Servite Gains Final on Late Free Throws by Marusich, 41-39

Servite High School relived one playoff memory and all but buried another Thursday night with a 41-39 victory over Corona del Mar in the Southern California Regional Division III playoffs.

During the Southern Section playoffs, the Friars had emotional peaks and valleys at the free-throw line. They were riding high when Steve Marusich made two free throws to beat Centennial in the quarterfinals. The Friars then bottomed out in the 3-AA championship game when they made only 13 of 27 free throws in an overtime loss to Estancia.

Thursday at Servite, it was Marusich on the spot again. This time he made two free throws with seven seconds left to put Servite into the regional final.

The Friars (19-11) will play Dos Pueblos Saturday, with the winner advancing to the state championship game in Oakland.

“Nothing can take away the hurt we felt after losing to Estancia,” Servite Coach Rich Smith said. “We had been a good free-throw shooting team all season. We had one bad night at the free-throw line and that’s all we heard about.”

The Friars have had their problems from the free-throw line in their past two games. On Tuesday, Servite missed three one-and-one opportunities in the final 37 seconds, but managed to hang on to beat Lemoore, 57-55.

Against Corona del Mar, those problems were behind the Friars. They made 15 of 19 free throws, including seven of nine in the fourth quarter.

None were bigger than the two Marusich sank.

Corona del Mar (20-11) tied the score with 19 seconds left on a 19-foot-8-inch jumpshot by John Upham, who thought he had made a three-point field goal. However, the officials ruled that his foot was touching the line.

After a timeout, the Friars worked the ball from guard to guard near midcourt. With nine seconds left, Paul Stapleton lobbed a pass to Marusich, who was fouled by Jeff Jackson.

“That’s the same play we worked against Centennial and we got the same results,” Smith said. “There’s no one I would rather have up there than Steve in a situation like that.”

After Marusich made the free throws, the Sea Kings’ Warren Johnson dribbled the length of the court but was cornered by three Servite players. His three-point attempt grazed off the front of the rim.

Marusich’s free throws capped a fourth quarter rally that saw the Friars come from nine points down. The Sea Kings outscored the Friars, 17-9, in the third quarter and led, 34-25, less than a minute into the fourth quarter.

But Corona del Mar made only three of seven free throws in the final quarter, which helped Servite get back into the game. The Sea Kings made only 13 of 27 free throws for the the game.

Servite finally tied the score, 37-37, on a three-point field goal by Jamie Rosenkranz with 2 minutes 8 seconds left.

“We usually play well in the third quarter,” Smith said. “I don’t know what happened tonight. I think everyone was standing around waiting for someone else to take charge. But we own the last four minutes.”

And, sometimes, the Friars even own the free-throw line.