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Dan Albano. Sports HS Reporter.

// MORE INFORMATION: Staff Mug Shot taken August 26, 2010 : by KATE LUCAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER.

NEWPORT BEACH – Pasadena’s boys basketball team was reminded Tuesday night just how wild yet rewarding their sport can be.

The visiting Bulldogs survived a bizarre free-throw sequence with 1.7 seconds left and forced a last-second missed 3-point attempt by Dennis Rodman Jr. to defeat Corona del Mar, 47-44, in the CIF-SS Division I-A quarterfinals.

No. 2 seeded Pasadena (23-5) plays Peninsula in the semifinals on Friday.

Pasadena’s Darius Mason grabbed a rebound with 1.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter and went to the foul line. With the Bulldogs leading, 47-44, Mason made his first attempt but the basket was waved off for a Corona del Mar timeout.

When play resumed, Pasadena was called for a free-throw violation, turning the ball over to Corona del Mar. The Sea Kings (22-7) advanced the ball just past midcourt on a pass deflected out of bounds with 1.3 seconds remaining. But Rodman’s final attempt missed to seal the victory for Pasadena.

“It’s a great gutty win for us but … that’s a great program in Corona del Mar,” Pasadena coach Tony Brooks said. “You saw some mistakes out there but you saw a lot of perseverance and a lot of character being built out there.”

Pasadena junior Bryce Hamilton scored on a drive with 1:56 left in the fourth period to snap a 44-44 tie. He later added a free throw with 13 seconds left to provide the final margin.

Hamilton, who has offers from UNLV and Boise State among others, finished with 20 points and eight rebounds.

“He’s a heck of a player,” Corona del Mar coach Ryan Schachter said of Hamilton. “We slowed him down but he was still the difference.”

Darius Brown added 10 points, all in the first half, for Pasadena.

Pasadena led, 41-33, entering the fourth quarter and by 12 early in the third.

But Corona del Mar took the lead, 44-43, on layup on a backdoor cut to the basket by Rodman with 2:52 left in the fourth. Corona del Mar’s faithful erupted but the Sea Kings didn’t score again.

Rodman, a sophomore and the son of former NBA legend Dennis Rodman, scored 24 points.

“He played great,” Schachter said. “He’s one of the more under-rated or unknown players in Southern California.”

Kevin Kobrine added 10 points for Corona del Mar, including a dunk in the third period off a pass from Ben Coffman that sparked the Sea Kings.

Contact the writer: dalbano@scng.com