CENTURY LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Winger Gives Foothill Upset of El Modena

Jared Winger will never forget his 17th birthday. His two free throws in the final four seconds gave Foothill a 45-43 upset victory over El Modena Friday in a Century League boys’ basketball game at Foothill High.

El Modena’s Aaron Seltzer fouled Winger on his missed attempt from inside the key to send Winger to the line.

“The noise in the gym was louder than heck, and I really had to concentrate to make them,” said Winger, a 6-foot-2 junior guard.

Said Foothill Coach Jim Reames: “Those were two nice free throws; a great gift for Jared’s birthday, and a great win for us.”

It was El Modena’s first league loss. Foothill ended first-round league play at 3-2 and is 11-9 overall. El Modena is 13-6, 4-1.

After the game-winning free throws, El Modena inbounded the ball to half court and called a timeout with three seconds remaining. With Foothill double-teaming Aaron Aguilera, El Modena’s Gavin Brown inbounded to Mario Perez, who attempted a 20-foot three-point shot at the final second. But he watched as the ball hit the inside of the rim and ricocheted out.

In the first quarter, Foothill’s missed inside layups and turnovers gave El Modena a 17-7 lead.

But Foothill began double-teaming Aguilera in the second and outscored El Modena, 13-4--the Vanguards’ worst single-quarter performance this year. That pulled Foothill to within 21-20 at halftime.

In other league games:

Villa Park 52, Canyon 48 (3 OT)--Chip Bernards hit a three-pointer with 45 seconds left in the third overtime to give Villa Park a 49-48 lead. With seven seconds left, Steve Lebrecht made two free throws, and David Mansolino made another with one second left to secure the victory for the Spartans. Ryan MacArthur led Villa Park with 20 points and eight rebounds.