Southern Section 3-A PLAYOFFS : Katella Tops Burbank With Layup at Buzzer

Katella High School basketball Coach Tom Danley may have called it a “terrible” victory Tuesday. But it was good enough to allow his team to advance past Burbank and the second round of the Southern Section 3-A playoffs.

Burbank made it terrible for Danley’s players by clawing back into the game after a flimsy first half. Bulldog forward David Neilsen led Burbank in the second half with 10 clutch points, but Burbank lost, 46-45, on a layup by Katella’s Bob Erbst with two seconds left in the game.

Burbank, the Foothill League champion, ended its season at 19-5. Katella will play Damien in the quarterfinals Friday

Katella, the Empire League’s third-place representative (21-4), had led by as much as eight points in the first half, as both teams suffered through some bad shooting.

Katella held a 27-22 advantage at the half, but Neilsen awoke in the third quarter to rally the Bulldogs to a two-point deficit with two minutes left in the quarter. The 6-4 senior scored 14 points in the game.

With 2:58 remaining in the game, the Bulldogs’ efforts finally paid off with the dividend they had sought ever since relinquishing a 4-2 lead in the first quarter. It was a 41-39 lead on two free throws by Neilsen.

But Burbank could not get further than two points ahead even though Katella sank just one of seven free throws down the stretch.

With 22 seconds left in the game, Knight guard Steve Bennett, normally an excellent free-throw shooter, missed two at the foul line after Burbank had moved to within two, 45-43, on a drive by Orlando Cepeda, Jr.

But Cepeda fouled Erbst with 16 seconds left and Erbst responded with one of two free throws, allowing Katella to edge within one point at 45-44.

Neilsen subsequently blocked an attempt by Bennett, but knocked the ball out of bounds. The Knights’ Dave Linkler threw the inbounds pass straight underneath to Erbst, a 63% shooter, who banked it in for the victory.

All Burbank Coach Russ Keith would say afterward as he herded his dismayed players to the locker room was, “We should have been better on the boards.”

Katella out-rebounded the Bulldogs 28-20.

Lotka had 8 points for Burbank. Erbst was Katella’s high scorer with 15, and Bennett added 11.