Fullerton Wins Playoff Spot Hard Way With 60-57 Overtime Win

The road to the CIF Southern Section basketball playoffs for Fullerton High School hasn’t been easy. The Indians were a consensus pick to win the Freeway League championship by opposing coaches, but they struggled to finish third and barely qualified for the postseason tournament.

Fullerton’s reward? A wild-card game on Wednesday night with Western in which the winner received the last remaining spot in the 3-A’s 32-team draw. Naturally, the Indians’ 60-57 victory didn’t come easy. They had to go to overtime to advance.

The Indians (16-9) could have made things a little easier for themselves. They had a seven-point lead with three minutes remaining, but watched the lead ultimately end when Pioneer forward Troy Joseph went the length of the court for a dunk that tied it, 51-51, with 17 seconds left.

The Pioneers (10-13) trailed from the game’s start. Fullerton opened a 10-0 lead before Western made its first basket, but the Pioneers rallied behind the play of reserves Chuck Powell and Pat Bush to gain a 30-27 halftime lead.

The teams traded leads throughout the third quarter and then halfway through the final quarter Fullerton guard Greg Wilber got hot. Wilber’s third consecutive field goal pushed the Indians in front, 47-42, and when teammate Ralph Tallant made two free throws with 2:59 remaining, Fullerton appeared to be comfortably ahead, 49-42.

Western rallied one more time. Joseph scored six of his game-high 17 points in the final minutes, including the dunk that sent the game into overtime.

Fullerton took control of the extra, three-minute period from the opening tip and scored seven of its nine points in overtime at the free-throw line. Guard Mike Hetland made six free throws to seal the win.

“We came to school and practiced free throws before the game because I thought that would be important in a close game,” said Randy Forgette, the Indians’ coach. “I knew it would be a close game.

“Western was jelling and Greg (Hoffman) does a great job of getting his kids to play hard. We kept the door open for them and let them get back into the game in the fourth quarter, but I thought my players showed a lot of character when (Ralph) Tallant fouled out.”

Tallant was the team’s leading scorer this season with a 15.8 scoring average, but the senior forward fouled out midway through the fourth quarter with only 10 points. Wilber paced the Indians with 15 points and Hetland added 12.

Fullerton plays fourth-seeded Morningside (16-7) in the first round on Friday night in Inglewood. It figures to be a quick exit for the Indians, but Forgette isn’t complaining.

“No one expects us to do well against Morningside, which is nice,” he said. “There won’t be any pressure on us for a change.”

WESTERN (57)--Joseph 17, Lott 13, Hansen 4, Bowen 6, Bush 6, Powell 11.

FULLERTON (60)--Tallant 10, Zerga 8, Perez 9, Wilber 15, Hetland 12, Lentz 6.