BOYS CIF BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : Van Nuys Beaten in Last 4 Seconds

Los Angeles basketball fans will never confuse Earvin Johnson with Erven Jaramilla.

E.J. of the Lakers is 6-9. E.J. of Marshall High is 5-9.

But Friday night, after Jaramilla made a 23-foot jump shot with four seconds left that gave Marshall a 57-55 win over Van Nuys in the City 3-A semifinals, none of the hundreds of rooters that stormed the court after the game believed it was anything less than magic.

Marshall (21-4) advanced to the finals where the Barristers will play University, a 46-44 overtime winner over Jefferson on Friday night.

“I wonder whether I’d rather have lost by 20 than to have lost this way on a last-second shot,” said Kevin Duford, who finished his first season as Van Nuys coach, 13-7. “When I saw Jaramilla shoot, I thought, great, we’re going into overtime. We thought they’d go to Simon.”

Duford wasn’t alone. With the score tied at 55, just about everyone in the gym at Wilson High had to figure the ball was going into Jerry Simon, Marshall’s 6-5 center/forward who averaged 38 points a game this season for the top-ranked Barristers.

Van Nuys’ Mark Lyles held Simon to a game-high 19 points, but Simon still had 20 rebounds and triggered a five-minute spurt that saw Marshall go from two points down near the end of the third quarter to 10 points ahead with six minute left in the game.

Van Nuys went on a run of its own and tied the game at 55 when guard Pat Meyer made a 15-foot jumper with a minute left.

Marshall did not call a timeout. The Barristers brought the ball upcourt and tried to spread out their offense to free Simon for the shot.

“I didn’t want to go into overtime,” said Jaramilla, who had stood near halfcourt dribbling looking at for a passing lane to Simon. “I was looking for Jerry, but he wasn’t open. So, I shot it.”