Murphy Off Target but Moorpark Hits Mark in 79-59 Win

Just when Steve Murphy was about to etch his name into the Moorpark College record book, Murphy’s Law intervened.

And everything that could go wrong did.

Murphy, who was chasing Steve Ornelaz’s record for consecutive free throws, stepped to the line with 13:23 remaining in Moorpark’s 79-59 Western State Conference victory over Glendale on Saturday night.

Murphy had made 25 free throws in a row over an 8-game span--2 shy of Ornelaz’s mark of 27 set during the 1978-79 season. But Murphy had not shot a free throw in nearly 3 games, and he was feeling the pressure.

“I can’t say it wasn’t on my mind when I went to the line,” Murphy said. “Everyone looked at me and kind of winked.”

Murphy bounced the ball twice, set, then swished the first free throw to give the Raiders a 50-40 lead. He followed the same procedure for the second shot, but it was long and off to the right.

“I felt comfortable, but I knew when I released it, it was off to the right,” Murphy said. “It had to end somewhere. I guess I’ll start a new streak now.”

Eleven seconds later, Murphy fouled Glendale’s Justin Lord and was whistled for a technical foul when he complained about the call. He eventually fouled out with 4:11 to play, after scoring 3 points.

Murphy was about the only Raider who didn’t have a good night. Moorpark (16-10, 6-4 in conference play), playing what Raider Coach Al Nordquist called “one of our better games all year,” broke open a tight game by shooting 64% percent in the second half while visiting Glendale (15-10, 6-4) struggled offensively.

The Vaqueros, who trailed, 35-31, at halftime, made only 10 of 33 shots in the second half (30%).

“We shot awful, we passed awful, and we executed awful,” Glendale Coach Brian Beauchemin said. “If I could find the reasons for it, I’d bottle them, sell them, and I wouldn’t have to do this crap.”

Moorpark, which was led by sophomore Alex Porter (a game-high 20 points and 12 rebounds), got a big boost from its freshmen, 3 of whom scored in double figures. Sean Young scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including a pair of 3-point shots, and swingman Damion Dicus added 12 points.

Charlie Cangelosi (11 points) and Greg Taylor (6 points, 7 rebounds), another freshman, also contributed.