SOUTHERN SECTION BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES : BOYS’ 3-A : Kennedy Proves Unbeatable in Overtime Again in Edging Tustin : Irish Capture First Basketball Title the Hard Way, 58-54

Maybe there is something to this luck of the Irish myth after all. How else does one explain Kennedy High School’s 58-54 overtime victory over Tustin Saturday for the Southern Section’s 3-A Division boys’ basketball championship?

For the second time in four days, four quarters of regulation play weren’t enough for the Irish. Kennedy needed an extra three-minute period at the Los Angeles Sports Arena before it could claim the first basketball title in the school’s 24-year history.

Point guard Michael Pettengill made a nice bounce pass to set up teammate Wendell Lauderdale for an easy layup and a 56-52 lead with 38 seconds remaining in overtime, and then Pettengill sealed the victory with two free throws 30 seconds later in front of a crowd of 5,156 fans.

Tustin (24-6) sent the game into overtime tied at 52-52 when guard Brad Cantrell made a three-pointer with two seconds remaining. The Tillers made only 6 of 27 attempts from beyond the 19-feet 9-inch three-point arc, but Cantrell’s shot looked like a million as time expired.

But Kennedy was in a position it has excelled in this season. The Irish were unbeaten in three overtime games, including an 83-80 triple-overtime thriller Tuesday against Rolling Hills.

Kennedy overcame a 24-point deficit in the third quarter against Rolling Hills, but this time, it was Kennedy’s turn to blow a big lead. The Irish appeared to be in control, holding a 50-39 advantage with 5:30 remaining after forward Glenn Tarlton scored on a three-on-one fast break.

But Kennedy scored only two points in the remainder of regulation play, and it was time for another overtime.

Tustin, which had made only 5 of 25 attempts from three-point range in the game’s first 24 minutes, hit three three-pointers in the fourth quarter, with Cantrell’s 22-foot jump shot in the waning seconds sending the game into overtime.

“We have 15 players, three coaches and a trainer on the bench, and all of them said to watch for Cantrell on a three-point shot,” said John Mayberry, Kennedy coach. “So what happens? The kid makes the shot with nobody on him and we go to overtime again.”

Kennedy opened the overtime period with forward Michael Keith scoring on a driving bank shot for a 54-52 lead. Tustin center Leo Parker missed two free throws in an attempt to tie the score, and then Cantrell fired an air ball on a three-point attempt before Pettengill wrapped it up for Kennedy.

“I knew if I got the chance, I could make the free throws,” Pettengill said. “When I got fouled, I said to myself, ‘Here we go again. It’s Rolling Hills all over again.’ ”

Tustin Coach Tom McCluskey said his team’s inability to shoot accurately denied the Tillers any chance of winning. Tustin made only 22 of 60 field-goal attempts.

“Obviously, we couldn’t shoot the ball very well, and if you don’t shoot well, you’re going to struggle,” McCluskey said. “Kennedy is a great transition team and has the best athletes we’ve faced this season.

“They did a good job containing Leo Parker. They decided they were going to let the other guys on our team beat them if they could, which is just what I would do if I was playing Tustin.”

Parker, averaging 20.5 points per game, was limited to 14 points and 12 rebounds. Parker, a long, skinny senior, was assessed his third foul with a minute gone in the second quarter and sat out the remainder of the first half.

Afterward, Parker complained about being triple-teamed and criticized his teammates for missing wide-open shots throughout the ballgame.

“We shot terrible, and that was the whole point of the game,” he said. “They gave Brad Cantrell the open shot and triple-teamed me. I don’t think there was one time where they had a guy in our face when we shot, but we missed. Everybody played terrible.”

Tustin didn’t help its cause by making only 4 of 13 free-throw attempts, including only 2 of 7 in the fourth quarter and overtime. Parker was 2 of 6 from the line.

Mayberry, who watched his team struggle to a 3-6 record to open the season, said the Irish’s triple-overtime victory over Rolling Hills aided his team’s performance in the title game.

“That game may have helped us,” he said. “We ended up playing what amounted to three games that night, but that game taught us to keep our composure and to never give up.”

Kennedy will now await the announcement today of the pairings for the Southern California Division II regionals, scheduled to begin Tuesday night. Meanwhile, there was one more order of business at hand for the new champions.

“I told the players they could cut down all the nets in our gym if they won the title,” Mayberry said. “They were a little disappointed that they couldn’t cut them down here, so we’re going back to Kennedy to cut down the nets.”