DIVISION IV-A PREP BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : Artists Out of Luck When Call Goes Against Borella

The scenario for Laguna Beach was a good one. Although the Artists trailed by two points with time running out on their Southern Section Division IV-A basketball quarterfinal with Crossroads Friday, Josh Borella had the ball.

Borella, who averages 30 points and had made a three-point shot an instant before the third-quarter buzzer, eluded the double-teaming defenders, drove the lane and made a leaning jumper as he and a Crossroads defender collided.

But Borella’s shot with 7.8 seconds remaining was disallowed because he was called for charging, his fifth foul of the game. So Borella watched from the bench as Crossroads held on, 69-66, at Dana Hills High School and advanced to a meeting with Santa Maria St. Joseph in the division semifinals.

Borella, a senior who scored a game-high 31 points, didn’t think he had committed the charge.

“I just thought I made the shot and was going to the free-throw line,” Borella said. “I was in the air. I wasn’t paying attention to the guy on the ground.”

But Crossroads Coach Darryl Roper said he had expected Borella to be able to beat his defenders, so he told his players to step in front and try to take a charge.

“I thought we got in good position,” said Roper, who played at Cal State Fullerton from 1976-80, including a season in which the Titans advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals.

Laguna Beach (18-10) was fortunate to be in the position to win. Crossroads (15-7) outscored the Artists, 18-9, in the third quarter, and when Austin Croshere scored with 7 minutes 39 seconds left in the fourth quarter, it led, 58-49.

The Artists had difficulty guarding Kahlil Allen, a 6-foot-6 center who made his first 11 shots and had 25 points after three quarters. But after taking the nine-point lead, Crossroads slowed down.

Borella made two free throws with 5:38 left, starting a rally that was so furious the scoreboard operator forgot to run the clock for three times down the court and no one from either bench noticed.

Crossroads committed five consecutive turnovers against the Artists’ full-court press, and when Borella made one of two free throws with 5:20 remaining, Laguna Beach had a 59-58 lead.

After falling behind by three, Laguna Beach tied it, 66-66, on a three-point shot by Tom Ravensberg with 2:25 left before Croshere put Crossroads ahead by two.