Culver City Finds Out Rio Mesa Is for Real

Rio Mesa’s Darren Nordquist wasn’t much of a factor when his team lost to Culver City earlier in the year.

Football season had just ended and he wasn’t in basketball shape.

Culver City saw the real Nordquist on Tuesday night, however, in the second round of the Southern Section 4-A playoffs. He scored 23 points and made a critical steal to lead the Spartans to a 71-70 upset in overtime at Beverly Hills High.

“I play well under pressure,” Nordquist said. “I like to put myself on the spot.”

Nordquist made a layup and then converted one of two free throws with 49 seconds left in the overtime to give Rio Mesa a 71-68 lead. Culver City fought back and moved within a point when Henry Johnson hit an 18-footer.

Rio Mesa’s Craig Wong missed two free throws with 34 seconds left and it appeared that Culver City would have a chance to win the game. But Nordquist intercepted an outlet pass by the Centaurs’ Tony Unotoa and passed to Jerry Walker, who was intentionally fouled with three seconds left.

“I saw the pass coming the whole way,” Nordquist said. “I had thoughts of going to the basket, but then I thought about it again and brought the ball back out.”

Walker missed both free throws, but Culver City was unable to get off a shot.

Rio Mesa showed no effects from an earlier loss to Culver City, 62-52, and led for most of the game.

“We’ve learned not to be intimidated by any team,” Rio Mesa Coach Steve Wolf said. “We were not intimidated, but we had the maximum respect for Culver City. We thought they were capable of winning the 4-A championship.”

The Spartans were unable to hide their emotion. They celebrated on the court for three minutes and later threw Wolf in the swimming pool beneath the gym floor.

Rio Mesa (20-5) advanced to the quarterfinals and will face Capistrano Valley (26-2), which defeated Eisenhower, 86-52, on Tuesday. Culver City finished the season 22-4.

Culver City trailed at halftime, but took a 52-50 lead at the end of the third quarter. The surge was led by Johnson, who had 10 of his 28 points in the period. Johnson made 13 of 18 shots, including his last eight, all from at least 17 feet.

The Centaurs increased their lead to 62-58 with 3:47 left in the fourth quarter, but Rio Mesa tied the score on a pair of free throws by Jerry Dawson and an offensive rebound by Garett Worden.

Culver City led by four again, 68-64, but was unable to hold that lead. Dawson made a layup with 1:31 left to bring Rio Mesa within two. Then, with 20 seconds left, he was left unguarded and hit a 10-foot turnaround to tie the score.

Rio Mesa handled Culver City’s press effectively and worked for high-percentage shots.