3-A Division : Coming Down to the Line, Wilson Is Winner, 54-53

In the end, it came down to two free throws, but it shouldn’t have.

No, Saturday’s Southern Section 3-A boys’ basketball final between Hacienda Heights Wilson High School and Pomona Ganesha should not have been decided that way. But it was, as Ganesha’s Ronald English missed two free throws with eight seconds remaining and his team trailing by one point, and that was the difference as Wilson won, 54-53, in front of 6,373 at the Sports Arena.

But English certainly was not to blame for the loss. Not in a one-point game in which Ganesha was consistently inconsistent, especially in the first half, when the Giants missed 7 of 13 free throws. And not in a game in which Wilson’s 6-foot-10 center Scott Williams had 27 points and 16 rebounds.

Wilson also got a big game from Neil Weingarten, who had 11 points and 7 rebounds. More importantly, Weingarten shut down Ganesha center Kevin Cutler, who had been averaging 19 points and 13 rebounds a game.

Cutler finished with 12 points and 5 rebounds.

“They (Ganesha) haven’t been in many close games,” Wilson Coach Mike Lowe said. “We really felt that if we could keep it close, we could make them play not to lose instead of to win.”

Trailing, 50-45, with 3:30 left in the game, Ganesha scored six straight points to take a 51-50 lead. Each score came from within six feet, as Ganesha took advantage of Williams, who had four fouls.

But Williams gave Wilson a 52-51 lead when he made two free throws with 1:30 left, setting up English and his missed free throws.

After English missed, Williams rebounded and passed off to Anthony Delsi, who was fouled and made two free throws with five seconds remaining. Ganesha added a basket at the buzzer to make the final score 54-53.

Wilson, with its second Southern Section basketball title, finishes with a 28-3 record. Ganesha winds up 28-2.