Thousand Oaks Slips Past Camarillo in 2 Overtimes

If Thousand Oaks High’s 51-49 double-overtime win over Camarillo on Wednesday night is any indication of the excitement that is expected to come in the Marmonte League this season, fans should be advised to bring seat belts and secure themselves tightly.

The league was expected to be a close battle between a handful of teams, and that was before an injury-riddled Camarillo team--one of the preseason favorites--hobbled into the Lancer gymnasium with a and fell to the Lancers in a league opener.

Camarillo (9-4) is still without starters Scott Foster, who is recovering from mononucleosis, and Rick Schnell, who sprained an ankle.

“That’s the way it is on January third,” Thousand Oaks Coach Ed Chevalier said. “But we’ll see what happens next time.”

And what better way to add suspense than pit both teams’ top scorers one-on-one with 1:21 to play and the game tied, 47-47. Thousand Oaks’ Chris Loll won the matchup when he drew David Harbour’s fifth foul, sending Loll to the line for a pair of free throws that gave the Lancers a 49-47 lead and sending the league’s biggest offensive threat to the bench permanently.

Although Thousand Oaks’ Gal Hever hit both ends of a one-and-one with 41 seconds left to give the Lancers a 51-47 lead, it wasn’t over yet. Thousand Oaks’ Dusty Lysobey missed the front end of a one-and-one with 26 seconds left, and Geoff Gordon answered with two free throws to cut Camarillo’s deficit to 51-49 with 12 seconds left.

Thousand Oaks missed the front end of two one-and-ones in the final seven seconds, but grabbed offensive rebounds each time.

“We didn’t play masterfully, but the kids got the job done,” Chevalier said.

Thousand Oaks (6-6) went to work early in the fourth period, erasing a six-point deficit and tying the score, 45-45, on Mike Sandlin’s free throws with 39 seconds left. Harbour, who went into the game averaging 30 points but scored only 16, missed an off-balance, three-point jump shot as time expired.

“The kids worked hard in the fourth quarter and I’m proud of the way they played,” Chevalier said.

Lysobey scored with 2:17 left in the first overtime to give Camarillo a 47-45 lead and Camarillo’s Geoff Gordon’s basket tied the game with 1:29 left. After a Lancer turnover, Harbour missed another off-balance 21-foot shot to force the second overtime.

Sandlin scored and Lysobey each scored 11 points to lead Thousand Oaks.