HART TOURNAMENT : Valiant Canyon Comeback Falls Short as Hart Escapes With First-Round Triumph

For 31 minutes of Wednesday’s first-round Hart basketball tournament game between Canyon and Hart highs, Hart would build a lead and Canyon would tear it down. Or at least try to.

But the Cowboys never quite succeeded, despite a furious fourth-quarter rally that included a 25-foot three-point shot off the glass courtesy of forward Jermaine Nixon.

Hart relied on easy points inside--six of them in the final 57 seconds--to claim a 74-67 victory in front of an elbow-to-elbow crowd.

The Cowboys, who trailed, 58-42, late in the third quarter, opened the final period with an 8-1 spurt that became a 23-10 run.

Hart (9-2), with three-point bombers Micah Ohlman (game-high 21 points) and Chad Fotheringham (20 points) firing away for three quarters, suddenly found itself on the receiving end of some air mail when Canyon’s Lance Moore (12 points) buried a three-point shot with 1:20 to play to pull the Cowboys to within 68-65.

Hart’s Andrew Lorraine, however, sank two free throws and Ohlman followed with a steal of an inbounds pass and a layup. A layup by Renato Rivas, who scored 15 points off the bench, finally quieted the Cowboys.

“We loosened up in the second half and started focusing on the team,” said Nixon, who led Canyon (7-3) with 15 points.

Said Hart Coach Greg Herrick: “I never thought the game was in jeopardy.

“I just never felt that they had the firepower. They were banking in three-pointers and we were getting soft shots that were going in and out. I just think we had to shake it off. To their credit, they kept coming.”

In other first-round games:

Cleveland 79, Hueneme 50--Guards Eddie Hill and Patrick McCook scored 16 and 15 points to lead Cleveland.

The Cavaliers outscored Hueneme, 15-8, in the second quarter to take a 35-22 lead at halftime. Senior forward Bobby McRae scored 12 points for Cleveland, which will play Beverly Hills in the second round today at 1:30 p.m.

Antelope Valley 96, St. Genevieve 42--Jabbar Briggs scored a game-high 22 points for Antelope Valley (8-2). Chris Walters scored 21 points for Antelope Valley, which will play St. Francis in the second round today at noon.

Rio Mesa 67, Glendale 38--The Spartans built a 56-21 lead after three quarters, then emptied the bench in earning a date with Crescenta Valley in the quarterfinals.

Eric Thomas scored a game-high 17 points to lead the way.

St. Francis 60, Calabasas 65--Matt Vitti scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Golden Knights to a second-round game with Antelope Valley today at noon.

Beverly Hills 66, Palmdale 65 (OT)--Jason Grimes scored 23 points but Palmdale was outscored, 24-10, in the fourth quarter.

Saugus 59, Steveston (British Columbia, Canada) 48--The Centurions outscored Steveston, 14-5, in the final period. Aaron Volpe (25 points) and Greg Yumbar (14) led Saugus (3-7).

East Bakersfield 59, Crescenta Valley 56 (OT)--Paul Matijasevic scored a game-high 22 points for Crescenta Valley, but the Falcons were outscored, 7-4, in overtime.