PREP BASKETBALL : Orange League Roundup : Western Hangs On to Upset Savanna

Western High School’s 64-57 upset victory over Savanna on Friday came as no surprise to Savanna Coach Tom Gregory. For Western Coach Greg Hoffman, it was another story.

In the last 2 minutes, two Western players fouled out, including Sam Sabbara--referred to by Hoffman as the “heart and soul” of the team. But the Pioneers held on and ran down the clock to beat the sixth-ranked team in the county.

“When Sam fouled out, I thought it was over,” said Hoffman, a former Savanna player and assistant coach. “Give credit to the rest of the team. They really sucked it up.”

Sabbara, a 6-foot guard, scored 10 points and grabbed 5 rebounds before fouling out with Western leading 62-55 and 1:06 left. Savanna’s Mustapha Abdi led all scorers with 17 points, but was limited to 7 rebounds.

Western’s victory creates a 3-team race in the Orange League. Savanna (19-2, 5-1) is now tied for first place with Brea-Olinda. Western (15-5, 4-2) is only 1 game out.

“I think we needed this,” Gregory said. “I was expecting this to happen sooner or later, particularly against Western.

“Western simply played better than we did. They deserved the game. I was disappointed in the first half. They flat out won the second half.”

Western opened a 13-10 first-quarter lead and then built it to 33-26 by halftime.

Savanna appeared headed for a comeback, scoring the first 4 points in the third quarter to get within 3, before the Pioneers went on a 13-2 run.

Savanna stayed close, though, eventually getting within 1 point, 47-46, on a 3-pointer by Jim Priest.

Savanna then took a short-lived lead, 52-51, in the fourth quarter on a layup by Priest with 5:45 left.

Western then went on an 11-3 run before Sabbara and Tom Baraza fouled out.

In other Orange League games:

Brea-Olinda 75, Valencia 49--Keith Walker scored 29 points and Matt Chamberlain 20 to lead host Brea-Olinda (16-6, 5-1). The Wildcats put the game away in the first quarter as they outscored Valencia, 18-5. Chamberlain also had 8 rebounds. Steve Dodd scored 11 points for Valencia (4-11, 1-5).

Magnolia 69, Anaheim 67 (OT)--Tim Ogren sank a 3-point field goal with 17 seconds left to give host Magnolia (9-9, 3-3) the victory. Anaheim (7-12, 0-6) trailed, 48-43, after three quarters but outscored the Sentinels, 19-14, to send the game into overtime. Jason Nester scored 18 points and Jerry Jones 15 for Magnolia. Jerry Blair scored 16 points and Jude Barbito and Victor Zambrand each had 15 for Anaheim.