SEA VIEW LEAGUE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : It All Adds Up for Santa Margarita in Victory over Woodbridge

With his head down and his emotions drained, a somber Santa Margarita Coach Jerry DeBusk walked over and congratulated Woodbridge Coach John Halagan as the buzzer sounded to end regulation.

But Halagan would not and could not accept DeBusk’s handshake.

Why?

The game was not over.

Woodbridge forward Bob Whitfield’s tip-in with two seconds left only tied the game.

Fortunately for DeBusk and his team, the actual winning basket would come exactly three minutes later when sixth-ranked Santa Margarita’s Brad Finneran sank a four-foot jumper to give the Eagles a thrilling 70-69 overtime victory Friday night over heartbroken Woodbridge.

“I lost count,” DeBusk said. “I thought we were down one. (Halagan) was like befuddled. He didn’t know what I was doing over there. I was so down.”

But DeBusk’s team brought him back up by holding Woodbridge (10-7, 4-3 in league) to three free throws and forcing four turnovers in overtime. Santa Margarita (15-3, 6-1) trailed, 69-68, after Woodbridge’s Gig Molalia sank two free throws with 1:55 left in overtime.

But the Eagles did not give the ball up again. They rebounded a missed shot with 1:30 left, then kept the ball until Bobby Nolan badly missed a left-handed layup with six seconds left, but Brian Finneran tipped the ball out off the backboard and into the hands of his brother, Brad, who calmly sank the short jumper.

Seconds later, Santa Margarita’s fans streamed onto the court and mobbed their players.

For the Warriors, it was their second overtime loss a week. They lost to Tustin in double overtime last Friday.

“Our kids feel a little snake bit,” Halagan said. “We could easily be 6-1 instead of 4-3. Our kids have decided to put their egos aside to make the team better.”

Woodbridge senior Arash Ghazinoor had an ego, but for good reason. He simply was unconscious. And the farther he drifted from the basket, the better he shot. In the first half, he sank three three-pointers and scored 15 points. Then Brad Finneran started coming out on him, Ghazinoor moved to another area code--canning three bombs from about 24 feet in the second half.

“It’s one thing to hit from beyond the arc, but another thing to hit from two strides behind it,” Halagan said. “That was a show.”

And Ghazinoor let Finneran know about it. After each bomb, he shouted at Finneran as the two ran down the court.

But late in the fourth quarter, the show stopped. Ghazinoor, who finished with 26 points and six three-pointers, missed his last two three-pointers and did not take a shot in the overtime.

Kevin Lewis led Santa Margarita with 16 points and nine rebounds, Bryan Young had 13 and Adam Dzierzynski added 12. Brad Finneran finished with nine points.

Molalia scored 12 points for Woodbridge, which had 10 three-pointers to Santa Margarita’s two.

“They shot the lights out,” DeBusk said. “I knew they were going to be tough. They are for real. I almost can’t believe we won.”

In other league games:

Tustin 52, Saddleback 45--Dejuan Matthews had 18 points to lead Tustin (6-1, 15-4). Rob Holloway had 12 points for Saddleback (1-6).

Irvine 36, Newport Harbor 35--Greg Wakeham and Jim French each scored 11 points to lead Irvine (13-4, 4-3). Eric Vallely had eight points for Newport Harbor.