EMPIRE LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Loara Can’t Catch Katella in Overtime

Tes Whitlock, Loara High School’s deluxe shooting guard, didn’t get away with any easy shots Friday night at Katella.

The 30-foot, three-point jump shot Whitlock buried over a Katella defender to bring Loara within two points with four seconds left in overtime certainly wasn’t easy.

Nor was Whitlock’s desperation heave from roughly 70 feet that fell just short as time ran out, preserving Katella’s 89-87 Empire League victory.

“That’s what high school basketball is all about,” Loara Coach Ed Prange said. “We had a great comeback, but we just came up empty.”

Part of that was because of the stingy man-to-man defense Katella (11-5, 2-1 in league) applied to Whitlock.

Whitlock finished with 43 points and seven assists but made only 15 of 51 shots and didn’t hit a three-pointer until the fourth quarter.

“Tes was forcing his shots,” Prange said. “They were right in his face. I don’t think he had a catch-and-shoot basket all night.”

Katella punched holes in a sloppy Loara zone press to score 34 points in the second quarter, many of them on easy layups by forward Roger Arias.

Arias, who finished with 29 points and 17 rebounds, also scored Katella’s first two baskets of overtime.

He was one of five Katella players who scored in double figures. Guard Vince Encarnacion scored 15, three in overtime. Kevin Carlson scored 14, Eric Martinez had 13 and Dave Jensen 12.

Loara (8-10, 1-2) was down by as many as 21 in the third quarter but stormed back behind the inside play of Charlie Gipson (14 points and a school-record 19 rebounds) and the outside shooting of Whitlock and Glen Maggio (12 points).

Two free throws by Maggio with 23 seconds left sent the game into overtime at 82-82.

Whitlock began the extra period with a steal and a dunk. Arias and Encarnacion scored the next seven points before Whitlock rebounded an Encarnacion miss, weaved upcourt and drilled the off-balance three-pointer to end the scoring.

Katella’s Corey Morbeek was fouled by Ryan Bassett with two seconds left but missed the foul shot Gipson took the rebound and passed to Whitlock, who took two steps and lofted the final shot.

“We dug ourselves into a hole at the beginning of the game,” Prange said. “But I thought we could come back after halftime, and we did.”