Orange League : Savanna Overcomes Big Deficit and Brea
Sometimes, one good quarter is enough to win a basketball game.
Savanna High School proved the point Wednesday night in a 56-55 victory over Brea-Olinda that moved the Rebels into great position to win their second straight Orange League title.
Savanna (20-2, 6-1) scored 24 points in the final quarter and overcame a 10-point deficit to move a game ahead of Brea-Olinda (16-7, 5-2) and Western (15-5, 5-2) with three games remaining.
What’s more, Savanna has completed play against Brea and Western, meaning the Rebels will finish against three teams with losing records.
“They’ll win the league, they’ve got too much momentum going now,” said Rick Jones, Brea’s coach. “We’re fighting for the playoffs now.”
Brea appeared to have the game neatly tucked away when Savanna caught fire. Savanna scored 14 consecutive points in the fourth quarter to take a 46-42 lead and then survived some anxious moments in the final seconds.
Guard Rodney Stewart had an opportunity to give Brea the lead with 5 seconds remaining when he was fouled with his team trailing, 56-55. But Stewart missed both free throws, and Brea couldn’t capitalize on a last-second shot.
Stewart was returning following a knee injury that had forced him to miss eight games. He missed four free throws and cost Brea a chance of tying the score, 66-66, with 58 seconds remaining when he was cited for a lane violation just before Keith Walker made a free throw.
“It was his first game back, but he should have made one of the free throws,” Jones said.
Free throws--or the lack of them--had played a big part in the game through three quarters. Brea had made 12 of 19 attempts going into the last quarter while Savanna had attempted only three and made one.
Savanna wasn’t much better from the field, making only 15 of 42 shots, but all that changed in the final quarter. Guard Aaron Calderon gave the Rebels their first lead, 45-44, with 4:42 remaining when he drove the lane for a short jump shot.
Savanna followed Calderon’s lead, making 7 of 12 shots in the quarter, nearly matching its point production through three quarters in the final 8 minutes of play.
“We played good defense, and eventually our offense got going,” said Tom Gregory, Savanna coach. “I was disappointed in our level of play for three quarters. We didn’t play hard or smart.”
Magnolia 61, Valencia 56--Visiting Magnolia rallied from a 17-6 first-quarter deficit to win. Jerry Jones had 18 points and Ronny McKee 17 for Magnolia (10-9, 4-3). Paul Diamond had a game-high 21 points and Steve Dodd added 12 for Valencia (4-12, 1-6).
Western 89, Anaheim 57--Forward Joe Romero scored 21 of his game-high 33 points in the first half as Western opened a 45-27 lead and cruised. Teammate Sam Sabbara added 19 points and 12 assists for the winners.