The Olympians, who won their seventh in a row, remained atop the league race with their stunning rally.

It took Leuzinger almost three quarters to find a pulse. Mira Costa was the aggressor in the first half, taking a 34-26 lead at the half. In the third quarter, the Mustangs dominated for the opening five minutes and seemed headed for an easy victory.

"We had some pressure-release stuff that really hurt them, backdoor plays, we hit a lot of free throws and we really slowed them down with our press," Amaral said. "They were a little bit uncomfortable with that."

Leuzinger tried to find a comfort zone in the opening minute of the third quarter when junior guard Trey Anderson nailed a 3-pointer and Childress scored on a layup after a steal to cut Mira Costa's lead to 34-31.

But the Mustangs answered in a big way, going on a 15-0 run sparked by senior guard Max Watson, senior forward Cooper Pugnale and sophomore forward Justin Strings. Strings' reverse layup with 3:22 left in the quarter capped the surge, giving Mira Costa a commanding 49-31 lead.

But that's when Mira Costa's good fortune started to evaporate. After handling Leuzinger's pressure defense with ease, the Mustangs began to struggle with it. The crisp passes and backdoor plays that resulted in layups and easy buckets for more than a half turned into sloppy passes, missed shots and a string of miscues.

"When things weren't going our way our emotions got the best of us," Amaral said.

So did Leuzinger (14-4, 3-0). It rallied with a 12-3 run that sliced Mira Costa's lead to 52-43 before Strings, who led the Mustangs with 22 points and seven rebounds, hit a pair of free throws for an 11-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

But the Olympians continued to sizzle in the fourth quarter, pulling to within 59-58 when junior forward Deonte Welch, who came off the bench to score 10 points, made all three of his free throws after drawing a foul on a 3-point attempt with four minutes remaining.

Strings responded with a three-point play for a 62-58 advantage, but a 3-pointer by Anderson, who finished with 14 points, and reserve guard Rodrick West's driving layup gave Leuzinger its first lead, one it would never relinquish, with about two minutes remaining.

Mira Costa (14-5, 1-2) had a chance to force overtime after gaining possession with 18 seconds left and trailing 69-66, but Donnell Drain's steal with four seconds remaining sealed it for Leuzinger.

Junior point guard Cole Feaster finished with 16 points for Mira Costa, while Max Watson added 12.

Week of Jan 9th-13th

Jan 13th Mira Costa 60 - Redondo Beach 59 (Article from Daily Breeze)

Cooper Pugnale already had cemented himself as perhaps the game's best player with his defensive effort alone.  Then the guy had to go and make the winning shot.

Pugnale's 3-pointer from the top of the key with nine seconds left in overtime capped a scrambling finish to Mira Costa's 60-59 Bay League victory over Redondo in a packed and loud Sea Hawk Pavilion.

"I don't even remember the shot," Pugnale said. "I'm still trying to get over it.  "It was probably the hardest crowd we've played against all year and to win that is just incredible."

It took what Mira Costa coach Jeff Amaral called "a perfect storm" of events for the Mustangs (14-4, 1-1) to scrap to their first league victory - and the first victory over Redondo for their seniors.

Redondo needed two free throws from Darrien Touchstone with 27.2 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime, and then the Sea Hawks (7-9, 0-2) scored the first six points of the extra period.

Cole Feaster scored 16 points to lead Mira Costa and hit a driving shot with 27 seconds left to bring the Mustangs within 59-57.   He said later,   "I give props to Cooper Pugnale - but he's definitely the player of the game."

The Sea Hawks then missed a layup with 16 seconds left, Pugnale took the ball upcourt and never hesitated.

Coach Amaral said of Cooper,  "He's a senior, he's looking for a shooter in that instance, but (the defenders) all ran past him,".  "Redondo hustled back like they always do, and then he found himself alone and he had to take it."

Pugnale said he was actually looking to pass into the corner to Oliver Mausner, whose 3-pointer with 1:37 left tied it at 55-55. Mausner only got the ball in that instance after Fox blocked a 3-point attempt by Pugnale.

That was answered by Redondo's Brian Frew, who connected on a 3-pointer from the left wing with 1:13 left that made it 58-55.  Redondo's Derek Biale made a free throw with 33.7 seconds left for a 59-55 lead.

After Pugnale's shot swished through the net, Redondo pushed the ball up the floor and Touchstone had a running shot from the baseline that bounced off the rim.

Justin Strings scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half for Mira Costa and hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 1:41 left in regulation that gave the Mustangs a brief 46-45 lead.

