Orange County Sports / Prep Basketball : Century League : Rieber Helps Foothill Break Away in Second Half for Win

Foothill High School boys’ basketball Coach Jim Reames found out just how important Greg Rieber is to the Knight lineup on Friday.

The senior forward struggled in the first half against Santa Ana Valley, scoring three points, but came alive in the second half, scoring 10 points and getting 8 rebounds to lead Foothill to a 67-59 victory over the Falcons in a Century league game at Foothill.

The victory moves Foothill (12-6, 5-1) into sole possession of second place behind Santa Ana (19-3, 6-0). Santa Ana Valley (11-9, 3-3) is in third place.

“Tonight was a huge win for this team,” Reames said. “The difference was Rieber’s play in the second half and the fact that we were we able to control the game’s tempo.”

Foothill led only by 32-29 at the half, and the game remained close until Knight forward Bill Mazurie connected on a three-point shot with less than a minute to play in the third quarter, and Rieber added a basket as time expired to give Foothill a 49-40 lead at the end of the period.

The Knights outrebounded the Falcons, 23-15, in the second half and, 38-29, for the game.

Mazurie was the game’s leading scorer with 15 points, and center Dan Abel added 14 along and 9 rebounds. Steve Calhoun lead the Falcons with 14 points.

Foothill plays Santa Ana, which is unbeaten in league play, at home Wednesday.

“That game is what we’ve played for for 10 months,” Reames said. “Our goal is to beat Santa Ana and go to the playoffs.”

El Modena 65, Villa Park 63 (OT)--Russ Weitl scored on an offensive rebound with one second left in overtime to give host El Modena (9-10, 3-3) the victory. Villa Park’s Chris Johnson made a layup with 25 seconds in regulation to tie the score at 59-59, and El Modena missed a last-second shot. Brian Bullock scored 13 points to lead El Modena. Steve Waldrip had 25 points and Roger Branstine 16 for Villa Park (1-16, 0-6).

Santa Ana 64, Canyon 58--Willie Lane scored 22 points and Bobby Joyce scored 12 points and had 14 rebounds as the Saints (19-3, 6-0) beat the Comanches (8-12, 2-5) at Santa Ana High School. Scootie Lynwood had 9 points and 11 assists for the Saints.