THE HIGH SCHOOLS : Shocked at Buzzer Twice in a Row, Palmdale Misses First by Seconds

Eight seconds and a pair of three-point baskets have kept Palmdale High out of first place in the Golden League.

The Falcons were shot down twice last week on buzzer-beating long-distance jump shots by Canyon’s Jermaine Nixon and Antelope Valley’s Brock Chase.

Nixon’s three-point shot with three seconds left at Canyon gave the Cowboys a 60-59 victory.

Chase’s three-point basket with five seconds left in overtime gave the Antelopes a 63-62 victory.

The losses dropped Palmdale (3-2) into a three-way tie for second place with Canyon and Quartz Hill. Antelope Valley is 5-0.

“Nothing feels better than to win on a three-pointer at the buzzer,” Canyon Coach Greg Hayes said.

Said Antelope Valley Coach Skip Adams: “The basketball gods were smiling upon us. I guess Palmdale just didn’t go to basketball church.”

The hard-luck Falcons have lost three games in overtime this season and four by either one or two points.

But the Falcons also have won three games by one or two points, including a dramatic 56-55 win over Quartz Hill on a last-second jump shot by Jason Grimes.

“Their (losses) weren’t any tougher than the one I lost to them,” Quartz Hill Coach Don Moore said. “It’s nip and tuck in this league.”

Case closed: Birmingham’s 3-3 tie with North Hollywood in a soccer match Wednesday will stand despite the protests of Brave Coach Jose Freire, who claimed a time-keeping error by officials cost his team a 3-2 victory. He claimed that the match ran long by 20 minutes.

Birmingham Athletic Director Lou Ramirez called City Section Commissioner Hal Harkness on Thursday about the match, but it was a short conversation.

“I told Lou that the match is history,” Harkness said. “There are no protests for rules misapplications except for baseball and softball. By the time you leave the field, if the matter is not resolved by then, it’s history. There is no protest.”

Twist of misfortune: Jeff Ferguson, a forward on Canyon’s soccer team and the Cowboys’ leading scorer with eight goals in five games, has missed his team’s first five Golden League matches because of a pulled quadriceps muscle he sustained during kicking drills for the football team.

In fact, Canyon’s entire front line has, in a way, taken a bad twist.

Forwards Prince Board and Javier Torres sustained minor ankle sprains during the season and have not played up to par. Coach Gary Lindberg attributes his team’s 0-5 league record to those injuries.

“It’s not a bright picture. I think we were competitive enough to be second (in the Golden League),” Lindberg said. “If (Ferguson) comes back and gives about 80%, we could come back and play the role of spoiler.”

NHL or soccer?: With a 2-5-7 overall record, one would think that the Palmdale boys’ soccer team plays in the Smythe Division of the NHL rather than in the Golden League.

But the seven ties, the most among Valley-area soccer teams, suit Falcon Coach Juan Paolo just fine.

“I’ll take a tie anytime,” he said, “especially when I’m playing away.”

The only match the Falcons have won outright is a 2-1 decision over league rival Canyon.

Palmdale defeated Granada Hills, 3-2, on penalty kicks in a first-round match in the Hart tournament Dec. 27 for its other victory.

Mike Glaze and staff writers Vince Kowalick and John Lynch contributed to this notebook.