Moorpark Holds On After Glendale Shot Worth Only 2

Nobody on the Glendale College basketball team is calling for the instant-replay rule at the junior college level, but after Saturday night’s dramatic 64-63 loss to host Moorpark in a Western State Conference interdivisional matchup, the Vaqueros might be thinking about it.

With Glendale (8-8, 1-1 in conference play) trailing, 64-61, and eight seconds left, Vaquero guard Harry Marks made an improbable off-balance jump shot in the vicinity of the three-point line under heavy pressure with eight seconds remaining.

But the shot, which appeared to be taken behind the three-point stripe, was ruled a two-point basket and the Vaqueros were left to debate the issue through the team videotape recorder after the game.

“I made sure I jumped behind the line,” Marks said of the shot. “We needed a three. That’s all I was trying to do. I made sure I was behind the line.”

The referees stuck to the call and Moorpark made sure it did not waste a pair of standout performances by center Sean Doyle and guard Damian Wilson.

“I couldn’t tell,” Moorpark Coach Al Nordquist said of Marks’ shot. “I’ll tell you one thing. That was a tough shot to make with Sean in his face.”

The controversial conclusion capped a seesaw battle that featured the rebounding dominance of Moorpark (5-12, 1-0) and the streak shooting of the Vaqueros.

Doyle, a 6-foot-7, 205-pound sophomore from Newbury Park High, finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds as the Raiders nearly doubled Glendale’s total on the boards--47 to 24.

Doyle was supported by Wilson, who came off the bench to notch 24 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.

A Wilson layup with four minutes to play gave Moorpark a 60-56 lead that followed an 0-for-7 shooting skid by the Vaqueros. Glendale led by as many as six points midway through the second half.

“We always tell the players that it’s never the last call that decides a game,” said Glendale Coach Brian Beauchemin, who admitted his frustration with the officiating. “We lost the game in the first five minutes . . . and with the (0 for seven) skid in the second half.”

Undersized Glendale, which shot 38% from the field (26 of 69), was led by guards Alfonso Pule (24 points) and Osiris Nalls (11 points, six rebounds).

With Doyle manning the key and Wilson directing the show, Moorpark managed to take a 34-32 lead at halftime.