BOYS’ BASKETBALL DIVISION II : El Camino Holds Off UC in End

After storming to a 13-point first-half lead over University City Saturday, it seemed El Camino would cruise to its second San Diego Section boys’ basketball title in the past four years.

But the second half soon turned into a nightmare for Coach Ray Johnson.

His team was turning the ball over against full-court pressure, the opposing team’s crowd was cheering wildly, and he said he felt helpless as he watched an extraordinary effort by University City’s Jerome Price.

But with 18 seconds remaining and his team clinging to a one-point lead, Johnson began to relax. His best free throw shooter, Travis Gilley, was stepping to the line to shoot a one-and-one.

“I’d have bet the house on Travis making those,” Johnson said.

Gilley made his coach and his team a winner, swishing both free throws as El Camino won the Division II final, 68-65, at Golden Hall.

“It’s funny, those last two free throws--that’s something that you practice in your back yard,” said Gilley, who finished with a team-high 20 points.

Gilley, who was trapped between two University City players in the back court, said he actually felt fortunate to be going to the line.

“I had no place to pass it,” Gilley said. “I was going to throw it off somebody’s knee when they fouled me.”

University City (23-5) had an opportunity to tie, but Price’s three-pointer with five seconds left was off target. Two games earlier, Price made the same shot to beat Valhalla.

“I was trying to force it,” Price said, tears streaming down his face. “I was a little nervous. The last time (against Valhalla), somebody was on me, but this time I was wide open.”

Price’s miss was one of the few things he did wrong. He scored 23 points, 15 in the second half, and pulled down nine rebounds.

While his teammates floundered, Price kept his team within 13 points (41-28) at halftime by hitting four medium-range jumpers.

Then in the second half, Price led the comeback. He scored six of University City’s 10 points in a two-minute stretch, including a dunk after a missed layup by Anthony Hill, to cut a 15-point lead to 54-45 at the end of the third quarter.

“Jerome’s just a super athlete,” Johnson said. “There’s not much you can do when a guy’s playing like that. He just took the game over.”

And he wasn’t through. A Price three-pointer capped 16-7 University City run that tied the game, 61-61, with 3:03 remaining.

But because of missed opportunities, University City never took the lead. El Camino center Dee Boyer (11 points, nine rebounds) had two layups in the last minute to give the Wildcats (22-6) three-point leads after University had closed to within one.