Pugnale finished with 10 and Keith Waddell, who hit two free throws with 35.7 seconds left in overtime to give Mira Costa a 48-46 advantage, had eight points.

Jan. 10th  Mira Costa 47 - West Torrance High 53

The Costa Mustangs got off to a slow start to the season with a disappointing 53-47 loss to West Torrance last night at the Costa home court.   Costa came out with less than stellar control of the offensive end of the court, turning the ball over 13 times in the first half and trailed by 9 at the break.  The 2nd half bought a more up-tempo approach that took advantage of Costa's speed and athletism quickly fighting their way back into the game, entering the 4th quarter down by just 3 points.   After a frenetic up and down pace, the Mustangs kept it close throughout but just could not get the defensive stops and/or the key hoops to catch the West squad.  The Mustangs were led by Cole Feaster's 11 points while Max Watson contributed 9, followed by Karl Acres with 8.      

Week of Jan 2nd-7th

Jan. 6th Mira Costa 78 - Marywood Palm Valley 15

Enough said.....

Jan. 4th  Mira Costa 47 - El Segundo 42

The Costa Mustangs defeated a pesky and determined El Segundo team at the Eagles gym on Wednesday night.  Costa led for the entire game, but could not shake the Eagle's for more than an 8 point lead for most of the game.  It went back and forth in the 2nd half as the Mustangs fought to maintain a 3 to 6 point advantage.   Down the stretch it was the Mustang defense, good offensive possessions (no turnovers) and making clutch free throws that were the difference. 

The Costa Mustangs JV team opened the evening with a 65-35 rout of the El Segundo JV.     

Week of Dec 19th-23rd    The Palm Springs Winter Classic

1st Round Mira Costa 68 Legacy (Nevada) 63

Costa took a big lead into the fourth quarter led by Cooper Pugnale's outstanding effort.  Costa held them to 18 first half points and was able to hold off their late run. Pugnale finished with a career high 27 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 3 steals.  Justin Strings contributed 10 points, 7 rebounds while working the post and Kevin Kim added 10 points and 3 steals.

2nd Round Mira Costa 53 Palm Springs 62

Costa battled all night vs. the highly ranked host school, Palm Springs High.  The Mustangs were down by as much as 14 points in the first half but got it down to 9 at halftime.  With 4 minutes in the game Costa cut the lead to 48-46 but couldn't quite get over the hump as Palm Springs hit back to back 3's that ended up being the dagger.  Cole Feaster led with 15 points and 6 assist while Kevin Kim contributed 13 points.

3rd Round Mira Costa 60 Yucaipa 58

A tough game against the team that knocked the Mustangs out of the CIF playoffs 3 years ago.  Costa built an early 17-7 lead with pressure defense and a full court press.   Yucaipa's hot shooting (eight 3 pointers) led them back.   In the end, it was clutch shooting by Cooper Pugnale and inspired defense that made the difference in the win.   Cooper finished with 14 points and 7 rebounds while Kevin Kim had 11 points and Keith Waddell added 10 points and 7 rebounds for a solid team win.

4th Round (5th Place game) Mira Costa 69 Cochrane (Canada) 62

Costa took an early double digit lead before Cochrane caught fire from deep and cut the lead at halftime to a single point.  Sub Enzo Kajiya led a second half charge with all of his 10 points and 4 assists coming after halftime.  Justin Strings had 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Cooper Pugnale was announced to the all-tournament team.

In the end, the coaching staff says they were pleased with another 3-1 tournament week, especially in an out of town tournament with unscouted and unfamiliar opponents.

Week of 12/13 - 12/17    In the Hilltop Classic

Dec 17th

Mira Costa 71 - Venice High 42

After a competitive first quarter, the overall team speed and an inspired defense set the tone for this rout of Venice.   The Mustangs played an overall well balanced game with amny contributors to the win.   Oliver Mausner displayed his deadeye long range shooting touch hitting on 4 of 5 3- point shots to break open the game and ending up with 14 points.  Also, Cole Feaster and Kevin Kim contributed 12 points each with Cole dishing out 5 assists.  Solid performance and a 3rd place finish in the 2011 Hilltop Classic for the Mustangs.

 Dec 16th

Mira Costa 63 - South Torrance 50

Costa continue their winning ways with a convincing win over South Torrance.  The Mustangs were led by a solid post performance by center Keith Waddell who finished with 17 points to go along with 8 rebounds.   Cooper Pugnale continue his solid tournament season turning in 13 points and 7 rebounds. 

