Los Alamitos stopped by Lynwood in OT
Los Alamitos stopped by Lynwood in OT
The Griffins suffer their first loss Dec. 5 when their potential winning shot at the end is blocked.
LYNWOOD - It wasn't a matter of who scored last, but who made the last clutch play.
With the clock ticking below nine seconds, Los Alamitos' Clark Evans stole Lynwood's inbound pass to give the Griffins a chance to win in overtime. Evans passed to Nathan Berger, but a pair of Knights swatted away Berger's shot, and Lynwood held on for 70-69 victory, advancing to the Division I-AA quarterfinals against Etiwanda.
The Griffins (27-2) lost for the first time since Dec. 5, concluding their Sunset League championship season.
“It was a good season, but we wanted to get to the semis and play Mater Dei,” junior guard James Walker said. “Really, playoffs are more important than the regular season.”
Walker swished a long jump shot with three seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime, and he scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half. With Walker limited by foul trouble early, Evans surged in the first half, and he finished with a team-high 24 points and 11 rebounds.
Evans picked up his second foul early in the second quarter, but Coach Russ May quickly reinserted him after Lynwood reeled off an 8-0 run.
Evans scored eight points within three minutes, did not pick up another foul in the half, and Los Alamitos finished the second quarter on a 15-0 run to go up by four points.
“We had too many moments where we didn't take care of the ball,” said May, whose team committed 18 turnovers.
Said Lynwood Coach Anja Wilson: “When you play a team like Los Al, you know they're going to be slow and methodical and set up their play. … We want to run. I want to see if your kids are in as good a shape as mine.”
Along with the turnovers, Lynwood took advantage of 21 offensive rebounds, while the Griffins grabbed 10.
Lynwood junior Keon Pledger led four Knights in double figures with 33 points, sinking 4 of 6 3-pointers in the second half. Forward David Hall had eight offensive rebounds.
“We played well, but we didn't crash the boards,” Walker said. “When they were pressing us, we weren't really calm, and those turnovers turned into points.”
Contact the writer: jkay@ocregister.com
