PREP BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Rolling Hills Bombs West Torrance, 80-76

Those mad bombers from Rolling Hills High were at it again Wednesday night, hitting three-point shots with uncanny accuracy and, in the process, regaining sole possession of first place in the Bay League basketball race.

The Titans connected on 13 of 23 three-point attempts en route to an 80-76 win over host West Torrance in a game that wasn’t decided until the final two seconds.

Titan guard Mark Tesar, who finished with 17 points and five three-pointers, hit two one-and-one free throws with two seconds left to break a 76-76 tie. Tesar went to the line after he had stolen the ball from West guard Phil Bendik in the back court with 10 seconds left.

Forward Stu Talley sank two more foul shots with one second left after a length-of-the-court pass from West’s Denny Hocking sailed out of bounds.

The win left Rolling Hills (16-5 overall, 6-1 in league) with a one-game lead over West (16-5, 5-2) with three games remaining.

West used a box-and-one defense to limit Rolling Hills center John Hardy to 16 points. But in so doing, the Warriors left the outside unguarded, allowing Tesar, Steve Clover (15 points, five three-pointers) and Ron Dinnel (11 points, three three-pointers) to fire away from the outside.

“The box and one is tough, but it does open up the outside,” said Rolling Hills Coach Cliff Warren. “I don’t mind shooting from the outside. I believe in those three-pointers.”

West Coach Dan McGee was left in a quandary on his defensive strategy. True, the Warriors held down Hardy, who had 31 points in Rolling Hills’ 79-68 victory over West on Jan. 13, but they gave up the outside.

“We played a 1-2-2 defense with an umbrella on top, but (Rolling Hills) was so accurate,” McGee said. “It’s hard to believe a high school team can make 13 three-point shots.”

A three-pointer by Clover with 3:21 left gave Rolling Hills a 73-69 lead and proved to be the Titans’ last field goal of the night.

West roared back behind senior forward Jason Arquisch, who scored 10 of his game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter. The burly Arquisch put West ahead, 76-75, by hitting two one-and-one free throws with 1:31 left.

It stayed that way until Rolling Hills forward Charlie Abbott hit the front end of a one-and-one to tie the game, 76-76, with 49 seconds remaining.

West gained possession following Abbott’s miss on the second free throw and called a timeout with 12 seconds left to set up a final shot. Bendik took the inbounds pass and Tesar reached in and knocked the ball out of bounds off of the West guard.

Tesar brought the ball up court, trying to set up a three-point shot, and Bendik fouled him as he pulled up from the 19-foot, 9-inch arch.

“Whenever you lose at the free-throw line, it’s disappointing,” McGee said. “We had the offense set up to get the last shot. We wanted one of our guards (Hocking or Bendik) to drive the hoop.”

West was forced to play most of the second half without center James Severance, who was benched early in the third quarter with four fouls and eventually fouled out with 4:06 remaining.