ORANGE COUNTY PREP BASKETBALL : Santiago Tournament : Williams’ Overtime Play Leads Kennedy Into Final

Kennedy High School’s Mike Williams was noticeably absent for most of the second half Friday night in the semifinals of the Santiago Holiday Tournament, which is a bit unusual considering Williams is the Irish’s second tallest player.

The 6-foot 4-inch center, who had eight points in the first half, had attempted only two shots and was shut out in the second half. But he came to life in the overtime period, scoring all four of Kennedy’s points in a 68-66 victory against Bolsa Grande.

Williams’ 12-foot jump shot with six seconds remaining in the three-minute overtime period was the difference as Kennedy advanced to the title game at 8:30 tonight against Valencia. The Irish were the runners-up in the tournament last year.

Bolsa Grande (6-3) had an opportunity to win the game with nine seconds remaining in regulation play, but reserve guard Matt Durlene couldn’t complete a three-point play. Durlene’s off-balance bank shot had tied the score, 64-64, and he was fouled on the play.

But Durlene missed his fifth consecutive free throw of the game, and Kennedy’s Gary Rassmussen got the rebound. The Irish worked for a final shot but never got off an attempt against Bolsa Grande’s man-to-man pressure.

Williams gave the Irish a 66-64 lead in overtime, but Bolsa Grande tied the score when guard Thurman Brown drove the lane for a bank shot with 54 seconds remaining. The shot set the stage for Williams.

“We’ve been shooting 52% from the field as a team, but this was our poorest shooting night of the season,” Irish Coach John Mayberry said. “We had poor shot selection, but we hung in there as a team.”

Kennedy (9-3) actually shot 50% in the first, second and fourth quarters, but slipped to a 6-for-18 performance in the third quarter and fell behind, 51-44. The Matadors appeared to be headed for a victory at this juncture, but they made only 5 of 12 free throws in the last quarter and their best player, Nam Cao, fouled out with 1:04 remaining.

Cao was brilliant in the third quarter, consistently hitting long-range jump shots for 10 of his game-high 20 points. Teammate Joe Small added 19 points and 15 rebounds.

Mayberry utilized 11 players as the Irish showed they have plenty of depth despite playing without their best player, Michael Keith, who was out with an ankle injury.

“The kids all tried to pick up the slack for Michael,” Mayberry said. “It seems like the fourth quarter has been our quarter this season. We were down, 29-6, to Magnolia in the first round here and won.”

In other championship semifinal action:

Valencia 54, Buena Park 41--The Tigers blew the game open in the second half by shutting down Buena Park’s high-scoring guard, Gary Hunter. Hunter had scored 32 points against Valencia in the Fullerton Tournament, but he was 0 for 4 from the field in the second half Friday night and finished with only nine points.

Valencia (8-3) was paced by Darren Robinson and reserve Pat Hernandez. Robinson led all scorers with 18 points and Hernandez scored all seven of his points in the second half. Buena Park (6-4) will play Bolsa Grande for third place at 7 tonight.

In consolation play:

Burbank 77, Santiago 40--Bryan Chandler and Chris Buck combined for 30 points as Burbank advanced to the consolation championship game against Magnolia. The Bulldogs, defending tournament champions, held a 34-5 lead at halftime.