ORANGE LEAGUE ROUNDUP : Western Pulls One Out in Two Overtimes

After more than eight minutes of scoreless basketball, the last thing Western High’s Frankie Floyd wanted Friday night was another overtime.

“I wanted to end it right there,” he said.

So he did, hitting a 16-foot jumper with three seconds left to give Western a 39-37 double-overtime victory over Magnolia in an Orange League game at Western.

Magnolia got the ball and called time out with one second left, but the Sentinels’ Aaron Williams missed a shot just outside the three-point line as the buzzer sounded.

The victory moved Western (13-5, 3-1) into a three-way tie for the league lead with Magnolia (11-6) and Valencia. The Pioneers finished in a tie for the league title with Savanna and Brea-Olinda last season.

“We wanted to show Magnolia that Western was still number one,” Floyd said. “Nothing has changed. We went out and got the win.”

The victory also helped erase memories of Western’s triple-overtime loss to Brea-Olinda last season, which cost the Pioneers sole possession of the league title. Floyd was a starter in that game.

His winning shot Friday night capped a 24-point, six-rebound performance and made up for two missed free throws that could have given the Pioneers the victory in the first overtime.

Floyd missed the front end of one-and-one free-throw situations with 2:24 and 1:55 left in the first overtime. Magnolia also had a chance to win it, but Williams stepped out of bounds with seven seconds left, and Western’s Jason Etter missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.

Both teams also could have ended it in the final seconds of regulation. With the score tied, 37-37, Magnolia’s Frank Henderson was called for charging with five seconds left, and Floyd missed a half-court prayer at the buzzer.

Those plays were part of an 8:07 span in which neither team scored. Both teams used patient offenses near the end of regulation and in the overtimes.

Floyd scored all of Western’s six fourth-quarter points. Neil Hensley was the only other Pioneer in double figures with 10 points, and only two other Western players scored--Etter (four points) and Josh Cook (one point).

Henderson and Williams scored 10 points each for Magnolia.

Magnolia got off to an awful start, committing five first-quarter turnovers, missing their first four shots and falling behind, 9-0, five minutes into the game.

But the Sentinels switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense in the second quarter, forcing six Western turnovers, to get back in the game.

In other Orange League play:

Valencia 48, Anaheim 38--Bill Eubanks had 11 points and Kevin Deck had 10 for Valencia (10-6, 3-1). Robbie Mansell led Anaheim (5-12, 0-4) with 12 points, and Boun Malapha added 11 points, including three three-pointers.

Savanna 53, Brea-Olinda 32--Jermaine Moore scored 18 points for visiting Savanna (2-2 in league). Doug Horspool and Nick Logoteta each scored 11 points for Brea-Olinda (7-13, 1-3).