Dec 14th

Mira Costa 66  -  Abbotsford Collegiate 46

Costa got back on the winning track on Wednesday night with a 66-46 romp over the Abbotsford Collegiate team at 7:30 PM at the PV Gym.   The Mustangs took control of the game from the opening tip as their superior speed and quickness led to several early turnovers by the Collegiate squad who seemed unaccustomed to the all-court press with speed and agility that the Mustangs bought tonight.     The Abbotsford team fought back from 20+ point deficits to get the game to a 12 point deficit mid 4th quarter before the Mustangs re-asserted themselves defensively, which as is often the case, turns into high percentage offense.   Good win after the shallacking they took at the hands of Harvard-Westlake the night before....Now it's on to play South Torrance next in the Hilltop on Friday at 6 PM at PV Gym.    South Torrance beat Harvard Westlake 74-73 in an well executed, well coached game by the South Staff.    Which Costa team will show up?   Will you?  Stay tuned and come out and support the Mustangs try to get to the top of their division!!   

Dec 13th:

Harvard-Westlake 86, Mira Costa 60:

Kevin Kim had nine points and Karl Acres had eight points and 10 rebounds for Mira Costa (5-2) in pool play at Palos Verdes as the much bigger frontline of Harvard Westlake controlled the game from the start. 

Week of 12/5 -12/10

Mira Costa gets lift from Watson

Week of 11/28-12/3

Varsity

The Varsity hosted the 60^th annual Pacific Shores Tournament (Mira Costa edition) the first week of the season. By all accounts the week was very successful with Mira Costa capturing 3^rd place and going 3-1 by beating Culver City Saturday night. The first two games of the tournament were both victories for Mira Costa.  On Monday night versus Carson the team was led by Cole Feaster and Karl Acres in a 58-47 win. Wednesday night the team used pressure defense and scoring from 11 players led by Oliver Mausner’s 13 to beat Pacifica Christian 74-37.

Both Thursday night’s game versus Brentwood and Saturday night’s games were nail biters. Eventual tournament champion Brentwood was able to pull out a one point victory on Thursday night 56-55 in a contest that many thought was the game of the tournament. Kevin Kim took high scoring honors with 18 points and Keith Waddell, filling in for Acres, played their tournament MVP Center Leland King to an absolute standstill. The victory Saturday night against Culver City was especially sweet for Varsity returners because of last year’s defeat at the hands of the Centaurs. Leading the way Saturday night was Cole Feaster with 18 points and 7 assists and Karl Acres with 14 points and 10 rebounds.  

All-Tournament selections were point guard Cole Feaster (14.5 ppg) and small forward Oliver Mausner who scored in double digits in three out of four games. The Varsity picks up next week with home games against Torrance and Campbell Hall. Both games are at Costa’s Fisher Gym at 7:30.

                                                                               Junior Varsity

The JV squad travelled to Long Beach Jordan for their first tournament of the year. Battling off a flu bug that swept through the team throughout the week the JV’s were able to win tournament championship! It wasn’t an easy road with a tight victory in the first game against a strong Mayfair team. Connor Kernochan hit five 3-point shots on his way to a game high 19 points. Austin Toren scored 14 points and muscled 18 rebounds against a larger opponent to dominate the game and help Mira Costa advance to the second round. In the second round game the team won a defensive battle 40-30 and were led by Hunter White with 11 points.

In the championship game Friday night Mira Costa faced the host Long Beach Jordan Panthers. Hunter White again contributed in the scoring column with 10 points and the Munch Winett controlled the tempo from the point position. Kyle Johnson-Greene was the key to the game however with a 10-for-10 performance from the free throw line and the game winning steal and layup as the clock ran down. In the end it was a 56-53 victory for the JV team and the program’s first tournament championship of the season. Austin Toren was named to the all-tournament team and Kyle Johnson-Green was awarded tournament MVP honors.

                                                                             FROSH/SOPH

The freshman boys basketball team had a stellar showing at the Los Alamitos tournament this past week. They made it to the finals before losing to Mater Dei after a furious comeback fell short. The boys cut the lead from 24 to 6 in the final quarter before losing by 8 points. Chris Lebbin, Jonathan Quinn and Brandon Mills played ferocious defense and turned the tide of the game. The boys never gave up and never stopped believing they could win. 

 

The first round game Dylan Kim put the team on his shoulders scoring 14 points in the 4th quarter to seal the victory of Long Beach Jordan.

 

In the second round against Loyola Andrew Narasaki hit a three pointer with 41 seconds left to tie the game. After some tough team defense Loyola turned the ball over and Ryan Ramey hit a buzzer beater in the lane to win the game.

 

In the semi-final against Long Beach Poly it was a team effort that ended up giving Mira Costa a 20-point victory over the much bigger jackrabbit team.