Prep Basketball : Garden Grove League Roundup : Rancho Alamitos Rallies to Win

Rancho Alamitos High School rallied from a 10-point third-quarter deficit to beat Kennedy, 61-51, and clinch the final playoff berth in the Garden Grove League Friday at Kennedy.

With the victory, the Vaqueros (12-9, 10-4) avoided a playoff for third place with Pacifica, which had lost to first-place La Quinta Friday. Kennedy (18-7, 11-3) remained in second place.

“We’ve been counting on Pacifica all week to lose to Kennedy on Wednesday and La Quinta today,” Rancho Alamitos Coach Terry Munson said. “They finally opened the door for us. I told them (before the game), ‘Let’s take advantage of this.’ ”

Rancho Alamitos will advance to the 3-A playoffs; Kennedy to 4-AA.

But the Vaqueros didn’t take advantage until late in the third quarter, limiting Kennedy to seven points in the final 10 minutes.

Mike Pettengill’s three-pointer late in the third quarter put Kennedy ahead, 44-34. But the Fighting Irish didn’t score again until Pettengill sank a 10-foot jumper with 6:08 left in the game.

Kennedy then went 5:47 without a point until Jim Barker hit a three-pointer with 21 seconds left.

But by that time, Rancho Alamitos had built a comfortable eight-point lead, behind Tim Pavelec’s seven fourth-quarter points. Pavelec finished with nine points.

Rancho Alamitos outscored Kennedy, 20-7, in the final quarter as the Fighting Irish went cold, converting just only 3 of 19 shots. Kennedy shot 21 of 59 for 36%. Rancho Alamitos made 17 of 49 shots for 35%, including three of eight in the fourth quarter.

The Vaqueros relied on their free-throw shooting (22 of 29), including nine of 10 by David Green, who along with Richard Pearce, led Rancho Alamitos with 15 points.

Kennedy’s Barker led all scorers with 19 points, but 14 came before the fourth-quarter slide.

“I don’t want to take away anything from Kennedy,” Munson said. “Our kids played their hearts out. This is the best we’ve played this year. This is a great thrill for me.”