Century League : Hendry, Roth Lead Orange to 62-61 Upset Over Foothill

Led by the scoring of 6-foot 6-inch center Eric Hendry and 6-5 forward Dave Roth, Orange High School held on to upset Foothill, 62-61, in front of 700 spectators Friday night in Century League play at the Panther gym.

Orange repeatedly exposed the Knights’ (10-4 overall, 1-1 league) lack of height on the front line as Hendry, who had a game-high 21 points, and Roth, with 18, paced the Panthers (7-5 overall, 2-0 league).

“We slowed the tempo down enough to get the ball into Eric,” explained Orange coach Ed Graham. “Then when they started to collapse on Eric, it made for some open shots for Dave.”

Roth scored six-straight points two minutes into the second quarter to give the Panthers a 19-15 lead. The Knights managed only 10 points in the quarter as Orange increased its lead to 31-22 at the half.

Foothill Coach Jim Reames had his team switch from a zone to a man-to-man defense in the second half, inserting 6-5 center David Gazzaniga to guard Hendry. But the patient Panther waited until Hendry could get open underneath. The result was 11 second-half points.

But some fine outside shooting by Gar Myers and Jud Deutrisac, both finishing with 16 points, brought the Knights back. Guard Greg Gore sank two free throws to cut the Panther lead to 50-48 with a little more than five minutes remaining. Orange, though showed some poise in handling a tough Foothill full-court press, and extended their lead to four on a clutch 15-foot jumper by Roth.

The Knights still had a chance with 3 1/2 minutes remaining, but Stacy Parker and Gazzaniga missed free throws. Meanwhile, the Panthers’ Matt McIntire made four free throws the final two minutes to seal the victory.

Santa Ana Valley 63, Tustin 42 --The Falcons took a 15-0 lead and by the half had built a comfortable 20-point lead. Center Alonzo Jamison had 15 points and Eugene Alls added 14. Jamison and Alls each had eight points in the first quarter.

Tiller forward Steve Gauer led all scorers with 22 points. Santa Ana Valey improved its record to 3-6 overall and 2-0 in the Century League. The Falcons will play at Santa Ana on Monday. Tustin is 0-2 in league play.

Santa Ana 64, Canyon 48--Saints forward Eric Turner scored a career-high 30 points and had 16 rebounds as Santa Ana rallied from a one-point halftime deficit. Led by Turner’s 12 points in the third quarter, the Saints outscored the Comanches, 19-3. Turner hit 13 of 19 shots. Senior center Roger Flores scored 10 points and had 13 rebounds.

Dave Spencer and Chris Rippe each had eight points for Canyon which is 0-2 in Century League play. Santa Ana improved to 6-6 overall and 2-0 in league.

El Modena 71, Villa Park 56--Colin Moss scored 23 points and had 18 rebounds as El Modena improved to 2-0 in Century League play. Ryan Rycraw and Darren Defeo each had 16 points for El Modena. El Modena is 8-3 overall, Villa Park fell to 0-2 in league play.