ANGELUS LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Servite Survives Slump in Second to Win by Two

Servite survived a five-point second quarter--in which it made only one of 11 shots from the field--battled back from a 30-22 deficit midway through the third quarter and made 10 of 12 fourth-quarter free throws Friday night to seal a 57-55 Angelus League victory over host Santa Margarita.

“Have we had a game where we don’t hit a big dry spell?” exasperated Servite Coach Richard Smith asked. “Our team has been up and down all season.”

And after a victory that improved Servite’s record to 14-5 and 4-1 in league, Smith hopes the Friars will be up for next week’s game against Mater Dei (4-1 in league), in which first place will be at stake.

Santa Margarita (11-7, 1-4) made it tough on Servite, taking a two-point lead at halftime following the Friars’ disastrous quarter, then increasing the lead to 28-20 on a thunderous, two-hand dunk by Dan Bathey.

Servite fought back on the strength of Ryan Dodd’s third-quarter offense and Adam Anderson’s defense.

Dodd scored 11 of his 13 points in the third quarter, and Anderson, who also had 12 points, had four of his team-high five steals in the second half to spark the rally.

Servite outscored the Eagles, 9-2, over a 4-minute 30-second stretch in the fourth quarter, taking a 50-42 lead with one minute to play to almost put the game away.

But Mike Carpenter (22 points) hit three fourth-quarter three-pointers to keep Santa Margarita within striking distance, closing the gap to 53-50 with 14 seconds to play with a three-pointer from the top of the key.

Servite didn’t seal the game until Eddie Rubio and Bill Kenney sank two free throws each in the final 10 seconds, putting the game out of reach despite Carpenter’s final three-pointer at the buzzer.

“Its been like this all season,” Santa Margarita Coach Roger Holmes said. “There have been games we could have won, but there’s been a one-, two- or three-minute stretch in each of those games where we made too many turnovers.”