4 Technicals Cost Thousand Oaks in 62-56 Marmonte Loss to Agoura

As play became rougher and rougher Friday at Thousand Oaks High, the Lancers drew closer and closer to their boiling point.

Finally, they lost their composure and earned four technical fouls--two of which led to the ejection of starting center Shane Graham--in a 62-56 loss to Agoura in a Marmonte League basketball game.

The loss dropped Thousand Oaks (14-7, 9-2 in league play) into a first-place tie with Simi Valley.

“There were a lot of things going on out there that weren’t getting called,” Thousand Oaks Coach Ed Chevalier said. “Somebody’s going to get hurt when that happens.”

In the end, it was the Lancers who suffered most. With Agoura (14-6, 7-4) nursing a 23-19 lead early in the third quarter, Graham, who had to be restrained by his teammates, picked up back-to-back technicals that led to his ejection.

Agoura hit five of six free throws to extend its lead to 28-19 with 6 minutes 33 seconds left in the quarter. Then Chevalier, who spent much of the first half kicking chairs and punishing the ball rack, earned two technicals with 2:18 left.

Eddie Corridori (17 points) hit four free throws that gave Agoura a 41-25 lead. Although Thousand Oaks cut its deficit to 43-33 entering the fourth quarter, Agoura had inflicted too much damage.

Agoura led, 62-51, with 1:22 left but missed the front end of four consecutive one-and-one opportunities. Thousand Oaks got five points in 12 seconds from Denny LeVine, but time ran out on the Lancers.

“I think Thousand Oaks lost their composure a little bit,” Agoura Coach Kevin Pasky said. “It was a real physical game, and that played in our favor. We played 29 minutes of very good basketball and three of the worst I’ve ever seen.”

J.C. Padilla scored 16 points for Agoura, including seven during a one-minute span early in the fourth quarter that pushed Agoura’s lead to 52-38. Kirk Pederson scored 11 for Thousand Oaks.

“We’re disappointed,” Chevalier said. “Somewhere along the line. you have to bring some officiating into the game.”

Agoura, which avenged a 22-point loss in January, used its aggressiveness to force 17 turnovers. “It’s a big win for us because we beat a team that is a contender,” Pasky said. “We did a real good job of playing defense.”

Jeff Niemann scored 16 points for Agoura.