Boys’ Division III : Central Valley Peaks in Time to Upset Trabuco Hills

Center Rick Swanwick carried Trabuco Hills High School through a banner season that ended Saturday with the State Division III boys’ championship basketball game at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

But with the game and a State title on the line, the 6-foot 10-inch, 220-pound senior finally collapsed under the weight and ended up lying face down on the floor after the final buzzer.

Swanwick had missed the second of two free throws with two seconds remaining, and Central Valley held on for a 62-61 upset victory that gave the school--located 10 miles north of Redding--its first State title.

Swanwick scored all 25 of Trabuco Hills’ points in the second half, but he will be remembered for missing the free throw that would have sent the game into overtime. He finished with 33 points and 16 rebounds.

“I don’t care about the points, I just wanted to win,” he said. “When I made the first one, I was praying I would make the second one, and I missed. I relaxed a little after the first one, but not much.”

Swanwick had difficulty at the foul line most of the game, making seven of 16 free throws. He missed the front ends of two one-and-one situations in the final 1:17.

Trabuco Hills (25-7) committed 13 turnovers and made 24 of 53 field goals, but the latter statistic is deceiving when one considers that Swanwick was 13 of 20 from the field and his supporting cast was only 11 of 33.

What’s more, Trabuco Hills made only four of 12 three-point shots. Guard Randy Kriech, with 16 points, was the only other effective scorer for the Mustangs.

Still, Trabuco Hills had the lead, 60-58, with 2:40 remaining after Swanwick had scored on a follow-up to his missed free throw. The Mustangs had rallied from a 57-50 deficit early in the fourth quarter, and it appeared another comeback similar to the one that carried them to a 60-57 victory over Morningside in the Southern California Regional final was in the making.

Central Valley (24-5) tied the score, 60-60, with 2:19 remaining when guard Chris Friebel drove the lane for a short jump shot.

The teams went scoreless for a little more than two minutes before forward Ron Golden made two free throws with 15 seconds remaining to push the Falcons ahead, 62-60.

Trabuco Hills, however, wasn’t finished. Kriech missed a 16-foot jumper with eight seconds left, but Swanwick got the rebound, whirled and fired a short shot that just missed with two seconds left.

Swanwick was fouled on the play, and Central Valley called a timeout. Swanwick swished his first shot, but his second one hit the heel of the rim and caromed out of bounds to give Central Valley, an at-large entry into the Northern California Regionals, the ball, and subsequently, the title.