Long Arms of Loll Lift Thousand Oaks to Win in Overtime : Prep basketball: Forward scores 33 points, including layin to force extra period.

If Chris Loll’s jersey is hanging in Thousand Oaks High’s gymnasium this morning, it wouldn’t bother Coach Ed Chevalier one bit.

In fact, Chevalier might have provided the ladder. And the hammer. Even the nail.

And he might have pounded away all night, like Loll did Tuesday night against Canyon Springs in leading the Lancers to a 55-52 overtime win in a Southern Section 1-A Division second-round basketball playoff game at Thousand Oaks.

No Lancer has scored more points or grabbed more rebounds than Loll, a 6-foot-5 1/2 senior who holds school records in both categories. And perhaps no player has ever meant more to the Lancers’ success--a school-record 22 wins and their first quarterfinal playoff berth--than Loll.

It would be difficult to get an argument from Chevalier, who watched Loll score 22 of his game-high 33 points in the second half--including a twisting layin as time expired in regulation to tie the contest, 50-50. And No. 45 added 18 rebounds, three blocks, and three steals.

“He had a man-sized second half,” Chevalier said, shaking his head. “He just took the game over.”

He needed to. Thousand Oaks (22-4) struggled from the outset, hitting only 12 of its first 37 shots (32%) and trailing by as many as nine points late in the third quarter.

The Lancers finally tied the score, 44-44, on Shane Graham’s free throw with 2 minutes 51 seconds left. But it seemed to go to waste when Densic Hayes, a nephew of former NBA star Elvin Hayes, hit a pull-up jump shot from 15 feet that gave Canyon Springs (20-6) a 50-48 lead with four seconds left.

Consider it only a lull for the Lancers, who went to Loll yet again, even though he had picked up his fourth foul with seven minutes left in regulation. After a Lancer timeout to devise the play with three seconds left, Brian Capella, inbounding from midcourt, looped a pass to Loll underneath the basket. He outleaped a trio of Cougars and spun for a layin at the buzzer.

“We knew we had a little bit of height advantage,” Loll said of the play, which Thousand Oaks had devised during a timeout. “And Brian Capella threw a great pass.”

During the overtime, Loll’s driving layin gave Thousand Oaks a 53-52 lead with 33 seconds left. Canyon Springs got the ball to Hayes, who was fouled as he shot hurriedly with two seconds left, but he promptly missed both free throws.

Capella, a senior guard, rebounded and hit both ends of a one-and-one with one second left.

Canyon Springs was unable to release a shot before the final buzzer, and Lancer fans stormed the court. A la Loll, no less.

“There isn’t anything else you can say about Chris,” Chevalier said.

Chevalier can only grab the hammer and nail.