Thousand Oaks Outlasts Newbury Park in Overtime

For Rob McKinnon, Wednesday night’s basketball game might not have been a panacea for lost time on the football field, but it did come real close.

McKinnon, who lost a healthy chunk of his football season to a shoulder injury, scored seven of Thousand Oaks’ nine points in overtime to lift the Lancers to a 58-53 victory at Newbury Park.

He began the three-minute extra period by making two free throws. Then, with 59 seconds remaining and Thousand Oaks ahead, 51-49, he took a lob pass from Rob McLaughlin three feet to the left of the basket and used his body for a turnaround jumper. He was fouled by Dave Pessin on the shot and converted the three-point play to give Thousand Oaks an insurmountable 54-49 margin. McKinnon then added two more free throws to finish with a team-high 14 points along with Bruce Watson.

“We worked a lot on free throws the past two weeks, but I was still nervous,” said McKinnon, who added that he was ready when he had to take over for Walker.

And about his replacement, Walker said: “He always comes off the bench and does his job.”

The victory boosted Thousand Oaks’ record to 7-5 and its Marmonte League mark to 2-0. The loss dropped Newbury Park to 5-8, 0-2 in league.

Thousand Oaks took a 49-47 lead with 46 seconds left in regulation on a pair of free throws by Watson before Lancers center John Walker, who had eight points, fouled out with 31 seconds left. Newbury Park’s Dan Ryan hit both free throws to tie it at 49. Even after two timeouts, the Lancers did not get off a shot.

Shawn Jeffers led Newbury Park with 18 points.

THOUSAND OAKS--McKinnon 14, Watson 14, Walker 8, Martin 8, McLaughlin 6, Schlossman 6, Tadlock 2.

NEWBURY PARK--Jeffers 18, Ryan 10, Ludlow 8, Pessin 8, Cook 5, Hanmer 2, Harrick 2..