Quinn Finds Perfect Time to Take His Turn

Mater Dei High School Coach Gary McKnight called it a fluke. A nice fluke, but still a fluke.

Jason Quinn called it his turn.

With time running out and the Monarchs trailing, 45-43, Quinn found himself trapped in the corner 20 feet from the basket. As the last act of a desperate man, he threw the ball up, over two defenders.

The ball swished through the net with 1.8 seconds left to give Mater Dei a 46-45 victory over Long Beach Poly at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

Gasping for breath between bear hugs from teammates, Quinn tried to sort out the frantic final seconds.

“I didn’t think it had a chance to go in. . . . It was just a ‘Hail Mary.’ . . . This is great,” said Quinn, a 6-foot senior point guard.

Mater Dei, which had led by as many as eight points, trailed, 44-40, with 57 seconds left. But Quinn hit a three-pointer to pull the Monarchs within one.

With 19 seconds left, Long Beach Poly’s Willie McGinest made one of two free throws, missing the second. Mater Dei’s Andy Karich grabbed the rebound and passed to Quinn, who dribbled up the right side of the court.

However, Quinn was trapped by 6-5 Rod Hannibal along the right baseline.

“I was looking for David Boyle, but they had him cut off,” Quinn said. “I knew time was running out. Someone had to take the shot. It had to be me.”

From McKnight’s vantage point, the season looked over.

“I thought we were in trouble,” McKnight said. “The plan had been to penetrate, then kick the ball back out to Boyle. Everything fell apart.”

But Quinn managed to find some room between defenders and threw in the shot over Hannibal. He was also fouled on the play, but missed the free throw.

“Coach told me to,” Quinn said.

After the buzzer, Quinn was mugged by teammates. They lifted him in the air, as he extended his arms in jubilation. His shot had put them in the state championship game, which will be played next Saturday.

But Quinn wasn’t taken any credit alone.

“It’s been a different guy coming through for us each game,” Quinn said. “Tonight, it was just my turn.”

The Monarchs had more than a few problems on offense in the second half. Long Beach Poly had used a half-court trap to pressure Mater Dei out of its offensive scheme.

But in the fourth quarter, Quinn rescued the Monarchs. He had 10 points in the game, but eight came in the final 2:36.

“No one was able to score for us,” Quinn said. “Some one had to take charge.”

And Quinn did, especially in the final few seconds.

“I just threw it up,” he said. “It was desperate. Then I saw the ball go through the net. It was incredible.”